10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015
Local
Sumpter Valley Railroad
seeks more volunteers
Brooklyn gets
new bus zone
• ALL AGES
WELCOMED AT
RECENT SVRR
OPEN HOUSE
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
“It’s a millionaire’s
hobby, but here’s an op-
portunity to do it for free,”
said John Franklin, new
volunteer for the Sumpter
Valley Railroad. And,
after all, where else could
you start volunteering and
potentially be taught the
skills to drive a steam-
powered locomotive?
The Sumpter Valley
Railroad is looking to re-
cruit volunteers to support
its mission of maintaining
and demonstrating the
narrow-gauge railroad.
Not that aspiring to drive
the train is a require-
ment. There are available
volunteer opportunities
in everything from fixing
track to woodworking to
painting to administrative
support.
A group of volunteers
set out to restore the
Sumpter Valley Railroad
beginning in 1971. They
labored to rebuild portions
of the railroad, obtain loco-
motives and train cars, and
find donations to sustain
the work.
A ribbon-cutting ceremo-
ny was held July 4, 1976,
with the railroad operating
on several thousand feet of
track for a few years.
The track reached
Sumpter from McEwen in
1991.
Volunteer restoration
efforts and maintenance
continue.
The Railroad offered
an Open House event on
Saturday, June 13th to give
persons interested in vol-
unteering a tour and ride
on the train.
As Dan Robirds, volun-
teer and railroad aficionado
who led Saturday’s tour
put it, “We’re looking
for the next generation to
take over, whether that’s
Tesla
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
ADK Electric, as a sub-
contractor for the Kansas-
based global engineering,
consulting and construc-
tion company Black &
Veatch that partners with
Tesla, handles the com-
plete construction of the
projects, from pouring
the concrete curbs to the
finishing touches.
Bryce Sarkinen, an elec-
trician for ADK Electric,
is part of the crew recently
working on the project
in Baker City. Sarkinen
said, “We did six or seven
(Supercharger projects)
along I5, north and south.
Some are smaller, with six
chargers. This is one of
the bigger ones, so, this
will charge eight cars at
one time.”
Sarkinen said each Su-
percharger provides about
200 amps of direct charg-
ing current, which will
allow owners of Tesla’s
Model S sedan to replen-
ish half their battery in as
little as 20 minutes. In as
little as 30 minutes, they
could have enough charge
for 180 miles of driving
Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press
Volunteer Daniel Bentz refills the locomotive with water.
Brian Addison / The Baker County Press
retirees or young people.”
Robirds said the biggest
single donation to the rail-
road each year is volunteer
labor with 150 to 200
hours per week during the
summer. He said the rail-
road could easily absorb
three times that amount.
Volunteers come in all
ages.
Robirds said the young-
est volunteer is not quite
two. “He smiles a lot and
entertains people. He
can’t wait until he gets big
enough to do more.”
Other volunteers are in
their 80s.
Daniel Bentz, Saturday’s
fireman-in-training, is 19
and has been volunteer-
ing since he was 16. He
started volunteering with
his dad until he was old
enough to come on his
own at 18.
Robirds said that
women are able to handle
any of the same jobs as
the men. There is no
gender distinction in roles.
Robirds said that they are
aware of safety for all
volunteers, whether young
or old. Families with chil-
dren can also find a place
to volunteer. Robirds said,
“We’ll be creative and find
them something to do,
within safety and common
range, and in less than an
hour, the battery could be
fully charged (the range
for a Model S is 240 to 265
miles).
The next Supercharger
station traveling west
is located in Pendleton,
at the Wildhorse Resort
and Casino, a distance of
less than 100 miles from
Baker City. After that, The
Dalles has one, resulting in
complete coverage for I84.
The Woodburn, Springfield
and Grants Pass stations
provide complete coverage
for I-5. Later this year,
Tesla plans to construct a
station in Boise, Idaho, a
distance of 127 miles from
Baker City. The Super-
charger station in Baker
City will be displayed on
a national map of stations,
viewable with Google
Maps on the Model S’s 17”
touchscreen.
Sarkinen said that the
structure for the incom-
ing electrical supply will
be enclosed and finished
to match the look of the
hotel and restaurant build-
ings, and the eight upright
supports will receive
sleeves with the Tesla
name printed on them,
somewhat mimicking the
look of a gas pump. The
user can view the status of
sense guidelines.”
Robirds explained the
main role of the operation
is, of course, maintain-
ing and running the train.
Opportunities here include
acting as conductor and
visiting with passengers,
assisting at the depot,
learning the operation of
the train (starting out as
a brakeman), and helping
with ongoing maintenance.
For example, the Heisman
wood-burning locomotive
just finished undergoing
routine maintenance and
passed her federal inspec-
tion. After the Heisman is
reassembled, the Mikado
engine 20 will go into the
shop.
There are volunteer
opportunities during the
week for those who can-
not commit to weekends.
These might include fixing
track, splitting wood for
when the Heisman engine
is running, helping with
administrative support, or
painting. Robirds men-
tioned the possibility of
helping with cataloging
and organizing the railroad
archives.
