Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2016)
BUSINESS: Tasty Bake operations nearly cease locally. PAGE 3 The LOCAL: Pinwheel garden marks child abuse prevention month. PAGE 12 Baker County Press TheBakerCountyPress.com 75¢ All local. All relevant. Every Friday. Friday, April 8, 2016 • Volume 3, Issue 15 Rising police, fire needs focus of presentations • CITY COUNCIL HEARS STAFFING WISH LIST AT GOAL SETTING SESSION BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com On Monday evening, about a dozen attendees in- cluding several City Coun- cil members, City Manager Mike Kee, and department heads, gathered in the City Hall Council Chambers to begin outlining Council goals for the coming year. The meeting lasted just under four hours and focused on goal-setting for streets, government and administration, water and wastewater, public parks, economic development, and public safety. While the prevailing sentiment in the room was that personnel costs should continue to be kept to a minimum for the sake of local taxpayers, and most City departments were cur- rently adequately staffed, the area of public safety was the singular exception. Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner and Baker City Fire Chief Mark John each pointed to a sharp and continued increase in com- munity needs and demands on their respective depart- ments. Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press Fire Chief Mark John hopes for additional staffi ng. SEE GOAL-SETTING PAGE 2 Rollover kills three ‘Pinocchio’ comes to Pine Eagle Carmelita Holland / The Baker County Press The Missoula Children’s Theatre of Montana brought a classic play to the Panhandle last weekend. BY CARMELITA HOLLAND News@TheBakerCountyPress.com In the original old fairy tale, Geppeto, the wood carver, fashioned a puppet he named Pinocchio in the image of a small boy, unaware the wood under the chisel had come from an enchanted tree. The story was re-written and brought to the Panhandle by the Missoula Children’s Theatre of Montana. On Saturday afternoon, students of Pine Eagle Charter School, from grades K through 12, demonstrated to a hall fi lled with families and friends, their version of the story. Adding to enjoyment was pianist Dona Schmidt ac- companying the performances, and frequently providing an exciting, suspense-fi lled setting for the drama. Introducing the fi rst act was theatre actress, Mandy Cor- bett, who verbally set the stage with Pinocchio, played by Vincent Goracke beginning as a wooden puppet. An energetic Jimmy Cricket was played by Hunter Simpson. The beautiful Blue Fairy who “watched from afar, and gave to the puppet the gift of life” was played by Darby Shouse. The whole cast wore colorful costumes. Seth Butler played the unsavory fox. Katelyn Thomas played the cat. Chad McCall was Candlewick, and the crew who traveled the road to Pleasure Isle with Pinocchio were Maddie Morgan, Morgan Holton, Liz Cantrell, Will Seg- german, and Chris Millhollin. The friendly urchins who helped tell the story were Alexis Marshall, Kiley Chetwood, Kerri Stutzman-Row- en, Coy Butner, Jazmine Marshall, Bryce Ransom, Chase Butner, McKenna Olsen, Sammy Pollock and Kandice Holland. Warming the hearts of the audience were eighteen “school kids” from lower grades, and a dozen “toys” all in full costumes, including a number of toy soldiers in red uniforms. All of the local actors were chosen from students who volunteered on Monday to audition. They had four days to learn their parts. This play has been an annual project partially supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, in part by a grant from the Montana Arts Council, and local spon- sors including Jacob’s Dream, the Pine Eagle Education Foundation, and more. Man arraigned on first degree sex abuse charges On Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Antoine Mulder, born November 30, 1949, of 2306 Church Street in Baker City, was arraigned on a Grand Jury Secret Indictment alleging one count of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class B Friday Felony. The charge is an Oregon ballot measure 11 offense, with a possible maximum 75-month sentence upon conviction, according to District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff. The alleged victim in the Sunny and warm with highs in the mid 70s. Partly cloudy with lows in the low 40s. Saturday Increasing clouds with highs near 70. Mostly cloudy and cooler at night. Lows in the mid 30s. Sunday Mostly sunny and cooler. Highs in the mid 60s. Partly cloudy at night with lows in the mid 30s. case is a ten-year-old girl known to Mulder. Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter set bail at $50,000. An entry of plea date was set for April 26, 2016. Mulder previously re- sided in Washington State. Photo Courtesy of the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce. Antoine Mulder. Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press Police Chief Wyn Lohner says while reports, responses and arrests have risen signifi cantly, staffi ng and overtime remain at a decreased level. Oregon State Police (OSP) Troopers are continuing the investigation into this Monday morning’s fatal crash on Interstate 84 westbound near Baker City, near milepost 306. Preliminary information indicates on April 4, 2016, at 5:34 a.m., a 2006 Chevy Cobalt was traveling westbound and for unknown reasons, left the roadway and rolled several times, ejecting a child passenger, three-year-old girl. The child and an adult passenger, Wayne A. Owens, age 35, from Portland, suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver, Samantha P. Harper, age 22, from Portland, received serious injuries and was fl own by Life Flight to Saint Alphonsus Region- al Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Harper was 13 weeks pregnant, and the couple’s unborn child also lost his life. One westbound lane of Interstate 84 was closed for ap- proximately four hours following the crash. OSP was assisted by the Baker City Police Department (BCPD), Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Baker County Fire Department. Due to the early morning time of the accident, BCPD offi cers Shannon Regan and Blake Hawkins were on duty, arriving fi rst at the scene. ORP adopts Transfer of Public Lands resolution • TWO BAKER COUNTY DELEGATES ATTEND STATE MEETING BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com Baker County Republican Chair Suzan Ellis Jones and Baker County Republican Corresponding Secretary Carole Dyke traveled to Medford last weekend for the Oregon Republican Party’s (ORP’s) state meeting. Jones is Alternate Vice Chair of Congressional District 2 (CD-2), composed of central and eastern Oregon coun- ties. Dyke serves as CD-2 Secretary. Jones also heads the state party’s Natural Resources Committee. At the meeting, the party voted to adopt a resolution that came from the Natural Resources Committee—a resolution that supports the Transfer of Public Lands, those lands currently under Federal management—back to state-level control. The idea follows the actions of sev- eral states east of the Rockies that have already resumed control of those lands successfully. The resolution is iden- tical to the one adopted in 2014 by the national party. SEE TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS PAGE 4 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 CPR training in New Bridge Man arrested for strangulation Huntington: new cakery opens Forest resiliency meeting County Commissioners coverage Sumpter’s community breakfast Page Page Page Page Page Page 5 5 8 9 10 11
