2A — THE OBSERVER
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020
REGIONAL
DAILY Baker County freezes hiring, limits spending
PLANNER
By Samantha O’Conner
EO Media Group
TODAY
Today is Saturday, April
11, the 102nd day of 2020.
There are 264 days left in
the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On April 11, 1980, the
Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity Commission issued
regulations specifi cally pro-
hibiting sexual harassment
of workers by supervisors.
ON THIS DATE
In 1814, Napoleon Bona-
parte abdicated as Emperor
of the French and was ban-
ished to the island of Elba.
(Napoleon later escaped
from Elba and returned to
power in March 1815, until
his downfall in the Battle of
Waterloo in June 1815.)
In 1865, President
Abraham Lincoln spoke to
a crowd outside the White
House, saying, “We meet
this evening, not in sorrow,
but in gladness of heart.” (It
was the last public address
Lincoln would deliver.)
In 1921, Iowa became
the fi rst state to impose a
cigarette tax, at 2 cents a
package.
In 1945, during World
War II, American soldiers
liberated the Nazi concen-
tration camp Buchenwald in
Germany.
In 1968, President Lyndon
B. Johnson signed into law
the Civil Rights Act of 1968,
which included the Fair
Housing Act, a week after
the assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr.
In 1970, Apollo 13, with
astronauts James A. Lovell,
Fred W. Haise and Jack Swi-
gert, blasted off on its ill-fat-
ed mission to the moon.
In 1981, President Ronald
Reagan returned to the
White House from the hos-
pital, 12 days after he was
wounded in an assassina-
tion attempt. Race-related
rioting erupted in the Brixton
district of south London.
LOTTERY
Megabucks: $2.4 million
6-8-13-26-29-30
Mega Millions: $136 million
25-33-43-51-68-20 x2
Powerball: $20 million
2-37-39-48-54—PB-5 x3
Win for Life: April 8
14-21-66-67
Pick 4: April 9
• 1 p.m.: 7-9-9-3; • 4 p.m.: 8-9-1-9
• 7 p.m.: 8-4-2-6; • 10 p.m.: 6-9-9-2
Pick 4: April 8
• 1 p.m.: 3-8-8-2; • 4 p.m.: 7-4-9-3
• 7 p.m.: 0-5-4-0; • 10 p.m.: 0-2-3-1
BAKER CITY — Baker
County commissioners have
instituted a freeze on hiring
employees not involved
in working on corona-
virus issues. Commission
Chairman Bill Harvey also
has to approve any expen-
ditures exceeding $500 as
offi cials brace for cuts in
state revenue due to the
pandemic.
Commissioners, meeting
Wednesday morning, also
discussed reassigning
employees whose salaries
are paid in part by Oregon
Lottery revenue or the local
lodging tax.
“We need to conserve
all of our resources and our
contingency at this point to
be able to possibly have to
realign some of the losses
that we may have to experi-
ence,” Commissioner Mark
Bennett said.
The county’s general
fund contingency for the
current fi scal year, which
ends June 30, is $692,000.
“I think that what drove
this whole discussion on
the funding restrictions is
the fact that we have the
unknown on the road pact
One project that isn’t
being held up by budget
concerns is the construction
of a new Eagle Valley Rural
Fire Department station in
Richland.
The project is paid for
by a federal Community
Development Block Grant
the county received four
years ago.
Commissioners voted
Wednesday to award the
construction contract to
Gyllenberg Construction of
Baker City.
Commissioners initially
awarded the $1,363,000, job
to Gyllenberg Construction
now, we have the unknown
for the lottery funds, we
have the unknown on the
(lodging tax) funding,”
Bennett said.
Both Bennett and Com-
mission Chairman Bill
Harvey said the county
has more questions
than answers right now
regarding the actual fi nan-
cial effect on the county.
“I think that one of the
things that’s somewhat
stressing is that legislature
will likely not meet until
May, mid-May, so we really
have no guidance whatso-
ever,” Bennett said.
in November 2019, but that
was contingent on either
the county or the Eagle
Valley Rural Fire Depart-
ment or the county raising
more money, as the bid was
about $75,000 more than
the $1,288,700 available
through the grant.
State offi cials, who
administer the grant,
increased the amount to the
maximum of $1.5 million,
and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture added $80,000.
The Leo Adler Founda-
tion contributed $60,000,
and Idaho Power Company
$5,000.
