OFF PAGE ONE
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
GRANT
EVENTS
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The district chose
the Cougar Dome, con-
structed in 1949, for the
project’s seismic retrofi t
rather than the centu-
ry-old, brick high school.
A seismic retrofi t of the
more vulnerable high
school was estimated at
$8.1 million, far above the
grant program’s $2.5 mil-
lion limit. The Cougar
Dome also was deemed a
place where the commu-
nity could shelter in any
emergency, seismic or
otherwise.
“We’re underway with
the evaluation work,”
school Superintendent
Tammy Jones said. “Right
now, we are into sche-
matic design.”
The project is expected
to include roof, wall and
fl oor/foundation strength-
ening and construction,
Jones said.
But actual construction
won’t proceed until next
summer.
“We could be full-
bore and do the construc-
tion for the seismic this
summer and be done,”
Jones said. “But the work
doesn’t have to be done
until September of 2022.
We are waiting to hear on
the bond because com-
bining the seismic work
and the bond-funded ren-
ovations on the gym could
have some cost savings.”
Gathering data on
exactly what underlies
the Cougar Dome founda-
tions is a fi rst step toward
design and eventual
construction.
On Tuesday, March
16, geotechnical engi-
neer Michael Remboldt,
of K.A. Engineering out
of Coburg, was onsite to
take cores on the south,
west and north sides of
the building. The track-
mounted geotechnical
drill that Remboldt and
his wife, Marvis Rem-
boldt, used for the work
reached bedrock at about
11-12 feet deep in all
three holes. The material
they found was mostly a
gravely substrate, Marvis
Remboldt said, which is a
piece of good news for the
building’s seismic risk.
Their preliminary
return on the second Sat-
urday of August because
COVID-19 infection
rates in Union County are
declining.
The Grassroots Fes-
tival traditionally has been
conducted the second Sat-
urday of August and the
Eastern Oregon Beer Fes-
tival has been held in late
June. The beer festival,
though, was moved to
Aug. 14 this year in the
hope the COVID-19 infec-
tion rate will be lower by
mid-August, said Mary
Ann Miesner, co-chair
of the beer festival, who
noted this would make it
easier to meet social dis-
tancing standards.
The Eastern Oregon
Beer Festival will start at
noon at the Union County
Fairgrounds, La Grande,
when those who pur-
chased VIP passes will be
able to taste all beers. The
event will open to the gen-
eral public at 1 p.m. and
CURBS
Continued from Page 1A
Union and Enterprise last
summer as part of a pilot
project.
Crews put in 150 new
curb ramps in Union alone.
Strandberg said the pilot
project taught lessons the
larger work is applying now
statewide.
“This will help the
work get done faster,” he
said.
The upgrades ODOT
is making are not only
reducing the slope of
ramps, but also adding
texture panels so people
with vision impairments
can detect them with
canes or their feet.
ODOT expects to wrap
up the work in Imbler by
observations mean that
liquefaction — the col-
lapse of the ground that
supports the building due
to earthquake shaking —
is probably not a major
issue, Michael Remboldt
said.
In November, the dis-
trict awarded the engi-
neering contract for the
seismic retrofi t to ZCS
Engineering and Architec-
ture. The Klamath Falls/
Oregon City-based fi rm
has completed seismic ret-
rofi t projects for the Baker
School District and Grant
County School District,
as well as larger gym ret-
rofi ts for schools in Rose-
burg, Klamath Falls and
Toledo, Jones said.
“We awarded the con-
tract to them because
of their experience
with seismic rehabilita-
tion work. They really
understood what needed
to happen,” she said.
“They’ve done more than
any other contractor. And
they’ve done some local
seismic retrofi ts in similar
districts, including Baker
and Imbler.”
“They also have a great
record of being on time
and on budget,” Jones
added. “And they have
done 118 similar retrofi t
projects across the state in
the past fi ve years.”
In addition, ZCS pro-
vided some seismic evalu-
ation information for parts
of the whole facility plan.
