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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2016)
10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2016 Local Pine-Eagle 8th grade BCPD gets new ride courtesy of drug dealer graduation held Carmelita Holland / The Baker County Press Submitted Photo. Casey Poe and Vanessa Fregoso of Oregon Sign Company help trick out the Baker City Police Department’s Charger. BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com “This car was seized from a local drug dealer,” reads the back of the Baker City Police Depart- ment’s newest car, a Dodge Charger. According to Lt. Dustin Newman, “The vehicle was seized as part of a drug investigation. The suspect in that case was Larry Edison. The plan for the vehicle is to use it for our SRO (School Resource Officer Lance Woodward) so he does not take a patrol vehicle out of the rota- tion.” Newman said, “Opera- tional costs such as gas and maintenance are paid for out of our budget. The cost associated with getting the vehicle set up are all paid for by monies that have also been seized so there is no cost to the public.” Oregon Sign Company owner Christina Witham said, “Our graphic design- er, Steve Marlatt, did the design. Chief Lohner and Dustin Newman from the BCPD wanted a cool look—didn’t have to match the current police cars. The car had the small stripe on the top of the front fenders so we expanded on that, using the same matte black vinyl on white going for the head-turn factor. Vanessa Fregoso, Casey Poe and I did the install. There are no straight lines on the car so it took a bit longer to complete, cutting the graphics as we went to ensure we had the sizes correct. Everything was made in-house, start to fin- ish. The hood was the most difficult to scale and that graphic went on last as our finishing touch.” Chief Wyn Lohner said the car was scheduled next to have the lights put into place in Boise. The idea of civil forfei- ture has been controversial in some circles. According to District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff, “Civil forfeiture is based on a statute the legislature passed many years ago allowing the state to seize assets and ultimately sell them and used them to investigate and prosecute drug crimes. “The state, in filing a civil forfeiture case has to show that the asset being seized was used in the commission of a drug offense or is ‘proceeds’ derived from illegal drug activity. “It works like any civil case in that the burden of proof is a preponderance of the evidence (51%) and not beyond a reasonable doubt like in a criminal case. “If the state is successful in getting an asset forfeited not all of the asset’s worth or the money etc. goes to the seizing agency. Instead 5% goes to a drug cleanup fund, 2.5% goes to an Asset Forfeiture Over- sight account, 20% to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission account and 10% to an Early Learning Division fund. The re- mainder goes to the seizing agency minus legal fees. “In the case of the Char- ger, the City paid these other entities through other forfeiture funds to allow them to keep the charger. Most often, the type of asset we are dealing with is cash or vehicles that we can demonstrate were used in drug activity.” City Council position open The City of Baker City is looking to fill one open position on the City Coun- cil. The City will accept applications through the office of City Recorder beginning June 16th until July 7th at 12:00 p.m. The individual who is appointed by a majority vote of the City Coun- cil will serve a partial term on the City Council through December of 2016. An applicant must be a registered voter in the State of Oregon and have resided within the City of Baker City for 12 months immediately preceding the appointment. To apply go to www. bakercity.com to down- load and complete the City Councilor application located on the City’s home page and submit a letter of interest to Julie Smith at City Hall. Applications can be returned to: Attn: Julie Smith 1655 1st Street Baker City OR, 97814 Fax: 541-524-2024 Phone: 541-524-2033 Email: juliesmith@ bakercity.com. L-R: Miranda Hood, Elizabeth Cantrell, Jessica Raven, Savannah Simpson, Jazmine Marshall, Madison Morgan, Adam Scheck, Roger Denig. BY CARMELITA HOLLAND News@TheBakerCountyPress.com The 2016 Eighth Grade Recognition of the Pine Eagle Charter School Stu- dents was held June 2 at the local Lions Club Hall in Halfway. There were eight students honored in this celebration. The night started at 6 o’clock on Thursday night with all of the eighth grade students walking in the main room to sit in their designated seats that where neatly placed in the front of the room with the song “It’s time” by Imagine Dragons playing in the background. Following the grand entrance their teacher, Mrs. Morgan Gover, gave a warm welcome to all of the attending family and friends. Next was guest speaker Mrs. Barbie Morgan. Then each of the 8th grade students gave their own speeches based on their favorite middle school memory and what they were looking forward to most in high school. A slideshow was then presented by Mrs. Morgan showing each student at different times in their childhood. In closing, Superinten- dent Mrs. Cammie deCas- tro presented each student a certificate of completion and a pin. After all of the ceremo- nies the guests had treats and for the students danc- ing followed.