BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020
MANAGER
Continued from Page 1A
Invasive weed of the week
By Jeffrey Pettingill
Series
Continues
The enemy
Russian knapweed (Rha-
ponticum repens, formerly
Acroptilon repens).
Jeffrey Pettingill,
weed control
supervisor for Baker
County, will be
writing an occasional
article about a
common noxious
weed in the area.
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.
The strategy
Russian knapweed is
an invader from southern
Russia and Asia. It spreads
both by seeds and shoots.
It can produce from 6 to 27
black root shoots per square
foot, and roots may grow
to a depth of 23 feet. This
knapweed does not spread
by wind as with the other
knapweeds. Once the white
or blueish-pink fl owers are
pollinated, the seed head will
close up and remain closed
until they fall onto the soil
surface and are opened up by
disturbance (may be years
before this happens).
The attack
Russian knapweed causes
chewing disease in horses
and can grow under a wide
range of environmental con-
ditions. Russian knapweed
can be found in about every
county in Eastern Oregon.
It seems to follow Interstate
84 and other highways and
if you get onto any ditch or
canal you are liable to fi nd
some growing along the
banks. This weed, which
grows thicker than alfalfa,
destroys the land.
The defense
Controlling Russian knap-
weed can be a great chal-
Richard Olds/Contributed Photo
Russian knapweed can spread by seed and by shoots.
lenge. Because these plants
spread by underground
shoots (rhizomes), control-
ling it by mechanical means
(disking, shoveling, mowing)
is fairly useless and will
generally spread the invader.
There are numerous fl ower-
and root-eating insects that
can be released to assist
in controlling the weed in
sensitive and remote areas.
Herbicides such as Milestone
(7 ounces per acre), Open-
sight (3.3 ounces per acre), or
Curtail (3 pints per acre) are
the best ones to use (notice I
did not say 2,4-D, Banvel or
Roundup).
The best overall control
of Russian knapweed is
to prevent the weed from
becoming invasive in the fi rst
place. Healthy pieces of land
will keep most weeds from
getting started, but once the
plant becomes established,
get help in controlling it. As
always consult with your lo-
Richard Olds/Contributed Photo
cal weed control professional
A Russian knapweed plant
or call your county weed
supervisor for further details. in bloom.
La Grande K-3 students return to school
By Dick Mason
The (La Grande) Observer
LA GRANDE — The
atmosphere at Island City
Elementary School in La
Grande, is ticking up a beat
— and for good reason.
Monday, Oct. 5, was a red-
letter date for all elementary
schools in the La Grande
School District, marking the
fi rst time since mid-March,
when all of the district’s
schools were closed due to
the COVID-19 pandemic,
that some students attended
classes at their schools.
The school district has
met state safety standards
allowing for students in
kindergarten through third
grade to return to classes in
person. This means K-3 stu-
COVID-19
Continued from Page 1A
That tally includes one new
case on Monday, bringing the
county’s total to 102 since the
pandemic started in March.
For the 2-week period Sept.
6-19, Baker County reported
three new cases. During that
period, 175 county residents
were tested, putting the posi-
tivity rate at 1.7%.
The county’s weekly posi-
tivity rate peaked at 17.1%
for the week starting Aug. 30,
with the second-highest rate
of 13.4 for the week starting
Aug. 16. In both cases the
driving factor was an out-
break at Meadowbrook Place
assisting living community
Baker City. That outbreak,
which Staten said has been
resolved, included 27 cases
and the county’s two deaths
attributed to COVID-19.
During the past 2 weeks,
the county has reported a
single new case on nine sepa-
rate days, with multiple new
cases on only one day — three
cases reported Sept. 29.
Staten said the health
department’s contact tracers
have been able to track some
of the recent cases to having
had contact with another
confi rmed case — either a
dents no longer have to take
classes via distance learning,
which they and the rest of the
students in the district have
been doing.
First-year Island City
Elementary principal Brett
Smith said there was a
heightened sense of anticipa-
tion in his school leading to
the fi rst day of classes.
