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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2016)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 Local Veteran turns 100 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 A notable one, from the Post, read aloud by Churchill: “Well, it ap- pears that you’ve come to a major crossroads; older than dirt, and still above it,” which was followed by some laughter. Churchill presented Davis with a vase of flowers, which he said was a gift from Davis’s brother, Wayne, of Red- ding, California (Wayne, and another brother, from Sparks, Nevada, were unable to attend). Wayne had spearheaded the effort of the VFW to host the celebration, and he had contributed funds to pur- chase the cake for Davis, a chocolate one, with white frosting. Wayne put forth the effort partly because Davis, while obviously in the company of many friends and helpful neigh- bors, has no local family, and his family members have traveled up to some great distance, in order to celebrate his birthday, including from Idaho, Washington, and western Oregon. “Well, when you get stuck in the Army, why, there’s no use thanking you for the service, because, you either do what you’re doing, or...” Davis said humbly, referring to his time in the military as many of his generation have viewed their own- -as a job, or a duty, to complete, regardless of the difficulty--in response to appreciation expressed from this reporter, for his service. He was enrolled in the Army on February 14, 1942, and he served as a construction machine operator, in the South Pacific. Davis’s awards include the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal, and the Bronze Star. “I went back to the woods,” Davis said, refer- ring to his employment in the logging industry, after he was discharged from the Army, on November 28, 1945. He had worked as a logger before the war, in the local area, and after his discharge, he also worked as a carpenter here, retiring in Baker City, he said. Davis’s family had photographs taken with him and Walden, before Walden headed to the Sun- ridge Inn Restaurant, for a Town Hall he presented, at 5:15 p.m. TMP discusses recreation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Bruland asked whether any language in the Brownlee addition should be changed, and there were no changes suggested. Chase moved that the Brownlee addition be in- cluded in the Recreation & Tourism section as-is, and Harris seconded the mo- tion. The motion carried. Stroy then read the aforementioned proposed mountain biking section, slated for the Recreation & Tourism section. He said, “I don’t think this one’s as easy,” referring to the issue with the specific language about mountain biking. Harris asked whether mountain bikes are allowed in the wilderness areas, and Bruland replied that they aren’t, because they are “mechanized” devices. Kinzer asked whether the trails which would be used for mountain biking would be accessible for other activities, and Stroy com- mented that that is exactly the issue, whether others would be barred from ac- cess. Ballard emphasized again that mountain biking should not be afforded special recognition, and that the NRP addresses recreation, and “motor- ized,” and “non-motor- ized” activities. Stroy, among others, made some comments in agreement with that, and he said that special treatment would be ridiculous. Bruland read a paragraph in the Recre- ation & Tourism section of the NRP, to which Ballard replied already covers this subject, and that it does not exclude mountain biking: “Baker County supports the accessibility, improve- ment, maintenance and development of motorized and non-motorized trails to facilitate recreation and access to natural resources for residents and visitors. This policy reflects the no net loss of our open roads system.” After some deliberation, Bruland removed the lan- guage “mountain biking” in the proposed addition, and replaced it with “non- motorized trail/road use,” and “non-motorized.” She added the language “public land access,” as an “exist- ing and” emerging force, and after further editing, she read the revised draft, which is a combination of a previously approved section paragraph, and the proposed draft: “Access to public lands is an existing and growing force in developing tour- ism for rural communities, through economic diver- sification. Baker County supports the accessibility, improvement, mainte- nance, and development of motorized and non- motorized trails to facili- tate recreation and access to natural resources, to benefit recreational health, social, and economic op- portunities that access pro- vides. This policy reflects the no net loss of our open roads system.” Kinzer asked about including the term “mecha- nized,” and Chase sug- gested leaving the NRP statement about motorized and non-motorized use as-is, because it covers all activities. Chase moved to leave that section as-is (without the proposed mountain biking edit in its entirety, or the newly proposed hybrid edit), and Ballard seconded the mo- tion. The motion carried. Among details dis- cussed during the meeting, Bruland mentioned the recent Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision (BMFPR) meeting the County Commissioners had, with representatives of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), during which the USFS provided a Power- Point update, regarding the BMFPR, which Bruland said was confusing. Chase said his favorite part of the meeting was the point, post-presentation, when all three of the Commission- ers responded with strong comments and concerns, about the management of Forest Lands, by the USFS. Bruland said, “The Commissioners were awe- some. Oh my gosh, they absolutely beat them with questions...It was very interactive...They were just on it--a real good meet- ing.” On Wednesday of this week, Bruland traveled to the Shoshone-Pauite Tribe’s Duck Valley Indian Reservation, located on the Nevada/Idaho border, “exactly half-way be- tween Elko, Nevada, and Mountain Home, Idaho,” about a four-and-a-half hour drive, she said. She has been contracted to work with members of the reservation, on agricul- tural improvement projects supported by a $3 million grant, the type of work she has significant ca- reer experience with, she said. Some of the planned projects are fence building, livestock watering im- provements, and irrigation pivot installations. Bruland said she will be attending the next NRAC meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 28, 2016, 3 p.