SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
LOCAL & STATE
Flooding takes toll on
Union County farmers
■ Heavy rain in late May caused the second round of major flooding this year
By Dick Mason
The (La Grande) Observer
LA GRANDE — A cruel
encore by Mother Nature is
creating turbulence for local
farmers.
Many Union County farm-
ers are facing considerable
challenges after being struck
by a second major fl ood in four
months when heavy rainfall in
late May caused the Grande
Ronde River and Catherine
Creek to jump their banks.
“It has been a double
whammy this year,” said
Union County farmer Tim
Wallender.
Wallender lost between
10 and 15 acres of garbanzo
beans and 10 acres of blue-
grass because of the fl ooding.
Because of road fl ooding, he
couldn’t get to the fi elds to
pump water off his water-
logged acres. He plans to begin
pumping water off the land
and back into the Grande
Ronde River as soon as he can.
It is too late to replant
much of the crops he lost with
marketable ones, so Wallender
is considering his options.
“All I can do is plant a for-
age crop like oats or barley for
my livestock,” Wallender said.
Bill Merrigan, the general
manager of Blue Mountain
Seeds of Imbler, said the full
extent of the fl ooding in Union
County is not known because
crop plants are obscuring
the standing water on many
fi elds.
“You can’t see it unless you
walk right up to it,” Merrigan
said.
He fears the fl ooding may
be worse than it appears
since it can’t be seen from a
distance. Merrigan said he
cannot believe Union County
has been hit with two major
Dick Mason / The (La Grande) Observer
Seth Hassinger, left, and his brother Jed Hassinger, examine the pump they are using to
remove fl ood water from a wheat fi eld on their family’s farm between Cove and Alicel.
fl oods in such a short span.
“Farmers must feel like they
have a target on their backs,”
he said.
Phil Hassinger’s 1,200-acre
family farm, 7 miles north-
west of Cove and operated
by his sons, Jed and Seth, is
among those the fl ooding hit
hard.
The Hassinger farm’s levy
along Catherine Creek began
to collapse the morning of
Sunday, May 24, threatening
to ravage an 80-acre fi eld that
had a 50-acre peppermint
crop. Phil Hassinger learned
of the breach from son Jed.
“Early Sunday morning
Jed raced on his motorcycle
from an area of the levee that
contained a weak spot. I knew
from his body language we
were in trouble. Jed confi rmed
that a breach in the levee
was pouring at least 50,000
gallons of water each minute
onto the vulnerable mint
crop,” Phil Hassinger said.
There was no time to spare.
“It was 7:30 a.m. We knew
if we didn’t do something
quickly we would lose the pep-
permint fi eld,” he said.
He, his wife, Trudy, and
their sons put out a request
for help, and it was answered
in heroic fashion.
“People from all over came.
Soon we had all of the people
we needed. In four to fi ve
hours we sealed off the levy,’’
Phil Hassinger said.
A key portion of the work
involved bringing fi lled sand-
bags in boats and then rowing
them downriver to the breach.
The extraordinary hands
of assistance the Hassing-
ers received will not soon be
forgotten.
“It was an incredible (Me-
morial Day) weekend,” Jed
Hassinger said.
The Hassinger farm
escaped major damage but
it did take on so much water
that extensive pumping must
continue for the next several
weeks.
Phil Hassinger said in the
40 years he has had his farm,
he has never had to deal with
two major fl oods in a year. Jed
Hassinger, who grew up on
the farm, said fl ooding seems
to be a growing problem. He
noted there also were major
fl oods in 2019, 2011 and 2010.
Each at the time seemed to
be a once in a 50-year type of
event.
Major fl ooding, Jed Has-
singer said, appears to be
increasing in frequency.
Portland schools to drop police presence
said on Twitter that Portland Public
Schools needed to “re-examine our
PORTLAND — Oregon’s largest
relationship” with the police in light of
school district said Thursday it will
the national outrage over the death of
discontinue the use of school resource George Floyd, who died after a white
offi cers in its schools in the aftermath Minneapolis police offi cer pressed his
of the death of George Floyd.
knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine
The announcement makes it one of
minutes.
a handful of districts from Minneapolis
The district of more than 49,000 stu-
to Denver that are taking a closer look dents joins Minneapolis, which severed
at the role the police offi cers play in
ties with its school resource offi cers on
their schools.
Tuesday. St. Paul, Minnesota, schools
Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero and schools in Denver are considering
By Gillian Flaccus
Associated Press
PROBATION
Continued from Page 1A
Two other counts of fi rst-degree
sexual abuse and two counts of un-
lawful sexual penetration — which
were dismissed during Baker’s Feb-
ruary 2018 trial — were dismissed
as part of the plea agreement.
