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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2019)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A L OCAL B RIEFING Two local offi cers will graduate from Basic Police Class on September 6 New Arrivals At The Baker County Library • 2400 Resort St. FICTION • “Vendetta in Death,” J.D. Robb • “Nothing Ventured,” Jeffrey Archer • “Conversations with Friends,” Sally Rooney • “The Girl Who Lived Twice,” David Lagercrantz • “The Dark Side,” Danielle Steel NONFICTION • “Midnight in Cher- nobyl,” Adam Higginbo- tham • “Sacred Duty,” Tom Cotton • “No Crumbs Left,” Teri Turner • “Every Tool’s a Ham- mer,” Adam Savage • “Power Grab,” Jason Chaffetz DVDS • “Avengers, Endgame” (Sci-Fi) • “The curse of La Llorona” (Horror) • “Godzilla, King of the Monsters” (Sci-Fi) • “Rocketman” (Musical) • “The Secret Life of Pets 2” (Family) HOURS • Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. • Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. • Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. • Sunday, noon-4 p.m. PROBATION Continued from Page 1A Shirtcliff said Liam was playing with the gun on the fl oor of his father’s bedroom while his father slept when he accidentally fi red the gun. Peter Mankins, 33, pleaded guilty on Aug. 9 in Baker County Circuit Court to one count of criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony, in connection with his son’s death. He also pleaded guilty to one count each of posses- sion of methamphetamine and recklessly endangering another person, both Class A misdemeanors. Visiting Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Jon Lieuallen sentenced Mankins to 34 months in prison after a settlement conference with the District Attorney’s Offi ce. On Aug. 23, Baker County Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter sentenced Goodman to six months in jail and placed her on three years’ probation after she pleaded guilty to one count of pos- sessing methamphetamine and one count of recklessly endangering another person in a plea agreement with the District Attorney’s Offi ce. She also pleaded guilty to crimi- nally negligent homicide, but prosecution on that crime was deferred, Shirtcliff said. Goodman, who had been held at the Baker County Jail since Dec. 29, 2018, already had served eight months at the time of sentencing and was given credit for time served. Baxter deferred judgment on the criminally negligent homicide charge during Good- man’s 36-month probationary term. She must successfully complete formal probation and drug treatment during that time to avoid a prison sentence. If her probation is revoked during the three-year period, Goodman will be sentenced to an 18-month prison term, with no credit for the 180 days served in the Baker County Jail while awaiting resolution of the charges, Shirtcliff said. If she is successful, how- ever, the felony charge will be removed from her record, he said. Contact with her children will be determined by the Baker County Probation Department and possibly the Department of Human Services during the three-year probation term, Shirtcliff said. Mankins and Goodman were charged with criminally negligent homicide for allow- ing 2-year-old Liam access to a loaded gun. Mankins received the harsher sentence because “more culpability rested with him,” Shirtcliff said. “He was directly respon- sible for the fi rearms in the home,” he said. “They were his guns and he was in control of them.” Goodman also had some degree of responsibility for the guns being accessible to the child, however, Shirtcliff said. “She knew there were guns there,” he said. Both parents were at the home at the time Liam was shot, Shirtcliff said. Investigators found meth- amphetamine in the home and both Peter Mankins and Goodman tested positive for methamphetamine at the time the crimes took place, based on toxicology reports, Shirtcliff said. The crime of recklessly en- dangering another person, a Class A misdemeanor, charged the two with making the drug readily accessible to Liam. A grand jury also had charged Mankins and Good- man with second-degree man- slaughter, a Class B felony; and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, a Class A misdemeanor, for allowing drug activity to take place in the presence of Liam and his younger brother, who was 4 months old at the time. Those charges were dismissed as part of the couple’s plea agree- ments. Had they been convicted of second-degree manslaughter for their son’s death, they would have faced mandatory minimum 75-month prison sentences. Shirtcliff said at the time of Mankins’ sentencing that while he believed Mankins needed to serve prison time, the prosecutor also wanted him to receive drug treatment while in prison. “The fact that he took responsibility for negligently causing the death of his son was also a factor in allowing him to plead guilty to the criminally negligent homicide charge and not face a longer prison sentence,” Shirtcliff stated. As part of her probation, Goodman also was ordered not to use or possess con- trolled substances and