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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2019)
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A L OCAL B RIEFING Al-Anon Support Group forming TREE Hatch said OTEC offi cials told her the tree was fi ne. Continued from Page 1A But they also alerted her — Iliene Hatch, who donated to the Community Christ- The tree, now standing a Sitka spruce as Baker City’s mas Tree program, in which in its customary spot in the Court Avenue Plaza between Community Christmas Tree residents offer a tree. Main and Resort streets, Hatch, who said the will be illuminated after the home at Cliff and Grove spruce’s roots had buckled Christmas parade on Satur- streets. sections of the concrete drive- day, Dec. 7. Hatch, who grew up in way that leads to her carport, “I think that is an absolute- John Day and moved to was intrigued. ly amazing thing to happen,” Baker City in August, said She decided the tree was Hatch said. “I offered the tree she only learned by happen- too tall for her 100-foot by as a community gesture.” stance about the Community 100-foot lot — particularly When she learned recently Christmas Tree program, since the property also boasts that offi cials from the city and which dates to the 1990s. a blue spruce of similar pro- Oregon Trail Electric Coop- Hatch, 67, whose mother, portions. erative had picked her spruce, Delores (Martin) Stull was Hatch did have one condi- Hatch said she was ecstatic. born in Baker City in 1928, tion for her donation — she “I did the happy dance and said she initially called asked OTEC to leave a clapped my hands,” she said. OTEC because she was stump of 12 to 14 feet high. OTEC donated employees’ concerned that the spruce That will serve as the foun- time and the use of its trucks might pose a threat to nearby dation for a treehouse that and other equipment to cut power lines. Hatch and her husband, Bill, the spruce Saturday morn- (Delores, who’s 90, lives at plan to build this spring for ing and haul it from Hatch’s Klamath Falls.) granddaughters Kori, 7, and her sister, Charlie, 13, who live in John Day. “I have all winter to design it,” Hatch said of the tree- house. She said she spoke with her daughter-in-law Sunday morning to let her grand- daughters know when the tree-lighting would happen so they can attend and enjoy the tree that used to stand where their treehouse will be built. Hatch, who lived at Kuna, Idaho, for 31 years, said she’s pleased to be back in her na- tive Eastern Oregon. Although she grew up in John Day she visited Baker City often, as her aunt and uncle owned a ranch at Weatherby. Hatch vividly remembers stopping in Baker City to buy a bag of warm cashews. FORESTS Forester Glenn Casamassa announced in March 2019 that the Forest Service was scrapping the proposed Blue Mountains Forest Plan Revision, which includes the Umatilla, Wallowa-Whitman and Malheur. A fi nal draft of the plans had been released in June 2018. It was not the fi rst time the Blue Mountain Forest Plan had been paused. A draft version of the plans was completed in 2014, and received so much backlash that local forest supervisors decided to develop new plan alternatives. Owens said after so many stops and starts in develop- ing cohesive forest plans, he’s optimistic that this is the time to fi nally get the process right. “I believe this is a great opportunity to hopefully redesign how land manage- ment plans are done. Figur- ing out how to include more public participation and more transparency,” he said. “I’m excited. I don’t feel that this process had been done before and that partnering with the Forest Service and making sure our public voices are heard I believe we’ll be suc- cessful in having a plan that can meet the social, economic and ecological needs of our communities in the forest.” “I offered the tree as a community gesture.” Continued from Page 1A “The underlying intent is to ensure that we can develop plans for the three national forests that would provide the opportunity for durable rela- tionships with our communi- ties and to make an important difference on the landscape for the long term,” said Eric Wa- trud, the forest supervisor on the Umatilla National Forest. The three forest plans — which together total more than 5,000 pages — contain guidelines for everything from grazing and timber harvest to wilderness protections. Forest plans are due to be revised every 10 to 15 years to account for changes in the landscape and to keep up with the latest science. The current Blue Mountains forest plans, which were last updated in 1990, remain in effect. “The 1990 plan is continu- ing to work, but this is an op- portunity to update something that was developed very well, but almost 30 years ago, and to bring that literally into the 21st century,” Watrud said. Watrud said the council includes state and county representatives in Oregon and Washington, four treaty tribes and regulatory agencies, in ad- dition to the Forest Service. “(The BIC) is specifi cally just Eastern Oregon coun- ties with the Forest Service co-convening, because we’re the ones that work together to come up with this process, and we’re inviting the Washington counties that are affected by the Blue Mountains and government agencies that are affected by the Blue Mountain Plan, said Mark Owens, a Harney County Commissioner and a member of the BIC. Bill Harvey, chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners, said he is “very cautiously optimistic” that the Forest Service’s new approach will result in revised forest plans that are “workable” for Eastern Oregon counties. “There is some great oppor- tunity here,” Harvey said. “I hope we don’t squander it.” Both Watrud and Owens are hopeful that the BIC will allow for more collabora- tion between agencies and more input from residents, something they believe was lacking in other drafts of the forest plans. “(Residents will) actually have more of an opportu- nity being able to work with their county commissioners because the county commis- sioners will understand in real-time the plan develop- ment and everything will be transparent,” Owens said. “The county commissioners can then share that with our constituents. We can take advice from our constituents and we can bring it to the monthly meetings.” Owens said other efforts to get input from governmental agencies and take public comment from residents seemed to be like a game of “telephone,” where once a comment was made and went through the various channels, it was never the same at the end of the process. “I believe having a fo- rum where we can all work together monthly, review how the plan is being created and designed that we will have an informed consent,” Owens said. “We are not going to get consensus on every aspect of the plan, but I think we will end up with a plan that our communities can support and work with.” Watrud said the BIC meetings, which