Baker City herald., June 23, 2020, Page 3, Image 3

TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
LOCAL & STATE
Black Lives Matter protesters,
counterprotesters in Prineville
By Kyle Spurr
The (Bend) Bulletin
PRINEVILLE — For the
third time since the end of
May, Black Lives Matter pro-
testers and counterprotest-
ers lined an entire city block
outside the Crook County
Courthouse on Third Street.
Rumors of violence and
looting drew a larger crowd
Saturday, with hundreds of
people on each side of the
street, the busy main drag
through Prineville. Many
counterprotesters, who did
not want the demonstration
in their town, were heavily
armed.
Law enforcement from
several agencies made certain
the protest would stay peace-
ful.
Cement barriers were set
up along the street outside
the courthouse with signs
that told people to use the
crosswalks or face arrest if
they entered the roadway.
Prineville Police reported no
arrests.
Toward the end of the pro-
test, people from both sides
used the crosswalks so they
could confront each other
in heated conversations. No
fi ghts were reported.
Both sides felt it was neces-
sary to be in Prineville on
Saturday, despite two earlier
rallies that produced death
threats toward organizers.
The Black Lives Matter
protesters came from across
Central Oregon to spread
their message about police
brutality and racial inequal-
ity. The issues were sparked
last month when a Black
man, George Floyd, died in
police custody after a Min-
Ryan Brennecke / The (Bend) Bulletin
Black Lives Matter protesters line the sidewalk in front of the Crook County Court-
house in Prineville on Saturday.
neapolis offi cer kneeled on his
neck for nearly nine minutes.
Counterprotesters saw the
demonstration as an attack
on their police department
and a way to paint the town’s
residents as racists. They
were motivated to protect
their town.
As the Black Lives Mat-
ter protesters chanted, the
counterprotesters across the
street stood stoically. Some
held their guns, while others
held “Trump 2020” fl ags.
Tom Clark, a 76-year-old
retired attorney from Bend,
brought a sign to the protest
that read, “No Hate, No Fear.”
Clark said his main reason
for attending the protest was
to support the Black Lives
Matter movement, not to
demonstrate against the city
of Prineville.
“It’s not about Prineville.
It’s not about Crook County,”
Clark said. “It’s about
America.”
Bend resident Hannah Ter-
rell, who attended the protest
with her husband, Chris,
said their Christian faith
motivated them to support
the cause, since they believe
every single person deserves
to be treated equally.
“To me, it’s very obvious
that Black people are not just
incredibly marginalized but
are victims of the result of
hundreds of years of systemic
racism,” Hannah Terrell said.
“And we have to acknowledge
that. It would be inconsistent
with my faith if I just kept
quiet.”
Joshua Hernandez, a
39-year-old Bend resident,
said he was invited to the
protest by some friends who
live in Prineville and helped
BOTTLE
Among counties neighboring
Baker, only Grant has also had
just one confi rmed case of the
virus.
Malheur County has had 51
cases as of Monday, according to
the Oregon Health Authority.
Wallowa County’s total is 8.
As of Monday, a total of 399
Baker County residents had
been tested. That compares with
Union (1,255 people tested);
Malheur (1,083); Wallowa (358)
and Grant (164).
In responding to a ques-
tion from Phyllis Hemeon of
Vale about limited testing for
COVID-19, Wyden took Presi-
dent Donald Trump to task
for making what Trump’s
staff now claims was a joke
about deliberately limiting
testing to keep coronavirus
case numbers down.
Wyden said he heard
Trump make the statement
Saturday at a campaign rally
in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“It just shook me right
to the bone,” Wyden said. “I
want Oregonians to know
that when 120,000 Americans
die, it is no joke.”
And whether Trump was
making a joke or if he really
did want to curtail testing to
lower the numbers to make
himself look good, Wyden said
leadership is what the nation
needs at this time.
“We need from the presi-
dent of the United States,
a national strategy ... for a
properly funded testing pro-
gram, PPE (personal protec-
tive equipment) and contact
tracing,” he said.
Wyden said he hopes he
and his colleagues in Wash-
ington can agree on ways
to work toward a solution
together.
“Whether you’re a Demo-
crat or a Republican, No. 1,
you’re going to say ... this is
no laughing matter, and No.
2, we’ve got to fi nd a way
to come together and set in
place a strategy to deal with
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 541-519-4703 by Tuesday evening, June 30.
Continued from Page 2A
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
Baker Ladies Golf and Bridge Association
plans season-opening lunch July 1
CHURCH
COVID-19
WYDEN
L OCAL B RIEFING
organize the event. Hernan-
dez has attended several
other protests in Bend, and
is focused on speaking out
against police brutality.
Hernandez said he thinks
about his 9-year-old daugh-
ter and how she might be
treated by police when she is
older.
“That’s why I’m here,” Her-
nandez said. “I want to make
sure she grows up in a world
where she isn’t afraid to drive
down the street.”
Many businesses stayed
open Saturday and welcomed
people from both sides of the
street.
Some business owners
spent the afternoon outside
of their shops to protect their
property if the protest turned
violent.
See Prineville/Page 5A
Co.” arrayed in a rainbow shape
around the numbers “4” and “5.”
Continued from Page 1A
Reindl and Birko quickly learned
He was fascinated.
that the bottle was likely made by
“I thought, ‘holy cow, that’s been
the Adolphus Busch Glass Manu-
there as long as that tree’s been
facturing Company, and probably in
growing,’ ” Reindl said. “It was an
the late 1800s or early in the 1900s.
amazing it was in such good condi-
Busch was a co-founder, with his
tion.”
father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser,
Particularly after he banged it
of perhaps the most famous beer-
with his shovel.
brewing outfi t in history.
