SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — A5
LOCAL & STATE
Oregonians with
immune issues first to
get COVID boosters
By CATALINA GAITAN
The Oregonian
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
Workers with JAL Construction of Bend build a retaining wall along the Ukiah-Hilgard Highway, 3 miles south of
Red Bridge State Wayside on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. The wall is part of a $1.2 million Oregon Department of Trans-
portation project aimed at repairing and stabilizing the highway’s shoulder.
Highway project near Starkey nears completion
 $1.2 million job intended to stabilize
slope along Grande Ronde River
By DICK MASON
The (La Grande) Observer
STARKEY — This wall will
never stop sightseers driv-
ing along the Ukiah-Hilgard
Highway but it will stop
erosion along the Grande
Ronde River.
The wall is one now being
built by the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation as
part of a $1.2 million project
aimed at repairing and
stabilizing the shoulder of a
section of the Ukiah-Hilgard
Highway about 12 miles
miles south of Hilgard State
Park.
ODOT Project Engineer
Mike Remily said the work
is necessary because in some
areas the highway shoul-
der drops steeply toward
the Grande Ronde River.
Erosion has occurred as a
result, creating an unstable
slope that has washed out
several times in recent
years.
“Without repairs, the
shoulder would continue
eroding and put the high-
way at risk,” he said.
The wall being installed
consists of rocks enclosed
with wire. It is 240 feet long
and 8 feet high. It is replac-
ing an old wall that had
badly deteriorated.
A new guardrail also will
be installed in front of the
new wall, replacing another
guardrail that, like the old
wall, was deteriorating. Ken
Patterson, ODOT’s Region 5
manager, said the wall will
MASKS
She also pointed out that
although the county’s vac-
Continued from Page A1
cination rate is tracked, it
doesn’t include residents
who have tested positive and
for COVID quarantines, so
thus have a level of natural
it doesn’t reduce employees’
immunity.
sick leave.
“Why are those numbers
“There is no additional
money from the state to man- not reflected and only vac-
cinated numbers?” Tanzey
age that, but I think it’s the
right thing to do and it helps asked.
She said children are nei-
our staff be able to function
appropriately,” said Witty.
ther vulnerable to the virus
nor as likely to spread it as
Board hears concerns
adults.
about masks
“So the most important
Kelly Tanzey, who joined
questions are — how is mask-
the board’s Zoom meeting,
asked board members why
ing children in school doing
they believe the protocols are anything to slow the spread?”
a better option than allowing Tanzey asked. “And how do
parents to decide whether
we know what the long-term
to have their children wear
effects it will have on develop-
masks.
ing lungs? God forbid that
in five years from now, we
(The requirement is
find out that wearing a mask
statewide, and not made by
for extended periods of time
individual school districts.)
caused irreversible damage.”
“Have you done your due
Tanzey told the board she
diligence?” Tanzey asked.
believes schools are the safest
“If you are only consulting
environment for children, and
county health officials, I’d
like to know why you are not she urged board members to
consulting virologists. Are you fight harder against the state
mandates for masks and vac-
asking them how they are
basing their advice and are
cinations.
you asking to see the peer-
Witty said that the district
reviewed studies they are
is striving to gain more lo-
using?”
cal control.
“We certainly want to see
Tanzey contends that cloth
some metrics that demon-
masks are ineffective.
More Coverage
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s
mandate that students wear
face masks when classes
start soon prompted a
protest Thursday, Aug. 19 in
Baker City.
About three dozen people
gathered about 5:30 p.m.
outside the David J. Wheeler
Federal Building, 1550
Dewey Ave.
Protesters, many carrying
signs with slogans such as
“Your fears do not usurp our
rights” and “Unmask our
children,” marched through
downtown.
“I’m very passionate
about our freedoms and I
think that it is child abuse to
put masks on children, and
so I want to protest that,”
said Debbie Henshaw, who
carried a sign reading “We
the people will not comply.”
“I want to protest the
mandated vaccines and
have our freedoms. We have
freedoms and I’m here to
fight for them,” Henshaw
said.
Tisha Bass said she’s con-
cerned that no one is talking
about the psychological ef-
fects of the mask mandate.
“They can’t see each
other’s expressions and
everybody knows that facial
Oregonians with com-
promised immune systems
appear to be at the front of
the line to receive booster
shots against COVID-19 as
part of a nationwide push
to prolong immunity in the
battle against the highly
contagious delta variant.
The Oregon Health
Authority announced Mon-
day, Aug. 16 that it would
implement federal guide-
lines and authorize third
vaccine doses to immuno-
compromised Oregonians.
Effective Thursday, Aug.
12, immunocompromised
Oregonians can receive
a third dose of either the
Pfizer or Moderna vaccine
as early as 28 days after
receiving their second dose.
The state’s announce-
ment came just hours
before reports that
federal health officials are
expected to recommend all
Americans, regardless of
age, receive a COVID-19
“booster” shot eight months
after receiving their second
dose, according to The As-
sociated Press.