The work will be done
using a contract manage-
ment/general contractor
methodology. That means
that the general contrac-
tors work closely with the
engineering fi rm during
the design phase of the
project, Jones said.
Some of the work that is
likely, Jones said, includes
building a new, reinforced
wall in the gym weight
room where the existing
wall, built of a wood por-
tion set on concrete blocks
and not tied together,
is susceptible to failure
during earthquake shaking.
“I was with them when
they did their fi rst walk-
through,” Jones said.
“What they showed me
is that, for example, in
the weight room there’s a
concrete block that wood
beams rest on. There’s
nothing that ties it all
together. So that’s a ‘hinge
point.’ And so in an earth-
quake, that would ‘hinge.’
What they were thinking
about is building another
wall that would be rein-
forced and go all the way
down and all the way
up and be tied into the
existing wall. And they’d
insulate the space in
between, too.”
The grant may be used
for added work.
“Other renovations
funded by the seismic
grant will likely include
the Cougar Dome’s
ceiling, roof and rein-
forcement of walls. But
they are still in the design
phase,” Jones said. “They
will keep the same shape,
and it will be seismically
safe when they are done.”
the end of May. ODOT’s
schedule also calls for 11
curb ramps in La Grande,
43 in Island City and 22 in
Cove. The work in Cove
is set to start in April and
continue through June.
Curb ramp replacement
in La Grande, Elgin and
Island City will begin
in late spring or early
summer and be fi nished
by October, Strandberg
said.
Wildish Construction
Co. of Eugene is the gen-
eral contractor for the
ramp replacement work in
Union County.
ODOT is undertaking
the upgrade work because
of a lawsuit fi led against
it in February 2016 by the
Association of Oregon
Centers for Independent
Living, a statewide orga-
nization promoting acces-
sibility for all Oregonians
who have mobility issues.
Oregon Centers for
Independent Living
claimed in its lawsuit
that many curb ramps in
Oregon did not meet fed-
eral standards.
The organization and
ODOT settled out of
court in November 2016
after the transportation
agency agreed to upgrade
curb ramps on highways
throughout the state.
ODOT has until 2032 to
do this under terms of the
settlement.
Strandberg said
the public response to
the project has been
encouraging.
“People recognize that
it is a positive thing to
do,” he said.
Working with Amy is like working with more
than a partner.
She understands the needs and challenges of the Chamber and
ensures our Members are highlighted and their marketing campaigns
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“
“
Ellen Morris Bishop/For the Wallowa County Chieftain
Geotechnical drillers Michael Remboldt and Marvis Remboldt examine
a core sample they drilled on the west side of the Wallowa High School
Cougar Dome on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. The work is part of the Wal-
lowa School District’s grant-funded $2.3 million project to outfi t the high
school’s Cougar Dome so it can withstand an earthquake.
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BILLS
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last items to come before
the Legislature as law-
makers wait until after a
state revenue forecast in
May.
The requirement to read
bills in full is in the Oregon
constitution, but tradition-
ally it is waived and only
the two- to three-sentence
title of legislation is read out
loud.
It takes two-thirds of the
House — 40 votes — to
override an objection to the
waiver. Democrats have 37
seats.
While the tactic has been
employed in prior sessions
on specifi c pieces of contro-
versial legislation, Drazan
has used it on all bills. The
pace of legislation in the
House has become glacial.
The refusal to allow just
the title to be announced
leads to marathon readings
of bills that take hours.
On March 30, the House
used a computer program to
read the bills in place of the
clerks. First up was a 170-
page bill that changed the
name of the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission to the
Oregon Liquor and Can-
nabis Commission.
Drazan’s statement
on the budget bills is the
fi rst crack in Republicans’
strategy.
Danny Moran,
spokesman for House
Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, said on
March 30 the budget bill
promise would not change
the overall dynamics of
House votes.
THE OBSERVER — 5A
continue to 9 p.m., said
Miesner, who also is a La
Grande city councilor.
A new twist this year
will be an event for those
with VIP passes on Aug.
13. The event and its loca-
tion will be announced
later.
