2A — BAKER CITY HERALD
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2019
Planners to consider cell tower proposal
B AKER C OUNTY C ALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 16
■ Baker County Board of Commissioners: 9 a.m.,
Courthouse, 1995 Third St.
■ Baker City Farmers Market: 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Downtown at the Court Avenue Plaza.
FRIDAY, OCT. 18
■ Live Music by Keith Taylor: Ragtime piano, 4:30 p.m. to
5:30 p.m., Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn
Ave.; no charge; continues most Fridays.
MONDAY, OCT. 21
■ Baker School Board: 6 p.m., Council chambers at City
Hall, 1655 First St.; date moved from usual third Thursday.
TUESDAY, OCT. 22
■ Baker City Council: 7 p.m., City Hall, 1655 First St.
FRIDAY, NOV. 1
■ First Friday Art Shows: Baker City art galleries are open
late to showcase the month’s new artwork; opening times
vary between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Crossroads Carnegie
Art Center, Peterson’s Gallery and others.
MONDAY, NOV. 4
■ Haines Fire Protection District Board: 6 p.m. at the
Haines Library. (New time begins this month.)
T URNING B ACK THE P AGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
October 11, 1969
HUNTINGTON — Visiting St. Francis, crippled with the
loss of some key players, was no match for the powerful
Huntington Locomotives Friday afternoon, Huntington
won 96-0.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
October 11, 1994
Two school programs were among eight to receive a
total of $69,000 from the Baker County Commission on
Children and Families in recent grant awards.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
October 12, 2009
The union that represents close to half of Baker City’s
workers wants the City Council to change the union’s
contract to make those employees eligible for overtime
pay or comp time if they work longer than their normal
daily shift.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
October 12, 2018
At 6:30 Thursday morning, with bright sunshine but
temperatures in the upper 20s, shoppers eager to sample
Baker City’s newest grocery store were already lining up
outside Grocery Outlet.
About two and a half hours later, when the store of-
fi cially opened at 297 Campbell St., just east of Interstate
84, Jaye Green became the fi rst customer to walk through
the door.
Green, 62, said she had been planning to attend the
opening for two months and knew that she wanted to be
fi rst in line. She has lived in Baker for 12 years and would
often drive to the La Grande Grocery Outlet for her grocer-
ies.
Green said the Baker store will now become her main
place for grocery shopping.
Green was hardly alone in braving the chilly morning
to have a look at the store that opened almost exactly
one year after local offi cials announced that the California
grocery chain had decided to build in Baker City.
When the doors opened around 9 a.m., the line of shop-
pers stretched to Windmill Road.
O REGON L OTTERY
MEGABUCKS, Oct. 9
2 — 12 — 13 — 20 — 22 — 30
Next jackpot: $3.8 million
POWERBALL, Oct. 9
5 — 18 — 33 — 43 — 65 PB 2
Next jackpot: $90 million
MEGA MILLIONS, Oct. 8
5 — 8 — 10 — 17 — 48
Mega
23
Next jackpot: $60 million
WIN FOR LIFE, Oct. 9
29 — 45 — 46 — 64
PICK 4, Oct. 10
• 1 p.m.: 4 — 4 — 8 — 7
• 4 p.m.: 5 — 9 — 9 — 5
• 7 p.m.: 1 — 7 — 3 — 8
• 10 p.m.: 0 — 1 — 2 — 1
LUCKY LINES, Oct. 10
2-8-10-13-17-24-25-30
Next jackpot: $15,000
S ENIOR M ENUS
■ MONDAY: Salisbury steak, potatoes and gravy, succotash,
biscuits, fruit cup, brownies
■ TUESDAY: Stuffed cabbage rolls, parslied red potatoes,
carrots, bread, pea and onion salad, ice cream
■
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $4.50 donation (60 and older), $6.75 for
those under 60.
C ONTACT THE H ERALD
1668 Resort St.
Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Telephone: 541-523-3673
Copyright © 2019
Fax: 541-833-6414
Regional publisher
Christopher Rush
crush@eomediagroup.com
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.
com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
ads@bakercityherald.com
Classifi ed email
classified@bakercityherald.com
Circulation email
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ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Published Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays except Christmas Day by the
Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media
Group, at 1668 Resort St. (P.O. Box 807),
Baker City, OR 97814.
Subscription rates per month are:
$10.80; by mail $12.50.
Postmaster: Send address changes to
the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker
City, OR 97814.
Periodicals Postage Paid
at Baker City, Oregon 97814
The Baker City Planning Commis-
sion will have a public hearing Wednes-
day, Oct. 16, to consider an application
for a 70-foot-tall cell tower on the north
side of D Street between East and
Clark streets.
The hearing is set for 6 p.m. at City
Hall, 1655 First St.
