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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2016)
SPORTS: Local swimmers compete in championship in California. PAGE 7 LOCAL: Professor Algernon brings magic to town. PAGE 2 The Baker County Press TheBakerCountyPress.com 75¢ All local. All relevant. Every Friday. Friday, August 12, 2016 • Volume 3, Issue 33 Shriners weekend filled with local events BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com Last Saturday, several events in Baker City were among the highlights of the day, in honor of the 64th annual East-West All-Star Shrine Football Game. These included the Hoofi n’ It to Beef Fit 5K Run, the Shrine Parade, and the Gridiron Tailgate & Grill. The 5K run fundraiser, made possible by the Baker County Cattle- women (BCC), U.S. Bank, and Subway, began at the Thomas Angus Ranch, 42598 North Cedar Street, at 8 a.m., and ended at Geiser Pollman Park, via the Leo Adler Memorial Parkway. There were 50 to 60 participants, and the fastest time recorded was 22 minutes, BCC member Wendy Bingham said. Prizes included cook books, pedometers, and meat thermometers. The fundraiser helped collect funds, over $1,300 just from the run registrations, for the purchase of the 2016 Shrine Steer, raised by Matt Siddoway of Dur- kee. Sponsorships totaled over $2,000, in addition. The Shrine Parade began around 11 a.m., with Blue Mountain Lodge #34 AF & AM (Ancient Free & Accepted Masons) member Donald M. Bur- rows at the microphone in front of Marilyn’s Music Plus, 1821 Main Street, as announcer. The parade, once again, featured many participants, including the following: Cub Scout Pack #432, chartered by the United Methodist Church, in Baker City; Baker Elks Lodge #338, with its American fl ag; the East Queen, Josie Rankin, and the West Queen, Grace Andreasen; the East and West All Star Cheerlead- ers; East Co-Captain John “JW” Dippold, and West Co-Captain Payton Gergory; Baker County Livestock Association (BCLA), Baker County Cattlewomen (BCC) ... Todd Arriola / The Baker County Press This year’s Shriners Steer mugs it up for the camera. SEE SHRINERS PAGE 4 Baker Fire Department gets new hire BLM project criticized for adding fuel to the fire Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press Former volunteer Jeremy Yerrick is the newest hire at the Baker City Fire Department. BY GINA K. SWARTZ Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com Submitted Photo. Nearly 4,000 acres spanning Rooster Comb, Pedro and the Mormon Basin areas now hold the ground fuel shown above, with another 3,000 or so acres planned for the same treatment, BLM budget pending. BY KERRY McQUISTEN News@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) ju- niper eradication project in southern Baker County is drawing criticism from for- estry experts and neighbor- ing property owners who say the project has created a fi retrap for landowners. The problems? Piles of dried juniper have been left as new fuel near private property boundaries—and the fact that the trees were cut and left to lay in the months immediately pre- ceding fi re season. Forestry expert Arvid Andersen of Andersen For- estry Consulting said, “It is a matter of using common sense and managing risk. As a private forester I would consider the matter adding additional fuel loads going into a fi re Friday season.” As reported in the July 22, 2016 issue of The Baker County Press in an article by Todd Arriola, roughly 4,000 acres of public lands in the Mor- mon Basin, Rooster Comb, and Pedro Mountain, areas west of Bridgeport have been included in lop and lay project orchestrated by the BLM and executed by Medford-based contrac- tor Summitt Forests, Inc., aimed at reducing juniper expansion. This BLM land borders private lands owned by both Devils Canyon Ranch and Three Valleys Ranch. Last weekend, one wildfi re ignited on Rooster Comb and a second on Pedro Mountain not far from the supply of crispy, downed trees. Submitted Photo. Piles of dry trees line the roadway just down the hill from Pedro leading from BLM onto private land. In June the Baker City Fire Department (BCFD), through the creation of a new full-time position approved by the City Budget Board, hired volunteer fi refi ghter Jeremy Yerrick. Yerrick, along with his wife, Ashlee, have both been volunteer fi refi ghters with the Baker City Fire Depart- ment since December 2014. Jeremy said aside from the volunteer work he’s done has no background in fi refi ghting. “I’m grateful for hav- ing this opportunity. I was humbled to even go through the hiring process and feel real honored to have been hired. This is a great community,” he said. The job post- ing was an internal posting, therefore as a volunteer Yer- rick was eligible to apply. “Both Ashlee and I would have liked to be able to of- fer more of a commitment to BCFD but Blue Mountain Oil was a very large commitment and until recently the availability of a position within the department was not something that had been available,” he said. The Yerricks moved to Baker City about two years ago to manage Blue Mountain Oil, located at 13th and D Streets. Recently, the business changed ownership so for Jeremy the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Blue Mountain Oil was sold in June. The application closing date for BCFD was in the beginning of June with testing in the middle of June. The timing allowed for Yer- rick to step right into his new role that began on June 26, 2016. “Had I not been involved in the volunteer side of the house, I would not have been eligible to apply,” Yerrick said. SEE FIRE DEPARTMENT PAGE 8 SEE BLM PAGE 3 Sunny and mild, highs near 90. Clear and cool, lows near 50 at night. Saturday Sunny and hot, highs in the mid 90s. Mostly clear and not as cool, lows in the mid 50s. Sunday Sunny and not as hot, highs in the low 90s. Mostly clear at night. Lows in the mid 50s. Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County. Our forecast made possible by this generous sponsor: Offi cial weather provider for The Baker County Press. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE Sunridge: more legal motions Sumpter: marijuana dispensary? The Outdoor Column Homemade Goodness Column Word search and crossword Bronc and Bull Riding thank you Page Page Page Page Page Page 3 5 7 8 9 10