to par- ticipate in a substance abuse evaluation and to follow any recommended treatment. Rain helps quiet Granite Gulch fire By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Wind-blown embers from the Gran- ite Gulch fi re started several spot fi res Wednesday, prompting fi re offi cials to call in a helicopter and two airplanes to prevent fl ames from spreading south of the Minam River in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. BOND Continued from Page 1A The group will meet three to four times in September and October and is scheduled to report back to the Board by Nov. 1. The group’s charge, as approved by the Board at its July 9 meeting will be to: • Review the facilities needs identifi ed by the Long Range Facilities Planning Committee. • Review the draft proposal being developed based on public feedback, and make recommendations about what should be addressed in a potential bond measure. • Consider the different op- tions for fi nancing a potential bond, including amount of bond and length of payback period. • Develop a timeline and long-term plan for addressing capital improvement projects relating to facilities needs. • Recommend to the School Board a potential bond pack- age that could be submitted to voters. Witty said the new com- mittee will not redo work performed by former commit- tees, which gathered informa- tion leading to the earlier $48 million bond measure. As with the past groups, the new committee’s only authority will be to recom- mend a course of action to the School Board and District administrators, Witty said. In reviewing community comments made after the 2018 bond measure’s failure in November and in speak- ing directly with critics of the plan, Witty said he believes Light rain on Wednesday and Thurs- day, along with higher humidities, slowed the fi re’s spread and allowed workers to concentrate on those spot blazes. “The spots showed very little growth (Thursday) afternoon and are being held in the riparian area,” Incident Com- mander Adam Wing said. None of the spot fi res spread more the District could succeed in the next election if certain changes were made. He says patrons have spoken in support of a less expensive bond funded over a shorter period of time that would pay to remodel existing buildings rather than to build a new school. The $48 million plan proposed in November 2018 included construction of a new elementary school and would have been paid for over a 30-year period. The bond measure, which would have cost property owners $1.97 per $1,000 of as- sessed value. Voters rejected the measure, 68% to 32%. In May, the Board consid- ered a new plan presented by representatives of the Boise LKV Architects fi rm and the Wenaha Group, a project management group and consulting fi rm, that also worked with the District on last year’s bond measure. The new plan has proposed asking voters in May 2020 to approve a $10 million bond to be paid over a 10-year term. A $4 million matching state grant and $2 million to be contributed by the School Dis- trict would bring the total to $16 million. The tentative proposal calls for the funding to be used to reconfi gure existing build- ings to make better use of available space. That would include placing K-2 students at Brooklyn Primary School; Grades 3-4 at South Baker; and moving Grades 5-6 to the current middle school building. Seventh- and eighth-graders would move to Baker High School with than 75 feet from river’s edge, he said. Offi cials had expected the lightning- sparked fi re would be more active Wednesday due to hot, dry weather and gust winds. The temperature reached a record of 100 degrees at the Baker City Airport. See Granite Gulch/Page 5A remodeling to separate the younger students from those in Grades 9-12. The proposed improve- ments under the new plan also would include district- wide safety and security up- grades and energy effi ciency improvements. Money also is included to pay for unan- ticipated expenses during construction. There are no plans to upgrade the former North Baker Elementary School building, which would con- tinue to be used by the Baker Web Academy and Early Col- lege, Eagle Cap High School and early learning programs. Another group of com- munity representatives is meeting to consider alterna- tive uses for the Central School Building, which was closed by the School District in 2009. Witty told the Board dur- ing its August meeting that the District expects to turn the building over to the BHS/ Baker Technical Institute’s Brownfi eld environmental science class. The class could qualify for a $200,000 grant to begin the project and possibly acquire more grant funding to complete the work needed to revitalize the his- toric building and transform it into a community asset, he said. Hazardous materials cleanup would include the removal of lead paint and asbestos, Witty said. Another group is form- ing to work toward securing grants to fund improvements at the Baker High School auditorium, he said. The Board also agreed to authorize Witty to hire a head grounds keeper, a posi- tion that was cut from the