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Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
October 6, 2020
Local • Home & Living • Sports
IN THIS EDITION:
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Linda
Tester of Baker City.
State, 3A
LA GRANDE — The
atmosphere at Island City
Elementary School in La
Grande, is ticking up a beat
— and for good reason.
Monday, Oct. 5, was
a red-letter date for all
elementary schools in
the La Grande School
District, marking the fi rst
time since mid-March that
some students attended
classes at their school.
$1.50
Baker Technical Institute Garners Training Contract In Idaho
Pushing Forward
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
The Baker City Council
interviewed two candidates
for the city manager’s job
Monday evening, and coun-
cilors will interview three
others today.
Both evenings of Zoom
interviews were slated to
happen during executive
sessions, closed to the public.
Oregon’s public meetings
law allows city councils
and other elected boards
to consider certain topics
during executive sessions,
including, as in this case,
the employment of a public
offi cer.
Councilors can’t make any
decisions during executive
sessions, however.
LAKE BUENA VISTA,
Fla. — Biggest moment
of his career. Best game of
his life.
Jimmy Butler is clearly
not ready to go home
quite yet. With a triple-dou-
ble, he joined NBA Finals
lore — and the short-hand-
ed Miami Heat might have
made this title matchup a
series after all.
Butler fi nished with 40
points, 11 rebounds and 13
assists, and the Heat beat
the Los Angeles Lakers
115-104 on Sunday night to
get within 2-1.
See Manager/Page 3A
Contributed photo
SANTA CLARA, Calif.
— A couple of unlikely
players helped deliver the
Philadelphia Eagles their
fi rst win of the season.
Travis Fulgham caught a
go-ahead 42-yard touch-
down pass from Carson
Wentz with 5:50 remaining
and Alex Singleton re-
turned an interception for
a score to lift the Eagles to
a 25-20 win over the San
Francisco 49ers Sunday.
WEATHER
Today
80 / 37
Sunny
Wednesday
82 / 37
Sunny
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Council
talking
with
manager
hopefuls
By Jayson Jacoby
Sports, 5A
Sports, 5A
Flavors
of fall
veggies
Baker Technical Institute (BTI) of Baker City is training 20 people to operate heavy equipment used in high-
way construction projects. The Idaho Transportation Department hired BTI for the pilot program.
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Doug Dalton hopes the Baker
Technical Institute’s latest, and larg-
est, contract for job training is just
the start.
The Idaho Transportation Depart-
ment hired Baker Technical Institute
(BTI) to train 20 people to operate
heavy equipment used in highway
construction and repair work.
The $200,000 to $250,000 pilot
program, which the Federal High-
way Administration is paying for,
is designed to address a shortage of
skilled employees for highway proj-
ects, said Dalton, BTI president.
BTI, which is based in Baker City
and was started several years ago
by the Baker School District, offers
training in a variety of professions,
including welding, manufacturing
and heavy equipment operation.
The latter is the focus of the pilot
program for which the Idaho Trans-
portation Department hired BTI.
The 5-week program in Boise
County’s
COVID-19
cases lack
common
thread
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Contributed photo
The 5-week training program started in September near Boise.
started in September, with 20
students selected from about 150
applicants. Most of the students are
from Idaho.
Students are learning in a class-
room and a virtual reality lab, in
addition to fi eld work where they
operate real equipment.
See Training/Page 2A
Baker County’s rate of
new cases of COVID-19 has
increased the past 2 weeks,
but the county continues to
avoid outbreaks or clusters
of cases linked to a single
place or event.
“There’s no common
thread, it’s all over in terms
of ages,” said Nancy Staten,
director of the Baker County
Health Department.
During the 14-day period
ending Monday, the county
reported 12 new cases.
See COVID-19/Page 3A
Cross-Country Bicyclist Stops In Baker City
Pedaling through the
coronavirus pandemic
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Among the activities people have taken
up during this pandemic, riding a bicycle
through their town is a small, fun adventure
people have come to enjoy.
Matteo Schlitz has taken it to another
level: He’s pedaling from his home in Wash-
ington, D.C., to the Pacifi c Ocean.
Schlitz, 22, stopped in Baker City on Sept.
29 during his cross-country odyssey, which
started July 1.
He plans to arrive at Pacifi c City, on the
Oregon Coast, today to celebrate his 23rd
birthday.
Schlitz said he has never done anything
like his epic ride.
He doesn’t even consider himself a bicyclist.
But with universities closing campuses
TODAY
Issue 63, 14 pages
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
and shifting to online classes, Schlitz, a stu-
dent at New York University, said he wasn’t
ready to transition back to what felt like his
high school years.
“I was defi nitely craving some sort of
adventure and freedom,” he said.
Schlitz’s adventure has come with a
few setbacks, including a recent bout with
fl at tires courtesy of the goat’s head (punc-
turevine) weeds on Highway 86 in eastern
Baker County.
A passer-by gave Schlitz a ride into Half-
way, where he found someone to help with
his tires.
“He was laughing at me, because he told
Samantha O’Conner / Baker City Herald
me ‘I can’t believe you’ve gotten this far and
been so bad at fi xing bikes,’ ” Schlitz said with Matteo Schlitz stopped in Baker City on Sept. 29 during
his solo bicycle ride from Washington, D.C., to the Pacifi c
a laugh.
See Pedaling/Page 3A Ocean. He started July 1 and planned to fi nish today.
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........5B & 6B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Home ................... 1B-3B
Horoscope ........5B & 6B
Letters ........................4A
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Sports .............. 5A & 6A
Weather ..................... 8B
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