Bill Would Honor
Local Soldier
— 9
The
Middle School
B-ball Tournament
— 7
Snake River Econ
Alliance meets
— 8
Baker County Press
Friday, March 6, 2015 • Volume 2, Issue 10
Th eBakerCountyPress.com
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LOCAL NEWS: HEADLINE STORIES • LOCAL ARTICLES • OUTDOORS • AGRICULTURE • CLASSIFIEDS
Mark Witty
to be new 5J
Superintendent
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS SESSION
Brownfields project at Lime,
Sheriff appointment discussed
BETTY PALMER TO BEGIN AS
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
OF CURRICULUM
Submitted Photo.
Mark Witty accepted the offer to become 5J’s new
Superintendent after this school year.
By Brian Addison
Submitted Photo.
The dilapidated site at Lime has been a topic of discussion for some time, but now plans are moving
forward to clean up this Brownfi elds project.
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County
Board of Commissioners
held its regular bi-monthly
session on Wednesday,
March 4, 2015, at 9 a.m.,
with between 20 and 30 in
attendance.
Present from the Board
were Commission Chair
Bill Harvey, Commissioner
Mark Bennett, Commis-
sioner Tim Kerns, and
Executive Assistant Heidi
Martin.
There was a discus-
sion concerning Oregon’s
Low-Carbon Fuel Standard
(LCFS), which is set to
expire at the end of 2015.
Senate Bill 324, which
was passed by the Oregon
House this week, will sig-
nifi cantly revise and indefi -
nitely extend that program,
and the result will be an
increase in gas prices, with
estimates over a dollar
per gallon higher, and a
reduction in the “carbon
intensity” of fuels, another
controversial topic.
Harvey said that the im-
pacts of this legislation, at
the very least, an increase
in fuel prices via a gas
tax, are far-reaching and
negative, and he voiced his
opposition to it.
Wanda Ballard, who was
present, asked Harvey if
there would be any eco-
nomic benefi ts associated
with the proposed legisla-
tion..
Harvey responded that,
“There’s no benefi t what-
soever to the citizens who
are paying the prices. It‘s
going to hurt everybody
across the board.”
See WITTY/ Page 8
By Kerry McQuisten
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
BHS’s Mock Trial team competed in Vale last weekend at regionals, bringing in
second place.
Friday
Sunny. Mild, highs in the mid to upper 50s. Lows
around 29 at night.
Saturday
Sunny. Highs around 60 degrees. Lows at night
right around the freezing mark.
Sunday
Mostly sunny with highs in the low 60s and
nighttime lows around the freezing mark.
Last Saturday Baker
High School’s Mock
Trial team traveled to Vale
to compete in regional
competitions. The team
fi nished with a respectable
second place win, closely
behind La Grande.
Twenty-one local
students in grades 9-12
faced off, after weeks of
daily practice before and
after school, against teams
from La Grande, Vale, and
Grant-Union.
Stephani Rasmussen
coached the team along-
side Kris Pepera. The
coaches organized practic-
es both at the school and
inside the Baker County
Circuit Court room.
See MOCK TRIAL / Page 9
Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County.
Our forecast made possible by
this generous sponsor:
Offi cial weather provider for
The Baker County Press.
Mark Witty, 51, becomes the Baker School District’s
new superintendent after agreeing to a two-year contract
that pays him $124,500 per year. The school board gave
Witty the unanimous nod during a special meeting Thurs-
day, Feb. 26.
Betty Palmer, principal of South Baker Intermediate,
will assume a new role for herself and for the District as
Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum and
Instruction. The board voted unanimously to create the
new position offered Palmer.
Palmer takes over director of curriculum duties from
current director of curriculum Anthony Johnson.
Johnson is expected to remain in his position until the
end of this school year, when he will retire June 30.
See COUNTY/ Page 10
BHS mock trial team
competes in Vale
Submitted by Rachel Burk.
Brian@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Deputy Hoopes
submits letter
for interim
Sheriff position
By Kerry McQuisten
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On Monday morning,
Deputy John Hoopes
tossed his hat into the
ring for the interim Baker
County Sheriff position.
Last week, Lt. Travis
Ash was endorsed by out-
going Sheriff Mitch South-
wick, who has resigned
Submitted Photo.
effective April 30, 2015.
John Hoopes.
Now the two will com-
pete in the appointment
process to fi ll this position until the next election in 2016.
See SHERIFF / Page 5
Correction: In a front page story last week, Mark Witty’s
last name was inadvertently changed to Whitley.
We apologize for the error.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Mill plans on hold for now
New guests at GOP banquet
City Budget Board meets
Chamber recruiting board members
Haines chili feed raises $8K
Cougar sighting in south Baker
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