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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
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