A6 — BAKER CITY HERALD THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2021 LOCAL EOU fi eldhouse coming together $9 million structure being built on south side of campus Health and Human Perfor- mance program that will double as a lab. In addition, the facility will be the new home of EOU’s Outdoor Ad- venture Program, now in the Hoke Union Building. The space for the Outdoor Adven- ture Program will feature a 40-by-47-foot indoor climbing center. Upper-level features will include a mezzanine above the classroom space. Once completed, the fi eldhouse will be the largest building of its kind at any col- lege or university in Oregon, Washington and Idaho that is not a NCAA Division I school, said Ben Welch, EOU’s head men’s and women’s track and fi eld coach. “It will be a difference maker for us,” he said. Welch believes that some student athletes may not fully appreciate what is being built because many universi- ties do not have such facili- ties. needed for crews to do exten- sive interior work this winter. “Seeing the fi eldhouse come to life is a welcome addition to our campus,” said Tim Seydel, Eastern’s vice president for university advancement. “The improved capacity and opportunities By DICK MASON this new building brings to The (La Grande) Observer EOU will be felt for many LA GRANDE — The years to come. It’s great to athletic skyline at Eastern hear students talking about Oregon University is rising. The $9 million fi eldhouse, the new building and saying, ‘I can’t wait to get in there.’ which is currently under construction on the south side It’s going to be awesome.” The facility will provide of campus, will be at least 60,000 square feet and have space for the Mountaineers’ a top height of about 33 feet. athletic teams to work out in The facility is expected to be the winter and other times completed by April 2022 and of the year when there is in- be ready for use by students clement weather. Some EOU track athletes may view it as and student athletes by a second home since it will fall 2022, according to John have a small track to work Garlitz, EOU’s director of out on, a runway and sandpit planning and facilities. for long jumpers and triple The steel frame for the fi eldhouse is nearly complete jumpers and pole vaulting and soon exterior panels will facilities. The structure will also be installed, providing the protection from the weather house a classroom for EOU’s “I don’t know if they totally understand the sig- nifi cance of this because they have nothing to compare it to,” he said. Original designs for the building called for it to have 88,300 gross square feet, which would have allowed for a 200-meter track, making indoor track meets a possibil- ity. However, budget con- straints led to reducing the space by about 25%. Welch said the smaller building and track still will be a big plus for his team in the winter. He said the track team conducts its winter practices in Quinn Coliseum’s small gym, which has 4,545 square feet. But in the fi eld- house, he said, his team will have access to about 48,000 square feet for practices. The track coach said the south side of the fi eldhouse will be designed so that an additional 80 feet could be added later when funding becomes available, providing Alex Wittwer/The (La Grande) Observer The steel frame of Eastern Oregon University’s new fi eldhouse gives a sense of the facility’s size against a blue sky on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. the space needed to house a 200-meter track and making indoor track meets a pos- sibility. Garlitz said the biggest obstacle to getting the build- ing constructed on schedule is receiving construction ma- terials on time. He said there continues to be shipping delays because of COVID-19. Fieldhouses are more common in the Midwest than in the Northwest, accord- ing to Welch, a University of Kansas alum. Welch had been working to help East- ern get a fi eldhouse since coming to the university in the 1990s. “It has been a long-term goal and dream,” he said. “It is nice to see it coming to fruition.” Union County commissioners oppose vaccine mandates By DICK MASON and DAVIS CARBAUGH The (La Grande) Observer LA GRANDE — The Union County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on Wednesday, Sept. 1, protesting the state- wide mandate requiring all teachers, school staff, school volunteers, health care work- ers and state employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The resolution, passed on a 3-0 vote, contended that the decision to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is an indi- vidual one. “It should be a personal choice between each person and their physician,” said Union County Commissioner Donna Beverage. The resolution stated that denying personal choice on the matter shows a lack of trust: “Be it further resolved that the Union County Board of Commissioners considers it an invasion of privacy, places undue bur- den, and shows an inherent distrust in the ability of indi- viduals to make decisions for themselves regarding bodily autonomy.” Beverage said she strong- ly endorses the resolution. “I believe it is a good reso- lution. We need to protect our freedom. I am all for it,” she said. According to Commis- sioner Matt Scarfo, the public outcry over the past month had a major impact on the board’s decision. Scarfo said he has received a high volume of objections from state employees, health care workers and education workers. “It’s about the impact it will have on our staffi ng,” he said of the board’s opposition to the mandate. Scarfo noted that staffi ng across these sectors is al- ready tight due to COVID-19 and that the vaccine require- ment could have far-reaching consequences. He mentioned that the staff at Grande Ronde Hospital and other health care employees are worn out and already dealing with short staffi ng. “Our health care workers should be getting raises after all they’ve been through, not being fi red or forced to quit,” Scarfo said. The mandate the resolu- tion opposes requires all edu- cators, staff and volunteers in schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade, health care workers and state employees be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 18. In the resolution, the Union County commission- ers stated that this mandate will do more harm than good. “A mandate will not result in signifi cantly more vac- cinated health care workers, public employees and educa- tors,” the resolutions reads, but will possibly cause local workers to move to other states or leave their profes- sions. “The decision to man- date vaccines will put our rural health, public service and education systems at risk by a loss of experienced employees, while potentially being counterproductive to increasing vaccination rates.” One of the resolution’s concluding paragraphs stat- ed that the Union County Board of Commissioners has been and will continue to be supportive of taking a variety of steps to slow the spread of COVID-19 to keep everyone safe and healthy and “to thoughtfully keep Union County open for busi- ness and our schools open for our students.” B H STILL 1 # IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Show off your hunting skills BRAGGIN' RIGHTS HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST ENTER NOW bakercityherald.com/braggin-rights Veteran's Appreciation Day! 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