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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2020)
SATURDAY FINAL DEBATE MAINLY FOCUSES ON THE ISSUES: PAGE 5A In OUTDOORS, 1B Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com October 24, 2020 Local • Sports • Outdoors • TV IN THIS EDITION: $1.50 Reader reveals cabin’s history Fall 2020 County A War On Weeds has 3rd COVID-19 fatality Helicopter Drops Herbicide To Control Invasive Annual Grasses BOUNCING BACK IN THE ǧͳͻ PAGE 4 GETTING LOST, FINDING NEW PROBLEMS PAGE 10 FARMERS, IRRIGATION DISTRICT OVERCOME FLOODING IN 2020 PAGE 18 Workers process potatoes as they are loaded into a storage facility at Threemile Canyon Farms near Board- man on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian INSIDE TODAY Special 28-page section features stories about the farming and ranching in- dustry in Northeast Oregon. Topics include drought, fl ooding and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. ■ 1,500-acre project east of Baker City designed to help sage grouse An 83-year-old man who died Oct. 18 is the third Baker County resident whose death was related to COVID-19, and the fi rst since August, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and Baker County Health Department announced Thursday. The man, who was not identifi ed, tested positive for the virus on Oct. 4, and he died at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. The man had underlying conditions, ac- cording to the OHA. QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Todd Noble of Baker City. BRIEFING See COVID-19/Page 3A Trunk-or-treat set for Saturday at Sumpter In-person classes going smoothly A family-friendly trunk- or-treat event is planned today, Oct. 24, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. along Sumpter’s main street. A total of 28 stations will be spaced 20 feet along the street to dis- tribute candy. Masks are recommended. Families will walk one way, waiting for each to pick up candy at a station before pro- ceeding. There will be two photo spots, along with a “Tunnel of Terror,” open to one person at a time. Hot cocoa and coffee will be available. By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com WEATHER Today 43 / 17 Rain or snow Sunday 39 / 9 Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Jeffrey Pettingill, Baker County weed supervisor, examines the granular herbicide that will be applied by helicopter to 1,500 acres of sage grouse habitat east of Baker City. Sunny, chilly Monday 47 / 19 Partly sunny The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com A chill wind gusts, and Jeffrey Pettingill’s grin turns into a grimace. Here he is, surrounded by the enemy on a ridge in the sprawling rangelands about 17 miles east of Baker City, and his best weapon has been rendered useless by a persistent autumn zephyr. The Bell Jet Ranger 206 heli- copter sits just a few feet away. The blue-and-silver chopper is loaded with ammunition. The sun shines brightly late on Thursday morning, albeit with little warmth one day after a cold front rushed through, and the visibility from this ridge, about 2 miles south of Love Reservoir, could be measured in tens of miles. But pilot Joshua Charvet can only join Pettingill in milling around, their boots puffi ng dust in this year of drought. Their adversaries are a pair of invasive grass species — cheat- grass and medusahead. Pettingill, the weed control supervisor for Baker County, secured $20,000 from the Lottery-funded Oregon Wa- tershed Enhancement Board to hire Charvet’s employer, TODAY Issue 71, 40 pages As the end of the fi rst quarter of classes approaches, Baker School District students are continuing to adjust to changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Students in preschool through sixth grade, who returned to their classrooms on Oct. 14 are adjusting well, school adminis- trators say. “I think the kids are just really happy to be back in school, to be honest with you,” Geno Bates, South Baker Intermediate principal, said Friday morning. “The protocols are working really well and the kids are Bates doing really well,” Bates said. “They seem to have adjusted.” There have been no issues with the students following the requirement to wear masks while they are in the school building, although social distancing on the play- ground takes a little more reminding. “The teachers feel like it’s all going really well,” Bates said. “The kids have been resil- ient — that’s kids for you.” See Schools/Page 3A Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Jeffrey Pettingill, Baker County weed supervisor, kneels in a patch of medusahead and cheatgrass, two invasive grasses that crowd out native plants that sage grouse depend on. Wilbur-Ellis Inc., to spread by helicopter about 19,500 pounds of a granular herbicide on 1,500 acres of private land distributed among four property owners. Although Charvet’s target is that duo of annual grasses — weeds, in Pettingill’s view — the overall goal is broader. The ultimate benefi ciaries, he said, are sage grouse. This is sage grouse habitat, and Pettingill said the grasses can outcompete not only the sagebrush that lent the bird its Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B Community News ....3A name, but also native grasses and other plants that the grouse depend on for food. Adult sage grouse rely solely on sagebrush for food during the winter, he said. During the spring, sage grouse chicks not only eat native grasses and forbs (wildfl owers), but those plants are habitat for insects that are a vital source of protein for growing chicks, Pet- tingill said. Crossword ........3B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B Horoscope ........3B & 4B More than 31% of voters have returned their ballot By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Almost one-third of Baker County voters returned their ballot in the fi rst eight days after ballots were mailed Oct. 14. As of Thursday, Oct. 22, a total of 3,901 Baker County voters had returned their ballot, according to the Oregon Elections Division. That equates to 31.2% of the county’s 12,485 eligible voters. See Weeds/Page 2A Jayson Jacoby ..........4A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A See Ballots/Page 3A Opinion ......................4A Outdoors ................... 1B Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................6A Turning Backs ...........2A Weather ..................... 6B TUESDAY — THE STORY BEHIND THE PHEASANT FARM ON HIGHWAY 7
