10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015
Local
Haines Fire District’s
station gets a new sign
Pine-Eagle
School District
lawsuit filed
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
L-R: Brandon Johnson, Logan Perkins and Daniel
Drake pose with the sign, freshly unwrapped, just
before it was placed on the loader and hung high on
the front of the fire station
• EAGLE SCOUT
LEADERSHIP
PROJECT HAS BIG
REWARDS
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Just two days shy of his
18th birthday—the cutoff
day to become an Eagle
Scout—Baker High School
student Daniel Drake
achieved his goal in a big
way.
Drake, along with
donations from location
businesses and several
community volunteers,
was the creator of an Eagle
Scout leadership project
that resulted in a new and
much-needed sign hanging
high above the Haines Fire
Department.
“Yes, it’s an Eagle Scout
project,” said Drake, “but
I’m doing this because
it helps the Haines Fire
Department, which didn’t
have a sign. When you
think of a fire department,
you think of a building like
this—but there wasn’t a
sign.”
Drake is part of local
Boy Scout Troop #433,
led by James Simpson.
Boy Scouts can earn
up to 21 merit badges,
but as his mother, Carol
Davis, explained, some
are required—as was this
leadership project in order
for her son to become an
Eagle Scout.
Drake “filled out the
forms and paperwork,”
as he explained, and then
submitted his project to a
Board for approval. “It was
approved the first time,”
he said, but he was given
some suggestions to help
him on his way.
His task was then to
coordinate his sign project
from cradle to grave.
Millers Lumber stepped
forward and donated the
lumber. “Most of the paint
came from Ace,” said
Drake, in the form of a
donation. “The gloss was
donated by Cashway,” he
added.
Drake and the rest of the
troop to which he belongs
sorted and cashed in “$100
worth of cans and bottles”
to help raise money to
build the sign. Luckily,
they only had to purchase
one can of brightly colored,
high-end paint.
The sign itself was
constructed and painted by
inmates at the local prison,
with painstaking attention
to the layers of carved de-
tails and colors, which can
all be seen when one looks
up close at the sign.
All in all, the sign
was six feet square, and
weighed over 200 pounds.
Bob Middleton picked
up the completed sign from
the inmates and delivered
it, carefully wrapped, to
the fire station where it sat
awaiting its unveiling last
Sunday.
The weather—70 degrees
with clear blue skies—
cooperated perfectly as
Haines Fire Chief Jerry
Hampton, Dave John-
son, Jarrod Maxwell, and
Mayor Jim Brown gathered
to help hang the sign.
Holes were drilled high
through the station’s front
wall so that the sign could
be fastened on both inside
and out.
Brown kept his foot
firmly on the brakes of his
former loader, which had
technically just become the
property of Jim Aldrich.
Brown said he sees new
equipment in his future,
and offered up words of
encouragement to the
volunteers.
“You do mighty fine
work,” he called out.
It took almost exactly
two hours to complete the
sign hanging.
“I want to make sure and
give special thanks to Dave
Johnson for all his hard
work in this. I also want to
thank the inmates for all
their work,” Hampton said.
Hampton shook Drake’s
hand and gave him a gray
Haines Fire Department T-
shirt. “This is very impor-
tant to us,” Hampton said.
Then Drake, along with
fellow troop members,
Brandon Johnson and
Logan Perkins, donated
the remainder of funds
they had raised—$60 in
total— to the Haines Rural
Fire Department, as they
explained, is customary
with the completion of
most Eagle Scout leader-
ship projects.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Back Row L-R: Jerry Hampton, Dave Johnson, Jar-
rod Maxwell, and Mayor Jim Brown. Front Row L-R:
Logan Perkins, Brandon Johnson and Daniel Drake.
The volunteers gather for a photo moments after the
new sign was hung on the fire station
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Jim Brown lifts Dave Johnson and Jerry Hampton
with the sign to the rooftop.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Proud mom, Carol Davis stands with son Daniel
Drake. Jim Brown parks the loader behind them.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Daniel Drake presents $60 in funds raised to Jerry
Hampton, Fire Chief.
— Random Acts of Kindness —
Each week The Baker County
Press will include a list—all
anonymous, of course—of the
good deeds and random acts of
kindness people from around
the area have witnessed. To
include something you’ve seen
or experienced, email News@
TheBakerCountyPress.com with
“Random Acts of Kindness” in
the subject line. We’ll be sure to
include your story.
• The homemade chicken noodle
soup during my cold was awe-
some! I have the kindest father-in-
law ever.
• There was a little kid throwing
a fit in the Albertsons parking lot.