District budget in years past. “I’ve been here four years and this has been a chal- lenge point for me,” Witty said of the school grounds. “I think the grounds look better, but I’m not person- ally satisfi ed. When you own something you need to do your very best to keep it up.” Witty said he would like to hire the new grounds keeper this fall and to provide train- SALEM — Deputy Talon Colton of the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce and Offi cer Mark Powell of the Baker City Police Department are members of the 391st Basic Police graduating class at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. The class will graduate Sept. 6 at 11 a.m. at the Academy, 4190 Aumsville Highway SE. Women’s empowerment and training event, ‘Compel,’ set for September 21 Stonecroft will hold a one-day women’s empower- ment and training event titled “Compel” on Sept. 21. The program, aimed at training Christian women to reach others with the Gospel, will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Community Connection, 2810 Cedar Street. The cost of lunch will be $10. To RSVP, contact Jerri Wickert at jerrijohn2@gmail.com or call 541-519-4708. Soil and water conservation districts schedule meetings for September Baker County’s four soil and water conservation districts have scheduled meetings during September. Agendas for any of the meetings are available by call- ing Tara at 541-532-7121, extension 100. • Burnt River, Sept. 10, 5:30 p.m. at the USDA Ser- vice Center, 3990 Midway Drive in Baker City. • Baker Valley, Sept. 12, noon at the USDA Service Center. • Eagle Valley, Sept. 23, noon, location to be deter- mined. • Keating, Sept. 24, noon at the USDA Service Center. Baker City, Baker County planning commissions set work sessions The Baker County Planning Commission has sched- uled a work session for Sept. 10 at 5 p.m. at the Court- house, 1995 Third St. Planners will discuss potential revisions to the county’s zoning ordinance. The Baker City Planning Commission will have a work session Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 1655 First St. Commissioners will discuss possible updates to the city’s development code and to the economic section of the city’s comprehensive land-use plan. More information about either meeting is available by calling the city/county planning department at 541-523-8219 or by emailing Eva Henes at ehenes@ bakercounty.org. TRAFFIC section, and adding a turn lane to make it easier for Continued from Page 1A trucks and larger vehicles Offi cials have also to turn there. discussed changes to the “It would be a com- intersection of Hughes bined effort between city, Lane and Cedar Street, county, and state because and widening the bike they are city, county, lane along both routes and state facilities,” said to improve access to the Owen. center of town. 10th Street is a state The Leo Adler Memo- highway but jurisdiction- rial Parkway now leads ally the city has control from the Baker Sports over access. Complex to Hughes Lane. The boundary between Owen said one possibil- the city and the county is ity is restriping lanes at the center of Pocahontas the Hughes/Cedar inter- Road and Hughes Lane. ing in the various aspects of the job, including pesticide and herbicide use and irriga- tion systems to prepare for next spring and summer. Witty said he had been particularly frustrated with work this summer on the Baker Middle School fi eld on the west side of the school. The installation of underground sprinklers was delayed by a mix-up in scheduling. The work has been completed and the fi eld will be reseeded shortly, Witty said this week. The long-term goal is to install underground sprin- klers on fi elds throughout the District over a period of time, he said. “It saves on the water bill and allows you to do a much better job,” Witty said. The superintendent also has proposed adding a full- time assistant to the busi- ness offi ce staff to help ease that workload. The full-time position would replace Vickie Chris- tensen, who has resigned ef- fective Sept. 30. Christensen had transitioned recently from her longtime role as full-time payroll/ benefi ts coordinator to a part-time position. The new full-time assistant would provide help to the accounts payable and payroll departments to take pressure off other employees in those roles. “As we grow our systems it puts more pressure on (them),” he said. “We’re get- ting to the point of pushing to where we’re going to lose people. “You shouldn’t lose good people over not supporting them to get their jobs done,” Witty told the Board. Mobile Service Elkhorn Denture Service Go to www.elkhorndenture.com to purchase Sparkle Denture Cleaner Enjoy Smiling Again! Financing Available ELKHORN DENTURE CAN HELP! $VSUJT5BUMPDL -%t.ZSUMF4USFFU #BLFS$JUZ PS Any issue $40 fl at rate Call or Text 24/7 Dale Bogardus 541-297-5831 When your computer is in despair, call Outstanding Computer Repair! www.outstandingcomputerrepair.com Refurbished Desktop & Laptops For Sale House calls (let me come to you!) Drop Offs & Remote Services are Available All credit cards accepted
