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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2015)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion / Local — Editorial — Pass the Natural Resources Plan already! We fail to understand the level of trepidation Commissioner Tim Kerns displayed this week in voting against ac- cepting the County’s Natural Resources Plan. The Plan is a living document, not set in stone. It can be altered, edited and adjusted along the way as needed. But what can’t happen—and what needs to happen—is the process of County coordi- nation with federal agencies. Without an official Plan in place, coordination goes nowhere. All three commissioners know this. We understand, based on Kerns’ wife’s public comments as part of her role on the Natural Resources Advisory Commit- tee (NRAC), that Kerns probably shares her desire to move the process of Plan adoption along at a much slower pace. We also believe, based on his statement, “I only do what she tells me to do,” that his vote in any direction raises the ap- pearance of a conflict of interest. Frankl , we’d feel more comfortable if he recused himself on all future NRAC-related votes. Commissioner Mark Bennett’s absence in order to handle a medical emergen- cy—which we’re thankful turned out as well as could be hoped for him and his family—may have opened up the door for a temporary delay in accepting the Plan, but it’s not a catastrophe. Bennett has stated he will indeed vote with Commissioner Harvey to pass the Natural Resources Plan. What we have here is a delay, not a disaster. Many are growing weary of stall tactics. We sure are. Let’s move forward with the Plan. Move forward with coor- dination. Commissioners, use the most available power we can at a County-level and make us proud. —The Baker County Press Editorial Board — Letters to the Editor — USFS management doesn’t factor in reality To the Editor: This year has been a traumatic year for rural communities in the Pacific Nort - west. As has been the case in prior years, this year a common comment from Forest Service management has been, “We need more money to fight fires!” It is almost mantra every year. With such a financial bind the Forest Service is in, why is closing and decom- missioning roads such an important factor for their management of our public lands? Roads are vital to so many of the uses the public has for public lands. A forest supervisor even admitted earlier this year the current (non-travel management plan) road system is a large factor in quick and successful initial attacks on fires in his forest. Several firefighters have stated ho appreciative they were of roads and how much easier their job was. Roads even used as fire lines Sept. 11, 2015, photos were taken of a dozer re-opening a closed road in order to gain access to a wildfire. In one photo, three Forest Service pickups and one For- est Service fire engine were parked with several Forest Service employees standing and watching the dozer. This dozer opera- tor was hired to travel up and open the road. When they are done fighting the fire it will most likely be re-closed. Is closing, opening and then again closing roads a good use of tax dollars? Are the new bills in Congress going to be paying for these sorts of things? The issue isn’t a lack of funding, it’s a lack of efficient use of the funds given them. The ideology behind protecting public lands is a dream that doesn’t factor in reality. The reality of financial situations, public safety, the reality that these lands were intended to support local economies. The reality that without logging, without restoration and without active manage- ment, we will continue to choke on more and more smoke and burn up more and more tax dollars on idiotic actions like I explained above. Eventually there won’t be communities to protect from fires and the Forest Service won’t have any reason to exist anymore. Donald George Boise, ID B2H project still going To the Editor: Do you think that the Boardman to Hemingway power line has gone away? Not a chance. I expect that the BLM will issue its decision just before the holi- days. Since we will have only 30 days to respond, great timing, likely on purpose. We get to study lots of pages, they get to eat turkey. You can be sure that the BLM and Idaho Power are working hard to come up with all the benefits for Baker Count . Even after almost 400 people sent letters that objected to all parts of the project. The Plan of Development, submitted by Idaho Power describes in detail a con- struction project far larger than what was done for Interstate 84. Can you believe it? The 250-foot-wide path is wider, cleared of vegetation and has a two-track road the entire 300 miles. Hard to imagine more miles of access roads will be built than the entire 300 miles of the power line. Think of the amount of gravel over the newly bladed roads. It is hard to grasp the monstrous size of the construction and what will remain. Mr. Deschner points out the 100-foot cell towers. These pale compared to the 195-foot transmission towers. All this effort and cost when it is not needed in the first place. Be read , we need to stop this project cold, or at the very least move it into Idaho. Gail Carbiener Bend — Contact Us — The Baker County Press PO Box 567 Baker City, Ore. 97814 Open Monday-Thursday for calls 9 AM - 4 PM Open 24/7 for emails Office location: TBA Phone: 541.519.0572 TheBakerCountyPress.com Kerry McQuisten, Publisher Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com David Conn, Advertising and Sales David@TheBakerCountyPress.com Published weekly every Friday. Subscription rates per year are $29.95 all areas, e-mail delivery. $39.95 print issue, home delivery, Baker City city limits only. $49.95 print issue, mail delivery, outside Baker City city limits only. Payment in advance. A division of Black Lyon Publishing, LLC Copyright © 2014 YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS President Barack Obama 202.456.1414 202.456.2461 fax Whitehouse.gov/contact US Sen. Jeff Merkley 503.326.3386 503.326.2900 fax Merkley.Senate.gov US Sen. Ron Wyden 541.962.7691 Wyden.Senate.gov US Rep. Greg Walden 541.624.2400 541.624.2402 fax Walden.House.