Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (March 17, 2020)
2A — THE OBSERVER TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2020 LOCAL DAILY Union school board names general contractor PLANNER Plan for TODAY IN HISTORY Today is Tuesday, March 17, the 77th day of 2020. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick’s Day. renovations coming soon TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On March 17, 1988, Avian- ca Flight 410, a Boeing 727, crashed after takeoff into a mountain in Colombia, kill- ing all 143 people on board. ON THIS DATE In 1762, New York held its fi rst St. Patrick’s Day parade. In 1776, the Revolutionary War Siege of Boston ended as British forces evacuated the city. In 1912, the Camp Fire Girls organization was incor- porated in Washington, D.C., two years to the day after it was founded in Thetford, Vermont. In 1936, Pittsburgh’s Great St. Patrick’s Day Flood began as the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers and their tributaries, swollen by rain and melted snow, started exceeding fl ood stage; the high water was blamed for more than 60 deaths. In 1958, the U.S. Navy launched the Vanguard 1 satellite. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fl ed Tibet for India in the wake of a failed uprising by Tibetans against Chinese rule. In 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel. In 1970, the United States cast its fi rst veto in the U.N. Security Council, killing a resolution that would have condemned Britain for fail- ing to use force to overthrow the white-ruled government of Rhodesia. In 1973, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, a freed prisoner of the Vietnam War, was greeted by his family at Travis Air Force Base in Cali- fornia in a scene captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning AP photograph. In 1992, 29 people were killed in the truck bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In Illinois, Sen. Alan Dixon was defeated in his primary reelection bid by Carol Moseley-Braun, who went on to become the fi rst black woman in the U.S. Senate. In 2005, baseball players told Congress that steroids were a problem in the sport; Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testifi ed they hadn’t used them while Mark McGwire refused to say. Mc- Gwire owned up to steroid use in January 2010. In 2009, U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained by North Korea while reporting on North Korean refugees living across the border in China. (Both were convicted of entering North Korea illegally and were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor; both were freed in August 2009 after former President Bill Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.) LOTTERY Megabucks: $6.0 million 17-21-28-32-33-40 Mega Millions: $90 million 7-22-37-43-44-22 x4 Powerball: $130 million 9-23-26-30-32—PB-8 x3 Win for Life: March 14 16-17-18-47 Pick 4: March 15 • 1 p.m.: 4-8-0-6 • 4 p.m.: 4-1-1-6 • 7 p.m.: 3-3-2-7 • 10 p.m.: 9-1-5-0 Pick 4: March 14 • 1 p.m.: 2-5-3-2 • 4 p.m.: 1-9-3-0 • 7 p.m.: 2-7-3-9 • 10 p.m.: 7-9-3-1 Pick 4: March 13 • 1 p.m.: 9-9-2-5 • 4 p.m.: 7-7-2-6 • 7 p.m.: 7-1-1-5 • 10 p.m.: 0-7-1-6 DELIVERY ISSUES? If you have any problems receiving your Observer, please call the offi ce at}541- 963-3161. QUOTE OF THE DAY “May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.” — Irish saying By Dick Mason The Observer UNION — An Oregon construction company is at the starting line to renovate Union’s schools. The Union School Board on Wednesday named Kirby Nagelhout Construc- tion as its selection to serve as the general contractor for the district’s $8 million ren- ovation project. The work will be funded by a $4 million bond voters approved in November plus a $4 million matching grant from the state. Kirby Nagelhout has offi ces in Pendleton, Bend and Portland. The school board has not offi cially awarded the contract to Nagelhout Construction because the public has until March 24 to chal- lenge the selection of the fi rm. If no one fi les an objec- tion by March 24, the fi rm wins the contract. Nagelhout Construc- tion was one of four compa- nies that submitted bids for the Union School District project. The school district’s selection committee inter- viewed representatives of two companies, including Nagelhout. The committee recommended Nagelhout Construction to the school board. Nagelhout Construc- tion has 170 employees and has built school facilities in Echo and Milton-Freewater, among other school districts in Eastern Oregon. Much of the work the $8 million project involves safety improvements at all schools and updating the school district’s aging buildings, including improving accessibility to its high school classroom building and gym. “That is a major, major concern for me. I want people to be able to enter our buildings with dig- nity,” Union superintendent Carter Wells said. Other renovation work includes: • Energy effi - ciency improvements at all schools, including upgrading the heating and ventilation systems • Improvements to accommodate grades seven to 12 at Union High School • Improvements to the district gymnasium and athletic complex Wells said the company has done many similar ren- ovation projects. He said this experi- ence should help it do its La Grande resident running for Congress Observer staff LA GRANDE — A third Union County resident joined the fi eld of candi- dates for the 2nd Congres- sional District seat. Travis Fager of La Grande, a Republican, tossed his hat into the ring March 4. “It’s time for a course correction in Congress. Time for a ‘career com- moner’ not another ‘career politician,’” Fager wrote on his Facebook page in part of what he said was his offi - cially registered campaign statement. Fager in the statement describes himself as a suc- cessful business operator, a husband and a father of three who is a grateful par- ticipant of the American Dream. “I am a common citizen who is concerned as we’ve watched a shift occur in our country. In Congress specif- ically, there is a disturbing trend to fundamentally alter our great nation. Like you, I’m done with the typ- ical results from the usual politicians who’ve made a career of compromising our core values in exchange for votes,” Fager wrote. Fager is one of 10 Republicans running for the 2nd Congressional Dis- trict. Six Democrats also are running for their par- ty’s nomination in the pri- mary. All are seeking to succeed incumbent Rep. Greg Walden R-Hood River, who did not fi le for re-election. Walden is completing his 