8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015
Local
New Board of Commissioners
holds first meetin
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County Board
of Commissioners held its
regular, bi-monthly session
on Wednesday, January
7, 2015, at 9 a.m., in the
Council Chambers of the
Baker County Courthouse.
Present from the Board
were Bill Harvey, Chair;
Mark Bennett, Com-
missioner; Tim Kerns,
Commissioner; and Heidi
Martin, Executive Assis-
tant.
The session was called
to order, Harvey’s first as a
new member of the Com-
mission, followed by the
Pledge of Allegiance.
During the Citizen’s
Participation segment of
the session, the first order
of business, Harvey ad-
dressed Ken Anderson, a
retired mining geologist,
engineer and consultant,
and said, “Are you ready to
go work in the mountains,
and get us some mining
going?”
Anderson replied with,
“Any time, as soon as
the snow gets shallow
enough.”
Arthur Sappington,
Jefferson Mining District
Coordinating Office , was
present to speak about
the emails he sent to the
Board, concerning the
lack of representation of
rural communities. He also
mentioned a video he sent
to the Board, concerning
a governmental coordina-
tion effort conducted by
the U.S. Forest Service,
but noted that it actually
depicts the wrong way to
accomplish that goal.
With a motion from
Bennett and a second from
Kerns, the minutes from
the December 22, 2014
session were approved.
Martin discussed with
the Board the Baker Coun-
ty Microenterprise Project,
Project Number M14008,
a $40,000 grant, from the
Infrastructure Finance
Authority (IFA), located
in Salem. Through this
grant, Baker County would
contract with Northeast Or-
egon Economic Develop-
ment District (NEOEDD)
to provide microenterprise
training services to assist
low- to moderate-income
individuals with starting,
stabilizing or growing a
microenterprise. Classes
would include financial fit-
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Sheriff Mitch Southwick (at far left) gives his department update to the County
Commissioners.
ness, bookkeeping, market-
ing, customer service, and
many other topics.
The grant application
was approved, with a
motion from Kerns, and a
second from Bennett.
The Board approved
Order No. 2015-102,
Appointing A Justice Of
The Peace Pro-Tem For
The Baker District, with a
motion from Bennett and
a second from Kerns. The
Board appointed Damien
Yervasi and Jeremy
Thamert to the position,
during the absences of the
Honorable Don Williams,
current Justice of the
Peace, for a term to expire
on December 21, 2015.
Baker County Sheriff
Mitch Southwick was
present to give the Board
a Sheriff’s Department
update. He provided copies
of statistics concerning
daily inmate roster aver-
ages, monthly bookings,
releases, and holding to-
tals, and monthly male and
female inmate totals, for
2014. He also provided the
Board with inmate daily
roster averages, forced re-
leases, and total bookings
for the years 2005 through
2014.
Southwick said that last
year, he saw one of the
highest daily average in-
mate counts he can remem-
ber, around 40 (there are
45 beds). Normally, that
count would be around 30
to 35. He did say, however,
that crime is fairly consis-
tent in the county, and it
has not risen proportion-
ally with the inmate count
increase.
Southwick said, “As bud-
get rolls around, our build-
ing out there is about 30
years old, now, I think, and
we’ve been having a lot of
major issues.” He said that
last year, two water heaters
and a washing machine
had to be replaced, all
commercial units. He also
said that around $1,500
was spent on roof repair,
and the department is in
the process of obtaining
bids to replace it.
Southwick said that the
Parole and Probation build-
ing, now located near the
jail building, cost between
$30,000 and $40,000 to
complete work on last fall,
including foundation work,
etc.
Southwick provided the
Board with an estimate
for the purchase of a new
rescue sled, called Snow-
bulance, from MicroConn,
Inc., for Search and Rescue
purposes. The total amount
for the sled, which can be
used with either supplied
wheels or composite skis,
is $8,380. The department
has another rescue sled,
which was used at least
four times last year, and
Southwick said he had
desired to purchase another
one. With a motion from
Bennett and a second from
Kerns, the purchase was
approved.
The Board, acting as the
governing body of the City
of Unity, approved Order
No. 2015-101, Appoint-
ing A Budget Officer For
The City Of Unity, with a
motion from Bennett and
a second from Kerns. The
Board appointed Harvey to
this position, for the 2015-
2016 fiscal yea .
The Board, acting again
as the governing body of
the City of Unity, approved
Resolution No. 2015-01,
Granting Signatory Au-
thorization To Designated
Baker County Representa-
tives, with a motion from
Kerns and a second from
Harvey. Bennett, City of
Unity ex officio Adminis-
trator, and Jason Yencopal,
Baker County Office of
Emergency Management,
were appointed to be au-
thorized to sign on behalf
of the City of Unity.
The Mayor and Coun-
cilors of the City of Unity
resigned on June 30, 2010,
and since that time, the
Board and the Baker
County Clerk have been at-
tempting to recruit council
members.
The next regular Board
of Commissioners session
is scheduled for Wednes-
day, January 21, at 9 a.m.,
in the Council Chambers
of the Baker County Court-
house.
Feds to focus on sagebrush, grouse
Secretary of the Interior
Sally Jewell issued a Sec-
retarial Order calling for
a comprehensive science-
based strategy to address
the more frequent and
intense wildfires that are
damaging vital sagebrush
landscapes and productive
rangelands, particularly in
the Great Basin including
Oregon. Goals include
reducing the size, sever-
ity and cost of rangeland
fires, addressing the
spread of cheatgrass and
other invasive species, and
positioning wildland fire
management resources for
more effective rangeland
fire response
“Targeted action is ur-
gently needed to conserve
habitat for the greater sage-
grouse and other wildlife
in the Great Basin, as well
as to maintain ranching
and recreation economies
that depend on sagebrush
landscapes,” said Secretary
Jewell.
