10 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2016
Local
Huntington holds town hall OTEC plays
for commissioner candidate part in drill
BY EILEEN DRIVER
Eileen@TheBakerCountyPress.com
In a special town hall
meeting held Monday
night April 18 at 6:30
p.m. at the VFW Hall, the
citizens of Huntington got
the chance to meet and talk
with one of the candidates
for Baker County Commis-
sioner, Kody Justus.
Justus wanted to talk
with the people to find out
what their concerns are
and to let them know what
goals he hopes to work
toward for the betterment
of Baker County should he
be elected.
Kody Justus and past
generations of his family
have resided in and around
Baker County since 1891
and are currently cattle
ranchers with strong ties
to the community. He
was accompanied by his
wife Heidi and his young
daughter Zoey.
Rather than stand up and
give a speech Justus sat
among the people pres-
ent and encouraged them
to ask the questions that
concerned them.
When asked what he
sees as his goal for Baker
County he told the as-
sembly that he wants to
work to ensure that Baker
County gets to keep what
it has and that control of
Submitted Photo.
Lara Petitclerc-Stokes/Haines and Medical Springs
fire crews direct mock crash victim, Anderson, to
stay in the vehicle and maintain a safe distance
from the simulated accident. Demonstrating an
awareness of the dangers of “step potential” in
power pole accidents.
Submitted Photo.
A small group gathered to meet Justus during a Huntington visit.
local lands and resources
stays in local hands.
He believes that gov-
ernment needs to work
together with each other
and especially with the
people and not arbitrarily
on their own.
Justus stated, “When
people get to the point
they are not being listened
to and think they have
nothing left to lose is when
trouble starts.”
He wants the people to
know that he is listening.
The Huntington citizens
present talked with him
about their concerns about
bringing jobs to the area,
their feelings of loss of
control to BLM and Idaho
Power over their main
resource, the Snake River
and that they feel they
are often left out the loop
when it comes to what’s
happening in the rest of the
county.
For more information
on Kody Justus you can go
to JustusForBakerCounty.
com, Justus For Baker
County on facebook or call
him personally at 541-519-
4061.
Snake River open for spring chinook
Spring Chinook fishing
in northeast Oregon kicks
off on Saturday, April 23
with the opening of the up-
per Snake River to salmon
fishing.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife
will open the upper Snake
River for spring chinook
fishing under the following
regulations:
Open to sport fishing
seven-days-a-week from
Dug Bar Boat Ramp to the
deadline below Hells Can-
yon Dam. The fishery will
remain open until a notice
of closure is announced.
The daily bag limit is four
hatchery spring Chinook
salmon (adult and jacks)
per day, no more than two
can be an adult salmon
more than 24-inches long.
Anglers must stop
fishing for salmon for the
day when they have kept
four jack salmon (equal
to or less than 24-inches
long) or two adult salmon,
whichever comes first.
Only barbless hooks
may be used. Anglers are
reminded to review the
2016 Oregon Sport Fishing
Regulations for other ap-
plicable regulations.
ODFW and Idaho Fish and
Game fishery managers,
who co-manage the upper
Snake River sport fish-
ery, anticipate over 2,700
hatchery adult salmon will
return to the base of Hell’s
Canyon Dam. “Currently,
the run is coming in later
than expected but we’re
optimistic we will have a
good Snake River fishery
this year” said Jeff Yanke,
ODFW district fish bi-
ologist in Enterprise. “We
expect the catch rates to
pick up in the upper Snake
around mid-May,” he said.
Managers are also
monitoring detections of
Chinook salmon stocks
that support fisheries in the
Grande Ronde and Imnaha
Rivers. Spring Chinook
returns to these basins are
much lower than previous
years “Our pre-season pro-
jections suggest there may
be enough fish in both the
Imnaha and Grande Ronde
basins to have limited op-
portunity”, Yanke said.
Season changes and clo-
sures announcements will
be posted on the ODFW
website and released
through local news outlets.
Local police target distracted drivers
On April 22, 2016 the
Baker City Police Depart-
ment and the Oregon State
Police will conduct a “Dis-
tracted Driving Awareness
Campaign” in Baker City.
Officers and Troopers
will primarily be looking
for motor vehicle operators
who are using their cell
phones while driving their
vehicles.
Law Enforcement of-
ficers will be on foot in the
downtown area, primar-
ily near the Main and
Broadway intersection and
the Main and Campbell
intersection, looking for
violators.
If a violation is observed,
they will radio vehicle
and driver information to
police units staged in the
area, which will then con-
duct the traffic stop.
The State of Oregon has
seen a rise in traffic fatali-
ties recently and it is our
goal to remind motorists of
the need to remove distrac-
tions when operating motor
vehicles.
