LOCAL: Sunshine-filled Hells Canyon
Motorcycle Rally finishes for year. PAGE 3
The
MINERS JUBILEE: Greetings from local
businesses! PAGE 10
Baker County Press
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Friday, July 14, 2017 • Volume 4, Issue 28
Merkley holds townhall
• SPEAKING
POINTS: RICH
SHOULDN’T HAVE
TAX BREAKS,
CORPORATIONS
HAVE TOO MUCH
INFLUENCE, TRUMP
SHOULD BE
IMPEACHED
BY KERRY McQUISTEN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Senator Jeff Merkley
(Democrat) stopped in
Baker City on Saturday
afternoon to hold a town
hall at 4:30 p.m. Only 45
or so attended, among
them County Commis-
sioners Mark Bennett and
Bruce Nichols, Baker City
Manager Fred Warner, Jr.,
5J Superintendent Mark
Witty, and City Council
Member Arvid Andersen.
Sgt. Mike Regan of the
Baker City Police Depart-
ment provided security.
The crowd was split basi-
cally four to one liberal to
conservative, and the tone
remained calm throughout
the event. A number of
Halfway residents at-
tended.
Merkley was introduced
by Baker City Mayor
Mike Downing, who gave
a quick biography of the
senator.
Merkley then presented a
fl ag fl own over the Capitol
to the local Lions Club in
recognition of their many
contributions to the com-
munity.
An outline of constituent
services was a positive fi rst
talking point, as citizens
are often unaware of what
their elected offi cials’ staff
are on hand to provide.
Those services include
having a fl ag fl own over
the Capitol Building, nom-
inations to U.S. services
academies, planning trips
to Washington D.C., grant
information, and help navi-
gating any issue to do with
any Federal agency— the
Social Security Adminis-
tration, the Department of
Veterans Affairs, the Inter-
nal Revenue Service, U.S.
Forest Service, Bureau of
Land Management, etc.
From there, the talking
points shifted to those
reminiscent of just about
all partisan political town-
halls—with the fi rst topic
being healthcare.
Kerry McQuisten / The Baker County Press
Senator Jeff Merkley (left) honors the local chapter
of the Lions Club.
SEE MERKLEY PAGE 4
Ancient technologies explored Bodies found
in motels
• DECEASED HAD FASCINATING
PERSONAL HISTORY, ‘TRAGIC’ DEATH
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On June 5, 2017, Baker County Consolidated Dispatch
received a call from The Oregon Trail Motel regarding
the death of one of their guests.
Detective Jay Lohner initially responded as he does
with most death calls. “It was immediately apparent
the deceased had been there at least a couple of days,”
Lohner said.
Once the body was removed, he grabbed a few items
that might aid in identifi cation such as a wallet and a few
scraps of paper with names and numbers written on them,
then shut and taped off the door to prevent anyone from
entering until the room had time to dissipate the unpleas-
ant odor that decomposition creates.
Lohner, along with Code Enforcement Offi cer Mark
Powell, returned the next day to begin investigating
deeper.
SEE BODIES PAGE 5
Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press
Baylie Stillwell presenting to those attending the Engineer It! event at the Baker County Library.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Last Thursday, the Baker City Library was one of four
Baker County libraries to host a program called “Engi-
neer It! Exploring Ancient Technologies.”
This event was provided by the University of Oregon’s
Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Eugene, led
by Baylie Stillwell and Brian Albus.
For part of the presentation, Stillwell and Albus
brought different ancient Native American technologies
such as Fort Rock Style woven sandals, atlatls and darts,
obsidian daggers and points, a bone fi sh hook, counting
sticks, a clam digging shovel, and many others.
Stillwell explained that the ways they know those
technologies exist, other than fi nding artifacts, is by oral
traditions that have been passed down from generation to
generation. They have spoken to different Native Ameri-
can tribes who told them how those artifacts were made
and how they came to be.
Beginning the event, Stillwell discussed different
modern technologies that we use today, such as lighting,
toothbrushes, trash cans, and recycling cans.
The target audience for this event was families with
elementary-aged children.
Stillwell discussed that technology is anything designed
by a person to solve a problem, and worked with the
children to engineer a solution to a problem.
Working with the children, they worked to fi gure out
a way to retrieve an infl ated beach ball from a plastic
container without needing to get up to retrieve it. She de-
scribed this activity as the process of engineering. One of
Friday
Mostly clear and hot, highs in the mid 90s.
Friday Night: Mostly clear and seasonable.
Lows near 60.
Saturday
Mostly clear and hot, highs in the mid 90s.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear and seasonable.
Lows in the upper 50s.
Sunday
Mostly clear and not as hot, highs in the upper
80s. Sunday Night: Mostly clear and a bit cooler.
Lows in the mid 50s.
the solutions they found was to attach a string to the ball.
“There is more than one solution to the problem,”
explained Stillwell. “That’s another great thing about
engineering is that one thing might work, one thing might
not work, and then you improve your design and multiple
different things work! So we have more than one solution
to the problem and it’s okay to have some failure, you
just need improve on your design.”
Stillwell also read “Dipnetting with Dad” by Willie
Sellars, a story about a father teaching his son dipnetting,
the Secwepemc method of fi shing.
Throughout the reading, Stillwell asked the children
what different types of technology were used in the book.
There were three different activity tables available for
the children to participate hands on in the engineering
process.
The fi rst table was building a shelter. The instructions
were to build a shelter with only index cards and paper-
clips to house three wood people.
The structure needed to be six inches tall and could
support a beanbag on top.
The second table was fi shing for dinner. At that table,
the children needed to design and build a fi shing tool that
could catch at least two kinds of fi sh.
The paper fi sh they needed to catch had paperclips
attached to them for the kids to catch with their fi shing
tools. They could make the tools out of straws, string,
pipe cleaners, paper clips, tacks, toothpicks, tongue de-
pressors, and rubber bands.
The third table was design a boat with one piece of
aluminum foil and they put in pennies one at a time to see
how many their boats could hold.
The Fire, Weather & Avalanche Center forecast:
Our forecast made possible by
this generous sponsor:
Offi cial weather provider for
The Baker County Press.
Motorcycle
Rally calm
for police
The 2017 Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally was rela-
tively quiet for Baker City Police Department personnel
this last weekend. All investigatory contacts the Depart-
ment had were with local citizens.
Below is a summary of the law enforcement contacts
the Baker City Police Department handled over the Hells
Canyon Motorcycle Rally weekend:
July 7, 2017 – no criminal complaints
July 8, 2017
12:12 a.m. – Public urination
Two unknown males reportedly urinated on a car on
the corner of Washington and Oak Streets. Offi cer was
unable to fi nd suspects.
1:04 a.m. – Disturbance (male v. female)
Offi cers contacted two pedestrians in the 1700 block
of Resort on a witnessed verbal disturbance. No arrests
made.
1:05 a.m. – Driving Under the Infl uence of Intoxicants
Mr. Michael Leroy Snyder DOB: 05/24/1958 (1555 17th
Street, Baker City, OR) was arrested for DUII after leav-
ing the VFW in his vehicle. He was transported to the
Baker County Jail where he rendered an adequate breath
sample of 0.17% BAC.
SEE RALLY PAGE 5
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Dispatch IGA approved
Walden’s fi eld rep visits County mtg.
Burn ban enacted
Foliage fi re extinguished
BCPD’s lost and recovered property
Cessna crashes outside Baker City
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