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THE BEAUTY OF BLUE BASIN IN THE JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS: OUTDOORS, 1B
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
February 13, 2021
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A special good day to
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Local, 3A
ENTERPRISE — North-
east Oregon is wild, scenic
and recreational. If a new
bill in the U.S. Senate
becomes law, more local
streams will offi cially
become Wild, Scenic or
Recreational, too.
County Vaccinates 300 Residents, Most Age 80 Or Older, Against COVID-19
Intensive Inoculation Kids
need
shots,
too
Nation, 5A
NEW YORK — About 1 in
3 Americans say they defi -
nitely or probably won’t
get the COVID-19 vaccine,
according to a new poll
that some experts say is
discouraging news if the
U.S. hopes to achieve herd
immunity and vanquish
the outbreak.
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
guide residents through the process.
Starting Monday, Feb. 8, the county
used a call center and its website to
schedule appointments for people 80
and older, who became eligible for
their fi rst dose on Feb. 8 based on state
priority guidelines.
Vaccinating the county’s
older citizens against CO-
VID-19 is foremost on the
minds of most Baker County
residents these days.
But there are other in-
oculations that families must
consider each year when the
third Wednesday of February
rolls around.
That is the annual exclusion
date on which children are
kept home from school if their
shot records documenting that
they’re protected from multiple
diseases are not up-to-date.
This year it’s Feb. 17.
Nancy Staten, Baker
County Health Department
director, said 165 letters were
sent out last week alerting
families whose children’s vac-
cination records were not com-
plete. That included 60 letters
that were mailed to students
throughout the state, including
some in Baker County, who
attend online classes through
Baker Charter School.
See Vaccine/Page 2A
See Students/Page 5A
BRIEFING
Free fi shing in
Oregon today and
Sunday, Feb. 14
You don’t need a license
to fi sh in Oregon today,
Feb. 13, or Sunday, Feb.
14. During free fi shing
weekends, anglers don’t
need a license or tag to
fi sh, crab or dig clams in
the state. All other fi shing
regulations, including size
and bag limits, do apply.
Fishing forecasts are avail-
able at https://myodfw.
com/recreation-report/
fi shing-report/
WEATHER
Today
30 / 18
Snow likely
Sunday
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
LeAnne Bourne of the Baker County Health Department, right, helps Frank Steinbeck get to the station
where he received his fi rst dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Friday morning at Baker High School.
largest in the county since the fi rst
doses arrived in mid-December.
Despite snow showers and tempera-
“I think the testing site was a good
tures hovering around 20 degrees, 300 training exercise, because we kind of
Baker County residents, most of them got a feel for at least the outside part,”
age 80 or older, received their fi rst dose Baker County Commissioner Mark
of a COVID-19 vaccine Friday morn-
Bennett said.
ing, Feb. 12, at Baker High School.
About 50 people — 25 from the
The mass vaccination clinic was the county and 25 volunteers — helped
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Woman charged with stealing $60,000 from 98-year-old
32 / 24
By Chris Collins
Cloudy
Police arrested a Baker
City woman on charges that
she stole more than $60,000
from a 98-year-old woman
who is a memory care pa-
Monday
39 / 29
STUDENTS NEED TO
BE UP-TO-DATE ON
IMMUNIZATIONS
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
tient at Settler’s Park.
Baker City Police Lt. Ty
Duby said Dalene Davis,
61, of 1425 Auburn Ave.,
was arrested Thursday on a
secret indictment charging
her with six counts each of
fi rst-degree aggravated theft
and fi rst-degree criminal
mistreatment involving
Lydia Chancy. Davis was
taken to the Baker County
Jail where she was processed
and released because of
COVID-19 restrictions, Duby
stated in a press release.
He said the investigation
of the crimes began in June
of 2019. Davis is accused of
taking money from Chancy
after befriending her and
gaining access to her fi nan-
cial accounts.
The Oregon Department of
Justice Elder Abuse Division
and the Baker Branch of
Adult Protective Services as-
sisted with the investigation.
Cloudy
Full forecast on the
back of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
A most special shot
■ Lori Brock, a registered nurse at the Health Department,
gave her dad, who’s 97, his second COVID-19 vaccination
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Lori Brock fi gures she’s
given about 125 COVID-19
vaccinations, but the arm
she’s preparing to pierce is
like no other.
“This is a special one,”
Brock, a registered nurse,
said late Thursday morn-
ing, Feb. 11, at the Baker
County Health Department.
The right arm she’s
peering at, needle in hand,
belongs to her father.
Robert Bennett is 97.
He’s a World War II vet-
eran, a Marine who served
in the Pacifi c Theater.
And in the span of a
few seconds, thanks to
his daughter’s deft hand,
Bennett has had his second
dose of the Moderna vac-
cine.
TODAY
Issue 118, 14 pages
“I get to hug him now that he’s fully
vaccinated. You’re good to go, Dad.”
— Lori Brock, registered nurse, after
administering the second dose of COVID-19
vaccine to her father, Robert Bennett, 97
“That didn’t take long,”
Bennett said, rolling down
the sleeve of his plaid shirt.
But he got something
more than an inoculation.
His daughter leans in for
a hug.
“I get to hug him now
that he’s fully vaccinated,”
Brock said. “You’re good to
go, Dad.”
Bennett all but leaps
from his chair with a spry-
ness that belies a man a
little more than two years
from the century mark (he
turns 98 in June).
His daughter reminds
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 2B-4B
Comics ....................... 5B
him that he has to sit in
the waiting room for 15
minutes in case he has a
reaction to the shot.
Bennett seems uncon-
cerned.
The only effect from the
fi rst shot about a month ago
was a slightly sore arm, he
said.
That’s why he asked his
daughter to poke his right
shoulder, the same one he
bared for the fi rst inocula-
tion.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
He sleeps on the other
Lori Brock administered the second COVID-19 vaccine
arm.
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........2B & 4B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
See Shot/Page 2A dose to her father, Robert Bennett, on Thursday, Feb. 11.
Horoscope ........3B & 4B
Jayson Jacoby ..........4A
News of Record ........2A
Opinion ......................4A
Outdoors ..........1B & 2B
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports ........................6A
Turning Backs ...........2A
Weather ..................... 8B
INSIDE — BLAZERS, DUCKS WIN HOOPS GAMES, BEAVERS LOSE: PG. 6A