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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2015)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2015 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local HELP WANTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. BAKER COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE is accepting applications for the position of Executive Director. APPLICATION DEADLINE: Oct. 15, 2015. JOB LOCATION: Baker City, OR. HOURS PER WEEK: 40. REQUIREMENTS: 1) Bachelor’s degree in marketing, public or business administration, economic development, or related field. 2.) Minimum of 3 years experience in management, business development, tour- ism or related field. 3.) Must be a creative thinker, detail- oriented, and have outstanding people skills. 4.) Must have advanced computer skills, knowledge of budgeting, accounting, and financing and experience in creating a business plan. Please send cover letter, resume and a list of 3 professional references to: Chamber, P.O. Box 305 North Powder, OR 97867. 10.16. REPORTER wanted to cover City Council meetings in Halfway and Richland, serve as backup reporter for events in those areas. Send letter of interest to editor@ thebakercountypress.com. BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting applications for an Assistant Girls Basketball Coach and an Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at Baker High School. For a complete description of the position go to www.baker.k12.or.us or contact the employment division. You may also call 541-524-2261 or email nnemec@baker. k12.or.us. 10.9 EOMA hosts BLM guests at October 2nd meeting BY SUNNY WERNER Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com Eastern Oregon Min- ing Association (EOMA) President Ken Alexander led the meeting on Friday October 2, held at Baker City Hall. A brief general meeting followed, which was soon followed by an introduc- tion by Alexander of Don Gonzales from Bureau of Land Management, Vale District Manager. Gonzales was accompa- nied by Steve Flock, Baker Resource Area. The attendant group was very interested in what they were told by Gonza- les; namely, that although the proposal to list the Greater Sage-Grouse as an endangered species had not been passed, their abilities to work their mines was still going to suffer a huge impact. As the EOMA newslet- ter stated, “It now looks like the Sage Grouse list- ing was just smokescreen to get Land Use Plans to lock up more land.” Gonzales brought a handout, copies of the Federal Register, Sept. 24, 2015. Copies of this handout are available at the BLM Baker Resource Area Office at 3100 H Street, Baker City. Summarized, the Fed- eral Register states that the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management has approved an application to withdraw 10 million acres of public land and National Forest in Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, California and Wyoming. This action prohibits “location and entry under the United States mining laws to protect the Greater Sage-Grouse and its habi- tat from adverse effects of locatable mineral explora- tion and mining.” The notice temporarily segregates the land for up to two years, while the ap- Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Troopers of the Baker City Work site concluded a 10-month investigation involving the unlawful taking and wasting of multiple buck deer in a closed season. The investigation began in November of 2014 following a tip that came into the “Turn In Poacher Program.” The tip was alleging that certain individuals were suspected of poaching activity involving deer. As a result of the “TIP” and the investigation, two Baker City, Oregon Residents have been charged with numerous Wildlife offenses. Dustin Reid Hellbusch, 18 years of age, was charged with the following: 10 counts of Take/Possession of buck deer, eight counts of Waste of a Big Game Mammal-deer, and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence. Taylor Michael Morris, 18 years of age, was charged with the following: eight counts of Take/Possession of buck deer, seven counts of Waste of a Big Game Mammal-deer, and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence. Additional charges are expected for additional suspects. The Oregon State Police is seeking the public’s help and requesting anyone who may have further information regarding this incident contact Senior Trooper McNeil at 541-523-5867 ext. 4171 or call the TIP Hotline at 1-800- 452-7888 or TIP E-mail at TIP@state.or.us. Ladies golf and bridge Sunny Werner / The Baker County Press Don Gonzales (at right) and Steve Flock were the guests at EOMA’s monthly meeting last week. plication is processed. In Oregon, that impacts 1.9 million acres in Lake, Harney and South Malheur counties. The “comment” dead- line for this is December 23, 2015. If this proposal is passed (made permanent), the following steps by the Department of the Interior will lead to “a 20 year moratorium,” according to Gonzales. He went on to explain that “even if miners have an existing established claim, they may still be challenged to prove valid- ity.” Proving validity will cost miners. There is a process that obtains when there is a challenge of validity, and it will incur legal fees for which the miners will have to pay. Gonzales went on to speak about the possibility of “segregation,” which would be the withdrawal of permission to mine in assorted areas. One of the many com- plaints from the attendees was the fact that there was no prior warning and no public input prior to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior gave approval for this move. Gonzales went on to tell the miners that “The plan originated by BLM, to ensure grouse would not be listed as endangered.” He explained that “ODF (Oregon Department of Forestry), FWS (Fish and Wildlife Service), and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) operate with the understanding that properly managed grazing does not affect the birds, but mining