Page 12A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Saturday, May 6, 2017
FRITSCH: Has been an
assistant superintendent
for the past six years
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Dion Fry, with All Wall out of Post Falls, Idaho,
cuts framing for a wall while working on the new
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center on Friday in Mission.
Jason Terry, senior project manager with Kirby
Nagelhout Construction Co., talks about the design
features in a dental exam room with a tour group.
YELLOWHAWK: Serves more than 3,200 tribal members
Continued from 1A
way through net-zero certi-
fication.
Nelmes said the tribes
reached out to Energy Trust
even before they hired an
architect to build Yellow-
hawk. From there, the team
played around with different
models and climate condi-
tions to come up with a plan
that fit their energy saving
goals.
“It’s interesting where
energy efficiency takes you,”
Nelmes said.
The tribes already have
a long working relationship
with Energy Trust on a
net-zero initiative at Tamást-
slikt Cultural Institute,
which started in 2003 and
has expanded to include
multiple solar carports in the
parking lot and a small wind
turbine across from the front
entrance.
Energy Trust is there
to provide assistance, and
Nelmes said the CTUIR has
participated at just about
every level.
“They are looking for
ways to set the bar for future
development,” she said.
“We’ll be there to support
them, that’s for sure.”
Carrie Sampson, assistant
administrator for Yellow-
hawk, said the new building
will be roughly double
the size of their current
facility. The extra space
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center assistant administrator Carrie Sampson touches
the rubber-like weather coating on a wall at the new Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center on Friday in Mission.
will allow the clinic to add
services such as audiology,
optometry, physical therapy
and alternative therapies
like acupuncture all under
one roof. The current clinic
offers a wide range of health
services, from dentistry to
sports physicals, eye care,
lab tests and counseling.
Yellowhawk serves more
than 3,200 tribal members,
Sampson said, and they are
striving to build the best
tribal health clinic in the
country. Energy efficiency is
part of that equation, which
she said relates directly to
tribal values.
“We
highly
value
protecting
our
natural
resources and protecting
the Earth,” Sampson said.
“That’s really where our
values lie.”
Construction on Yellow-
hawk broke ground in August
2016, and the $26.3 million
building is slated to open
sometime in November.
Jeremy
Wolf,
vice
chairman of the CTUIR
Board of Trustees, attended
Friday’s tour and said Path
to Net-Zero is something
the tribes are interested in
incorporating into future
developments.
“We
are
constantly
striving to protect, preserve
and enhance our environ-
ment and our people,” Wolf
said. “This sort of project
will assist us in that.”
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
SCHOOL: District raised $33.4 million for the project
U.S. military member killed in
Somalia, first death since 1993
Continued from 1A
said. “You wonder if it’s really true.”
The donation came with a catch —
the district needed to pass a bond in
order to have access to the foundation’s
money.
Although the community hadn’t
passed a bond since 1982 and had seen
multiple measures fail on the ballot
since then, Milton-Freewater passed the
bond with 78 percent support.
“It’s rare that you can get it above 50
percent,” he said.
Combining the money from the
$12.5 million bond, the Valley Foun-
dation funding, a state grant and a
lucrative bond sale, the district was able
to raise $33.4 million.
That money not only goes to Gib
Olinger’s K-3 facility, but also the demo-
lition of Grove Elementary School, a
new sports complex in its place and
capital improvements at McLoughlin
High School, Central Middle School
and Ferndale Elementary School.
InterMountain Education Service
District superintendent Mark Mulvihill
said aging infrastructure with a growing
backlog of maintenance is the norm
for many school districts, but what
Milton-Freewater did by voting for the
bond would have the biggest impact on
its kids.
“The experience they’re going to
have is going to be unbelievable,” he
said.
Clark gestured to the abandoned
pea cannery in the background, which
would be demolished to make way for
the primary school.
The old building was once the top
producing pea cannery in the world,
which allowed the board
to select a slate of finalists
who were all central-office
administrators.
When it came time to
choose the top candidate,
McBee said it was a tough
decision — the board
deliberated for more than
an hour behind closed doors
Wednesday night after inter-
viewing the finalists and met
again for another 40 minutes
Thursday morning before
coming to a consensus.
During the board’s
internal discussions, McBee
said they zeroed in on Fritsch
and Wagner, a charismatic
administrator from Central
Minnesota who helped
coordinate an aggressive
advertising campaign to
reverse a declining enroll-
ment trend in Kimball,
but Fritsch’s experience in
human resources, finance,
facilities and more put him
over the top.
“He’s kind of done it all
and he brings it all to the
table,” she said.
Fritsch was the only
finalist from a school district
larger than Pendleton’s —
the 6,500-student Longview
Public Schools system in
southwestern Washington.
“Every child who steps
through our doors deserves
no less than the opportunity
and our best effort to learn
the knowledge, skills, and
develop the abilities that
will allow them to follow
their dreams and career
pursuits,” Fritsch said in a
statement.
“The challenges we face
as a public school system
are many and growing,” he
continued. “However, the
good news is that caring and
highly skilled staff receiving
support and inspiration can
and do make a difference in
the lives of the children we
serve.”
