The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current, July 29, 2016, Image 7

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The Baker County press., July 29, 2016, Page 7, Image 7

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Newspaper Page TextFRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local LEGAL NOTICE HELP WANTED BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J is currently accepting applications for a BHS Assistant Volleyball Coach. For a complete description of the position and the application process go to www.baker.k12.or.us. You may also call Cathy Martin at 541-524-2261. 8.5 The Baker School District is now accepting bids for the 2016-17 school year. We are looking for food/non-food bids, milk and produce bids. For detailed lists of items and more information, please contact Jessica Dalton at 541-524-2260. 8.5 LEGAL NOTICE DISTRICT MEETING NOTICE Medical Springs Rural Fire Protection District Board of Directors will hold its regular monthly board meeting at Pon- dosa Station, on Monday, August 1, 2016 at 7 PM to discuss ﬁre department operations. Equal opportunity provider. Albertsons, Safeway CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 “We, at ﬁrst, tried for some independent (noting previous efforts to bring in grocers)...The FTC (Fed- eral Trade Commission) had worked with Haggen during the bankruptcy, and Albertsons was the only bidder on the franchise here...They’re the ones that had the lease on the building, so, that made it much easier for them to bid on it. An independent would have been our pref- erence, but, my thoughts on this were, Albertsons and Safeway are owned by the same conglomerate (Cerberus Capital Manage- ment) but Albertsons does have their pricing policy, and they have their weekly specials, and Safeway has theirs so their is a modi- cum of competition, and I think the community will be better served with an Albertsons, and a Safe- way,” Warner, Jr. said. Warner, Jr. was referring to the Albertsons/Safeway merger in January of 2015, which prompted the FTC to require, as a condi- tion of the merger and in order to avoid a potential monopoly, the company to divest its store at 1120 Campbell Street. Haggen acquired the building in the spring of last year, opened in May, and, less than six months later, closed its doors, and declared bank- ruptcy. In October of last year, Albertsons acquired the building through auction, prompting once again, concerns about a monopoly. Warner, Jr. said he was pleased with how the meeting had gone, and he mentioned that McGin- nis had visited the local Safeway store, and that she had visited members of the community, as well. “ I think we did some good,” he said. “I think it was incum- bent on me as a City Manager to try everything that we could to achieve an outcome, and that’s what we hired Greg for. I think it’s something that had to be done. We will continue to monitor the situation. I briefed the (City) Council, and I think the Council think that’s an important thing for me to be involved in, and of course, we’ll work with the EDC (Economic Develop- ment Council) ...When I got back in (to City and County politics recently, having been a former County Commissioner), I decided this was important to the community...I got up at ﬁve in the morning, drove to Portland, had the meeting, drove home, and I was home by six, and when I got home, I felt it was worth the trip. I had plenty of (community) input, and I’m sure we’ll get plenty afterwards, good or bad.” Smith said, “A couple of weeks ago, City Council said, ‘Gosh, Greg, let’s take a look at this.’ Com- missioner (Bill) Harvey said the same thing, so I called Oxley the week before last, and I just shared with him, that we’re kind of getting to a tipping point in the community, and folks are beginning to really speculate to the negative, on the viability of two Safeway stores.” Smith said that, within a few hours, Oxley got back to him, and the meeting was set up. Smith emphasized the importance of meet- ing with the Albertsons representatives, during which Smith and Warner, Jr. laid out their concerns. He said that, once the two ﬁnished, the response was that Albertsons is a business, and a store needs to stay proﬁtable, so, the company would give com- munity members one more chance, to vote with their checkbooks, by supporting both an Albertsons, and a Safeway. Smith’s response to that was, “Let’s give it a shot, and we encour- age everyone in the City, and the County to support Albertsons and Safeway reopening.” Smith said the executives said that the new Alb- ertsons will be state-of- the-art, as modern as can be, and that the existing Safeway will remain in its current condition. “It’s going to be a nice store,” Smith said. “The overall tone of the meeting was that the Albertsons executives were pretty matter-of-fact. They’re in competition with grocery stores all over the country, and when it’s all said and done, they need to keep their doors open by making a proﬁt. We understand that, and anyone would get that. Their people looked at it, and they’re not sure Baker County can