‘Motherhood’
SHOW OPENS AT THE
NORTHEAST OREGON
J OSEPHY C ENTER
THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 25, 2021
TIGER WOODS SUFFERS SEVERE LEG INJURIES IN CAR CRASH: PG. 5A
www.gonortheastoregon.com
Also inside:
Fishtrap Big Read rolls on
virtual art & music
book reviews
Handcrafted beers, baked goods and food.
Find us on Facebook and Instagram
Open for Dine-In or our website 1188brewing.com
Lunch & Dinner
141 E. Main St., John Day
541-575-1188
Toast Takeout App for
online ordering.
GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
February 25, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Roger
Holden of Baker City.
State, 3A
A Senate hearing on
legislation to alter state gun
laws drew a cavalcade of
passionate opposition.
Members of the Senate
Committee on Judiciary
and Ballot Measure 110
Implementation heard four
hours of virtual testimony
Monday on Senate Bill 554,
which allows local jurisdic-
tions to prohibit people
with concealed handgun
permits from carrying
fi rearms into public build-
ings. Anyone caught with a
fi rearm in a public building
could face Class C felony
charges.
The bill is necessary,
advocates say, because
state law allows people
with concealed handgun
permits to carry fi rearms
into some public buildings.
Baker Bulldogs Excited To Return To The Field
Football Fever
WEATHER
Today
35 / 27
Snow showers
Friday
37 /26
Mostly cloudy
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Virus
cases
rising
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Sports, 6A
DENVER — Nikola Jokic
had 41 points and Jamal
Murray celebrated his 24th
birthday by scoring 19 of
his 24 in the fourth quarter
to lead the Denver Nug-
gets over the Portland Trail
Blazers 111-106 on Tuesday
night. Damian Lillard had
20 of his 25 points in the
second half and added 13
assists but it wasn’t enough
for the Blazers, who were
coming off a 32-point loss
Monday night in Phoenix.
They have dropped three
straight after a six-game
winning streak.
Your guide to arts,
entertainment
and other events
happening around
Northeast Oregon
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
Baker varsity head coach Jason Ramos, in yellow cap, watches the Bulldogs run through a drill during a
practice on Feb. 17 at Baker High School. Baker’s fi rst game is scheduled for March 5 at Vale.
By Corey Kirk, Baker City Herald
Under the glow of the stadium lights, the Baker Bulldog football players are
doing something they haven’t done in well over a year.
They buckle on their shoulder pads, pull down their practice jerseys, don their
helmets and run onto the fi eld.
Their excitement is palpable.
“It’s been really nice, I love having
the helmet and shoulder pads on,”
junior Gauge Bloomer said.
After months of uncertainty, high
school football has returned.
Baker started practicing Feb. 15, in
preparation for an abbreviated sea-
son that includes an opening game
set for March 5 at Vale.
“Kids have been waiting for this
day, and they are pretty jazzed,”
varsity head coach Jason Ramos said.
“Regardless of the weather, they are
excited to be out, ready to start run-
ning into each other again.”
The weather was decidedly dif-
ferent from what’s typical for early
practices in a typical season.
Instead of August heat, the
Bulldogs had to deal with snow and
temperatures near or below freezing.
And instead of preparing for a
typical schedule featuring rivals such
as La Grande, Baker’s tentative fi ve-
game slate so far includes only one
Greater Oregon League opponent,
Ontario.
But for players, in particular veter-
ans whose last competitive game was
a loss at Banks in a Class 4A quarter-
fi nal playoff game in November 2019,
the anticipation of playing again
makes up for inclement weather and
an unusual schedule.
Tentative Schedule
MARCH 5
• at Vale, 7 p.m.
MARCH 13
• North Bend (at Crook County
High School, Prineville), 2 p.m.
Council
declines to
end deal
with county
on lodging
tax collection
By Samantha O’Conner
$75 per sport or activity up
to a maximum of $150 per
year, said Buell Gonzales
Jr., the District athletic
director. Families with
more than one child paid a
maximum of $250 per year.
The Baker City Council
voted 4-3 Tuesday night to
leave in place an agreement
with Baker County under
which the county administers
the tax paid by guests at
motels and other lodging busi-
nesses, including within the
Baker City limits.
Mayor Kerry McQuisten
put the matter of the transient
lodging tax, which generated
about $440,000 in a recent
fiscal year, on the agenda.
Councilors Jason Spriet,
Heather Sells, Lynette Perry
and Shane Alderson voted in
favor of the motion to main-
tain the deal.
McQuisten and councilors
Johnny Waggoner Sr. and
Joanna Dixon voted against
the motion to keep the nearly
15-year-old agreement in
place.
McQuisten said later that
she plans to revisit the topic.
Dixon and Waggoner both said
they would like to have more
information about the poten-
tial effects, on the city and the
county, of the city withdrawing
from the 2006 agreement.
Alderson offered to set up a
meeting with county commis-
sioners.
See Fees/Page 6A
See Council/Page 3A
MARCH 19
• vs. Nyssa, 7 p.m.
MARCH 26
• vs. Ontario, 7 p.m.
Corey Kirk/Baker City Herald
“Now that we are out here it’s
exciting, we are ready to hit
someone in the mouth.”
— Mason Van Arsdall,
Baker senior lineman
“I think that’s kind of fueling us
this year, now that we are out here
it’s exciting, we are ready to hit some-
one in the mouth,” said Mason Van
Arsdall, an anchor on the Bulldogs’
lines.
Ramos said he’s not worried about
dents who might have been
excluded from participation
A move by the Baker
by the expense in the past.
School Board to eliminate
The Board voted
the 5J District’s pay-to-par- unanimously to rescind the
ticipate activity fees, which requirement at its Feb. 18
have been in place for the
meeting.
past 10 years, is expected to
“This is a win-win deci-
open opportunities for stu- sion,” Superintendent Mark
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Issue 123, 22 pages
See COVID-19/Page 2A
soconner@bakercityherald.com
APRIL 2, APRIL 9
• TBD
FIRST IN A SERIES: In future
issues, Herald sports editor Corey
Kirk will profi le other traditional fall
sports that are underway at Baker
High School.
his team dealing with factors such as
weather and scheduling.
“We can only control what we can
control, and the weather isn’t one of
those things,” Ramos said.
See Football/Page 6A
School district waives activity fees
TODAY
After a fi ve-week decline
in COVID-19 cases that
dropped Baker County into
the state’s lowest risk level
starting Feb. 12, the case
rate is rising again.
The county reported 16
new cases over three days,
Feb. 21-23.
That’s the highest three-
day total since 20 cases were
counted Jan. 14-16.
County Commissioner
Mark Bennett said he talked
with Nancy Staten, director
of the Baker County Health
Department, on Tuesday,
Feb. 23, and he said contact
tracing linked the recent
cases to families and small
group gatherings.
Those were also the
source of many of the
county’s cases in November,
December and January,
Bennett said.
“I think we’ll see these
(clusters of cases) from time
to time,” he said Wednesday
morning, Feb. 24.
Business .............. 1B-3B
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
Witty stated in a press
release. “Studies demon-
strate a strong connection
between student partici-
pation in extracurricular
activities and improved
graduation rates.”
Under the prior system,
each student was charged
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........4B & 6B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Horoscope ........4B & 6B
Letters ........................4A
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports ........................6A
Weather ..................... 8B
SATURDAY — FLATTENING THE HILLS WHILE WEARING SNOWSHOES