8
I Record-Courier
THURSDAY, MARCH 26,2015
BUSINESS
DIRECTORY
Blue Mountain Denture Center
g
Dentures - Partial Dentures
Relines and Repairs
| Free Denture Fitting Exams and Cleanings
Troy Stewart, LD
2194 Court St
Baker City, OR 97814
Office: 541-523-4752
Cell: 541-519-4696
TFN
GYLLENBERG
EQUIPMENT, INC.
ï Campbell 1 St. • Baker City, Oregon
McCORMICK
www.gyUenbergeq.com
541-523-7823 *
Need your tires
rotated? l/lfe do all
tire services.
Ladd’s Auto LLC
Wrecking & Recycling
Tire Service
Monday thru Saturday
#8 David Eccles Rd.
Baker City, OR • 541-523-4433
EAGLE VALLEY
Collision Rebuilders Inc.
Mike Fiala
541-523-1057
Cell 541-403-1138 • Fax 541-523-1059
2155 Windmill Road
Baker City, Oregon 97814
Email: evcr@uci.net
Local Scouts Perform Opening Flag Ceremony for Walden During Visit
By Emily Braswell
U.S. Representative Greg Walden was in Baker
City this weekend to conduct a Town Hall meeting
at the Veteran Advocates of ORE-IDA Event Cen­
ter. The meeting attracted an audience of about
30 citizens, including Baker City Mayor Kim
Mosier, Baker County Commissioner Bill Harvey
and Vale District Manager Don Gonzalez. By re­
quest of Congressman Walden, a former Eagle
Scout, local Scouts were invited to perform the
opening flag ceremony. Three Cub Scouts from
Packs 450 and 452 were able to attend the meet­
ing to perform the ceremony.
Walden initially gave several updates on some
of the more pressing concerns before he opened
the floor to public comment and questions, begin­
ning with recent inconsistencies with the U.S. De­
partment of Veterans Affairs (VA). Of particular
interest was regarding eastern Oregon’s rural na­
ture and the nondescript verbiage surrounding one
of the major changes brought about from the Vet­
erans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of
2014. The Act was created to improve the access
to and the quality of care for veterans, however,
the VA has been able to cut some corners be­
cause indiscriminate text where the Act requires
the VAto “offer an authorization to receive non-VA
care to any veteran in the VA health care system
if they are unable to secure an appointment at a
VA medical facility within 30 days or if they reside
more than 40 miles from the nearest VA medical
facility.” Lately, authorizations for non-VA care
have been decreased. The VA decided not to use
actual road distance to measure the 40 mile limit.
This means that most veterans within Baker City
limits would be unable to utilize any care services
other than the VA center in La Grande, Ore.
because the air distance from Baker City to the
center is approximately 39 miles, as the crow flies.
Walden stated, “So we’re back on the VA, trying
to get some common sense put into their thinking.”
Other legislation Walden focused on was a HR
529, which is a Bill that was passed to help im­
prove and safeguard 529 Secure Rural Schools
(SRS) funding, which Walden is hoping will pass
and be funded within the next week, and forestry
initiatives to create longer, more stable funding for
better forest practices.
“I have been working closely with the Speaker
of the House and others and I think we are on the
cusp of coming forward with a funding program for
at least this year,” Walden announced.
He also had promising news regarding wildfires
correlating with the Federal Emergency Manage­
ment Act (FEMA). Walden has been working with
Chairman of the Transportation Infrastructure
Committee to change provisions in the FEMA Law
so that forest fires can be treated as a natural
disaster so they are covered under FEMA, instead
of the land agency on which the fire occurred. He
indicated there was support for this effort.
Walden opened the floor to the audience, and
questions regarding the country’s budget deficit
became the popular theme, coupled with an over­
all disparagement for President Obama’s Execu­
tive Orders, which many perceive to be
unconstitutional. He displayed a pie chart demon­
strating how the U.S.’s budget works, presented
as mandatory items and unrestricted fund items,
and explained how a budget is created and
approved by Congress before it is sent to the
President for approval. If approved, it is sent on to
the Appropriation Committee which decides the
fund levels each program will receive under the
overall cap allowed by the pre-structured financial
plan. He brought out another comparison chart
showing the difference between the President’s
budget and the balanced budget drafted by the
Republicans every year.
“Part of what we are trying to do with the budget
is to move the decision making back to the state
level to give more flexibility. I have to believe that
County Commissioners and Mayors can do a
pretty good job if we can get them the money,”
Walden stated.
Regarding President’s Executive Orders,
Congress “only has a few tools they can use
against a runaway President,” Walden acknowl­
edged, “and I, and others, believe he has violated
his oath of office.”
He continued to explain they are doing every­
thing they can to constrain the deeds, including
utilizing the court system to prove violations
against the U.S. Constitution and creating injunc­
tions to prevent funding from reaching those
orders. When it comes to the President’s other
agents though, Congress is going after them,
especially when it pertains to the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS), former executive agent scandals,
the VA and multiple political hands reaching into
the same small pot.
The final focus of Walden's delved deeper into
details of years of planning complex forestry initia­
tives he and other House and separate Committee
members have worked hard to get passed, only to
have them fail, or be ignored in the Senate. These
initiatives focus on opening up forest land for
balanced and sustainable timber harvesting prac­
tices, in turn creating jobs, boosting the overall
state economy and transforming Oregon’s forests
from overgrown tinder boxes to dynamic plots of
timber. Now that the Senate’s composition has
shifted, Walden is confident there will be more Bills
passed through both sessions to the President’s
desk.
