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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2016)
LOCAL: City offers Fred Warner, Jr. $98,000 City Manager contract. PAGE 4 The LOCAL: Weed spray giveaway hugely popular. PAGE 10 Baker County Press TheBakerCountyPress.com 75¢ All local. All relevant. Every Friday. Friday, May 27, 2016 • Volume 3, Issue 22 Two local teens save truck driver’s life • GIRLS HAD RECENTLY TAKEN CPR CLASSES BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com When they completed a CPR class to supplement their babysitting skills at the end of January, little did Sydney Slobig, a sophomore from Baker City, and Sydney Palmer, a junior from Haines, know they’d soon be using their newfound knowledge to save a man’s life. “We were just out driv- ing around,” Slobig said. The incident started when Slobig and Palmer were parked at O’Reilly Auto Parts and saw a truck go by on Campbell last Saturday. Slobig said she noticed a Jeep being car- ried on that semi’s trailer— the kind of Jeep she’d like to one day own. Not far behind the semi, the two saw another of their friends drive by east toward Mc- Donald’s, so they left the parking lot and headed in that direction. They never found their friend, but not long after, they noticed that same semi pulled off onto the side of the street and what appeared to be an argument between a group of men unfolding. As the girls watched, one man left and another dropped to the ground. SEE TEENS SAVE LIFE PAGE 5 Submitted Photo. L-R: Hubert Wayne Simmons, Jerry Jewell, Syndey Palmer, and Sydney Slobig. Local veteran travels to Washington D.C. Reserve officers graduate • CEREMONY FOR LARGE CLASS FILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com The fourth graduating class from the Eastern Oregon Regional Reserve Offi cers Training Academy gathered at 10 a.m. last Saturday in the Baker City Hall Council Chambers to accept their certifi cates of completion—a proud moment for the new reserves who began their training all the way back on January 9. Reserve Commander Jerry Boyd led the ceremony, which as he noted, fell on the last day of National Police Week. Boyd paused in a moment of silence commemo- rating the thousands of fallen law enforcement offi cers throughout history. SEE RESERVE OFFICERS PAGE 5 After voter rejection, nonpartisan issue is back Submitted Photo. WWII veteran Robert Bennett talks about his victories, losses and experiences having just returned from an adventure in Washington D.C. Above he poses with a fl ag fl own over the U.S. Capitol Building. BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com “It’s just something that I like to do... It just gives the kids an insight of what it was like, back in 1941 ...” said local World War II Marine Corps veteran Robert Bennett this week when he spoke about sharing his wartime expe- riences with school students who visit the Warhawk Air Museum, located in Nampa, Idaho. Robert shares these details, along with more than a dozen other veterans who volunteer their time. Robert volunteers also for Heart ‘n Home Hospice & Palliative Care,= to visit and assist veterans—something he said he’s been doing since his wife of 72 years, Jean, passed away on April 16, 2015, of congestive heart failure. Friday Mostly sunny and mild, highs near 60. Mostly cloudy and cool at night with lows in the mid 30s. Saturday Mostly sunny with highs in the lower 60s. Partly cloudy and cool at night with lows in the mid 30s. Sunday Partly sunny with the threat of showers and storms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Lows in the lower 40s. “When she passed away, I felt strongly that the Hospice was a great organization, and really did well for her...” Heart ‘n Home in Idaho helped care for Jean, along with Robert’s daughter, Lori Brock, a Nampa resident, who’s a hospice nurse for Heart ‘n Home. He said he wished to keep busy after his wife had passed away, so he will continue with the volunteer work, which he said is a great comfort and worthwhile. Robert, who turns 93 in June, said that the Museum volunteers range from World War II to other eras, but, “There are getting less and less of us that are capable...” The experiences he communicates to students and others includes an emphasis on the contribution to the wartime effort by the wives, daughters, girlfriends, and others, of the service personnel including his wife, Jean. SEE BENNETT PAGE 9 Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County. Our forecast made possible by this generous sponsor: Offi cial weather provider for The Baker County Press. • SAME SUPPORTERS HOPE TO GET SAME IDEA BACK ON BALLOT FOR 2ND YEAR BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com “Voters already educated themselves and rejected this idea in Baker County last year,” said Baker County Republican Chair Suzan Ellis Jones. “Voters saw the false narrative for what it was, but here it comes again.” Last year, Democrat co-petitioners succeeded in plac- ing an initiative on the ballot that would have removed the Republican, Democrat and Independent designa- tions from Baker County Commissioner seats, changing them to nonpartisan. Voters put down the idea, but now those affi liated with that movement are trying it again. First, they’ll need to gather about 430 valid signatures by August. SEE NONPARTISAN PAGE 5 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Forest Access for All banquet City budget hearings held Locked & Loaded cleans up League of Oregon Cities meets Burnt River Student wins art contest Halfway man arrested for sex abuse Page Page Page Page Page Page 3 4 7 8 9 9