“There is a buzz in the
building, a very positive one,”
Smith said. “There is a feeling
of hope and optimism.”
The principal said teachers
are excited, and he feels good
about the students returning.
“Kids are not meant to be
in front of a computer for
hours and hours,” Smith said.
Central Elementary School
principal Suzy Mayes said
in an email that her staff
also is delighted students are
returning.
“All of us are excited to
welcome our students back
to school. Our staff have been
preparing their classrooms all
week for the day we all have
been waiting for,” Mayes said.
Many precautions are in
effect to protect children from
COVID-19. For example, all
students will stay in their
classrooms throughout the
day except when they go
outside for recess.
“It will be a family unit,”
Smith said.
Rather than students going
to a cafeteria for breakfast
and lunch, meals will come
to their classrooms. And
restrictions will keep stu-
dents from certain portions
of playgrounds and fi elds,
so they will not come into
contact with students outside
their class and they will not
be where other children have
been.
Fourth- and fi fth-graders
at the La Grande School
District’s elementary schools
didn’t return to school Mon-
day because state COVID-19
standards for their return
have not yet been met. Mayes
said she hopes they can be
back at school shortly.
“It is truly a bittersweet
situation because it feels very
awkward to not bring back
our fourth- and fi fth-graders.
We will certainly miss them
and hope they join us soon,”
Mayes said.
relative or friend. But in other
instances the source of the in-
fection hasn’t been confi rmed,
she said.
Staten said some Baker
County residents — she
didn’t have a specifi c number
— have contracted the virus
outside the county, but they
are counted as Baker County
cases.
Staten said county health
offi cials have not seen clus-
ters of infections associated
with any large gathering or
event, including the Haines
Stampede rodeo July 3-4, or
the demolition derby, also
at the Haines Stampede
grounds, in August.
Even so, Staten said she
continues to encourage people
to avoid large gatherings,
especially ones indoors, and
to follow precautions such
as wearing a face covering,
maintaining social distanc-
ing and frequently washing
hands.
Of the county’s 102 total
cases, 92 are county residents
who tested positive, and
10 are “presumptive” cases
— people who did not test
positive but had close contact
with someone who did.
Although the Oregon
Health Authority lists just
four county residents as be-
ing “recovered,” Staten said
that number is not current
because the state agency is no
longer updating that fi gure.
She said during a Zoom
meeting convened Sept. 30
by the Baker School District
that 38 county residents who
tested positive have recov-
ered. Staten said Monday
that a person is considered
recovered once 60 days have
elapsed since the onset of
symptoms.
She said some people who
are counted as recovered
might still have effects from
their bout with the virus, but
they are no longer infectious.
The number of county
residents being tested has
increased the past 2 weeks.
The weekly average
number of tests from Aug. 16
through Sept. 12 was 80.
The weekly average for the
period Sept. 13-26 was 107
tests.
The number could continue
to rise, as Saint Alphonsus
Medical Center in Baker City,
as of Friday, Oct. 2, is offering
a COVID-19 test through its
curbside clinic, with results
available as quickly as 15
minutes, for people who have
symptoms.
The Saint Alphonsus
curbside clinic also offers
a test for people who don’t
have symptoms, with results
available in 4 to 5 days, said
Andy Mollahan, lab manager
for Saint Alphonsus in Baker
City and Ontario.
See Thursday’s issue of the
Baker City Herald for more
about the new testing options.
Fred Warner Jr., who
has been city manager
since May 2016, plans to
retire at the end of the
year.
A total of 14 people ap-
plied for the job. On Sept.
17 a selection committee
consisting of Mayor Loran
Joseph and Councilors
Lynette Perry and Jason
Spriet trimmed the list of
candidates to six.
One of those candi-
dates withdrew Monday
morning, leaving fi ve, said
Robin Nudd, the city’s hu-
man resource manager.
In an email to the
Baker City Herald, Nudd
wrote that councilors plan
to announce the names
of the fi nalists during the
Council’s Oct. 13 regular
meeting.
