10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2015
Local
Community Connection receives EIS workshop
grant for veterans’ transportation held Monday
By Gina K. Swartz
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
A $45,000 grant de-
signed specifically for a
rural community aimed at
providing transportation
for veterans to and from
medical appointments has
been received by Baker
County Community Con-
nection.
The grant for Transporta-
tion of Veterans in Highly
Rural Areas (HRTG) was
awarded through Baker
County, and Community
Connection qualifies for
the funds as a sub recipi-
ent.
The grant also has
afforded Community Con-
nection the hiring of one
new employee to oversee
the program. Jodi Tool has
been selected for the role.
The transportation
provided is not intended
to be competitive with the
DAV van, which provides
a similar service, but offers
an expanded range and
another option for local
Veterans to obtain the
medical care they deserve.
The grant allows for
Community Connection to
utilize any of the vehicles
in its fleet. “If we have
the need to be wheelchair
assessable we can use one
of the vehicles with the
ramps, if they are ambula-
tory we can use one of our
mini vans,” Tool said.
No new vehicles were
purchased for this pro-
gram. Unlike the DAV
the destination can be any
medical facility in Oregon,
Washington or Idaho. The
DAV van offers transporta-
tion only to a VA hospital
and destinations are very
limited.
The service allows any
honorably discharged
veteran and a companion
transportation to get to
appointments. The grant
allows for this service to
be provided to the veteran
free of charge.
A small fee may be
charged to companions of
the veteran being trans-
ported but that ride will be
accommodated, any fee
would be figured on a case
by case basis. According
to Tool the grant period
is from August to August,
however Baker County
Community Connection
did not receive their por-
tion of grant money until
November.
Tool wants to get the
word out as quickly as pos-
sible that this program is
available. “We are trying to
make this as successful a
venture as we can to prove
that it is in fact needed, we
all know that it is needed
but we have to prove to
them that it was needed
and we don’t know what
their requirements are.”
The program is not held
to simply Monday-Friday.
“We will make sure that
if transportation is needed
say on a Sunday, they will
have transportation,” as-
sured Tool.
The grant allows for
transportation of any vet-
eran rider in Baker County
“If we have someone in
Halfway, Sumpter, Hun-
tington anywhere in the
county that needs transpor-
tation it will be available to
them.” To get the word out
Tool is working with me-
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Jodi Tool has been hired to head up a program
aiding transportation for local veterans.
dia outlets, has brochures
and flyers she has placed at
DMV, the employment de-
partment, doctor’s offices
and clinics.
A mass mailing is be-
ing planned as well said
Tool. “Everyone who has
a mailbox is going to get a
postcard with information
about the program.” She is
also counting on word of
mouth to get the program
the attention it needs. Wal-
low County was awarded
the same grant. La Grande
was just a little too large to
qualify.
However, as Tool ex-
plained, “If we are going to
Walla Walla and someone
in La Grande is in need,
we are going to pick them
up. Or if we are taking
a Veteran to Boise to St.
Luke’s and we have a non-
veteran needing to going
to St. Alphonsus down the
street we are going to use
the same bus. We are going
to use this grant appropri-
ately but we are also going
to make sure we get as
many people the medical
care that they need.”
Although rides are not
limited to Monday – Fri-
day, Community Connec-
tions office is available to
schedule rides Monday –
Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and
can be reached by phone at
541-523-6591.
Tool added, “Our veter-
ans earned this so we are
going to do everything we
can to make it as success-
ful as possible. We want
this to be a continuing
grant.” Tool expects to be
part of the process ap-
plying for the next grant,
which was originally
initiated by former county
VSO Jane Chandler and
Community Connection
County Manager Mary Jo
Carpenter.
— OBITUARIES —
Lew Robbins
Continued from Page 2
He was preceded in
death by his wife Darlene
Robbins; parents Leicester
and Inga Robbins, father-
in-law and mother-in-law
Austin and Grace Rob-
bins; Uncle Delbert Viken;
brother-in-law Elbert
Wells.
Memorial services will
be held March 21, 2015
at 10:00 a.m. at the Baker
United Methodist Church,
1919 2nd Street, Baker
City, Oregon with Pastor
Ralph Lawrence and Pas-
tor Elke Sharma officia -
ing. Inurnment will follow
at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Reception will follow at
the Senior Community
Connection Center, 2810
Cedar Street, Baker City,
Oregon.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Lew
Robbins Memorial Fund,
c/o Baker High School,
2500 E Street, Baker City,
Oregon 97814. These
funds will be used to pur-
chase and update Vo-Ag
welding and mechanics
equipment.
