Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 2020)
COMMUNITY THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A PRISON TRAVEL PLAZA Continued from Page 1A Air tanker pilot based at Ontario dies in crash BOISE — The pilot of a single-engine air tanker work- ing on a fi re near Emmett, Idaho, on Tuesday evening died when the plane crashed, the Bureau of Land Manage- ment said Wednesday. Ricky Fulton, who was the only person in the aircraft, was based at the air tanker base in Ontario. The aircraft was owned by Aero S.E.A.T. Incorporated and was fl ying on contract with the BLM. Fulton was working on the Schill fi re about 2 miles southeast of Emmett when the crash happened about 6 p.m. PDT, according to the BLM. The fi re, the cause of which is under investigation, was contained Tuesday at 30 acres. The Department of Interior Offi ce of Aviation Services, in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Admin- istration, is investigating the accident. Continued from Page 1A S. John Collins / Baker City Herald, File Scenes in the dining hall look much different these days at the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of chairs in the hall has been cut in half. with other counties where prisons are located. Both Eastern Oregon and Two Rivers correctional institu- tions, for instance, are in Uma- tilla County, which has had the third-highest case count per 100,000 people among Oregon’s 36 counties, at 3,592. Snake River Correctional In- stitution is in Malheur County, which has the highest case rate, at 4,848 per 100,000 people. Baker County ranks 16th on that list, with 535 cases per 100,000 people. Besides being in a county where the virus has not been prevalent, McLay attributes Powder River’s success at keeping COVID-19 at bay to multiple factors, chief among them a concerted effort among inmates and staff to follow precautions including wearing masks when social distancing isn’t possible, and frequent sanitizing of the facility. McLay said everyone enter- ing the prison must go through a screening process that includes answering questions about any possible COVID-19 symptoms, and undergoing a temperature check. Once inside, everyone wears a mask much of the time, McLay said. “It’s our new normal right now,” he said. “It’s kind of surreal to look at, but it’s a good thing. I know it’s keeping us safe.” McLay said inmates have largely accepted the require- ment and complied with it willingly. “They read the papers and they’re aware of what’s hap- pening elsewhere” with the pandemic,” he said. “It’s hard to get used to (wearing a mask) but it’s been graciously accepted by the staff and the AICs.” Inmates don’t have to wear masks constantly, McLay said. When they’re in the outdoor exercise yard, for instance, they can eschew their mask so long as they can stay at least 6 feet away from others. Bunks in the dorms are set up so inmates sleep “head to toe,” which also ensures a suf- ficient distance in that setting, McLay said. Powder River managers have made significant changes to the facility’s operations to reduce the risk of infection, however. The outdoor yard, for instance, was prior to the pan- demic open from about 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily to all inmates who weren’t working, in treat- ment or otherwise occupied. But since early March, the inmates have been divided into groups of about 160 who are eli- gible to be in the yard at a given time, McLay said. Due to their work and other assignments, though, typically no more than 60 to 70 people are in the yard simultaneously, he said. Meal service has also changed substantially. McLay said the staff removed half of the chairs in the dining hall, leaving 64 seats. Inmates don’t sit directly across from each other, and lines painted on the walls designate social distancing guidelines. Due to the limits on the number of people in the dining hall at one time, meal services now take about 90 minutes, roughly twice as long as before, McLay said. (Not every inmate eats every meal, he said, so even with the reduced seating each service can be accommodated with two, rather than three or more, groups.) All kitchen staff wear masks at all times, and inmates wear masks as they wait to pick up their food, taking them off only to eat, McLay said. After each group of diners has fi nished, workers, includ- ing inmates and prison staff, move in to clean. “One of the biggest things we’ve done is sanitize, sanitize, sanitize,” McLay said. The Department of Cor- rections suspended visits to inmates at state prisons in March, and that ban remains in effect. “That’s one risk we’re not willing to take right now,” McLay said. He said the restriction has had a lesser effect on Powder River than on some institu- tions, as the Baker City prison has comparatively few visitors. That’s due in part to its loca- tion in Eastern Oregon, as the families of most inmates live west of the Cascades, McLay said. In addition, most inmates at Powder River are due to be released within 2 years, which further reduces the demand for visitations. McLay said during sum- mer the prison, which usually allows visits on Saturdays and Sundays, might host as many as 50 relatives arriving to visit. But during winter weekends, when inclement weather makes travel difficult, he said there might not be a single visitor. McLay said Powder River did not allow contractors, includ- ing the addiction treatment counselors from New Directions Northwest, to enter the prison from March 13 until May 11. He said that restriction af- fected a handful of inmates who otherwise might have qualified for an early release program by completing treatment. Five Powder River inmates have been released before com- pleting their sentence on the order of Gov. Kate Brown, based on their age or medical condi- tion that makes them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. 