Verizon Wireless is the applicant.
Carney and Deborah Lansford own the
2.12-acre property, which has a storage
building business.
The Lansfords’ property is zoned
general-industrial.
According to the conditional-use per-
mit application, Verizon wants to build
a 70-foot-tall “monopole style tower ...
with new panel antennas, mw dishes,
and tower & grand mounted associated
equipment cabinets and diesel genera-
tor.”
The ground equipment would be
within a fence, according to the applica-
tion.
According to the application, Verizon
wants to build the tower “to remedy
capacity and coverage challenges in city
of Baker City. The (tower) will improve
coverage to the city of Baker City. This
site will add needed capacity to this
area so that customers will receive
better service and faster data speeds.
The proposed antenna tip height of 70
(feet) is the minimum height needed for
the effective functioning of the proposed
antennas.”
GRAFFITI
Continued from Page 1A
Adam Nilsson, president of
the Baker City Skateboarding
Association, which he orga-
nized, stated in a letter from
the Association issued Oct. 4
to the city, the school district
and police that the skate park
sustained one of the worst
rashes of vandalism during
August and September, which
included “scrawled profanity,
drug references, insults, and
hateful propaganda, including
several swastikas.”
Bornstedt said the com-
munity service project aimed
at cleaning up the skate park
was scheduled for Sunday,
Sept. 29. Nine days earlier, on
Sept. 20, three of the athletes
who had signed up for the
project allegedly painted
inappropriate graffi ti of their
own at the park, which is near
Sam-O Swim Center.
A police offi cer observed the
students painting and they
subsequently were cited on
charges of third-degree crimi-
nal mischief, said Baker City
Police Chief Ray Duman.
The crime, a Class C misde-
meanor, accuses the students
of tampering or interfering
with the property of another
by acting “with intent to cause
substantial inconvenience
to the owner or to another
person, and having no right
to do so.”
District Attorney Matt
Shirtcliff declined to fi le
charges against the students,
said Staci Erickson, Baker
County Juvenile Department
director.
Erickson said the decision
was based on several factors.
“They went ahead and
cleaned it up like they said
they would and it was an
agreement between the Dis-
trict Attorney’s Offi ce and the
high school,” she said.
Erickson said a coach also
gave the student athletes
“quasi-permission” to tag the
park with the understanding
they would clean it up later.
The community service
Chris Collins / Baker City Herald
The ramp on the left was covered with paint. The ramp
on the right is unpainted concrete.
work by athletes has been im-
plemented at the high school
by Buell Gonzales, who is in
his fi rst year as the school’s
full-time athletic director.
“This is something we’ve
started since I’ve been here,”
he said. “We want to give back
to the community that sup-
ports us.”
Gonzales said the students
thought that they weren’t
causing a problem at the
skate park because they knew
they would be covering up all
graffi ti in the near future.
“These are three kids who
never do that,” he said. “There
are great kids who never get
into trouble.”
The students did face the
consequences, however, Gon-
zales said.
“We handled it and we fol-
lowed our policy,” he said.
Gonzales spoke favorably
about the students while
acknowledging they violated
athletic program policy with
their actions.
“They don’t go around and
tag things,” Gonzales said of
the students. “They come to
school every day and they’re
good citizens. They just made
poor choices.”
Bornstedt said she worked
with the student athletes to
fi nd a suitable paint to use to
cover up graffi ti at the park.
“I researched what we put
down before we put it down,”
Bornstedt said.
The product she chose is
used to paint concrete and
driveways and is designed to
be slip-resistant, she said.
Eight gallons of paint were
purchased at a cost of $32.98
a gallon.
But Nilsson tried to stop
the community service project
because he says the paint
used was not a good choice
and has made the surface
slippery and dangerous.
Nilsson posted a “cease and
desist notice” seeking a mora-
torium of any modifi cation
or manipulation of the skate
park until further discussions
could take place. The notice
was posted at the skate park
on Sept. 28, the day before the
student athletes painted over
both their own graffi ti and the
older graffi ti.
Nilsson also sent a com-
plaint about the students’
painting over the graffi ti. The
complaint serves as “offi cial
notice” to the Baker 5J School
District, Baker High School,
Baker City Police Depart-
ment and Michelle Owen,
both individually and in her
capacity as the Baker City
Public Works director, of the
Skateboarding Association’s
intention to pursue a civil
complaint against them.
“I was just trying to do my
best to follow through with
what the skatepark kids
had pleaded — that concrete
surfaces not be painted un-
necessarily,” Nilsson wrote
in an email to the Herald on
Thursday.
Caleb Wilde serves as the
Baker City Skateboarding
Association’s secretary. Other
board members, fi lling out the
fi ve organizational slots are
Damon Rose, Luke Brown
and Nilsson’s wife, Upekala
Wijayratne.
