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Friday, January 13, 2017 • Volume 4, Issue 2
Downing is new
Baker City Mayor
• NEW COUNCIL
MEMBERS SWORN
IN THIS WEEK
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
The fi rst regular Council
meeting of 2017 was called
to order by City Recorder/
Human Resource Manager
Julie Smith.
The sole returning Coun-
cilor, Jim Thomas, led the
Pledge of Allegiance and
Invocation.
Smith then administered
the Oath of Offi ce to newly
elected Councilor Jamie
Ostrander and returning
Councilors Loran Joseph,
Rosemary Abell, Daniel
Lowe, and Mike Downing.
Once sworn in the Council
took their seats.
Smith then called roll.
All Councilors were
present except for Arvid
Andersen, who was ill.
Smith guided the group
through the nomination
process and election of a
new Mayor by asking, “Do
I have any nominations for
Mayor?”
Councilor Lowe moved
to appoint Councilor Mike
Downing as Mayor. A
second to that motion
was made by Councilor
Thomas.
SEE COUNCIL PAGE 5
Gina K. Swartz / The Baker County Press
L-R: Loran Joseph, Jamie Ostrander, Rosemary Abell, Daniel Lowe and Mike
Downing. Julie Smith at far right administers the Oath of Offi ce.
Crossroads Carnegie
New Year’s
Art Center gets a touch-up baby born
Photo courtesy of St. Alphonsus.
Parents Dewi and Marcella Roberts of Baker City
say hello to baby Arthur Owain Roberts.
Samantha O’Conner/ The Baker County Press
A new coat of paint and light retrofi tting are among the projects currently giving a new shine inside
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center on Auburn.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center’s interior is being
repainted and all the lights will be LED light retrofi tted,
except for the lights in the gallery which were already
retrofi tted in 2012.
These changes will be made throughout January and
February.
Executive Director Ginger Savage started the grant
writing for this project in January 2016 and the last of the
grants came in from the Leo Adler Foundation in Decem-
ber.
The organizations that supported the project are the
Oregon Community Foundation, Kinsman Foundation,
Ford Family Foundation, Buerkel-Zoellner Foundation,
Leo Adler Foundation and OTECC.
Savage explained that the interior of Crossroads has
between eight and twelve different paints in the building.
Scrivner Painting and Outpost Electric will be working
on this project in seven phases.
“This is not just like rolling on some paint,” explained
Savage. “This is them keeping everything to the his-
toric detail of the building. That is why this takes us two
months.”
They will also be adding blinds on the windows to the
front of the building to help with energy effi ciency and
Friday
Mostly sunny and cool. Highs near 20.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy with patchy fog. Fog
may freeze on contact with surface. Lows in the
mid single digits.
Saturday
Partly sunny after some morning fog. Highs
near 20. Saturday Night: Partly cloudy and cold.
Lows in the mid single digits.
Sunday
Partly sunny with continued cold. Lows near 20.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy and not as cold.
Lows near 10.
UV protection blinds to protect the 108-year-old fl oor.
Crossroads was the community’s library from 1909 to
1971.
“This is a historic treasure,” said Savage. “And, so, we
just have to care for her and make sure she continues to
be around for another 108 years.”
Savage asks for everyone’s patience and understand-
ing as the project continues.
Due to this, several programs have been affected and
delayed.
Savage explained that First Friday will occur in January
and February, and the January student show will be dur-
ing the week of January 16.
Tiny Tots Ballet and Hip Hop will begin on January
20, Beginning Ballet will begin January 24, and Ad-
vanced Ballet will begin January 26.
Beginning Wheel Throwing and Advanced Hand
Building will begin the week of February 13.
Open Studio with Mary Sue will begin on January 31,
take off February 7, and continue on the 14.
Classes in the big classroom will be located upstairs for
most classes.
Other classes will be held in a different studio or in
another location as their studios are being painted.
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center is located next to City
Hall. Visit the Center online at www.crossroads-arts.org
for more information on classes.
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center—Baker City is pleased
to announce the arrival of the fi rst baby born in 2017.
Arthur Owain Roberts was born at Saint Alphonsus
Medical Center—Baker City on January 10, weighing 6
lbs., 5 oz. and measuring 21 inches. He was born to Dewi
and Marcella Roberts of Baker City. Both mother and
baby are doing well. This is the couple’s fi rst child.
To commemorate the hospital’s Christmas baby, Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center—Baker City presented the
family with a basket fi lled with baby clothes, diapers,
blankets, and other items parents of newborns need and
enjoy.
Burnt River
forms new
Initial Attack
organization
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
A newly formed resource in the fi ght to combat range
fi res early on is Burnt River Initial Attack (BRIA), an ex-
panding group of volunteers with a mission that includes
a communications and response coverage area that spans
the 30J School District, in an effort to assist state and
federal agencies during the wildfi re season.
The group, a 501(c)(3) non-profi t incorporated on May
25, 2016, by Hereford area rancher Pat Sullivan, was
spearheaded last year by Pat, his daughter, Cassie, and
numerous other landowners and other individuals in the
Burnt River area, who have shown a vested interest in
preventing and controlling the spread of range fi res as
much as possible, on both private and public ground.
SEE BURNT RIVER PAGE 8
Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County.
Our forecast made possible by this
generous sponsor:
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The Baker County Press.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
State education offi cial visits BHS
Drought disaster benefi ts available
Oregon Firearms Federation opinion
P.E.O Scholarships available
Ontario kidnapping turns fatal
“Homemade Goodness” by Eileen Driver
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