In an interview, Fritsch
said Pendleton was a smaller
district with strong commu-
nity support, which was the
situation he was looking for
during his job search.
Fritsch is a veteran of
the superintendent search
circuit, having been named
a finalist in several school
districts in Washington over
the past few years, according
to newspaper reports.
But Fritsch said he
believes everything happens
for a reason and he’s happy
with his selection.
“We felt like we’ve
landed in a special place,”
he said.
Fritsch was a social
studies teacher for 15 years,
serving stints as a football
and wrestling coach before
he became a Longview
administrator. Six years as
a high school principal and
three years as the executive
director of leadership and
learning preceded his hiring
as assistant superintendent,
a job he has had since 2011.
Fritsch holds a bachelor’s
degree in social sciences
and legal study from Pacific
Lutheran University in
Tacoma, Washington, and
a master’s degree in school
administration from Port-
land State University.
Fritsch’s hiring will be
made official at a school
board meeting Monday
when the board will formally
offer him the job, which he
is expected to accept.
McBee said the district’s
tentative offer is a $135,500
yearly salary, not including a
standard benefit’s package.
In comparison, Kovach
earned $127,500 while his
predecessor, Jon Peterson,
received $128,215 in his last
year before retirement.
Two fringe benefits
Fritsch won’t take advan-
tage of are reimbursements
for cell phone use and travel
costs. He said forgoing those
benefits has been a personal
philosophy throughout his
career, one he plans to bring
to Pendleton.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
InterMountain Education Service District superintendent Mark Mulvi-
hill speaks during a ground breaking ceremony for the new Gib Olinger
Elementary School on Friday in Milton-Freewater.
Clark said, but he was lowering expec-
tations for Ami Muilenburg, who will
be Gib Olinger’s first principal when it
opens in 2018.
“Not to put pressure on Ami, but I’ll
settle for the best school in the United
States,” he quipped.
Clark said the Gib Olinger’s
construction was a part of a larger surge
of forward momentum that included
growing enrollment in the school
district, fuller storefronts in town and
help wanted signs in business windows.
Among the last group of people to
ceremonially till the earth before chil-
dren descended on the shovels to play
in the dirt, Barbara Olinger shared some
LET US MEAT
YOUR NEEDS
memories of her father Gib, who passed
away in 1999.
A member of the 1939 University of
Oregon “Tall Firs” championship team,
Barbara said her father was a prominent
Milton-Freewater business owner,
school board member and volunteer
who offered a helping hand to anyone
but avoided taking credit for his good
deeds.
As far as naming a school after him?
Olinger says: “My father is looking
down from heaven, saying, ‘They
didn’t have to do that.’”
———
Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A U.S. service member
has been killed in Somalia during an operation against the
extremist group al-Shabab — the first U.S. combat death
there in more than two decades — as the United States
steps up its fight against the al-Qaida-linked organization in
a country that remains largely chaos.
“We do not believe there has been a case where a U.S.
service member has been killed in combat action in Somalia
since the incident there in 1993,” U.S. Africa Command
spokesman Patrick Barnes said Friday. The United States
pulled out of Somalia after that incident in which two
helicopters were shot down in the capital, Mogadishu, and
bodies of Americans were dragged through the streets.
In a statement, the U.S. Africa Command said the service
member was killed Thursday during the operation about 40
miles west of Mogadishu. Two other service members were
wounded, the Pentagon said.
A Somali intelligence official said U.S. forces killed
at least six people during the raid on a building housing
al-Shabab’s Andalus radio station at a farm near Dare
Salaam village. The official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the
media, said the dead included al-Shabab journalists.
LUNCH AND LEARN:
STEPS TO SUCCESS
Bring your lunch and learn about the importance of how a walking
routine can improve your health. FREE.
Wednesday, May 17 • 12:00-12:30pm
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR THE
CAREGIVER:
Learn how to reduce stress and relax, communicate effectively,
reduce guilt and anger, make tough decisions, set
goals and problem solve. FREE.
6 weekly classes
Tuesdays • 6:00 - 8:00pm
May 16 through June 20
Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509
DIABETES LIVING WELL:
BETTER CHOICES, BETTER HEALTH
Do you want to know more about your diabetes and learn ways to
better manage it? This class will assist you with learning about
diabetes and its effect on your mind and body.
6 weekly classes
Starting May 17 • 3-5pm
Must pre-register, call 541-667-3509
SCREEN-FREE WEEK
Rediscover the joys of life beyond the screen! Plan to unplug
from digital entertainment and spend all that free time playing,
daydreaming, creating, exploring and connecting with family and
friends!
Bike ride/walk, garden planting event:
Good Shepherd
Thursday, May 11 • 6pm
BBQ season in fast approaching. Call today
to order your X-tra thick steaks for grilling!
If you order in time you can even have them
for the weekends!
541.567.2011
253 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston
registration starts at 5:30
For additional info, call 541-667-3509
Information or to register
call (541) 667-3509
or email
healthinfo@gshealth.org
www.gshealth.org