10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015
Local
Public Arts Commission meets Burnt River
FFA competes
By Gina K. Swartz
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
It is obvious that the
members of the Public
Arts Commission are pas-
sionate about providing
this community with the
enrichment public art can
provide.
The Public Arts Com-
mission is made up of
community volunteers Ann
Mehaffy, Corrine Vegter,
Brian Vegter, Derek Hosler
and Terri Axness.
City Councilman Mack
Augenfeld sits on the
commission as the City
Council representative and
City Manager Mike Kee
represents City staff to
round out the commission.
The Public Arts Commis-
sion was created in April
2014 by City ordinance
3332.
Meetings are public and
community members are
invited and encouraged to
attend any regular sched-
uled meeting, generally
held the first Tuesday of
every month at 5:30 p.m.
at City Hall.
A schedule can be found
at bakercity.com as well as
minutes and agendas from
past meetings.
As the meeting began
the commission looked
over and approved minutes
from the last meeting.
Ann Mehaffy then had
the commission sign thank
you cards to a small group
of citizens who contributed
a total of $300 toward
acquisition of two Alyssa
Peterson paintings that
can be found on display
in the lobby of City Hall.
The thank you cards all
featured artwork from lo-
cal artists.
The commission is cur-
rently working on sev-
eral projects including the
repurposing of the merry-
go-round that was removed
from Geiser-Pollman Park
when the park received a
makeover including new
playground equipment in
May 2014.
Plans include making
the repurposed merry-go-
round into an art piece that
will be a focal point in
Central Park along the Leo
Adler Memorial Parkway
that will ultimately over-
look Resort Street and
Court Plaza.
Two proposals for turn-
ing the merry-go-round
into public art were sub-
mitted to the commission
On February 11, members of the Burnt River Future
Farmers of America (FFA) club traveled to Crane to com-
pete in the annual Leadership Contest.
Ben Kamin placed second in the co-op quiz and will
compete at the State convention March 20-23.
Cody Belveal placed third in the co-op quiz.
The Beginning Parliamentary Procedure Team—Dan-
iel Isenberger, Daniel Andersen, Oscar Heinrich, Shea
Swindlehurst, Syndey Palmer, and Kobe Cantrell—took
third place in that category.
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
L-R Mike Kee, Terri Axness, Mack Augenfeld, Brian Vegter, Ann Mehaffy, and
Derek Hosler.
by Shawn V. Peterson and
Tammy Wisdom.
The commission all
agreed that there were
elements of both proposals
that they liked and oth-
ers that they didn’t think
would work well for the
overall vision the commis-
sion has.
The commission directed
City Manager Mike Kee to
write letters to both of the
artists inviting them to the
next Public Arts Commis-
sion meeting with the goal
being collaboration and in-
corporation of some of the
committee’s ideas as well
to create the art piece.
“There was similar-
ity enough in both of
their submissions that we
thought neither one was
strong its own but the col-
lection of the two is what
we thought worked well,”
Brian Vegter summed up.
Another idea tossed out
was to sell commemorative
boards similar to com-
memorative bricks, on the
seat of the merry-go-round.
On the commemorative
boards families could share
memories or simply note
family member names,
there were a lot of possi-
bilities with this idea.
“That merry-go-round
was in the park for years,
generations. I’m sure many
arms were broken and tons
of memories made on it,”
said Vegter with a smile
bringing validation to the
idea.
The commission moved
forward to discuss another
project they are currently
involved in: The Leo Adler
Parkway expansion proj-
ect.
Michelle Owen, Baker
City Public Works Direc-
tor has secured a grant that
will allow for a project
expanding the current
parkway at Resort Street
and Wade Williams Park.
This expansion will in-
clude a parking lot and the
need for other fixtures.
The Public Arts Com-
mission has been sought
out to help with design
elements for the additional
fixtures such as a trash
receptacle, light post and
bench.
“I still need to get
with Behlen to see what
designs, colors etc. they
can provide,” said City
Manager Kee.
Behlen and Natural
Structures, two local
companies, have been
contacted to provide some
additional input to the
project.
“I think two or three of
us need to go to Natural
Structures and meet with
them, get some quotes,”
Kee added.
