10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2015
Local
Commissioners hear
presentation from
Rep. Cliff Bentz
• PRODUCTION
COMPANY TO
MAKE HISTORIC
DOCUMENTARY
ON McCARTY
GANG
BY TODD ARRIOLA
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On Wednesday, the
Baker County Board of
Commissioners held its
first regular session of the
month, which included
a presentation given by
District 60 Representative
Cliff Bentz regarding the
2015 Oregon State Legis-
lative Session.
Present from the Board
were Chair Bill Harvey,
Commissioners Mark Ben-
nett and Tim Kerns, and
Executive Assistant Heidi
Martin.
Attendees included Baker
County Planning Director
Holly Kerns, Baker County
Sheriff’s Office Lieute -
ant/Parole and Probation
Supervisor Will Benson,
Ed Hardt, Art Sappington,
Ken Anderson, Wanda
Ballard, John and Ramona
Creighton, Lynn Shum-
way, Curt Martin, and Wes
Morgan.
After the Pledge of
Allegiance and optional
Invocation, both led by
Harvey, the agenda was
adopted, with a motion
from Bennett, and second
from Kerns.
For Citizen Participation,
Sappington discussed a let-
ter he drafted to Region 6
Forester Jim Peña on July
22, 2015, in response to
Pena’s letter dated June 16,
2015, regarding previous
correspondence from Sap-
pington with claims about
the United States Forest
Service’s (USFS) violation
of laws and the agency’s
mandated duties.
Among other points,
Sappington told the Board
he saw inconsistencies and
avoidance of his questions
in the latest letter from
Peña, and, that Sappington
claims funds dedicated to
Baker County for the cost
of fire suppression on pu -
lic and private lands were
mismanaged by the USFS.
Bennett asked Sappington
to schedule an appointment
with Baker County District
Attorney Matt Shirtcliff,
to discuss with him any
alleged criminal violations
of laws within the County,
which Sappington claims.
Ballard and Ramona
Creighton asked about the
individuals who applied
for the position of Baker
County Natural Resource
Advisory Committee
(NRAC) Coordinator,
and Harvey answered that
there were three who were
interviewed.
Harvey informed those
present that the regular
NRAC meeting sched-
uled for Thursday, August
6, was rescheduled for
Thursday, August 13, at 3
p.m., in the Commission
Chambers of the County
Courthouse.
Hardt expressed some
concerns about Senate Bill
838, which has been signed
into law (effective January
2016), stating that there
will be a significant e fect
to his personal mining
operation, and Harvey said
that he believes Hardt’s
stance is strong, and that
he would do everything
possible to support Hardt’s
efforts.
The minutes from the
July 1, 2015 and July 8,
2015 Commission sessions
were approved, with a mo-
tion from Bennett, and a
second from Kerns.
Holly Kerns gave the
Board a Planning Depart-
ment update, including
highlights from this year.
In January, she said,
Baker County hosted an
all-County meeting, which
included the topic of grant
funding for wastewater
treatment. She said that
the cities of Richland,
Halfway, and Huntington
have been able to take
advantage of that opportu-
nity, with water system up-
grades in different phases
in each area.
Holly Kerns remained
present for a public hearing
in the matter of the first
reading of Ordinance No.
2015-05, Amending the
Zoning Map and Compre-
hensive Plan Map Adopted
by Ordinance 84-1. The
first reading of the ord -
nance by title only was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Kerns.
Continuance of the hear-
ing to Wednesday, August
19, at 9:30 a.m., was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Kerns.
Bentz gave an hour-long
presentation, using the
County’s ActivBoard, with
a detailed analysis of this
year’s legislative session,
and what next year’s ballot
may include. Some points
from his presentation
include:
There are 91 individuals
in Salem making legis-
lative decisions for the
State--25 Republicans
and 35 Democrats in the
House, 12 Republicans
and 18 Democrats in the
Senate, and Democratic
Governor Kate Brown.
The 2015 District 60
Legislative Team consists
of State Representative
Bentz ($1,921 salary per
month), District Direc-
tor Andrea Dominguez
($2,900), Legislative
Director Cassie Passon
($2,850), Receptionist
Nicole Crane ($2,240), and
Legislative Interns Garrett
Kitamura, Kieran Cola-
han, Lauren Boyd, Melina
Rebaum and Erika Bentz
(unpaid).
