• 1F r - October 10, 2012 VouR COt4MUNITV Page 11
l Logs
From page 1
to get both of that. A stable stream
would allow more riparian veg-
etation to grow, which will create
more cover."
To accomplish that and create
the "catcher's mitts" and "crash
racks," which essentially are 15- to
20-foot logs buried vertically along
the shores of the creek, with other
large logs placed horizontally in
a slanted position to channel wa-
ter away from the banks, Gatchell
and Hartstein enlisted the help of
Cascade Timber Consulting, which
manages a good deal of the sur-
rounding forestland.
The project was funded with
a $160,000 grant from the Oregon
Watershed Enhancement Board and
$21,000 in Title 2 money, from fed-
eral timber payments to counties.
Also, Hartstein said, the U.S.
Forest Service donated 120 mature
trees that were dug up with their
root wads intact and transported to
the creeks.
Both said CTC was a critical
player in getting the job done.
"Really, CTC was so critical to
getting this work done," Gatchell
said. "This was done on their land
and they pointed us to a local con-
tractor, Haley Construction, that
did a phenomenal job."
He and Hartstein said Haley's
and Matt Bostrom's expertise in
creating the "catcher's mitts" with
excavating equipment was invalu-
able.
"Like how to get those logs
out of the ground with rootwads on
them, keep them long and get them
where they needed to go - I was
impressed," Gatchell said.
Hartstein said CTC put a "phe-
nomenal" amount of effort into
the project, "from going out with
us looking at sites to giving us
ideas how to implement projects.
They've been great."
Gatchell said the stretch of
channel in which the "catcher's
mitts" and helicopter-transported
logs were placed is the worst in
the creek. He said remnant stumps
along the stream bed suggest that it
once ran through a forest, that like-
ly kept Canyon Creek much more
stable than it is today.
"It's a relic of past logging
practices, but it's also the result of
geography in that area," he said.
Surrounding the confluence
of the creeks is a large deposit of
gravel that is a product of the geo-
graphic layout of the area.
"It's a really deep, big wedge
of gravel that goes way up above
the Owl Creek and Canyon Creek
bridge," he said. "It's a historic sed-
iment that's accumulated over the
years. It's a pretty amazing place,
actually."
How long it takes for the
stream to create the desired gravel
deposits that will create more deep
pools behind the "catcher's mitts"
will depend on the weather, Gatch-
ell said.
"It could happen in one winter
if we have serious flows like last
winter. Things in rivers change the
most during flooding events. They
don't change that much year to year.
Scour pools Will work during a nor-
mal year. But crash racks, where
we've got it set up so the channel
tries to flip over to the other side
of the bar and the "catcher's mitt"
collects wood and rack up gravel
behind it."
Photo by Scott Swanson
H-46 Sea Knight helicopter lifts a log with a root wad from a pile in Can-
yon Creek for transport to another part of the streambed.
Logs positioned at different angles in the Canyon Creek streambed will
help trap gravel and sand that will form pools and help position the
creekflow in a way that benefits both the forest and the fish in the creek,
project designers say.
Gatchell said the work that has
been done since mid-August has all
ready paid off.
Before logs were installed to
create scour pools, "we didn't see
any fish up there at all," he said.
"As soon as we did the excava-
tion work, we saw fish jumping all
over. Now you can find schools of
six to 10 fish in those pools. I was
amazed how it changed, in terms of
number of fish.
He said that salmon fry can
also be found in some pools.
Hartstein said there will likely
be more wood added to Canyon
Creek next summer, with the pos-
sibility of doing some of the same
things in Soda Fork.
"Just about all the creeks
around here could use additional
wood," he said. "We just have to
prioritize where the best areas are
to work on."
i Schools
From page 1
something," who needs needs
health insurance but had to drop
it. She said the employee couldn't
drop it until this month, resulting in
a small paycheck.
Another employee added that
her check was only $57.
"It could have been better had
we not went to a four-day school
week," said Canfield, president
of the Sweet Home chapter of the
Oregon Employees Association,
which represents the district's
classified employees, who provide
support services in the district.
That was because she worked
fewer hours and had to pay for her
insurance.
Board member Kevin Burger
asked about the 15 or 16 employees
that the union says have lost hours
and insurance coverage because of
the four-day school week.
