A8
NEWS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Wallowa School Board gets recommendations for renovations
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Wallowa School Dis-
trict is one step closer to ren-
ovating its school build-
ings. On Monday night the
district’s board of directors
learned which repairs and
remodeling projects were
recommended by Pivot, their
Technical Assistance Pro-
gram (TAP) consultant team.
Replacement of aging,
balky heating systems and
improved, ADA handicapped
accessibility were among the
top recommendations.
The Pivot team will have
cost estimates prepared
within the next few weeks,
according to John Stapleton,
a partner and architect with
Pivot.
The Pivot team produced
these
recommendations
after listening to community
members, students, teachers
and staff, and also conduct-
ing engineering assessments
of school conditions.
The
recommendations
focused separately on each
building on the campus. The
board will begin the process
of deciding which to under-
take once Pivot has pro-
vided cost estimates, and the
board has had the opportu-
nity to listen to community
opinions and concerns. Pivot
architect John Stapleton pre-
sented the fi ndings.
Recommendations for the
Cougar Dome gym included
constructing a 2,500-square-
foot addition to the north end
of the building to provide
Wallowa School District
continues search for
new superintendent
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
On July 1, 2018, when
Jay Hummel stepped into
the job as Interim School
Superintendent of the Wal-
lowa School District, he
brought 40 years of expe-
rience and a love of rural
communities with him. At
the end of June, Hummel
will step aside after serving
two years as the Interim
superintendent.
The Wallowa School
Board has been look-
ing long and hard for a
worthy successor. In the
past weeks, they inter-
viewed three applicants,
all of whom were famil-
iar with eastern Oregon
and rural schools, accord-
ing to school board chair-
man Woody Wolfe. But
none of those applicants
had the background, expe-
rience or other factors that
the board deemed essential
for the job.
“We are going to have
to start the search process
over again,” said board
member Matt Howard.
“This is why we started
the application and inter-
view process early. Now
we have time for a second
round.”
T h e
board will
re-adver-
tise
the
position,
with the
intention
Jay Hummel
of inter-
viewing
more applicants in late
February or early March.
Hummel’s all-too-brief
tenure has included guiding
the school district through
the beginning of a signif-
icant upgrade to its facili-
ties, hiring three new teach-
ers that he deems excellent
additions to an already top-
notch staff, and of course,
working with the school
board as they search for a
permanent hire.
He plans to return to his
home in the Treasure Val-
ley, Idaho, where his wife
of 40 years, Beth, works
in veterinary management,
and his son, a veterinarian,
runs his own clinic. Hum-
mel has deep roots in the
educational
community
there after working as a top
administrator in the Kuna,
Idaho schools, as well as
teaching and coaching in
the area.
“I’m sure I’ll fi nd some-
thing to do,” he said. “I
won’t be bored.”
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new locker rooms and a place
to house Cougar teams and
equipment. Existing locker
rooms would be converted
into facilities maintenance
and storage space. Other rec-
ommended
modifi cations
included constructing two
new handicapped-accessible
restrooms, building a new,
more weatherproof entry-
way, providing more outdoor
lighting on the walkway to
Highway 82, and construct-
ing an ADA-compliant hall-
way and ramp to connect the
gym with the high school
building.
The board has applied for
a grant to seismically ret-
rofi t the Cougar Dome. If
awarded, the funds might
partly, but would not fully,
cover the renovations.
Recommended
repairs
and upgrades to the high
school building included
installing a new heating (and
possibly cooling) system,
providing a more secure
entryway and an elevator
for ADA-compliant access
to all fl oors of the building
and renovating restrooms to
be ADA-compliant. Options
to make the school more
student-friendly
included
renovating the library and
Cougar Den into a Student
Learning Center. Science
labs also need renovation
and updating.
In the elementary school,
recommendations
also
included providing a secure
entryway along with a new
heating system, replacing
water and wastewater pip-
ing, replacing lighting and
modifying a portion of the
playground into an outdoor
learning commons.
“The building should
have a secure vestibule, but
you should be able to lock it
down during the day when
there are classes,” Stapleton
said.
Pivot noted that in the
“block” building, which
houses the shop, welding, ag
and music areas, windows
are failing, and again, the
heating system needs to be
replaced.
“Given the likely cost of
repairs, you might be wise to
take the building down and
build a new one,” Stapleton
said.
Schools across Oregon
are undertaking similar eval-
uations with funding under
the TAP program. Other
grants, including up to $2.5
million for seismic retrofi ts,
and Oregon School Capital
Improvement Matching Pro-
gram (OSCIM) funds match
bonds for school repairs that
are passed by communities.
The Wallowa School Dis-
trict Board is considering
placing a bond on the May
2021 ballot. But they intend
to share and discuss the bevy
of choices with the com-
munity before making any
decisions.
“We have a long way to
go and a lot to consider,” said
board member Polly DeVore.
“We will want to thoroughly
understand what the school
needs and what the commu-
nity will support.”
Wallowa, Joseph students will head to Baja for Rotary project
By Katherine Stickroth
For the Chieftain
Seven students from
Wallowa and Joseph high
schools, as members of their
Interact clubs, will be trav-
eling to the southern tip of
Baja California, Mexico, in
April. They will be staying
with host families and vol-
unteering to distribute water
purifi cation fi lters in rural
villages and helping to paint
a school building.