Terry Drever-Gee acknowledged the Congress­
man’s push for passing Initiatives and added, “We
are talking about active management, but I think
what we need to get to, bottom line, is the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) appeals
process, because we have a lot of non-profits
making a ton of money from our tax dollars simply
by appealing judgments and getting all of their
fees paid.”
Pushing a step past smoother processing after
an appeal is made, Congress has also passed the
Balance of Harms, giving Judges overseeing
these appeals the power to grant privilege to the
party or issue which incurs the most harm.
While the non-profits tell judges that you can't
'un-cut' a tree, Congress replies, “Judge, you can't
,'un-burn or un-bug-infest' a tree either.”
Auto, Truck
and Motor Home
541-523-3200
225 H Street
Baker City, OR 97814
Grumpy’s Repair, Inc.
Auto • Truck • Motor Home
Providing
Great Service
Got Damage?
We can fix it
• Collision repair
•Computerized color matching
•Computerized estimates
• Windshield replacement
$34.95
s75.95
upto 6 Quarts
SÜS Auto Center
Excludes Synthetic oil
and diesel engines.
Diesel up to
10 Quarts
Excludes Synthetic Oil
361010th St. •523-6413
OIL CHANGE
4 TIRE ROTATION AND
27 POINT INSPECTION
OIL CHANGE
4 TIRE ROTATION AND
27 POINT INSPECTION
Free Car wash & vacuum
Free Car wash & vacuum
Technicians as advanced as the vehicle you drive.
We're trained by those who built your Chevrolet, which means we know how to
expertly care for and maintain it unlike anyone else. From brakes to oil changes
to tires, we can do it all at a price that may surprise you. So why would you take
your Chevrolet anywhere else? It's not just service. It’s Chevrolet Certified
Service.
1*1 ON E E R C II A P EI.
1500 Dewey Avenue
Baker City, Oregon
541-523-3677
Baker Garage 11740 Washington, Baker City 1541.5234454
*More than six quarts of oil, balancing tires extra. Includes oil grade/speciflcation required by vehicle Owner’s Manual.
See listed dealer for eligible vehicles and details. Not valid with other offers.
Baker Methodist
Church offers
Lenten Schedule
On March 29, the Baker
Methodists will observe with a
Palm/Passion service at 8:30
and 11 a.m. The Gospel of
Mark stories will be featured
during Children’s Sermon.
Passion texts will be used by
Pastor Elke Sharma to pres­
ent a drama style reading of
Palm and Passion of Jesus.
April 2, Maundy Thurs. serv­
ice will be at 6 p.m. and the
April 3 Good Friday Service
will be held at 6 p.m. at the
church.
The Easter sunrise service
will be held at 6:30 a.m. at the
Interpretive Center on April 5.
A brunch will follow at 9:30
a.m. at the church and there
will only be one 11 a.m. serv­
ice that morning. Baptisms will
be administered. The church
is located at 1919 2nd Street
in Baker City.
Spring Bazaar on
Saturday
The Seniors at Community
Connection will have their
20th Annual Spring Bazaar
this Saturday, March 28, 9-
2:00 p.m. at Community Con­
nection, 2810 Cedar Street,
Baker City. There are mdre
than 25 vendors who will be
displaying their handcrafts,,
gift, food, and collectible:
items.
According to Mary Jo Car-:
penter, chairman of the
Bazaar, there will be a lunch­
eon featuring Taco Salad
served from noon-1 p.m., for a
minimal charge. The pro­
ceeds from the bazaar will go
to the senior nutrition pro­
gram, and is a part of the reg­
ular fundraising activities of
the Baker Seniors, who raise
an average of $8,000 per year
to support senior programs.
For more information or to
rent a table, contact Commu­
nity Connection at 523-6591.
MayDay, Inc. « —
Seeks Volunteers
to Cover Crisis
Phone Line
MayDay’s 24-hour crisis line
is a vital connection for victims
of sexual assault, domestic vi­
olence, and elder abuse. To
fill rotations in that position,
MayDay needs a compassion­
ate person, who is a good lis­
tener and can carefully follow
training protocols.
This volunteer position re­
quires a criminal background
check and strict adherence to
the confidentiality policy.
The job can be done from
home or other locations, de­
pending on the setting.
Anyone who can meet these
qualifications and be on call
approximately one week each
month, should contact Milli at
541-523-9472, or come to
MayDay’s office at 1834 Main
St. in Baker City for an appli­
cation.
Other volunteer opportuni­
ties are also available.
Postal
.‘‘g-
Particulars r‘i
with Krista Dennis
Do you purchase postcards or
stamped envelopes from your
local USPS? The first printed en­
velope was issued in 1853. En­
velopes have always been
produced by private contractors
and sold at the cost of postage plus
the cost to manufacture. Water­
marks have been mandatory for
stamped envelopes since they
were first issued with the excep­
tion of manila newspaper wrap­
pers used from 1919 to 1934. The
watermarks usually changed with
every four-year printing contract
which helped identify the enve­
lope and paper manufacturers. By
1873 the United States issued
“postal cards” which are known
today as stamped cards. They are
produced by the government and
carry preprinted postage. These
are unlike privately produced
postcards which do not bear
postage. Post cards were sold at
face value until 1999 when a
charge for the cost of manufactur­
ing was added. Today Postal Sta­
tionery bear the “Forever” stamp
which is a warm welcome to con­
sumers.
Our Priority is: YOU!