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In HOME, 1B
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
April 21, 2020
Local • Home & Living • Sports
IN THIS EDITION:
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Todd
Callaway of Baker City.
BRIEFING
Downtown cleanup
set to start Friday
The Baker City Down-
town design committee is
organizing a downtown
cleanup Friday, April 24,
starting at 9 a.m. Social
distancing guidelines will
be observed. Volunteers
should meet at Royal
Artisan at 1912 Main St.
to get assignments and
spread out from there.
Baker City Downtown is
also coordinating with the
City of Baker to schedule
street sweeping.
Volunteers should bring
gloves, brooms, dustpans,
and any gardening and
cleaning tools they have.
Volunteers will be work-
ing individually or in small
groups to ensure that
social distancing protocols
are maintained throughout
the day. Work will include
weeding, cleaning and
planting tree wells, clean-
ing sidewalks, storefronts,
benches, bike racks and
sidewalk fi xtures.
“We know this is a chal-
lenging time for our com-
munity and we think this a
great opportunity to come
together (not too close) as
a community and spend
the day doing something
really positive, and proac-
tive for our town,” stated a
press release from BCD.
Those wishing to volun-
teer can contact Kate Reid
at 541-465-4547 or by mes-
saging the Royal Artisan’s
Facebook page.
County joins in effort
to reopen businesses
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker County offi cials will
ask Gov. Kate Brown to consider
easing business closures and
restrictions that have severely
hampered the local economy
during the coronavirus pan-
demic.
“We’ve been working all
weekend on recovery plans,
and our hope is to get it out by
the middle of the week,” Baker
County Commissioner Mark
Bennett said Monday morning.
Baker County joined with
several other counties, all east of
the Cascades, in sending a letter
to Brown on April 13 noting that
“our citizens and businesses
have followed your Executive
Orders and guidelines” and that
“every business in these areas is
considered ‘essential’ to us.”
The next day the governor had
a press conference during which
she said that reopening busi-
68 / 35
Sunny
Wednesday
60 / 41
Rain likely
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
nesses would happen “gradually,
carefully and incrementally.”
Brown did not give a timeline.
The governor issued an execu-
tive order March 17 that banned
indoor dining at restaurants,
and closed bars.
Bennett
See Reopen/Page 2A
Jobless
claims
rise
again
Coronavirus Prompts Pastor To Deliver Sermons Outdoors
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
WEATHER
Today
$1.50
Chilling
out at
home
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Pastor Nathan Neff of the Apostolic Lighthouse Church in Baker City delivers a sermon from a newly con-
structed podium at the Baker County Fairgrounds on Sunday.
Sunshine Service
together as much, I wanted to get out
soconner@bakercityherald.com
and do something,” Neff said.
Pastor Nathan Neff stood on a
He said a friend and fellow pastor
freshly made wooden podium Sunday in North Carolina is doing something
morning as members of his congre-
similar, and Neff thought, “well, let’s
gation at the Apostolic Lighthouse
give it a shot and see what happens.’ ”
Church gathered for the second time
Churches have closed their doors
at the Baker County Fairgrounds for and many have been mainly offering
an outdoor service.
live-streaming or pre-recorded ser-
“With the whole coronavirus and
vices to comply with social distancing.
everybody not being able to gather
By having services outside at the
By Samantha O’Conner
Fairgrounds, people can maintain a
6-foot distance while listening to the
sermon.
“The driving thought of that was
there’s so many people that can’t get
to church right now with everything
that’s going on,” Neff said. “But, in the
world in general, church is what we
need now more than ever before.”
See Service/Page 3A
After a one-week dip, the
number of unemployment
claims rose again in Baker
County as the effects of
the coronavirus pandemic
continue to spread.
For the week ending
April 11, the number of new
claims in the county was
139, up from 111 for the
week ending April 4.
The previous high this
year had been 129 claims
for the week ending March
28.
That was the fi rst full
week after Gov. Kate Brown
signed an executive order
restricting businesses,
including allowing restau-
rants to offer only takeout
and delivery meals.
During that week, initial
claims more than doubled,
from 61 to 129.
Prior to the week ending
March 21, weekly claims
during 2020 had ranged
from 8 to 27.
See Claims/Page 3A
Local gas
prices
slower to
plummet
As oil futures dropped
below zero for the fi rst time
on Monday, gasoline prices
continue to plunge as well.
But Baker County’s aver-
age price is higher than all
but one other county east of
the Cascades in Oregon.
Baker County’s average
price for a gallon of regular
unleaded on Monday was
$2.51, according to the AAA
auto club.
Among the 17 Oregon
counties east of the Cas-
cades, only Wallowa County
had a higher average price,
at $2.74.
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Members of the Apostolic Lighthouse Church listen to Pastor Nathan Neff’s sermon Sunday.
TODAY
Issue 157, 14 pages
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........5B & 6B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Home ................... 1B-3B
Horoscope ................. 5B
Lottery Results ..........2A
See Prices/Page 6A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports ........................6A
Weather ..................... 8B
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