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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2017)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5 Local Oregon’s Supreme Court comes to BHS 5J report card CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 However, it was argued that it was a valid convic- tion in Georgia and that they could not attack that case in this proceeding. Balmer explained that in the second case, money that was payment for il- legal drugs was shipped through the mail. In the Post Office, the package appeared sus- picious and the Postal Inspector had a drug dog inspect the package—and it alerted them to drugs or the scent of drugs on it. Inside was $15,000. Balmer explained that in- stead of letting the package go to the person to whom it was being delivered, officers took the package to the person and asked if they could open it. The main argument of the case was it was an unreasonable seizure that violated the Constitu- tional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. It was also argued that if they had reason to believe that it contained drugs or money, they should have applied for a warrant from a judge. “We hope that it will be interesting for the students and anybody else who comes,” said Balmer. The two cases presented at the high school were open to the public and attended by Government class students. After each case, students were able to ask questions that did not pertain to the cases or politics. “We have, over the past probably 15 or 20 years, tried to get out into different parts of the state and we thought this was an area we hadn’t been to before,” explained Balmer. The justices go out around once a year pro- vided they have the budget for it, and have been to schools in Ontario, La Grande, Bend, and other areas in Oregon. They have released Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press L-R: Meagan Flynn, Jack Landau, Rives Kistler, Thomas Balmer, Martha Wal- ters, Lynn Nakamoto, and Rebecca Duncan. held cases in high school auditoriums and commu- nity colleges. Baker County Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter invited media to meet with him and Balmer prior to the cases. The justices also attended a gathering with elected officials and others the night before. “The first thing that stu- dents have to understand is this is not like a trial court, it’s not like in Judge Baxter’s court where we have a jury and we have a witness stand and we have one judge in the middle,” explained Balmer. For the cases, lawyers were given 30 minutes and were able to save time for rebuttal, and argued why the Court of Appeals was wrong—and the judges asked questions. “We try and find the right answer, at least the better answer. We try and uphold the Constitution whether it’s free speech or privacy or the right to a fair trial. And we have many years of cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, our prior cases. We look Samantha O’Conner / The Baker County Press Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Balmer. at our decisions from five years ago and 25 years ago, and try and provide people with equal justices under the law,” explained Balmer. “That’s what it says on the Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.; ‘Equal Justice Under the Law,’ and that’s our goal.” On Tuesday, Baker High School’s Mock Trial team, which activity competes across the region with members assuming various court roles, attended the cases and ate lunch with the justices in the school library on Tuesday. State Report Card data has been released for all Oregon school districts reflecting the results from 2016-17 School Year. State Report Cards provide information regarding how students perform on the Smarter Balanced Assess- ment, required annually, which measures student progress in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The State Report Card also details information for student groups, based on grade bands (elementary, middle, and high) and is disaggregated by certain tracked categories. The state provides ratings for schools based on a 1-5 scale, and the annual target is set at achieving Level 3-4 status. Baker District 5J schools received Level 3 and 4 ratings for student achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics across all grade spans. These ratings reflect both local schools, Baker Web Academy, and Baker Early College. The State also sets growth target goals at Level 3-4 for schools in each of the tracked academic areas. Growth targets compare scores from the previous testing year (2015-16) with the current testing year (2016-17). Baker School District received Level 3-4 rankings across all grade spans except for Elementary English Language Arts grades 4-5. Student participation rates on the Smarter Balanced Assessment are also detailed on the report. The goal for participation, set by Oregon Department of Education, is 94.5% participation across all grade levels. Baker School District did not meet the participation goal for 2016-17, noting all local brick and mortar schools met the partici- pation goal except Baker High School. Baker School District 5J Superintendent Mark Witty said, “Report card data is one method of determining student success, but by no means is it the only indicator.” Witty also said, “The staff works diligently to assist all students to find individual success and growth across all areas, and the District remains committed to educating all students through innovative, hands-on instruction with real world application.” Emphasis on career and technical applications, expe- ditionary learning, on-site field trips to local businesses, land labs, and community partnerships that support Summer Academy, Friday Academy, Friday Programs and Kindergarten Camp are a few examples of programs that increase the level of student engagement, according to Witty. Four- and five-year cohort rates for