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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2016)
SPECIAL: New Years 2016 greetings from businesses and organizations. PAGE 10 BUSINESS: New smoke shop to open. Local “agritourism” project. PAGE 3 The Baker County Press TheBakerCountyPress.com 75¢ All local. All relevant. Every Friday. Friday, January 1, 2016 • Volume 3, Issue 1 Lieutenant accepted into FBI training academy BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com For the fi rst time at the Baker City Police Depart- ment (BCPD), one of its offi cers has been accepted into the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Nation- al Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Lt. Dustin Newman will travel east to attend the 10- week training program this summer. “This program is some- thing everyone knows about,” Newman said, “But you never know if you’ll ever be in a position to take advantage of it.” Not to be mistaken with FBI agent training, this course focuses on devel- oping executive level law enforcement skills, both in- side the classroom and out. This training might include “leaders and managers of state, local, county, tribal police, military, federal, and international law enforcement agencies” according to the FBI’s web site. While this exact training is not technically required for a management level po- lice offi cer, said Chief Wyn Lohner, it does satisfy Or- egon’s required executive level police certifi cation. 220 participants are selected by invitation only to attend the course. Prior to Newman’s selection, Lohner had registered the BCPD for consideration as an agency from which a selection might be made, and Newman had complet- ed applicant profi le, which was stored in the FBI’s system. “There is a huge standard to meet,” said Lohner. “While some trainings include more of the social aspect, this one requires an 85% academic average in order to graduate.” Photo courtesy of the City of Baker City. Lt. Dustin Newman. SEE FBI PAGE 5 High speed chase ends in County: crash across from OSP B2H special session BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com Between 20 and 30 members of the community at- tended a Baker County Board of Commissioners special session on Wednesday, December 30, 2015, at 1 p.m., to discuss the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Transmis- sion Line Project Preliminary Environmentally Preferred Alternative Route, with main speaker Don Gonzalez, Bu- reau of Land Management (BLM) Vale District Manager. The session, held in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse, included from the Board, Chair Bill Harvey, Commissioners Mark Bennett and Tim Kerns, and Executive Assistant Heidi Martin. Attendance also included Baker County Planning Director Holly Kerns, Burnt River Irrigation District Chairman Lynn Shumway, Senator Wyden Field Repre- sentative Kathleen Cathey, Idaho Power Facility Sit- ing Coordinator Jeff Maffuccio, Idaho Power Right Of Way Agent Randy Lane, Idaho Power Communication Specialist Stephanie A. McCurdy, Doni Bruland, Wit Deschner, Cheryl Buchanan, Bruce Owen, Bill Flack, and Mike and Ann Trindle. SEE B2H PAGE 8 Kailyn McQuisten / The Baker County Press The intersection at Pocahontas and 10th was shut down for part of the afternoon last Wednesday while crews worked to process and clear the accident site. BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com “It was apparent the suspect did not slow down when he went through the 10th Street intersection and we are extremely fortunate that cross traffi c was not struck as well,” said Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner. On December 23, last Wednesday, a high-speed chase that led the Oregon State Police (OSP) in pursuit of a vehicle on I-84, ended with that same vehicle crashing into two other vehicles and coming to rest right across the street from the OSP offi ce on Pocahontas Road in Baker City. At 2:28 p.m., an OSP trooper located a vehicle that was reported by another driver to have been driving recklessly on the freeway near milepost 302 eastbound, just a couple miles outside Baker City. The driver lodging the com- plaint had just helped the other driver get his vehicle back on the road after a slide-off, and had become concerned about his behavior. After spotting OSP, the reported driver, Anthony Joseph Yattaw, age 26 of Happy Valley, accelerated into the triple digits after pausing briefl y near that 302 offramp. Yattaw was driving a 2008 Saab. Troopers stopped pursuing the vehicle, backing off due to the extent of and danger surrounding the reckless driv- ing. They then lost sight of the Saab. Minutes later, the crash at the intersection of Pocahon- tas Road and 10th Street was reported. Photo courtesy of OSP. Anthony Yattaw’s 2008 Saab was totalled in the crash. Missing woman found deceased On Christmas, the Baker City Police Department began soliciting help from the public to locate Joanne Beverly Brown, an 87-year-old Baker City resident who was reported missing earlier in the day. According to the police, the family hadn’t seen her since the fi rst or second week of December. Police Submitted Photo. Chief Wyn Lohner said Joanne Brown. Brown had the habit of hik- ing the hill outside her home at 445 Hwy. 7 to check on her horses. Search and Rescue located her body just after noon the following day, December 26, just a few yards from her home near the corrals for those horses. Heavy snowfall over the past several days had made search efforts more diffi cult. Initial evidence indicated that Brown had passed ap- proximately two weeks prior, likely not long after last being seen by family. SEE CHASE PAGE 8 Friday Sunny and cold, highs in the lower 20s. Lows at night in the single digits. Saturday Sunny with continued cool, highs in the lower 20s. Partly cloudy at night with continued frigid temperatures. Lows in the single digits. Sunday Increased clouds but continued cold tempera- tures. Lows in the lower 20s. Mostly cloudy at night with lows near 10. Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County. Our forecast made possible by this generous sponsor: Offi cial weather provider for The Baker County Press. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Animal shelter’s capital plan done Jimmy Ingram’s ‘So I was thinking” Two meth arrests made County’s ODFW coordination mtg. Halfway, Richland weather spotting New Years greetings Page Page Page Page Page Page 2 4 5 7 9 10
