FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
American Legion struggles Commissioner
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Citing an aging and
shrinking membership at
Baker City’s American Le-
gion Post #41, in existence
for almost 90 years, Com-
mander Bill Bishop has a
clear message, regarding
the fate of the post: if its
members don’t attend the
monthly meetings, and
take a more active part in
the voting process and in
leadership roles, the future
of the post will most likely
be a short one.
“I’ve got a crossroads
coming. Basically, what’s
happening is, is they’re
(the State American Le-
gion, or Department) going
to try to close down our
charter,” Bishop said.
The decision Bishop
refers to—whether to
keep both the charter and
the post alive—will be a
pivotal one, ultimately in
the hands of officers of the
Department, who plan to
meet with Bishop and oth-
ers representing Post #41,
at the post’s monthly meet-
ing, on Thursday, April
7, 2016, 7 p.m., at the
Sunridge Inn Restaurant, in
Baker City (the post holds
monthly meetings there on
the first Thursday of every
month, the next one sched-
uled for March 3, 2016).
Bishop noted the decline
in membership, and
financial issues, and he
stepped into the role of
Post Commander less than
three years ago, as reported
by Meghan Andersch in
the Friday, April 17, 2015
issue of The Baker County
Press.
“We have 61 members,
and most of them are
old fellas. So, what you
end up with, you end up
with what all of the other
organizations are having
a problem with, is having
the numbers out of your
membership, who will take
a position in leadership,”
Bishop said.
He said that the post
operated a bar, a legitimate
enterprise, however, the
post was losing money
with that, so it was shut
down. Another issue
he pointed out with that
venture is that members
would be present and order
beverages at the bar, but,
the monthly meetings,
which used to be held at
the post, would see little,
if any attendance. Once
the meeting location was
changed to the Sunridge
Inn, that seems to have
made no difference with
attendance.
“We’re a non-profit
(501(c)(3)). We have to
have an operating Ex-
ecutive Board. We have to
have officers. We have to
have quorums. And, there
are so many things we
can’t do,” he said.
One of those is the sale
of the property on 2nd
Street, worth between
$200,000 and $250,000,
because without a quorum,
Bishop said, it can’t be
sold, because the member-
ship wouldn’t be repre-
sented, and it would be
illegal to do so without that
representation.
If the Department isn’t
satisfied at the April meet-
ing with Executive Board,
officer, or membership
presence, or other fac-
tors, the Department could
dissolve the local charter
(Post #41 was charted
in 1928), and then take
possession of the property
in order to sell it, Bishop
said, which he indicates
is highly likely scenario,
according to the Depart-
ment. He said the property
is “free and clear,” and a
decision by the Department
to sell it would make little
sense.
Post #41 is part of
American Legion District
#6 (there are 10 in the
State), which includes Post
#23 (Pendleton), Post #24
(Milton-Freewater), Post
#37 (Hermiston), Post
#43 (La Grande), Post
#72 (Wallowa), Post #87
(Heppner), Post #95 (Ione),
Post #130 (Athena), Post
#140 (Mission), and Post
#157 (Joseph). If Post
#41’s charter were dis-
solved, members would be
forced to seek participa-
tion elsewhere, the closest
post located in La Grande,
about 40 miles from Baker
City.
In August 2015, a De-
partment publication, The
Legionnaire, contained
membership reports, and of
the District #6 posts, Post
#41 was listed at the lowest
membership rate, 77.24%
of its goal. Bishop said the
hunt is on to recruit newer,
He continued, “I am committed to keeping public lands
open for the public. I am determined to fight for less
government micromanagement of public lands and less
land use restrictions.
“I am adamant about the safety and protection of our
community and promoting positive public safety aware-
ness. I will pursue innovative and attainable avenues to
ensure our public safety divisions have the resources they
need to protect our community.
“As Commissioner, I pledge to bring growth and
prosperity back to our community. I pledge to use a well-
rounded approach to the priorities of our community and
maintain fiscal responsibility. As Commissioner, I will
fight for Baker County.
“I believe in preserving our quality of life for genera-
tions to come. I believe in community reinvestment. I
believe in economic development and the opportunity of
our local resources. I believe in Baker County.”
