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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2021)
2A — BAKER CITY HERALD TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2021 B AKER C OUNTY C ALENDAR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3 ■ Baker County Board of Commissioners: 9 a.m. at the Courthouse, 1995 Third St. Due to COVID-19 occupancy limitations, the public is encouraged to attend by using the Zoom link on the County’s website, https://www. bakercounty.org/online/meetings.html. T URNING B ACK THE P AGES Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald 50 YEARS AGO from the Democrat-Herald March 1, 1971 Low gas sales have prompted a “price war” among Baker’s service stations. However, whether the “war” is go- ing to make money or increase business is doubtful. 25 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald March 1, 1996 Despite having the fewest seats for spectators, and despite hosting schools with fewer students than other high school basketball tournaments in Oregon, the Class 1A tourney in Baker City attracts several thousand fans every year. And on Saturday nights, when championship games are played, Class 1A fans usually come closer to fi lling the Baker High School gym (and in 1994 did fi ll it) than their counterparts at the fi ve other tournament sites. The statistics are particularly surprising because com- pared with teams from larger schools, 1A squads have much smaller populations — of both students and commu- nity members — from which to draw fans. 10 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald March 2, 2011 The Siletz Valley Warriors haven’t played in the boys state basketball tournament since Gerald Ford was presi- dent. They have quite the compelling excuse, though, for the 36-year drought that ended this afternoon when the War- riors ran onto the court at Baker High School. For 24 of those years Siletz Valley didn’t have a basket- ball team. Didn’t have a high school, come to that. Which makes it sort of diffi cult to put together a squad. ONE YEAR AGO from the Baker City Herald March 3, 2020 Weeks before coronavirus began to hog headlines worldwide, the new illness was the main topic of conver- sation among local hospital offi cials. This is the seventh straight week in which offi cials from the Saint Alphonsus Health System, which includes the Baker City hospital, have been convening for phone con- ferences at least twice per week to “prepare to respond to potential patients in our region,” said Kathryn Dudley, safety offi cer for Saint Alphonsus. The health system also operates hospitals in Ontario, Nampa and Boise, as well as about 70 health clinics in Eastern Oregon and Idaho, Dudley said. As of Monday afternoon there had been three con- fi rmed cases of coronavirus in Oregon (none in Baker County) and none in Idaho. Dudley said Saint Alphonsus offi cials have taken an aggressive approach in bracing for the potential arrival of the virus in the area. O REGON L OTTERY MEGABUCKS, Feb. 27 2 — 6 — 15 — 17 — 23 — 24 Next jackpot: $2.5 million POWERBALL, Feb. 27 2 — 28 — 31 — 44 — 52 PB 18 Next jackpot: $123 million MEGA MILLIONS, Feb. 26 11 — 15 — 37 — 62 — 64 Mega 5 Next jackpot: $43 million WIN FOR LIFE, Feb. 27 3 — 17 — 29 — 41 PICK 4, Feb. 28 • 1 p.m.: 3 — 2 — 9 — 8 • 4 p.m.: 3 — 0 — 7 — 8 • 7 p.m.: 5 — 5 — 9 — 2 • 10 p.m.: 9 — 6 — 1 — 4 LUCKY LINES, Feb. 28 3-8-10-14-20-21-26-31 Next jackpot: $28,000 S ENIOR M ENUS ■ WEDNESDAY: Baked ziti, zucchini and tomatoes, garlic bread, pasta salad, pudding ■ THURSDAY: Breaded pork loin, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, roll, broccoli-bacon salad, brownie ■ FRIDAY: Barbecued pork ribs, baked beans, corn, cornbread, potato salad, apple crisp ■ MONDAY (March 8): Pork tips with gravy, fettuccine noodles, roll, peas and carrots, macaroni salad, lemon squares ■ TUESDAY (March 9): Chicken cordon bleu, rice pilaf, Capri vegetables, roll, ambrosia, cheesecake Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $4.50 donation (60 and older), $6.75 for those under 60. Meals must be picked up; no dining on site. C ONTACT THE H ERALD 1668 Resort St. