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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2020)
COMMUNITY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A Lisa Britton / For the Baker City Herald Sarah Fry painted a colorful mural on the sidewalk in front of Bella Main Street Market. The artwork features inspiring words and images with Oregon and Baker County connections, including a wagon train, a beaver and a salmon. Concrete comes alive on Main Street sidewalk By Lisa Britton For the Baker City Herald Sarah Fry quickly learned that listening to music while she painted wasn’t going to work. “I tried to wear headphones, but so many people stopped to talk,” she said. Fry started painting a mural on the sidewalk in front of Bella Main Street Market on Oct. 2. She didn’t mind when people strolling Main Street stopped to chat, and soon ditched the headphones. “It’s nice to have people respond,” she said. The mural, which Fry fi nished last week, came about from a con- versation between Beverly Calder, owner of Bella, and Fry, an artist who works at Bella and does all the paint designs on the store windows. FORESTS factors contributed to this change in the species compo- Continued from Page 1A sition of forests in the Blue Those trees, most notably Mountains. These include grand and white fi rs, have past logging that favored the encroached over the past commercially valuable pines century or so in places that and tamaracks, as well as historically were dominated aggressive fi refi ghting strate- by ponderosa pines and tama- gies that for many decades racks. all but eliminated fi res that Those species, which gener- previously swept through ally grow in widely spaced every couple decades, killing stands rather than in thick- fi rs before they could form ets, are much more resistant dense stands. to wildfi res than the grand Forest managers’ second and white fi rs that are much main tool, in addition to thin- more prevalent. ning, is fi re itself. But this Ecologists say multiple is prescribed fi re, which is Their discussion, Calder said, was “about creating beauty — and hopefully an opportunity to smile — as well as to stimulate conversa- tion about playing an active role in democracy and community.” The mural’s main message is “No time to waste.” Surrounding those words are images tied to Oregon and Baker County: a wagon train, apples, pears, hazelnuts, morel closely controlled, rather than wildfi re. After workers have thinned the forest, crews light fi res during the spring or fall to get rid of the combustible debris. Prescribed fi res can also promote the growth of grasses and shrubs that are food sources for wildlife and more resistant to fi re than thickets of trees. The overriding goal, Hawkins said, is to restore ex- panses of forest so that when the inevitable wildfi res start, they won’t spread far before reaching an area that has mushrooms, a beaver, a salmon, a swallowtail butterfl y, and a branch of Oregon grape. “We’re all in this together,” Calder said. “I want to stimulate the conver- sation and celebrate all the things we hold dear. Think about what you like, what you want in Baker, and how you can make it better.” A checkerboard of black and white squares outlines the colorful been thinned. Those areas can serve as anchor points for fi re lines. Ideally, once an area has been restored, Hawkins said a fi re potentially can do more good than harm — in effect acting much as a prescribed fi re does in limiting the amount of fuel on the forest fl oor. According to a press release from the Forest Service an- nouncing the $2.7 million al- location, “Work would occur in general forest areas that are at risk from wildfi res, such as areas adjacent to private O BITUARY Dwight Saunders Richland, 1958-2020 Dwight Allen Saunders, 62, a lifelong Richland resident, died on Oct. 8, 2020, at his home surrounded by his family. His graveside service will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Dwight Friends are Saunders invited to join the family for a potluck following at the Saun- ders cabin. Dwight was born on Jan. 10, 1958, at Baker to Dalton S. Saunders and Jane M. Allen-Saunders. He grew up with siblings Marcia and Daniel. Dwight lived in Richland for all his life; he went to grade school at Richland Elementary and attended Pine-Eagle High School in Halfway, graduating in 1976. He was born into a ranching family, and was 5th genera- tion. After high school Dwight wanted to go to college. He had all of his money saved up and wanted to be a lawyer. Sadly, both grandfathers died the year he graduated, so he put his college money back into the farm and stayed home and ranched. He married Deborah L. Carper at Winnemucca, Nevada, on Nov. 6, 1992. They met in high school and later on found each other again. They had two children, Sierra Lynne (24) and Sydney Leigh (22). Dwight loved raising cattle, he