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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 2020)
THURSDAY JOE BIDEN PICKS SENATOR KAMALA HARRIS AS RUNNING MATE: PAGE 5A In SPORTS, 6A Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com August 13, 2020 IN THIS EDITION: Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 BAKER SCHOOLS WILL STILL OPEN SEPT. 8 WITH ONLINE CLASSES ONLY QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Eric Colton of Baker City. Local, 3A Baker City Police Chief Ray Duman and Amanda Baker, the city’s commu- nity service offi cer, really weren’t looking for activity that would cause them to step out into the record- breaking heat on July 31. State eases school reopening standards By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com Although Oregon offi cials have loosened the requirements for some rural schools to have students return to classrooms, Baker School District students still will begin the year on Sept. 8 with all classes online. The Oregon Department of Educa- tion and Oregon Health Authority announced revised standards Tues- day related to COVID-19 cases. Baker Schools Superintendent Mark Witty led the cause of seven Eastern Oregon districts, along with county and state representatives and other school and health offi cials, asking for changes to the original metrics that Gov. Kate Brown an- nounced July 28. See Schools/Page 5A BRIEFING A-Diva Salon Reopens After Two Employees Tested Positive For COVID-19 Sumpter Valley Railroad plans Gold Rush Bandits weekend runs SUMPTER — Riders on the historic narrow-gauge Sumpter Valley Railroad will be “held up” by horse-riding “bandits” on Saturday and Sunday. The annual event, in which volunteers act as train robbers during the run from the McEwen Depot to Sumpter, is set for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15 and 16. Trains leave the McEwen Depot, just south of Highway 7 between Mileposts 28 and 27, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. both days. Tickets are $24 for adults, $20 for military members and seniors, and $14 for kids ages 3-17. Pac-12 cancels football County’s COVID total up by 5, to 45 By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Baker County tallied three new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, after reporting two new cases on Tuesday. The county’s total rose to 45, said Holly Kerns, a public information offi cer for Baker County. The county’s seven cases since Sunday ties for the third-most in any week since the pandemic started, according to statistics from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). The OHA compiles weekly county totals from Sunday through Saturday. Baker County’s highest weekly total was nine cases from July 26 through Aug. 1. See Virus/Page 2A Baker has 2nd-lowest COVID-19 testing rate WEATHER By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Baker County has the second-lowest per capita testing rate for COVID-19 among Oregon’s 36 counties. According to a report from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) issued Wednesday, 1,115 county residents had been tested for the virus. Today 82 / 40 Sunny Friday 85 / 42 Sunny See Testing/Page 5A Correction: A story on Page 5A of Tuesday’s issue about a fatal car crash on Interstate 84 misidentifi ed the victim, Heydi Yajaira Sandoval. Sandoval is a woman. The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. Photo courtesy of Shannon Lang-Maxwell Candi Lay wears a full face shield while blow-drying a client’s hair at A-Diva Salon & Day Spa in Baker City. City Council appoints committee for COVID financial aid By Samantha O’Conner Back In Style By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com After being forced to close her Bak- er City salon for most of the spring due to state restrictions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Shannon Lang-Maxwell had just returned to something like a normal schedule when a co-worker brought her the troubling news on the evening of July 29. The worker, one of fi ve who leases space at A-Diva Salon & Day Spa at 2030 Resort St., had lost her sense of taste and smell. Lang-Maxwell, who opened the salon about 16 years ago, knew that TODAY Issue 40, 18 pages was a symptom strongly associated with COVID-19 infection. Not long after, she learned that a second co-worker had the same symptom. All six employees were tested for the virus. Four, including Lang-Maxwell, were negative. The two who had lost their sense of taste and smell both tested positive. (Lang-Maxwell declined to name the two, saying they didn’t want to be interviewed for this story.) Lang-Maxwell again closed her salon. She also posted on her business’ Business ...........1B & 2B Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 3B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........4B & 6B soconner@bakercityherald.com Facebook page about the situation, notifying customers of the days that one employee had worked — at that time she only knew of the one worker having symptoms. Lang-Maxwell said that since then she has been in frequent contact with the Baker County Health Depart- ment to ensure that she and her fi ve employees are monitored for symptoms. She said the Health Department advised her that the workers who tested negative could return to the salon on Monday. The Baker City Council on Tuesday appointed three members to a committee that will help distribute the $292,929 the city has received in federal aid for the coronavi- rus pandemic. Mayor Loran Joseph will appoint two additional mem- bers later to the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) committee. Membership will include one city councilor, a city employee, a Baker County of- fi cial, and two local residents. On Tuesday the Council appointed Councilor Doni Bruland, Robin Nudd, the city’s human resources and community development director, and Chris Knoll, manager of Umpqua Bank’s Baker City branch. See Salon/Page 3A See Council/Page 7A Dear Abby ................. 8B Horoscope ........4B & 6B Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................6A Weather ..................... 8B SATURDAY — THE LURE OF A LONELY LOG CABIN IN THE WILDERNESS