Judge Lung Hung of Malheur
County, as stipulated by the agree-
ment, sentenced Baker to fi ve years’
probation.
Should Baker fail to comply with
the terms of his probation, he would
face three more years in prison,
with no credit for time served.
Baker was returned to the Baker
County Jail on May 28 to be retried
on three counts of fi rst-degree
sexual abuse because of a nonunani-
mous (10-2) verdict rendered by the
jury during his trial.
Judge Greg Baxter, who has since
retired, sentenced Baker to three
consecutive mandatory minimum
75-month prison terms, a total of 18
years and 9 months.
But in April of this year, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
nonunanimous jury verdicts are
unconstitutional. Baker’s conviction
was overturned and his case sent
back to Baker County for possible
retrial. Oregon was the last state to
continue using the nonunanimous
verdict system when the Supreme
Court issued its decision.
During a Wednesday morning
hearing, Judge Hung had denied
Baker’s request for release from jail
“The fact that events occurred
fi ve years ago, the fading of
memories, rulings by the
Oregon Court of Appeals
affecting the evidence that
could be offered, and, most of
all, the trauma to the victim in
a retrial were all considered.”
doing the same as protests continue
nationwide over Floyd’s death.
“The time is now. With new pro-
posed investments in direct student
supports (social workers, counselors,
culturally-specifi c partnerships &
more), I am discontinuing the regular
presence of School Resource Offi cers,”
Guerrero said in his tweet. “We need
to re-examine our relationship with
the PPB.”
See Portland/Page 6A
agreement took into account that
the victim, who is Baker’s daughter,
and her sisters, are in a safe place.
They are in guardianship through
the Department of Human Services
foster care system.
“There is no particular reason
for them to be put through another
trial,” Raschio said.
Baxter also stated in a telephone
interview Thursday that he and the
— Greg Baxter, Baker County
victim agreed that the settlement
district attorney
provided a guaranteed conviction
rather than taking a chance at trial
on his own recognizance and had
where Baker could be acquitted.
ordered him held on $150,000 bail,
“It gives us what we need to
with release possible upon posting
ensure the protection of the girls,”
$15,000.
Baxter said.
The plea agreement was reached
Along with the additional prison
later that day. Baker was repre-
time Baker faces if he fails to
sented by Rob Raschio, a Canyon
comply with terms of probation, his
City attorney.
sentence requires that he register
District Attorney Greg Baxter,
as a lifetime sex offender and enroll
the retired judge’s son, stated in a
in and successfully complete a
press release Thursday that upon
state-approved sex offender treat-
learning that Baker’s case would be ment program.
remanded to Baker County for re-
Other special conditions of
trial because of the Supreme Court Baker’s probation order him to
ruling, he spoke with the victim, her have no contact with his daughters
attorney and other witnesses.
without permission of his probation
“The fact the events occurred fi ve offi cer. And he was ordered to pay
years ago, the fading of memories,
all counseling, therapy treatment
rulings by the Oregon Court of
or medical costs related to the
Appeals affecting the evidence that offense. Baker also was fi ned $200
could be offered, and, most of all, the and ordered to have no contact
trauma to the victim and witnesses with any children under the age
in a retrial were all considered in
of 18 without prior approval of his
deciding to retry the case or not,”
probation offi cer or the court.
Baxter stated in the press release.
During the week-long trial in
Raschio said in a telephone
February 2018, Raschio had fi led
interview Thursday that the plea
motions requiring that Baker could
PHASE 2
expect larger festivals and
gatherings to happen at
Continued from Page 1A
least until September.
Although restaurants
But Bennett said he
and bars are still required and other county offi cials
to space tables at least 6
are already working on
feet apart, phase 2 does
a proposal that would
allow some fl exibility
further ease restrictions in
depending on the types of counties with no coronavi-
booths.
rus outbreaks — what he
Businesses, instead of
calls phase “2A.”
the 6-foot spacing, can
The initial idea, Ben-
install a plexiglass or other nett said, is that counties
“nonpermeable physi-
which continue to have
cal barrier that is easily
few cases of the virus could
cleaned if the barrier is at potentially move into a
least 1 foot higher than
new phase in about three
head level for customers
weeks.
seated and at least 3 feet
“We’re going to be
wide or at least the width pushing forward with a
of the booth if wider than proposal,” he said.
3 feet.”
County offi cials have not
But phase 2 continues
decided the specifi cs they’ll
to prohibit patrons from
include in that proposal,
sitting at counters or bars such as increases in the
“unless the counter faces
number of people allowed
a window or wall and at
at events or potentially
least 6 feet of distance
reducing the dimensions
is maintained between
of social distancing from
parties and/or staff behind the familiar 6 feet, Bennett
the bar.”
said.