A discussion that re-
volved around vandalism
ensued. That discussion
included possible ideas of
designing the bench, for
example, to look somewhat
like it had graffiti already
on it. Tasteful looking graf-
fiti of course.
Kee also explained to
the commission that it
was his understanding that
Behlens had many bright
colors they could utilize
that may deter would be
vandals as well as a finish
that also discouraged graf-
fiti by not allowing foreign
substances much exposure.
The commission also
discussed projects that they
would like to see put into
place in our community in
the future.
One such project is
something that commission
members saw first-hand on
a “field trip to view public
art” to Boise.
Many of Boise’s City
utility boxes have been
“wrapped” with art from
local artists—artists who
are from Boise and sur-
rounding areas or Idaho in
general. The concept is that
any art piece can become
a “wrap,” even sculptures
can have a photograph
taken and be placed on
vinyl to create and show-
case the art and artist. This
unique art form can be eas-
ily utilized to add beauty to
unattractive utility boxes
that are a necessity while
giving the artist and their
work exposure.
City Manager Mike Kee
advised the commission
that it would probably be
a really good idea to begin
development of a master
plan, giving not only the
committee itself but city
council and the community
a good idea what the long
term visions, goals, strate-
gies and intentions include.
“Having a plan in place
is a great way to secure
funding, you can present
your vision to the budget
board and it will make
grant writing a lot easier
and more successful too,”
he said.
The committee has
expressed interest in using
inmates from the prison for
construction purposes on
projects as well.
A luncheon meeting
was discussed and is in
the works to talk with the
coordinator of inmate work
crews about the possibility.
More information regard-
ing that venture should be
available at the next Public
Arts Commission meeting.
Kindergarten screening ahead
The Baker School
District will be conduct-
ing individual assessments
for children planning to
enroll as kindergarten
students in August, 2015.
This screening is offered to
assist parents and teachers
in determining the readi-
ness skills of pre-school
children for kindergarten
entry in the fall. Children
must be 5 years of age by
September 1, 2015, to be
eligible.
The assessment covers
three main areas of child
development: motor skills,
concepts and language.
Children participate for
about 45 minutes, one-
on-one, with an adult in a
variety of activities at four
separate stations. Upon
completion, the coordina-
tor will share the results
with parents and discuss
any potential areas of con-
cern or interest.
Most children who are
currently enrolled in a pre-
school will be screened at
their pre-school.
Children who are NOT en-
rolled in a pre-school will
be screened at the Baker
School District Office,
2090 Fourth Street, Baker
City on April 8th, 9th and
10th between the hours
of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30
p.m. Please contact Ellen
Dentinger at 524-2260 to
schedule an appointment,
allowing 45 minutes to an
hour to include consulta-
tion.
During the assessment,
parents will be asked to
pre-register their child to
assist the school district
in planning for the next
school year. The child's
birth certificate (or a copy)
will be recorded at that
time. Other pre-registration
forms and information will
also be available.
Even if the child is
unable to participate in
the actual screening, it is
important to complete the
pre-registration portion
at the District Office and
have a copy of the birth
certificate made. All stu-
dents will, however, need
to be officially registered
in August with an updated
immunization record.
Screening Details.
The Developmental
Indicators for the Assess-
ment of Learning (DIAL-
3) is given each spring to
assist parents and teachers
in determining the readi-
ness skills of pre-school
children for kindergarten
entry in the fall. Children
must be 5 years of age by
September 1, 2015, to be
eligible.
The (DIAL-3) assess-
ment covers three main
areas of development: mo-
tor skills, concepts and lan-
guage. Children participate
one-on-one with an adult
in a variety of activities
at three separate stations.
Upon completion (approxi-
mately 45 minutes time)
the coordinator will share
the results with parents and
discuss any potential areas
of concern or interest.
Parents also will be asked
to pre-register their child at
this time to assist District
5J in planning for the next
school year. We will need
the child's birth certificate
(or a copy). Pre-registra-
tion forms will be avail-
able at the screening.
It is important to register
your child at the District
Office if your child is
unable to participate in
the actual screening or if
you have not completed
a pre-registration form at
the local daycare or pre-
school where your child is
enrolled.