The Secretarial Order
establishes a top-level
Rangeland Fire Task
Force, chaired by Interior’s
Deputy Secretary Mike
Connor, and includes five
assistant secretaries.
The Task Force will
work with other federal
agencies, states, tribes,
local entities and non-gov-
ernmental groups on fire
management and habitat
restoration activities.
The Order builds on
wildland fire prevention,
suppression and restoration
efforts to date, including
the National Cohesive
Wildland Fire Management
Strategy, which provides a
roadmap for achieving “all
hands—all lands” coopera-
tion, and the President’s
wildland fire budget
proposal to change how
fire suppression costs are
budgeted to treat extreme
fire seasons the way other
emergency disasters are
treated.
The accelerated inva-
sion of non-native grasses
and the spread of pinyon-
juniper, along with drought
and the effects of climate
change, increased the
threat of rangeland fires
to the sagebrush land-
scape and the more than
350 species of plants and
animals, such as mule
deer and pronghorn, that
rely on this critically
important ecosystem. The
increasing frequency and
intensity of rangeland fire
in sagebrush ecosystems
has significantly damaged
the landscape on which
ranchers, livestock manag-
ers, hunters and outdoor
recreation enthusiasts rely.
This unnatural fire cycle
puts at risk their economic
contributions across this
landscape that support and
maintain the Western way
of life in America.
Efforts to conserve and
protect sagebrush habi-
tat are the centerpiece of
an historic campaign to
address threats to greater
sage-grouse prior to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service’s court-ordered
2015 deadline whether
to propose the bird for
Endangered Species Act
protection.
State and private lands,
which make up a signifi-
cant portion of the priority
and general habitat for the
greater sage-grouse, are
also critical for the species.
As a result, the Department
is working in an unprec-
edented partnership with
the states to provide strong
habitat protection and con-
servation measures on the
lands they administer.
Historic property
grants available
The State Historic Preservation Office is o fering
grants for work on historic properties and for archaeol-
ogy projects. The annual grants fund up to $20,000 in
matching funds for preservation projects.
The Preserving Oregon Grant can fund preservation
of historic buildings listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Work may include non-maintenance
preservation like window repair, roof work, foundation
projects, and plumbing and electrical needs. It can also
fund significant work contributing toward identifying,
preserving and/or interpreting archaeological sites.
The Diamonds in the Rough grants help restore or
reconstruct the facades of buildings that have been heav-
ily altered over the years. The grant's purpose is to return
the buildings to their historic appearance and potentially
qualify them for historic register designation (local or
national).
Preservation office sta f is happy to talk with applicants
about potential grant projects and review applications.
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.
To learn more about the grants and workshops visit www.
oregonheritage.org or contact Kuri Gill at Kuri.Gill@
oregon.gov or 503-986-0685.
City has open
board vacancies
In January of 2015 the City of Baker City is looking
to fill multiple positions on several boards and commi -
sions. The City of Baker City will have the following
vacancies in January: Airport Commission (3) three
vacancies; Planning Commission (4) four vacancies,
Historic District Design and Review Commission (1) one
vacancy; and the Public Works Advisory Committee (2)
two vacancies. Length of terms will depend upon which
committee the applicant has applied for. Please contact
the City Recorder for additional information.
To apply go to www.bakercity.com and complete the
online application under boards and commissions or see
Luke Yeaton at City Hall located at 1655 1st Street. Paper
applications can be returned to: Attn: Luke Yeaton - Hu-
man Resource Manager/City Recorder, 1655 1st Street
Baker City OR, 97814, Fax: 541-524-2024, Phone: 541-
524-2033, Email: lyeaton@bakercity.com.
COPS program
adds service
As a service to the citizens of Baker City, members
of the Baker City Police Department Citizen on Patrol
(COP) Volunteer Program will begin conducting weekly
checks on community members with special needs. This
will primarily be for senior citizens, but may also include
other vulnerable adults.
The goal of this program is to provide personalized
assistance to those citizens who are in need of supple-
mentary support. This program is not intended to supplant
the citizen’s current familial and medical support, but to
augment them. The COPs offer this service to assist with
the basic needs of these citizens, enhance their quality
of life and if needed, direct them toward the appropriate
service providers in our area.
For those citizens who would like to be a part of
this program and receive weekly visits, they, or a fam-
ily member, will need to fill out a registration form that
can be found at Community Connection, the Baker City
Police Department, or on our website:
http://www.bakercity.com/departments/police.
Once completed, the form needs to be delivered to the
Baker City Police Department at 1768 Auburn Avenue in
Baker City.
These checks are scheduled to begin in January of
2015.
Family survives
early morning
house fire
According to the American Red Cross Cascades
Region, one adult and two children were displaced by a
January 3 residential fire that occurred in the early mor -
ing hours at 3010 Campbell Street in Baker City.
Some witnesses reported two adults and two children
were evacuated from the burning building around 2:30
that morning, and said the flames were visible two to
three blocks away.
The Red Cross provided help with lodging, food, cloth-
ing, shoes and infant supplies, comfort kits and informa-
tion about Disaster Health Services and Disaster Mental
Health Services.
According the Baker County web site page for the As-
sessor’s office, the home is owned by Andrew Storer and
was built originally in 1920. The Assessor’s Office also
has the home listed at just over $19,000 in value.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation
The names of those who survived the fire were not
available before this story went to print