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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2016)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016 Local Sumpter’s City Hall gets a facelift Bike patrol activated BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com Rejuvenation efforts at Sumpter’s City Hall are underway, with Sumpter Valley Community Volun- teers (SCVC) taking on the venture of restaining and repainting the structure. John Young of SVCV said, “Give us a few more weeks and it will look re- ally good.” SVCV obtained permis- sion from Sumpter City Council at their June meeting to undertake the project. LeAnne Woolf of SVCV explained City Hall has been looking pretty scruffy. Young said, “It needed to be done.” Much volunteer labor has gone into the task, from scraping to stain- ing. Young said use of a lift was donated by Kurt Clarke and Leland Myers. A small work crew met at 9 a.m. Friday, July 22nd, to stain and paint trim on the City Hall façade. Myrna Clarke provided coffee and goodies after the work was complete. Young explained this is just one of the items SVCV plans to tackle this sum- mer. Their next project will be building a covered walkway into the Com- munity Center. In addi- Photo courtesy of the BCPD. Reserve Officer Dan Kloopman. Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press Last Friday’s work party drew volunteers. tion, SVCV has taken over management of Music in the Meadow and will also be doing something at the Labor Day Flea Market. SVCV members are looking forward to future restoration projects at the Superintendent’s House (Wright House), if transfer from Oregon Parks and Recreation to the City of Sumpter goes through. Woolf said the final deci- sion will be announced in September. Woolf mentioned that she would like to someday at least do some clean up at the original steam plant building, erected in 1897. Other project ideas are displayed in the Sumpter Community Center. Per the SVCV website (sumptervolunteers.word- press.com), the mission of SVCV is “to provide resources for organizing and promoting fundraising events and work parties that benefit and enhance the quality of life for residents of the historical Sumpter Valley area.” The next meeting of SVCV is Thursday, August 11th at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center. Meet- ings are open to the public. School Board chair, vice chair elected, gifts received from China BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker School District met July 21 and, for next the term, Kevin Cassidy was elected Board Chair and Melissa Irvine was elected as Board Vice Chair. During their meeting, the Board members were given a gift of thanks from the two teachers accompany- ing the Chinese exchange students. Mr. Xu is an English teacher and Mrs. Yuan is a computer and technology teacher. They presented the district with a wall scroll with a scenery picture and a video of their hometown in China. The district gave the teachers things made in Baker City or with Baker City on them as gifts of thanks. The board began with discussions of the OSBA Summer Conference reports by Cassidy, Irvine, and Autumn Harrell. The OSBA was held in Bend and Cassidy began by discussing some topics he attended during this Con- ference. One of the topics he discussed was Reimag- ine Education in Oregon which is, according to Cas- sidy, Oregon’s plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act or E.S.S.A . Cassidy discussed how there were questions regarding what that means and how, as a locally elect- ed school boards position, they were concerned that there is not a continued overreach from the Federal government. They discussed the OSBA’s position on the three initiatives. The OSBA was neutral on IP28, the new Corporate Tax Initiative, and IP68 the outdoor school initiative. OSBA were in favor and support of IP65. This, as it is written now, tackles funding that is in margin in lottery funds that will be equivalent to roughly $800 per student in the current formula. Cassidy explained, however, that it is targeted to Career and Technical Education Programs and the way it is written out says “new programs.” For districts that have existing programs or have invested in programs, there may be some flexibility in how the integrating of the funding should pass. Or the District will evaluate and look at new opportunities they may have and how they may target the funding. Typically, OSBA does not support any initiative that does not allow local control of the funds. They want sustainable funding that can be utilized for districts specific needs and not mandated with specific boundaries. The example Cassidy gave was P.E requirements, explaining that though well intended, it does not allow the district to fit what they would want to do with their students and commu- nity as compared to what a community like Salem might do. Irvine discussed a topic at the conference she at- tended regarding equity in schools. She explained it talked about equity does not mean equality. It talked specifically about how it means giving students the tools they need to get to where they need to go. She explained that it was interesting and how Baker is not seen as very diverse, but it is. She explained In years past, as the availability of officers permitted, the Baker City Police Department (BCPD) utilized a bicycle patrol in selected areas of the city. The Leo Adler Parkway, all city parks, and the downtown