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Telephone: 541-523-3673 Fax: 541-833-6414 Publisher Karrine Brogoitti kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver. com Jayson Jacoby, editor jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Advertising email ads@bakercityherald.com Classifi ed email classified@bakercityherald.com Circulation email circ@bakercityherald.com ISSN-8756-6419 Serving Baker County since 1870 Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays except Christmas Day by the Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media Group, at 1668 Resort St. (P.O. Box 807), Baker City, OR 97814. Subscription rates per month are $10.75 for print only. Digital-only rates are $8.25. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814. Periodicals Postage Paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Copyright © 2021 More than 450 people were inoculated against COVID-19 on Friday, Feb. 26, in the Baker High School gym. VACCINE Continued from Page 1A Friday’s clinic helped boost Baker County’s vaccination rate, per 10,000 resi- dents, to the sixth-highest among Oregon’s 36 counties. As of Monday, March 1, Baker County’s vaccination rate was 1,662 per 10,000 residents. The county has now offered the vaccine to residents age 80 and older who wanted to be inoculated, and many of those attend- ing Friday’s clinic are between 75 and 79, said Nancy Staten, director of the Baker County Health Department. “We’re working through our waiting list,” Staten said. “People can sign up on our Baker County COVID website and there’s that questionnaire, which is a smart sheet, and get on the list.” The website is www.bakercountycovid19 .com/ Staten said Health Department employ- ees will phone people who sign up to schedule appoint- ments. Staten said the Health Department continues to work with its vaccination Staten partners — Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City, the Pine Eagle Clinic in Halfway and, soon, the Bi-Mart pharmacy in Baker City — to administer the vaccine. Pharmacies at the Safeway and Albert- sons grocery stores in Baker City have also received vaccines. Staten said the county has received 500 first doses for this week, along with 100 sec- ond doses. The county will distribute some of the first doses to its vaccine partners this week. That gives residents more options, for O BITUARY COVID-19 Vaccinations in Baker County FIRST DOSES • 1,648 — 9.8% of county residents SECOND DOSES • 1,147 — 6.8% of county residents TOTAL • 2,795 — 16.6% of county residents Source: Oregon Health Authority, data as of March 1 which day they get the vaccine, than if the county keeps most of its doses for a one-day clinic such as Friday’s event. “It’s taking all of us (vaccine providers) to get people vaccinated,” Staten said. Due largely to the clinic at BHS, Friday was by far the busiest day for inoculations in Baker County, with a total of 724 doses recorded for that day, according to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). (That might not represent the actual number of doses given on that day, as vaccine providers have up to 72 hours to report inoculations.) The previous one-day high was 452 doses given on Jan. 26, with 361 adminis- tered on Feb. 12. To accommodate the larger numbers on Friday, Staten said the county enlisted help from about 69 people, compared with about 50 people who helped with the Feb. 12 clinic. “It’s going well,” Staten said. “We have a great community and people want to volunteer and people want to help and I think this gives people hope. I’m very proud of our community. I’m very proud of our people.” BLIZZARD Continued from Page 1A Tawni Smith Haines, 1956-2021 Tawni Smith, 64, of Haines, died on Feb. 5, 2021. There were no public services. Tawni was born on May 10, 1956, at Walla Walla, Washington, to Bing Potter and Jan Potter. She is survived by her sister, Dixie; her half- brother, Jerry Row; her nephew, Jerry Row Jr.; her best friend, Sandy Row; and her friends, Darlene Butcher, Cat Manrow, Clifford Smith, Mike, Emma, Trish, Linda and Charlie. She was preceded in death by her brother, Ed- die Potter Row. All who knew her will miss her. We love you, Tawni, her friends said. N EWS OF R ECORD That station is near the junction of Highways 26 and 7, about 50 miles southwest of Baker City. But it was the other ingre- dient that makes a blizzard — gusting wind — that made Friday’s storm so noteworthy. “It