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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2017)
8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Local Weeds CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 Nichols said, “I didn’t know that we were looking at withdrawing here...I agree with what Mark (Bennett) said, about the (staff) position, here in Baker. “There was no explana- tion as to why that could not happen...(because of management issues) We suffered, because all of the projects were farmed out...” He said it appeared that there was favoritism that negatively affected the County, and Paustian said that Tri-County tried to be fair and transpar- ent, without favoritism, including allowing Baker County contractors to bid on projects. Bernards said that the contractors had the infor- Bugs CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Baker County Interim Health Department Direc- mation and opportunity to bid on projects, but more often than not, would decline (there was no clari- fi cation as to any reasons, which could include other obligations). After further discus- sion and debate, Harvey repeated his motion, to draft and send Tri-County a 90-day notice of intent to withdraw from the cooperative agreement, and to make clear what the County’s position is. Bennett seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. An Microenterprise Intergovernmental Agree- ment (IGA), between Baker County, the City of La Grande, Union County, and Wallowa County, for the purpose of supporting economic development through classroom training services to low-income individuals, was approved, with a motion from Ben- nett, and a second from Bennett. The three-year agreement covers available Commu- nity Development Block Grant funding, through Business Oregon. The Board held a discus- sion regarding the Coun- ty’s half-interest in foreclo- sure property, located near Mormon Basin Road. The property’s technical loca- tion is 13 South, Township 42 East, Tax Lot 2100, the other half-interest owned by Ketchum, Idaho-based Whitney Ellison (min- eral and timber interests haven’t been completely clarifi ed yet). Martin had contacted Ms. Ellison, who said she would be interested in buying the County’s half-interest, if the County would change the zoning, from mineral extraction, to recreation (she expressed no interest in mining), or selling her half-interest to the County (the County had offered, in 2016, to sell its half-interest to Ms. El- lison for $6,181, which she declined). Harvey made a motion to postpone a decision for now, and to complete some more research on the prop- erty, Bennett seconded, and the motion carried. Order No. 2017-164, Designating Certain Coun- ty Properties As County Parks, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. The following parks are to be offi cially des- ignated as County parks: Hewitt Park, John Noble Holcomb Park, Sumpter Valley Railroad Park, Tim Goodell Scenic Wayside, Fizz Springs, and Shanghai Creek Park. Order No. 2017-161, Re- Appointing A Member To The Transient Lodging Tax Marketing Committee, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Dan Ermovick was re- appointed, his term set to expire on March 1, 2020. Order No. 2017-162, tor Nancy Staten said that an infestation in a private home, “is not reportable” to the Department, mean- ing, it’s not in a public location, or one frequented by the public, so, she would provide the citizen with information obtained from the CDC. For locations like motels, for example, she would contact Geddes, or recom- mend the complainant contact Geddes. “People can contact a pest control service, if needed,” she said. Meeting scheduled for Two Eagle project Special Olympic results announced Baker County Special Olympics Swimming re- sults for October 29, 2017 at Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center with coaches Paula Moe and Melanie Rhodes are as follows: Caitlyn Calaway- 100 meter individual medley 1st place gold medal and 50 meter breaststroke 1st place gold medal Cody Cole - 25 meter freestyle 1st place gold medal and 50 meter freestyle 2nd place silver medal Tommy Huntington - 100 meter freestyle 1st place gold medal and 50 meter backstroke 1st place gold medal Emily Moe 25 meter backstroke 2nd place silver medal and 25 meter freestyle 2nd place silver medal Janet Stout - 50 meter freestyle 1st place gold medal and 50 meter back- stroke 1st place gold medal 4 x 25 meter medley relay - Caitlyn Calaway, Cody Cole, Tommy Hun- tington and Janet Stout 1st place gold medals (Caitlyn, Tommy and Janet received gold medals in all three of their events). Gold medal relay team (l to r): Caitlyn Calaway, Cody Cole, Janet Stout and Tommy Huntington. The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will host an open house regarding the Two Eagle Vegeta- tion Management Project on Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 4-6 p.m. at the La Grande Ranger District Offi ce. The objective of the meet- ing is to gather ideas and feedback from the public on project development and restoration activities and to provide information to private landowners on potential resources avail- able to assist with resource management activities on their private forest lands. The Two Eagle plan- ning area encompasses an estimated 6,929 acres in the West Eagle, Upper Eagle and Eagle-Bennett Creek subwatersheds of the Eagle Creek watershed. Appointing Members To The Baker County Fair Board Advisory Commit- tee, was approved, with a motion from Bennett, and a second from Nichols. Bob Parker and Terri Siddoway were appointed, their terms set to expire on July 1, 2020. Order No. 2017-163, Appointing Members To The Early Learning Regional Council, was ap- proved, with a motion from Harvey, and a second from Nichols. Laura Morin was appointed, her term set to expire on June 30, 2019. Order No. 2017-165, Authorizing The Sale Of County Foreclosure Prop- erty By Private Sale (at 2130 9th Street), and Order No. 2017-166, Authoriz- ing The Sale Of County Foreclosure Property By Private Sale (at 1440 13th Street), were discussed, however, no motions were made during the session. Yencopal discussed his in- terest in the properties, and The planning area includes portions of the Eagle Creek Wild and Scenic River Corridor and numer- ous developed recreation facilities including seven recreation residences as- sociated with Boulder Park Recreation Area and the historic Two Color Guard Station. The project area encompasses approxi- mately 2,297 acres of the Eagle Creek and Tamarack Campground wildland urban interface area (WUI) located in and around the developed recreation facili- ties. The purpose and need for the project is to restore overall landscape resiliency to the project area against future wild- fi re and insects/disease. Additionally, the project whether stipulations could be amended (Harvey said that the orders currently stipulate that all improve- ments on the properties shall be demolished by the purchaser after the sale). The Board decided to give bidders permission to inspect the properties at this point, and approve the orders, which may be amended, during a future session. During Commissioner Update and Comparison of Calendar, the Board and Martin noted that there is a work session scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, 9 a.m., however, that will be the last session of any type for the month, with the next session scheduled for Wednesday, December 6, 9 a.m. Harvey said that the Courthouse will be closed in honor of Veterans Day on Friday, November 10. is anticipated to benefi t local communities and economies by providing a diversity of products from timber harvest activities, recreational opportunities, and other indirect benefi ts from increasing resiliency of public lands, such as clean water and air. The proposed action is still in development and in- cludes 1,505 acres of com- mercial treatment, 1,020 acres of non-commercial treatments and 3,465 acres of prescribed burning. Eight of the commercial treatment acres are within riparian areas and focus on cottonwood enhancement. For more information about the project or the public meeting, please contact Brianna Carollo at 541-962-8588. Baker Elks Lodge #338 Copperbelt Winemakers Dinner November 4 Lobster! Lobster! November 17-18 Thanksgiving Feast November 23 Reservations please. 541.523.1889 | Open daily 7a-9p Past Exalted Rulers’ Steak Fry Saturday, November 11, 2017 Veterans and their spouses are invited to dinner as a guest of the lodge due to fi nancial support from the Elks National Foundation. USO-type entertainment by Brady Goss and the Eastern Oregon Regional Th eater. Take home free health screening info and a goodie bag! Seating is limited. Call or stop in and reserve your table now! Dinner served 6 - 8 p.m. Baker Elks Lodge #338 | 1896 2nd Street | Baker City | 541.523.3338