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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 2020)
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A SAM-O Continued from Page 1A Photos by Rich Old Scotch thistle is a common invasive weed that can infest almost any piece of ground. The biennial species starts by producing a rosette the fi rst year (above photo) and thereafter it sends 1 to 6 upright extensions with second- ary extensions tipped with pink fl owers (left). Invasive weed of the week controlled with a shovel. Ensure that you get at least The enemy 4 inches of the root or it will Scotch thistle (Onopordum grow back. Also, loosen the The strategy acanthium) is a biennial soil by cutting into the soil weed that invades any piece This plant is very invasive. and working in a circle; when of property that can be found. It spreads by birds, people, you return to the starting ATVs or other vehicles, It is the tall thistle with an point, pry the shovel handle egg-size fl ower head. It forms which allow it to travel onto back and pull the plant out a rosette the fi rst year and adjacent lands. Its rosette of the ground as to limit the then sends up 1 to 6 vegeta- can grow 5 feet in diameter, amount of disturbed soil. tive upright extensions (up which allows it to shade de- There have been insects to 10 feet tall) that produce sirable plants and rob the soil released in which the larvae terminal pink fl owers. of needed nutrients. Being a eat the seeds in the top fl ow- Secondary growth exten- thistle the plant hosts many ers. Roundup and 2,4-D are sharp points that make it so not effective on this plant ex- sions form from mid-length no animal wants to pass close cept in the early spring. Us- to produce fl owers as well. These seed heads will be oval to it. ing advanced products such on the bottom and have pink as Escort XP or Telar XP (1 The defense fl owers. This entire plant is ounce per acre) are very ef- As with most annual and silver-green with deep lobed fective as well as Milestone/ biennial plants it can be serrated leaves. It also has Opensight, or Tordon 22K. By Jeffrey Pettingill BMCC graduates to parade PENDLETON — Blue Mountain Com- munity College will celebrate the Class of 2020 this evening with a special “Parade of Graduates” in lieu of its traditional commence- ment ceremony, which wasn’t possible due to COVID-19 social dis- tancing restrictions. The Parade of Gradu- ates will begin at 7 p.m. on the BMCC Pend- leton campus. Gradu- ates will line up in the “triangle” parking area at the bottom of the BMCC hill, and will drive up the hill and around campus in a parade. Graduates may have their immediate family members inside their vehicles during the parade. Graduates’ families and friends, as well as faculty, staff and other community members are invited to park in designated areas around campus to cheer on the graduates as they drive by. Guests should plan to arrive on campus by 6:45 p.m. While noisemakers are welcome, fi reworks, fi recrackers, poppers and confetti are prohib- ited. BMCC will broad- cast a live stream of the event from its YouTube channel. The College will also record the event, as well as capture the parade via aerial drone footage courtesy of BMCC agri- culture instructor and certifi ed Unmanned Aerial Systems pilot Drew Leggett. spiny winged stems from the ground all the way up to the fl ower. First in a series Jeffrey Pettingill, weed control supervisor for Baker County, will be writing an occasional article about a common noxious weed in the area, along with tips for dealing with the weed. Pettingill encourages people to call him if they have weed questions or see a species they’re not familiar with. His offi ce number is 541-523-0618 and his cell is 541-519- 0204. Bogart, a retired school administrator, served as interim Y director 10 years ago. This time around “it’s a whole new world,” Bogart said Wednesday. The Fitness Center at 3715 Pocahontas Road and the Y gym at Second and Church streets have been open since Gov. Kate Brown approved Baker County’s phase 1 reopen- ing plan May 15. “People seem glad to be back,” Bogart said. With phase 2 starting June 6, Sam-O Swim Cen- ter at 580 Baker St. will open on Monday, June 15. “Pool operation will be guided by state guidelines and safety precautions,” Bogart stated in a press release. Because of the social distancing requirements, there will be no open swim as the pool reopens. Paula Moe, the Y’s aquatics director, has worked with health of- fi cials and other aquatic center directors to devise a plan to keep swimmers safe, however, Bogart said. Rather than open swims, “Family Swim” times will be included in the schedule from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no charge for Y members; nonmembers will pay $20 per family. To participate in the Family Swim time, parents or guardians will be required to be in the water with their children to help the Y maintain a safe envi- ronment, Bogart said. Lap swim time will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. A variety of water aerobics classes also will be scheduled throughout the week. No swim lessons will be offered at this time and there will be no deck seat- ing, Bogart said. There will be no change in the chlorination in the water, which is added to prevent infection, he said. The most important con- cern will be the distance and contact between swimmers. Other changes swimmers will notice are hand sanitizing require- ments, additional cleaning of showers and restrooms and occupancy limits. At the Y Fitness Center, updates in