was unlike anything we’ve seen,” Gangler said. Gangler said John Burke, a plow driver who’s in his 22nd winter plying the storm-prone Blue Mountains, told him he could remember only one storm during his career comparable to Friday’s tempest. For about two hours start- ing around 7:30 a.m., the section of Highway 7 from Austin Junction to Sumpter Valley was hit by a blizzard that reduced visibility to, well, basically zero, Gangler said. Burke radioed in an esti- mate of “maybe 20 feet.” Gangler, who later went out in another plow to help Burke, said “you couldn’t see the plow at the front of your truck.” “My husband and I got our COVID protection at the high school yesterday. I am a retired pediatric nurse practitioner so have some experience with immunization clinics. My hat is off to whoever planned and organized this one. We were in and out in less than 20 minutes. It took only minutes for us to be seen at the various stations and was exceedingly well run. Congratulations.” — Iva M. Mace Staten said she’s not aware of anyone having severe reactions to the vaccine. Those who receive a dose have to wait for 15 minutes so nurses can monitor them for any problems. Janet Van Diepen, who received her fi rst dose Friday, said she was glad to be inoculated. She has some reservations about the second dose, as some people have reported more serious reactions, including soreness on the arm in which the shot is administered. “I’m OK with it, doing my part,” Van Diepen said. Nurse Stacy Bingham said Friday morning that she had already adminis- tered more than 30 doses. “We’ve been busy and consistent which is really nice. It’s nice to see people in the community come out for this,” Bingham said. Gangler’s crew is responsi- ble for about half of Highway 7 — from Austin Junction to the Sumpter Valley Railroad crossing. Often the worst sections are the two mountain passes, Larch Summit near Sumpter Valley, and Tipton Summit about 8 miles from Austin Junction. But during Friday’s bliz- zard the storm was most fi erce in Whitney Valley, about 33 miles southwest of Baker City, Gangler said. On that stretch, where the highway runs between the meadows along the North Fork of Burnt River and Camp Creek, the wind and snow created a whiteout — a situation where the lack of visual references means driv- ers are, almost literally, fl ying blind. Conditions were similarly atrocious from Whitney Val- ley to around Larch Summit, a distance of about 5 miles, Gangler said. At times Friday morning, Gangler said, the wind was whipping the light, powdery snow to the point that the plows were less effective than DEATHS Steven M. ‘Steve’ Haney: 61, of Echo, a former Baker City resident, died on Feb. 20, 2021, at his home. A family gathering will take place. You can share memories of Steve with his family at burns mortuary.com. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in charge of arrangements. William F. Davis: 82, of Nampa, Idaho, and formerly of North Powder and La Grande, died on Feb. 26, 2021, at his home. All Valley Cremation in Nampa is in charge of arrangements. POLICE LOG Baker City Police DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF INTOXI- CANTS: Angela Theresa Emmons, 35, of Baker City, 12:16 a.m. Saturday, in the 2200 block of Second Street; cited and released. Keukenhof Gardens, Netherlands Tulip Time APRIL 17-26, 2022 Spend 2 nights in Amsterdam and then embark on a 7-night Holland & Belgium river cruise aboard the AmaCerto FLORIADE EXPO 2022 INCLUDED! Trisha (541) 523-9353 or Sam (541) 963-9000 Trishan@AlegreTravel.com PS Sam@AlegreTravel.com +PJO4BNPS5SJTIUIJTGBCVMPVT'MPSBMDSVJTF $BMMUPEBZGPSNPSFJOGPSNBUJPO usual, since some of the snow their blades pushed along ended up back on the road anyway. “We probably shouldn’t have been out there,” he said of the snowplow drivers. “Much less the traveling public.” The conditions were so dangerous that ODOT issued a public notice urging drivers to avoid Highway 7 as well as Highways 245 (Dooley Mountain) and 26. Gangler said the wind made it diffi cult to estimate how much snow actually fell during the storm, which in places continued into Satur- day morning, Feb. 27. “We might have had a foot in one place and fi ve feet in another,” he said. 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