Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2015)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2015 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local Sam-O Swim gets renovations Town hall LEGAL NOTICE DISTRICT MEETING NOTICE Medical Springs Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors will hold its regular monthly board meeting at Pon- dosa Station, on Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 7 PM to discuss fi re department operations. The City of Baker City and the Baker County YMCA are pleased to announce the fi rst step of signifi cant renovations to occur at the Sam-O Swim Center. The lap pool and train- ing pool will be resurfaced with a quartz aggregate surface next month. In addition, tile lane lines and targets will be added to the lap pool re- placing the current painted lines and thereby eliminat- ing the need for frequent repainting. The resurfacing upgrade will be accompanied by the installation of two new sand fi lters for the lap pool. The pool will be closed to the public during these renovations. Work will begin on November 2nd and the pool is expected to reopen November 30th. Baker High School homecoming Kailyn McQuisten/ Kailyn McQuisten/ The Baker County Press The Baker County Press Homecoming King Morgan Scilacci with Amy Wong and Rory Scilacci. Homecoming Queen Ashley Knoll. Kailyn McQuisten/ The Baker County Press Madison Elms, Brie Sand, Lindsay Livingston. Kailyn McQuisten/ The Baker County Press MaKenna Bachman and Hannah Boruch. Kailyn McQuisten/ The Baker County Press Kassidy Herren and Hannah Myers. OTEC grants wildfire contract In the coming weeks, as they travel along Highway 395, near milepost 16, OTEC members will see a few additional vehicles being added to the wildfi re reconstruction efforts. “Prior to the Canyon Creek Complex wildfi re, OTEC had just completed the last installment of the ‘J Bar L to Starr Ridge Fly Job’ with a budget of $70K,” said OTEC’s Director of Engineer- ing and Operations, Ned Ratterman. “To say the least, this project was in an ‘accessibility-challenged’ area, near milepost 16 and set over extremely rugged terrain.” Because of the diffi cult location, OTEC enlisted the use of a helicopter and partnered with the forest service and Bureau of Land Why advertise with us? David Conn david@thebakercountypress.com or call 541.523.5524 Baker City, Haines • Low rates per column inch & promotional deals • Color at no additional charge as space permits • Friendly, professional sales staff Wendee Morrissey wendee@thebakercountypress. com or call 541.805.1688. Sumpter, Bates, Richland, Halfway, Medical Springs, Keating Family owned and operated. Packed with local news! • All display ads are also posted to our Facebook page, which means thousands of individuals see your ad from that source alone. We’re the only local paper that offers this service! Management to complete the project. That area was damaged by the wildfi re and, on September 7, OTEC put out a call from qualifi ed bidders to perform repara- tions to the transmission power line. On Tuesday, October 6, Michael’s Construction were awarded the bid and are expected to begin res- torations on or by Friday, October 20 and will be fi nished on or by Tuesday, December 15. “There are two phases of this project, the fi rst is that one section of the 69 kilovolt (kV) line has been rebuilt in a new more effi cient confi guration,” said Ratterman. “So we will be ‘wrecking out’ the fi re damaged line and the materials that are no longer useable. The second phase will be rebuilding the area that sustained loss along the hillside.” To date, OTEC crews have replaced 160 poles and 60,000 feet of wire along the canyon. For OTEC’s part, the Canyon Creek Complex wildfi re and the Cornet- Windy Ridge wildfi res have come in at an estimat- ed cost of $1.5M in total. All private landowners and members who will be directly affected by this reconstruction have been notifi ed by OTEC. scheduled over Owyhee land grab ADRIAN—The Oregon Natural Desert Association and Keen Footwear (Portland) are gathering signatures on vaguely crafted petitions asking for action to “protect the Owyhee Canyonlands.” It is anticipated that these recreationally focused groups will use these petitions to prompt President Obama to use his power under the Antiquities Act to designate about 43% of the land in Malheur County as a National Monument. Depending upon who one asks, this could be good (possibly more tourists), or bad (far less economic activity). Senator Ted Ferrioli (R-John Day), Representative Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario), Malheur County Judge Dan Joyce, and Malheur County Commissioners Larry Wilson and Don Hodge will hold a town hall meeting on Thurs- day, October 29th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (MDT) at the Adrian High School gymnasium (305 Owyhee Road) to hear from the people who would bear the “on the ground” consequences of the designation. Representatives from Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, and Congressman Walden’s offi ces have been invited. Those in support of this effort include American River, American Whitewater, Conservation Lands Founda- tion, Mazamas, the Oregon National Desert Association, the Pew Charitable Trust, Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, a Portland shoe company (KEEN footwear), and others. These groups are actively gathering signatures on petitions asking for protection of this 2.5 million acre area. Local residents have formed the Citizens in Opposition to the Owyhee Canyonlands Monument Committee in an effort to prevent southern Malheur County from becom- ing yet another vast economic wasteland. Said Rep. Bentz, “It’s my inclination to oppose this concept, since I believe such a designation will cause more damage to this land than it will prevent, and since the future of Malheur County must include more than just recreation. Nonetheless, it is essential that we hear from you. This is your opportunity to say whether you support, or oppose, such a designation.” This meeting will serve as an open forum for attendees to share their thoughts on the proposed establishment of an Owyhee Canyonlands designation, be it a National Monument, National Conservation Area, or Wilderness Area. A petition opposing the establishment of the Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument can be found at: https:// www.change.org/p/barack-obama-ron-wyden-jeff-merk- ley-oppose-the-misguided-owyhee-canyonlands-monu- ment-proposal?recruiter=401903828&utm_source=share_ petition&utm_medium=copylink, or at the Committee’s website at http://www.opposetheocm.com/. A petition in support of the proposal can be found on the Wild Owyhee website. Meetings ahead for Blue Mountain Forest Plan The Forest Service has scheduled new public meet- ings to discuss the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision. Please see the current schedule below: Monday, Nov. 2, 2015,6 p.m. - 9 p.m. (doors open at 5:30), Access and Wilderness, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, La Grande, OR, Armory, 404 12th St, La Grande, OR 97850. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. (doors open at 5:30), Livestock Grazing, Umatilla National Forest, Heppner, OR, City Hall, 111 N Main St,, Heppner, OR 97836 Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. (doors open at 5:30), Livestock Grazing, Umatilla National Forest and Malheur National Forest, Ukiah, OR, N. Fork John Day Ranger District, 401 West Main St, Ukiah, OR 97880 Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. (doors open at 5:30), Pace and Scale of Restoration, Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla National Forests, La Grande, OR, Armory, 404 12th St, La Grande, OR 97850. A facilitator will ensure that everyone in attendance has time to speak, listen to others, and propose solutions. In 2014, the Forest Service released a draft Envi- ronmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision and received over a thousand comment letters. Based in part on that feedback, the three Blue Mountains National Forests have worked with stakeholders to identify topics for further discussion – including the Pace and Scale of Restoration, Livestock Grazing, Access, and Wilderness. A Forest Plan describes the social, economic, and eco- logical goals of a National Forest and provides a frame- work for future management decisions. The National Forest Management Act of 1976 requires each National Forest to prepare a Forest Plan and revise it every 15 years to address changing needs and conditions. The current Forest Plans for the Wallowa-Whitman, Umatilla, and Malheur National Forests are from 1990, and the Blue Mountains region has changed signifi cantly since 1990. Meeting summaries from previous Forest Plan Revision meetings are available at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/Blue- MountainsPlanRevision, and the notes from new meet- ings will be posted there as well. For more information, please contact Peter Fargo, Public Affairs Offi cer for the Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision, at 541-523-1231.
