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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2020)
SATURDAY WALLOWA-WHITMAN NATIONAL FOREST TIGHTENS FIRE RULES: PAGE 3A In OUTDOORS, 1B Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com August 1, 2020 Local • Outdoors • TV IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Mary Stiglich of Baker City. Local, 3A Members of the Baker County Narcotics Enforce- ment Team spent this week issuing citations to people known to have outstand- ing warrants and working to curtail problems at a house just a block east of Brooklyn Primary School known for criminal activity. $1.50 Schools likely to start online By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com It’s offi cial. Baker students will return to their studies on Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day. What form those studies will take, however, is yet to be decided. The Baker School Board agreed in a special noon meeting Thurs- day to approve Superintendent Mark Witty’s plan to add four days of training to help staff members learn more about the District’s new technology system and recently approved English/language arts curriculum. They’ll also be prepar- ing for hygiene and social distancing protocols aimed at keeping the staff and students safe from the corona- virus when in-person instruction resumes. That probably won’t be when school starts Sept. 8, however, Witty said. He alerted the Board Thursday that despite the extra training days built into the calendar and the delayed start for students, who were originally due to begin classes Aug. 31, in-person classes probably will be delayed. The Board will hear more from Witty on the issue during another special meeting set for noon Thurs- day, Aug. 5, on how to proceed in light of the requirements for offering in-person classes that Gov. Kate Brown announced on Tuesday. Those could make it diffi cult for Baker to offer in-person classes, especially for grades 4-12. Hells Canyon Dam road access limited WEATHER Today 90 / 50 Sunny Sunday 95 / 57 Sunny By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Alicia Hills has interviewed each of the 29 Baker County residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. And Hills, the nursing su- pervisor for the Baker County Health Department, said she’s been gratifi ed by residents’ willingness to try to curb the spread of the virus. “Most people have been very agreeable,” Hills said on Friday morning. Lisa Britton / For the Baker City Herald Baker City offi cials have asked residents to voluntarily reduce water use. 89 / 50 Sunny The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. See COVID/Page 5A City Seeks To Slow Water Consumption ■ City curbs use at public facilities and asks residents to voluntarily cut back cool but let’s be smart about our water use.” Baker City Public Works Director Although peak hourly demand earlier Michelle Owen is asking residents to this week equated to a daily use of use less water during the heat wave. 8.5 million gallons — 4.5 million is a “We’re just using a large amount of more typical summer day’s usage — water and I thought it would be just Owen said the city’s water supply is appropriate to kind of say, hey folks, in “pretty good shape.” we need to be thinking about that,” Goodrich Reservoir, the natural Owen said on Thursday. lake high in the Elkhorn Mountains “It’s hot and we all want to stay that the city uses as a supplemen- By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com Monday See Schools/Page 5A COVID patients seek to curb risk Baker City’s Water Use Rises Along With The Temperature BRIEFING OXBOW — Driving ac- cess across Hells Canyon Dam will be limited Aug. 3-6 while Idaho Power Company crews do main- tenance on the dam about 21 miles north of Oxbow, at the Oregon/Idaho border. On Aug. 3 and 4, drivers will be able to cross the dam only between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. PDT. Crews will be removing large beams called stop logs and moving them to a storage area. Stop logs control water fl ow through the dam during mainte- nance work. Pedestrians will be able to cross the dam during the vehicle closure. On Aug. 5 and 6, drivers planning to cross the dam should expect delays of up to 45 minutes. Enjoying ‘lesser’ mountains tary source, is full, holding about 200 million gallons. “I don’t have grave concerns over the supply,” Owen said. “Goodrich has been fi lled and we are using some of Goodrich and we are using the well, so we are using a lot of dif- ferent sources. And we’ll continue to do so.” See Water/Page 2A West Nile virus yet to appear By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Matt Hutchinson is one of the few people who can say, with conviction, that “it’s been a pretty quiet year so far on the virus front.” Hutchinson obviously isn’t talking about the coronavi- rus. The virus that occupies much of his attention is West Nile virus, an infec- tion spread to people from mosquitoes. See West Nile/Page 3A City’s watershed pipeline replacement progressing By Sam Anthony santhony@bakercityherald.com Baker City Public Works Department photo TODAY Issue 35, 12 pages Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B 7.4 miles down, 15.9 miles to go. That’s the current status of Baker City’s long- term project to replace the century-old, leak- prone concrete pipeline that brings water from the Elkhorn Mountains to town. This summer crews are working on the sec- tion between Elk Creek and Salmon Creek. The pipeline originated as an open ditch built in the 1860s to supply mines near Auburn. After the city acquired the ditch and its water rights from miners, the city installed concrete pipe. But the pipe sections are just 3 feet long, which means there are thousands of joints, which can leak. A test done in the early 2000s showed that when the pipe is at capacity as much as 22% of the water can be lost to leaks. Community News ....3A Crossword ........2B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B Horoscope ........3B & 4B Jayson Jacoby ..........4A News of Record ........2A The new pipe city crews are installing is made from longer sections of PVC. The project started back in 2009, and is expected to run through 2026. With an average cost of $750,000 a year, the total cost will likely end up coming out to around $12 million. The city raised water rates to pay for the project. Because the pipeline is inaccessible in winter and into spring due to snow, work can only be done during summer. But Michelle Owen, the city’s public works director, is hopeful that the project will be com- pleted within 6 years. In addition to the mountain line, a steel pipeline installed in 1961 carries water from Goodrich Lake, a source of water during sum- mer, across the valley to town. Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Outdoors ..........1B & 6B Senior Menus ...........2A Turning Backs ...........2A Weather ..................... 6B INSIDE — BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT’S NEW LOCAL LEADER: PG. 3A
