FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Man arrested in gun theft
Nilsson
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Photo courtesy of Ken Hackett.
Law enforcement cornered Breshears after a foot chase to Broadway.
• SUSPECT WAS
HIGH ON METH,
TRANSPORTED TO
HOSPITAL
On August 8th, 2017 at
approximately 12:30 p.m. a
male suspect, later identi-
fied as Mr. Brent Alex-
ander Breshears (3/3/91)
entered Trader Rays, 2800
Broadway Street in Baker
City, and stole two hand-
guns.
He fled the scene and was
unable to be located at that
time.
The Baker City Police
Department (BCPD)
with the help of the
Baker County Sheriff’s
Office (BCSO) continued
throughout the day to look
for Breshears.
At approximately 4:45
p.m.. BCPD received
information on a possible
location for Breshears.
BCPD officers, along
with BCSO deputies,
responded to Resort Street
near Madison Street.
BCPD officers located
Breshears in the Baker
County Library.
Once Breshears saw
BCPD officers he fled the
library through an emer-
gency exit, which sounded
the alarm.
BCPD officers chased
Breshears on foot and he
was eventually taken into
custody by BCPD officers
and BCSO deputies on
Broadway near 2nd Street.
Breshears was taken into
custody on a parole and
probation detainer and
other charges will be forth-
coming.
While being lodged at
the Baker County Jail,
Breshears informed a
BCPD officer that he had
recently ingested a large
quantity of methamphet-
amine.
Breshears was imme-
diately transported to St.
Alphonsus Medical Center,
in Baker City, where he is
still being treated for that
ingestion.
A subsequent search
warrant was conducted on
Mr. Breshears backpack
and one of the two stolen
handguns from the earlier
theft at Trader Rays was
located.
Community Bank awards
$17K to good students
The seventh year of
Community Bank’s Earn
While You Learn Program
has set an all-time high
in cash awards paid to
student-customers for their
academic success. For the
2017 pay out period, 748
students in the Eastern
Oregon and Southeast
Washington area cashed
in on their good grades.
Community Bank’s student
customers earned a total of
$17,135.
Since the bank’s program
began in 2011 earnings
have steadily increased. In
the first year of the Bank’s
Earn While You Learn
Program just six years ago,
190 students were paid
$3,895. This year’s pay-
outs bring the program’s
grand total of academic
award money to $79,608.
The program is designed
to encourage students in
their academic success
by awarding Commu-
nity Bank Youth Savings
accounts customers for
their good grades. During
the months of June and
July, all Community Bank
branches accepted end-
of-the-year report cards
from students in grades 1st
through 12th. For every
top grade (indicated on
the grading system used
for each school) in a main
school subject that ap-
peared on the report card,
Community Bank depos-
ited $1 into their Commu-
nity Bank Youth Savings
Account.
The Earn While You
Learn Program is an an-
nual reward of $1 per top
grade, up to $50 annually
per student, with payments
given for the whole school
year in June and July.
Paving starts near LaGrande
High Desert Aggregate
and Paving, Inc., has
begun work on the Oregon
Department of Transporta-
tion’s project along Island
Avenue (OR82/Wallowa
Lake Highway) in the La
Grande area.
The project includes
upgrading sidewalk ramps
to meet current Ameri-
can with Disabilities Act
(ADA) requirements and
repaving the section of
highway between Adams
Avenue in La Grande to
Riddle Road, near Star-
buck’s Coffee.
The freeway ramps at
Interstate 84 Exit 261 will
also be resurfaced and
some traffic signal up-
grades will be performed.
After his run-in with law enforcement, Nilsson lodged
a verbal complaint against Maldonado. Ash said he as-
signed a supervisor to investigate the complaint. The
supervisor, per protocol, interviewed those employees
involved in the arrests, so the complaint was investigated;
however, Nilsson and Schroder refused to speak with that
supervisor. More information was not available due to the
investigation being an internal personnel issue.
Nilsson then interviewed with The Baker City Herald,
giving additional details of events, which Shirtcliff could
not substantiate before this issue went to print, due to the
stage in the legal process, without violating ethics rules
with the Bar.
On Wednesday, law enforcement turned information on
the case against Nilsson and Schroder over to Shirtcliff
for review. A list of overall charges, which may or may
not change from the original citation, will be released
publicly in the near future.
Nilsson, from Salt Lake City, became a Baker City
Council member in February of this year.
Food and shelter
funds available
The Baker County area has been awarded federal funds
under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board
Program. The award is $8,337 to supplement emer-
gency food and shelter programs in the county. Public
or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for
Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds must contact
Mary Jo Carpenter, Community Connection of Baker
County, 2810 Cedar Street, Baker City, Oregon 97814.
The Application Form must be received by August 29th
at 9 a.m. For more information call 523-6591.
The selection was made by a National Board that
is chaired by the Department of Homeland Security’s
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and
consists of representatives from the American Red Cross;
Catholic Charities USA; National Council of the Church-
es of Christ in the USA; The Salvation Army; United
Jewish Communities; and, United Way of America. The
Local board was charged to distribute funds appropriated
by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shel-
ter program in high-need areas around the country.
A Local Board made up of representatives from The
Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Baker City Police
Department, American Red Cross, Ministerial Associa-
tion, and Community Connection will determine how the
funds awarded to the Baker County area are to be distrib-
uted among the emergency food and shelter programs run
by local service agencies in the area. The local Board is
responsible for recommending agencies to receive these
funds and any additional funds available under this phase
of the program.
Under the terms of the grant from the National Board,
local agencies chosen to receive funds must: 1) be private
voluntary non-profits or units of government, 2) have
an accounting system, 3) practice nondiscrimination, 4)
have demonstrated the capability to deliver emergency
food and/or shelter programs, and 5) if they are a private
voluntary organization, they must have a voluntary board.
Qualifying agencies are urged to apply.
Previously, these funds have been distributed to the
Catholic Church Food Bank, Salvation Army Food Bank,
Haines/North Powder Food Bank, Halfway Food Bank,
Huntington Food Bank, MayDay, Inc., and Community
Connection of Baker County. They provided nearly
2,000 meals, and six months of lodging for families in
crisis.