WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019
FEATURES
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A15
Nuts, bolts and thingamajigs
Staff photos by Ben Lonergan
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: 1) Leah Mueller, 12, paints a step stool that she constructed
as a part of the Nuts Bolts and Thingamajigs camp at Riverside High School in Boardman,
Ore; 2) Liam Heideman, 12, paints a step stool that he constructed; 3) Wyatt Browne,
13, sands a piece of wood to construct a step stool; 4) Kids work on constructing and
fi nishing step stools.
By JESSICA POLLARD
STAFF WRITER
Elaina Salgado has big plans for
the future.
The 11-year-old, who is headed
into the sixth grade at Windy River
Elementary in Boardman, plans on
becoming a veterinarian. And as of
last week, she was also hoping to
design and custom-make her own
chair out of a tree stump.
She’s one of 21 middle school
kids from Morrow and Umatilla
counties to participate in the sec-
ond annual “Nuts, Bolts and Thing-
amajigs” camp, which focuses on
manufacturing.
“I’m used to tools,” she explained.
CRYPTOQUIP
Prior to the camp, Salgado said she
had helped her family out with main-
tenance projects around the house,
including oil changes on her family’s
car.
But last week, she and the other
campers took their math, science and
manual skills to a new level when
they built their own step stools and
solar cars with the guidance of Ken
Jacobs, a wood shop teacher at Pend-
leton’s Sunridge Middle School.
Jacobs has been in the wood shop
at Sunridge for fi ve years, but has been
working with kids for three decades.
He said the projects this summer are
no simple feat.
“It’s challenging,” he said. “They
are more capable than we give them
credit for.”
Last week, campers toured the
Port of Morrow, SAGE Center, and
Lamb Weston before heading back
to the wood shop at Riverside High
School each afternoon to work on
their projects.
They also got their feet wet with
the 3D design software SOLID-
WORKS, which they used to design
the step stools.
On Thursday afternoon, the wood
shop behind Riverside High School
was bursting with the noise of power
tools and the scent of wood. Kids were
drilling, cutting, sanding and painting
their stools while a troop of solar cars
waited ready to roll for Friday’s par-
ent showcase in the next room over.
SUPER CROSSWORD: MAGAZINE ENTERTAINMENT
“You’re sawing, you’re sand-
ing, you’re measuring,” said Colby
Crowell, a soon-to-be sixth-grader at
Windy River. “It’s building stuff. I
learned that manufacturing is build-
ing things, putting them together and
designing them.”
The camp is funded with a three-
year tiered grant from the Fabricators
and Manufacturers Association. The
camp was made possible from a part-
nership between OSU Extension Ser-
vice, the POM and Blue Mountain
Community College.
“It really gives these students an
opportunity to look at a wide range
of manufacturing careers,” said Kalie
Davis, a workforce training program
manager at the Port of Morrow.
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