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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2020)
SATURDAY LAKERS ROUT BLAZERS TO EVEN PLAYOFF SERIES AT 1-1: SPORTS, PAGE 6A In OUTDOORS, 1B Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com August 22, 2020 Local • Sports • Outdoors • TV IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber James Christian of Baker City. Nation, 5A WILMINGTON, Del. — Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination with a vow to be a unifying “ally of the light” who would move an America in crisis past the chaos of President Donald Trump’s tenure. $1.50 Residents Try To Claim $500 COVID-19 Aid Before Money Was Depleted Friday Ready For Relief BRIEFING WEATHER Today 84 / 47 Sunny, with haze Sunday 94 / 53 Sunny Monday 86 / 51 State: Local woman died from virus ■ County reported seven new cases of the virus Friday City’s coronavirus relief fund committee to meet Aug. 26 A Baker City committee that will help decide how to award up to $75,000 in fed- eral COVID-19 aid will have its fi rst meeting on Wednes- day, Aug. 26, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1655 First St. Organizations applying for some of the money should be prepared to show how they would document that the dollars would go to people affected by the pandemic. Due to COVID-19 restric- tions, attendance will be limited to fi ve people at a time. Applicants that would like to make a presentation via Zoom should call Fred Warner Jr. at 541-524-2040 or Robin Nudd at 541-524- 2036. Wilderness popular during the pandemic By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald Several dozen people gathered Thursday afternoon outside the Old West Federal Credit Union on Broadway Street in Baker City to apply for a one-time $500 COVID-19 relief check allocated by the state. and by Friday morning, as lines formed again at Old West, the entire Baker City Herald amount had been allocated. Kathy Olsen cringes every time The Legislature earmarked the another bill arrives. money for 70,000 people who have Daniela Stone has struggled to pay suffered fi nancially due to state- her rent since the preschool where mandated restrictions related to the she teaches closed in March due to pandemic. the COVID-19 pandemic. The state created the emergency The two Baker City residents were distribution program in part be- among several dozen who gathered cause Oregon’s antiquated computer outside Old West Federal Credit system has been unable to keep Union Thursday afternoon hoping to pace with the rate of unemployment claim a $500 relief check. claims, with tens of thousands of peo- Similar scenes happened across ple still waiting for jobless benefi ts. the state, with lines extending for State offi cials set up an unortho- blocks in some cities. dox method to disburse the $35 The Oregon Legislature in July million. allocated $35 million in federal pan- Residents could visit any of about demic aid for the emergency relief 150 banks and credit unions and program. fi ll out a brief application. Those The program started Wednesday, who qualifi ed received a $500 check By Jayson Jacoby and Samantha O’Conner immediately. The system was fi rst- come, fi rst-served. The state did limit the number of checks any individual bank or credit union can issue, to ensure the money is distributed across the state. In Baker City, Old West Federal Credit Union, at Broadway and Sec- ond streets, and Umpqua Bank, a block east and on the opposite side of Broadway, were authorized to process applications and distribute checks. Residents don’t need to have an ac- count at either institution to apply for and receive a check. Stone, 44, who lost her job teaching preschool for the nonprofi t Mothers of Preschoolers group in Baker City when the school closed in March, said the lack of income has been a chal- lenge. See Relief/Page 2A The fi rst, and so far only, Baker County resident whose death is listed as related to COVID-19 was an 82-year-old woman who lived at Meadowbrook Place assisted living community in Baker City. The Baker County Health Department announced Friday that the county had seven new cases of the virus, after having none on Wednesday or Thursday. The Health Department announced on Monday that a Meadowbrook resident had died, but county offi cials declined to give any details. The Oregon Health Au- thority (OHA) includes in its daily updates the name, gen- der and county of residence of people who have died. Because the OHA statis- tics often lag a day or more behind county reports, the Baker County woman’s death was listed in Thurs- day’s update. According to the state agency, the woman tested positive for the virus on Aug. 9. She died on Aug. 16 at her residence. The woman had under- lying medical conditions, according to the OHA. See Virus/Page 2A Partly cloudy Full forecast on the back of the B section. The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. Baker School Board Tours Building That’s Being Renovated As Early Learning Center A new look at the old North Baker School By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com Yellow and blue rectangles accent the gray fl oor panels in the newly renovated classrooms on the ground fl oor of the former North Baker School building at 2725 Seventh St. The Baker School Board and Dis- trict administrative staff toured the building earlier this month to take a look at the work as it continues. Classes are scheduled to open in the new Baker Early Learning Center on Oct. 5. Katie Lamb, the Baker School Board’s vice chair, who has been part of the effort to establish the Center over the past two years, was emo- tional as she got to see the progress. “I was trying not to tear up going in there,” she said Thursday. Lamb, who has a degree in early childhood education, worked with school administrators and other com- munity partners to investigate the possibility of establishing an early learning center in the community. See Tour/Page 3A TODAY Issue 44, 12 pages Chris Collins//Baker City Herald Baker School Board members and administrative staff from the Baker School District toured the North Baker School building earlier this month to see how a renovation project is progressing. Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B Community News ....5A Crossword ........2B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B Horoscope ........2B & 4B Jayson Jacoby ..........4A News of Record ........3A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Outdoors ................... 1B Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................6A Turning Backs ...........2A Weather ..................... 6B TUESDAY — BAKER CITY WOMAN COMPETING FOR MISS OREGON USA