County has board vacancies open
Baker County has
vacancies on the following
boards/committees:
• Baker County Museum
Commission
• Baker County Cultural
Coalition
• Baker County Fair
Board and Fair Advisory
Board
• Eastern Oregon Co-
ordinated Care Advisory
Committee
• Transportation/Traffic
Safety Committee
• Early Learning Coun-
cil
• Parks Advisory Board
Persons interested in
volunteering to serve on
the above boards are asked
to fill out a volunteer form
and return it to the Com-
missioner’s office prior to
April 30, 2016.
The form is available at
www.bakercounty.org or
in the Commissioner’s Of-
fice located at 1995 Third
Street, Baker City, OR
97814. Questions may be
referred to Heidi Martin at
541-523-8200.
Hospital employees arraigned on
drug-related charges
Two former St. Alphon-
sus Valley Medical Clinic
employees were recently
arraigned in Baker County
Circuit Court.
Sarah Marie Rea (DOB
6-19-1995) of 1717 Wash-
ington Avenue, Baker City,
Oregon, and Kara Joyce
Delcurto (DOB 3-7-1984)
of 42173 Moody Road,
Richland, Oregon, were
both indicted by a Baker
County Grand Jury for two
counts of Tampering with
Drug Records, a Class C
Felony, and two counts of
Unlawful Possession of
Oxycodone, also a Class C
Felony.
Both are alleged to have
been involved in forging
a prescription and unlaw-
fully obtaining oxycodone
at a local pharmacy. These
cases are being handled
by Erin Landis, Malheur
County Deputy District
Attorney, due to a conflict
of interest as Baker County
District Attorney Matt
Shirtcliff is chairman for
the St. Alphonsus commu-
nity hospital board.
Hearing pleas are sched-
uled for Delcurto on May
5, 2016, and for Rea on
April 25, 2016.
Submitted Photo.
Lara Petitclerc-Stokes/Mock crash victim, Jeff An-
derson (OTEC’s Manager of Loss Control) debriefs
with Baker County’s Emergency Management team
and fire crews from Haines and Medical Springs on
Saturday, April 16.
There were more than a few concerned faces slowing
down and taking a second look back on Saturday morn-
ing as OTEC’s Manager of Loss Control Jeff Anderson
began building what was to become a mock automobile
accident.
With his Chevy truck bumped up against a power pole
and billowing smoke, Anderson gingerly draped what
looked like an energized power line across the top of his
rig and said, “maybe next year I’ll suggest we move this
off of the main road so people don’t get too concerned as
they drive past.”
The finishing touch for Anderson’s crash scene was a
red and white jar of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Blood that
he strategically poured over his head and onto his crisp
white t-shirt.
“I wore this white shirt special so it would have maxi-
mum impact,” Anderson added.
And that is the whole point of this safety training –
maximum impact.
This is the twelfth year the Baker County Emergency
Management team has been performing these exercises.
For this training they had four scenarios set up across
town with true-to-life, life threatening situations for emer-
gency crews to train with.
“All crews participating are going to receive a dispatch
call today and, just as in a genuine emergency situation,
they are not going to know what they will find until they
arrive,” said Anderson.
At the OTEC site, what crews found was an injured
driver in a truck that had hit a power pole, appeared to be
on fire, with a live power line draped across its top.
“When current is flowing from a downed power line
into the earth, a high-voltage condition is created,”
explains Anderson. “When faced with this emergency
scenario, it is important for crews to remain a safe dis-
tance away until given the all-clear to move in. Voltage
can be radiating from the downed line into the ground.
If responders step too close, electrical voltage can come
back up through the ground and electrify the emergency
crews trying to save an accident victim. This is called
‘step potential.’”
“We have been training with every one of these depart-
ments this past year reviewing the dangers of voltage and
‘step potential’,” said Anderson. “This is a little ‘in the
field’ test to see what happens.”
Anderson advises, “If contact is made with an energized
power line while you are in a vehicle, the best thing to
do is to try and remain calm and not get out unless the
vehicle is on fire. If you must exit because of fire or other
safety reasons, try to jump completely clear, making sure
that you do not touch the equipment and the ground at the
same time. Land with both feet together, maintain balance
and shuffle away in small steps to minimize the path of
electric current and avoid electrical shock.”
“Providing this opportunity for training was no small
task and took the coordinated efforts of multiple emer-
gency response departments across the county,” noted
Anderson. “Crews will be scored on their response,
reaction and resolution to each scenario and given profes-
sional advice, where needed, to make the teams stronger
when they truly get called out.”
OTEC offers public safety training to schools, emer-
gency response organizations and government agencies.
For more information, contact your local OTEC office or
email Jeff Anderson at: janderson@otecc.com