August 24, 2018
T he C olumbia P ress
Girls Build: Learning the power of power tools
Continued from Page 1
consider it.”
The weeklong camp for
girls ages 8 to 14 is sponsored
by Hampton Lumber.
On Wednesday, the 41 girls
in the program were going
through work stations to get
experience in a variety of
fields. All 16 staff members
and volunteers are women
working in construction and
other hands-on jobs.
Olivia Merila, 10, of War-
renton got to lay the foun-
dation for a playhouse the
group will donate to Head
Start Preschool. Others built
the walls, installed windows
and put on a roof.
“It was really fun to learn
how to work the big machin-
ery,” Olivia said.
Other stations explored
woodworking, solar-panel in-
stallation, copper soldering,
plumbing, firefighting and
making sheet-metal lamps.
Everyone got a chance to
put on volunteer firefighter
Billie O’Bryant’s yellow jack-
et and hat and operate a fire
hose.
“I just love doing this kind
of stuff,” O’Bryant said.
“Girls can do anything they
put their minds to.”
She is one of two wom-
en with the Warrenton Fire
Department and she hopes
some of the camp’s partic-
ipants will be persuaded to
consider her field. Warrenton
Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press
Lizzy Trickey of Portland helps Lilyann Duncan, 11, of Astoria
use a circular saw.
needs more volunteers.
“It’s great to see the girls get
familiar not only with tools,
but the whole experience,”
said Hallie Sweet, a Warren-
ton Public Works office assis-
tant.
Sweet and analyst Trisha
Hayrynen were showing the
girls how Public Works em-
ployees repair leaks in city
water pipes.
“My daughter is here par-
ticipating,” Hayrynen said.
“Yesterday they got to oper-
ate an excavator and other
heavy equipment. That was
her favorite part. Once they
got in the seat and realized
All dressed up,
nowhere to go
Mike Balensifer of Warrenton snapped this photo of a bull elk
that got snagged in fishing floats earlier this week.
the power they had, they
were empowered by it.”
Kamryn Wade, 10, of As-
toria liked learning how to
solve problems.
“I thought it was real cool
how you could fix the water
leak by putting clamps on it,”
Kamryn said. “I like building
things.”
Sahalie Heavenrich, 9,
of Astoria is glad her mom
pushed her to come to camp.
“She knows it’s hard for me
to do things with other peo-
ple. I like to do things by my-
self,” Sahalie said. Operating
an excavator was awesome
and twisting bolts on the wa-
ter leak simulator is a good
skill to have, she added.
This summer, Girls Build
will have other camps in
Portland, Josephine County
and Seattle. Warrenton “has
been lovely to say the least,”
Hughes said. “They were ex-
cited to have us and ready for
us. Hampton made it very
easy for us.”
Other local camp sponsors
are Warrenton Fultano’s,
Warrenton Mini Mart, War-
renton Subway and Action
Sign Works.
5
Toxins found in Cullaby Lake
The Oregon Health Au-
thority issued a health ad-
visory Tuesday for recre-
ational use of Cullaby Lake
due to a cyanobacteria
bloom, or toxic algae.
Water monitoring con-
firmed the presence of the
bacteria, according to the
health authority. The con-
centration of toxins found
can be harmful to humans
and animals.
People
should
avoid
swimming and high-speed
water activities, such as wa-
ter skiing or power boating.
A second advisory was is-
sued for high bacteria lev-
els in ocean waters at Nes-
kowin Beach, in Tillamook
County.
People should avoid the
beach there because of fecal
bacteria, which can cause di-
arrhea, stomach cramps and
skin rashes. The higher lev-
els could come from ocean
sources or inland sources,
such as storm runoff, failing
septic systems or livestock
waste.
The toxins at Cullaby ar-
en’t absorbed through the
skin, but people who have
skin sensitivities may expe-
rience a puffy, red rash at
the affected area.
Drinking water directly from
Cullaby Lake is especially
dangerous now. Public health
officials advise campers and
other visitors that toxins can-
not be removed by boiling, fil-
tering or treating water with
camping-style filters.