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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2020)
NORTHEAST OREGON THURSDAY MAY 21, 2020 CLIFF BENTZ WINS GOP NOMINATION IN RACE TO REPLACE WALDEN: PG. 3A www.gonortheastoregon.com THIS WEEK IN GO MAGAZINE Markets, music, art auctions and giveaways* *GO TO PAGE 3 TO FIND OUT HOW TO SECURE A PRINT OF MIKE KOLOSKI’S “LOSTINE RIVER — THE VIEW FROM POLE BRIDGE” GO! Magazine Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com May 21, 2020 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Leslie Gecy of Baker City. BRIEFING Deadline nears for Ostwald Business Scholarship The deadline for students to apply for the Ostwald Business Scholar- ship is Friday, June 5. This scholarship is awarded to Baker High graduates who have com- pleted a minimum of two academic terms of full- time coursework at an ac- credited college, university or trade school in order to help them further their academic education in a business-related fi eld. They must also have attained a minimum post-high school grade-point average of 2.5. Scholarships are awarded annually based on the earnings of the Ostwald trust. How to apply Applicants can access more information and the application through this Google form: https://forms. gle/NNRCLqyzCeaJ1AYH6 The award will be paid directly to the appropriate institution upon receipt of a letter from the institu- tion confi rming that the recipient is enrolled as a full-time student at the school. WEATHER Today 55 / 33 Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 Nichols wins; levies pass By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Bruce Nichols earned a second 4-year term on the Baker County Board of Commissioners in Tues- day’s election, and county voters ex- tended a pair of property tax levies, one to control noxious weeds and the other to combat mosquitoes. In unoffi cial results from the County Clerk’s offi ce, Nichols received 3,470 votes (62.2%) to Loran Joseph’s 2,083 votes (37.4%). Joseph, who is Bak- Nichols er City’s mayor, was the only candidate to challenge Nichols, who was elected to his current term in 2016. Friday 54 / 29 Chance of morning rain showers Full forecast on the back of the B section. The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. “I am very apprecia- tive of everybody who supported me,” Nichols said Wednesday morn- ing. Nichols said he was Joseph pleased with his mar- gin of victory. He said he was nervous as he awaited election returns, wondering if Joseph’s prominence as mayor in Baker City, where 60% of the county’s residents live, would give Joseph an advantage. Nichols said he believes he ben- efi ted from his experience. “I think that was a big deciding factor,” said Nichols, 68, who’s a CPA. See Election/Page 3A Baker County Library’s Drive-Up Window Reopens BAKER SCHOOLS Witty hopes for ‘in-person’ fall classes By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com Lisa Britton /For the Baker City Herald Robert Bennett collects his reserved books from John Brockman at the Baker County Public Library Tues- day. The library’s drive-up window reopened Monday. long a virus can survive on a book surface. They decided seven days for Baker City missed books. an extra precaution. “We’ve had a steady stream of cars Stokes said Monday also brought coming through — very happy pa- phone calls asking when the library trons,” Perry Stokes, library director, would reopen its doors. said on Monday. He said the tentative date is June That was the day Baker County 1 for limited use. This includes ap- Public Library, 2400 Resort St., pointments to use the computers opened its drive-up window after be- with only fi ve users at one time, and ing closed since March 28. Services limited browsing to fi ve small family are limited to library inventory. In- groups at a time. terlibrary loans are not yet available. “Not full services, but a step in the To request books, patrons can right direction,” he said. either place a hold online at www. Stokes said the library generally bakerlib.org, or call the library at has 10 employees on site. Add fi ve 541-523-6419. patrons on computers and another The drive-up hours are 9 a.m. to 10 browsing the stacks, and that 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 gets to the limit of 25 people. a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and noon to 4 Patrons who come to search for p.m. Saturday and Sunday. books will need to sign in, receive Book returns are quarantined for a time limit, then sign out before seven days after receiving a strong leaving. UV light treatment. In-person storytime is still on Stokes said information varies hold, but Missy Grammon has been from three days to fi ve days for how livestreaming storytime on the For the Baker City Herald With an optimistic eye to the future, Superintendent Mark Witty told budget committee members Tues- day night that he thinks the Baker School District can expect classes to return to “in-person school” in the coming year. But that doesn’t mean it will be the same system that was in place just two months ago before Gov. Kate Brown ordered schools closed for the remainder of the year and implemented “distance learning for all.” See Schools/Page 5A Books Return By Lisa Britton Chance of showers and thunderstorms Your weekly guide to events happening around Northeastern Oregon library’s Facebook page. The summer reading program planning is still in process, but will likely combine outdoor and online activities. As he looks ahead, Stokes projects the library’s cleaning budget will increase. “We’ll more than double the janito- rial budget for next year,” he said. Although not set, he said the hours for the limited reopening in June will probably be the same as the current drive-up hours. The branch libraries will have different schedules and services. For details, here are the numbers for each branch: • Haines Library: 541-856-3309 • Halfway Library: 541-742-5279 • Huntington Library: 541-869- 2440 • Richland Library: 541-893-6088 • Sumpter Library: 541-894-2253 Each branch also has a Facebook page. Soggy storm sets a record By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Wednesday was the wet- test day at the Baker City Airport in almost 5 years. But that’s not the only way to gauge the signifi - cance of the day’s sogginess. Wednesday also crammed more rainfall into its 24 hours than any of the previ- ous 7 months managed. Actually Wednesday didn’t need even half those hours to pull off the feat. By 8 a.m. the day’s total of 0.41 of an inch had already surpassed the monthly total for every month since September 2019. See Soggy/Page 3A OTEC awards $5,000 scholarships to 6 locals Four graduating Baker High School seniors and two returning college students are among the 22 to receive $5,000 college scholarships from Or- egon Trail Electric Cooperative. Baker County recipients are 2020 BHS graduates Guadalupe Macias, Sam McCauley, Isabelle Wachtel and Naomi Woodward. Koedi Birmingham, who attends Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, and Quinn Coomer, a student at Corban University in Salem, were TODAY Issue 5, 18 pages among returning college students to receive the scholarships. This year, four students were the first to receive a new scholarship through the OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship Program, an OTEC press release stated. The new scholarship pays all tuition and fees at EOU if the student com- mits to graduating from the La Grande university. The four recipients of that schol- arship are La Grande High School Business ...........1B & 2B Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 3B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........5B & 6B graduates Josie Bornstedt and Nathan Reed, Emily Inselman, a Burns High School graduate, and Andrew Lusco, of Grant Union High School at John Day. “By allocating four of our scholar- ships to this program and leveraging a matched investment from EOU we can invest into our local communities directly,” Les Penning, OTEC’s CEO, stated in the press release. The scholarship also allows the electric cooperative to support local students and “return value to OTEC Dear Abby ................. 8B Horoscope ........5B & 6B Letters ........................4A member-owners through the intern- ship projects that the students will complete throughout their four years at EOU,” Penning said. Scholarship applicants must be ac- tive OTEC members in good standing with the co-op or a dependent of such members to qualify. Scholarships are funded by capital credits. Recipients of the trade school and lineman school scholarships will be announced in June, the press release stated. Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........3A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Turning Backs ...........2A Weather ..................... 8B SATURDAY — SEARCHING HIGH AND LOW: GETTING INTO GEOCACHING
