8
i Record-Courier
THURSDAY, APRIL 21,2016
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Candidate Forum Well Attended
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Puuden,
The Republican Candidate forum was held Tuesday night at the Best Western
Sunridge Inn. All three County Commissioner Candidates, Jeff Nelson, Kody Jus­
tus and Bruce Nichols had the opportunity to provide statements and answer ques­
tions from the audience. The event was well attended and the room was filled. The
public will have an additional opportunity to hear from all three candidates on April
26 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Baker High School Commons. It is sponsored by
April 28 1 p.m. 95th Annual Sil­
ver Tea- 1950s theme. Will be AAUW.
By Vickie Christensen
.......................... .
•••••••••
The North Powder Buzz
Hello readers. Here are upcom­
ing events in our little commu­
nity.
April 21 at 6 p.m. - Huckleberry
Festival Meeting
April 23 Halibut Feed, School
Cafeteria (tickets were pre-pur­
chased and not available at the
door).
FFA Flower sales begin the day
of the Halibut Feed. Call 541-
898-2244 for more information.
April 24 at 3 p.m. at Wolf Creek
Grange -Awards Ceremony and
Open House
April 24 3 p.m. - Open House
at City Library
Frame & Craft
x—^Custom & Ready Made
Framing & Matting • Art Supplies
Scrapbooking & Craft Supplies
Baker City
Copy, Ship & Mail
• UPS, US Mail, Packaging &
Gift Wrapping
• Laminating - up to 26”
• Copies - B&W, Color,
Enlarge up to 36”, Multi-Media
• Fax, Scan, Send to E-mail, Save
to Disk
• Office services & Computer
work
2101 Main St. Suite 111, Baker City
Open 9:30-5:30 M-F
54I-523-4199
-So-
Got Damage?
We can fix it
»Collision repair
•Computerized color matching
•Computerized estimates
• Windshield replacement
S&S Auto Center
held in the Multipurpose Room at
the school.
May 7 will be a busy day!
• North Powder and Haines
Community Garage Sales
• Haines Museum Opening Day
and Tea
• Union Halibut Feed
North Powder wishes to
welcome all to our upcoming
events. If you’re out and about,
drop by and see us.
I have a helpful hint for the
week: mosquitoes are out and if
you find you are out of repellent,
a dryer sheet rubbed over ex­
posed skin and then stuffed into
your pocket will do the job. It
seems the mosquito does not like
the fragrance. Wishing all a safe
and fun week.. Till next time!
Are you
a woman
who served
in the U.S.
Military?
The Oregon Women
Veterans Coordinator is
coming to your area and is
organizing
listening
sessions so she can meet
women who have served
and hear what they have
to say.
LISTENING SESSION
Place: Baker City Public
Library,
2400
Resort
Street
Date: Monday, April 25,
2016
Time: 5:30 p.m
If you cannot make the
listening session
but
would like to share your
story, call Liz at 971-720-
9116 or e-mail me at
elizabeth.estabrooks@sta
te.or.us
361010th St -523-6413
Baker City Janitorial
Supply Company
• Commercial Cleaning Supplies
I ' 1• Restroom Paper Products
? . '« K Free Delivery in Baker City & La Grande
»
. . .
Rick and Bekki Hurley
Record-Courier Photo
From left Jeff Nelson, Kody Justus,
Suzan Ellis Jones, Bruce Nichols
LeAnne Woolf
541-894-2303, leannemywo@gmail.com
News correspondent Mark
Luker is taking some time off. As
he’s the one who remembers to
bring the camera, I’m going to
have to step up my game. Gulp.
Calendar (as,of April 17)
Thursday, April 21- Candidate
Town Hall, Community Center,
6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 - Friends of
the Sumpter Valley Dredge an­
nual meeting, Community Center,
2 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26? - City
Council, City Hall, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 26 - Alpine
Chapter O.E.S., Masonic Hall, 8
p.m.
Monday, May 2 - McEwen
Lodge, Masonic Hall, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, May 3 - SVFD Aux­
iliary, Schoolhouse, 10 a.m.
Tuesday, May 3 - Sumpter Vol­
unteer Fire Department, City Hall
Tuesday, May 3 - Powder
River Rural Fire EMS training,
Mosquito Flat, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 5 - Planning
Commission, City Hall, hearing
at 6:45 p.m., meeting after
Monday, May 9 - Powder
River Rural Board Meeting, Mos­
quito Flat, 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, May 10 - City Coun­
cil, City Hall, 7 p.m..
Thursday, May 12 — Sumpter
Valley Community Volunteers
Meeting, Community Center,
6:30 p.m.
City
Sumpter City Council met in
regular session April 12. Utility
Manager Jeff McKinney had
much to report. The chlorine
meter at the water plant had been
acting up and was replaced. The
water intake on McCully’s Fork
is being subjected to huge
amounts of sediment. McKinney
had been going out to clear filters
three or four times every day. The
water storage had been only half­
full over the previous six days.
The Granite Highway project is
slated to begin late May or early
June, so that’s when crushed rock
will be available for Sumpter
street projects. While plowing of
those streets occurred this winter,
several water meter boxes were
damaged, some by uninsured
equipment operators who had
been hired privately by landown­
ers.
McKinney has taken three
pickup loads of tires from the
bum pile area into Baker City for
disposal and has about three more
loads to go. The bum pile contin­
ues to be a drain on City time and
resources as a few abuse the serv­
ice at the expense of the many.
Another abuse is of pipes at the
water plant by improperly in­
stalled venting. Rust is being re­
moved from the pipes, ventilation
will be repositioned, and anti-cor­
rosion paint is being sought.