Their goal is to raise money
to pair with matching grants
to be used to repair, expand
and possibly move the skate
park.
Nilsson, 48, says he only
started skateboarding last
July when his nephews came
for a visit.
He became involved with
Baker’s park as a way to
comply with terms of his
probation on a conviction
for criminal trespassing at
the former cement plant at
Lime near Huntington. That
incident took place on Aug. 1,
2017. Nilsson pleaded guilty
to the third-degree criminal
mischief charge on Nov. 20,
2017. A second charge of
criminal trespassing while in
possession of a fi rearm was
dismissed in a plea agreement
with the District Attorney’s
Offi ce.
Nilsson was placed on
bench probation for 364 days
and ordered to complete 50
hours of community service
work.
The former Baker City
Council member, who also
served on the city’s Public
Arts Commission, said he had
been advised that his service
on the city’s behalf could be
used to fulfi ll the community
service requirement.
District Attorney Matt
Shirtcliff disagreed and issued
an order requiring Nilsson to
explain why he hadn’t com-
pleted the community service
work in a qualifying program
and to face possible revocation
or an extension of the proba-
tion period.
The issue was resolved by
extending Nilsson’s probation
period another 30 days while
he began working to clean up
and make repairs at the skate
board park, working with the
city staff.
Nilsson also is scheduled
to return to Baker County
Circuit Court to ask the court
to reconsider his third-degree
criminal mischief conviction.
The hearing is set to begin
at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 28.
N EWS OF R ECORD
DEATHS
John B. Kempfer: 83, of
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and
formerly of Baker City, died Oct.
8, 2019. Mass of Christian burial
will take place Wednesday, Oct.
16 at 11 a.m. at St. Francis de
Sales Cathedral in Baker City.
Father Suresh Kumar Telagani will
offi ciate. Interment will follow at
Mount Hope Cemetery. To light a
candle in memory of John, or to
leave a condolence for his family,
go to www.grayswestco.com
FUNERALS PENDING
William L. Knight: A celebra-
tion of his life will take place
Saturday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. at
Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508
Fourth St. in La Grande. The fam-
ily prefers casual dress. Online
condolences may be made to the
family at www.loveland
funeralchapel.com
Evan Simonski-Davis: A
celebration of his life will take
place Saturday, Oct. 12, at 2
p.m. at the First Presbyterian
Church, 1995 Fourth St. in Baker
City. In lieu of fl owers, memorial
contributions can be made to the
YMCA through Gray’s West & Co.
Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.,
Baker City, OR 97814. To light a
candle in memory of Evan, or to
leave a condolence for his family,
go to www.grays
westco.com
William L. Knight: 85, of
North Powder, died Oct. 1, 2019, at
a local care facility. A celebration
of his life will take place Saturday,
Oct. 12, at 10 a.m. at Loveland
Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth St.
in La Grande. The family prefers
casual dress. A full obituary will
be published later.
Marjorie Ann Miller: Memo-
rial service will be Saturday, Oct.
12, at 2 p.m. at the North Powder
Grange. To light a candle in
memory of Marjorie, or to leave
a condolence for her family, go to
www.graywestco.com
Andy Dean Dennis: There
will be a celebration of his life
Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m. at the
Elkhorn Baptist Church, 3520 Birch
St. To light a candle for Andy or to
leave a condolence for the family,
go to www.grayswestco.com.
Casey Ingalls: A celebration
of Casey’s life and memorial
service will take place Saturday,
Oct. 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the Maxgiving Center, 7225
W. Franklin Road in Boise, with
a reception to follow. Memorial
contributions can be made to a
charity of one’s choice through
Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home
& Cremation Service, P.O. Box
543, Halfway, OR 97834.
POLICE LOG
Baker County Sheriff’s
Offi ce
VIOLATION OF RELEASE
AGREEMENT: Ty Darrius Helfrich,
20, 390 E. Jefferson St., Hun-
tington, 6:02 p.m. Thursday at E.
Jefferson and Fourth Streets in
Huntington; jailed.
PROBATION VIOLATION:
Bradley David Waldrop, 38, 1130
Dewey Ave., 8:04 a.m. Thursday at
the Baker County Jail, where he
was already in custody on proba-
tion violation charges.
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Umatilla
County warrant): Melissa Marian
Carey, 33, 2787 Third St., 9:51 a.m.
Thursday at the Sheriff’s Offi ce.
For information, contact your
nearest collection facility.
Union County ... City Garbage Service 3412 Hwy
30, La Grande 541.963.5459
Baker County ... Baker Sanitation 3048 Campbell
Street, Baker City 541.523.2626
Wallowa County ...
Wallowa County Public
Works 619 Marr Pond Ln,
Enterprise 541.426.3332