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Friday, April 1, 2016 • Volume 3, Issue 14
Book’s Baker City mystery
shooting a mystery no more
• SHOOTING
FROM THE 1950s
NOT A MURDER
AFTER ALL
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
It all began with a March
3, 2016 letter from author
William L. Aumiller to
Baker City Police Chief
Wyn Lohner.
Aumiller’s aunt, Bon-
nie Aumiller, as it turned
out, had recounted some
questionable circumstances
from her childhood,
recorded in an interview
prior to her death in 2014.
Her nephew had then set
those memories to paper.
Those circumstances? A
shooting in Baker City in-
volving Bonnie Aumiller’s
father, Baker City Police
Offi cer Chris Schoeberlin.
“When I fi rst saw the
book and letter, I wasn’t
sure what to think,” said
Lohner. “We hear a lot
of wild stories, and I
wondered if this was just
another of those.”
Aumiller’s book,
“Earth Angels: Three Who
Mattered” documents his
aunt’s story from 1952.
Writes Aumiller, a retired
Denver Police Lieutenant,
“I should have known bet-
ter; it should have clicked,
but I didn’t consider that
someone else may have
been charged with murder
64 years ago...”
Aumiller went on to say,
“It wasn’t a pressing issue
since it happened so many
years ago, but one that
should be addressed.”
Lohner agreed. “If there
was even a small bit of
truth to the story, we need-
ed to make a fair effort to
prove it—or dispel it.”
The idea was to bring
closure at last, if closure
was needed, to the fami-
lies of both the victim and
suspect.
Submitted Photo.
A letter from author William Aumiller launched some
detective work at the BCPD this month.
SEE SHOOTING PAGE 5
Mural series adorns museum
Hughes
arrested on
meth charges
Photo courtesy of the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce.
Tracy Hughes.
Kailyn McQuisten/ The Baker County Press
A series of 18 murals painted by Tom Novak now graces the exterior of the Baker Heritage Museum.
• FOUR-YEAR
PROJECT AT LAST
COMES TO
FRUITION
On March 25, 2016, at about 11:19 p.m., the Baker
City Police Department (BCPD) began investigating a
potential delivery of Methamphetamine in Baker City.
BCPD Detective Sharon Bass was able to observe what
appeared to be a delivery of narcotics at a local residence
and then Offi cer Rand Weaver conducted a traffi c stop on
the vehicle the suspect was traveling in, near the intersec-
tion of 5th and Myrtle.
Seized in the investigation was:
• 2.9 grams of Methamphetamine, which had been
delivered to a local residence
• 28.8 grams of Methamphetamine, located in the ve-
hicle the suspect was traveling in
• Narcotics paraphernalia
• $265 in cash
Arrested at the scene for Possession of a Controlled
Substance Methamphetamine and Conspiracy to Deliver
Methamphetamine was Tracy Leroy Hughes, age 50. The
investigation will continue.
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Tom Novak’s mural proj-
ect was a labor of love four
years in the making.
Originally planned to be
completed in 11 months,
but delayed by the artist’s
illness, the 18-mural series
fi nally found its place
along the exterior walls of
the Baker Heritage Mu-
seum last Saturday.
The project’s cost came
in at $21K funded by the
Meyer Memorial Foun-
dation. Said Museum
Manager Lea Gettle, “They
have been incredible to
work with.”
According to Gettle,
the project started as a
program in which Novak
Friday
Kailyn McQuisten / The Baker County Press
One corner sign, “Museum at the Nat,” is a tribute to the museum’s days as a
natatorium.
worked with troubled
youth to paint murals. The
second part of the project
was a collaborative effort
between Novak and the
Museum Commission.
The artist chose black
and white rather than color
to mimic the photographs
after which most of the
murals were inspired.
Said Gettle, “The murals
are painted directly from
Warm and sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. Lows in
the mid-50s.
Saturday
Mostly sunny with slightly cooler temperatures
and possibly a few clouds. Highs in the mid
60s.
Sunday
Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. Partly
cloudy. Lows near 50.
photos in our archives,
the east facing fi ve mural
scene is a scene that Tom
imagined himself of the
pioneer wagons descend-
ing into the Powder River
Valley.”
House paint on wood
was used, creating a lifes-
pan of up to 40 years for
the paintings.
Housed in the his-
toric 1920 Natatorium, the
Baker Heritage Museum,
formerly Oregon Trail Re-
gional Museum, displays
and interprets the rich his-
tory of the region.
Permanent and changing
exhibits of mining, timber,
ranching, agriculture, early
Baker City life, Chinese
culture and wildlife fi ll the
33,000 square foot build-
ing.
Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County.
Our forecast made possible by this
generous sponsor:
Offi cial weather provider for
The Baker County Press.
Candidates
forum
April 19
The Baker County Republican Party and The Baker
County Press will sponsor a forum for all County Com-
missioner candidates vying for Position No. 1.
The forum will take place on Tuesday, April 19 at the
Best Western – Sunridge Inn, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
All candidates will have the opportunity to meet and
greet with the audience directly after the forum. Candi-
dates are also being provided tables for their campaign
materials.
Commissioner candidates, Kody Justus, Jeff Nelson and
Bruce Nichols have all confi rmed their attendance.
Candidates will fi eld questions from the audience.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Veterinary services to relocate
Easter Bunny visits Huntington
BMCC’s offerings expand
New wolf kill confi rmed
Speedo Swim meet results
Paving projects and Capital Plan
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