LOFTY HEIGHTS NO PROBLEM FOR WINDOW WASHER

ONE-PERSON OPERATION: Chris La Prelle, owner of Clearview Window Cleaning, washes windows at Grande Ronde Hospital. A special ladder designed for window washing allows La Prelle to reach the high windows of the sky-walk above the parking lot. (The Observer/LAURA MACKIE-HANCOCK).

Chris LaPrelle's new Clearview Window Cleaning business is reaching for new heights.

The one-person business specializes in water stain removal and he guarantees his work.

"It's really taken off," he said of the success of the business. "In the last two months, I've had as many calls as I did the previous six months."

He is responsible for cleaning the windows of all 10 buildings at Eastern Oregon University once a year. He also has a contract to keep the windows at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center clean. He cleans them twice a year. He does the windows at La Grande's Veterans Memorial Pool every three months.

Now he's looking to expand in some high-rise building in Walla Walla.

"I've had experience in cleaning tall buildings (in Lake Tahoe). I've put in bids on an 11-story building in Walla Walla, the airport at Walla Walla and a medical center there," LaPrelle said.

He keeps the hospital in Baker City clean and does other jobs in Baker County. He also works in Pendleton and other parts of Umatilla County as well as in Union County.

He has contracts to clean a number of small businesses in La Grande and Union County, said the nine-year resident of La Grande. He does residential as well as commercial, he said.

He offers free estimates.

He can be reached at 962-0877 or 786-2969 (cell).

— Ray Linker