COMMUNITY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020
SALON
Continued from Page 1A
The two who tested posi-
tive were able to return on
Wednesday, Lang-Maxwell
said.
Nancy Staten, the Health
Department administrator,
said the agency does not
offi cially clear employees to
return to work after they
have tested positive or been
identifi ed as a close contact
with someone who tested
positive. But Staten said
Health Department offi cials
will advise business owners,
on a case-by-case basis, about
when employees have met
state-recommended time
frames for self-quarantining.
Employees can return
to work when health offi -
cials determine they are no
longer potentially infectious.
The time frame depends on
factors such as whether the
person tested positive, and
when symptoms went away.
Lang-Maxwell said she felt
it was her responsibility as a
business owner who serves
the public, to be forthcoming
under the circumstances.
“I want to let people know
what happened,” she said.
“The more we can get edu-
cated about it the better. We
have to be honest as a com-
munity. The whole commu-
nity doesn’t have to just shut
down. We have to continue
with life.”
Lang-Maxwell said she also
wanted to emphasize that she
takes the threat of the virus
seriously, both as a business
owner and an individual.
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
“I want to let people know
what happened. The more
we can get educated about
it the better.”
City police help
local man on
record hot day
— Shannon Lang-Maxwell,
owner, A-Diva Salon & Day
Spa in Baker City, where two
employees tested positive
for COVID-19 recently
By Chris Collins
She suffered a chemical
burn to her lungs two years
ago, an injury that caused
permanent damage to her
vocal chords and led to severe
asthma. Her condition makes
her susceptible to respiratory
infections such as COVID-19.
“I have done everything
possible that you’re supposed
to do because of my situa-
tion,” Lang-Maxwell said.
Although Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown eased regulations
on salons and some other
businesses starting May
15, Lang-Maxwell said she
didn’t reopen until late May,
and then only allowed one
employee with one client at a
time in the salon.
She said she gradually in-
creased the number of people
allowed in the building,
although even before the
two workers tested positive
she was generally restricting
capacity to three employees,
each with one client, at a
time.
She said both her employ-
ees and clients wear face
masks. The salon’s waiting
room is closed, and clients
wait outside until their
appointment. All clients
and employees have their
temperatures checked, and
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Photo courtesy of Shannon Lang-Maxwell
Allison Duman, background, colors a client’s hair on
Tuesday at A-Diva Salon & Day Spa in Baker City. Both
employees and clients are required to wear face masks.
seats and other surfaces are
cleaned after each appoint-
ment, she said.
(Lang-Maxwell said that
neither of the workers who
tested positive ever had a
fever, which is also a com-
mon symptom of COVID-19
infection.)
“I feel completely safe and
comfortable having clients,”
she said.
In her July 31 Facebook
post Lang-Maxwell wrote:
“We take this virus very seri-
ously & have prided ourselves
in providing a safe environ-
ment & all the safe practices
we have been following.”
Lang-Maxwell said she
didn’t lose her sense of taste
or smell, but she did have
what seemed like a severe
sinus infection.
Because of her pre-existing
conditions she said she was
actually tested twice, with
both results being negative.
She noted that health offi -
cials told her the test is about
70% accurate on average,
however.
None of the three other
salon workers had symptoms,
Lang-Maxwell said. But she
said Health Department of-
fi cials told them to all assume
they could have been infected
and to self-quarantine.
Lang-Maxwell said she’s
not sure how many relatives
and friends of salon employ-
ees were interviewed by con-
tact tracers. She said she’s not
aware of any of those people
subsequently testing positive.
She noted that people who
don’t have symptoms gener-
ally aren’t tested, something
the Health Department has
confi rmed.
Lang-Maxwell said she
has no defi nitive evidence
as to how either of the two
salon workers contracted
COVID-19.
One had recently visited a
water park in Boise and gone
camping with friends, she
said.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Lang-Maxwell
In addition to the state requirement that clients wear
face masks, A-Diva Salon & Day Spa also checks their
temperature when they arrive for an appointment.
Police say circuit breakers stolen
Chastain stated in a press
They took four commercial-
release. In that case, thieves
grade circuit breakers belong-
The Baker City Police De-
broke into the electrical panel ing to the Tesla company,
partment is seeking help from behind Maurices, the women’s operating out of Washington
anyone with information about clothing store at 1090 Camp-
state. The total damages and
the theft of commercial-grade bell St. They took fi ve com-
loss in that case are estimated
circuit breakers from two busi- mercial circuit breakers and
at about $12,000, Chastain
ness sites over the past month. damaged two others belonging said.
The fi rst took place the
to Gregory Sackos of Baker
Anyone with information
night of July 14, Sgt. Wayne
City, Chastain said.
about the two thefts is asked to
The total loss and damages call Chastain at 541-524-2014.
exceeded $22,000. Maurices
Police also urge local busi-
also suffered the loss of a full
nesses to take extra precau-
day of business while the
tions to protect their circuit
breaker box was repaired, he
breaker panels from potential
said.
theft.