8 8AM TO 4PM Every year 150,000 people reach out to us for help getting rid of their timeshare. In 2019, we relieved over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt and maintenance fees. We can help. RUN DATES OCT. 1 THRU NOV. 14 855-385-4473 NO MORE GUTTER CLEANING, OR YOUR MONEY BACK GUARANTEED! CALL US TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE 15 % AND! OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE * Promo Number: 285 1-855-536-8838 10 % OFF SENIOR & MILITARY DISCOUNTS + 5 Mon-Thurs: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-5pm, Sun: 2pm-8pm EST Open Rates SPECIAL RATES FOR THE BAKER CITY HERALD Rachel Pregnancy Center 10 am - 5 pm (closed for lunch) 60 % OFF 1/4 page - 3 col. (5.167”) x 10.5” tall 1/2 page - 6 col. (10.5”) x 10.5” tall 1/2 page - 3 col. (5.167”) x 21” tall Full page - 6 col. (10.5”) x 21” tall OFF TO THE FIRST 50 CALLERS! ** )RUWKRVHZKRTXDOLI\2QHFRXSRQSHUKRXVHKROG1RREOLJDWLRQHVWLPDWHYDOLGIRU\HDU 2HUYDOLGDWHVWLPDWHRQO\CSLB# 1035795 DOPL #10783658-5501 License# 7656 License# 50145 License# 41354 License# 99338 License# 128344 License# 218294 License# 603 233 977 License# 2102212986 License# 2106212946 License# 2705132153A License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912 License# WC-29998-H17 Nassau HIC License# H01067000 Registration# 176447 Registration# HIC.0649905 Registration# C127229 Registration# C127230 Registration# 366920918 Registration# PC6475 Registration# IR731804 Registration# 13VH09953900 5HJLVWUDWLRQ3$6XRON+Ζ&/LFHQVH+ All services free & confidential. SALE AD SIZES AVAILABLE % 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. MEGA FRI. ONLY SEPT. 25TH We Cancel TIMESHARES for You Get your free information kit and see if you qualify: The Huntington Travel Plaza will also bring jobs to the area. Singh said he hopes to eventually hire around 50 employees, once the entire project, including a truck repair shop, is open. He hopes that will happen within a year. Initially, though, the 12,000-square-foot business will include a 3,000-square-foot con- venience store, six fuel pumps for passenger cars and eight diesel lanes for commercial trucks, and two takeout restaurants, Champs Chicken and Naughty Chile Taqueria. He said the conve- nience store, in addition to the usual fare of packaged foods and beverages, will have a frozen food section with ice cream. The sign at the truck stop also lists Hun- tington Bar and Grill, but Singh said that the dine-in restaurant and bar with video poker, won’t open immedi- ately due to COVID-19 restrictions. The truck stop will include a lounge and theater for commercial drivers, a barber shop, as well as showers and a laundry facility, Singh said. He plans to add propane tanks as well, to cater to people with camp trailers staying at Farewell Bend State Park, less than a mile away. Jennifer Peterson, city recorder in Hun- tington, population 445, said the potential for new jobs is exciting. “It would be good if they could provide some jobs for people in town,” Peterson said. HOUR Tier 1 is defined as an institution “without known COVID-19.” McLay said none of the 320 inmates has tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 40 inmates — the Department of Corrections uses the term “Adults in Custody,” AIC — have been tested, with three tests pending as of Wednesday. McLay said those inmates were tested because they were scheduled to be transferred to another prison or released in their home county, and state guidelines call for all inmates to be tested prior to any transfer. That includes inmates who have arrived at Powder River since the pandemic started in March. McLay said no Powder River inmates have had symptoms consistent with COVID-19, another criteria for testing. One staff member tested positive for the virus, but that employee was on vacation out of the area at the time and did not return to work until after self-quarantining, said Debi Geddes, correctional rehabilitation manager/admin- istrative services manager at Powder River. Because that employee was never exposed to other workers or inmates, the Department of Corrections continues to designate Powder River as Tier 1. Powder River employs about 100 people, most of them Cor- rections Department employ- ees but also some contractors, primarily employees from New Directions Northwest in Baker City. New Directions operates the drug and alcohol treatment program that more than 125 inmates participate in. Powder River has fared much better during the pan- demic than some larger state prisons. On the list of workplace CO- VID-19 outbreaks compiled by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), three of the four biggest, in terms of total cases, are at state prisons. • Snake River Correctional Institution near Ontario tops that list, with 406 total cases. • Eastern Oregon Correc- tional Institution in Pendleton is second, with 296 cases. • Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla is fourth, with 106 cases. Among the state’s 15 prisons, eight, including Powder River, are in the Tier 1 category. Five prisons are in Tier 4, including the three listed above, which the Department of Cor- rections defines as the entire institution under quarantine for 14 days. McLay notes that Baker County, with 91 COVID-19 cases, has had a lower inci- dence of the virus compared Available dates in green 1/4 page - $130.41 BW 1/2 page - $260.82 BW Full page - $521.64 BW Add Color for just $100 per run RESERVE YOUR ADS BY CALLING Amy Horn 541.786.7746 Juli Bloodgood 541.786.3034