Dates.
Wednesday, April 8th,
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 9th,
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 10th, 8:30
a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Please call Ellen
Dentinger at 524-2260 for
an appointment. Screen-
ing are held at the Baker
School District Office
OTEC conducts
member survey
OTEC contracted with Northwest based DHM (Davis,
Hibbitts, & Midghall, Inc.) Research to perform a formal
member survey. The member survey took place in early
February and randomly sampled members from the four
counties within OTEC’s service territory (Baker, Grant,
Harney and Union).
Overall feedback was positive with a majority of those
members surveyed selecting electric as being the highest
value utility. Members also gave high marks for reliabil-
ity, response time to outages, and helpful and knowledge-
able employees.
“We are constantly looking for and encouraging feed-
back from our member-owners, this survey is one of the
tools we utilize to ensure we are delivering the electrical
service that our members want to pay for,” said OTEC’s
General Manager Werner Buehler. “One of the great
things about the co-op business model is local democratic
control. OTEC members elect the Board of Directors
from our membership to set policies and make decisions
for our electric co-op.”
Top 5 highlights from the survey include:
• Members feel that electricity is the utility that pro-
vides the best value for the money.
• Members gave OTEC’s Board of Directors high
marks for transparent leadership.
• A majority would like OTEC to be at the table during
economic development discussions, though there is little
support to raise rates to fund development efforts.
• While members have heard of OTEC’s energy ef-
ficiency programs, a majority did not want their rates to
increase to expand Energy Efficiency (EE) programs
• The majority of members are not interested in a com-
munity solar project, with a minority interested if the
project would provide a return on their investments.
Each year OTEC’s annual meeting takes place in one
of the four counties we serve. Members elect 3 of the 9
Board of Director positions and hear from OTEC staff
and Board of Directors on the state of their electronic
co-op. Ballots will be mailed to all members in April.
Voting is done by mail or can be delivered in person at
the annual meeting.
OTEC’s annual meeting will be held in John Day at
the John Day County Fairgrounds, 411 Northwest Bridge
Street, on Saturday, May 2, 2015. All members are in-
vited to attend.
Prescribe burn
areas listed
Areas targeted for USFA prescribed spring burning
have been announced.
Whitman Ranger District (WRD) – (Baker, Halfway,
and Unity). The WRD plans to conduct prescribed burn-
ing on 5,000 acres this spring, which may include:
• Foothills (250 acres) - in the Baker City Watershed 3
mile west of Baker City ,OR
• Deer and Union Miners (800 acres) - in the Sumpter
Valley
• Dry Creek and Barnard (800 acres) - in the Pine Valley
near Halfway, OR
• Mile 9(700 acres) – 5 miles west of Unity, OR
• Moonshine (450 acres) - 12 miles south of Baker City,
OR
• Goose (1200 acres) - 6 miles northwest of Sparta, OR
• Sundry (1400) - Mill Cr./Cornet Cr./Pine Cr.-16 miles
south of Baker City
• Pine Valley (500 acres) 7 miles northwest of Halfway,
OR
The Wallowa Fire Zone (WFZ) - (Wallowa Valley
Ranger District, Hells Canyon NRA and Eagle Cap
Ranger District). The WFZ plans to conduct prescribed
burning of up to 3,000 acres this spring:
• Spooner (900 acres) - Harl Butte area.
• Muddy Sled (750 acres) - 20 miles north of Enterprise,
OR
• Chesnimnus RMEF (750 acres) - Zumwalt Prairie 18
miles NE of Enterprise, OR
• Arroz (500 acres) - 24 miles NE of Enterprise in the
Summit Ridge Area.
• B-Vine (1200 acres) - North east of Enterprise near
Billy Meadows
The Grande Ronde Fire Zone (GRFZ) – (La Grande
Ranger District). The GRFZ plans to conduct prescribed
burning on up to 900 acres this spring:
• Rooster (300 acres) – 20 miles southwest of La Grande,
OR
• Blue Fly (400 acres) – Tony Vey Meadows 18 miles
southwest of La Grande, OR
• Bird Track(1100 acres) - Grand Ronde River 11 miles
west of La Grande, OR.