Marilyn’s Music
moves on Main
—Page 3
The
GOP Banquet
—Page 5
Baker County Press
Friday, March 27, 2015 • Volume 2, Issue 13
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LOCAL NEWS: HEADLINE STORIES • LOCAL ARTICLES • OUTDOORS • AGRICULTURE • CLASSIFIEDS
Walden
speaks at
two events
CATTLEWOMEN AND CATTLEMEN SERVE UP LUNCH AT SOUTH BAKER
Beef: it’s what’s for lunch
TOWN HALL, BANQUET
DRAW AROUND 150 PEOPLE
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Volunteers from the local Boy Scouts brought in the
colors to start the town hall last Saturday.
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
By Kerry McQuisten
Bert White barbecues some juicy beef, while Bob Harrell mans the second grill in the background.
By Todd Arriola
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The Baker County
Cattlewomen and Cattle-
men joined forces to serve
over 300 people, including
students, parents and fac-
ulty, a barbecue beef tri-tip
lunch as part of an annual
tradition in its 6th year, last
Thursday, March 19th, at
South Baker Intermediate.
The group of volunteers
included Susan Nelson,
Kate Rohner, Becky and
Bob Harrell, Beth and
Wannie Mackenzie, Carol
Hummel, Bert White and
Bob McKim, and in the
kitchen were full-time
school employees Alita Ar-
endell and Debbie Koontz.
Rohner introduced an
informational video the
Cattlewomen presented,
the main focus of which
was beef, to the students,
4th through 6th grad-
ers, while the Cattlemen
prepared the tri-tip roasts
outside on two portable
grills. The video included
children of different ages,
explaining their daily
ranching and farming rou-
tines and responsibilities,
and the nutritional benefi ts
of consuming beef.
Rohner talked to the
students about the process
from calf to beef product,
and asked, “Who likes
hamburger?” Not surpris-
ingly, the majority raised
their hands, and she had a
lively interaction, explain-
ing the bi-products from
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
cattle like leather shoes,
lotions, and makeup, while
the volunteers handed out
beef jerky to the students.
She introduced another
video produced by the
Peterson Farm Brothers,
titled “Chore,” a farm-
themed parody of the
Katy Perry song and video
“Roar.” The video, one in
a series by the Petersons,
was also well-received by
the students.
Last Saturday was a full evening for Congressman Greg
Walden who held a town hall at the VAOI on Main Street
just prior to attending the Baker County Republicans’ An-
nual Banquet just down the street.
Roughly 35 people attended the town hall, an unusual
mix of local Democrats and Republicans including the
County chairs of both parties, as well as many welcome
new faces representing several political affi liations.
After the town hall, an annual banquet, which is one of
the local Republican party’s fundraisers, fi lled the Elks
Lodge with around 115 people in attendance. The panel
of guests, a prime rib dinner, and Walden as keynote
speaker drew applause several times during the evening.
See TOWN HALL / Page 5
See BEEF / Page 10
Fire Chief
Museum display honors men
focuses on fire
and women in uniform
prevention
By Gina K. Swartz
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
There are some im-
portant dates in history
coming up and the Baker
Heritage Museum is pre-
paring to acknowledge and
celebrate them with a new
display honoring those
who have served.
The exhibit is aptly
named “Honoring those
that served.” Mindy Sher-
rieb, one of the volunteers
at the museum who is
working on the exhibit,
which offi cially opened
in the main gallery of
the museum Saturday,
March 21, said, “It will
continue to be a work in
progress with completion
not expected until close to
Memorial Day. It is a two-
year exhibit.”
See EXHIBIT / Page 8
By Gina K. Swartz
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
Part of the museum’s new display honoring local veterans includes uniforms
and a plaque listing the names of some WWII veterans who were Elks.
Friday
Mostly clear and sunny with highs around 68.
Slight chance of rain showers overnight with
lows in the mid 40s.
Saturday
40% chance of rain showers, otherwise mostly
clear in the later parts of the day. Highs in the
low 50s. Lows in the mid-20s at night.
Sunday
A wealth of sunshine with highs in the upper
50s. Partly cloudy and cool at night, warmer
than the night before though. Lows around 35.
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 John has only been at the helm as the new Baker
City Fire Chief since January, but since taking on his new
endeavor he has been doing a lot of evaluation of the
Baker City Fire Department’s systems and processes.
One of the areas that he is planning on taking immedi-
ate action on is building inspections with the focal point
being downtown.
“Many of those occupancies have not been inspected
for a very long time,” said John.
The department has had a long-standing fi re preven-
tion program that as of today is underutilized. There are
a couple of purposes for restarting and making a priority
this inspection process. The obvious being education and
prevention.
“By getting into buildings and identifying areas that
could in the future cause a problem and getting it cor-
rected is essential. Letting business and building owners
know where problems lie and what the ramifi cations
could be, suggest areas for improvement and support
those efforts,” he said.
See FIRE PREVENTION / Page 7
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
County declares drought emergency
Marilyn’s Music moves on Main
Accident takes teen’s life
Locked & Loaded ready for 2015
City bans marijuana stores
SWAT team called to Huntington
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