will start in December, are intended to be as inclusive as possible. “The attempt here is to create just a more open, inclusive approach where the Forest Service is working closely with our communities in order to make sure that we are developing a plan that is gonna stand the test of time,” he said. “We have the respon- sibility of stewarding the management of these three national forests, which are a national and local treasure. And so there’s a tremendous amount of interest, and our intent is to make sure that we’re incorporating that feedback, incorporating those ideas and local suggestions in order to make sure that we accomplish that goal.” Northwest Regional George Plaven of the Capital Press, and Jayson Jacoby of the Baker City Herald contributed to this story. H EART TO H EART Support available locally to curb compulsive eating November and December are the months of celebrating holidays with special meals. These feasting times usu- ally have lots of recipes with plenty of calories and sweet desserts. Enjoying food together can bring hap- piness, but there are some people who eat constantly and recognize that they have cravings which drive them to over- eat. Other people will binge during their meals and then use unhealthy ways to avoid getting overweight. Compulsive eating, bulimia and anorexia are more of a problem than might be recognized. The members of Overeaters Anony- mous have experienced many eating disorders. As they apply the suggested 12-step program, they are able to eat in a healthy way and maintain a healthy weight. During meetings they share how “Paris is always a good idea.” they are dealing with life without return- ing to the compulsive food behaviors. To learn more, use the website OA.org. There are face-to-face meetings and other virtual meetings available. Local meetings are listed in the Baker City Herald’s classifi eds. For local information call 541-523-5128, or email to ecapoa@ live.com Barbara Schimke Baker City Elkhorn Denture Service Denture or Partial Questions? - Audrey Hepburn Come see us for a free consultation. Baker Valley Travel FINANCING AVAILABLE. 541 • 523 • 9353 877 • 550 • 9353 bvtravel@live.com Serious speed! 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Nest®, Nest Learning Thermostat™, Nest Protect™, Nest Cam™ and the Nest logo are trademarks or service marks of Nest Labs, Inc. ©2017 Frontier Communications Corporation Admission will be free for all visitors to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center during December. The Center, operated by the BLM, is about 5 miles east of Baker City off Highway 86. The Center will shift to its winter schedule, open Thursday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting Dec. 2. A ranger-led tour will be offered at 2 p.m. daily to give additional insight into the lives of people who traveled on the Oregon Trail. Pioneer skills will be demonstrated at 11 a.m. on Fridays and Sundays, including candle-dipping, rag doll tying and other pioneer crafts. At any time, youngsters and the young at heart who fulfi ll the Junior Ranger challenge by completing fun activities while exploring the exhibits can take the Wagon Master’s Pledge at the end and receive a prize. Only a few weeks are left to explore “Uncanny Tales along the Oregon Trail” in the Flagstaff Gallery, highlighting the folklore that sprung up around the pioneer experience, and the role these tales play in the history of the Oregon Trail. This exhibit will close Dec. 20. For a complete schedule of events and activities at the center, call 541-523-1843 or go to oregontrail.blm. gov POTLUCK Continued from Page 1A That question prompted Seacord, and the dozen or so other artists with studios at Churchill, to plan the inaugural NE Oregon Regional Thanksgiving Day Gathering & Potluck at the Churchill School Dance- hall, at Broadway and 16th streets. Brian and Corrine Vegter of Baker City bought the 93-year-old building in 2018. Everyone is welcome to attend the event, which is planned from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 28. The school’s parking lot is off 16th Street just south of Broadway. A suggested donation of $3 to $5 per person, to support the Churchill School Art Center, would be ap- preciated. “The whole point is the community coming together to be grateful for the chance to come together,” Seacord said. “Not everyone has a place to go.” He hopes to remind people that that’s not actually the cause. Seacord invites attendees to bring a dish — both the vegetarian and the omnivore are welcome, according to a fl ier advertising the event — to share as part of the potluck feast. “Nobody’s going to be turned away,” Seacord said. “The idea is you come with your offering, whatever you have made with love.” The fl ier suggests people “kindly consider NOT bringing commercially prepared dishes” and to “please create a label card of your ingredients.” In addition to the meal, the event is slated to include: • Emcee-facilitated social mixing games • A planetary peace healing ceremony • Impromptu open-mic talent show of musicians and poets More information about the Thanksgiving gathering is available by calling 541-820-3633. Other local Thanksgiving events: • Calvary Baptist Church, at Third and Broadway streets in Baker City, will offer a free turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day at 3 p.m. • Thanksgiving dinner at the New Bridge Grange, about 3 miles north of Richland, at noon. In addition to a dinner provided by the Grange featuring turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy, everyone is invited to bring a side dish and dessert, and then stay after dinner for games including pinochle, dominoes, Yahtzee, Monopo- ly and other games that participants bring. 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All other marks are the property of their respective owners AM - 2 PM Lunch includes Salad Bar, Entree, Grilled Bread, Baked Bean & Vegetable 221 Bridge Street • 541-523-5844 Open Daily 6 AM - 8 PM 2535 25 35 M Myrtle yr tl tle l e St S St. t • Bak B Baker a ker k e r City Cit ty Ci ty Save with Frontier Internet Bundles Simply Broadband Max Oregon Trail Interpretive Center offers free admission for all during December Go to our website at www.elkhorndenture.com to purchase Sparkle Denture Cleaner (541) 523.4747 or 1(877) 523.4747 Bundle and save today A local Al-Anon support group will have its fi rst meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 4, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Baker County Library, 2400 Resort St. Al-Anon is a support group for people who are worried about someone who has a drinking problem. The local group will meet Wednesdays at the same time and place. There will not be meetings on Christ- mas Day or New Year’s Day. More information is available by calling 509-420- 0010. Sunday 8 AM - 11 AM Sunday Buffet includes Chocolate Fountain
