6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2019
GOAL: RESTORE AMTRAK TO EASTERN OREGON
Train fans gather
By Dick Mason
The (La Grande) Observer
LA GRANDE
— Cook Memorial
Library’s community
room was prob-
ably as crowded late
Saturday morning
as the Union Pacifi c
Railroad depot in La
Grande was on Sept.
27, 1937, when people
waited there for the
train carrying Presi-
dent Franklin Delano
Dick Mason / The (La Grande) Observer
Roosevelt to arrive.
Jon Nuxoll, president of the Association of Oregon and
FDR was asleep
Transit Advocates, speaks at the start of Saturday’s East-
when his train
stopped in La Grande ern Oregon Rail Summit in La Grande.
around 12:30 a.m.,
but First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt ap-
west a day. Twenty-two years ago, at
peared and spoke briefl y to the crowd.
least two westbound and two eastbound
Few, if any, of the more than 100 people buses made daily stops in La Grande and
at La Grande’s library Saturday were the Baker City.
same ones who saw FDR’s train arrive
Nuxoll would like to see as much of the
in 1937, but many lived here when La
Pioneer route, which ran from Portland
Grande had passenger train service. The to Salt Lake City, restored as possible.
desire to see passenger rail service return However, he said it is more realistic to
to Northeast Oregon is what drew the
start small by fi rst attempting to restore
crowd to Saturday’s Eastern Oregon Rail the Portland to Boise route.
meeting.
The Association of Oregon Rail and
Those in the audience included an indi- Transit Advocates president said when
vidual who wrote on a display paper ask- people speak up to support Amtrak, they
ing people why people want passenger
need to address one of its most common
train service: “I’m 79 — don’t know how
criticisms — that it’s subsidized. Nuxoll
much longer I can drive long distances.
called that a weak and unfair argument
I need to travel monthly to Boise and
because all modern transportation re-
Portland.”
ceives substantial government funding.
This 79-year-old and many others
Nuxoll said the best way to get mem-
learned how their dream could become
bers of Congress to look into expanding
reality during a presentation by the all-
Amtrak routes is for city councils and
volunteer nonprofi t Association of Oregon county commissions to pass resolutions
Rail and Transit Advocates, with help
supporting local and regional passenger
from All Aboard Washington. The associa- rail service. When senators and members
tion would like to revive at least the Port- of Congress learn of the resolutions, they
land to Boise portion of the old Amtrak
will know the people they represent want
Pioneer route, which was discontinued in passenger trains to return.
1997 due to budget cuts.
Mark Meyer of Portland, an association
“We need your help if (the return
board member, said he believes there is
of passenger train service) is going to
strong bipartisan support in Congress for
happen. It will be a longer term effort,”
expanding Amtrak.
said association President Joe Nuxoll of
Many of those attending the meeting
Eugene.
said they miss passenger train service, and
The need for passenger train service
the atmosphere in the library’s community
in Northeast Oregon is greater now than room was one of hope and excitement.
it was in 1997, Nuxoll said. A big reason:
“You have priceless enthusiasm,” said
Greyhound now provides one scheduled
Louis Musso, a member of All Aboard
bus route traveling east and one going
Washington.
Baker volleyball travels to Junction City for playoff match
The Bulldogs, who fi nished second in the Greater Oregon League, will play Saturday, Nov.
2, at Junction City, near Eugene. Time for the match hadn’t been set this morning.
WORLD SERIES GAME 6
Nationals top Astros, 7-2,
deciding Game 7 tonight
■ First World Series in which road team won the first 6 games
By Ronald Blum
AP Baseball Writer
HOUSTON — It’s been
an unconventional road to
Game 7 of the World Series for
Stephen Strasburg and the
Washington Nationals.
Seizing the October spot-
light he missed out on as a
youngster, Strasburg pitched
another postseason gem into
the ninth inning Tuesday
night as the Nationals beat the
Houston Astros 7-2 to tie this
Fall Classic at 3-3.
Juan Soto ran all the way
to fi rst base with his bat fol-
lowing a go-ahead homer, the
same way Houston slugger
Alex Bregman did earlier.
Yep, these wild-card Nation-
als have matched the heav-
ily favored Astros swing for
swing, hit for hit — even home
run celebration for home run
celebration.
Now, it’s onto a winner-take-
all Game 7 on Wednesday
night to decide the only Series
in which the visiting team won
the fi rst six.
“It’s weird, really. You can’t
explain it,” Washington man-
ager Dave Martinez said.
Adam Eaton and Soto
hit solo homers off Justin
Verlander in the fi fth to help
the Nationals overcome a 2-1
defi cit. Anthony Rendon also
went deep and drove in fi ve
runs.