area benefitted from the access afforded by bicycle as opposed to motor vehicle patrol. With an increase in calls for service it became difficult, in fact nearly impossible, to free up full time personnel for this assignment. This year the Department’s Reserve Officer corps, which numbers ten personnel, was asked to take on this assignment on an as available basis. Several Reserves volunteered for this duty and were trained by Officer Lance Woodward who is a certified police bicycle patrol instructor. It is anticipated that several more Reserve Officers will complete this training in the near future and add to the hours and days of the week when such patrols occur. The focus of our bicycle patrol program is on areas of the city which cannot be readily accessed by patrol car. In particular the Leo Adler Parkway and all city parks benefit from these close up patrols. Such offenses as dogs off leash, minors in possession of alcohol, smoking in city parks, and narcotics related offenses are the most deterred by this type of patrol. In addition, bicycle patrol officers have contact with youthful bicycle riders and can offer them tips on safe operation of their bikes. Thus far members of the public encountered during such patrols have expressed great support for the program. The BCPD anticipates the bicycle patrol remaining in operation, staffed by Reserve Officers, as long as weather permits. DUII arrest made during tournament Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press Kevin Cassidy accepts art work presented by Mr. Xu. how it would be beneficial to think about how they can provide the students the tools they all need to succeed. Andrew Bryan explained Baker Technical Institute (BTI) will be in a number of announcements in the next two or three weeks, and the integration at the high school is continuing. The district is finding ways to find ways for BTI to be involved with K6 as with high school students. Irvine discussed that she had worked with her as- sociations at the Y and became involved with the summer academy. She did Zumba classes and a general fitness class with the children. She explained how the students were hav- ing fun outside and how it was neat for her to see stu- dents, who had struggled, having fun at school in those classes. In a pamphlet given at the meeting a BTI entity has been created and the IRS should rule on tax ex- empt status within 60 days. DHS announced that they are approved to partner with BTI to assist with the creation and implementa- tion of a career prep course for BTI students. DHS will contribute approximately half the salary of the pro- gram coordinator for a year to accomplish this. They have also dedicated ap- proximately $30k to assist with tuition for learners that cannot otherwise pay. The district is negotiat- ing on a partnership to launch a heavy equipment operating school and more information is to come re- garding these negotiations. According to the pamphlet, the Baker High School Boiler construction has be- gun, the South Baker roof drains have been repaired, and bus land and sidewalks are under construction. They are widening the sidewalk for safety and adding a new curb, land- scaping and lighting. SEE SCHOOL BOARD PAGE 9 Since last Saturday, a State Softball Tournament has been held at the Baker Sports Complex. The event has drawn teams from throughout the state and has generally been a very positive event for the community and for the participants. Several incidents involving verbal disputes over officiating decisions have occurred. That is not unusual in competitive sport environments. Those have been resolved without the need for enforcement action. On Saturday, Sergeant Wayne Chastain was doing a “walk through” patrol at the Sports Complex when he was approached by a citizen who reported a possible driver under the influence of alcohol operating a vehicle in the parking area of the complex. The citizen provided a description of the vehicle and driver. With the parking lot crowded with those attending the event, including many children and young adults, an impaired driver posed a danger to public safety. Chastain responded to the parking area where the driver was last observed, spotted the car and made con- tact with the driver. Sgt. Chastain, a certified drug and alcohol recognition expert, quickly determined that the driver (Teressa Lynn Leech, 52 years of age, of Baker City) was operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. As Chastain placed her under arrest and began to handcuff her for transport to jai Leech began to physi- cally resist. With the assistance of Officer Daniel Pelayo, Leech was handcuffed and was transported to Baker County Jail for booking. Leech was booked on the charges of: Reckless En- dangering, Driving under a suspended license, Resisting Arrest, and Driving under the Influence of an Intoxicant. New wolves In early March 2016, four wolves were found within the traditional Imnaha Pack wintering area. A 10-month- old pup was radio-collared and released. That wolf dispersed from the area in mid-April. DNA analysis showed that the wolf was not related to any Imnaha Pack wolves, indicating a new group of wolves were using the area. What is now believed to be the entire Imnaha Pack was removed in late March in response to chronic depredation. As of July, resident wolf activity has been documented again in the area. Biologists will continue monitoring activities to learn more about these wolves.