Miesner said three
to four breweries have
already committed to
coming and she is confi -
dent about nine breweries
will be represented, the
same number normally
present at the festival. She
also said the festival will
have other beers in addi-
tion to those from brew-
eries that participate.
“We want to select
beers that are new to
people and showcase
them,” Miesner said.
La Grande Main Street
Downtown once again is
shepherding the Eastern
Oregon Beer Festival.
For additional informa-
tion, call La Grande Main
Street at 541-963-1223 or
Miesner at 541-910-9725.
Features at the Grass-
roots Festival again will
include a car show, a
plastic duck race in Cath-
erine Creek, vendors, live
music, a street dance with
a disc jockey, a library
book and bake sale, and a
citywide yard sale. Bev-
erage said in past years
there have been about 40
yard sales in Union run-
ning in conjunction with
the Grassroots Festival.
All activities at the
Union event will be out-
doors, which Beverage
said will make it much
easier to meet COVID-19
social distancing
guidelines.
The annual Union event
launched about 25 years
ago as Main Street Mad-
ness. It was renamed the
Grassroots Festival about
15 years ago. Beverage
said she is delighted the
event is returning after last
year’s shutdown.
“We are excited to
move forward,” she said.
Anyone who would like
to assist with the event or
serve as a vendor should
email grassroots@eoni.
com or call 541-786-1492.
“House Republican
leadership is still holding
up critical funding for
summer learning, child
care, homeless shelters and
wildfi re recovery,” Moran
said.
Kotek said Monday,
March 29, that the slow-
down could cause a pileup
that would bump up
against the constitutional
clock. March 30 was the
70th day of the 160-day
session that began Jan. 19.
“We do run into the
challenge of getting bills
to the Senate,” Kotek
said Monday. “It gets
complicated.”
The session ran into
problems immediately after
it started in January. The
House recessed because
of security concerns over
Oregon State Police warn-
ings of possible violent
demonstrations timed to
the inauguration of Presi-
dent Joe Biden. No demon-
strations occurred at that
time.
Because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the
Legislature held remote
hearings for much of the
fi rst two months. However,
the constitution requires
that lawmakers come to the
Oregon Capitol for the fi nal
passage of bills.
Two cases of COVID-19
linked to fl oor activity
briefl y shut the House over
the past month.
In response to the slow-
down, Kotek has scheduled
day and evening sessions
for every day this week.
The schedule brings
the lawmakers to the Cap-
itol, which has been closed
since March 2020 because
of the COVID-19 out-
break. The ZIP code where
the Capitol is located has
had the most cases of
COVID-19 in the state.
Both sides blame the
other for having to spend so
much time in the Capitol.
Republicans say too much
time is being spent on bills
that aren’t directly related
to the COVID-19, eco-
nomic slowdown and wild-
fi re relief. An estimated
4,000 pieces of legislation
have been introduced, the
most in a decade.
“That would be too
much in a normal year and
this is not a normal year,”
said Andrew Fromm,
spokesman for the House
Republican Caucus.
Democrats want to
address police reform,
aff ordable housing, envi-
ronmental initiatives, taxes,
health care and gun control,
along with other issues.
They say Republicans are
using a desperate tactic to
force the will of a small
minority onto the majority
who say they were elected
to pass the kind of legisla-
tion on the agenda.
Rep. Rachel Prusak,
D-Tualatin, tweeted on
March 30 the slowdown
was tempting a health
crisis.
“They’re also putting
the health of all legislators,
staff and their families at
risk as we’re still fi ghting
a global pandemic,” she
wrote.
So far, no lawmaker
has tested positive, making
Oregon one of only four
states to have its Legisla-
ture virus-free over the
past 13 months.
Union County will begin their roadside spraying program to control vegeta-
tion and noxious weeds that are encroaching on county 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 herbicides applied near
their property must sign an “Owner Will Maintain” agreement with the county
which must be updated annually. The county will provide signs for the own-
ers 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
Brian Clapp 541-805-5399 or email bclapp@union-county.org.