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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2020)
LOCAL & REGION THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2020 OREGON’S BIGGEST COVID-19 OUTBREAK CENTERED ON ISLAND CITY CHURCH BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A Locals support effort to force recall vote of Kate Brown fell in Baker City on 10 of June’s fi rst 17 days. Petitions to recall Or- Jones said that when egon Gov. Kate Brown are the weather clears nothing new, but Suzan up — dry, warm condi- Ellis Jones, the Baker tions are forecast for the County Republican chair, next several days — she thinks that this might be plans to set up a booth the year when the effort at Geiser-Pollman Park succeeds. where people can sign the Last year, two sepa- recall petition. rate petitions seeking Oregon Republican to put a recall on a Party Chairman Bill Cur- statewide ballot failed rier is the chief petitioner to gather the required in the effort to unseat number of certifi ed sig- Brown, a Democrat who, natures from voters. as Oregon secretary This month a petition, of state, replaced John which needs 280,050 Kitzhaber as governor signatures by Aug. 31 when Kitzhaber resigned to force a recall election, in February 2015. Brown has been making its way was elected to serve the around with supporters remainder of Kitzhaber’s meeting with groups of term in 2016, and then friends to collect signa- elected to a 4-year term tures, Jones said. in 2018. Although the coro- Jones also said that navirus pandemic has she’s optimistic that Min- prompted the cancellation ers Jubilee will happen of many events where July 17-19, as that event petition supporters might would be a good opportu- have gathered signatures, nity to add signatures. Jones said the impedi- The Baker County ment so far hasn’t been Chamber of Commerce, the pandemic but rather which coordinates Miners the frequently rainy Jubilee, has not decided weather. whether to have the event At least a trace of rain in some form. By Sam Anthony santhony@bakercityherald.com Screenshot from Lighthouse Pentecostal Church video Members of the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Island City during services April 26 while Union County and the rest of Oregon remained under orders preventing large gatherings to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. The screenshot is from a video the church has since removed from its Facebook page. The Lighthouse Pentecostal Church is associated with at least 236 COVID-19 cases in the county. Union County commissioners want to move back to phase 1 public health in the county, announced just two more LA GRANDE — Union cases Wednesday morning, County commissioners voted bringing the total to 242. Wednesday morning to recom- The board of commissioners mend rolling back to phase 1 met via a Zoom call to address guidelines. the community’s concerns The move comes as the about the outbreak. Members county is the state’s hotspot of the Center for Human De- for the coronavirus with 240 velopment, the Union County confi rmed cases as of Tues- Sheriff’s Offi ce, La Grande day, according to the Oregon Police Department and the Health Authority, and at least Incident Management Team’s 236 of those stemming from J.B. Brock sat in on the meet- members of the Lighthouse ing to provide further informa- Pentecostal Church in Island tion and recommendations. In City just east of La Grande. addition to recommending the The Center for Human roll back to Phase 1, commis- Development, which oversees sioners voted to recommend By Sabrina Thompson The (La Grande) Observer wearing masks. The two motions are only recommendations. Commis- sioner Matt Scarfo said the board is looking into what power it has to enforce and regulate phases and mask use. Commissioner Donna Bever- age said she would rather trust residents to voluntary enact phase 1 guidelines. The county, like most of Oregon, had moved into phase 2 re- opening earlier this month. La Grande Police Chief Gary Bell and Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen confi rmed there will be no formal enforcement of guidelines. The two top local law enforcement offi cers said their agencies will continue to look into complaints about people not following guidelines and make recommendations to those who don’t to reconsider their actions to keep the com- munity safe. Public Health Administra- tor Carrie Brogoitti said what happens next in the county depends on every member of the community stepping up. “We don’t have a reliable treatment or vaccine,” she said. “So the tools we have to use are the preventative measures.” Local students graduate from OSU CORVALLIS —Seven Baker City stu- dents are among more than 7,000 who have earned degrees as part of Oregon State University’s class of 2020. While Oregon State’s traditional com- mencement ceremonies were postponed due to the pandemic, the graduating students are being celebrated online. To watch celebratory messages and learn more about the Oregon State Class of 2020, visit https://commencement. oregonstate.edu/. • Hannah J. Boruch, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Human Development and Family Sciences • Ryan K. Cashen, Honors Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, Chemical Engineering • Rebecca S. Colton, Master of Educa- tion, College Student Services Adminis- tration • Bailey M. Hill, Bachelor of Arts, English • Levi S. Mansuetti, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Chemical Engineering • Bryson T. Smith, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Kinesiology • Connor L. Yates, Master of Science, Robotics North Powder: • Taylor M. Martin, Bachelor of Sci- ence, Human Development and Family Sciences OUTBREAK of that sort, even anecdotally,” Bennett said. “We’re not aware of that.” Baker County has had only one confi rmed case of the virus, which was reported May 6. That person, who was not identifi ed but lives in the 97814 ZIP code area, recovered at home, according to the Baker County Health Department. Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City, the county’s only hospital, has “a surge plan in place and are prepared for an increase in patients should that occur,” Laura Huggins, a spokeswoman for the hospital, wrote in an email to the Herald on Tuesday. The plan Baker County submitted to the state prior to phase 1 of reopening, which started May 15, stated that Saint Alphonsus had boosted its capacity from 25 beds to 35, including fi ve intensive care unit beds. In addition, the county had set up an alternate site with the capacity for up to 60 more beds. Bennett said the county’s emergency management team had a discussion Monday, and the team confi rmed that the county’s contact tracers are ready if needed. Bennett also said the county is ready to operate a call center if the Health Depart- ment starts to receive more calls from con- cerned residents than its staff can handle. The call center, which would be staffed by county employees, is designed to give residents the information that’s also avail- able on the county’s COVID-19 website, www.bakercountycovid19.com Bennett said he understands that not all residents have internet access, and that some would prefer to talk to a person in any case. Continued from Page 1A Although almost all of the COVID-19 cases in Union County — 236 of 240, of which 218 were announced Monday or Tuesday — are connected to the Light- house Pentecostal Church in Island City, Bennett said there’s still the potential for Baker County residents to have been exposed while in Union County. “I think it’s too soon to see the full implications here,” he said Wednesday morning. Bennett said he has no reason to be- lieve that any large gatherings of people not following social distancing guidelines or wearing face masks, as was the case at the Island City church, have taken place in Baker County. “We’ve not received reports of anything CENTER Continued from Page 1A Other measures recom- mended for visitors: • Practice social distancing by maintaining 6 feet of space between you and others. • Wear cloth face coverings where social distancing is diffi cult (except for those who are under age 2 or who have trouble breathing). • Wash your hands often. While you’re outdoors, use hand sanitizers. • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. • Most importantly, please stay home if you don’t feel well. Now that Oregon is allowing larger gatherings in many counties, including Baker, the BLM is moving forward with scheduled performances in July, starting the July 4 weekend, including the 6 p.m. Saturday performances. All entertainment will be L OCAL B RIEFING Danean Herrera-Riley awarded $500 Vivan Crawford scholarship Danean Herrera-Riley, who operates One Transi- tion At A Time, a nonprofi t that turns unused items into art and offers housing for women in addiction recovery, has received a $500 Vivan Crawford scholarship sponsored by PEO Sisterhood Chapter CJ of Baker City. Herrera-Riley is completing a master’s degree in social work/counseling at Grand Herrera- Riley Canyon University. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Oregon University, Herrera-Riley continued supporting addiction recovery programs by teaching life skills classes at New Directions Northwest and through Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center at Pendle- ton. Vivan Crawford taught school in Baker City for many years. The scholarship in her name was estab- lished by her husband, Ken Crawford, and by her PEO sisters and friends. Baker Ladies Golf and Bridge Association plans season-opening lunch July 1 The Baker Ladies Golf and Bridge Association will have its season-opening luncheon on Wednesday, July 1, at Quail Ridge Golf Course, 2801 Indiana Ave. Weather permitting, golf will start at 8:15 a.m., with lunch served at 12:30 p.m. and bridge following lunch. Prices are the same as last year — $9 for lunch, $1 for 50-50. Masks will be optional for bridge. Those who don’t feel well are asked to please not attend. All new and former members are welcome. For lunch reservations, call Dianne Ellingson at 541-523- 4553 or 541-519-4073 by Tuesday evening, June 30. Baker County Democrats to meet by teleconference this evening The Baker County Democrats will not be meeting at their usual location until September. Their June meet- ing will be done by teleconference this evening, June 18, at 6 o’clock. Anyone wishing to join can call Peter Hall at 541-519-7274 for call-in information. outside at the amphitheater (in the event of rain, perfor- mances will be on the front porch area). Best Friends of Baker Saturday Market NOW OPEN!! Fridays & Saturdays 8 AM - 2 PM for shopping and donations Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you! Open for dining in 6 am to 12 am Daily Take out and Catering is Available. 515 Campbell Street Baker City 541-523-4318 Visit the store for Baker’s best Gifts