Jack A. Yaggie
Baker City, 1922-2015
Jack A. Yaggie, 92,
died February 26, 2015 in
Baker City, Oregon.
A public Celebration of
Life service is scheduled
for 1:00 p.m. Saturday,
March 21 at Gray’s West
& Company Pioneer
Chapel with Pastor Shawn
Thatcher officiating
Jack was born on
December 26, 1922 in
Johnsonburg, Pennsylvania
to Fred and Minnie Mae
Yaggie.
He gradu-
ated from
high school
in Bradford,
Pennsylva-
nia.
Jack
After
Yaggie
graduation
Jack joined
the Navy.
He enlisted as an ap-
prentice seaman in May of
1941 and served honorably
for 27 years retiring as a
Senior Chief
Petty Officer in July of
1968.
His Navy career was ex-
tensive; serving in aviation
and aboard over 8 USS
vessels. He was a survivor
of the Battle of the Corral
Sea while stationed on the
USS Lexington which was
the first ship sunk during
the battle.
Jack was proud to have
served his country and
liked to share his experi-
ences with others.
After retiring from the
Navy, Jack worked for the
postal service as a mail
carrier and also worked
for the San Diego Tribune
Newspaper.
He married Barbara Yag-
gie in San Diego, Califor-
nia.
His hobbies included
boating-particularly to
Catalina Island, deep sea
fishing, gardening, wal -
ing, motorcycle riding,
swimming and during
his younger years lifting
weights and boxing. He
also loved to write and
read poetry.
Jack was preceded in
death by his parents; wife,
Barbara Yaggie; daughter-
in-law, Debbie Summers
and son in law Gordon
Summers.
Jack is survived by two
daughters, Frances Yaggie
of Baker City and Dale
Laskowitz of Maryland;
son, Michael Yaggie of
California; brother, Darrell
Yonker of Pennsylvania
and sister in law, Lois Yon-
ker of Pennsylvania; and
numerous grandchildren
and great-grandchildren,
nieces and nephews.
Contributions may be
made in memory of Jack to
St. Jude’s Children’s
Research Hospital and
Wounded Warriors Project
through Gray’s West &
Company Pioneer Chapel
1500 Dewey Avenue Baker
City, Oregon 97814.
Geraldine
Brooks
Richland,
1934-2015
Geraldine
“Gerry” Ann
Brooks, 80,
died on Sat- Geraldine
urday, March Brooks
7, 2015 at
her home in
Richland, Oregon.
Gerry was born on
November 26, 1934 in
Tacoma, Washington to
Charles and Ethel (Mead-
er) Thompson.
She was raised in Taco-
ma, attending elementary
schools and then graduat-
ing from high school there
as well.
Following high school,
Gerry attended and later
graduated after a four-year
internship with Tacoma
General Hospital, as a
registered nurse.
She met John “Jack”
Brooks in Trona, Cali-
fornia, where they both
worked at an industrial
plant.
Gerry was the industrial
plant nurse there for 30
years.
Gerry enjoyed her time
at the ocean, and spring
salmon fishing.
She loved helping any-
one and everyone in need,
her friends, neighbors
and did so willingly with
kindness and never for any
monetary gain.
Gerry also enjoyed get-
ting outside to garden or
being indoors, canning.
She was preceded in
death by her parents and
brother, Welcon Thomp-
son.
Gerry is survived by her
husband of 39 years, Jack;
daughter, Leslie Walker;
son, Wade Greist; step-
daughter Debra Leo and
seven grandchildren.
Jack would like to thank
all of the friends for com-
ing by the house to visit,
because every time they
(you) did, it put a smile on
her face.
She died peacefully at
the home she loved and
was able to do so with the
loving care of daughter,
Debra.
For those who would
like to make a memorial
donation in memory of
Gerry, the family suggests
the Eagle Valley Ambu-
lance through Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home and
Cremation Services PO
Box 543 Halfway, OR
97834.
Online condolences may
be shared at www.tamispi-
nevalleyfuneralhome.com.
On Monday, Mary Anne Nash, Public Policy Counsel
for the Oregon Farm Bureau Federation, presented a
“Constructing Effective Comments For Environmental
Impact Statements (EIS)” workshop, held in the Commis-
sioner’s Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse.
