NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Baker City theater’s rebirth continues thanks to $200,000 state grant
By LISA BRITTON
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — A
recent grant has kickstarted
work again on the Baker
Orpheum Theater renova-
tion project for Phase Five
of the six-phase endeavor on
the historic building at 1812
Main St., Baker City.
The $200,000 grant came
from Oregon Heritage, a
division of Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department.
“This is a big deal,” said
Aletha Bonebrake, chair
of the Orpheum building
committee. “The $200,000
is the largest amount they’re
allowed to give.”
Bonebrake is also a
board member for Eastern
Oregon Regional Theatre,
which will make its home
in the Orpheum when it is
complete.
The grant was one of 28
awarded to Oregon Main
Street Network organizations
across the state for projects
that “encourage economic
revitalization.”
Baker City Downtown
solicited applications for
local projects, and a BCD
committee selected the
Orpheum to submit to the
state.
“It had a good solid plan
ready to go, local support,
and the economic impact to
downtown will be huge,” said
Carol Phillips, a BCD board
member.
This most recent grant,
paired with $295,000 from the
Cultural Resources Economic
Fund that was awarded in
April 2021, gets the ball roll-
ing again on the project.
“Now we’re starting to
build,” Bonebrake said.
“These two grants have been
spectacular.”
The last bit of asbestos
has to be removed, and a
geotechnical analysis on the
foundation is underway to
prepare for concrete footings,
which will support the struc-
tural steel framework for the
balcony, staircase and fly loft.
“This is the beginning
that people have been wait-
ing for,” Bonebrake said.
Sid Johnson & Co. is the
general contractor.
The marquee design is
based on the 1930s art deco
style.
Bonebrake said the
Orpheum will be used for
EORT performances, as well
as local music groups and
other performing arts.
She said the main floor,
with 125 seats, will provide
a space for smaller gatherings
or presentations.
The Orpheum will also
bring national acts to Baker
City, she said.
This is where Burris’
support comes in again
— he has created a donor
advised fund through Oregon
Community Foundation that
will support the Orpheum’s
future, such as underwriting
the cost for national artists to
reduce the price of tickets for
local residents.
The timeline
Donate
The project began in
May 2016 with a $130,000
donation from David Burris
that enabled Eastern Oregon
Regional Theatre to purchase
the 1889 building that housed
the first Orpheum Theatre, a
vaudeville stage that grew
with silent films and “talkies”
into the late 1950s.
The theater closed in
1956. In 1964 it was remod-
eled into retail space.
After Burris’ donation,
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
This photo from June 3, 2022, before construction started again, shows the interior of what
will be the Baker Orpheum Theatre in downtown Baker City.
the Orpheum project grew
with grants and donations
that funded feasibility stud-
ies, design plans and asbestos
removal.
Total fundraising to date
is $1,116,027.
Of that, $355,527 came
from local gifts and events.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
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The amount from founda-
tions and public funds totals
$760,480.
Bonebrake is pursuing
more grants for the sixth, and
final, phase.
“The phase after this is the
finish work,” she said.
The total project cost is
SUNDAY
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Pleasant with
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Sunny, breezy and
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Mostly sunny and
pleasant
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
87° 58°
92° 64°
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JOHN DAY — Down-
town John Day is headed for
a makeover.
The Grant County Art
Association and various unaf-
filiated artists are looking to
paint a number of murals on
the sides of downtown busi-
nesses in a project they’re
calling “Paint the town.” That
proposal is in addition to the
city’s ongoing efforts to revi-
talize and update the look of
downtown John Day.
The Grant County Art
Association is a nonprofit
entity that has existed since
1968. Association President
Elouise Boren said the associ-
ation “has been strong in the
community, but we’ve been
silent.”
Boren presented a proposal
for murals to the John Day
City Council during its June
14 meeting. The proposal
calls for between seven and
86° 57°
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OREGON FORECAST
87° 60°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
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TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
84/64
78/52
88/55
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
85/57
Lewiston
88/58
92/60
Astoria
84/60
Pullman
Yakima 88/61
87/55
84/57
Portland
Hermiston
93/66
The Dalles 92/56
Salem
Corvallis
93/60
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
81/52
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
93/57
89/55
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Ontario
88/54
Caldwell
Burns
80°
53°
85°
54°
107° (1992) 41° (1934)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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Albany
91/60
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
102/65
0.00"
1.66"
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2.46"
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WINDS (in mph)
88/53
85/50
0.00"
2.16"
1.00"
10.82"
4.29"
7.84"
through 3 p.m. yest.
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TEMP.
