8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2016
Local
Commissioner candidate holds meet and greet Translator District
discusses flat fee,
OPB reports
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Around 40 members of
the community gathered
for a “Meet and Greet the
Candidate” event in the
lounge of the Baker City
Golf Course on Tuesday
evening, for Bruce Nich-
ols, who is campaigning
for Baker County Commis-
sioner, a race which also
includes candidates Kody
Justus, and Jeff Nelson.
The event kicked off at
5:30 p.m., and his wife,
Kelly, was also present, to
assist with his campaign,
“Minding the County’s
Business,” as well as
volunteers Jan Kerns,
and Brenda Holly, both
of whom provided and
prepared finger foods.
Nichols, a local CPA, of
Nichols and Mitchell (Stan
Mitchell), is vying for
County Commissioner seat
No. 1, which will be left
vacant by current Com-
missioner Tim Kerns, at
the end of this year. Kelly
is a 2nd grade teacher at
Brooklyn Elementary,
and the couple have three
grown children.
Speaking about what
plans he has, if elected,
Bruce said, “I haven’t said
much on that yet, but, I
will pretty soon. I don’t
know if I want to change
anything; I just want to
make it (County op-
erations) run a little better,
maybe. That’s really what
I’m about, is efficiency.”
Kelly said, “I’ve never
done this type of cam-
paigning,” explaining that
she and Bruce are in the
initial stages of their ambi-
tious goal, which includes
visiting and speaking with
members of every City in
Baker County, according to
Nichols. He said that he’s
been to every City before,
though, because he’s been
an auditor, and he’s famil-
iar to community members
and City Councils through-
out the County. This week
would have included trips
to visit with City Council
members of Richland, and
Halfway, to discuss their
concerns.
Nichols explained that
his expertise is in dealing
with government entities,
experience which he’s
had over the course of
35 years. “I know about
budgets, and I know a lot
about budget law, and as
far as the County op-
erations ...We need to stay
focused on managing the
County.” He said this is his
focus, and why he chose
his particular slogan.
“I just want to lend my
expertise to the County,”
he said. Bruce said that
he’d like to discuss some
issues, and resolve those,
and as Commissioner, he
would be in a better posi-
tion to accomplish that.
“I had an idea that I
wanted to discuss with the
County, and somebody
basically said, ‘No,’ and I
thought, ‘Let’s see about
that,’” he said, speaking
about what inspired him
to run for Commissioner.
“They heard the idea, they
just didn’t want to take
any time with it, and I
think I want to take some
time with it...It’s just one
of my ideas. Do I have
an agenda? Yes, I want to
talk about this issue I have.
I’m not going to bring it up
yet, for quite some time,
because it’s a long process,
to get it done...”
He said it’s an issue in
need of discussion, one
he’ll mention closer to
election time, because he
doesn’t know whether
the solution ultimately is
feasible. He said that it
would require a commit-
tee, to begin the process
of solving the issue, and,
“It’s going to take minds
greater than mine, to do it.
It’s something that, I’m not
sure has been done in this
State before...I think ev-
erybody will benefit, if my
idea comes to fruition...It’s
going to take years to get it
done. It’s a vision I’ve had
for a long time...” Bruce
said there will be some
resistance to the idea, so he
desires to keep details to
himself for now.
He said he’s never
campaigned before, noting
that, “I don’t want to be
called a politician...” He
spoke about the desire to
keep the County clear of
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press
Bruce and Kelly Nichols.
lawsuits, the case of Baker
County vs. David Mc-
Carty, aka Columbia Basin
Helicopter, Inc., in which
McCarty prevailed, costing
the County over $300,000,
as one example.
“That’s maybe the type
of thing that can be pre-
vented in the future. Who
knows,” Nichols said. “It’s
something that’s going
to make it tougher on the
County yet,” he said, not-
ing future funding issues
for County departments.
Nichols spoke about a
company he was a key
part of, Baker Industry
and Resources Corpora-
tion (now defunct), which
provided vital economic
growth within the County,
including donations of real
estate, funding, and assis-
tance with loans.
Nichols also has served
in the United States Air
Force, as an electro/me-
chanical communications
equipment repairman, sta-
tioned in Texas, Montana,
Colorado, and Turkey.
The Blue Mountain Translator District (BMTD) Board
of Directors met for its monthly meeting, on Tuesday,
March 8, 2016, noon, at Denny’s Restaurant in La
Grande. Present were BMTD District Manager Beverly
Beach, Board members Tim Wallender, Anna Dean,
Christina Wood, and Katy Thomas. Board member and
Baker County Commissioner Tim Kerns was absent.
Also attending the meeting were Mike Elliott, and Steve
Hendrix, of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), Steve
Antell, and Mike Dean.