does.” When asked to clarify, he explains that often min- ing involves some noisy equipment, thus disturbing the birds in their nesting and strutting sites. Gonzales explained that the populations of Sage Grouse have changed in different areas. He said, “Some are in areas where their popula- tion has decreased by 40%. Their eggs are eaten by crows, which in that area, have increased in popula- tion during the same time by 400%.” Oregon has passed a resolution to develop a “Mineral Potential Re- port,” which will be cover- ing the same information as the Federal report. Comments are open to the Oregon government during the development of the Mineral Report, and again once the report is complete. Gonzales explained that the Secretary of the Inte- rior has legislated authority to freeze up to 2,500 acres of land; anything larger required Congressional approval. Flock explained, “The Assistant Secretary of the Interior is responsible for segregation. Once segrega- tion is established, then the scoping (refining and identifying locatable and usable land) takes place. If the scoping meets require- ments, then the land will be withdrawn.” Flock went on to an- swer questions about the areas under consideration, and how the choices had been made. “The one good thing,” he explained, “is that areas with good grouse habitat have stronger importance; for example, more Federal fire equip- ment is sent to areas be- cause of grouse habitat.” Chairman Alexander closed the meeting with a strong recommendation to the attendees that they begin calling their legisla- tors. October is worst month for wildlife-vehicle collisions October is the busiest month for vehicle-wildlife collisions in Oregon. With deer and elk on the move due to breeding season and migration to winter ranges, more wildlife are crossing roads all over the state. The Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Transportation, and Or- egon Department of Fish & Wildlife urge motorists to be on alert and be ready to slow down. Signs placed in particularly popular areas for wildlife crossing are one tool to help drivers avoid collisions. Baker City men charged with poaching Being especially watch- ful around sunrise and sunset is another tip that can help reduce vehicle- wildlife incidents. Wildlife undercrossings are another way to help save lives. According to statistics from ODOT’s Crash Analysis & Reporting Sec- tion, there are about 1,250 wildlife-involved traffic collisions each year in the state. In 2014, there were 1,243 reported crashes in- volving wildlife, resulting in two people being killed. In 2013, there were 1,274 such crashes with three fatalities, and in 2012, 1,283 crashes with three fatalities. Officials believe the numbers are actually high- er because most collisions involving wildlife result in property damage only to the involved vehicle and do not get reported to po- lice or DMV. For example, ODOT’s southern Oregon dispatch center received 2,591 calls about dead animals on or near roads in 2014. The central Oregon dispatch center received another 2,591 calls. Com- bined with ODOT’s other dispatch centers, in 2014, there were 6, 629 calls reporting wildlife inci- dents/animals near roads – compared to the 1,243 that were reported as crashes. In 2013, the number of calls statewide was 5,842. Klamath, Lane and Jackson counties had the highest number of reported vehicle-wildlife crashes in 2014 (112, 89 and 82 respectively), followed by Clackamas County with 71 and Deschutes with 70. The statistics prove that crashes can and do occur everywhere in the state. The Quail Ridge Ladies Golf wnners for Friday, September 25 are: 1st Flight, 1st Jennifer Godwin, 2nd Judy Karstens; 2nd Flight, 1st Kathye Corn. Bridge win- ners are: 1st Lavelle Woodcock, 2nd Judy Karstens, and 3rd Shannon Sullivan. Bridge winners for September 30 are: 1st Shannon Sul- livan, 2nd Lavelle Woodcock and 3rd Kitty Nichols. Baker City Soroptimists offer three awards The Soroptimist Live your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women is a cash award given to as- sist women who provide the primary source of financial support for their families by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills and employ- ment prospects. The award amount is $1,000. The application deadline is November 15, 2015. Qualified applicants may send request for Soroptimist Live your Dream application to jmacy@otecc.com. Women who plan to achieve their GED certificate at a community college are eligible to apply for the Award. The Violet Richardson Award is for young women be- tween the ages of 14 to 17 who exhibit leadership quali- ties as a volunteer in their community 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. Qualified ap- plicants may send request for Soroptimist Violet Richard- son 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 or volunteer efforts, or through profession- al avenues. The award recipient receives a $200 donation to the charitable organization of her choice. The applica- tion deadline is December 1, 2015. Qualified applicants may send request for Soroptimist Ruby Award applica- tion to jmacy@otecc.com. The Live your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women, the Violet Richardson Award, and the Sorop- timist Ruby Award are projects of Soroptimist Interna- tional of the Americas. Soroptimist International of Baker County is one of nearly 1,400 clubs that make up Soroptimist International of the Americas. Each year Soroptimists in the 19 countries and ter- ritories of our Federation assist women in overcoming personal difficulties and improving the lives through education and skills training. —Clarification— Last week’s issue contained an article reporting on the meeting between Baker County Commissioners and USFS officials. We would like to clarify that Tom Mon- toya said the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has an average annual timber target of 25-30 million board feet, not that the salvage projects could produce 25-30 million board feet. We regret any confusion.