There is also a group
that does woodworking to
restore some of the old and
deteriorated cars owned by
the railroad. Franklin said
this opportunity appealed
to him as he is often on
call, which limits his abil-
ity to commit to volunteer-
ing on the train.
He said it’s nice to be
able to come down and
work on someone else’s
project for a while.
Eric Wunz, Saturday’s
engineer, said, “There’s
sure a lot of work to do
and we would like to have
some help with it.”
He emphasized that no
experience is necessary,
just willingness and ability
to learn.
Bentz said, “It’s a lot of
fun. Come do it!”
Wunz was quick to
add, “It’s fun, but it’s a
challenge.” He said that
sometimes the equipment
breaks five minutes before
the train is due to leave and
they might be doing good
to get it repaired somehow
and pull out just five min-
utes behind schedule.
Interested potential
volunteers can contact
Linda Raney at 541-894-
2268 (McEwen Depot) or
503-949-1328.
Much information on
the history of the railroad,
membership and volunteer-
ing, and train schedules is
available at sumptervalley-
railway.org.
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
This Tesla charging station, shown here in the early
stages of construction, will soon open in the parking
area outside the Sunridge Inn.
the battery at the charg-
ing connection (which
connects directly to the
battery), or with a cell
phone application, while
eating, shopping, etc. The
property where the station
is located is owned by Carl
and Sheila Town of Baker
City.
Owners of a Model S
also have the capability to
charge their vehicle using
other methods. One is the
Mobile Connector, which
can use either a 120-volt
outlet or a 240-volt outlet,
at the rate of about 29
miles of range per hour of
charging time in a normal
outlet. Another option is
the Wall Connector, which
is installed on a 240-volt
circuit, providing about
58 miles of range per hour
of charging time. This is
the fastest home charging
method.
Contractors JD Stevenson, Richard O’ Connell, and
5J Transportation Supervisor Wayne Paxton take
out the old sidewalk at the Brooklyn Elementary
entrance in preparation for a new sidewalk and bus
loading and drop zone.
• NEW MODULARS TO GO IN AT
BROOKLYN, HAINES SCHOOLS
BY BRIAN ADDISON
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Brooklyn Elementary continues to be a work in
progress as Baker School District 5J maintenance crews
take on a couple new construction projects this sum-
mer. Brooklyn’s main Washington Street entrance has
undergone a major improvement with a newly installed
bus loading and drop zone, a new sidewalk, and newly
planted trees. And, the Brooklyn playground shrinks
again slightly with the installation of another modular
building.
The curb, sidewalk, and the large trees on the south-side
of the Brooklyn Elementary School building have been
removed to accommodate a new 10-foot wide sidewalk
and a nine-foot wide bus loading and drop zone, accord-
ing to Wayne Paxton, Transportation Supervisor for the
Baker 5J School District.
Paxton has been working on the development of the
project for several years and said that the cost of the work
runs about $40,000. The project is funded by the school
district with a little help from a sidewalk grant from City
of Baker City in amount $1,750.
The three large trees that were removed had become
a safety concern and the roots were also pushing up and
damaging the sidewalk, Paxton said. The plan calls for
the planting of three of four new trees.
The project does away with the muddy area at the en-
trance to the gymnasium and also allows students to wait
for buses from within the safety of the gymnasium.
“It’s a pretty good little project to help improve safety
and the front of the building. Nothing has been done for
at least 15 years and when that work was done they built
the sidewalk around the root-wads,” Paxton said.
JD Stevenson contracted to do the excavation work with
sub-contractor O‘ Connell Excavating, Rogers Asphalt/
Kevin Hampton the asphalt, and Tri-County Concrete do-
ing the concrete work.
While the contract work was underway on Brooklyn’s
south-side, school district maintenance crew-members
began preparations on the west side for the installation of
another modular building.
While the previous three modular buildings were pur-
chased as used by the school district for $58,000 a piece,
the fourth building is brand new and carries a price tag
of $100,000, according to Dan Srack, 5J Maintenance
Director.
Srack expects the new modular at Brooklyn, and an-
other at Haines Elementary School, to be installed during
the first part of July. “The buildings will both be delivered
on the same date, July 2nd, and should take about 10 days
to install,” Srack said.
The maintenance crew, on June 15, were preparing to
move playground equipment and removing wood chips
and soil to expose hookups to the already existing utility
lines. The installation of the new modular eliminates
another approximate 50-foot by 70-foot section of the
playground.
“All the plumbing and power and water utilities are
already in place at Brooklyn and at Haines. We just need
to expose the hookups. Then we’ll haul in and compact
dirt to set the modular on,” Srack said.
This fourth modular building installation has been un-
dertaken to accommodate full-day Kindergarten sched-
uled to begin at Brooklyn Elementary the 2015-16 school
year, Srack explained. “There are 400 kids expected to be
attending Brooklyn next year,” he said.
The new modular building being installed at Haines
Elementary will set north of the existing modular just off
the teacher’s parking lot and near the handicapped ramp.
Other projects planned this summer on the Brooklyn
grounds includes installation of a new irrigation system,
more fencing, and a new gate on the north side of the
building accessing the teacher’s parking area.