Wood made several motions, seconded and passed,
including the following:
An Amendment to Resolution No. 3, regarding refunds
to taxed members who did not own District households
at the time of mailing, was adopted; a proposed Job
Description for District Manager was accepted; a letter,
regarding State statute revisions, addressed to District
representatives, and other committee members in Sa-
lem, and the Oregon Association of Broadcasters, with
at least one Board member signature on each letter, was
approved; and the set up for automatic withdrawal, on
a monthly basis, of Oregon Trail Electric Coop (OTEC)
utility invoices for transmitter sites, was approved.
Changes to statutes includes resolving funding issues,
with a (voter-approved) potential flat fee for District
coverage areas, including Cities. Beach said that most of
the funding for BMTD—about 95%—comes from rural
members in Baker, and Union counties, however, this
doesn’t currently include, according to statutes, Cities,
such as Baker City, which has cable TV coverage from
Charter Communications. She said that one of the issues
is, Charter receives and redistributes to cable TV custom-
ers the District’s broadcast channels, but, BMTD is not
compensated for this. There also has been an issue with
the lack of District signal users within the Cities (via
over-the-air antennas, a significant amount noticeable
within City boundaries) compensating BMTD for receiv-
ing the signal (currently $100 a year, the notices of which
are sent each June).
An OPB report included a discussion regarding Bea-
ver Mountain (the broadcast site located south of Baker
City, just east of Dooley Mountain) issues, and power
boost from Mt. Fanny (the broadcast site located above
the town of Cove), to help alleviate broadcast problems
BMTD was experiencing. The receive array is expected
to be rebuilt this summer, and the new fiber optic system,
the result of a year-long effort to improve reception of the
signal, continues to have some issues, apparently weath-
er-related, in addition to the need for a better Mt. Fanny
dish. The third broadcast site, Mt. Harris, is located east
of Imbler.
Skyline Towers is sending a crew next week, to better
secure the receive dish, as well as looking into a stron-
ger receive dish, expected to be installed at a later date.
Beach will continue a discussion with Elliott, regarding
a remote switching system the District needs for Mt.
Fanny. BMTD, a non-profit government municipality,
is governed by Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 354.605
to 354.715, and the District’s technical engineering is
contracted out to OPB.
A District report included the completion of opt-out
input (for yearly member taxes), and updates to the out-
of-District database, making the system ready for the
upcoming March and April updates from both Baker, and
Union counties (District coverage area). Baker County
represents about a third of the District’s funding, with
about two thirds covered by Union County members.
It was announced that KOINTV will be adding a new
channel, 6.3a, soon, called Decades TV; BMTD received
numerous calls, emails, and Facebook messages this
month, regarding issues with the signal; BMTD is work-
ing with Titan TV, regarding a program listing; Beach
will be seeking bids for electrical and AC unit work, to
be completed at Beaver Mountain, this summer; Beach
provided the Board with a handout, regarding the pos-
sible installation of a radio station, on Mt. Fanny; and the
Board was given a proposed Personnel Policy, and asked
to review it over the next month for possible adoption at
the next meeting. Sections of the Policy to be reviewed
are Vacation Benefits, Sick Leave, Uniformed Services,
and Jury Duty.
Antell, of the Mt. Emily Nordic Club, asked whether
the District would sell its sno-cat to the club, for which
he’s offering $7,000. He said the sno-cat would be avail-
able, if the District needed it for emergencies. The Board
decided to allow Antell to test drive the sno-cat, and
Beach will complete further research regarding the value
of the machine.
Beach, the District’s sole, half-time employee, has an
information sheet, with general details about BMTD, and
broadcast channels, including the following:
From the Beaver Mountain site, 2.1, KATU/ABC, from
Portland; 6.1, KOIN/CBS, from Portland; 7.1, KTVB/
NBC, High Definition (HD), from Boise; 7.2, KTVB/
NBC, from Boise; 7.KGW/NBC, from Portland; 12.1,
and KPTV/FOX, from Portland. From the Mt. Fanny site,
all of the aforementioned channels, plus 32.1, KRCW/
NW32, from Portland; and 49.1, KPDX/PDX, from
Portland. From the Mt. Harris site, 2.1, KATU/ABC, from
Portland; 6.1, KOIN/CBS, from Portland; 8.1, KGW/
NBC, from Portland; and 12.1, KPTV/FOX, from Port-
land. Also available from all three sites are 13.1, OPB;
13.2, OPB Plus; and 13.3, OPB Radio (NPR, Music and
Jazz). With the implementation of the fiber optic system,
the following channels are also available: 2.2, MeTV;
2.3, CometTV; 6.2, GetTV; 8.2, JN; 8.3, Estrella (Span-
ish); 12.2, CoziTV; 12.3, LaffTV; 32.2, AntennaTV; 32.3,
ThisTV; and 49.2, EscapeTV.