Poker run
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Submitted Photos.
American Legion members hold a planning meeting
at the Sunridge to discuss the organization’s future.
younger members, and to
urge existing members to
take more active roles, but
it’s been an uphill battle.
“You talk to the Elks
Club, to the Eagles Club,
the VFW, and they all have
the same thing: they’ve got
people coming to activi-
ties, but nobody wants to
go to meetings and vote
on things. They don’t un-
derstand, things don’t just
happen, you have to vote
on them. That’s the law,”
he said.
Bishop, a disabled Viet-
nam veteran who served in
the Navy, said that the core
mission of the nation’s
largest wartime veterans
service organization, the
American Legion, com-
mitment to “…mentoring
youth and sponsorship of
wholesome programs in
our communities, advocat-
ing patriotism and honor,
promoting strong national
security, and continued
devotion to our fellow
service members and veter-
ans,” is being lost in the
attempts to revitalize Post
#41.
A critical, missing com-
ponent of the fight to retain
and gain membership, and
to complete the mission is
this, he said: there is cur-
rently no Post #41 liaison
for the local Army Nation-
al Guard.
Bishop said that post
members were involved
with many activities and
programs in the past,
including youth baseball,
Fourth of July, Veterans
Day, Miners Jubilee, etc.,
but without participation,
that level of activity is
necessarily near zero now.
Bishop, who will be 73
in March, said he’s done
what he could for Post #41
and what was expected of
him, and he would love for
a member to step up and
replace him as Commander
this June (election time).
A few notable histori-
cal facts, not necessarily
well-known: because of the
American Legion’s efforts
in 1921, the U.S. Veter-
ans Bureau was formed,
forerunner of the Veterans
Administration; today,
more than 50 percent of
Major League Baseball
players are graduates of the
American Legion Baseball
program, created in 1925;
and in 1943, past National
Commander Harry W.
Colmery penned the first
draft of what later became
the G.I. Bill of Rights, con-
sidered to be the American
Legion’s single greatest
legislative achievement.
The next two Post #41
meetings are scheduled for
Thursday, March 3, 2016,
and Thursday, April 7,
2016, both at 7 p.m., at the
Sunridge Inn Restaurant, in
Baker City.
A decision by the Depart-
ment regarding Post #41’s
future is expected to be
made during or after the
April meeting.
President John Young opened the event, announcing a
terrific participant turnout. He asked how many present
had had the chance to get out and ride, drawing raised
hands from most of the enthusiastic audience.
After poker and outhouse race prizes were awarded, the
raffle drawing commenced. Numerous area businesses,
including many in Sumpter, Baker City, and John Day,
donated prizes for the raffle.
At the end, Young and Jim Sheller spoke a few heart-
felt words about Neal Bork, long-time Club member and
President who passed away last August.
Son Mike Bork donated $100, which was drawn as the
last raffle of the night in Neal Bork’s name.
Rally
Photo courtesy of BCPD
The proposed route of the 2016 Hells Canyon
Motorcycle Rally.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The meeting to will be held in the Baker City Council
Chambers starting at 7 p.m. The public and business own-
ers are encouraged to attend and comment.
OTEC hires
Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is proud
to announce that Chris Page has been hired as the new
Northern Division Superintendent.
An Eastern Oregon native heralding from Cove, Chris
brings 25 years of experience to the position which is
based at OTEC’s La Grande District Office.
Chris studied outside line construction at Columbia Ba-
sin Community College before joining OTEC as a meter
reader, in 1989. After two years, Chris moved towards
taking his National Joint Apprenticeship and Training for
the Electrical Industry (NJATC) line apprenticeship.
In 1991, Chris was hired as an Apprentice Lineman at
International Line Builders in Tualatin, Oregon followed
by two years as an Apprentice Lineman, then served as a
Journeyman Lineman and safety committee member for
Chelan County PUD before returning to OTEC in 2000.
In 2003, Chris was promoted to Working Foreman for
the La Grande District and began his duties as Northern
Division Superintendent on Monday, February 1, 2016.
Chris will supervise operations employees in both the La
Grande and Baker offices.