22nd year in Congress. Cove school dining hall set to open soon New hall provides much more space Production Workers Seasonal Employees NOW HIRING At Boise Cascade, we know our employees are our most valuable assets! So we offer competitive pay and great health and financial benefits to join our production team! ------------------- SAFETY RESPECT The Observer Union County will begin our roadside spray program to control vegetation and noxious weeds that are encroaching on road shoulders and right-of-ways. In most locations, spraying will extend four to eight feet from pavement edges. Property owners who do not want herbi- cides applied near their property must sign an “Owner Will Maintain” agreement with the coun- ty which must be updated annually. The county will provide signs for the owners participating. Property owners wishing to participate can sign up for the “Owner Will Maintain” program at the Union County Public Works Department located at 10513 N. McAlister Road in Island City. Any questions, please call 541-0963-1016 NOW HIRING: INTEGRITY By Dick Mason COVE — No classes are in session this week in the Cove School District due to the coronavirus. Still, there is brisk activity near the east edge of its campus. Work crews are busy putting the fi nishing touches on the school dis- trict’s new food service building, which is set to open when classes begin again. “Construction is wrap- ping up and then we will begin moving in later this week,” Cove High School principal Mat Miles said Monday. Tables, kitchen equip- ment and food are being transferred from the old cafeteria into the new building in the process. The move will be short in terms of distance. The new building is less than 75 yards from the school district’s old cafeteria and kitchen, yet it will repre- sent a quantum leap. The new cafeteria building will be far more spacious than its old one. The present cafeteria has a capacity of about 40 students while the new one will be able to seat 200, making pro- viding lunch to the dis- trict’s nearly 300 students much easier. The school has encour- aged students to eat lunch quickly so they could leave and make room for incoming students. In many cases, high school students have been eating their lunches in the hall- ways or classrooms to pro- vide more room for stu- dents coming in to get meals. Cove’s small cafeteria created scheduling prob- lems, which cost students class time, Miles said. The new dining hall, he said, will prevent this class time from being lost. work in Union with greater effi ciency. With the selection of a general contractor, along with an architectural fi rm, BLRB Architects of Bend earlier this year, the school district soon will begin developing a plan for the renovations. Wells said the school district will work closely with Nagelhout and BLRB plus the community in developing a plan. The superintendent anticipates some work will be conducted this summer but much of the major work will take place in the summer of 2021 because of the additional planning required. EXCELLENCE That’s how We Do business. Building communities while building careers. Apply at bc.com/careers 90 S 21st Ave, Elgin, OR 97827 (541) 437-2611 Staff photo by Dick Mason Tanner Collins cleans the windows of the Cove School District’s new dining hall Thurs- day. Collins is the owner of Collins & Sons Professional Window Cleaning. The new hall is set to open when students return to school in April. The school district’s building fund is paying for the dining hall. Cove schools Superintendent Earl Pettit previously said the district will not take on debt as a result of the con- struction project. The kitchen and caf- eteria the food service building will replace is in Cove Elementary School, just west of the new new structure. The new building also will be fi lled with new kitchen equipment, replacing the outdated appliances the present cafeteria has. its features include a walk-in freezer and refrigerator for storage, neither of which the school district now has. Miles said the storage space is so limited now that food has had to be kept at sites throughout the campus including a freezer in the bus barn area. The space where the cafeteria is will be con- verted into an area used for providing counseling services and special- ized reading instruction for students can be pro- vided. These services are provided in a modular building on campus. The modular will later be torn down. Mike Becker General Contractor of La Grande is the general contractor for the project. The architec- tural work has been done by Design West Archi- tects which has offi ces in Meridian, Idaho; Ken- newick, Washington and Pullman, Washington. This represents the Cove School District’s third construction project Boise Cascade is an equal opportunity employer and encourages women, minorities, and veterans to apply. in at least the past 25 years. Two additional classrooms were built about 10 years ago and a music room was con- structed in the early 1990s. FAMILY OWNED 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com In response to recent statewide developments regarding COVID-19, GRH has made the decision to postpone the following events: Annual Free Community Blood Screenings, Balance Classes, and Parkinson’s Support Group. For the latest updates, visit grh.org/covid19. It should be noted that there are NO presumptive or confirmed cases in Union County as of Friday, March 13, 2020. While we are learning more every day, a clearer picture of COVID-19 and those groups most affected by this disease is emerging, and we continue to refine our responses based on new information. We continue to monitor daily the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oregon Health Authority, and will reschedule these public events as soon as it is sensible to do so. We encourage you to remain vigilant with precautionary measures against the spread of all respiratory illness by: · · · · · Washing your hands often and appropriately Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth Avoiding contact with sick people Staying home if you're sick Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing For additional information on those most vulnerable to this disease, what to do if you think you may have COVID-19, and more; please visit healthoregon.org/coronavirus or call 211 for the most up-to-date information. In addition, we have established a Coronavirus News & Updates section on our website for the latest from your care team at GRH. Get the latest GRH COVID-19 news and updates on our website at grh.org/covid19
