Northwest labor press., April 18, 2014, Page 10, Image 10

Union apprentices and journeymen from Iron Workers Local 29 donated about 1,000 work-
hours constructing a baseball hitting/practice facility adjacent to Matile Field at Oregon City
High School. In the photo right, apprentices Morgan Meek, Doug Ginnett and Olivia Schaffer
measure and cut a piece of metal sheeting for the exterior wall. In the photo above, Keith
Kennedy (orange sweatshirt) helps them position and secure the piece. In the photo below,
Apprenticeship Instructor Kirk Bearden (kneeling) shows Adonis Mott and Anna Bromley how
to install a corner piece. The facility should be ready for practice next month.
A
Iron Workers
Step Up to
the Plate in
Oregon City
pprentices and journeymen mem-
bers of Iron Workers Local 29
stepped up to the plate big-time in Ore-
gon City, donating nearly 1,000 work-
hours to construct an 80x160-square-foot
pre-engineered metal building that will
be used as an indoor hitting/practice fa-
cility for the high school and youth base-
ball programs.
“So many wonderful people have
stepped up to the plate. We can now see the light at the end of the
tunnel,” said Oregon City High School baseball coach Greg Lord.
“And the ironworkers have been just great. What a great group of
people.”
The indoor practice facility has been a dream in Oregon City
going on 20 years. Lord and other baseball faithful have pounded
the pavement in search of in-kind donations of cash and labor.
Last year, a major donation boosted momentum, taking it to the
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
$440,000 mark.
“But when it came to the building itself, we were somewhat
perplexed how to do it,” Lord said.
It just so happened that Local 29 Apprenticeship Instruction
Kirk Bearden, a 20-year union member, lived in the area and was
active as a coach in Oregon City’s Junior Baseball Organization.
“Kirk said he might be able to help,” Lord told the Labor Press.
Structural steel building construction is part of the Iron Work-
ers apprenticeship training program. Bearden saw it not only as an
opportunity for the union to give back to the community, but also
as a teaching opportunity for his apprentices. Arrangements were
made, and for the last several months Bearden has brought his
first-, second-, third- and fourth-year apprenticeship classes out to
the ballfield to work on the project. [Two apprentices, Adonis
Mott and Miguel Meza, are Oregon City High School alumni.]
All of the hours apprentices log goes toward completion to jour-
ney-level status. Bearden said some journeymen Iron Workers got
wind of the project and also have come out on their Saturdays off
to help do some of the more difficult work.
“Labors of love — learning and giving back to the community
at the same time; we teach our players the same thing,” Lord said.
When complete, the Iron Workers will have donated more than
1,000 hours of work valued at more than $30,000.
The indoor practice facility — located on the high school cam-
pus, north of and adjacent to Matile Field — will be one of the
largest in the state. It will house four 70-foot netted hitting tunnels
with space for pitching mounds and other drill work. And it will
be open for use by the entire community, not just the high school.
“We were the only team in the Three Rivers League without an
indoor hitting facility,” Lord said. “Now we’re going to have one
of the best facilities around.”
Lord says that businesses and individuals who still wish to do-
nate materials, labor or money to complete the project may do so
by contacting him at 503-880-5377.
APRIL 18, 2014