Masking up becoming the norm
At left, Jake and Kathy Wolfe of Enterprise wear masks when they are
out and about, including grocery shopping. Kathy Wolfe is a volunteer
for the hospital auxiliary and has made many masks to help augment
those of nurses, physicians and other providers at the hospital, as well
as making those that she and her husband were wearing. They cover
their faces, she said, “because we don’t want to get sick, and we don’t
want others to get sick either.”
Sewing a mask (below left)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide these instruc-
tions for how to sew a mask. This fi lter pattern also can incorporate
additional layers of fi ltration material.
No-sew masks (below right)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide these instruc-
tions for a simple face mask that incorporates an extra fi lter such as
coffee fi lter, or HEPA vacuum bag.
Graphics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Photo by Ellen Morris Bishop/EO Media Group
DELIVERY ISSUES?
If you have any problems
receiving your Observer, call
the offi ce at 541-963-3161.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“We are what we pretend
to be, so we must be careful
about what we pretend to
be.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Ameri-
can author (born 1922, died
this date in 2007)
Pianist performs COVID concert for audience at an appropriate distance
By Kathy Aney
EO Media Group
PENDLETON — It was
live music with a social dis-
tancing twist.
The performer sat
inside her Pendleton home
Wednesday afternoon
playing her baby grand
piano, the sound fl owing out
a front window to spectators
sitting in cars, lawn chairs
or sprawled on the grass.
Suzi Wood started
playing piano 69 years ago
at age 5. With Gov. Kate
Brown’s executive order
decreeing the closure of all
but essential businesses,
the piano teacher stopped
instructing students in mid-
March and was at loose
ends.
So the classically
trained pianist messaged
friends and neighbors,
inviting them to a concert
like none they had ever
attended. She would play
show tunes inside, while
they listened from afar. At
4 p.m. Wednesday, about
20 people positioned them-
selves in the Woods’ front
yard, across the street and
in vehicles.
Wood’s husband, Pend-
leton City Councilor Chuck
Wood, offered refreshments
and an array of pandemic
supplies: masks, gloves and
hand wipes.
Two cyclists cruised
up and leaned their bikes
against a tree. A family
of three and their dog set-
tled into a spot of lawn on
the parking strip. Wood
stepped out onto her porch
and greeted her fans.
She dedicated the con-
cert to two friends who
died last week, one from
COVID-19 complications
and the other of cancer.
“If you feel like getting
up and dancing, please do
that,” she said.
She re-entered the house,
appearing at a living room
window where she sat down
at the piano. Almost imme-
diately “Exodus” fl owed
from the house, strong and
easily heard a block away.
The tunes kept coming
— “Born Free,” “Don’t
Cry for Me Argentina,”
“It’s a Wonderful World,”
Memory,” “Piano Man,”
“The Morning After,” “My
Heart will Go On,” “Nadia’s
Theme,” “I Dreamed a
Dream” and “All I ask of
You.” Motorists driving by
slowed to give a listen.
“I did this for my friends
who were getting cabin
fever,” Wood said. “With
being locked in our homes,
we needed uplifting things.
I thought show tunes,
something people could
identify with.”
DOC TALK Q&A: COVID-19 (NOVEL CORONAVIRUS 2019)
A: If you develop COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus, you may
be asked to "self-isolate” (if you're sick) or "self-quarantine" (if you might
be sick). In some people, COVID-19 is mild enough that you can safely
recover at home. Here’s how you can protect others in your household
while you recover:
Don’t leave home except to get medical care.
Keep away from people and pets at home.
Use a face mask, cover your coughs, and clean your hands often.
Clean high-touch surfaces.
Stay home until you get the green light.
-Frank Szumski, DO, GRH RMC Primary Care Provider
Your trusted GRH doctors are answering your COVID-19-related
questions through this Doc Talk Q&A series. For more information
on what to do if you’re sick, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus.
Photo by Kathy Aney/EO Media Group
Spectators listen to show tunes Wednesday outside the
Pendleton home of classically trained pianist Suzi Wood.
As we navigate COVID-19, we want to be sure and remind you that the safety and health of our patients,
staff and community is our number one concern. We are working closely with CHD, OHA,
and other partners to respond appropriately and as effectively as possible. For the latest updates
from GRH, visit our web page dedicated to COVID-19 News & Updates: grh.org/covid19.
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