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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2019)
WEDNESDAY BLAZERS, BEAVERS LOSE; OREGON DUCKS HOLD OF MEMPHIS: PAGE 5A In LOCAL, 6A Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com November 13, 2019 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Steven Ritter of Baker City. Community, 3A Carmen Ott wants to fi nd a loving home for every dog that comes her way, but sometimes that’s not the hardest part. Just getting the dog can be the bigger challenge. Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 Baker City Council Agrees To Explore Potential Train Quiet Zone Whistle Worries BRIEFING Pet supply collection drive under way PayneWest Insurance is having a pet supply collection drive for Best Friends of Baker through Dec. 13. People can drop off adult dog and cat food (wet or dry), dry kitten and dry puppy food, kitty litter and kitten milk replace- ment powder and nursing bottles at PayneWest, at 2001 Main St. (corner of Main Street and Washing- ton Avenue). Garden Club meets November 20 The Baker County Garden Club will meet Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 10:30 a.m. in the back meeting room at the Com- munity Connection Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St. Members will be planting paperwhites, so please bring containers. They will also be discussing the upcoming bazaar. Lunch is $4.50 for seniors, $6.75 for non-seniors. WEATHER Today 54 / 26 Partly sunny Thursday 56 / 25 Partly sunny The space below will be blank on issues delivered or sold from boxes. The space is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. More on Hells Canyon crash Former owner charged with theft from business By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com S. John Collins / Baker City Herald fi le photo A Union Pacifi c freight train passing by South Baker Intermediate School. of the group promoting a quiet zone, Neighbors for a Safer, Quieter and More than 50 people who support Healthier Baker City, presented a a proposal to stop freight trains from slideshow explaining what a Quiet blowing their whistles at crossings Zone is, and listing ways that train in Baker City made their case to the whistles can affect people. They City Council Tuesday night. focused mainly on students at South Councilors voted 6-0 to direct city Baker Intermediate School, which is staff to fi le a notice of intent to apply next to the railroad tracks. for a Quiet Zone designation. Anna Fargo, who’s also a member There is no cost to fi le the notice of of the group, discussed the health ef- intent, and it doesn’t obligate the city fects of train whistles. They can reach to fi le an application. 110 decibels, she said, and the World Dennis Dougherty and Peter Fargo, Health Organization recommends Baker City residents and members 54 decibels “to avoid adverse health By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com impacts” and “44 (decibels) at night for good sleep.” Quiet Zone advocates submitted a petition signed by more than 230 residents, as well as several letters in support of the proposal. Carrie Folkman, owner of Moun- tain View RV Park on Hughes Lane, submitted a letter and she also spoke to councilors Tuesday. In her letter, Folkman wrote that some of her guests, in online reviews, wrote that they were bothered by train whistles. See Whistles/Page 6A Council sells industrial land A former Baker City man was arraigned Tuesday in Baker County Circuit Court on charges of steal- ing money from Beehive Homes of Baker City, which he co-owned for about 3fi years. Jeremy Gale Thamert, 48, of Prinev- ille, has been charged with two counts of Thamert fi rst-degree theft. The case is being han- dled by Deputy Attorney General Kurt Miller, who is serving as a special deputy district attorney for Baker County. Thamert and his former wife, Traci, were business partners with Robert Whit- nah and his former wife, Krischele Whitnah. See Arrest/Page 3A By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com Sumpter employee hearings Friday The Baker City Council agreed Tuesday to sell 14.28 acres in the Elkhorn View Industrial Park to Simplot AB Retail Inc., which plans to build a fertilizer storage and dis- tribution plant on the site. The company will not be producing fertilizer on the property, said Paul Simpson, an operations manager for Simplot. S. John Collins / Baker City Herald Simplot is buying 14.28 acres in the Elkhorn View Industrial Park. This view is east See Council/Page 6A across the city-owned parcel, with Marvin Wood Products in the background. Retired Army Chaplain And Iraq War Veteran Speaks At The Courthouse Witness to the horrors of war By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com A bright Monday morn- ing greeted a group of vet- erans, their families, and civilians who gathered outside the Baker County Courthouse for a Veterans Day ceremony. The event took place in front of the monument that has plaques listing Baker County veterans who were killed during wartime. Duncan Pierce, com- mander of the Baker American Legion Post 41, played a portion of Reveille, led an opening prayer, and introduced guest speaker Army Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Perry Schmitt, retired, who served in Iraq. See Veterans/Page 3A TODAY Issue 80, 22 pages S. John Collins / Baker City Herald At the Veterans Day service Monday morning, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Perry Schmitt (retired) from Salt Lake City, spoke about the tragedies of war he witnessed personally during his tours in the Desert Storm confl icts. Business ...........1B & 2B Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 3B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........5B & 6B Dear Abby ................. 8B Horoscope ........5B & 6B Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A The Sumpter City Council has rescheduled for Friday a public meet- ing during which three city employees on paid leave since this spring will have a chance to defend their job performance. The hearings were origi- nally scheduled for Nov 7. Sumpter City Recorder Julie McKinney and Public Works Director Jeff McKin- ney (who is Julie McKin- ney’s husband) have been on paid leave since June 14, and assistant city recorder and bookkeeper LeAnne Woolf has been on paid leave since May 14. Sumpter Mayor Greg Lucas said Woolf’s hearing will start at 2 p.m., followed by the McKinneys, who will go before the Council separately. Each employee chose to have the discussion take place during a public ses- sion, rather than during an executive session that’s closed to the public as Oregon law allows. Lucas said it’s possible, but not certain, that the Council will take action on the three employees’ status following the hearings. Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................5A Weather ..................... 8B FRIDAY — PREVIEWING BAKER’S PLAYOFF FOOTBALL GAME AT BANKS
