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Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
December 27, 2019
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A special good day to
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Wright of Baker City.
Oregon, 5A
BEND — Prowell
Springs is known to many
Bend residents as an
integral water source for
their city. But look on any
offi cial map and the site is
labeled simply “spring.”
That could change soon
as the unoffi cial name of
the spring may soon get
statewide recognition. On
Monday the Deschutes
County Commission
agreed to recommend the
name to the Oregon Geo-
graphic Names Board.
The name of the spring
is derived from Roger
Prowell, a Baker City na-
tive who worked for the
city of Bend water division
for 24 years, channeling
much of his energy into
protecting Bend’s munici-
pal watershed, including
the springs.
Powder River Correctional Facility Turns 30 Years Old
A Major Milestone
WEATHER
Today
33 / 22
Partly cloudy
Saturday
36 / 26
Partly cloudy
Sunday
36 / 26
Partly cloudy
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.
Police
nab
‘porch
pirate’
suspects
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Vacancy on Baker
City Council
Baker City residents
interested in serving on
the City Council have until
4 p.m. on Jan. 6 to submit
an application. To apply, go
to www.bakercity.com and
download the City Coun-
cilor application. Submit
the application and a letter
of interest to Katie LaFavor
at City Hall, 1655 First St.
Fat-tired
bicycling
benefits
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Justin Phlaum, right, helps oversee the food service area at the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker
City.
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
See 30 Years/Page 3A
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
James Simpson is the longest-tenured employee at the Powder River Cor-
rectional Facility in Baker City. Simpson, a correctional offi cer, started work
in February 1990, three months after the prison opened.
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Correctional offi cer James Simpson walks between tables during a recent lunch period at the Powder River
Correctional Facility in Baker City.
TODAY
Issue 108, 16 pages
See Arrests/Page 2A
State
Senate
seat to
be filled
Jan. 6
By Jayson Jacoby
Debi Geddes’ workplace
sprawls across 9 acres inside
the Baker City limits but she
still comes across residents who
couldn’t pinpoint the place on a
map.
And occasionally Geddes
meets someone who is surprised
when she names her employer.
“Some people
don’t even know it’s
here,” said Geddes,
the correctional
rehabilitation man-
ager/administrative
Geddes
services manager
at the Powder River
Correctional Facility.
The minimum-security prison,
at 3600 13th St. in northwest
Baker City, not only is among the
larger operations in town, with
several buildings and a conspicu-
ous 12-foot-high perimeter fence
topped with coils of razor wire.
It’s also a venerable one.
Powder River recently
celebrated its 30th birthday. It
opened Nov. 9, 1989, and was
dedicated six days later by Or-
egon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt.
Baker City Police cited
three suspects on Christ-
mas Eve as part of an
investigation into a series
of “porch pirate” thefts of
packages from local homes.
Eliannah Elise Banister,
22, whom police listed as
a transient, was cited for
mail theft, a Class C felony,
along with two male juve-
niles, ages 15 and 16.
Police believe the trio
took packages from at
least two homes, Police
Chief Ray Duman said this
morning.
Offi cers recovered a few
items as well as packaging
from one of the suspects’
homes, Duman said.
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 3B-8B
Comics ....................... 9B
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........6B & 8B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Horoscope ........7B & 8B
Jayson Jacoby ..........4A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Outdoors ............. 1B-2B
Republican Party of-
fi cials from Baker County
and 10 other counties are
slated to meet Jan. 4 in
John Day to nominate
candidates to replace Cliff
Bentz, state senator for
District 30 who is resigning
Jan. 2 to run for Congress.
Elected commission-
ers from each of the 11
counties in District 30 are
scheduled to convene Jan.
6 in Ontario to pick Bentz’s
successor from among the
GOP nominees.
Bentz, a Republican from
Ontario, hopes to replace
Rep. Greg Walden, who
announced in late October
that he would not seek
another term representing
Oregon’s Second Congres-
sional District. Walden’s
current two-year term
expires at the end of 2020.
The process for replacing
a state lawmaker involves
two steps.
First, precinct committee
members from the party
of the departing legislator
— Republicans, in Bentz’s
case — meet to nominate
candidates.
Suzan Ellis Jones,
chair of the Baker County
Republican Party, said
the GOP plans to pick
three candidates when it
convenes on Jan. 4 at the
Grant County Airport in
John Day.
See Senate/Page 5A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports ........................6A
Weather ..................... 8B
MONDAY — 14-PAGE SECTION FEATURING TOP LOCAL STORIES OF 2019