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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2019)
COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019 Auditions Nov. 7 and 9 for performance celebrating women getting right to vote ■ Baker City chapter of AAUW plans theater event in May 2020 By Lisa Britton For the Baker City Herald In 2020, the Baker City Chapter of AAUW will celebrate the 100th anni- versary of the 19th Amend- ment, which granted women the right to vote. To honor the women who helped pass that amend- ment, AAUW is planning performances of a reader’s theater where actors portray those who were active in women’s suffrage. But fi rst, they need actors. AAUW will hold open auditions at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7 and at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9 at Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre, 2101 Main St. A reader’s heater is a style in which the actors do not memorize their lines. Everyone in the commu- nity is invited to try out for a part in this theater event. Presentations will occur sometime in May 2020. The ratifi cation of the 19th Amendment was an impor- tant event in the political history of the United States. Darlene Scheler, a mem- ber of AAUW, provides these highlights of events leading up to the ratifi cation: • 1848: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the Seneca Falls convention to help women organize petitions and picket to win the vote. • 1878: an amendment for the right of women to vote was fi rst introduced to congress • 1919: On June 4 the right for women to vote in national elections was passed as the 19th amend- ment to the Constitution of the United States • 1920: On Aug. 18 the 19th amendment was ratifi ed giving women a legal right to vote. • The fi rst territorial legislature of the Wyoming Territory granted women the vote in 1869. On Sept. 6, 1870 Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming, became the fi rst woman to cast a vote in a general election. • Oregon was the 25th state to allow women to vote in general elections. On Jan. 20, 1920 Oregon ratifi ed the 19th amendment. Scheler said that in addition to voting rights, women’s suffrage battled economic oppression, sexual violence, and the law that made women little more than property of their hus- bands. L OCAL B RIEFING Matt Shirtcliff to be sworn in as Baker County Circuit judge Friday afternoon at the Courthouse cliff to replace Judge Greg Baxter, who retired Thursday. Baxter has served as Baker Coun- ty Circuit Court judge since Jan. 1, 2001. District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff will be Shirtcliff has worked in the District Attor- sworn in as Baker County Circuit Court judge ney’s Offi ce since 1994. He spent six years as during an investiture service Friday. a deputy district attorney under Baxter. It will begin at 3 p.m. in the Baker County He was fi rst elected district attorney in Circuit Courtroom at the Courthouse, 1995 2001 after Baxter moved into the judge’s Third St. position and has served fi ve terms in the Oregon Gov. Kate Brown appointed Shirt- position. DENIED Continued from Page 1A Nilsson said he agreed to accept the agreement that called for him to plead guilty to one count of third-degree criminal mischief, a Class C misdemeanor, with a second charge of criminal trespass- ing with a fi rearm, a Class A misdemeanor, to be dis- missed, on certain conditions. The charges arose from an Aug. 1, 2017, incident in which Nilsson and his friend, Ashley E. Schroder of Port- land, were both charged with trespassing at the abandoned, and since dismantled, cement plant at Lime. Nilsson also was charged with criminal mischief for painting graffi ti at the site. Sheriff’s Department offi - cers Gabe Maldonado and Jef Van Arsdall arrested the two and held them in handcuffs at the site for several hours, Nilsson says. “My entire life has been upturned and upended for something that amounted to a traffi c ticket,” he told Baxter. As a result of the incident and an August 2017 search of his home at 307 Hillcrest Drive, Nilsson has fi led a $1.3 million lawsuit against Baker County and Sheriff Travis Ash. Nilsson said he and Schroder should have been told to move on or even cited and released like others who stopped at Lime to view art- work painted on the decaying structures at the site. “I never considered com- mitting a crime at Lime,” he said. Nilsson told Baxter that he accepted the plea bargain because he believed at the time that a charge of second- degree criminal trespassing against Schroder would be dismissed. Instead, she was prosecuted and pleaded guilty to the charge through her attorney, Christopher Bocci of Salem. The crime was reduced from a Class C misdemeanor to a Class A violation and Schroder was fi ned $100. Nilsson stated that he also had understood that his time serving on the Baker City Council and the Public Arts Commission would satisfy the community service portion of his sentence and that his con- cealed weapons permit would be returned to him after the sentencing. Nilsson said District At- torney Matt Shirtcliff refused to accept the time he spent on City Council and on the Arts Commission and instead issued an order for Nilsson to show why he was not in viola- tion of his probation agree- ment for not completing his public service requirement. And Sheriff Ash declined to reinstate his concealed weap- ons permit, citing Oregon law, which prohibits the sheriff from issuing a permit to a person convicted of any crime for four years. “I was talked into pleading guilty based on a sham,” Nils- son told Baxter. At the Nov. 20, 2018, sen- tencing, Nilsson was placed on a year’s probation with a 30-day jail sentence to be