Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2020)
NORTHEAST OREGON THURSDAY DISTRICT HOOPS STARTS TODAY; BUSY WEEKEND FOR BHS SPORTS: PG. 6A FEBRUARY 20, 2020 www.gonortheastoregon.com Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre opens two youth plays Also inside: ‘Determined to Rise’ exhibit EOU International Dinner & Show GO! Magazine Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com February 20, 2020 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Toni Phillips of Baker City. Local, 2A The Baker County Health Department mailed out 451 letters earlier this month notifying parents that their children would not be allowed to attend school unless their im- munization records were brought up to date or an exemption form was pro- vided. Wednesday is the day students were sched- uled to be excluded from classes unless they met one of those requirements, said Nancy Staten, Health Department director. Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 County delays visitor contract By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com Baker County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday morning to postpone until Oct. 1 the awarding of a contract for operating a visitors center in Baker City. That means the $77,000-per-year contract, which is paid for with revenue from the tax collected from guests at motels, bed-and-break- fasts and other lodging businesses, will remain with the Baker County Chamber of Commerce. The county’s lodging tax commit- tee last fall solicited proposals from organizations interested in operat- ing a visitors center. The committee received two pro- posals — one from the Chamber of Commerce and one from Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort’s owner, the nonprofi t Baker County Develop- ment Corporation. Both the lodging tax committee and the Baker Economic Develop- ment Committee voted to recom- mend that commissioners award the contract to Anthony Lakes. But during Wednesday’s meet- ing before a packed room in the Courthouse, Commissioner Mark Bennett suggested postponing the decision until October. In the meantime, Bennett said commissioners can have discus- sions with Anthony Lakes repre- sentatives. Peter Johnson, Anthony Lakes general manager, and Shelly Cutler, the Chamber’s executive director, both attended Wednesday’s meet- ing. “The biggest thing is that there’s a lot of people out here on all sides of the fence and it’s so important that we make sure everything is clear and concise,” Bennett said. He said he wants to avoid polar- izing residents on the topic. History of elk in Baker County presentation set for March 2 By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Submitted photo Baker County rancher Mib Dailey said he had to euthanize this 2-year-old bull, worth an estimated $2,500, after it sustained severe wounds in what a state biologist confi rmed was an attack by wolves. WEATHER Today 41 / 20 Mostly sunny See Contract/Page 3A Verizon doesn’t appeal denial of cell tower ODFW Confi rms Wolves Killed Rancher’s Bull Near Sparta BRIEFING The Baker County Historical Society will have a program on the history of elk in the county on Monday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Ave. The guest speaker will be George Keister, retired wildlife biologist from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Keister was the district biologist for Baker County from 1995 to 2006. Refreshments will be served. Attendees should use the door to the base- ment at Crossroads. Your guide to arts and entertainment events happening around Northeast Oregon Wolves Kill Bull Friday 46 / 23 Verizon Wireless did not appeal to a state agency after the Baker City Council rejected the company’s application to build a 70-foot cell tower in north Baker City. The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals did not receive a notice of intent to appeal from Verizon, an agency offi cial said Tuesday. The deadline for the company to fi le the notice was Feb. 13. Verizon applied for a conditional use permit for the tower in Septem- ber 2019. The company wanted to build the tower on a 2.12-acre parcel, zoned industrial, that’s just north of D Street near Leo Adler Field. Mostly sunny See Tower/Page 3A Full forecast on the back of the B section. OTEC criticizes Brown The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. dozer to plow some of the snow from a road, with the goal of leading the cattle back to a main road where he could load them in a trailer and drive them back to his ranch. Dailey said his friend delivered hay to the cattle late in the afternoon of Feb. 12. All fi ve animals were together at that time, Dailey said. When his friend returned with more hay on Saturday, Feb. 15, he found the carcass of the steer and the 2-year-old bull with severe wounds. Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative issued a press release Wednesday afternoon criticizing Or- egon Gov. Kate Brown’s endorsement of removing four dams on the lower Snake River in South- eastern Washington. OTEC, which is based in Baker City, buys its wholesale electricity from the Bonneville Power Administration, the fed- eral agency that markets power from more than two dozen dams, includ- ing the four that Brown cited in a recent letter. OTEC’s press release referred to Brown’s letter as “stunning.” See Wolves/Page 3A See Dams/Page 3A Submitted photo Mib Dailey said there were nu- merous tracks in the area where his bull and steer were attacked. Submitted photo The hide from a 600-pound yearling steer was left, but most of the carcass had been consumed. when he was gathering his herd from summer pasture in the mountains, A state wildlife biologist concluded where he runs 250 cow-calf pairs. that wolves killed a Baker County Dailey said he has been looking for rancher’s 2-year-old bull and probably the missing animals, and about a week also killed a yearling steer last week ago he found them on the west side of in the snowbound Wallowa Mountains Eagle Creek near Puzzle Creek. That’s northeast of Baker City. between Eagle Forks and Martin Mib Dailey, who lives near Sparta, Bridge, about 2 miles north of Sparta. about 25 miles northeast of Baker City, Dailey said a friend had been haul- said the bull and steer, along with two ing hay to the cattle using a side-by- other bulls and one cow from his herd, side ATV, as the 30 or so inches of snow had been stranded in the Eagle Creek made it impossible to reach the area in area over the winter. a truck and trailer. The animals didn’t turn up last fall Dailey said he also brought in a bull- By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com TODAY Issue 131, 24 pages Business .................... 1B Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 5B-8B Comics ....................... 9B Community News ....3A Crossword ..........5B&7B Dear Abby ............... 10B Horoscope ..........5B&7B Letters ........................4A Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Sports ........................6A Weather ................... 10B SATURDAY — GETTING A JUMP ON SPRING WITH A BICYCLE RIDE