Baker County Commis-
As of Friday, Baker
sioner Mark Bennett said County has had one con-
one of the major changes
fi rmed case of COVID-19.
between phase 1 and 2 is
That case was announced
that the latter increases
on May 6.
the number of people
A total of 269 Baker
attending events. During
County residents have
phase 1 the limit was 25
been tested for the virus,
people.
according to the Oregon
Phase 2 increases that
Health Authority.
to 50 people for indoor
Bennett said county of-
gatherings and 100 people fi cials will also be working
for outdoor gatherings.
with local school districts to
However, phase 2
ensure they have resources
guidelines from the
they need to meet yet-to-be-
Oregon Health Authority determined requirements
also authorized up to 250 for opening this fall.
people in several categories
Eltrym Theatre
of events or businesses,
Terry McQuisten, who
so long as the size of the
outdoor venue or building owns Baker City’s only
allows for social distancing. movie theater, said it might
The categories with the not be long before residents
can again enjoy a fi lm on
250-person limit include
the big screen.
restaurants and bars,
“June 27 is our 80th
churches, indoor and
outdoor entertainment fa- anniversary, so I’m aiming
cilities and fi tness-related to be open by then,” Mc-
Quisten said.
organizations.
She wants to have a
Bennett said county
offi cials have reviewed the technician from Portland
guidelines, and it appears check out the Eltrym’s
to them that the 250-per- projectors, which have been
sitting for three months.
son limit would apply to
Because studios aren’t
most events and busi-
releasing new movies right
nesses in Baker County,
now it will be a challenge to
so that’s the numerical
threshold the county is fo- fi nd fi lms that will attract
cusing on rather than the audiences.
At least one new movie
50- and 100-person limits.
is supposed to come out in
How long does
July, but McQuisten said
phase 2 last?
she was unsure if it will be
During a press confer-
postponed. If new movies
ence Wednesday an-
don’t come out, McQuin-
nouncing phase 2, Dean
sten said she still plans to
Sidelinger, the state epi-
open the Eltrym, and show
demiologist, said phase 2
classics instead.
will be in effect for “several
In the meantime the
months.”
theater is serving takeout
Previously, Oregon
popcorn and cotton candy
Gov. Kate Brown has said on Fridays and Saturdays
Oregonians shouldn’t
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
be convicted only by a unanimous
jury verdict. Judge Baxter denied
those motions.
The judge agreed with then-
district attorney Matt Shirtcliff
— who replaced Baxter as Baker
County Circuit Court judge — who
argued that at the time a nonun-
animous verdict was allowed by
Oregon law.
Looking back to the trial, Raschio
pointed out that two people on the
jury had reasonable doubt and
could not vote to fi nd Baker guilty
of the crimes. He appealed the case
to the Oregon Court of Appeals on
April 10, 2018.
“I’m glad the Supreme Court
now has come to the place where it
says you have to have unanimity of
mind to convict,” Raschio said.
He noted that Baker had been
sent to prison for 18 years and 9
months on a 10-2 verdict.
“This is a man who served his
country in two foreign wars (Iraq
and Afghanistan) and suffered
post-traumatic stress syndrome,”
Raschio said. “He is entitled to
some consideration for what he
provided to this country.”
Baker’s mother also is terminally
ill, Raschio said.
“This is what happens when
these cases return after bad
verdicts,” he said. “There is a true
human story behind all of this.”
Before Baker’s 2018 sentencing,
Raschio had fi led motions seeking
a new trial or a directed verdict of
mistrial based on what he argued
had been due process violations
during the trial.
He also sought a concurrent
(served all at the same time)
75-month sentence on the three
convictions.
During the trial, Judge Baxter
agreed with Shircliff’s argument
that Baker should serve consecu-
tive sentences on the crimes, based
on the vulnerability of the victim.
Baker knew that his daughter, who
was 13 at the time he was accused
of sexually assaulting her, had been
sexually abused by her stepgrand-
father, Loren Profi tt, when she was
9 years old, Shirtcliff said.
Profi tt was convicted of fi rst-de-
gree sexual abuse in 2012 in a plea
agreement with the District At-
torney’s offi ce. Shirtcliff said during
Baker’s trial that the state would
have sought more prison time for
Profi tt had the girl been older and
more capable of testifying.
District Attorney Baxter said
Thursday that had Baker origi-
nally been sentenced to concur-
rent 75-month terms, rather than
consecutive terms, he could end up
serving about the same amount of
time in prison if he fails to comply
with terms of his probation over
the next fi ve years.
Baker had served one year in the
Baker County Jail awaiting trial
and little more than two years of his
prison sentence at the Snake River
Correctional Institution near On-
tario before his case was reversed
and remanded to Baker County.