1,712 bills were intro-
duced by the House, 1,079
of which were passed, and
1,087 were introduced by
the Senate, 1,003 of which
were passed. The bills
passed by both the House
and Senate totaled 921,
and the bills signed by the
Governor, as of July 31,
were 797.
Ten of Bentz’s intro-
duced bills were signed
into law, with one pending:
HB 2958, HB 2980, HB
3011, HB 3015, HB 3164,
HB 3166, HB 3168, HB
3492, SCR 16, SB 800,
and HB 3089 (pending).
Bentz’s legislative
assignments included: Co-
Chair of Public Infrastruc-
ture Commission; Energy
Coalition; SageCon--moni-
toring; Legislative Counsel
on River Governance;
2015 Transportation
Package Work Group;
Tax Haven Work Group;
Charitable/Not For Profit
Taxation Work Group; and
Return on Investments/
CO2 Reduction Standards
Work Group.
Next year’s ballot could
include: President, Oregon
Senators, Congressman,
Governor, Secretary of
State, Treasurer, Labor
Commissioner, and up to
16 ballot measures.
Intergovernmental
Agreement #5109, between
the State of Oregon and
Baker County, regarding
post-prison supervision,
was approved, with a mo-
tion from Bennett, and a
second from Kerns.
Agreement #30903,
2015 Fund Exchange
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
L-R: Rep. Cliff Bentz, Commissioner Mark Bennett, Commission Chair Bill
Harvey and Commissioner Tim Kerns.
Agreement, Hot Mix and
Oil Purchase between the
State of Oregon and Baker
County, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Kerns.
A Personal Services
Agreement between Nurse
Practitioner Karen Andruss
and Baker County was
approved, with a motion
from Kerns, and a second
from Bennett.
A Personal Services
Agreement between
Physician Assistant Gina
Glaubke and Baker County
was approved, with a
motion from Kerns, and a
second from Bennett.
Order No. 2015-136,
Order Designating A Paper
For Publication Of The
Annual Foreclosure Of The
Tax Liens As Shown By
The Baker County Fore-
closure List, was approved,
with a motion from Kerns,
and a second from Bennett.
The Baker City Herald was
designated.
Order No. 2015-137,
Appointing A Member To
The Baker County Trans-
portation/Traffic Safety
Commission, was ap-
proved, with a motion from
Bennett, and a second from
Kerns. Cass Vanderwiele
was appointed, her term
expiring on July 1, 2017.
Order No. 2015-138, Ap-
pointing A Member To The
Local Public Safety Coor-
dinating Council Commit-
tee, was approved, with a
motion from Bennett, and a
second from Kerns. Baker
County Sheriff Travis Ash
was appointed, his term
expiring on November 1,
2016.
Order No. 2015-139,
Appointing A Member To
The Baker County Plan-
ning Commission, was
approved, with a motion
from Harvey, and a second
from Bennett. Tom Van
Diepen was appointed, his
term expiring on Septem-
ber 1, 2016.
A letter from former pro-
prietor of York’s Grocery,
Dennis Dorrah, regarding
his local audio/video pro-
duction corporation called
Huckleberry Productions,
was read by Harvey to
those present.
According to the let-
ter, it is “…a request for
your group’s support of a
film documentary project
which will preserve and
bring awareness to a little
known segment in the
history of Baker, Union,
and Wallowa Counties, and
will provide a beneficial
economic impact through
increased tourism.”
The letter states that the
documentary will be about
the McCarty gang, led by
the oldest of three broth-
ers, Tom McCarty. The
gang’s base of operations
was a family ranch north-
east of Haines. The gang
committed a number of
significant robberies in this
area, which included the
Sumpter Valley Railroad,
Sparta Mercantile, Sum-
merville Bank, Enterprise
Bank, and an attempted
robbery of the Warshaur
(Geiser Grand) Casino.
Robberies and livestock
theft were also committed
by the gang in Washington,
Wyoming, Colorado, Utah,
and Arizona.