In the second case, Chastain
Locks were cut on the prior
said thieves broke into the
thefts, so that is no guarantee
power distribution area of the of safety, Chastain said. He
Tesla charging stations at 1
suggested that business owners
RICHLAND — The Dry
Sunridge Lane.
check to see if their electrical
Gulch fi re was contained at
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary
297 acres on Monday night
of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution
after threatening fi ve homes.
No structures were dam-
aged, said Larisa Bogardus,
public information offi cer for
A Reader’s Theater
the Bureau of Land Manage-
Written by Gloria Holland, Salem, Oregon
ment’s Vale District.
Sharing the Stories of Remarkable Women
The fi re, about seven miles
Told in the Voice of the Women and Their Time
north of Richland along
Eagle Creek, was reported
late Monday morning. The
blaze, which burned in grass,
started on private land and
spread to public ground man-
aged by the BLM. Residents
were notifi ed about a possible
Performances
evacuation, but that wasn’t
Park
Pavilion
in Geiser-Pollman Park
necessary.
6
p.m.
August
15, 2020
The fi re, the largest this
6 pm. August 21, 2020
summer in Baker County, was
Oregon Trail Interpretive Trail Center
human-caused, but investiga-
1:30 p.m. August 27, 2020
tors have not determined the
origin, Bogardus said.
Baker City, Oregon
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Fire near
Richland
contained
“The Suffrage Movement
in America”
panels have been tampered
with and to consider installing
video surveillance cameras.
The Tesla company knew
about the issue with the theft
from the charging stations
before police were notifi ed,
Chastain said.
A tow company reported
the crime to police after it was
called to tow a vehicle stopped
for a charge that couldn’t
obtain one, Chastain said.
Tesla, from its location
in the Seattle area, knew
about it within a half-hour
of when the crime happened,
Chastain said. The company
deenergized the system for
the safety of its customers, he
said.
Baker City Police Chief Ray Duman and Amanda
Baker, the city’s community service offi cer, really
weren’t looking for activity that would cause them
to step out into the record-breaking heat on July 31.
But before their work day had ended, a call came
in from Garland, Texas, that required them to do
just that.
Robin
Medina was
worried
about how
her dad,
James Klein-
schmit, was
surviving the
105-degree
heat in his
single-wide
mobile home
in Baker
City, Du-
man said.
Not knowing
who else to
Submitted photo
call, Medina
Baker City Police Chief Ray Duman
started with
helped install an air-conditioner in
the Baker
a local home on July 31, the hottest
City Police
Department. day so far in 2020 at 105 degrees.
It was a
simple mat-
“It was a simple matter. She called
ter, Duman
said.
the PD and we helped out.”
“She called
— Ray Duman, Baker City Police Chief
the PD and
we helped
out.”
But Medina said she and other family members
were left without words to express their apprecia-
tion for the efforts of Duman and Baker.
Phoebe Wachtel, administrative assistant for the
police department, took the call at 3:10 p.m. Friday
and began racking her brain for a way to help Me-
dina. Wachtel said she was worried that if the need
was passed to another agency, it might not have
been immediately met near the end of the day on a
sweltering Friday afternoon.
So before referring Medina elsewhere, Wachtel
said she fi rst briefed Duman on the matter and then
forwarded the call to him.
Kleinschmit is in his late 70s, has health prob-
lems and uses a wheelchair, Medina explained to
Duman. She said she could pay up to $250 for an
air conditioner if help could be provided to make the
purchase and install it at her father’s home.
Baker was assigned to fi nd the item at the right
price, Wachtel said. She tried several Baker City
stores before making a purchase at Miller’s Home
Center, which helped out by giving her a $50 dis-
count on the deal, Wachtel said.
All that was needed next was for someone to
install the appliance at Kleinschmit’s home.
Duman said the job was left up to him and Baker.
“I said ‘either we go do this and be nice human
beings or it doesn’t get done,’ ” he said.
They made the choice to help.
The air conditioner was set on a window ledge at
Kleinschmit’s home and secured.
“The family was very appreciative and so was he,”
Duman said of Kleinschmit.
See Hot Help/Page 5A
Rachel Pregnancy Center
2192 Court Avenue, Baker City • 541-523-5357
Services Provided:
Free Pregnancy Tests
A resource
center for
Referrals for Free Ultrasounds
families
Pregnancy Options Counseling
Adoption Referrals
Prenatal, Infant Care & Parenting Classes
Maternity & Baby Clothing
Post Abortion Recovery
Helping women & men in an
Open Tues -Thurs
unplanned pregnancy.
All services free & confidential.
10 am - 5 pm
(closed for lunch)
THANK YOU, MARY NESKE!
The Haines Fire Protection District (HFPD) wishes to thank Mary
Neske for 15-plus years of volunteer service to the district.
Mary served on the HFPD Board as a Director and as
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helped in many other ways, too. Always willing to pitch in and
lend a hand, Mary helped with garage
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incidents. The HFPD Board of
Directors and its patrons offer their
deep gratitude and thanks to Mary
as she steps down from the board.