FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Oregon’s Supreme Court comes to BHS 5J report card
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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
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Downing files for County
Commission Chair
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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.