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
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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
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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.
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