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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 2020)
THURSDAY BEAVERS, DUCKS, OPEN FOOTBALL SEASON ON SATURDAY: PAGES 5A, 6A Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com November 5, 2020 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Ron Ulrey of Baker City. Oregon, 3A Oregon voters approved all four statewide ballot measures Tuesday, includ- ing fi rst-in-the-nation measures decriminalizing hard drugs and allowing therapeutic use of psilocy- bin mushrooms. Voters also supported campaign fi nance reform and increased tobacco taxes. Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 Big changes on Council ■ At least four of the seven Baker City Council members, and likely five, will be new when Council convenes in 2021 By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Newly elected councilors will oc- cupy at least four, and likely fi ve, of the seven seats on the Baker City Council when it convenes in early January. Baker City voters could pick up to six candidates Tuesday and only one among the top six — Jason Spriet — is an incumbent councilor. The two other incumbents on the ballot — Arvid Andersen and Doni Bruland — were not among the top six fi nishers out of the 13 candidates on the ballot. The gap between Andersen, in seventh place, and Heather Sells at sixth was 29 votes, based on unof- fi cial results from the Baker County Clerk’s offi ce. County Clerk Stefanie Kirby said it’s not clear how many ballots could still be counted. A total of 46 ballots from residents eligible to vote in the City Council race were not accepted because they hadn’t been signed or otherwise were challenged, Kirby said. The clerk’s offi ce has notifi ed those voters, who will have a chance to confi rm their ballots, she said. Blood drive planned for Monday and Tuesday WEATHER Today 66 / 38 Mostly sunny Friday 54 / 31 Rain likely Full forecast on the back of the B section. The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. See Councilors/Page 2A BHS to return to limited in-person classes Presidential Race Remained Undecided On Wednesday BRIEFING The American Red Cross has scheduled a blood drive on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 9 and 10, at the Baker City Nazarene Church, 1250 Hughes Lane. On Monday, the blood draw will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at the church’s Fellowship Hall. On Tuesday the event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Family Life Center, the large metal building at the northwest corner of the church park- ing lot. Call Myrna Evans at 541- 523-5368 to make, cancel or reschedule an appoint- ment. Donors also may register online at redcross blood.org Beavers’ QB Tristan Gebbia By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com Mandel Ngan / AFP-Getty Images-TNS President Donald Trump speaks during election night in the East Room of the White House in Wash- ington, D.C., early on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Angela Weiss / AFP-Getty Images-TNS Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ges- tures after speaking at the Chase Center in Wilming- ton, Delaware, early on Wednesday, Nov. 4. In a change announced Tuesday, all Baker High School students will be join- ing seventh- and eighth-grad- ers in a return to in-person classes one day each week beginning Monday. See Classes/Page 3A Waiting To Find Out The Winner four years ago, paving the way for Trump’s election. Biden’s campaign had counted on winning back at least Associated Press some of them. WASHINGTON — Joe Biden OREGON A full day after Election Day, nei- has won Michigan and Wisconsin, • Trump (R): 863,640 (39.8%) ther candidate had cleared the 270 pushing him closer to 270 Electoral • Biden (D): 1,240,377 (57.2%) Electoral College votes needed to win College votes and narrowing Presi- the White House. Margins remained BAKER COUNTY dent Donald Trump’s possible path to tight in several fi ercely contested • Trump (R): 7,316 (74.1%) re-election. states including Pennsylvania. But • Biden (D): 2,332 (23.6%) Only a handful of battleground Biden’s victories in Wisconsin and states remain uncalled including Michigan loomed as an important Georgia, North Carolina and Penn- step to the presidency. sylvania. Speaking at a Wednesday after- presidency, though he stopped short Both Michigan and Wisconsin noon news conference, Biden, joined of outright declaring victory. represent parts of the “blue wall” by his running mate Kamala Harris, See Waiting/Page 6A that slipped away from Democrats said he now expected to win the By Jonathan Lemire, Aaamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin and Alexandra Jaffe U.S. President Bentz to replace Walden in Congress Bentz will be the only Republican among the two U.S. Senators and fi ve Republican Cliff Bentz of Ontario U.S. House members representing won by a wide margin in the race for Oregon. He said he had worked with the open congressional seat repre- U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Susan senting Central and Eastern Oregon, Bonamici, D-Beaverton when they voting returns showed. were all in the Oregon Legislature Results from the 2nd Congres- together. He’s worked with U.S. Sen. sional District showed Ron Wyden on state issues as well. Bentz with 60% of the Bentz said he’ll seek a bipartisan vote against 37% for approach to the state’s efforts to Democrat Alex Spenser handle the COVID-19 virus and an of Klamath Falls. Liber- economic recovery from the pandem- tarian Robert Werch of ic’s impact. The delegation can also Bentz Grants Pass had 3%. work on wildfi re recovery — about “We’re leading — I 2,400 homes were destroyed in Talent have been cautiously optimistic from and Phoenix, near Ashland, part of the the start,” Bentz said from his home district. He also hopes to cooperate on in Ontario. “I’ve had a good reception a transportation legislation. in all 20 counties of the district.” “I am happy to work with all of Baker County is part of the 2nd them,” Bentz said. Congressional District. Bentz, 68, will retain a seat the By Gary A. Warner Oregon Capital Bureau TODAY Issue 76, 20 pages Business .................... 1B Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B Community News ....3A Crossword ........2B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B Congressional District 2 OREGON • Bentz (R): 269,267 (60.0%) • Spenser (D): 165,133 (36.8%) Surge in COVID-19 continues By Jayson Jacoby and Samantha O’Conner Baker City Herald The increase in new cases of COVID-19 in Baker Coun- ty over the past 12 days has also boosted the workload for contact tracers from the county’s health department. Baker County has hired two nurses in the past few months, and other employ- ees have been reassigned as needed to handle additional interviews of people infected with the virus and those they might have been in close con- tact with, said Nancy Staten, the health department’s director. The county has reported 44 cases since Oct. 24. See COVID-19/Page 6A Taco Bell application withdrawn By Jayson Jacoby BAKER COUNTY jjacoby@bakercityherald.com • Bentz (R): 7,649 (79.1%) • Spenser (D): 1,759 (18.2%) A Washington state devel- oper who had applied for a permit to build a Taco Bell restaurant in Baker City has withdrawn the application. Daniel L. Allen, president of D.A. Bentley Construction, LLC of Vancouver, fi led the site design review application on July 11. GOP has held for 40 years. Retiring U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, has represented the district since 1999. The district has 50,000 more reg- istered Republicans than Democrats. Walden usually won re-election with over 60 percent of the vote. Business .................... 1B Horoscope ........2B & 4B Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A See Taco Bell/Page 2A Senior Menus ...........2A Sports .............. 5A & 6A Weather ..................... 6B SATURDAY — GETTING THE BEST FLAVOR FROM YOUR SMOKED FISH