Interact clubs are high-
school service clubs advised
by local Rotary clubs. The
Wallowa Interactors were
organized in 2009; the
Joseph club was established
last year. These two groups
are the only Interact clubs in
eastern Oregon.
Joseph students Cather-
ine Zeigler, Piper Larison,
Brad Wilcox and Emma
Alfert will join Ella Moeller,
Shanna Rae Tillery and
Ashlyn Young from Wal-
lowa on the trip. Alfert is
Rotary’s Interact Exchange
student from Germany this
year. They will be accom-
panied by chaperones Dani
Weaver, Jennifer Olson and
Dustin Larson.
“Interact’s goal is to have
two service projects during
each school year, one local
and the other international,”
said Chuck Anderson,
Rotary Interact adviser for
both clubs.
Katherine Stickroth
Rotary member and Interact club leader Chuck Anderson talks
with Wallowa High School students about the work needed in
Baja, Mexico.
The major community
project for Wallowa Interact
each year is to produce the
Wallowa Children’s Christ-
mas bazaar, where elemen-
tary school youngsters who
can’t afford retail price for
gifts for their family mem-
bers get to shop for presents
for pennies on the dollar.
“Each year, our members
solicit gift items from stores
in Wallowa and Union coun-
ties,” Anderson said. “This
year’s bazaar was a bigger
success than ever. Stores
donated several thousands
of dollars’ worth of gift
items. It was an amazing
expression of generosity.”
“Asking for donations
was educational for our club
members, teenagers who
can be shy about asking
strangers. They did it, and
the endeavor was a great
success.”
The April service proj-
ect in Mexico originated
with Rotarian Chris Geyer,
a part-time Wallowa Coun-
tian who lives in Baja in
winter.
“Chris lives half time
in Mexico and attends our
meetings when he lives in
Wallowa County during
the summer. He suggested
that students from our Inter-
act clubs come to his home-
town for our international
project.”
Geyer will meet the vol-
unteers at Los Cabos airport
with his local Rotary Club
and Interact Club members.
They will travel a short dis-
tance to Los Barilles, where
the students will meet their
host families.
“Surrounding
villages
do not have utilities. Our
group will deliver water fi l-
ters to clean available water
for drinking and cooking,”
Anderson described. “A sec-
ond project will be helping
local Interactors with paint-
ing a local school building.”
The trip will include
some fun activities such as
shopping and beach time at
a nearby coral reef park.
In preparation for the
trip, students are practicing
conversational Spanish and
reviewing maps of the area.
Moeller said she looks
forward to the service proj-
ects while Tillery will enjoy
being around different
people.
“Traveling to experi-
ence the world will be fun,”
added Young, the Wallowa
club’s president. “It’s easy
to take our Wallowa County
lifestyle for granted. To be
in an unfamiliar culture will
be exciting.”
Funds for the travelers
were raised at the Christmas
bazaar, plus donations from
the Rotary Club and gen-
erous individual donations
from local Rotary members.
While saying they are
excited about the upcoming
trip, the Interact members
plan future projects. “What
I like best about Interact are
the opportunities to give
back to our community,”
Young said.
Wallowa Fire nets $2,000 at steak and oyster fundraiser
Steak, oysters
drew hundreds
By Bill Bradshaw
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Wallowa Rural Fire
Protection District netted
about $2,000 from its annual
steak and oyster feed Satur-
day, Feb. 8, Fire Chief Gary
Hulse said Monday. The
event is a traditional annual
affair in Wallowa.
Hulse said about 220 peo-
ple turned out for the after-
noon/evening event at the
Wallowa Senior Center. In
addition to members of the
public, representatives from
all fi refi ghting units in Wal-
lowa County showed up.
Hulse said the event is the
only fundraiser the depart-
ment holds each year. The
event brought in a total of
$6,000, but that was before
paying for 55 gallons of
Bill Bradshaw
Kelly Gomes, assistant fi re chief for the Wallowa Rural Fire
Protection District, grills breaded oysters Saturday, Feb. 8, for
the district’s annual fundraiser.
oysters and all the rib eye
steaks. He said several peo-
ple who had alerted them
ahead of time were able to
purchase a gallon of oysters
for $50.
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Proceeds are used to pay
for needed equipment. At
present, they need a new
Jaws of Life used to literally
cut automobiles apart to res-
cue trapped victims. He said
that costs about $30,000 and
hopes to be able to purchase
one by the end of the year
both with the department’s
fundraising and the help of
a grant.
The Jaws of Life is par-
ticularly important since one
of the most common calls
the department responds to
is automobile wrecks. Hulse
said Minam Canyon is par-
ticularly hazardous.
In addition to paying
for equipment, the depart-
ment also sponsors two
$500 scholarships — one to
a graduating Wallowa High
School student interested in
becoming a fi refi ghter and
the other to help pay for the
studies of a fi re cadet. The
department also contributes
to the Wallowa Food Bank.
Hulse said his depart-
ment – made up mostly of
volunteers – consists of
about a dozen fi refi ghters.
He’s hoping to build the
number to 15 or 16. “It’s
getting harder and harder to
fi nd volunteers,” he said. So
he’s especially appreciative
of both the support at the
fundraiser and of the public
in general becoming more
fi re-aware.
“Over the past several
years, people are getting
more fi re conscious,” Hulse
said. “That’s really helped.”
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