Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2020)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A LOCAL & STATE Lawmakers say COVID-19 aid should go directly to counties tionate amount of the funds, the state has created inad- SALEM — Democratic equate resource distribution and Republican lawmak- with signifi cant statewide ers say county governments inequities in the amount of should directly receive tens of aid provided to local govern- millions of dollars in fed- ments to help their communi- eral coronavirus relief funds, ties respond to the COVID-19 rather than having the state pandemic,” the letter, signed government funnel them to by 47 of 90 lawmakers, read. Oregon communities. In April Oregon received The Legislature has de- $1.39 billion through the bated how to spend $1.4 bil- federal CARES Act. lion in COVID-19 money for The bipartisan letter speci- months but last week more fi ed that according to United than half of Oregon’s law- States Federal Treasury makers signed a bipartisan guidelines, 45% of the funds letter — addressed to Gov. must be given to local govern- Kate Brown, Oregon Senate ment — about $625 million. President Peter Courtney, The state’s Joint Emergen- D-Salem and Oregon House cy Board allocated $450 mil- Speaker Tina Kotek, D- lion for state expenses, $415 Portland — requesting a $200 million for local governments million payout that they say and indigenous tribes, and the had been promised to local remaining $525 million was governments. placed in reserve, according “By keeping a dispropor- to the Oregon Department of By Sara Cline Associated Press/Report for America Administrative Services. Of the funds for local governments, state lawmak- ers divided up $215 million for reimbursing local govern- ments and tribes and $200 million for local governments to pay for COVID-19 expenses such as personal protection equipment, contact tracing and testing. In a letter by the Oregon League of Cities to Brown, only $46 million has been released to cities, counties and districts to date. Lawmakers said in their recent letter that the “need in many jurisdictions far exceeds the resources allocated from the State of Oregon.” The letter further stated that a number of cities, including Seaside, Brookings and Medford, have already used the funds allocated as counties continue to address child care, shelter, economic and public health needs of the community. Lawmakers are asking that the state allocates an addi- tional $200 million “that the state had previously promised for local governments.” Frustrations were reignited Monday when the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board met and approved using $105 million of the funds for the state to buy and distribute personal protective equipment to Oregon cities and counties. Legislative leaders had heard the request earlier in the month and denied it — several lawmakers, at the time, had complained that their counties and cities had not received their share of federal aid. See COVID-19 AID/Page 5A N EWS OF R ECORD FUNERAL PENDING Raelene Florene Mad- dox: Her memorial service will take place Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., with Pastor Lennie Spooner of the Baker City Nazarene Church offi ciating. To light a candle for Raelene, or to leave a condolence for her family, go to www.grays westco.com POLICE LOG Baker City Police THEFT III (Baker County Justice Court warrant): Alan William Wolfe, 33, of 880 Elm St., No. 1, 7:19 a.m. Wednes- day, in the 1000 block of Walnut Street; cited and released. FOURTH-DEGREE DO- MESTIC ASSAULT: Justin Michael Shelton, 30, of 400 Second St., 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, on Elm Street; jailed. FIRST-DEGREE CRIMINAL MISCHIEF and SECOND-DE- GREE CRIMINAL MISCHIEF: Alexander Scott Gentry, 26, of 2190 Campbell St., 11:52 a.m. Thursday, at his home; cited and released. AGGRAVATED FIRST- DEGREE THEFT, RESISTING ARREST and FAILURE TO APPEAR (Two Baker County Justice Court warrants): Craig Anthony Willey, 42, of Baker City, 3:52 p.m. Thursday, in the 2100 block of Second Street; jailed. PROBATION VIOLATION (Three Baker County Circuit Court warrants): Austin Mikel Coble, 24, of Baker City, 2:02 a.m. Friday, at 1226 Washing- ton Ave., cited and released. SECOND-DEGREE CRIMINAL TRESPASS: Trevor James Heath, 24, of Baker City, 4:23 a.m. Friday, in the 1500 block of Campbell Street; cited and released. FOURTH-DEGREE DO- MESTIC ASSAULT: Heather Eve Limbaugh, 46, of Baker City, 8:27 am. Thursday, in the 1000 block of Walnut St.; jailed and later released. Crime reports FIRST-DEGREE THEFT: In the 1000 block of Idlewood Drive, between May 1 and June 25; taken: a generator valued at $3,500 belonging to Claire Duncan, 77, of Baker City. Oregon State Police FAILURE TO MAKE AN- NUAL SEX OFFENDER REG- ISTRATION REPORT: Michael Scott Tugman, 32, of Baker City, 11:45 a.m. Wednesday; cited and released. Brown: Travel restrictions possible if virus rate stays steady to impose restrictions back in classrooms at most of our on travel in and out of schools this