TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
L OCAL B RIEFING
Local students on EOU honor roll
Pendleton residents begin
to assess flooding damage
By Antonio Sierra
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Patty
Haid can pinpoint the
exact moment her front deck
washed away.
The Riverview Mobile
Home Estates resident had a
security camera attached on
her home, and it was record-
ing Thursday night when the
deck started drifting away.
By that time, Haid and her
husband had already evacu-
ated, ferrying suitcases above
their heads as the fl oodwa-
ters rose to their waist.
“It was so scary,” she said.
By the time the couple and
her adult children came back
to begin the cleanup Satur-
day morning, the deck was
several yards away from her
home, along with an intact
storage shed. The family
retrieved a short ladder from
the shed to act as a set of
stairs to the trailer.
Some residents had it
worse than others.
Haid’s daughter later
checked in on Haid’s father,
J.R. Ybarra, who lived around
the corner.
Besides some water in
the bathroom and kitchen,
Ybarra said his home was
mostly dry.
But it could have been
worse.
Ybarra gestured toward a
neighboring trailer that had
fl oated away from its place
and crashed into another
home. It came to a rest in the
middle of the road.
While the entire park was
inundated, damage varied
from home to home.
Some residents reported
washed away porches and
water seeping through the
fl oors and walls, while others
found a much more manage-
able situation.
A resident of Riverview for
nearly two decades, Cheryl
Baker had seen fl ooding near
her home before and origi-
nally thought the sandbags
she placed around her home
would suffi ce.
But after returning from
evacuation, Baker was
reluctant to see the inside of
Halfway
Aubrey Vannice
Huntington
Gabrielle Smith
North Powder
Tonya Dias, Kate Jesenko
Oxbow
Nathan Seggerman
Diaper drive extended through February
Ben Lonergan / East Oregonian
Cheryl Baker looks out over the muddy landscape from in front of her home at the
Riverview Mobile Home Estates in Pendleton Saturday morning. Baker, who has lived
in the park for nearly two decades returned to check on the status of her home after
fl oodwaters receded in the early hours of Saturday.
insurance for his business
either.
But in his 21 years owning
Two Baker County men have taken their expertise to
and operating the Auto Clinic
Umatilla County to help offi cials deal with the devastation
of Pendleton on Northeast
of last week’s severe fl ooding.
Riverside Place, Powell said
Chris Galiszewski, the Baker County Sheriff’s Search
the Umatilla River had
and Rescue team coordinator, and Jason Yencopal, Baker
never threatened his auto
County Emergency Management Program director, are
shop. With the facility not
helping in the emergency operations center, Baker County
even in the fl oodplain, fl ood
Sheriff Travis Ash said.
insurance didn’t even seem
Christopher Ingersoll, spokesman for the Umatilla
necessary.
County Joint Information Center, said the effort has
But Thursday’s fl ood
moved from recovery to assessment.
brought 2 to 3 feet of water
“We’re trying to get our arms around what needs to be
into his business. Powell said
done next,” he said Monday morning.
the currents were strong
enough that some of Auto
— Chris Collins, Baker City Herald
Clinic’s tools were found
down the river and he had to
snag one of his four-wheelers
her home again, even as her insurance wouldn’t cover it.
as it fl oated out of the build-
sister repeatedly exclaimed
Coelho said fl ood insur-
ing and down the street.
“Oh my God!” with each new ance was too expensive to
Powell said he was ready
discovery.
maintain, and a lack of it
to close down the business
It had seen better days, but was a common theme among permanently and move on,
River Meadows Mobile Home Riverside residents.
but his employees rallied to
Park seemed to fare better
Haid said her home will
save it.
than its next-door neighbor.
likely need a new fl oor, but
Auto Clinic organized
Park owners Joe and Angie after inquiring about her
a work party, and several
Coelho were busy cleaning
insurance plan, the insurance volunteers came to sweep
out debris Saturday morning, company informed her that
out the remaining water and
with Joe operating a small
it had dropped her years ago, clean out the debris.
front loader to clear out space. a development she said was
Powell said that with the
Angie Coelho said the
done without her knowledge. city and state declaring an
couple owns several houses
“It would have been better emergency, he hopes his
in the park, and she worried if it had caught fi re,” she said. insurer will work with him
how they would repair the
Across Highway 11, Mike
to address the rest of the
homes when homeowners
Powell didn’t maintain fl ood damage.
Baker County offi cials helping
least 80% below by 2050. The
bill would force big greenhouse
SALEM — So many people gas emitters to obtain credits
fl ocked to the Oregon State
for each metric ton of carbon
Capitol to testify Saturday at dioxide they emit. Opponents
a public hearing on a climate
say fossil fuel companies will
change bill that the allotted
wind up offl oading increased
time for each to speak was
costs to customers.
reduced to 90 seconds.
“Applying a carbon tax to
As a large screen in Hearing Oregon citizens is a poorly
Room C showed the seconds
disguised strategy to extract
ticking off, loggers expressed
huge sales tax amounts from
concern that the bill would
residents,” Nolan Nelson of Eu-
lead to increased costs and the gene said in written testimony
demise of their business. Oth- ahead of Saturday’s hearing.
ers, taking turns at occupying
At least 150 people signed
three seats before the Senate up to testify, many showing
Committee On Environment their positions on T-shirts.
and Natural Resources, said
Opponents often wore Timber
global warming was an emer- Unity shirts. The group on
gency that was already af-
Thursday staged a protest
fecting them and would affect outside the Capitol, with a pro-
their children and grandchil-
cession of trucks blasting their
dren even worse.
horns, to protest the bill.