recent days include the availability of the showers and dressing rooms, with some limita- tions. Drinking fountains are available for fi lling water bottles brought from home. Bottled water, towels, lap counters and earbuds also are sold at the Y’s Welcome Center, Bogart said. The Y will continue the protocols from phase 1, which require those enter- ing any of the Y’s buildings to use hand sanitizer and to answer questions about symptoms or exposure to the coronavirus. Entry, exit and traffi c direction are controlled and some areas and equip- ment are closed, Bogart said. Staff members are coordinating their efforts to ensure that equipment is sanitized after each use. The staff will be wearing masks, but masks are not required for those using the facilities, Bogart said. More information and current schedules can by found on the Y’s website at www.bakerymca.org or by calling 541-523-9622. Sid Johnson & Co. gets N. Baker School contract By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com Sid Johnson & Co., a well- known Baker City construc- tion company, has been awarded the bid to serve as general contractor on a proj- ect that will transform the North Baker School Building into an early learning center. Sid Johnson & Co. submit- ted the low bid of $1,616,884. The only other fi rm vying for the contract was Mc- Cormack Construction Co. of Pendleton, which bid $1,788,700. The bids included two alternate projects that were included in the accepted proposal, said Cassie Hib- bert, project manager with Wenaha Group, which has an offi ce in Pendleton. The project architect is LKV Architects of Boise. Hibbert, who has worked with the District for the past several years on long-range facility planning, coordinated the bidding process. Bids were opened on May 28. Hibbert said the fi rst alternate was a $9,715 proj- ect to install cabinetry and plumbing in two classrooms in the southwest wing of the ground fl oor of the North Baker School, 2725 Seventh St. Sinks and cabinets will be needed as classrooms are transformed for kindergart- ners, she said. New matching sinks and cabinets also will be added to the other kinder- garten classrooms that have existing plumbing, she said. The second alternate, to- talling $80,169, is for install- ing new aluminum windows on the fi rst fl oor. “The District really, really wanted to do the windows,” she said. The District listed the two projects as alternates in case the bids came in high, Hibbert said. But that wasn’t the case. “The bids came in favor- ably and in line with our budget,” she said. Sid Johnson & Co.’s “fi rst- tier subcontractor list,” which Hibbert said contractors are required to provide in their bids, includes these fi rms: • Scrivner Paint of Baker City, $93,230 • Outpost Electric of Baker City, $319,496 • Nelson Excavating of the Walla Walla Valley in Washington, $267,620 • Dillabaugh’s Flooring of Idaho’s Treasure Valley, $152,314 Other Baker County subcontractors on the project are Eagle Cap Plumbing, Alpine Alarm and A+ Afford- able Construction (fencing), Baker School District Super- intendent Mark Witty stated in a press release. The North Baker build- ing was constructed in 1909. The District added on to the north end of the building in the 1950s and a wing was added to the south end of the building in the 1970s. The total cost of the reno- vation project is $2.3 million, Witty said. In addition to a $96,158 District contribu- tion, funding sources include: $1.8 million from the Oregon Student Investment Act; $200,000 in grant funding; and $80,000, from Preschool Promise, the Oregon Depart- ment of Education’s Early Learning Division. In reviewing the proposed budget with the Baker School Board at its April 24 meeting, Hibbert said a 9% contingency was included. The north end of the building will be remodeled to include four classrooms for programs including Early Intervention, Head Start and preschool. The south wing restoration project will include fi ve kin- dergarten classrooms that will be occupied in the fall of 2021 to relieve overcrowding at Brooklyn Primary School. The kindergartners will remain in the self-contained modular buildings at Brook- lyn this fall. In addition to new paint, fl ooring, plumbing and electrical work and window replacement, the inte- rior renovation will include abatement of asbestos tile, pipe insulation and fi re escape cladding in the newer areas of the building as well as the tuffstone section, Hib- bert said. The play area on the build- ing’s north side will be fenced and the parent and bus drop- off system will be reconfi g- ured. The existing basketball court will be converted to a parking lot. The renovation will involve about 25,000 square feet of the North Baker School Building’s total 40,000 square feet, Witty said. At the Board’s April meet- ing, Hibbert said the work being done to convert the old building into the Baker Early Learning Center will make it more appealing to the youngsters who will be- gin their educations there. “The goal is to make it look like a positive, exciting and pleasant place that kids will want to be in,” she said. Hibbert said Wednesday that the construction work could start as early as next week. Preschool classes are scheduled to begin in the building on Oct. 5. Best Friends of Baker Saturday Market NOW OPEN!! Fridays & Saturdays 8 AM - 2 PM for shopping and donations Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you! Open for dining in 6 am to 12 am Daily Take out and Catering is Available. 515 Campbell Street Baker City 541-523-4318 Visit the store for Baker’s best Gifts