Pendleton 78/50
94/62
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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HERMISTON
Enterprise
87/58
94/61
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50°
82°
54°
102° (1992) 30° (1904)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
85/53
Aberdeen
78/55
85/59
Tacoma
Yesterday
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Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
84/60
Today
Sun.
ENE 7-14
NE 6-12
NE 6-12
N 6-12
92/53
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:07 a.m.
8:49 p.m.
2:44 a.m.
6:06 p.m.
New
First
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Last
June 28
July 6
July 13
July 20
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 108° in Needles, Calif. Low 27° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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10 murals to be painted on the
sides of various businesses
along Main Street.
Designs for the murals will
focus on people and events
relevant to the history of Grant
County, including logging,
ranching, gold prospecting,
Native Americans, cattle
drives, rodeo and the exploits
of Long Un and Doc Hay.
Boren approached the city
council seeking financial
support so her team of artists
can begin work on the murals
as soon as possible. The coun-
cil unanimously approved
$750 in funds that will cover
paint and other materials the
artists need to begin the work.
Grant County Art Associ-
ation Secretary and Treasurer
Kathy Kite said the group
has already been in contact
with a number of local busi-
ness owners about painting
murals on their buildings and
the response has been over-
whelmingly positive.
“Of course, we need build-
ing owner permission before
we started in, and we would
have our compositions put
together for review before
we started in,” she said. “We
thought it could be a fun
enhancement for the town.”
Kite said the idea to paint
murals on businesses came
up during talks between vari-
ous artists and that everyone
“perked up” when the idea was
presented.
“It sounds like the city
council is trying to get tour-
ism to be an attraction to bring
people into the area, and we
thought that would fit right in;
also to keep our town looking
Old West, which seems to be
more important all the time,”
she said. “As time goes on,
those things fade away.”
T he a r t i s t s wou ld
complete work on one mural
before starting another proj-
ect, according to Kite. “We
aren’t going to just start draw-
ing all over town and painting
here and there.”
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
-10s
The Baker Orpheum
Theatre will have 325
seats with a professional
stage, balcony, fly loft, and
state-of-the-art acoustics,
sound and lighting.
Art association proposes business
murals for downtown John Day
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
99° 68°
The plan
GRANT COUNTY
TODAY
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
estimated to be $2.5 million.
Bonebrake is happy to talk
about the Orpheum project
with interested groups and
individuals.
“I’ll show what we’ve
done,” she said.
To request a presentation,
call Bonebrake at 541-519-
3255.
Monetary donations can
be mailed to EORT, Baker
Orpheum Theatre Fund, 2101
Main St., Suite 113, Baker
City, OR 97814.
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E AST O REGONIAN
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90s
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warm front stationary front
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high low
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
DALE — Good Samaritans
jumped into the water Monday,
June 20, and helped rescue
a woman and her dog from a
Kia minivan that crashed into
Camas Creek on Highway
395 near the Grant/Umatilla
county line.
According to Oregon State
Police trooper Mike Mayer,
the van started sliding and the
driver overcorrected and hit
the gravel on the shoulder of
the road, going around a curve
before flipping over two to
three times and rolling into the
middle of the creek near mile-
post 53.
While the passenger was
able to escape the damaged
van, the driver and her dog had
a tougher time getting out.
Two linemen with the
Monument-based Columbia
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
Power Cooperative, Garrett
Warner and Jack Jewell,
pulled up on the scene of the
accident roughly 15 minutes
after it happened and assessed
whether they could run a rope
to the vehicle and pull the
driver and her dog out of the
car safely.
With recent heavy rains
adding to the strong current,
Warner said he did not want to
get swept under the car. But, in
the end, Warner said, he and
Jewell figured they could do it
— and should before the driver,
Cheryl Patterson, 69, of Olive-
hurst, California, got hypother-
mia from the cold water.
Before wading into the
creek’s rushing water, Jewell
lent his jacket to the passenger,
Lilly Papadopoulos, 19, also of
Olivehurst, who by that point
was sitting in the backseat of
a passer-by’s vehicle with the
heater on trying to warm up.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Warner said he and Jewell
bring clothes for all occasions
when they’re on the job.
“We never know how the
weather is going to be,” Warner
said.
Warner said there are five
linemen who work at the
co-op, and they are about to
add a sixth. He said Columbia
Power has a community-ori-
ented outlook.
“We kind of just look out
for everybody out here because
we’re such a small co-op,”
Warner said. “We try to take
care of the community, and
when we see somebody that
needs help, we just try to help
them out.”
According to an entry
in the OSP media log, both
Papadopoulos and Patterson
suffered minor injuries and
were taken to St. Anthony
Hospital, Pendleton, and their
vehicle was towed.
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