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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 2020)
SATURDAY BAKER SCHOOLS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR TALKS CORONAVIRUS EFFECTS: PG. 6A In OUTDOORS, 1B Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com March 21, 2020 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Ethan Wolston of Baker City. BRIEFING Leo Adler Foundation extends scholarship application deadline The Leo Adler Founda- tion, which awards college scholarships to graduates of high school in Baker County and Powder Valley High School, has extended the application deadline from April 1 to April 3 at 11 p.m. PDT. To complete ei- ther a fi rst-time or renewal application, go to www.leo- adler.org. Adler, a longtime Baker City philanthropist who died Nov. 2, 1993, left his estate for scholarships and grants for community projects. Since 1995, a total of 8,977 students have re- ceived scholarships totaling $21,891,373. Local • Health & Fitness • Outdoors • TV School Learning & Playing chief’s work a ‘blur’ Parents Deal With Unexpected School Closure ■ Families try to stay busy at home and with trips to outdoor parks By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com City Council cancels March 24 meeting The Baker City Council has canceled its March 24 meeting due to coronavirus concerns. City Manager Fred Warner Jr. said there was no pressing business on the agenda. A pre-bud- get meeting set for March 31 has also been canceled. Planning commission meetings related to a devel- opment code update will be delayed until May. WEATHER $1.50 Cures for cabin fever S. John Collins / Baker City Herald Brieanne Bain enjoys a Thursday visit to Geiser-Pollman Park along with daughter Brylee, 10, on swing, son Cooper, 8, and daughter Emma, 6. Mark Witty did something Thursday that he hadn’t done for the past three weeks. He stepped away from his offi ce for an hour- long lunch break. As anyone who’s spent much time around the Baker School District superintendent can tes- tify, he’s a busy man. And while he says it’s not unusual for administrators to eat lunch at Witty their desks, Witty acknowledges he has been more deskbound than usual this month. “It is a bit of a blur,” Witty said of the early morning to late night schedule he’s worked under since schools were put on alert to prepare for the coronavirus about three weeks ago as it began moving through the North- west. Gov. Kate Brown announced on March 12 that instead of the usual week-long spring break, schools would be closed from March 16 through March 31. Then came Brown’s March 17 order closing schools through April 28. Witty and his administrative staff have been meeting daily since to plan ways to help ease the burden of students and families affected by the closures and to fi nd ways to ensure that educational instruction continues. See Schools/Page 6A Today By Samantha O’Conner 57 / 25 With schools, libraries, the YMCA, and other places closed due to the coronavirus, Baker County parents are striving to fi nd ways to keep their children safe and entertained. Harmony McAlpine, 45, decided not to go back to work and is staying home with her children. A concern McAlpine shares with other parents is her children’s educa- tion. “We’re more concerned about the school, if they are going to put them online for right now,” she said. “Them having their education is highly important to me,” said Ashlyn Gazley, 29, who is working with her children to learn at home while Oregon public schools are closed through at least April 28. Many parents are working on help- ing their children continue to learn outside of school with math, reading, and other subjects. Sunny Sunday 63 / 34 Partly sunny Monday 57 / 27 Rain showers The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. soconner@bakercityherald.com See Parents/Page 3A Union, Grant counties each have 1 virus case S. John Collins / Baker City Herald Ashlyn Gazley says she lost her waitress job due to restrictions related to the coronavirus. Two of Baker County’s neighboring coun- ties — Union to the north and Grant to the west — each reported its fi rst confi rmed case of coronavirus on Thursday. The Union County resident “had a recent history of international travel and is not considered to have acquired it from com- munity spread,” according to the Center for Human Development in La Grande. The Grant County resident has not been hospitalized, and is staying home and self- monitoring for symptoms, according to the Grant County Health Department. CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS TAKE TOLL ON RESTAURANT, BAR INDUSTRY Brewer offers meals to idled food workers By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com For a couple of hours Wednesday evening, during a week of unprec- edented upheavals for the restau- rant and bar industry, Tyler Brown was again doing what he loves to do. Serving food to customers. Which is not to suggest the situ- ation at Barley Brown’s Brew Pub in Baker City was anything like normal. TODAY Issue 144, 12 pages Indeed Brown uses the adjective “eerie” to describe the experience of working at his pub on the second day of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s or- der that allows only takeout and de- livery service from restaurants, one of a myriad of measures designed to curb the spread of coronavirus. Instead of the usual scene — people sitting shoulder to shoulder in booths and at tables, a cacophony of laughter and conversation — Brown saw customers standing Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B Community News ....2A Crossword ........3B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B outside, at arm’s length or more, waiting for their food to arrive in boxes rather than on plates. But amid circumstances that Brown calls “devastating” to the restaurant and bar business, he said there was a moment of lev- ity after he and other employees served to-go meals from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. “The best thing was that at the end of the night, everybody was happy again,” said Brown, whose Horoscope ........3B & 4B Jayson Jacoby ..........4A News of Record ........2A family also owns the Sumpter Junction restaurant in Baker City. “This was kind of fun. We’d rather be busy than sit around with food rotting in the cooler.” Brown, who said both the Sumpt- er Junction and Barley Brown’s Tap House, across Church Street from the pub, are closed, emphasized that the takeout service in no way makes up for the losses due to the statewide order. Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Outdoors ................... 1B See Meals/Page 5A Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................6A Weather ..................... 6B TUESDAY — THE LATEST INFORMATION ON CORONAVIRUS EFFECTS
