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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2016)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 Local ‘Gold Rush’ begins filming Livestock Association CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Submitted Photo. A view near the new Burnt River area mine site as taken by one of the cast members. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Hoffman said, “I’ve also had the chance to reconnect with some child- hood friends.” Hoffman refers to Kevin Logsdon, owner of York’s on Camp- bell Street along with wife Marilyn. The crew has also ven- tured into La Grande for some additional purchases that weren’t to be located in Baker City. “We’re still looking for satellite stereos for the rock trucks, too,” Hoffman said. “And we’re hoping to hire a couple more local operators soon.” Hoffman wasn’t yet sure if the hirings would be arranged through the local employment department or simply through word of mouth. Once production is in full swing, exclusive tours of the mine and produc- tion site can be arranged through the Geiser Grand Hotel, with any related coupons, contests and an- nouncements available in The Baker County Press. The Hoffmans are also planning a 4th of July event within the commu- nity spearheaded by one of the mine’s co-owners, Phillip Wirth. However, as the details of that event have not been solidified, those involved have asked for those details to not yet be released in the media. Hoffman and other cast members are also confirmed for the Miners Jubilee Parade—look for them on the Baker County Republican float and at the Republican table in the park beside the Eastern Oregon Mining Asso- ciation display afterward. Hoffman will also appear October 29 at the Wicked Ways Masquerade Ball, which, in its second year, is a partnership between The Geiser Grand and The Baker County Press. Tick- ets for that event will go on sale in May. “You know what,” Hoff- man concluded before being called back to the set, “we would really ap- preciate people’s prayers about we do this year. We want to honor Oregon and our families with what we do on TV.” At present, up to 20 in- dividuals from the camera and production crew can be spotted at the site, along with about 20 miners and any number of family and friends—40 to 50 are currently in the area—who have gathered in Baker City and southern Baker County to support the film- ing and the cast. A date for the actual opening of the mine has not yet been released. “Gold Rush” airs Fridays evenings on the Discovery Channel. All candidates were given a list of items to discuss, They were: • The proposed Owyhee Canyonlands National Monu- ment Designation in Malheur county • Blue Mt. Forest Revision Plan • Wallowa Whitman Travel Management Plan • Management of public & Private lands • Coordination vs. cooperation status between county, state, and federal agencies • Boardman to Hemingway Powerline • Threatened or Endangered Species • Water Right and Water Storage • County Goals and County Growth • Transfer of Federal Lands to State Ownership • Importance of livestock production. Jeff Nelson had submitted a written statement, which was then passed out to members. Justus discussed his background and reasons for run- ning. Justus addressed each of the discussion areas. One concern Justus had is the County budget and the amount of money the County is currently spending for economic development with no results. Justus supports the transfer of public lands to state management. Justus supports coordination rather than cooperation with federal agencies. Nichols started out by saying he was very tired, it had been a long tax season. He said he was a “fish out of wa- ter with all of these issues,” and added, “I want everyone to know up from that I know nothing about each of these topics ... I do have opinions on some things.” Nichols, by contrast to the other two candidates, is against the transfer of public lands, stating it’s too costly and would trade one problem for another. Nichols’ response about endangered species views gen- erated some additional questioning from Cheryl Martin. Nichols said, “I’m not allowed to say what I would like to say (on the wolf issue).” Martin asked, “Why do you think you are not supposed to say that? Who dictates to you what you are supposed to say?” Nichols replied, “I don’t dislike the wolves, but—” Martin pressed, “I just want to know who is telling you what you should and should not say.” No direct response was given, and the meeting wound down to a close, adjourned by Bingham. Firewood permits available soon 2016 Firewood permits for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will go on sale May 1. Personal-use firewood permits can be purchased for $5 per cord, with a four cord minimum and a 10 cord maximum. Personal- use firewood permits will be available at Forest Service offices on Monday, May 2 and at several local vendors beginning Sunday, May 1. Commercial firewood permits are only available at Ranger District Offices. Vendors that sell firewood permits may add an ad- ditional vendor fee of up to $2 per permit. Most vendors are open early mornings, late evenings and on the week- ends. An additional fee is not charged if you purchase a permit at a Forest Service Office. Firewood cutters will be required to keep a record of the date, time, and quantity of firewood removed from the National Forest System Lands. There is a chart on the front of the permit called the “Product Quantity Removal Record.” This requirement will be enforced. To provide consistency and less confusion, firewood permittees will follow the same system as commercial operations and will be affected by Industrial Fire Precau- tion Levels (IFPL). Level I – 1 hour fire watch after completing chainsaw activities. Level II – Partial Hootowl – no internal combustion engine operation between the hours of 1:00 PM and 8:00 PM and a 1 hour fire watch. Level III – Partial Shutdown – no internal combustion engine operation (No Firewood Cutting) Level IV – no internal combustion engine operation (No Firewood Cutting) During fire season, IFPL levels can be found at: http:// bmidc.org/ifpls.shtml Firewood cutting information and restrictions will also be updated and posted on a recorded message. Restric- tions will be announced by 6:00 p.m. on the day prior to the day the restriction will go into effect. Weekend restrictions will be announced by 6:00 p.m. on Friday. It is the public’s responsibility to check to see if restrictions are in affect. Call the appropriate Forest’s Firewood Hotline to check if firewood cutting is allowed, restricted, or prohibited. An updated recorded message will let you know if firewood cutting is: allowed all day; restricted to specific hours (i.e. 1:00 p.m. chainsaw shutdown); restricted to specific areas of the Forest; or closed completely due to wildfire danger. For more information on firewood cutting, please contact: Wallowa-Whitman Supervisor’s Office: (541) 523-1244; Halfway: (541) 742-7511