fall.” With the spread of coronavirus in Oregon, and potentially She said the current infection rate Oregon holding fairly steady, Gov. other restrictions, too. is still way too high. Kate Brown on Friday said she is Defending her past “If we cannot improve our trajec- prepared to impose new restrictions decisions as a balanc- tory over the rest of the month,” she Brown if things don’t improve. ing act, Brown said, said, “unfortunately I will need to Brown said that to hasten the “unfortunately, it’s still add more restrictions.” opening of schools around Oregon for not enough. Our infection rate is still Under the latest projections, she in-person instruction, she is prepared too high to get all of our kids safely said, it looks to be about 200 days be- By Nick Budnick Pamplin Media Group TOUR That reproduction rate needs to drop from 1.0 to .75, they said. However, Oregon Health Author- ity Director Pat Allen said he thinks the modeling report is lagging the current situation. He cited encourag- ing signs in recent weeks that he said show improvement, such as a drop in confi rmed cases and in the rate of positive coronavirus tests. “I knew if we applied our energy and kept pulling, we’d fi nd a way to get it done.” Continued from Page 1A — Mark Witty, superintendent, Baker School District Chris Collins//Baker City Herald The main entrance to the new Baker Early Learning Center will be on the east side of the former North Baker School Building at 2725 Seventh St. Angela Lattin, who will direct the Baker Early Learn- ing Center, said partners who will be included in programs are the Department of Hu- man Services, Advantage Dental, Building Healthy Families and Head Start. “We’re talking with others who would be a good fi t for young families,” she said. “Some will rent space and some will come in to offer services.” Cassie Hibbert, project manager with the Wenaha Group, which has an offi ce in Pendleton, led the Aug. 13 tour along with Lattin and Josh Rohner of Sid Johnson & Co. Rohner is a grandson of the namesake of the longtime family owned Baker City con- struction business, which was hired as the general contrac- tor on the project. A 1995 Baker High School graduate, Rohner said he spent his K-5 years at North Baker Elementary School, and many other family mem- bers also spent part of their childhoods in the building. The total cost of the project is $2.3 million. Grant funding totals $200,000. Other money to help pay for the project includes $1.8 million from the state Student Investment Act; a District contribution of $96,158; and $80,000 from the state Preschool Promise fund. The original three-story North Baker tuff stone construction, which dates to 1909, had a new section added to its north side in the 1950s. A wing was added to the south end of the building in the 1970s. In its reincarnation as the Baker Early Learning Center, the ground fl oor of the build- ing’s north end will house four Head Start classrooms of 20 students each. The fund- ing to expand the Head Start program at the new Center comes through the state Department of Education’s Oregon Preschool Promise Program, said Robert Kleng, director of Eastern Oregon University Head Start, which serves Baker and Union counties. Kleng said the Preschool Promise funding allowed the Baker Head Start program to increase its numbers from 60 preschool slots to 95. Eighty of those students will move to the refurbished classrooms in the North Baker building. The remaining 15 slots will be for 3-year-olds who will remain at the Baker Head Start Center at 1927 16th St. Future plans call for develop- ing a blended care center for children from birth to age 3 in that building, Kleng said. Meals will be prepared at the Head Start school and delivered to the North Baker building where the preschool- ers will be served family-style meals as is the tradition in Head Start classrooms, he said. Five classrooms at the south end of the building have been remodeled as kin- dergarten classrooms. When school starts Sept. 8, kindergartners, along with Baker students at all other grades, will be taking classes remotely rather than in their classrooms due to the corona- virus pandemic. When in-person classes resume, meals for kinder- gartners will be prepared at Baker High School, a few blocks to the north, and driven to North Baker. The kindergartners also will eat together in a family-style setting in their classrooms, Lattin said. She hopes preschoolers, unlike older students, will be able start their year with in-person sessions when their classrooms open Oct. 5. The Baker School District closed the North Baker Shops Garages Commercial Industrial www.WSBNW.com 855 • 668 • 7211 Sandy, OR School in 2009 as part of cost-cutting measure when state funding for schools was reduced because of the economic recession. Since then the building has provided space for a variety of uses. It has housed the Baker Web Academy and Baker Early College, which moved earlier this year to the former Ellingson Lumber Co. offi ce building at 3000 Broadway St. The North Baker