“It’s really stout,” Reindl said.
Anheuser-Busch created the
He and his partner, Cindy Birko, Budweiser brand, and the bottle’s
went online to do some sleuthing.
original contents might well have
They were not without clues.
been about a pint of that very beer.
The base of the bluish-green
“It’s really fascinating,” Birko
bottle is emblazoned with “A.B.G.M. said. “We think it’s tied into the
“We need from the president of the United States, a
national strategy ... for a properly funded testing
program, PPE (personal protective equipment) and
contact tracing.”
— U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon
this,” Wyden said.
The nearly hour-long
session was started by Beth
Spell of John Day, a retired
teacher who won the Demo-
cratic nomination in May
to face Mark Owens, the
Republican incumbent, in
November for the District 60
seat in the Oregon House of
Representatives. The district
includes all of Baker, Grant,
Harney, and Malheur coun-
ties and a portion of Lake
County.
Spell asked Wyden for help
in solving the “overwhelming
polarization” between urban
and rural, Republican and
Democrat, and other social
and political divisions.
“It seems people can’t come
to the middle and talk about
the issues that are weighing
us down in our small com-
munities and in our larger
communities,” Spell said. “It’s
almost dangerous sometimes
to have a differing opinion.
What can we do to bring our
conversations back to middle
ground?”
In responding, Wyden
pointed to past political eras
in Oregon when Republicans
such as Mark Hatfi eld and
Tom McCall could work
together for the good of the
state with more liberal leg-
islators such as Vera Katz, a
Democrat.
“But all three of them
focused on trying to come up
with fresh solutions,” he said.
James Parker has also been convicted of second-
degree criminal mischief, driving uninsured twice and
driving with a suspended license twice.
Before the outbreak, the church’s Facebook page
published updates nearly every day. The church
stopped posting on its public Facebook page Wednes-
day, June 17, and has deleted all posts from after June
12. On June 17, it created a private Facebook page.
A person who answered the phone at the church
June 15 hung up when asked about the Union County
coronavirus outbreak. Every day since, the church has
not answered the phone or responded to emails.
In a now-deleted daily devotional video published
June 16 on Facebook, Pastor James Parker appeared
to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I appreciate everybody being cooperative with
what was decided and doing your best to help,”
Parker said. “In the end, our fruit will show that
what we’re doing is the right thing, and more people
need to do what we did. The more people that do the
right thing, the easier it’s going to be for the rest of
the world to combat this pandemic that we’re going
through.”
Parker did not further explain what “the right
thing” is, and the church did not respond to a request
for clarifi cation.
CART
Continued from Page 1A
Scheler says that the ore cart, along with the auger,
tools, and tracks it was found with, will be placed on
a pedestal at the entrance to Western Heights for
anyone who wants to see the relics.
Scheler also said he’s hoping someone in the commu-
nity might know more about the history of the objects.
mining history of the area.”
Birko said the fi rst structure
on the 5-acre property where she
and Reindl have lived since 2017
was a miners’ cabin, although they
don’t have any detailed informa-
tion about the cabin or when it was
built.
Reindl said he has found one
other artifact, a rusty gold pan, in
the creek.
“I haven’t done a lot of looking,”
he said.
Reindl said he’s thankful that the
blow that revealed the bottle was
made with the shovel rather than
with the other tool with which he
In the same way, Wyden
said he and Mike Crapo, an
Idaho Republican senator,
have worked together to help
support rural communities
through the PILT program,
which provides federal pay-
ments to local governments to
help offset losses in property
taxes because of the nontax-
able federal lands within
their boundaries.
“When he and I get to-
gether ... we talk about what
is it going to take to get urban
legislators in particular to
support the kinds of ideas
that are so important for our
rural communities,” Wyden
said.
Peter Hall, a member of the
Haines City Council, asked
Wyden how police depart-
ments can maintain account-
was battling the roots.
That’s a pulaski — a fi refi ghting
tool that has an axe on one side of
its head and an adze on the other.
Either implement would have
been more likely than the shovel to
shatter the bottle.
Reindl and Birko plan to keep
the bottle, at least for now. They
said they might consider donating
it a museum, such as the Baker
Heritage Museum.
And they’ll be looking for other
bits of history while clearing brush
and doing other work on their place.
“I’d love to have a metal detector,”
Birko said.
ability while also continuing
to operate independently
without becoming corrupt.
Wyden said a bill he
is supporting titled “The
Justice and Policing Act” is
aimed at solving some of the
recent issues in that regard
highlighted by the death of
George Floyd, who was killed
in Minneapolis on Memorial
Day while he was in police
custody.
“It could also be called,
from my standpoint, the
Transparency and Account-
ability Legislation,” Wyden
said.
In addition to banning
racial profi ling, strengthening
the way in which investiga-
tions are covered and ensur-
ing that the use of force is
only a last resort, the act also
would create a register of of-
fi cers involved in violence and
brutal conduct and ensure
that if they are involved in
such activity in one jurisdic-
tion he or she could not just
simply move elsewhere to
continue the behavior.
Other questions posed to
Wyden during the virtual
town hall meeting ranged
from unemployment benefi ts,
to rural health district fund-
ing and the digital divide in
rural Oregon.
Wyden said he and his staff
are always willing to listen
to his constituents and to
provide help when possible.
“As I look to Oregon and
our future, we’re doing a lot
of things really well,” he said.
“We have better days ahead
and I’m excited about that.”
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Baker
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541-963-0265
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