SATURDAY
SEAHAWKS TOP ARIZONA TO REGAIN FIRST PLACE IN NFC WEST: PAGE 6A
In OUTDOORS, 1B
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
November 21, 2020
Local • Sports • Outdoors • TV
IN THIS EDITION:
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Andrew
Bryan of Baker City.
BRIEFING
Turkey Shoot
canceled due to
COVID-19 ‘freeze’
The Powder River
Sportsmen’s Club has
canceled its annual Turkey
Shoot, set for Sunday, Nov.
22, due to the statewide
COVID-19 restrictions in
effect through Dec. 2.
Baker City Couple Donates Colorado Blue Spruce
Trimming The
Christmas Tree
Home-buying aid
for local veterans
WEATHER
Today
40 / 19
Sunny
Sunday
38 / 24
Mostly sunny
Monday
42 / 25
Mostly cloudy
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
COVID-19 ‘FREEZE’
Officials
call on
Brown to
change
limits
By EO Media Group
Community Connec-
tion is seeking fi rst-time
veteran homebuyers in
Baker, Grant, Union, and
Wallowa counties for the
Veteran’s Down Payment
Assistance Loan Program.
The program can pay up to
$15,000 in down payment
and closing costs. For more
information call Debbie or
Susy at 541-963-3186.
Correction: A story in
the Nov. 19 issue stated
that the Chamber of
Commerce has operated
the visitor center on
Campbell Street for about
30 years. The center has
been in that location
for that period but it
was operated by other
organizations, including
the Visitor and Convention
Bureau, before the
Chamber took over.
$1.50
Sluggish
steelhead
season
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
A Colorado blue spruce on Bob and Cherie Ward’s property on Foothill Drive in Baker City
is this year’s Community Christmas Tree. A crew from Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative cut
down the tree Friday morning, Nov. 20, and Superior Towing donated a truck to haul the tree,
which is about 45 feet tall, to its traditional spot in the Court Street Plaza.
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Bob and Cherie Ward have
donated Baker City’s Commu-
nity Christmas Tree twice in
the past three years, but their
second spruce didn’t succumb as
easily as the fi rst.
This year the Wards’ donated
blue spruce required reinforce-
ments.
The couple, who live on
Foothill Drive in south Baker
City, donated one of the ap-
proximately 45-foot-tall spruces
in their yard in 2018, and this
year city offi cials again chose the
Wards’ tree.
But the truck that Oregon
Trail Electric Cooperative sent
to hoist the spruce wasn’t quite
up to the task. OTEC dispatched
a second truck to help handle
the heavy tree.
And even after the spruce was
cut, employees had to unhook
one wire to allow the tree to pass
on its way to a fl atbed trailer
donated by Superior Towing.
Eventually the tree was on
its way to its traditional spot in
the Court Street Plaza, between
Main and Resort streets.
See Christmas Tree/Page 2A
TODAY
Issue 83, 14 pages
Elected leaders from Eastern Oregon
counties, including Baker, who signed a let-
ter asking Gov. Kate Brown for changes to
her approach to COVID-19 shutdowns say
the letter was not in direct response to the
current two-week “freeze,” but was crafted
over several weeks as an outline of what
they hope to see happen as the state con-
tinues to address fl uctuations in COVID-19
numbers.
The letter, dated Nov. 18 and signed by 51
county commissioners and state legislators,
asks Brown to allow restaurants and bars
to stay open throughout the pandemic, to
fully reopen schools, to reopen state agen-
cies such as DMV offi ces to the public and to
allow religious leaders to use their own best
judgment in operating their places of wor-
ship. It also urges her to allow local elected
offi cials to work with county health depart-
ments to come up with their own versions of
Phase 1 and Phase 2 for COVID-19 regula-
tions.
“A one-size-fi ts-all approach
to shutting down the state
was logical and appropriate in
March when the onset of this
pandemic was new and was un-
known,” the letter states. “Over
time, we have learned, adapted, Bennett
adjusted and improved. Keep-
ing counties and regions in a Phase II for an
indefi nite period of time is a one size fi ts all
approach that does not work any longer.”
All three Baker County commissioners
— Chairman Bill Harvey, along with Bruce
Nichols and Mark Bennett — signed the
letter.
See Letter/Page 3A
BHS senior
tells board
she’s glad
to be back
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Bob and Cherie Ward donated this year’s Baker City Commu-
nity Christmas Tree. This is the second blue spruce the couple
has donated. In 2018 they also offered the city a veritable
twin of this year’s tree.
Classified ............. 2B-4B
Comics ....................... 5B
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........2B & 4B
Dear Abby ................. 6B
Horoscope ........3B & 4B
Jayson Jacoby ..........4A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Senior Renee Blincoe is happy to be back
at Baker High School, even for one day a
week.
Blincoe, who routinely attends the Baker
School Board’s monthly meetings in her
role as student body president, shared her
joy about the return to in-person classes
with Board members during their meeting
Thursday night.
“The highlight of the week for me is going
back to school,” Blincoe said.
And she’s not the only student who feels
that way, she told the Board.
“A lot of people actually are really positive
about going back,” Blincoe said.
As student body president, Blincoe and
other members of the BHS Leadership
group have worked hard to help students
enjoy the experience since in-person classes
resumed, on a limited basis, on Nov. 9.
See Schools/Page 3A
Opinion ......................4A
Outdoors ..........1B & 2B
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports .............. 6A & 7A
Turning Backs ...........2A
Weather ..................... 6B
INSIDE — TIPS FOR PREPARING A SMOKED TURKEY: OUTDOORS, 1B