FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local & Entertainment
Bebe’s word search
City Council
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 8
Overall, there seemed to
be a general feeling that all
City employees, including
the Council were fi nan-
cially well off and that is
why they felt this fee could
be easily absorbed in the
community.
Councilor Thomas spoke
up and stated, “I’d just like
to throw out there that I
don’t think any of us, with
the roughly $150 we get
for a year, are ever going to
get rich being on Council.
I do hope that some people
that seem to think we’re
a bunch of crooks, I sure
hope I see their name on
the ballot in 2018. You’ll
see mine, you can vote
for me or not but please
throw your hat in the ring
as well. They think this is
easy for all of us ‘rich folk’
up here—I don’t think I
am in that category by any
means.”
Mayor Downing then
said, “I’d like to make a
comment addressing some
concerns. I’ve stated mul-
tiple times I work for 911
as a part time dispatcher.
I also work full-time as
a title offi cer. I have not
received a pay increase at
911 for over seven years.
I am a single dad of three
and I live paycheck to
paycheck.
“I understand the $3 for a
residential (customer) and
I’m willing to pay that.”
Downing then spoke to
an apartment fi re situation
that happened the night
before in which he was
working as a dispatcher at
the time. He said that only
three fi refi ghters were on
duty. Nine adults and chil-
dren had to be evacuated
from the structure.
One City police offi cer
was on the scene and as-
sisted in helping someone
in a wheelchair escape,
noting by helping at the
fi re scene that offi cer was
unavailable to answer a
call from another citizen,
who had called several
times for assistance.
Calls for backup were
requested of Baker Rural
and the Haines Fire De-
partment, both of which
are volunteer-only depart-
ments.
Downing said that it
took about 40 minutes for
that back up to arrive. He
said, “Those people that
were pulled out of that fi re
would not have survived
for forty minutes while
people (volunteers) got to
that fi re. Fire doubles in
size every two minutes.”
Downing also stated that
the call had come in ten
minutes before his shift
was to end at midnight and
as a result he was there
until 2 a.m.
He had to be at his other
job at 8 a.m. He said, “So
on fi ve hours of sleep, I sit
here for $150 a year.”
Downing stressed that
calls don’t come in on a
schedule and moving to
volunteer departments for
Police and Fire was not a
good solution.
He said, “Our crew last
night was at that fi re in 3-4
minutes, if you go to a vol-
unteer department it will
be 30-40 minutes. Those
folks last night wouldn’t
have had a chance. That’s
what this $3 fee is help-
ing to support,” he said
solemnly. “These decisions
are not easy.”
There were whispers
from the crowd saying that
this is what the taxes that
are collected are for.
Downing stated, “Our
tax base has not gone up
but our costs have. We ex-
pect as citizens of the City
to have services provided
but that all costs money
and in today’s society,
people want something for
nothing or they expect to
pay the same amount they
paid 20 years ago. Nothing
costs the same today as it
did 20 years ago.”
Councilor Nilsson who
expressed reservations at
the last meeting said that
he too had been out talking
with citizens and he had
found the opposite of what
Mr. Muller had encoun-
tered, that generally the
public was not opposed to
such a fee and his concerns
had been settled in the
feedback he’d gotten.
City Manager Fred
Warner read Ordinance #
3354 for the second time
by title only establishing a
Public Safety Fee and de-
claring an emergency upon
a motion by Councilor
Joseph that was seconded
by Councilor Nilsson and
unanimously voted in favor
of by Council.
After Warner read the Or-
dinance Councilor Joseph
motioned with a second
again by Councilor Nilsson
to accept the reading of the
ordinance followed by a
unanimous vote.
The third and fi nal read-
ing will be held at the next
Council meeting.
Public comment will be
allowed at that meeting as
well before a fi nal vote by
Council.
The Littles’ crossword puzzle
BTI to offer summer courses
BTI will be offering
summer courses at EOU.
Courses are available to
community members, high
school students or college
students looking to ad-
vance their career or learn
a new skill.
Courses include Wilder-
ness Advanced First Aid,
Nurse Assistant, Intro to
Heavy Equipment Opera-
tion, Technical Writing,
Welding, and a Women
The
in Trades Summer Camp.
Registration is limited.
Please call BTI at (541)
519-2671 to enroll.
BTI is a leading pro-
vider of Career Techni-
cal Education programs
focused on developing the
next generation of skilled
workers, technology in-
novators, entrepreneurs,
and community leaders
in rural communities.
Headquartered in Baker
City, Oregon, BTI offers
cutting-edge education
and training, leading to
certifi cation in high-wage,
high-demand careers, such
as agricultural sciences,
building trades, natural
resources/environmental
sciences, engineering,
health services, welding,
heavy equipment opera-
tion, and manufacturing.
For more information, go
to bakerti.org
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Across
1- Word that can pre-
cede war, biotic and
climax;
5- At that point;
9- Okinawa port;
13- Suckle;
15- Patriot Nathan;
16- Pressing need?;
17- Go gaga over;
18- Diva’s solo;
19- Become exhausted;
20- A Kennedy;
21- Freeway access;
23- “Hotel ___”;
25- Assistant, particu-
larly to heads of state;
26- Hemoglobin defi -
ciency;
27- Own;
30- Pasture used for
grazing;
31- Mary of “The Mal-
tese Falcon”;
32- Basketwork;
37- Extended family;
38- Sensitive spots;
40- 1975 Wimbledon
winner;
41- Simultaneously;
43- Madame de ___;
44- ___ polloi;
45- Situated on the side;
47- Straighten out;
50- ___ all-time high;
51- Most cunning;
52- Up and ___!;
53- Hearst kidnap grp.;
56- ___’acte (intermis-
sion);
57- Writer Wiesel;
59- Final notices;
61- River in central Swit-
zerland;
62- Juniors, perhaps;
63- Like beaches;
64- Modernists;
65- Hardware fastener;
66- Medicinal amount;
Down
1- Med. school class;
2- Au naturel;
3- Walked on;
4- Syr. neighbor;
5- English river;
6- Heavenly strings;
7- Yale student;
8- Proximity;
9- Ruler of Hyderabad;
10- Rice-___;
11- Accord maker;
12- “Puppy Love” singer;
14- More strange;
22- Show stoppers?;
24- Not strong;
25- Unifi ed;
26- Caesar’s wings;
27- Agreement;
28- Scandinavian capi-
tal;
29- Adult male deer;
32- It’s cold!;
33- Devoured;
34- Nicholas II, for one;
35- Perlman of “Cheers”;
36- Scream;
38- Least lengthy;
39- Trompe l’___;
42- As a result;
43- John of “Full House”;
45- Up-to-the-minute;
46- Devoured;
47- Radii neighbors;
48- Dynamite stuff;
49- Harvest goddess;
51- Actor Connery;
52- Hokkaido native;
53- Prefi x with Tibetan;
54- Old Fords;
55- ___ sow, so shall...;
58- Actor Chaney;
60- Foul;