graduation are delineated on High School report cards. Baker Early College and Baker High School each re- ceived Level 4 rankings. Baker Web Academy and Eagle Cap Innovative High School did not meet state bench- marks in this category. District principals will be sharing information with their respective families through a variety of venues. Individu- al Student Reports, detailing how each student performed on the Smarter Balanced Assessment, will be provided to parents this Fall. A link for the District Report and individual building reports is available online at the Baker School District 5J website http://www.baker5j.org . City / County CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Downing files for County Commission Chair CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Downing is serving his fifth year as a City Coun- cilor for Baker City. He works full-time as an Escrow Officer for Elkhorn Title Company, and, ac- cording to Downing, is just about to start his tenth year with Baker County Dispatch as a Reserve Dispatcher. Below is Downing’s press release: “Mike graduated from Baker High School in 1998. He then moved to Portland and attended Port- land Community College, Mt. Hood Community College, and Portland State University studying gen- eral Education. Mike has continued to take classes in 911 and in government at different trainings and conferences. “Occupational back- ground/ Prior Govern- mental Experience: Mike moved back to Baker in 2002 and volunteered for Greater Bowen Valley Rural Fire Department and served on the Board of Directors. After becom- ing a firefighter, he moved into the City limits and was part time on call for Baker City Fire. He then became an EMT -Basic. He was hired as a reserve 911 Dispatcher. Mike was appointed as Justice of the Peace Pro-temp re. He was then elected to Baker City Council and then appointed as Vice Mayor in 2015. “In January of 2017 the Council appointed Mike as Baker City Mayor that term will end in December of 2018. Mike has also worked as a school bus driver for Baker School District and the Bingham Ranch, and Oregon Trail Livestock Supply. “Optional Information: Mike was born and raised in Baker County. Baker is where he is currently rais- ing his three kids as a sin- gle father. Mike is a mem- ber of the LDS Church, an active participant in The Baker County Cattlemen/ Cattlewomen group help- ing with events around the county. Mike comes from a ranching background with many family members still ranching in Baker County today. Mike is very big supporter of Law Enforce- ment and is interested in keeping our community safe and a prime spot to raise a family.” According to Baker County Clerk Cindy Car- penter, the last day to file is March 6, 2018. To date, current County Commission Chair Bill Harvey has not yet filed, nor has any other candi- date. Warner advised he had already received one exten- sion and did not believe another request was in their best interest. Warner said accepting the grant but not hiring anyone right away giving them additional time to discuss the matter before spending any money and if no agreement could be reached then forfeiting the grant and returning the money would likely trigger some “not so good will.” Commissioner Harvey, who had remained quiet as much of the discussion occurred, spoke up when a question was raised about using unanticipated revenue from State Marijuana tax money, said, “I would need to research that option. That could be another source for the City and the County to look at. But it doesn’t take care of the problem.” Harvey was referring to the fact that as is the plan is not sustainable and in three years at the end of the grant they all will wind up right back in the same place as they are now, only it could be worse. Talks of levies to create special districts floated around the room but in the end Harvey told the City Council that no decision would be made that night concerning the matter, and that more research needed to be done before a final decision that was in the best interest of all parties involved could be made. The bottom line was the Commissioners felt they needed more time than they were given to make a smart decision. Five arrested last week in high risk apprehension On October 11, 2017 at about 12:15 p.m. Baker City Police Officers initi- ated a high risk apprehen- sion at 2205 Broadway Avenue, room 117, where a wanted fugitive from Lake County was believed to be located. BCPD Officers encountered five individu- als at that location, all of which were on parole or probation from other coun- ties, including Danny Ray Dial who was the subject from Lake County. BCPD was led to that loca- tion from an investigation into a car that had been stolen the previous night. The 1994 Honda Prelude, stolen from 2346 Valley Avenue, was located and recovered on Indiana Av- enue near Hillcrest Drive. The subsequent investiga- tion led to the information that Dial was in Baker City and potentially involved in the car theft. Further information was obtained to his possible whereabouts, which led to the apprehension at the Broadway location. Arrested at the scene were: - Danny Ray Dial (02/17/1991) Lake County Warrant - Brandon Deport Arnold (03/16/1989) Lake County Probation Violation - Randy Ray Gallagher Jr. (08/01/1986) Klamath County Probation Viola- tion - Michael Andrew Neider (08/11/1996) Klamath County Parole Violation & PCS Meth - Carrie Loritta Cool- baugh (05/13/1991) Marion County Parole Violation BCPD personnel followed up the arrests by obtaining a search warrant for the room and for the vehicle Dial had been driving, as both locations were believed to contain items stolen from the Honda Prelude. Those search warrants were executed. A stolen Amplifier and Speakers were recovered from the room and a stolen stereo was recovered from the vehicle Dial had been driving, a 2003 Ford Focus registered out of Lakeview.
