FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
HBC has big plans for 2015
By Gina K. Swartz
Continued from Page 1
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
“I raised my hand,”
jokes Historic Baker City
(HBC) Program Manager
Jeff Nelson. “I thought,
‘I could get this done,’
It does take a lot of my
time—events just take a
lot of time, but I enjoy it
and I see the impact of the
events. It brings a lot of
commerce, and that is what
we want.”
Nelson is joined at HBC
by board members Larry
Abell, Rosemary Abell,
Paul Dolan, Michelle Dol-
lar and Dan McQuisten.
HBC was established in
1982 and was an official
member of the National
Trust of Historic Preserva-
tion, National Main Street
Programs.
While HBC used to be
managed through an EID,
a self-tax paid by everyone
in the historic district, the
EID funding the program
“failed a year or two
ago so there is no longer
any funding,” explained
Nelson. “So, we had a
couple people say let’s just
do a volunteer member-
ship. Right now we have
close to 20 members. The
memberships range from
a $350 yearly Penthouse
level membership to a
$50 yearly ground-level
membership in which the
member helps by volun-
teering with some of the
events.”
Unfortunately, through
some previous misman-
agement, there is repair
to be done, but as Nelson
says, “Some community
trust was lost but in a way
it’s kind of a blessing in
disguise because now we
can go outside the historic
district and get member-
ships where before we
were confined to just that
historic district.
“In the Main Street
program there are differ-
ent levels. And of course,
Baker City was one of the
first in Oregon so it was
always the shining star.
Now without having a paid
full-time program manag-
er, we are on a lower level.
We act and do the same
functions but we are just
classified di ferently.”
“Someday, I’d like to
have that back as a full-
time paid position, where
we would be listed in all
the historic district guides
as a premier. For years and
years we were listed as
the premier. We weren’t a
performing Main Street.
It takes time. We’ll get
there,” he added.
Nelson feels that in time
HBC will be a success
again but right now they
are barely making money
with sponsorships for the
events. Insurance is one of
the reasons.
“Event insurance is so
expensive—that is what
the problem is. It’s several
thousand dollars to put on
these events, but it is a lot
easier for a 501c non-profit
like HBC to get the event
insurance,” he explained
in reference to The Baker
County Chamber of Com-
merce bowing out and
handing over events they
The District has made the decision to temporarily
suspend the existing panic button devices until hard cov-
ers can be produced, hopefully preventing another false
alarm. A senior, Grant Ermovick, who attends the Baker
Technical Institute at the high school, is designing the
covers—and over 200 of them will be needed.
Wegener added, “We still very strongly believe the sys-
tem is a great concept and it certainly works effectively
to call in assistance. However, we are not comfortable
with inadvertent triggers. We are actively developing new
cases and believe we are very close to production.”
“Cost is not as important as our desire for safe
schools,” he went on to say, “But cost will be relatively
minimal. And, no, we do not anticipate a change in the
system, per se; we do anticipate better management of the
trigger the system.”
According to Wegener, the new cases should be ready
to implement sometime in February.
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Jeff Nelson of HBC holds up signs thanking event sponsors who helped fund
and/or participate in the Christmas Tree decoration purchase and annual
Twilight Parade.
once sponsored.
Nelson, with the help of
the HBC board and a mass
of volunteers, has stepped
in and taken on the respon-
sibility of organizing and
gaining sponsorship of
many of the local commu-
nity events in an effort to
keep traditions and those
cherished special events
alive.
Nelson went on to
explain more about where
he’d like to see HBC in the
future. “My goal is to have
60 members by the end of
2015. I think this year we
have made such a good
impression on what HBC
can do that we should get
that membership, I’m hop-
ing. Our main purpose, our
goal is to get the commu-
nity involved in HBC, that
is the way it was supposed
to be established.”
Of the HBC’s commu-
nity contributions, Nelson
said, “If you notice the
downtown, Main Street,
you see new preservation
awnings, new facades.
Probably 80 % of those
were done with HBC
money and Leo Adler
grants. I believe it’s around
22 different buildings.”