“My hope is that we
will have 3 candidates to
invite to our community
and we will hold meet
and greets with the press,
community leaders, cur-
rent council and the newly
elected council members,”
Nudd wrote.
The seven-member
City Council, per the city
charter, will choose the
new manager.
The proposed sal-
ary range is $98,000 to
PEDALING
Continued from Page 1A
The ride to Halfway wasn’t the only act of kindness
Schlitz encountered on his journey, however.
He said several people who saw him camping offered
to let him pitch his tent in their yard, or even, despite
the coronavirus, to sleep in their homes.
“I told them it was up to them,” Schlitz said.
He told the good Samaritans that he was fi ne with
staying outside if they were worried. Some insisted that
he come inside.
“I’ve met so many cool people, I think the people have
probably been my favorite part of this trip,” he said.
“That’s been really cool.”
Schlitz said he wasn’t sure in the beginning if this
journey was the right thing to do during a pandemic,
but he decided he was less likely to contract CO-
VID-19 on the road opposed to staying in New York
and Washington.
He has been tested for the virus several times during
the trip.
“That was one of my concerns, I didn’t want to be
going into a small town and spreading it as an outsider
where they wouldn’t normally get it,” Schlitz said. “So
I tried to regularly get tested and I’ve been wearing a
mask.”
Having pedaled across the nation, Schlitz has seen
fi rsthand the different ways states have handled the
pandemic, and ways residents have reacted to it.
“There are some places where I was wearing a mask
and people would come to me and ask, like ‘You don’t be-
lieve in this pandemic, do you?’ and, again, I was a guest
in their state or their town and so I tried to be respect-
ful, but personally I do believe this is happening and we
should take the precautions,” Schlitz said.
Besides the challenge and the adventure, Schlitz said
he also has used his ride as a fundraiser for a yoga studio
he worked for that has suffered fi nancially during the
pandemic.
“Also, I think I had something to prove to myself that
I could do something,” he said. “I was tired of just having
dreams and saying I was going to do this and that, and
this and that, and I wanted to properly do something.”
Schlitz said he also really likes adventures, and dur-
ing his journey he’s had quite a few of those.
He ventured into Yellowstone National Park and saw
moose, bison, deer and bears. He said people in the East
don’t worry about bears but when he started coming
into the West, everyone was talking to him about bears.
“I remember I had one night I was camping, it wasn’t
a campsite, I just pulled into the forest and found a spot
to camp in, thinking in my tent worrying about bears
and wolves — someone had told me there was wolves
there the night before — I was like ‘oh man,’ ” Shiltz said.
He encountered other transcontinental cyclists on
his journey, including a woman who was also riding solo.
Schlitz said she inspired him.
He said the trip has
given him time to fi gure
out what he wants to do
with his life.
“I wouldn’t say I
have a better idea after
taking it, but I know I
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want to keep explor-
• Plywood
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Serving Baker and Surrounding Counties
We offer landscape curbing and full service specialty
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541-519-5268
$115,000 per year. War-
ner’s salary for the fi scal
year that started July 1 is
$104,000.
City offi cials announced
in September that they
received applications
from people in Oregon,
Washington, California
and Wyoming, as well as
from North Carolina and
Missouri.
Nudd declined to
release the names of
the original slate of ap-
plicants, or of the fi ve
people the City Council
will interview, saying she
didn’t want to jeopardize
the current jobs of those
who aren’t picked as fi nal-
ists. She said the city will
announce the names of
the fi nalists who will be
invited to Baker City.
The Herald fi led a
public records request
Monday seeking copies
of all 14 applications.
According to the Oregon
Attorney General’s public
records manual, public
agencies, if they refuse to
disclose the names of job
applicants, must show, for
each applicant, how disclo-
sure would constitute an
unreasonable invasion of
their privacy.
“Blanket disclosure poli-
cies,” the public records
manual states, are “not
consistent with case law.”
• Building Materials
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Baker City
541-523-4422
Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday 8 am - 5 pm
Closed Sun
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