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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2017)
OUTDOORS: ODFW urges people not to pick up baby wildlife. PAGE 7 LOCAL: Load of pipes spills, shutting freeway for hours. PAGE 5 The Baker County Press TheBakerCountyPress.com 75¢ All local. All relevant. Every Friday. Friday, April 7, 2017 • Volume 4, Issue 14 ‘Carry the Fallen’ march comes to Halfway • MARCH WILL BE FIRST HELD ON WEST COAST BY SUNNY WERNER Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com On April 15, 2017, the tiny town of Halfway will be the fi rst community in the western United States to experience an event that has become frequent from the east across to Texas—a ruck march called Carry the Fallen. River Colnot was a young child when his uncle, Kyle Colnot, was killed in action in Iraq in 2006. Sgt. Colnot was a United States Marine. Along with having a big impact on the family, the loss spurred Colnot to fi nd a way to commemorate his uncle’s service. When he began researching what he wanted to do for his Senior Project, he discovered the Carry the Fallen projects and decided to put on a ruck march in Halfway. Participants carry weights, which repre- sent the heavy emotional weight carried by returned veterans. For every pound carried, the participant col- lects pledges. The funds raised go towards provid- ing support to veterans around the country. As of this writing, Col- not’s team has raised over $2,000 for Kyle’s March; by the day of the march he hopes to have reached his goal of $5,000. More than 30 local residents have signed up to participate on the 15th, and all are welcome. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pine Eagle High School track. There are six and three-mile events, along with options for attendees to walk for as long as they are able. SEE FALLEN PAGE 8 Sunny Werner / The Baker County Press River Colnot is the driving force behind the upcoming event in Halfway. Rancher testifies against House Bills Donated toys comfort kids Submitted Photo. Photo courtesy of the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce. L-R: Lorri Speelman, Amber Smith, and Clayton Berthelsen along with Deputy Eric Colton. Rancher, and OCA member Curt Martin testifi ed the week before last in front of the Oregon House. BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com Albertsons is working to give back to their community with donations of stuffed bears to the Baker City Police Department and the Baker County Sheriff’s offi ce. “When there’s an accident or anything traumatic that the police are involved in, they give the children the bear and it helps them through that very traumatic time,” explained Lorri Speelman of Albertsons. “And it really does, it helps the kids out a lot.” Deputy Eric Colton explained that most deputies have bears in their vehicle. There are many incidents where the bears can help children. Some incidents include traffi c accidents, restraining orders where they remove a child from a parent, and house fi res. People are able to take stuffed bear donations to the Sheriff’s Offi ce. The bears donated this year were left over from the holiday and Speelman suggested that they be donated to the Sheriff’s offi ce. Last year, the fi rst year they donated stuffed bears, the toys were given to the Baker City Police. Friday Mostly cloudy with rain showers and breezy conditions. Highs near 60. Chance of precipita- tion is 80% Friday Night: Lows in the upper 30s. Saturday Mostly cloudy with rain showers. Highs in the lower 50s. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with light rain/ snow showers. Lows in the upper 20s. Sunday Mostly cloudy with scattered rain/snow showers. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Highs near 50. Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with lingering rain/ snow showers. Lows in the upper 20s. “We’re happy to be able to do something like this for our community,” said Speelman. “We donate so much to the Salvation Army that we really were searching for a way to reach out to other aspects of the community and this was one of them.” “We were just able to donate to the Harvest Christian School,” said Albertsons General Manager Amber Smith. “We had a whole bunch of winter hats and gloves and scarves that were left over and so we donated those to them so that they could use them for the kids at school that didn’t show up to school with the proper winter weather gear or for whoever is in the church. And then they also have a store that—the kids earn points—and so they have this little gift store that the kids can spend their points on. We’re looking to donate towards that as well, depending on what we have left over so that Albertsons gets to reach out to the community in that way.” Speelman said that Albertsons just recently started reaching out to Best Friends with pet food they have and they are trying to reach out to the community in all aspects. “It feels really good to be able to give back to the com- munity,” said Speelman. Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County. Our forecast made possible by this generous sponsor: Offi cial weather provider for The Baker County Press. Late last month, former Oregon Cattlemen’s Associa- tion (OCA) President, current OCA Water Resources Committee Chair, and North Powder-based V P Ranch co-owner Curtis W. Martin testifi ed before the Oregon House Committee on Energy and Environment, in op- position of House Bills (HB) 2705, 2706, two problem- atic laws in draft form along with HB 2707, which were prompted by budgetary issues within the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD). On March 22, Martin, along with OCA President John O’Keefe and Seneca-based Sylvies Valley Ranch co-own- er Rand Campbell, testifi ed at approximately 3:50 p.m. before the committee, which is chaired by Representative Ken Helm (D), and includes Representatives Cliff Bentz (R), Mark Johnson (R), Karin Power (D), Phil Barnhart (D), Deborah Boone (D), Paul Holvey (D), Werner Re- schke (R), and Brock Smith (R). Prior to the trio’s testimonies, and after work sessions were held on several bills, Helm opened the public hear- ing for HB 2705, 2706, and 2707, with some comments about the subject matter. SEE RANCHER TESTIFIES PAGE 3 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Hot Lake Springs Resort changes County hears Justice Court updates OTEC’s Annual Meeting scheduled Souper Spring Swing Fling held Tree grant applications available Silent Movie fundraiser ahead Page Page Page Page Page Page 3 5 8 8 9 10