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse. Police seek witnesses, suspect in hit and run incident Tuesday On June 21, 2016 at about 1:45 p.m, Baker City Police Officers responded to the 2400 block of Plum Street for the report of a Hit and Run, where a pedestrian was reportedly injured. The pedestrian, John Matthiesen of Baker City, told officers that he was struck by a white colored passenger car, which fled north on Plum Street. Matthiesen also stated that a white pickup, oc- cupied by two women and one man, stopped and provided assistance. That vehicle also left prior to police arrival. The Baker City Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance with locating the “Good Samaritan” vehicle and occupants, as well as the “Suspect” vehicle and oc- cupants. Anyone with informa- tion is asked to contact Baker County Dispatch at 541-523-3644, where that information will be relayed to the case investigator, Officer Shannon Regan. Man caught rummaging in drug lab area On June 21, 2016 at about 12:52 p.m. Baker City Police Department (BCPD) Officers received a report of a person “rum- maging” around in the backyard of 301 2nd Street in Baker City, which is still classified as a Drug Lab Site and not fit for use. BCPD Officers respond- ed to the area and located Theodor Eugene Bootsma (07/21/76), of 2604 11th Street in Baker City, in the backyard of the residence. Bootsma was sub- sequently arrested for Criminal Trespass 1 and transported to the Baker County Jail. This property, owned by David Baggerly, was tagged as a drug lab site in February of 2015. A current city ordinance case, claiming the property as a nuisance, is pending in Baker County Justice Court. Powder River Music Review lineup The remaining concert line up for the Powder River Music Review is as follows: June 26 - Juni Fisher - (week music sponsor - Sunridge Inn) July 3 - Brady Goss - (week music sponsor - Baker County Oregon Cultural Coalition) July 10 - Diversity - the Band - (week music spon- sor - Sorbenots) Jubilee Music: July 15 Brett Welty Band - music sponsor-Baker city Motel July 16 - Tri Cities Steel Band - Blue Mountain Community College - mu- sic sponsor July 16 - Blue Yesterdays - accepting audience tips July 16 Street dance - downtown court Street park - Frank Carlson - OTEC music sponsor. July 17 - Just 4 Fun band - (week music sponsor - Baker City Reality ) July 24 - Thunder Road - (week music sponsor - TRT ) July 31 - Sage Brush Swingers August 7 - Frank Carlson (week music sponsor - OTEC) August 14 - Breana Renee August 21 - Bruno dunes August 28 - Blue Yester- days Woman injured in horse accident On June 16, 2016 the Baker County Consolidated Dispatch received a call from Chad Delcurto requesting help after his friend, Carol Schoen, had been thrown from a horse in the Four Mile Creek area outside of Halfway and had serious internal injuries, making movement extremely painful. Initially, LifeFlight was requested to respond but they were unable to fly due to bad weather. Baker County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue was contacted to respond to the area to work on a plan to remove the vic- tim from the canyon and to get medical assistance to the victim. Search and Rescue Coordinator, Chris Galiszewski, responded and requested assistance from the US Forest Service Pine District, Halfway Fire and Halfway Ambu- lance. Carol was in Four Mile Canyon and could only be ac- cessed by horse, off-road vehicle or helicopter. Utilizing equipment and people from all agencies involved, first responders were able to reach Carol and a break in the weather allowed Life Flight to land near the patient and transport her to an appropriate medical facility. According to Sheriff Ash, this incident is a prime ex- ample of how cooperation between agencies, volunteer support, and the ability to work together saves lives. Pickup catches fire Sunday Photo courtesy of Kyle Cindell The Medical Springs Rural Fire Protection District and North Powder Rural responded Sunday af- ternoon to a pickup truck on fire about a mile from Thief Valley. The fire spread into the grass but was contained the same day at 3/4 acre. Drug dealer assaults officers On June 16, 2016 at about 1:27 p.m., Baker City Police Department (BCPD) Officers received a report of two men attempting to sell marijuana to a juvenile in the Geiser-Pollman Park. BCPD officers contacted several juveniles in the park, along with an adult witness. The witnesses gave a de- scription of the two adult males and officers searched the area. Lt. Dustin Newman and Chief Wyn Lohner located the two suspects walking south along Elm Street, near the Eldon Street intersection. The two suspects, Miguel Guzman (11/23/85) and Chase Westcott (08/27/94) were contacted and Guzman immediately became agitated and refused to comply with orders. Guzman was told he was being detained and then became physically resistive when Lt. Newman and Chief Lohner attempted to direct his movements away from Westcott. Guzman escalated the contact and physical force was used to take Guzman to the ground where he was told he was under arrest. Additional force was necessitated to get Guzman hand- cuffed, as he continued to resist those efforts. Lt. Newman and Chief Lohner received minor injuries during the arrest. Guzman was transported to the Baker County Jail and charged with:- Attempted Delivery of Marijuana to a Mi- nor x 5, Resisting Arrest, and Assaulting a Public Safety Officer x 2. Westcott was released without being charged. Man arraigned on attempted murder On June 20, 2015, James Lanning (dob 12-08-1969) of 5633 NW Coyner Ave, Redmond, Oregon was arraigned in Baker County Circuit Court on one count of Attempted Murder. Lanning was indicted by a Baker County Grand Jury on June 17, 2016. Lanning is alleged to have shot Scott Bradley while Bradley was seated in a vehicle. The shooting occurred on Elm St. on the night of June 13, 2016. Bradley and Lanning knew each other. Bradley was treated at Saint Alphonsus Hospital the night of the shooting and was released. Bail was set at $750,000.