support two grocery stores. But, they’re going to give it a try, and if folks will curb their spending habits, i.e., heading to La Grande, or heading to Boise, and will try and shop local, then, it can work. They’re going to give us a chance,” he said. Smith explained that, while the previous plan was to operate two Safe- way stores locally, “I think Fred and I did a pretty decent job of explaining to them that that’s not going to fly. Folks aren’t going to support that. One, they don’t want a monopoly, and two, they want choice. And we shared with them that, if it can return to the previous model, where we had an Albertsons and a Safeway, people can get their Weekly Shopper from either store, and they have a variety in products, etc. We told them we thought it would be supported, and they seem convinced with what Fred and I had to share...I can’t speak for them, but it appeared they weren’t sure what their ﬁnal decision was going to be, until they met with Fred and I. At that point, Mayes said, ‘Okay, this is what we’re doing,’ and Fred and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, from that meeting.” Smith said the beneﬁts to the community will be numerous, including added jobs, and choices for consumers. “They’ll be able to shop both weekly, and have different selec- tions, and hopefully, folks will support it, and hope- fully, we’ll get some more people back to work,” he said. Smith said, “I didn’t know this, but apparently, when Haggen went out of business, the FTC sent out a Notice for Propos- als, via email, to any and all grocers. How they do that, I don’t know. I don’t know what their public announcement process is, but they sent it out, and no one bid on the opportu- nity for a second store, in Baker, and so, Albertsons just purchased the second opportunity, and the FTC, seeing that there were no other options, granted it to Albertsons. So, when we shared our concerns with Albertsons about a mo- nopoly, they said, ‘Gosh, we hear your concerns, but no one expressed an interest in buying.’ I shared with them, ‘That may have been the case in your pro- cess, but we’ve had other entrepreneurs who have expressed interest, and should this fall through, we’re most deﬁnitely going to be contacting them.’” Smith said, “When it’s all said and done, we need two grocery stores, we need options for local folks, and we need the jobs. That’s what we’re trying to do. I am not giving up on them. My teeth are dug in, and by golly, one way or another, we’re going to make sure this community has two grocery stores. Right now, we’re counting on Albert- sons, but if it doesn’t work out, we’re going to ﬁgure it out. All we can do on this is to keep trying.” —ODFW Weekly Recreation Report— BAKER COUNTY Cougars can be found throughout Baker County but hunters should target areas with high concentrations of deer and elk. Setting up on a fresh kill or using distress calls can all be productive techniques. Hunters are required to check in the hide of any cougar taken, with skull and proof of sex attached. Coyote numbers are good throughout the district. Try call- ing in early morning and late afternoon. Remember to ask for permission before hunting on private properties. GRANT COUNTY Cougar hunting remains open. Successful hunters should remember that check-in of the hide with skull and proof of sex attached is mandatory; see the regulations for details. Coyote numbers are good in most of the district. Coyotes may respond to distress calls. Try calling in the early morning and late evening. MORROW, GILLIAM AND WHEELER COUNTIES Cougar hunting is open. Cougar are well distributed in our forested areas. Calling with distress calls or cougar vocalizations can be effec- tive. However, locating a fresh, naturally made kill has the best chance of success. The Coyote population is healthy with good numbers of coyotes available for those who wish to pursue them. Watch wind direction to help prevent giving away your location. Call- ing with game distress calls can be very successful. UMATILLA COUNTY Cougar are well distributed in forested areas of the Walla Walla, Mt. Emily, and Ukiah units. Hunters will have best success by ﬁnding a fresh naturally made kill and sitting on it, or by using predator calls. Some success has come from following tracks until the cougar is located. Coyote are numerous throughout the County and hunters should have good suc- cess calling. Remember to ask permission before hunting on private lands. UNION COUNTY Cougars are common in Union County. Focus on game rich areas with long ridgelines or saddles that cats typically travel. Setting up downwind of a deer or elk killed by a cougar can be productive. Nonresident hunters can include a cougar tag with others tags for only $14.50. All cougars taken must be checked in within 10 days of harvest; call for an appointment before check in. Coyote numbers are high throughout the district. Try call- ing in early morning and late afternoon. Remember to ask for permission before hunting on private properties. Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area The portion of Ladd Marsh East of Foot Hill road is now closed to all hunting. Visitors are advised to careful- ly read posted signs and consult the wildlife area administrative rules. Rules that apply to all areas are at the top (at the link), and then scroll down to page 8, #635-008-120, for additional rules speciﬁc to Ladd Marsh. Dogs are not permitted within the Wildlife Area, including the Glass Hill Unit, on or off leash except during authorized game bird hunting seasons. Vehicles, camping and ﬁres are prohibited on the wildlife area at all times. For more information please call 541 963 4954 WALLOWA COUNTY Black Bear: Bear hunting is expected to be good early in the morning and late in the evening in draw bottoms and stream bot- toms where bears are feeding on hawthorn, service berry, and elder berries. Huckleberries are beginning to ripen and bears will soon be moving up slope to take advantage of this favorite food. Coyote: Good numbers of coyotes can be found through- out Wallowa County. Calling coyotes with rabbit distress type calls has been effective for hunt- ers. It is important to choose areas with abundant coyote sign and little human activity. Cougar numbers are moderate throughout Wallowa County. Most lions are taken incidental to other hunting; however, call- ing with fawn bleat, or locating a cougar kill and waiting for a cat to return are often successful techniques. SB 1513 introduced During the 2016 legislative session Senate Bill 1513 was introduced. That bill would allow the surviving spouse of a law enforcement ofﬁcer or ﬁreﬁghter killed in the line of duty to apply for a property tax exemption for the ﬁrst $250,000 of assessed value of homesteads of surviving spouses. A requirement of this Senate Bill is that for the provi- sion to be effective County Commissions must, by ordinance or resolution, implement this provision of law. The exemption remains in effect unless/until the surviv- ing spouse remarries. Fire Chief Mark John on behalf of the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association and Police Chief Wyn Lohner on behalf of the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, will be asking the County Board of Commissioners to consider this needed legislation at a near future meeting of the Board of Commissioners. Community orchestra August 15 The Baker Community Orchestra will hold its Summer Concert Monday, August 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Powder River Pavilion in Geyser-Pullman Park in Baker City. There is no admission and all are welcome. Bring the whole family! The orchestra, under the direction of Kelly Brick- man, will perform a Salute to America and Americana, a mix of patriotic and folk music of our country. Bring a blanket, or your lawn chairs, perhaps a picnic dinner and enjoy some music made by your neighbors! The Baker Community Orchestra is made up of volun- teer community members who have a passion for making music. The orchestra is open to any community member who can play a band or orchestra instrument. There is no audition requirement, only the ability to read music and play at a middle school level, or above. For information on joining, you can contact Brian Watt at 541-523-4662. EOU trustees to meet Eastern Oregon Univer- sity’s Board of Trustees is hosting a public reception at the Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Ave., from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday, August 10. Complimentary refresh- ments will be served. Board members will be in Baker for a two-day retreat at the Geiser Grand Hotel, in part to discuss future goals for the univer- sity. Wednesday’s recep- tion is an opportunity for the community to speak with individual trustees, Submitted Photo. learn more about new ini- tiatives and ask questions. Cheryl Martin. "We are eager to meet with people in Baker County including alumni, community leaders and edu- cators," said Cheryl Martin, EOU trustee from North Powder. “Having the opportunity to listen to and learn what aspects of higher education are important to them is a vital role of the board.” David Nelson, board chair, and Tom Insko, EOU presi- dent, will also be attending the event. Martin was appointed as an EOU trustee in 2014. A re- tired teacher with 27 years of experience, she now serves on the advisory board for the North Powder Agriculture Program and the Oregon Cattlemen's Association govern- ing board. She is also the current president of the Baker County Chamber of Commerce, and together with her husband Curtis, owns and operates VP Ranch. Ladies golf Ladies Quail Ridge Golf Winners for July 13, 2016 are: 1st Flight 1st: Tie: Myrna Evans: Linda Taylor; 2nd Flight 1st: Kathy Hopkins; 3rd Flight 1st Marianne Klinger. Birdies: Jennifer Godwin: Judy Karstans: Myrna Evans: Marianne Klinger. For July 20, 2016: 1st Flight 1st Judy Karstans, 2nd Jennifer Godwin; 2nd Flight: 1st: Margo Kenworthy; 3rd Flight: 1st Marianne Klinger. Bridge Winners for July 13, 2016 are: 1st Della Steele, 2nd Janice Smull, and 3rd Kathy Eidsen. Bridge winners for July 20, 2016 are: 1st Dianne El- lingson, 2nd Jessie Ritch, and 3rd Marilyn DelFatti.