Educa- tion Center, as it has been known in recent times, also has been home to Building Healthy Families, Marla’s Mall, and in past years has provided space for summer programs. Eagle Cap Innovative High School classes and the District’s alternative school program will continue to operate on the third fl oor of the building. Students in those programs will enter the building from the west side by buzzing in to communicate with their teachers, who will let them in as needed. The other entry will be via the east side of the building at the school’s traditional front door, which will also in- clude new safety and security measures. Students in Baker Techni- cal Institute’s Culinary Arts program also will continue to use the former school cafete- ria, which is getting upgrades as well. Those students will be admitted by their teacher during class periods. Marla’s Mall, which pro- vides free clothing and other necessities to community residents, will be relocated to a new yet-to-be-determined site, Witty said. Community partners will have their offi ces on the sec- ond fl oor, which had housed the Web Academy and Baker Early College. Future plans also include hiring a private child care provider to be housed on the ground level, Lattin said. In addition to the changes that can be seen, such as the new fl ooring, new windows and new cabinets, other necessary, but less obvious, work is taking place. That includes asbestos abatement throughout the building and electrical, plumbing and fi re alarm upgrades. The Board also got the chance to see the improve- ments that are taking place outside on the school grounds. A parking lot is under construction on the west side of the property where parents will park to deliver their chil- dren to the learning center. Basketball hoops moved from that area will be placed in a former parking lot on the north end of the building for use by neighborhood children. And the District is working with Head Start to provide an all-inclusive playground in a fenced playground area on the property. “It’s nice to see the build- ing rehabilitated,” Witty said. “I’m just thrilled to death that everything came together. This will be an asset for the community.” A formal grand opening is planned for 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 9, Lattin said. “It will be in-person to the extent possible, depending on COVID guidelines,” she said. A family activity designed as a drive-thru event is planned for Saturday, Oct. 10. More details will be an- nounced later. We want to thank Heart ‘n Home Hospice, especially Seth Payton, for his fast response time and the courteous and kind manner in which our family was treated. We would also like to thank Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel for Steel on the inside where it matters most. S199239-1 The group at times brought together more than 30 people from throughout the state and region. “I’m just really excited for this,” Lamb said. “To start at the ground level and see it come to fruition is really exciting.” Part of the group’s research included visiting centers in other communities such as Pendleton, Boardman and the Earl Boyles Elementary School in Portland. “This will be a great asset in the community along with our community partners for the young families in our town,” Lamb said. Along with providing preschool and kindergarten classes in one location, the Baker Center will be a one- stop shop for other family services. “Families will go in with their infants and have touch- stones in the building until they fi nish kindergarten, all in one location,” Lamb said. She saw fi rsthand in visits to other centers how the staff built relationships with families. “You really develop that community feeling with fami- lies and more family involve- ment,” she said. Lamb credited Baker Superintendent Mark Witty and his administrative staff for promoting the need for developing an early learning center. “Mark has a good under- standing of how important it is to serve our youngest learners,” Lamb said. Building positive relation- ships with community part- ners and success in securing grant funding for the project also helped the Center be- come a reality, she said. Witty said in an interview Friday that the project would not have been successful without the widespread col- laborative effort. Nevertheless, he says he always believed the Center would become a reality. “At the core of me I’m fairly optimistic,” Witty said. “Espe- cially when you know you’re heading in the right direction that is good for the commu- nity and young families. “I knew if we applied our energy and kept pulling, we’d fi nd a way to get it done,” he said. fore schools can reopen for classroom instruction. But with signifi cant improvements that fi gure can be cut to as little as six weeks. Oregon health offi cials in the same press conference said that the latest modeling report indicates that the state continues to hold steady in transmission rates, with each case of coronavirus leading to one more. their kind and loving spirit. The family of Tena Willis