suspended upon successful completion of probation. He was fi ned $150, ordered to complete 50 hours of com- munity service work and was ordered to forfeit paint and stencils seized in the case. District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said he disagreed with “quite a bit” of the claims Nilsson made regarding the plea agreement. Shirtcliff said Nilsson had a right to a jury trial, although Nilsson told Baxter Monday he was advised against pur- suing one. Baxter explained that he had no authority to make any changes to Nilsson’s convic- tion at this point. Baxter told Nilsson, who represented himself in Mon- day’s proceedings but who was represented by attorney Philip Wasley of La Grande during the November 2018 sentencing, that the proper way to approach the issue would have been to appeal the conviction. The deadline for that action has passed, Baxter said. “I know what you are asking for,” the judge said. “I don’t have the authority to grant it.” Baxter also denied Nils- son’s request to order the Sheriff’s Department to return the paint and stencils confi scated during the search of his property. Best Friends of Baker Saturday Market Open EVERY Saturday 8 AM - 2 PM COME IN COSTUME AND RECEIVE 10% OFF! 2950 Church St, Baker City (fi rst left after Broadway turns into 10th) We accept debit, credit, cash & checks! Donations accepted Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays 9-1 (All proceeds benefi t the animals of Baker County) BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A CELEBRATE Continued from Page 1A That event happens Friday, Nov. 1, to observe Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. This holiday originated in Mexico and Central America as a time to remember loved ones who had passed away. The Day of the Dead is marked with food, drink, music and parties. Accord- ing to National Geographic, “On Dia de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones.” Baker City’s celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. at Baker High School. Guests enter through the west doors near the gymnasium. Tokens will be sold for $1 to sample a variety of Latino foods including po- sole, mole, rice, beans, pico de gallo (Wirth’s mother’s recipe using cactus), corn tortillas, and arroz con leche (a sweet treat with rice and milk). “These are all traditional Day of the Dead foods,” Wirth said. Seven dozen tamales will be raffl ed off during the event. Music will be provided by a mariachi band from Pasco, and many will be dressed in traditional at- tire — colorful dresses for the girls, elaborate cowboy outfi ts for the boys. A large part of Dia de los Muertos is an ofrenda, which is an altar honoring the deceased with photos, mementos, fl owers, and food. The classroom ofren- das created at South Baker will be on display in the hallway, and everyone is welcome to add items to a large community ofrenda to be built during the celebra- tion. Photo journals featuring portraits and stories of local Latino families will also be “Our own Latino children are forgetting their heritage. I want them to be proud of it. It’s so fulfi lling to be reminded of where you come from, to cherish and honor it. My culture is do deep and rich — I’m glad we haven’t completely lost it.” — Ma’lena Wirth, ESL liaison, Baker School District “Think of things your parents love,” she said. “These are things impor- tant to them. Not you — them.” Ofrendas also include fl owers (marigolds are the tradition), food, water, and Creating a Tradition a source of light. This is the fourth year “We always have light on that South Baker sixth- the ofrenda. My mom and graders celebrated His- dad’s never goes out,” she panic Heritage Month. It said. was a project orchestrated When she was young, by Wirth and former sixth- she told the students, her grade teacher Mandie family dedicated an entire Rose. room to the family ofrenda. It is a chance, Wirth “When I had a rough day, said, for children to learn I’d sleep in there,” she said. about another culture “I could talk to my grand- while encouraging Latino ma, my aunts, my uncles.” students to celebrate their While there can be ele- own history. ments of sadness, Dia de “Our own Latino chil- los Muertos is more of a dren are forgetting their happy time to remember heritage,” Wirth said. “I loved ones. want them to be proud of it “It’s so fulfi lling to be and to understand where reminded of where you they come from.” come from, to cherish and Each Thursday in Octo- honor it,” she said. “My ber featured an assembly culture is so deep and rich for the sixth-grade classes — I’m glad we haven’t lost at SBI. it completely.” At the fi rst, local The Oct. 24 assembly youth presented a mock featured traditional dress Quinceanera, which and the history behind the celebrates a girl’s 15th garments. birthday to honor the For the fi nal assembly transition from girlhood to on Oct. 31, Latino students womanhood. will have their faces paint- Students from the ad- ed for Dia de los Muertos. vanced art class at Baker This tradition features High School presented stark white faces made to Hispanic-themed art on look like a skeleton and Oct. 10. These creations accented with bright colors. will be on display during The sixth-graders will also the Dia de los Muertos receive a copy of the book celebration. “Family Pictures,” pur- On Oct. 17, Wirth built chased with a grant from an ofrenda and explained Oregon Humanities. the tradition. She added The Hispanic heritage photographs of her mother events were also funded and father, along with by a grant from the Reser items special to them. Foundation. on display in the commons. This project was sponsored by the Ford Family Founda- tion. 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