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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2020)
TUESDAY GET INTO A PICKLE: PROCESS ISN’T JUST FOR CUCUMBERS — HOME, PG. 1B In SPORTS, 6A Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com August 18, 2020 Local • Home & Living • Sports IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Mary Stearns of Baker City. Oregon, 3A VALE — As Malheur County heads back into 100-degree weather, two sources of relief for local children will close on Mon- day — the Vale pool and the Ontario splash pad. The move comes as health authorities take steps to get more Malheur County residents to dis- tance from each other to get the coronavirus under control. $1.50 Resident of Meadowbrook Place, Site Of County’s Only COVID-19 Outbreak, Had Underlying Conditions County has first virus death By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com The fi rst Baker County resident to die from COVID-19 was a resident at Meadowbrook Place assisted living community in Baker City, the Baker County Health Department an- nounced Monday afternoon. The resident, who was not identi- fi ed by age or gender, had underly- ing medical conditions, according to a press release from the Health Department. The county didn’t say when the person died. “I really hoped this wouldn’t hap- pen in our community,” Nancy Stat- en, the Health Department adminis- trator, said in the press release. “My heart goes out to the family, friends and loved ones of this individual, and we at the Health Department all extend our deepest sympathies. This is a sad reality of how COVID-19 can affect those at high risk, and as a community, we are responsible for protecting each other.” Deanna Smith, regional direc- tor of operations for Concepts in Community Living, which man- ages Meadowbrook Place, said “our Sumpter Valley Railroad plans runs for Saturday jjacoby@bakercityherald.com A developer from Vancouver, Washington, wants to build a Taco Bell restaurant with a drive-thru on Campbell Street in Baker City. Dan Allen fi led a site design review application with the Baker City/County Planning Department. The 2,043-square-foot restaurant would be built on a 0.91-acre parcel that’s part of the Baker Towne Square develop- ment. Gregory Sackos is the owner of Baker Towne Square LLC, which owns the property. The development includes Albertsons grocery store and Maurices clothing store. The par- cel is north of Campbell Street and east of the access road to Albertsons. Huntington Food Bank plans fundraiser Sept. 5 HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Food Bank has scheduled a fundraiser for Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Lions Park. All COVID-19 requirements will be observed. Cash donations can be mailed to the Food Bank at P.O. Box 102, Huntington, OR 97907. See Taco Bell/Page 5A WEATHER Today 94 / 56 92 / 54 Storms possible The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. See Virus/Page 5A By Jayson Jacoby SUMPTER — The Sumpter Valley Railroad’s diesel locomotive will make three runs Satur- day, a round trip from the Sumpter Depot to the Powder River and back. The train will depart at 10:30 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids. Tickets are available at Sumptervalleyrailroad.org Wednesday thoughts and prayers are with the family. This is a very sad day for our community.” At least 10 COVID-19 cases have been confi rmed at Meadowbrook. County offi cials haven’t said whether all were residents or whether some staff members tested positive. Taco Bell franchise proposed FOREST SERVICE PROPOSES TO END BAN ON CUTTING LARGER TREES BRIEFING Storms possible Blazers ready for playoffs Jayson Jacoby / Baker City Herald The U.S. Forest Service is proposing the end to a ban on cutting live trees larger than 21 inches in diam- eter as measured about four and a half feet above the ground. The “21-inch rule” has been in effect on national forests east of the Cascade Mountains since 1995. Logging Limits By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com The U.S. Forest Service is propos- ing to cancel a rule that has banned the cutting of large live trees on na- tional forests east of the Cascades in Oregon for the past quarter century. The 21-inch rule, which the agency adopted in 1995, severely restricts logging of trees with a diameter greater than 21 inches measured four and a half feet above the ground. Loggers can cut live trees larger than that generally only for safety purposes — around places where logs are loaded onto trucks, for instance, or near campgrounds or roads. But Forest Service offi cials say the restriction has stymied their efforts to thin forests and thus reduce the risk of big, fast-moving wildfi res. “Adjusting the 21-inch limitation to refl ect learning over the past 25 years would help streamline restoration of forests in eastern Oregon and make it easier to create landscapes that with- stand and recover more quickly from TODAY Issue 42, 14 pages wildfi re, drought and other distur- bances,” said Shane Jeffries, supervi- sor of the Ochoco National Forest in central Oregon and the agency offi cial tasked with deciding whether to do away with the 21-inch limit on six national forests. Those forests, in addition to the Wallowa-Whitman and the Ochoco, are the Umatilla, Deschutes, Fremont-Winema and Malheur. The rule change would affect almost 10 million acres of public land. On Aug. 11 the Forest Service pub- lished an environmental assessment of its proposal, starting a 30-day public comment period. The 21-inch rule could be replaced with new regulations next spring. The Forest Service imposed the 21-inch limit in 1995 after the Natural Resources Defense Council sought a court order blocking the Forest Service from cutting older trees, not specifi - cally setting a 21-inch limit, east of the Cascades in Oregon and Washington. The 21-inch threshold resulted Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 3B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........4B & 6B Dear Abby ................. 8B from negotiations between the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Defense Council. According to the Forest Service, a team of agency employees rec- ommended the 21-inch limit as a temporary measure, to be replaced with more detailed policies within 12 to 18 months. Those policies would be designed to preserve old trees and manage forests to increase the number of such trees in the future, according to the Forest Service. But despite that goal, the 21-inch limit remains in effect. The Forest Service is proposing to replace that strict rule with a more fl exible strategy that would aim to protect trees that are at least 150 years old, as well as grand fi r, white fi r and Douglas-fi r trees more than 30 inches in diameter, and trees of other species, including ponderosa pines and tamaracks, larger than 21 inches. See Logging/Page 2A Home ................... 1B-3B Horoscope ........4B & 6B Letters ........................4A Six file for City Council By Jayson Jacoby and Samantha O’Conner Baker City Herald At least six people will have their names on the Nov. 3 ballot for the Baker City Council. Six of the seven seats on the City Council will be decided in the election. Three incumbents have qualifi ed for the ballot — Ar- vid Andersen, Jason Spriet and Doni Bruland. The three other candidates are Gretchen Stadler, Shane Alderson and Johnny Waggoner Sr. City Recorder Katie La- Favor said Andersen, Spriet, Stadler and Alderson submitted petitions signed by at least 46 registered voters in July. Bruland submitted her ap- plication in July and Waggoner applied Friday. Both Bruland and Waggoner paid the $25 fee the City Council approved as an alternative to gathering sig- natures. Councilors added that option because the pandemic could make it more diffi cult for candidates to gather signatures. Three other people have ex- pressed an interest in running for City Council, LaFavor said, but none has offi cially fi led. The deadline to apply is 4 p.m. on Aug. 25. Lottery Revenues ......2A News of Record ........5A Obituaries ........ 2A & 5A Opinion ......................4A Sports ........................6A Weather ..................... 8B THURSDAY — GO! MAGAZINE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