Recently, the Eltrym
Theater got new neon
lights. “Within a week they
had been broken. HBC
stepped up and bought all
new neon for them so they
didn’t have to do it, paying
for it entirely,” Nelson
said. The Eltrym is owned
by HBC Board member
Dan McQuisten and wife
Terry.
Another big project
HBC has been involved
with is some restoration on
the VFW building.
According to Nelson,
“This year is their 100-
year anniversary. Last year
a 50/50 HBC grant helped
supply paint. Now HBC
paid 100% toward a new
sign and the installation of
that sign.”
Familiar events now on
the plate of HBC include
The Hell’s Canyon Motor-
cycle Rally.
“Last year we ran an
information booth. We
handed out over 3,000
pamphlets and flyers, a lot
of them about local busi-
nesses in town. Last year
there were two information
booths, one for Baker City
and one specifically for the
Rally. This year we want
to combine them and just
have one big booth. We
will make a few changes,
anytime you do an event
that big you’re bound to
have a few hiccups. But
it’s such a money-maker,”
Nelson said.
HBC also has involve-
ment in Miner’s Jubilee,
which they are planning
to participate in again this
year. They have sponsor-
ship of the Duck and Bea-
ver races, one of HBC’s
largest fund raisers, and
the infamous bed races.
Last summer HBC was
able to participate by sell-
ing tickets for the baseball
tournaments. “If we have
the chance of doing that
again, that would be awe-
some,” Nelson said.
A big event for HBC
this past year and one that
will be continued was
The Taste of Baker. “That
was a big success. We
had beautiful weather, it
was one of our best taste
events.” According to Nel-
son over $5000 was gener-
ated in approximately two
hours during that event.
“That was a lot of com-
merce in those two hours.
A lot of restaurants were
pretty happy,” he said.
Nelson invited everybody,
whereas before it was just
the historic district that
was invited to participate.
He continued, “We had
The Sunridge and The
Truck Corral come down.
Next year I’m hoping to
pull in 10th Street. The
10th Street businesses.
They have their own thing
going on so they didn’t
come, but I want them to
come down and we will
put them up in Court Street
Plaza. Last year we had a
DJ there, music playing
with gorgeous weather so
everything was win –win.”
The Downtown Trick
or Treat on Halloween is
another important commu-
nity event HBC is involved
in. “I’d like to see some
more donations some sort
of funding for candy. The
merchants put out about
$100-$150 in candy. That’s
a lot for these businesses
and it’s mostly those in the
first couple blocks of Main
street. We have close to
3,000 kids that come down
for that. I’d like to find a
way to help out the mer-
chants a little bit, maybe
set up a fund raiser to help
buy the candy,” Nelson
explained.
This year with HBC
was able to get new lights
for the Baker City Christ-
mas tree—$2,200 worth.
“The transient lodging tax
helped out with a small
grant, Oregon Trail Bullet
Factory, Valley Metal and
Heating and Mary and
Sid Stiglich—plus we had
donation cans at every
HBC event all that helped
to accomplish the goal.
People around town said
the tree could compete
with the tree in Portland.
I said, ‘Hey, we can deal
with this!’” Nelson said
with a laugh.
He’d like to get the
Community Choir and
maybe different church
choirs to take turns sing-
ing around the tree every
weekend next year. “So
every weekend we’d have
something going on right
there at the tree in Court
Street Plaza. Maybe even
have someone like the boy
scouts serve hot choco-
late,” he added.
One of HBC biggest
fund raising events is the
Home and Parlor Tour.
Nelson felt this year’s
tour was a stellar success.
This year there were 11
homes on the tour that for
the first time ever featured
The Leo Adler House.
“We had a really good
homes tour this year. I do
however wish I would
have had more funding
to advertise in the Port-
land area because we did
have some people from
Gresham and several from
John Day. It’s a big event
for us and was tough to get
together but it was great,”
Nelson said.
Although Nelson’s
contract with HBC expired
December 31, 2014, he is
expecting a renewal, not
foreseeing anyone else
wanting to take the job.
“It’s been fun,” Nelson
reflected
“We outgrew our loca-
tion on 10th Street. We had
the office on 10th but had
to store the equipment in a
separate location. We have
upgraded to a more mod-
ern facility,“ said Hanson.