The workshop had around 25 attendees, including
County Commissioners Bill Harvey and Mark Ben-
nett, and County Planning Director Holly Kerns. The
workshop’s focus was the effective submission of public
comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)
Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Transmission Line Draft
EIS (DEIS) specificall , and the submission of comments
under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Nash, who works in Salem, and has family ties in
central and eastern Oregon, introduced herself, and said,
“What we’re going to do today is break down the NEPA
process, help you understand where the agencies are com-
ing from, what they’re supposed to do, what the purpose
is of what they’re doing, and then with that, how you can
most effectively respond.”
She gave a slideshow presentation on the County’s
interactive Smart Board, titled “Constructing Effective
Comments Under NEPA,” and described what NEPA
is, and what federal agencies must do under NEPA. The
main points were: 1) A federal agency, under NEPA, is re-
quired to prepare a detailed statement of effects for major
federal actions that significantly a fect the quality of the
human environment. 2) Agencies must consider alterna-
tives to their actions. 3) Agencies must use an interdis-
ciplinary process to develop alternatives and consider
affects. 4) The public must be allowed to engage in the
NEPA process, and responses to comments on the NEPA
analysis are required by agencies. 5) The NEPA docu-
ment is required to be concise, written in plain English,
and must allow readers to determine what actions are be-
ing considered, and what the impacts of those actions are.
A comment from the crowd was made immediately
after the first slide, that the last bullet point isn t indica-
tive of what the community is experiencing, noting that
the B2H DEIS is several thousand pages long with highly
technical data, and it’s difficult for readers to determine
considered actions and impacts of those actions. Nash
said, “That is the reason, actually, why I put that in there,
because, I can’t tell you how many NEPA comments I’ve
gotten, where one of our first comments is, ‘ e can’t re-
ally tell what you’re doing here.’”
Nash described the purpose of an EIS, which is a docu-
ment used for projects that may have a significant impact
on the environment, and detailed the different elements of
an EIS, including purpose and need, alternatives, affected
environment, and environmental consequences.
She said it’s important to use as much detail and clarity
as possible, for example, using headings, clearly connect-
ing cause and effect, citing specific sections of the EIS,
pointing out inadequacies, and providing as much factual
support as possible. Economic impacts are important and
should be stated up front and clearly, but, “In my experi-
ence, environmental impacts tend to weigh more heav-
ily,” in a NEPA analysis, she said. If there are specific
data available concerning investments, loss of income,
etc., she said these should be included. The more factual
support that can be provided, the better. And she added,
“Don’t rant.”
Nash said if there isn‘t the time to fully read a docu-
ment, “I would say, focus on the key pieces,” like the
alternatives evaluated and the discussion of effects, and a
review of the attached maps, which would help focus on
impacts to properties under each alternative.
She said there is power in numbers, and if comments
made by others are relevant to one’s case, to incorporate
them into their own comments.
The group discussed addressing the issues of purpose
and need for the project in the comments, and Nash read
an excerpt from the Executive Summary of the DEIS:
“The B2H Project is neither required to support any par-
ticular new power generation project nor justified by any
particular existing power generation project. Rather, the
B2H Project would meet IPC’s (Idaho Power Company,
the applicant) obligations to meet Federal Energy Regula-
tory Commission, Oregon Public Utility Commission,
and the Idaho Public Utility Commission requirements.
IPC would meet these requirements by providing a high-
capacity connection between two key points in the exist-
ing bulk electric system, adding capacity to transmit elec-
tricity during periods of high demand and accommodate
third-party transmission requests.” She noted the phrasing
was “interesting,” and said whether there’s actual purpose
and need could be addressed in the comments.
Preferred and alternative routes for the project were
discussed, including methods of addressing them in the
comments. Mitigation, environmental effects and conse-
quences, and direct and indirect effects were discussed.
Nash gave an example of a rancher who had compiled
extensive data about the projected losses to his operation
for the purpose of submitting comments in the past, but
that level of detail isn’t expected with every comment.
After the comments are received, they’re reviewed and
there will be responses to all of them, though this may be
done according to category and similar comments may be
grouped together. Once the DEIS is finalized, a final EI
and Record of Decision (ROD) will be issued. The ROD
will detail the procedures for an appeal, for any party
wishing to do so. Appeals are generally limited to issues
raised in one’s comments, so, it’s important to include as
much detail as possible when commenting.
Information can be obtained at boardmantohemingway.
com, and comments can sent to comment@boardma-
ntohemingway.com, or mailed to the BLM by close of
business on Thursday, March 19, 2015.