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.