“Rather than passing the
buck, and demanding that the
rest of the nation and world
take care of us, we have a
moral obligation to address our
emissions,” Alan Journet, who
lives in Jacksonville, a town of
2,700 in southern Oregon, said
in written testimony on behalf
of 1,500 rural Oregonians who
are members of a group called
Southern Oregon Climate Ac-
tion Now.
The so-called cap-and-trade
bill calls for the state to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions to at
least 45% below 1990 emis-
sions levels by 2035 and to at
Associated Press
Baker City
Bryan Ames, Keaton Bachman, Koedi Birmingham,
Erin Blincoe, Madison Elms, James Hixenbaugh, Maken-
na Huggins, Hannah Johnson, Rowdy Keller, Megan
McGuinness, Lynn Robinson, Corrina Stadler, Braden
Staebler-Siewell, Josephine Stearns, Alexandria Wachtel
Haines
Samuel Pointer
Carbon bill hearing draws crowd
By Andrew Selsky
LA GRANDE — More than a dozen local students
were among the 523 named to the dean’s list for the fall
2019 term at Eastern Oregon University.
To qualify, students must maintain a grade-point
average of at least 3.5 while completing a minimum of 12
hours of graded coursework.
A demonstration in support
of the bill, with an expected
attendance of over a thousand,
is planned for today at the
Capitol.
“Opponents of climate action
in Oregon had their day, now
it’s advocates’ turn,” said Brad
Reed, group spokesman.
Backers of the measure,
including many students, wore
shirts to Saturday’s hearing
saying “Clean energy jobs,” and
“I’ll be 30 when my climate
fate is sealed,” a reference to
some predictions that a tipping
point may be reached in a few
years.
“Because climate change is a
truly global, complex problem
with economic, social, political
and moral ramifi cations, the
solution will require both a
globally-coordinated response
(such as international policies
and agreements between
countries, a push to cleaner
forms of energy) and local ef-
forts on the city- and regional-
level (for example, public
transport upgrades, energy
effi ciency improvements, sus-
tainable city planning, etc.),”
NASA says on its climate
website.
The Rachel Pregnancy Center has extended its Diaper
Drive at the request of several participating churches.
The drive, which began on Sanctity of Life Sunday
(Jan. 19) will continue through February, said Vera
Grove, Rachel Center director.
The Center’s days of operation have changed in
February to Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed for lunch each day). The offi ce, at
2192 Court Ave., is closed Mondays and Fridays. More
information is available by calling the Center at 541-523-
5357.
Donation account for Baker City man
A donation account has been set up at Umpqua
Bank for Benjamin Humphries of Baker City, who was
recently diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leuke-
mia and is undergoing treatment in Boise.
Fireline Safety Refresher class March 21
Eastern Oregon Training Group will have an RT-130
Annual Fireline Safety Refresher class on March 21.
The class will start at 8 a.m. at the Baker School District
offi ce, 2090 Fourth St. in Baker City. A practice fi re
shelter deployment will take place. This is a required
class for all federal and state contractors that will be on
the fi re line. A certifi ed National Wildfi re Suppression
Association (NWSA) instructor will teach the class. Cost
is $100 for NWSA members and $130 for nonmembers.
Registration can be done at oregonfi retraining.com. Pre-
registration is requested. More information is available
by calling Laurel Goodrich at 541-403-0907 or Jeff Sher-
man at 541-519-6213.
H EART TO H EART
Great things are happening at the
Churchill Dancehall
If you were lucky enough to be at Churchill Dance-
hall for recent concerts, you witnessed not only incred-
ible entertainment but a true coming of age. Corrine
and Brian Vegter’s vision of a Northeast Oregon
musical destination for both world class musical acts
and appreciative audiences is coming to fruition. An
impressive Tuesday night crowd enjoyed the sounds of
John and Joanne Lowell. In that same week, a Friday
night concert featuring Band of Drifters with guest
Bart Budwig fi lled the dancehall, people spilling out
into the hallways. This was followed by another sub-
stantial gathering for Dead Lee on Thursday.
A big chunk of credit for this success has been the
relentless promotion by our Baker City Herald and
the GO! magazine.
Lisa Britton’s wonderful artist’s profi les, stories and
interviews along with full cover color photos are a key
factor in the ever growing attendance at Churchill.
Word of mouth is also a huge player, so spread the
word — great things are happening at Churchill. Hope
to see you there!
Peace to all.
Mike Meyer
Baker City
“Youʼll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com
Exciting News!
Dr. Derek Blankenship is
joining Baker Vision Clinic
Baker Vision Clinic would like to welcome Dr. Derek
Blankenship. Dr. Blankenship will start seeing patients March
3, 2020. Derek was born and raised in Baker City. Following
high school, he attended George Fox University where he
graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He then attended Midwestern
University Arizona College of Optometry where he graduated with a Doctorate of
Optometry in 2018. Upon graduation from Optometry school Dr. Blankenship has
been practicing in Pendleton, Oregon. Baker Vision Clinic is very excited to welcome
him back home!
Dr. Blankenship is warm and engaging. He easily connects with people through his
open honest desire to help others. He enjoys the outdoors and cannot wait to show his
wife and son all that is special to him about Baker.
Dr. Derek Blankenship is accepting patients now.
Please contact Baker Vision Clinic today at 541-523-5858 to make an appointment.