Verlander dropped to 0-6
with a 5.68 ERA in seven
Series starts, a blemish on his
otherwise sterling career.
“Maybe they enjoy our
park and maybe we enjoy
their park,” said Rendon,
who attended high school 4½
miles from Minute Maid Park.
“We’re not going to ask ques-
tions.”
Max Scherzer, revitalized
by an injection of painkiller,
is primed to return from an
irritated nerve in his neck to
start Game 7 for Washington
in a Series that’s been all road,
sweet, road.
Scratched from his sched-
uled Game 5 start only
hours before the fi rst pitch,
Scherzer was warming up in
the seventh inning Tuesday
before Rendon’s homer, then
sat down as Martinez became
the fi rst manager tossed from
a Series game since Atlanta’s
Bobby Cox in 1996.
“The cortisone shot worked.
That relieved the pressure
on the nerve, and then keep
applying heat,” Scherzer said.
“Our chiropractor, he does
amazing work. He was able to
go in there and make adjust-
ments. We did two treatments
of it and really freed up the
neck.”
Zack Greinke will start for
the Astros, who led the majors
with 107 wins and are seek-
ing their second title in three
seasons.
“I wish it was in a National
League park,” Greinke joked,
cracking a smile about his af-
fi nity for hitting.
Fired up after a disputed
call at fi rst base went against
them in the seventh, the
Nationals padded their lead
moments later when Rendon
hit a two-run homer off Will
Harris. Martinez, still enraged
at umpires, was ejected during
the seventh-inning stretch,
screaming as a pair of his
coaches held him back while
the crowd sang along to “Deep
in the Heart of Texas.”
Rendon added a two-run
double off Chris Devenski in
the ninth to just about seal
it after Strasburg gutted
through without his best
fastball to throw fi ve-hit ball
for 8 1/3 innings. Washington
pitching coach Paul Menhart
told Strasburg after the fi rst
that he was tipping pitches.
Strasburg allowed only three
more hits.
“Started shaking my glove,
so they didn’t know what I was
throwing,” Strasburg said. “It’s
something that has burned me
in the past, and it burned me
there in the fi rst.”
Visiting teams have won
three straight Game 7s in the
Series since the Cardinals de-
feated Texas at home in 2011.
Spurs hold off Blazers’ rally
■ Damian Lillard scores 18 straight points as Portland erases
15-point deficit, but his 3-pointer at the buzzer goes in and out
night to remain undefeated.
San Antonio is 3-0 for the
SAN ANTONIO — Port-
eighth time in its 43-year his-
land point guard Damian Lil- tory, but this outcome was in
lard refused to give up when doubt until Lillard’s 3-pointer
all seemed lost, and nearly
from the right corner bounced
willed the Trail Blazers to an in and out as time expired.
improbable win over the San
“We were on him,” Spurs
Antonio Spurs.
coach Gregg Popovich said.
DeMar DeRozan scored
“He made shots. He drove it
27 points and San Antonio
too easily, that’s for sure. We
overcame a sluggish start and didn’t stay in front of him
Lillard’s hot fi nish to beat
very well down the stretch,
Portland 113-110 Monday
but he’s a great player. He put
By Raul Dominguez
Associated Press
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it on himself to just take it
and attack the rim and he did
and we didn’t stay in front of
him very well.”
Lillard had 28 points,
including 18 straight in the fi -
nal four minutes, as Portland
erased a 15-point defi cit. The
6-foot-3 guard was limited to
10 points on 3-for-16 shooting
through three quarters before
going 6 for 12 in the fourth.
“I’m not going to shy away
because of that or try to go
away and say, ‘Alright, it’s just
not my night,’ ” Lillard said.
“I’m going to empty it and I’m
going to go out swinging.”
He almost took down San
Antonio by himself.
The Spurs seemed poised
for a comfortable win after
narrow victories against New
York and Washington, but
nearly let the game get away
by closing out the contest as
sloppily as they opened.
Lillard took the Blazers on
an 18-2 run, capped by a pair
of 3s to close within 107-104
with 1:57 remaining. A dunk
by Lillard cut the margin to a
point, 109-108, with 1:10 left.
Lillard and Anthony Tolliver
missed consecutive 3-point at-
tempts with Portland trailing
113-100. DeRozan missed a
pair of free throws, setting up
Lillard’s fi nal shot.
“You can never count a guy
like Damian out,” DeRozan
said. “He could get it going
and missed shots are not go-
ing to deter him from trying
to get it going. You’ve got to
be aware and he got it going.
Thank God we got bailed out.”
CJ McCollum added 27
points for the Blazers (2-2).
Derrick White added 21
points, LaMarcus Aldridge
had 15 and Bryn Forbes 14.