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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2020)
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2020 What’s New At The Library • 2400 Resort St. FICTION • “The Museum of Desire,” Jonathan Keller- man • “Golden in Death,” J. D. Robb • “Crooked River,” Douglas Preston and Lee Child • “Song of the Risen God,” R. A. Salvatore • “Out of the Attic,” V. C. Andrews NONFICTION • “Bowhunting Mod- ern Elk,” Patrick Meitin • “60 Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure,” Robert Lesslie • “On Call in the Arc- tic,” Thomas Sims • “The Desert and the Sea,” Michael Scott Moore • “Kangaroo Squad- ron,” Bruce Gamble DVDS • “Dogman” (Drama) • “Killing For Love” (Documentary) • “Judy” (Drama) • “PBS Masterpiece: The Mystery of Edwin Drood” (Drama) • “Unlocked” (Action) QUIET Continued from Page 1A The city would have to revamp those crossings to qualify for a Quiet Zone designation. The tables also included comment cards for residents to fi ll out. City offi cials scheduled the open house to gather com- ments from citizens before fi ling a notice of intent to ap- ply for a Quiet Zone, some- thing the City Council voted in November to authorize. There’s no cost to fi le the application, and it wouldn’t obligate the city to take any further action. Those attending Thursday voiced their concerns about health effects of the train horns for residents and for children at South Baker Intermediate School, which is adjacent to the tracks. “We started this a number of years ago and we’ve had a new resurgence of a lot of FORECAST Continued from Page 1A Austin said those offi ces can notify fi re crews of poten- tial places that could spark off and start a wildfi re. During a stint with the NWS in Oklahoma, he saw that tech in action. “It was updating so quickly you could see the hot spots spread as the fi re was spread- ing,” he said. The enormous white ball atop the red platform outside the Pendleton offi ce houses the other major technology — dual-polarization Doppler radar. The Weather Service in 2011 upgraded the Pendleton station’s radar to dual-pol, which sends out signals horizontally and vertically to create a three-dimensional image of weather systems and can detect rain and snow and wind direction, and in July 2019 the radar got an- other update. “Now it can actually pulse and listen at the same time,” Austin said. Faster data, again, is better. Computing and modeling The National Weather Ser- vice has 122 forecast offi ces nationwide, with three in Or- egon — Pendleton, Portland and Medford. Each offi ce’s area of responsibility is based in part on its Doppler radar coverage. Local offi ces also can use radar from surround- ing stations to provide a more complete weather picture. BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A COMMUNITY JUBILEE Although the contract in question is for visitors ser- vices, Cutler said the $76,606 annual payment allows the Chamber of Commerce to em- ploy one full-time employee at the visitors center and covers half of Cutler’s full-time posi- tion. If the Chamber loses that contract, it would have to close the visitors center and also reduce her position to half time. That’s not enough time for the Chamber to continue to oversee Miners Jubilee and other events, Cutler said. “There’s so many down- stream ramifi cations with this decision,” she said. Anthony Lakes and the Chamber of Commerce were the two organizations that submitted proposals for the visitor services contract. The seven-member lodging tax committee recommends how to spend 70% of the lodging taxes guests pay at motels, bed-and-breakfasts and RV parks. The 7% tax generated about $538,000 during the 2017-18 fi scal year, a majority of which — $350,000 — was collected from guests at lodg- ing businesses in Baker City. The committee voted 5-1 to recommend commission- ers award the six-year visitor services contract to Anthony Lakes, which proposes to operate a visitor center at The Trailhead, the bike and ski shop the company operates at 1828 Main St. Anthony Lakes is owned by the nonprofi t Baker County Development Corporation. The new contract will start March 1. Baker City Mayor Loran Joseph, who is the city’s rep- resentative on the lodging tax committee, said he made the motion to recommend Antho- ny Lakes receive the contract because it proposed to operate the visitors center seven days a week year round, and for less money than the current contract. The Chamber of Com- merce’s visitors center is closed on weekends during the winter due to the lack of visitor traffi c, Cutler said. Anthony Lakes proposed annual expenses of $70,400. That equates to a savings of about $37,000 over the six years, compared with the Chamber’s proposal. Joseph said the lodging tax committee voted 5-1 to recom- mend commissioners award the contract to Anthony Lakes. Kathy Reedy cast the lone dissenting vote. Chelsea Judy, who is mar- keting director for Anthony Lakes, recused herself due to the confl ict of interest. The other committee mem- bers are Lea Gettle, Buell Gonzales Jr., Karen Owen and Tori Thatcher. Joseph said that in addi- tion to Anthony Lakes offer- ing extended visitor center hours for less money, he was impressed by the company’s plan to survey other visitor centers to help determine the best way to operate. “Taking that initiative was a big difference between the two proposals for me,” Joseph said. “That’s very important to me when I look at these services that the county con- tracts for.” Joseph said that although he understands Cutler’s point about the potential effects on the Chamber should it lose the contract, the tax commit- tee’s sole duty is to award a contract for visitor services, not for community events. “The money we are giving to the Chamber should only be used to support the visitors center,” Joseph said. “The Chamber does a lot of other great things.” Based on the transient lodging tax ordinance, Judy would no longer be able to serve on the committee if Anthony Lakes receives the contract. The ordinance reads that committee members “shall at no time serve in any offi cial capacity with any contracted fi rm....” interested community folks with a lot of passion and compassion about this topic which we feel is going to im- prove the safety within town in terms of railroad crossings but also improve the quality of life and livability here,” said Dennis Dougherty, one of the fi rst members of the citizens committee to bring the subject to the city. Randolph Tracy, a member of the citizens committee, said he supports a Quiet Zone on behalf of his grand- son and granddaughter. He has had family ties to Baker since 1884 and comes from a family of railroaders. “I’m very empathetic,” Tracy said. “But there comes a time in all our lives when we’re looking to the future of the community, the health of the community, the well-be- ing of the community, when we have to be prepared to say ‘Okay, a change is good!’ ” Tracy said he and his wife lived half a block from the tracks temporarily and they “never fully understood just how diffi cult it was” until living close to them. “I watched little ones, two years old, wince and jump when the train went through,” he said. “My wife and I couldn’t be more pleased that the community, the people of this commu- nity, are coming together to actually, hopefully, change what’s been 130 years ap- proximately of service, but service that changed in an unintentional way for us as a community.” Peter Fargo became in- volved with the Quiet Zone campaign when his son was born and the train horns woke the baby through the night. “We found ourselves in an unsustainable situation and it got us thinking, how many other people are affected by this in their household,” Fargo said. His daughter will soon be going to South Baker El- ementary and Fargo said he and his wife were concerned about the trains affecting her and the other children. “We’d love to see a healthier environment for the kids and a safer school for them and this is one way to accomplish that,” Fargo said. Pendleton, for example, uses imagery from Portland and Boise. In essence, Austin said, there is no reason to rely on only one radar reading when you can tap into several. The Pendleton offi ce has a staff of 24, with 12 operation- al forecasters and three man- agers who also are forecast- ers, a hydrologist and a team for technical support. Brooks, decked out in blue jeans and T-shirt, used a mouse Monday to navigate between the four monitors at his station to dis- play black-and-white radar images of the high-pressure system moving inland from the Pacifi c to computer- generated models that are an integral ingredient in concoct- ing the forecasts the offi ce issues daily. To mesh all this data into coherency, the Weather Service uses the Advanced Weather Interactive Process- ing System — or AWIPS — which helps the meteorolo- gists generate forecast. Austin said there are numerous agency products — informa- tion that can help someone make decisions about the weather — derived from compositing multiple radar sources. “We’re still getting used to using these in operations, but they are a powerful tool in terms of deciphering which storms are of most concern quickly,” he said. Making this happen takes enormous computing power evident in the three large overhead monitors dominat- ing the Pendleton offi ce and on the multiple computer displays on forecasters’ desks. The Weather Service’s ensemble models, which simulate future weather doz- ens of times to give a range of possible outcomes, are a vital tool for forecasters. Austin equated it to a game of roulette. You can bet on a red 26, for example, and the odds of hitting are long. You can bet on red or black, and the odds of winning improve. Cover enough of the wheel and your odds improve again. “The best part about the use of ensembles is it depicts a range of possible outcomes and allows us to better convey our uncertainty in a given situation,” he said. Continued from Page 1A JAN 31-FEB 6 ELTRYM HISTORIC THEATER 1809 1st Street, Baker City www.eltrym.com BAD BOYS FOR LIFE R FRI: (4:00) 7:00 SAT & SUN: (1:00) (4:00) 7:00 MON-TH: 7:00 1917 R FRI: (4:10) 7:10 SAT & SUN: (1:10) (4:10) 7:10 MON-TH: 7:10 DOLITTLE PG FRI: (4:20) 7:20 SAT & SUN: (1:20) (4:20) 7:20 MON-TH: 7:20 ( )Bargain Matinee Show Times: 541-523-2522 Offi ce: 541-523-5439 L OCAL B RIEFING Church of Latter-day Saints schedule The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s “Come, Follow Me” lesson for the week of Feb. 3-9 will be based on the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi chapters 1-5 , which covers Lehi’s fi nal testimony and counsel for his children about the gospel truths he cherished. As the fi rst Sunday of the month, it is our traditional Fast Sunday where members of the congregation have an opportunity to fast for two meals, bear their testimony during the Sacrament Meeting as part of our worship service, and to donate the value of the two meals to the less fortunate. The second hour will be Sunday School meetings. The shorter days of winter are a great time to work on family history, and the church’s Family History Center (genealogy library) at 2625 Hughes Lane is open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Community Choir practice starting The Baker Community Choir will start rehearsals for its spring concerts on Monday, Feb. 3. Participants are asked to arrive at 6:45 p.m. at the Baker High School choir practice room, 2500 E St. Rehearsals will be every Monday at 7 p.m. at BHS. Cost is $15 per person. No experience is necessary and no auditions required. Singers in high school and older are wel- come. Middle School students can join if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Haines Elementary School chili feed Feb. 7 The annual Haines Elementary School Chili Feed and Raffl e is scheduled Friday, Feb. 7. The event, billed as the school’s largest fundraiser of the year, will be from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the school. Money raised at the event is used to help pay for technology in classrooms and to support assemblies and fi eld trips that enhance the students’ educational experiences, a news release stated. Items raffl ed during the evening are donated by local businesses and community partners. To donate, call Chelsea Blatchford, PTCO president, at 541-519- 2017. Tickets are pre-sold by Haines students and also will be available at the door. The cost is $2 per ticket, three for $5, seven for $10, or $20 for 15 tickets. Win- ners do not have to be present to collect their prizes. Dinner tickets are $5 for adults (11 and older), $4 for children (ages 4-10), and free to children younger than 3. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Haines Elementary School at 541-524-2400. “Youʼll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR 225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com IT’S TIME FOR A DRAMATIC NEW LOOK Wheel Products & Services FREE WHEEL & TIRE CONSULTS FREE QUOTES FOR LIFT KITS & SUSPENSION TRAINED TECHS UP TO DATE TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT YOUR HOMETOWN TIRE DEALER