was a hard worker. He enjoyed playing cards, loved to visit, always said “Hello.” He enjoyed hunting, fi shing and shooting guns. Dwight got to enjoy all the colors from working outside. His favorite seasons were spring, when the calves were born, and the fall, when the calves came home from the forest. He loved football and his favorite team was “whoever beat the Cowboys.” He loved his horse, Sis, and recently, Honey. Dwight was a Mason, a Shriner, a member of the Lions Club, school board member and was a board member on the ditches for years. Dwight’s favorite saying was “I am so poor if it took a quarter to go around the world he couldn’t get out of Richland.” He loved being a Dad, his proudest moments were when his two beautiful daughters were born. Dwight is survived by his wife of 27 years, Debbie; his daughters, Sierra and Sydney; his brothers, Dan Saunders and Bill Fields; his brother in-law, George Gover; his nephew, Stacy Gover, and his wife, Morgan; his nieces, Holly and Dustin Gallimore, Joey and Ryan Davis and families; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Gene and Cindy Carper, Susan and Da- vid Clason, Jerry and Shelly Smith, and Mark and Melody Weir; his nieces and nephews, Elisha Suldan, Raleigh Coff- man, Renae Coffman-Han- sen, Randi Coffman-Smith, Derek Harlan, Adrian Roach, Colton, Branden and Dalton Weir, along with spouses; and many great-nieces and great- nephews. He was preceded in death by both sets of grandparents, Merritt W. Saunders and Eva D. McDowell-Saunders, Gover D. Allen, and Ruth M. Stace-Allen; his parents, Dalton S. Saunders and Jane elements, and the white spaces will contain these words: trust, equality, opportunity, hope, freedom, honor, and justice. Fry, who has a bachelor’s of fi ne arts degree, is using outdoor paint for the mural. “It’s as permanent as paint can be on a concrete,” she said with a smile. “I’ll probably have to do touch-ups in the spring.” lands and municipal water- sheds, and other important locations. Treatments would maintain and enhance old trees and existing old-growth stands.” Hawkins said that al- though much of the restora- tion work involves cutting small trees that have no com- mercial value — those are often piled and later burned — some of the projects pos- sible due to the new federal dollars could also produce logs for sale to mills. He said most of the thin- ning work will be done by private contractors hired by the Forest Service. The northern Blues project has not had money allocated beyond the current fi scal year. But the proposed 10-year project calls for thinning 223,800 acres between the two national forests and 300,000 acres of prescribed burning, as well as another 297,000 acres of thinning and 80,000 acres of burning on private and tribal lands. Similar restoration cam- paigns are underway on the Malheur National Forest in the southern Blues. L OCAL B RIEFING M. Allen-Saunders; his sister, Marcia M. Saunders-Gover; his mother and father in-law, Darrell and Anita Carper; and his nieces, Jennifer and Kayla Carper. Debbie and the girls would like everyone to remember Dwight for his legacy of his management of his genera- tional ranch and his special wittiness. For those who would like to make a memorial donation in memory of Dwight, the family suggests either the Hilary Bonn Benevolent Fund or the Eagle Valley Ambulance through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Crema- tion Services, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences can be made at www.tamispinevalleyfuneral home.com Drive-thru fl u shot clinic Friday at BHS The Baker County Health Department will have a drive-thru fl u shot clinic on Friday, Oct. 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Baker High School in the student parking lot, between the school and football stadium, 2500 E St. Flu vaccine is available to all people 6 months and older. Flu vaccine costs $38 (available for age 6 months and older) for the regular vaccine and $73.50 for high dose (available for age 65 and older). Bring your insurance card. More information is available by calling the Health Department at 541-523-8211. Wolf shot and killed in Baker County Oregon State Police are investigating the unlawful killing of a wolf in the Keating Wildlife Management Unit of eastern Baker County on or about Sept. 24. The wolf was shot, according to OSP. This incident occurred northwest of New Bridge in the Skull Creek drainage of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, according to OSP. Forest Service Road 7741 accesses the Skull Creek drainage and the wolf was found off the 125 spur road. Anyone with informa- tion can contact OSP Sgt. Isaac Cyr through the Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-452-7888. PLUMBING Try the SHIP TO STORE feature at millershomecenter.com 3815 Pocahontas Road, Baker City 541-523-6404 3109 May Lane, La Grande 541-963-3113