The Food and Drug
Administration updated its
Emergency Use Autho-
rizations last week for
mRNA vaccines Pfizer and
Moderna, recommending
those with moderately
or severely compromised
immune systems receive a
third dose of the COVID-19
vaccine.
Federal health officials
used available data on the
safety and effectiveness
of a third dose of mRNA
vaccines to make their
recommendations. Ad-
ditional doses of vaccines
that don’t use mRNA, such
as the single-dose Johnson
& Johnson, have not yet
been recommended by
health experts.
Immunocompromised
people would need to wait
only at least 28 days after
their second mRNA shot
to receive their third. Un-
like a booster shot, which
is typically administered
when a person’s immunity
has waned, a third dose is
meant to protect immuno-
compromised people who
didn’t have an adequate
response to the first two
doses of the vaccine.
Immunocompromised
people are defined as
people whose immune
responses have been
lowered, including solid
organ transplant recipi-
ents, people with advanced
or untreated HIV infection,
and people undergoing
certain chemotherapy
treatments, according to
the Centers for Disease
Control and Preven-
tion. The Oregon Health
Authority said people who
believe they are eligible
should speak with their
health care providers.
“Immunocompromised
people are particularly at
risk for severe disease,”
said Acting FDA Commis-
sioner Janet Woodcock
in the statement. “After
a thorough review of the
available data, the FDA
determined that this small,
vulnerable group may
benefit from a third dose.”
Both the Pfizer and
Moderna vaccines are
effective against new vari-
ants of the virus, such as
the delta variant, which
health experts say is
responsible for a massive
surge in new COVID-19
cases and hospitalizations
across Oregon.
make installing the new
guardrail much easier, pro-
viding the stability needed
for the installation of the
footings for the guardrail.
The installation of the
new guardrail and wall is
one of two portions of the
highway project. The second
involves moving two small
portions of the Ukiah-
Hilgard Highway 15 to 20
feet farther away from the
Grande Ronde River over
a 1,500-foot span. This will
give the roadway greater
protection from flooding and
soil erosion.
The work also will reduce
the amount of future repairs
the state will have to do at
the site.
“Less maintenance will
be needed in the long run,”
Remily said.
Space has been cleared
out for the roadway, which is
up against a steep hillside,
by blasting of rock earlier
this summer.
The Ukiah-Hilgard project,
which started in March, is
expected to be essentially
completed by early Septem-
ber. The final phase of the
project will involve reseeding
vegetation on land disturbed
by the project, Remily said.
Traffic is being controlled
by flaggers during work
hours, and temporary traffic
signals are in operation when
workers are not at the site.
Remily said soon there will
be traffic delays only when
workers are present.
Patterson added that peo-
ple driving through the work
zone have been good about
obeying the lower speed limit
in place at the project site.
“People have been really
understanding and patient,”
he said.
strate when and how you
can move in and out of
these situations as we navi-
gate them and we continue
to advocate for that,” Witty
said.
Baker students were
required to wear masks
during the 2020-21 school
year. Elementary students
attended in-person classes
for most of the year. Middle
school and high school stu-
dents attended one or two
days per week starting in
November 2020, and moved
to a full in-person schedule
in April 2021.
Witty said the district will
use the same health proto-
cols as last school year, say-
ing they were fairly success-
ful at limiting COVID-19
spread within schools.
The district reported 36
staff or students testing
positive during the 2020-21
school year.
“We will do health checks
at the doors, making sure
that as kids come in they
don’t have a fever or exhibit
any type of issues,” Witty
said. “I know many of our
staff believe that was one of
the key factors that helped
us manage last year and
be successful.”
The district will also
Protesters gathered outside the David J. Wheeler Federal Building in Baker City on
Thursday evening, Aug. 19 to voice their opposition to a state mandate that students
wear face masks in schools.
expressions are really impor-
tant,” she said. “Especially
for kids that don’t vocalize
really well like adults do.
No one’s even talking about
that. That’s not right. That’s
not good.”
Amanda Bain, who joined
the protest, said she has
withdrawn her children from
public school. She hopes the
mask requirement will end.
“We’re just upset about
our kids having to wear
masks, taking away a lot of
their childhood and their
freedoms,” Bain said. “We’re
just fighting it.”
— Samantha O’Conner
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
emphasize sanitation, offer
multiple hand-washing
opportunities and follow a
social distancing policy of
three feet, he said.
“So, there’s a number of
things that we’re putting
into place, but at the same
time we’re working within
the system to see about
leveraging for local gover-
nance and those aspects
from every angle we can
think of,” Witty said.
Witty pointed out that the
vaccination requirement for
school workers and volun-
teers doesn’t start until Oct.
18 or until the FDA gives
final approval for the vac-
cines (they’re currently ap-
proved for emergency use),
whichever happens first.
“We have a little bit of
space here to ascertain
what this really means
and then determine what
opportunities are in front of
us so that we can manage
appropriately,” Witty said.