The request included the
following:
1) We would like to
make a presentation in
order to make you more
aware of what we are
doing, receive feedback
from your group, and
answer any questions you
may have. 2) We would
like to have a letter from
your group supporting this
endeavor; it is our inten-
tion to apply for grant
funding and local support
of this project will be vital.
3) We ask for any financial
support that you may be
able to provide since most
grants we are applying
for will require matching
funds.
In closing, the letter
stated, “It is our intention
to create this film because
we have the passion to do
so and we believe the story
of Tom McCarty and his
gang needs to be told and
that its telling can only
benefit Northeast Oregon.
Shumway and Martin
made a presentation to
the Board concerning in-
stream water rights issues,
emphasizing the standing
the County has, and the
concern about environ-
mental interest groups
involved with the process
and issues.
After the discussion,
Bennett moved, with a
second from Kerns, to des-
ignate Yturri Rose, LLP as
County Counsel, in order
to be involved with the
process, and to address in-
stream water rights issues.
Harvey gave copies of
a flyer to those present,
concerning the Fred Kelly
Grant Group Coordination
101 3-day Workshop, to be
held Thursday, August 20,
2015, through Saturday,
August 22, 2015. The cost
is $150, which includes
lunch for all three days,
workbook and brochure,
intensive training, and in-
teractive problem solving.
The workshop will be
held at the Baker County
Event Center, 2600 East
Street, in Baker City.
Registration is at 7:30
a.m. on August 20, and the
presentation begins at 8:30
a.m. For more informa-
tion, Lorrie Harvey can be
contacted at 541-519-5470,
or lorrieharvey@gmail.
com.
Arraignment made in Star party scheduled
VFW assault case
for Bates State Park
On August 3, 2015, in
the Baker County Circuit
Court, Austin Edward
Scott (dob 08-26-1993)
of 2335 Baker Street #1,
Baker City, Oregon, was
arraigned on a Secret
Indictment handed down
by a Baker County Grand
Jury.
Scott was indicted on
one count of Assault in the
Second Degree, a Class B
Felony, and Assault in the
Fourth Degree, a Class A
Misdemeanor.
The charges stem from
an incident that occurred at
the VFW in Baker City on
December 11, 2014. Scott
was alleged to have struck
a victim in the face with a
metal T square object that
was being used as part of a
shuffleboard game which
led to the Second Degree
Assault charge.
Scott was also charged
with Assault in the Fourth
Degree for punching
another victim in the face
during the altercation.
The case was under
investigation for several
months as the State was
awaiting crime lab results
regarding blood testing
that was submitted to the
Oregon State Police Crime
Lab.
Scott posted $3,750.00
bail. The case was set for
an entry of plea on August
17, 2015, at 8:15 a.m.
Find us online: www.TheBakerCountyPress.com
The night sky over
Bates State Park will set
the scene for a Star Party
Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m. Local
amateur astronomers and
volunteers from Redmond
will join the party with
telescopes for visitors to
view summer constella-
tions, star clusters and
planets.
"We are fortunate in rural
eastern Oregon to have
incredible dark night skies,
with little to no light pol-
lution," said Park Manager
Dennis Bradley. "Add a
new moon and the Perseids
meteor shower to the mix,
and we have the perfect
formula for an unforget-
table evening."
The Perseids meteor
shower produces up to 60
bright meteors per hour
from mid-July through late
August, peaking this year
Aug. 12-13.
The night sky will be
darker than usual on Aug.
14 because the new moon
will not be visible and thus
no moonlight.
That evening, stargaz-
ers can also enjoy an
old-fashioned campfire
and hear stories from folks
who lived in Bates when it
was still a thriving logging
town.
Visitors can sing camp-
fire songs, roast mars -
mallows and munch on
s'mores provided by the
park. The event and day-
use parking are free.
Saturday morning take
a tour of nearby Sumpter
Valley Dredge State
Heritage Area and the Kam
Wah Chung State Heritage
Area museum in John Day.
Both the dredge and
museum are free.
Bates State Park is 30
miles northeast of John
Day located on Middle
Fork Lane off Highway
7, one mile north of its
intersection with U.S. 26 at
Austin Junction.