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Friday, April 7, 2017 • Volume 4, Issue 14
‘Carry the Fallen’ march
comes to Halfway
• MARCH WILL BE
FIRST HELD ON
WEST COAST
BY SUNNY WERNER
Sunny@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On April 15, 2017, the
tiny town of Halfway will
be the fi rst community in
the western United States
to experience an event that
has become frequent from
the east across to Texas—a
ruck march called Carry
the Fallen.
River Colnot was a
young child when his
uncle, Kyle Colnot, was
killed in action in Iraq
in 2006. Sgt. Colnot was
a United States Marine.
Along with having a big
impact on the family, the
loss spurred Colnot to fi nd
a way to commemorate his
uncle’s service.
When he began
researching what he
wanted to do for his Senior
Project, he discovered the
Carry the Fallen projects
and decided to put on a
ruck march in Halfway.
Participants carry
weights, which repre-
sent the heavy emotional
weight carried by returned
veterans. For every pound
carried, the participant col-
lects pledges. The funds
raised go towards provid-
ing support to veterans
around the country.
As of this writing, Col-
not’s team has raised over
$2,000 for Kyle’s March;
by the day of the march he
hopes to have reached his
goal of $5,000.
More than 30 local
residents have signed up
to participate on the 15th,
and all are welcome. The
event will run from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. at the Pine Eagle
High School track. There
are six and three-mile
events, along with options
for attendees to walk for as
long as they are able.
SEE FALLEN PAGE 8
Sunny Werner / The Baker County Press
River Colnot is the driving force behind the
upcoming event in Halfway.
Rancher
testifies
against
House Bills
Donated toys comfort kids
Submitted Photo.
Photo courtesy of the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce.
L-R: Lorri Speelman, Amber Smith, and Clayton Berthelsen along with Deputy Eric Colton.
Rancher, and OCA member Curt Martin testifi ed the
week before last in front of the Oregon House.
BY TODD ARRIOLA
Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Albertsons is working to give back to their community
with donations of stuffed bears to the Baker City Police
Department and the Baker County Sheriff’s offi ce.
“When there’s an accident or anything traumatic that
the police are involved in, they give the children the
bear and it helps them through that very traumatic time,”
explained Lorri Speelman of Albertsons. “And it really
does, it helps the kids out a lot.”
Deputy Eric Colton explained that most deputies have
bears in their vehicle. There are many incidents where the
bears can help children. Some incidents include traffi c
accidents, restraining orders where they remove a child
from a parent, and house fi res. People are able to take
stuffed bear donations to the Sheriff’s Offi ce.
The bears donated this year were left over from the
holiday and Speelman suggested that they be donated to
the Sheriff’s offi ce.
Last year, the fi rst year they donated stuffed bears, the
toys were given to the Baker City Police.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with rain showers and breezy
conditions. Highs near 60. Chance of precipita-
tion is 80% Friday Night: Lows in the upper 30s.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with rain showers. Highs in the
lower 50s. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy with light rain/
snow showers. Lows in the upper 20s.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with scattered rain/snow showers.
Chance of precipitation is 30%. Highs near 50.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with lingering rain/
snow showers. Lows in the upper 20s.
“We’re happy to be able to do something like this for
our community,” said Speelman. “We donate so much to
the Salvation Army that we really were searching for a
way to reach out to other aspects of the community and
this was one of them.”
“We were just able to donate to the Harvest Christian
School,” said Albertsons General Manager Amber Smith.
“We had a whole bunch of winter hats and gloves and
scarves that were left over and so we donated those to
them so that they could use them for the kids at school
that didn’t show up to school with the proper winter
weather gear or for whoever is in the church. And then
they also have a store that—the kids earn points—and so
they have this little gift store that the kids can spend their
points on. We’re looking to donate towards that as well,
depending on what we have left over so that Albertsons
gets to reach out to the community in that way.”
Speelman said that Albertsons just recently started
reaching out to Best Friends with pet food they have
and they are trying to reach out to the community in all
aspects.
“It feels really good to be able to give back to the com-
munity,” said Speelman.
Your weekend weather forecast for Baker County.
Our forecast made possible by this
generous sponsor:
Offi cial weather provider for
The Baker County Press.
Late last month, former Oregon Cattlemen’s Associa-
tion (OCA) President, current OCA Water Resources
Committee Chair, and North Powder-based V P Ranch
co-owner Curtis W. Martin testifi ed before the Oregon
House Committee on Energy and Environment, in op-
position of House Bills (HB) 2705, 2706, two problem-
atic laws in draft form along with HB 2707, which were
prompted by budgetary issues within the Oregon Water
Resources Department (OWRD).
On March 22, Martin, along with OCA President John
O’Keefe and Seneca-based Sylvies Valley Ranch co-own-
er Rand Campbell, testifi ed at approximately 3:50 p.m.
before the committee, which is chaired by Representative
Ken Helm (D), and includes Representatives Cliff Bentz
(R), Mark Johnson (R), Karin Power (D), Phil Barnhart
(D), Deborah Boone (D), Paul Holvey (D), Werner Re-
schke (R), and Brock Smith (R).
Prior to the trio’s testimonies, and after work sessions
were held on several bills, Helm opened the public hear-
ing for HB 2705, 2706, and 2707, with some comments
about the subject matter.
SEE RANCHER TESTIFIES PAGE 3
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Hot Lake Springs Resort changes
County hears Justice Court updates
OTEC’s Annual Meeting scheduled
Souper Spring Swing Fling held
Tree grant applications available
Silent Movie fundraiser ahead
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