A lot of people were staring and
acting offended at the scene. But
one lady walked up and asked
the mom if there was anything
she could do to help, then took
the bag and purse from the lady
so she could hold the child and
comfort her. I suspect the girl was
autistic, but I admired that other
lady who knew how to help.
The suit’s introduction reads, “On April 26, 2013,
elementary school teacher Linda Mallery McLean
(McLean), was assaulted by a man with a gun while at
work at Defendant Pine Eagle School District 61 (Dis-
trict) in Halfway, Oregon. The gunman pointed the gun at
Ms. McLean’s face and pulled the trigger. In the instant
before the gunman pulled the trigger, Ms. McLean rec-
ognized the gunman as the school district’s safety office ,
Shawn Thatcher (Thatcher).”
The introduction continues, “This simulated murder
was part of an ‘active shooter drill’ that Defendants had
collectively coordinated and carried out. Defendants in-
tentionally failed to disclose to Pine Eagle School District
61 employees, including Ms. McLean, that the gunmen
in the school on April 26, 2013, were actually the school
safety officer Thatcher and District Board Chair, John
Minarich, and that the simulated mass murders carried
out by Thatcher and Minarich was merely a drill. Ms.
McLean has suffered and continues to suffer significant
damages, including severe mental and emotional distress,
and loss of her career as a teacher, as a result of Defen-
dants’ actions, which constitute intentional, willful and
wanton violation of her rights under the United States
Constitution and the State of Oregon.”
The court filing goes on to describe McLean s view
of the drill. “All of a sudden, a man dressed all in black
with a hoodie and goggles burst through the classroom
door into the classroom. Ms. McLean was disoriented
and her heart started racing. The man walked toward
Ms. McLean, pointing a gun at Ms. McLean’s face. Ms.
McLean could not move, as she sat terrified in her chai .
Ms. McLean recognized the gunman as the school safety
office , Shawn Thatcher, an instant before he pulled
the trigger. Smoke filled the room. Thatcher told Ms.
McLean that she was dead. Thatcher left the room. He
and John Minarich, who was also dressed in camouflage,
and brandishing a weapon, continued going into and
out of rooms, pointing their weapons at other teachers,
pulling the trigger of the gun, and stating that the teach-
ers were dead. Panic ensued. A teacher wet her pants. A
teacher tried to keep Minarich from entering his room
and scuffled with Minarich, injuring the teachers s arm.
Some teachers fell down trying to hide or escape from
Minarich or Thatcher.”
The court filings then describe McLean s later treat-
ments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, an inability to
return to the school, and what she says was subsequent
hostile treatment in the community by the defendants.
McLean is asking for attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as
punitive claims in an unspecified amount as allowed by
law.
Residents of the Halfway/Richland area have specu-
lated since the filing of the lawsuit as to whether criminal
charges are being considered against anyone involved in
executing the active shooter drill.
Interim Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash said this week
that to this day, The Baker County Sheriff’s Department
has not received a complaint of an alleged crime by any
potential victim. Therefore, no criminal investigations
have occurred.
At the time this article went to print, the defendants in
the suit were aware of the legal action, but staff at the
District 61 office said that they were not allowed to make
comment at this time. One member of the staff there
indicated that she didn’t believe an attorney had yet been
assigned to the case.
The compilation and filing of a legal response from the
defense can take weeks, and until that time, little infor-
mation is available from the point of view of the School
District or the other individuals named in the lawsuit.
Drunk driver
kills one in
La Grande
Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers in La Grande
are continuing to investigate yesterday afternoon's fatal
traffic crash that resulted in the death of one occupant,
serious injury to three others and injury to the driver who
now faces criminal charges.
Preliminary information from investigators indicates
that on April 18, at about 5:47 p.m., a black Nissan
pickup, being driven by Brandon C. Halleck, 27, of La
Grande, crashed into a ditch and killed one person and in-
jured 4 other occupants. According to OSP Sergeant Kyle
Hove, Halleck was driving in a reckless manner with 3
unrestrained occupants in the bed when he crashed. Two
juveniles riding in the bed were injured and the third adult
occupant, identified as Jacob R. Yeates, 23, of La Grande,
was pronounced deceased at the scene. five people total
were riding in the pickup, three in the bed, one in the cab
and the driver, at the time of the crash.
The driver was lodged on charges of Manslaughter in
the 1st Degree, Assault 1st Degree, DUII-Felony, Reck-
less Driving, and 3 counts of Reckless Endangering. He
was lodged in the Union County Jail.
OSP was assisted at the scene by the Union County
Sheriff's Office, La Grande City Police Department,
Island City Rural Fire Department and the La Grande Fire
Department.