Assistant Fire Chief Jim Shelter
reported that the brush truck has
been taken out of winter storage.
All other fire department matters
that he reported on have already
been included in previous
Sumpter columns, as have all the
Planning Commission activities
that were reported to Council
April 12. <
An ongoing matter of debate
involves employee benefits. The
City budget runs from July 1 to
June 30. Insurance rates went up
January first. President of Coun­
cil Annie Oakley has protested
that by automatically paying the
increased bill, staff has selected a
new benefits package without the
approval of Council. Councilor
Robert Armbruster supports her
interpretation.
Despite previous Council con­
sensus to wait until after July
training on employee matters,
Armbruster pressed for immedi­
ate employee evaluations, stating
that they are overdue and action
items from last year’s evaluations
have not been addressed. He
waved a large white envelope. In­
quiry found that white envelopes
containing copies of last year’s
employee evaluations were dis­
tributed by Armbruster to all fel­
low councilors. The copies of the
evaluations were not made at City
Hall, which seems to indicate
that, at the very least, reproduc­
tions and/or originals of these
portions of personnel files may be
held somewhere off City prop­
erty.
Due to the length of the meet­
ing, material on the second hour
will be presented in next week’s
column.
After the council meeting,
Councilor Bob Armbruster ap­
proached the lead editor of the
City newsletter that goes out with
people’s water and sewer bills.
He expressed his dissatisfaction
with how his corrections and clar­
ifications on the March issue had
been presented in the April issue.
In the future, he plans to conduct
his own mailings to citizens of
Sumpter. As always, if you have
questions about what someone
claims is going on at City Council
or in City Hall, you are encour­
aged to go into the office and ask.
Job Postings
Friday, April 22, is the final day
to apply for Sumpter Parks Atten­
dant. Call City Hall at 541-894-
2314.
Sumpter Valley Railroad
Restoration, Inc., is still accepting
applications for depot agents.
These positions are part-time and
involve weekends and holidays.
Email info@sumptervalleyrail-
road.org.
Organizations
Sumpter Valley Blue Mountain
Snowmobile Club held its final
potluck and meeting of the 2015-
16 season on April 9. The next
meeting will be the second Satur­
day in October. Starting Sept. 1,
officers will be: President John
Young, Vice-president Gary Ap­
plegate, Groomer Chair Jim
Shelter, and Directors-at-Large
Elden Doser, Dale Demaris, and
Wes Christensen. There is a need
for a Secretary/Treasurer.
Sumpter Valley Community
Volunteers met on April 14. A full
report will appear in next week’s
column.
Sumpter VolunteerFire Depart­
ment and Auxiliary hosted Bingo
on April 15. Eighteen folks vied
for the $399 jackpot, but no one
succeeded in winning it. The
jackpot next time, probably May
20, will be $460. Bingo will also
be available on Friday and Satur­
day of the Memorial Day Flea
Market at the Masonic Lodge on
NE Columbia Street, hosted by
McEwen Lodge and Alpine
Chapter O.E.S.
People
Our deepest condolences to
Linda Raney. Her sister died of
unnatural causes last week. Inves­
tigation was ongoing at that time.
Churches
Sunday morning services are
held at St. Brigid’s in the Pines at
Auburn and Bonanza in Sumpter
on the first and third Sundays of
the month at 11 a.m. followed by
a coffee ‘hour.’ Weekly services
at McEwen Bible Fellowship in­
clude Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.,
Morning Worship at 11 a.m., and
Wednesday evening prayer at
6:45 p.m.
Deadline and Disclaimer
Send in news and/or photos by
Sunday evening to be included in
the Sumpter column the follow­
ing week. Include captions with
photos.
I am involved in several of the
organizations appearing in this
column, but I do not report as an
official representative of any of
them.
Give a Gift Subscription to
the Record-Courier!
Call 541.856.3615
Hi there,
my name
Tammy and I’m look­
ing for a forever home. Iam
very, very, affectiohate yet slightly
timid when meeting strangers. I would
love to be an only cat and enjoy lounging in a
window basking in the sun and perhaps birdwatch­
ing. I am 1 -2 years old and spayed. I was tested for
FIV and tested positive so I want people to know that I can
still live a healthy active life as an indoor cat. Please call Best
Friends of Baker for more information and an adoption applica­
tion at Carmen 541-519-4530 or Best Friends of Baker, Inc.
Hi there! Please let me introduce myself as "Rosco the Gorgeous" a
German Shepherd. Yes, I am a purebred black and tan German
Shepherd and a little unhappy. I weigh about 85 pounds and am 9 years
old. I am physically healthy except for some arthritis in my hips which
is typical of German Shepherds. I have also developed some cataracts
on my eyes so I wear "Doggies" or dog goggles in the bright sunlight.
I do better inside during the bright sunny days and enjoy my walks
and play time in the evenings. I am an extremely well behaved guy
who enjoys being around children and dogs of all sizes. I like to
go for rides in the back seat of the car. I am well behaved and
am not destructive in or out of the house. I do not dig holes.
I am neutered and current on all my vaccinations.
Please call Carmen at 541-519-4530 or Best Friends.
Call Best Friends of Baker, Inc.
541-519-7387
Baker
lity Choir's
Concert
into
Featuring
*
South Baker Choir
Three Performances
Saturday
7 PM
April 22
Sunday
7 p M
3 pm
April 23
April 24
at the
Baker Heritage Museum
(Campbell & Grove)
Donations Accepted
at the Door
Me
The children of Sotith Baker Choir
perform Friday & Saturday only