Canfield said last month that
those who don't qualify for full
coverage were, last year, able to
pay the increased personal costs
of their insurance by working the
extra day.
The district initially agreed to
let employees in that situation work
an extra half hour a day so they
could qualify for full coverage,
Canfield said last month. Of the
approximately 15 people she knows
of who fall into that category, five
were actually expected to enroll,
she said. Last month, one of them
wasn't taking health insurance
at all because that employee lost
a day's wages and didn't get the
extra half hour the employee had
been promised.
"We made a plan to bring
those hours back," said Supt.
Don Schrader said Monday night.
"We're in the process of doing
that."
Last month, he said the union
and district disagreed on the correct
interpretation of the contract. Part
of the problem is that the contract
with the union was written when
the school week was 40 hours.
Some employees, he said, were
confused over whether insurance is
based on hours per day or hours per
week. The district's position is that
it is the latter.
Monday night, Business
Manager Kevin Strong told The
New Era, "No one had their district
contribution reduced due to the
four-day week."
The union has filed a
grievance, taking it straight to
the superintendent because it was
more of a grievance on behalf of
an entire class of employees, said
OSEA Field Rep. Jill Simmons.
The grievance involves insurance,
hours and subcontracting.
The subcontracting refers to
administrators assigning classified
work to teachers, Simmons said, and
an administrator is doing classified
courier work and custodial work.
The union presented the
grievance to the superintendent on
Oct. 1. He has 10 days to respond
to it.
"We're hopeful they're going
to present some resolution to the
issues," Simmons said.
"We're getting that response
together," Schrader said. "I
thought that the meeting (with the
presentation) went well. It seemed
to me we'll be able work through
these things."
Present at the meeting were
Mike E. Adams, Jan Sharp, Chanz
Keeney, Dale Keene, Chairman
Jason Redick, Jenny Daniels and
Kevin Burger.
In other business, the
board:
• Tabled a proposed $3,500
stipend for Sweet Home High
School Assistant Principal Tim
Porter, who handles .5 full-time
equivalent curriculum director
duties as well. He worked the two
positions at .5 FFE each last year
but is full-time assistant principal
this year.
His salary already reflects half-
time at curriculum director pay, but
he is working more than full-time,
Schrader said.
As .part of the discussion,
Ke'eney asked about Dave Goetz's
salary, whose year increased by
13 days as he moved from Junior
High principal to director of
human resources, transportation
and maintenance, requiring him to
work additional days.
Keeney said he has no problem
with paying the administrators
for their work, but the decision
to increase the salary by 13 days
should have gone to the board
first.
"It only makes sense his
paycheck would go up, but I wish
it was put out front," Keeney said.
"I just like to be aware of what's
going on," especially, he added, in
light of the cuts the district has had
to make.
Schrader said the assumption
was he had just moved to another
position with more days.
"We haven't truly increased
pay here," said Redick. "He is still
receiving the same pay."
On Porter's. stipend, Daniels
noted that he was already being
compensated at a higher rate
than his full-time job, assistant
principal.
"If someone's going to get a
new stipend every time something's
added, I should be getting a lot of
stipends at my work," Daniels
said.
"If we didn't have the position,
we would suffer a great loss,"
Schrader said. "Having someone
willing to do it as extra work is
really worth it."
Schrader suggested that the
question be tabled, and he would
return with more information about
it. The board agreed, voting 7-0 to
table it.
• Held off discussion and
action on administrator salaries to
allow Redick and Adams time to
meet with the administrators and
hammer out a proposal.
• Approved goals for 2012-
13.
Among them is goal one,
"Increase student achievement for
all students."
Goal two is, "Improve
student achievement and close the
achievement gap."
Goal three is, "Balanced
budget."
Under each goal are several
outcomes that indicate success.
The board did not yet adopt
proposed action plans to achieve
these goals.
• Hired Joan Pappin an
additional .2 PTE as school nurse.
• Approved a job share
request by Sarah Lynn, junior high
social studies.
• Accepted the resignation
of Kathryn Tippetts, .25 FTE ESL
teacher at the junior high and high
school.
• Accepted the donation from
Greg Lewelling ofa 1989 Plymouth
Sedan to the SHHS automotive
program.
• Approved a request by the
Sweet Home Genealogical Society
to copy "The Huskian" as a fund-
raising effort. Proceeds would be
split between the society and the
school.
• Approved achievement
compact revisions.
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