Cascade employs a total
14 workers in the eastern
Oregon region and five in
Baker City. There are no
immediate plans to add
to the workforce in Baker
City, according to Hanson.
“The local manager will
to do a walk-through on
Janunary 8 and plans to
move-in in the latter part
of the month,“ Hanson
reported.
Local construction com-
pany Sid Johnson & Co.
OTEC nominating
committees set
The board of directors for Oregon Trail Electric Coop-
erative (OTEC) appointed the director nominating com-
mittees for Baker, Union and Grant Counties. Appointed
to serve were:
Position 4 (Union County) held by Austin Bingaman:
Donna Beverage, Dale DeLong, and Russell Lester.
Position 5 (Baker County) held by Aletha Bonebrake:
DeeDee Clarke, Fred Warner, Jr., and John Wilson.
Position 6 (Grant County) held by Gary Miller: Alva
Conlee, Gail Enright, and Mitch Saul.
The committee is responsible for interviewing and
nominating candidates for the 2015 OTEC Board of
Director Elections. Those interested in running for the
OTEC Board of Directors, please contact the nominating
committee members in that county.
Each director’s term of office is for three years. The
election will be completed at the annual meeting sched-
uled for May 2, 2015 in John Day.
A copy of the bylaws describing the terms of the office
and qualifications needed to serve on the 9-member board
of directors and well as a conflict of interest policy are
available online at www.otecc.com. Committees must
submit their nominations by January 30, 2015. Members
wishing to petition for placement on the 2015 Board or
Directors Election Ballot should contact Joan Macy (541-
524-2831) or Jim Horan (541-524-2858) for the petition
and conflict of interests forms
Nominations by petition must be filed no later than
March 2, 2015. The petition must be signed by the can-
didate and at least 50 OTEC members qualified to vote.
In addition, there must be a request that the candidate’s
name be placed on the ballot.
Museum project
grants available
The Oregon Heritage Commission is offering grants for
qualified museums to support museum collections, educ -
tion and heritage tourism. Awards typically range between
$1,000 and $8,000, and occasionally higher. Qualifying
museums can apply for a variety of projects including ar-
chival boxes, records documentation, exhibits, brochures,
school programs and more.
While the grant applications are online, they are simple
and there is plenty of support.
"Our goal is to support museums of all sizes, all over
the state in their valuable work. We provide assistance
in the application process," notes Kuri Gill, the grants
program coordinator.
Carla Burnside of the Harney County Historical Society
recently noted the importance and ease of the grant for
their quilt documentation and storage project. "The pro-
cess of applying for the grant was very easy, she said. "It
will help us preserve important textiles in our collection."
Oregon Heritage grants programs staff is happy to dis-
cuss projects and review applications in advance. There
will be grant workshops on project planning and grant
writing. A two-hour workshop will be in Salem on Feb. 3.
A one-hour webinar will be available on Feb. 5.
The Heritage Commission is comprised of nine people
representing Oregon's heritage and geographical diver-
sity who have been appointed by the Governor. There
are nine advisory representatives from state agencies
and statewide organizations. The commission's mission
is to secure, sustain, and enhance Oregon's heritage by
ensuring coordination of heritage initiatives by public and
private organizations; advocacy on its behalf; education
of the public about its extent and value; and promotion
and celebration of its diversity.
To learn more about the grants, visit www.oregonher-
itage.org or contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill@oregon.gov or
503-986-0685.
OSP releases stats
Cascade Natural Gas
Continued from Page 1
Brooklyn
built the new facility.
The new operations
center sits on and provides
customer access off of
Broadway Street with a
listed address at 2100 13th
Street.
OSP has released its Preliminary New Year's Holiday
reporting numbers:
Oregon State Police troopers reported an uptick in the
number of DUII arrests made over this New Year's Holi-
day period, December 31, 2014, at 6:00 p.m., to January
1, 2015, at 11:59 p.m.
During the 2014-2015 holiday period troopers arrested
37 drivers for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants,
up from 2013 when troopers arrested 29 impaired drivers.
Troopers responded to 35 crashes this year, 2 of which
involved one or more fatality.