SATURDAY
BAKER’S JAKE WRIGHT TO PLAY FOOTBALL AT OSU: PAGE 6A
In NATION, 5A
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
February 20, 2021
Local • Outdoors • Sports • TV
IN THIS EDITION:
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Jennifer
Blatchford of Baker City.
State 5A
UMATILLA COUNTY —
The Oregon Health Author-
ity has reported the state’s
fi rst COVID-19-related
death of a child between
0-9 years old — an infant
boy from Umatilla County.
Local, 5A
While the format of the
event is different this year
due to COVID-19 safety
measures, veterans will
“own the mountain” Mon-
day, Feb. 22, according to
Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort, which is hosting
its sixth-annual Veterans
Appreciation Day.
Veterans, active military
and their families will have
the resort to themselves.
$1.50
School bond on May ballot
■ $4 million bond would be added to a $4 million state grant and $4 million from the district to improve
aging heating systems at schools, upgrade security, and build a cafeteria at Baker Middle School
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
After months of planning and
discussing whether to seek voter
approval of a $4 million bond
measure, and working to secure
a matching grant to go with it,
the Baker School Board agreed
Thursday, Feb. 18, to place the
measure on the May 18 ballot.
The Board has expressed its
support for the measure so many
times in meetings over the past
few months, that the formality
of offi cially voting on the action
nearly was overlooked by Board
Chair Chris Hawkins as he went
down the items on Thursday’s
agenda.
Hawkins inadvertently
skipped over agenda item F6
titled “Bond Resolution — May
18, 2021 Ballot” — and was di-
rected back to the matter before
moving on to the consideration of
revisions to district policies.
Hawkins
See Schools/Page 3A
Modest
rise in
COVID
cases
Baker High School Athletes Preparing For Return To Competition
By Jayson Jacoby
BRIEFING
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Joseph Zikmund
on BMS honor roll
Joseph Zikmund, an
eighth-grader, was named
to the honor roll for the
fi rst semester at Baker
Middle School. His name
was not included with the
list of students provided
by BMS, and thus was
omitted from the list of
honored students pub-
lished in the Feb. 13 issue.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
WEATHER
NASA
rover
lands on
Mars
Izek Cleveland, a freshman tight end, goes through a drill during a recent football practice at Baker High
School. Baker’s fi rst game is tentatively set for March 5.
A modest rise in Baker
County’s rate of COVID-19
cases this week has pushed
the county close to moving up
one level on the state’s risk
level starting Feb. 26.
But Baker County Commis-
sioner Mark Bennett said he
and other county administra-
tors continue to lobby state
offi cials to make exceptions
for counties that only slightly
exceed risk level thresholds.
“We’re asking for a little
broader view if it’s really close,”
Bennett said on Friday morn-
ing, Feb. 19.
See COVID-19/Page 5A
Today
38 / 26
Partly sunny
Sunday
Pleased To Practice
By Corey Kirk, Baker City Herald
37 / 29
Rain or snow
Monday
41 / 31
Baker High School coaches are excited to get back to working with their
athletes, no matter that sports which usually start in late summer will instead
begin in late winter.
Rain showers late
Full forecast on the
back of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Football practice is underway, and
other traditional fall sports — volley-
ball, cross-country and soccer — will
start Monday, Feb. 22.
The season for those sports will
continue through April 11.
The Oregon School Activities
Association (OSAA) announced on
Thursday, Feb. 18, that rather than
trying to schedule playoffs or some
other type of season-ending statewide
event for the fi nal week of the season,
the organization, which oversees high
school sports in the state, instead will
let schools decide what to do with
that fi nal week.
“The OSAA Executive Board does
not want to put any undue pres-
sure on schools to participate in a
statewide event that could poten-
tially place their students and school
community at risk,” according to a
press release from OSAA. “Recom-
mendations from the OHA (Oregon
Health Authority) advise restricting
unnecessary travel between counties,
especially when they are at differ-
ent risk levels. The group felt that
requiring schools to travel across the
state with the potential for overnight
stays for events is not prudent at this
time.”
OSAA has not decided whether
there will be state playoffs, meets or
other events during the fi nal week of
the seasons for traditional spring and
winter sports.
Effort to
help feral
cats in
Richland
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
A group effort is underway
to help a colony of feral cats in
Richland.
Best Friends of Baker Inc. is
working with other organiza-
tions after a call from a Rich-
land resident who lives next
door to the property where an
estimated 80 cats are living.
Phoenix Dawn wanted to
help her neighbors, so she
reached out to Best Friends
and created a Go Fund Me
account.
See Sports/Page 3A
See Cats/Page 2A
Snow scarcely
stops at ski area
onslaught is that it accumulated
on the ski runs at Anthony Lakes
Peter Johnson is not the sort who Mountain Resort, where Johnson is
begrudges a blizzard.
the general manager.
But even as someone who depends
In the midst of a rather lackluster
on snow, Johnson concedes that it’s
winter, the series of potent Pacifi c
possible for a little too much to fall a storms that have plowed through
little too rapidly.
Oregon the past several days were
As much as 4 feet of powder in less welcome.
than a week, for instance.
See Snow/Page 5A
The positive part of this frozen
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 121, 12 pages
Classified ............. 2B-4B
Comics ....................... 5B
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........2B & 4B
Dear Abby ................. 6B
Horoscope ........3B & 4B
Chelsea Judy/Contributed Photo
As much as 4 feet of snow has
fallen at Anthony Lakes this week.
Jayson Jacoby ..........4A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Outdoors ..........1B & 2B
Sports ........................6A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Turning Backs ...........2A
Weather ..................... 6B
TUESDAY — BAKER CITY MAN PREPARING TO OPEN BREWERY, TAP HOUSE