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 503.378.3111 Governor.Oregon.gov State Rep. Cliff Bentz 503.986.1460 State Sen. Ted Ferrioli 541.490.6528 Baker County Commissioners Bill Harvey; Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns 541.523.8200 541.523.8201 Sinkhole repairs coming Baker City, OR - The sinkhole on Anthony Lakes Highway (Forest Service Road 73) near the lower crossing of Antone Creek will receive final repairs on Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 1. Forest Service Road 73 will be closed to through traffic at the construction site September 29 through October 1. The sinkhole is located on a narrow section of road and the undercutting from Antone Creek will prevent crews from piloting traffic around the construction site. The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will update the website www.fs.usda. gov/wallowa-whitman and facebook page www. facebook.com/Wal- lowaWhitmanNF begin- ning Monday September 28 with information about the construction and lane closures. During construction, An- thony Lakes and the sur- rounding areas will remain accessible from Sumpter on Forest Service Road 73, from Ukiah on Forest Ser- vice Road 52, and from La Grande on Forest Service Road 51. The estimated completion date is Thurs- day October 1. An alternate route around the construction area is available on Forest Service Road 4330 from Pilcher Creek Reservoir to Forest Service Road 7312. These are one lane gravel roads recommended for high clearance vehicles. Two wolves killed Two wolves were found dead in the Sled Springs area of Wallowa County the week of August 24, 2015. One of the wolves found dead was collared (OR21, female). After the collar emitted a mortality signal, an Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper from the Enterprise of- fice, along with ODF Personnel responded to the location and found two deceased wolves within 50 yards of each other. Cause of death is still under investigation. The collared wolf and a male she had been ob- served with were known as the Sled Springs pair and were newly established in the area. ODFW created the Sled Springs Pair Area of Known Wolf Activity in January of 2015. The Oregon State Police is seeking the public’s help and requesting anyone who may have informa- tion regarding this incident to contact Senior Trooper Kreg Coggins at 541- 426-3049 or call the TIP Hotline at 1-800-452-788 or TIP E-Mail TIP@state. or.us. Merrill resigns from Council Effective immediately Councilor Ben Merrill has announced his resigna- tion from the Baker City Council. Councilor Merrill explaine, “As the father of two busy children, my schedule does not allow me to continue my com- mitment to this elected position.” Councilor Merrill was elected to the Council in November of 2014, took Office in January of 2015 and his scheduled term will run through December of 2018. The citizen that fills Councilor Merrill s seat will also end in De- cember of 2018. The process to fill the vacant position is a deci- sion that will be made by the City Council. They will discuss the issue at the regularly scheduled meeting on September 22, 2015. In order to be eligible for the City Council a person must be a quali- fied elector as defined b the State Constitution and have resided within the City for the twelve months immediately preceding the election, or as in this case the appointment. Police nab storage burglars On September 9, 2015, at about 11:30 p.m., mem- bers of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office and Baker City Police Department (BCPD) executed a search warrant at 14360 Ben Dier Lane. BCPD secured a warrant for that property, subsequent to a Burglary investigation within Baker City. During the search nu- merous items were seized, which were taken from a storage unit burglary at Highway 7 and David Eccles Road, on or about September 6th, 2015. The storage unit was rented by Eagle Cap Plumbing. On September 10, 2015 at about 2:10 p.m. BCPD officers executed a second search warrant on a 2001 Chevy Pickup, owned by 22 year-old Jesse Pierre LeBlanc, which had been impounded the previous day. Additional items were seized during that search, believed to be related to the storage shed Burglary. On September 10, 2015 at about 6:40 p.m. a third search warrant was executed by BCPD officers at 14480 Ben Dier Lane. During the execution of the search warrant a 1998 Dodge Ram pickup loaded with numerous stolen items was seized and im- pounded. A fourth search warrant is pending on the vehicle. On September 10, 2015 at about 7:05 p.m., 32 year-old Bobby Alan Sickler was arrested in connection with this investigation and charged with Burglary II and Theft I. Sickler was lodged at the Baker County Jail for these charges and additional, unrelated warrants. Also arrested in con- nection with this inves- tigation was 25 year-old Kyle Bothwell-Shaver for the charges of Burglary II and Theft I. Bothwell- Shaver was lodged at the Baker County Jail on these charges and an out-of- county warrant. This investigation is ongoing. Soroptimists offer scholarship The Soroptimist Live your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women is a cash award given to assist women who provide the primary source of financial su - port for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and em- ployment prospects. The award amount is $1,000. The application deadline is November 15, 2015. Qualified applicants may send request for Sorop- timist Live your Dream application to jmacy@ otecc.com. The Violet Richard- son Award is for young women between the ages of 14 to 17 who exhibit leadership qualities as a volunteer in their com- munity or school. The cash award is in recognition of young women leaders who make the community and world a better place through volunteer efforts. The program offers a $150 award to the recipient and to $250 the organization for which they volunteer. The application deadline is December 1, 2015. Quali- fied applicants may send request for Soroptimist Violet Richardson Award application to jmacy@ otecc.com. The Soroptimist Ruby Award honors women who are working to improve the lives of women and girls through their personal Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker County Press reserves the right not to publish letters containing factu- al falsehoods or incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or detracting from specific for-profit businesses will not be published. Word limit is 375 words per letter. Letters are limited to one every other week per author. Letters should be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCountyPress. com. Advertising and Opinion Page Disclaimer: Opinions submitted as Guest Opinions or Letters to or volunteer efforts, or through professional av- enues. The award recipient receives a $200 donation to the charitable organiza- tion of her choice. The application deadline is December 1, 2015. Quali- fied applicants may send request for Soroptimist Ruby Award application to jmacy@otecc.com. The Live your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women, the Violet Richardson Award, and the Soroptimist Ruby Award are projects of Soroptimist International of the Americas. Soropti- mist International of Baker County is one of nearly 1,400 clubs that make up Soroptimists. the Editor express the opinions of their authors, and have not been authored by and are not necessarily the opinions of The Baker County Press, any of our staff, management, independent contractors or affiliates. Advertisements placed by political groups, candidates, businesses, etc., are printed as a paid service, which does not constitute an endorsement of or fulfillment o - ligation by this newspaper for the products or services advertised.
