LOCAL & STATE
6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021
Gov. Kate Brown says public schools must reopen
online class will also have the option.
“The science is very, very clear:
PORTLAND — Oregon Gov. Kate
with proper safety measures in
Brown said Friday she is issuing an
place, there is a low risk of CO-
executive order mandating that all
VID-19 transmission in school.
K-12 public schools provide uni-
Oregon parents can be confi dent
versal access to in-person learning
about sending their children back to
by the month’s end for students up
a classroom learning environment,”
— Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
to fi fth grade and by mid-April for
Brown said in a statement, after
older students.
offi cials in many counties to reopen there are in on-line classes and the
visiting a Portland school.
The state’s coronavirus case
schools.
Seattle teachers’ union is defying a
Brown has previously said
numbers have fallen signifi cantly
Many teachers’ unions nation-
district plan to return special educa- about 20% of Oregon public school
and Oregon put teachers ahead of
ally have balked at returning to
tion students to schools.
students were back to in-person
older residents in the line for the
in-person learning, putting them at
Under the Oregon order, students learning.
COVID-19 vaccine — a decision that odds with Democratic governors like in K-5 must have an in-person learn-
Rylee Ahnen, spokesman for the
angered many people age 65 and up. Brown in some states. In neighbor-
ing option by March 29. Students
Oregon Education Association, said
As teachers get vaccinated, Brown
ing Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee in grades six through 12 must have in a statement teachers support
has been under tremendous pres-
has implored educators to return
one by April 19.
returning to the classroom if it can
sure from parents and local elected to the classroom, but most students
Students who prefer to remain in be done safely. “We urge all our local
By Gillian Flaccus
Associated Press
ARRESTS
Continued from Page 1A
Caoile is accused of six
crimes: fi rst-degree criminal
mischief, unauthorized use of
a motor vehicle and second-
degree arson, all Class C
felonies; tampering with
physical evidence and un-
lawful possession of a canna-
binoid extract, both Class A
misdemeanors; and second-
degree criminal trespassing,
a Class C misdemeanor.
Judge Hill ordered Caoile
held in lieu of $61,500 bail,
to be released upon posting
10% ($6,150).
DeRoche was charged with
four crimes: unauthorized
use of a vehicle, a Class C
felony; and the Class A mis-
demeanors of possession of a
burglary tool or theft device
(two counts) and tampering
with physical evidence.
Hill ordered DeRoche held
in lieu of $25,000 bail, to be
released upon posting 10%
($2,500).
Michael Spaulding, chief
deputy district attorney for
Baker County, said Friday
that the case is still under
review and will be presented
to a grand jury next week
for consideration of other
charges.
Caoile and DeRoche are
scheduled to return to court
at 1 p.m. Thursday, March
11, for a probable cause
preliminary hearing, court
records state. Caoile is repre-
sented by Robert Moon, and
DeRoche is represented by
Robert Whitnah, two Baker
City attorneys who were
appointed by the court to
represent the defendants.
The investigation began
on Feb. 21 near North Pow-
der when a trooper stopped a
1991 Ford box truck for traf-
“The science is very, very clear: with proper safety
measures in place, there is a low risk of COVID-19
transmission in school. Oregon parents can be
confi dent about sending their children back to a
classroom learning environment.”
fi c violations, Capt. Timothy
R. Fox, OSP spokesman in
Salem, stated in a Thursday
email to the Herald.
Caoile was one of the oc-
cupants of the truck.
During the stop, an OSP
trooper developed probable
cause to search the vehicle,
Fox stated.
The offi cer found mari-
juana and a small amount of
methamphetamine, Fox said.
A silver Cadillac Escalade,
which the trooper deter-
mined was traveling with
the truck, also pulled off the
highway during the stop.
Fox said the Cadillac,
which DeRoche was travel-
ing in, was released from
the scene and the two oc-
cupants of the truck were
transported by offi cers to the
Baker OSP offi ce for follow-
up interviews. The truck was
towed to the OSP compound,
which is east of Interstate
84 near the Campbell Street
interchange, to be held
pending receipt of a search
warrant.
The suspects claimed they
owned items in the back of
the box truck, which includ-
ed fi ne jewelry, construction
equipment, high-end bags
and checks not belonging to
the suspects, Fox stated.
After interviewing the sus-
pects, police released them,
and the truck was secured
behind a locked gate on the
OSP property for the night.
The lot is secured by
a 6-foot chain-link fence
topped by about a foot of
barbed wire.
As employees arrived for
work the next day, Feb. 22,
they saw that the lot had
been entered and that the
box truck was gone. The
vehicle had been driven at a
high rate of speed through
the locked gate, causing
damages of more than
$1,000 to the fence and gate,
according to court records.
That morning at 5:50 a.m.,
Baker City Police and the
Baker City Fire Department
were called to a vehicle fi re
at Atwood Road and Camp-
bell Street, about half a mile
north of the OSP offi ce, ac-
cording to court records.
Zach Downing, OSP arson
detective, also was called to
the scene, and stated that he
had probable cause to believe
that an accelerant had been
used to set the box truck on
fi re.
That same day, Feb. 22,
police contacted the Yakima
Police Department regarding
the people interviewed the
previous day after the traffi c
stop, and the two vehicles
involved, the truck and the
Escalade, Fox said. The Ya-
kima agency said that “they
have had a series of stolen
property issues related to a
silver Escalade,” according
to Fox.
OSP troopers served a
search warrant on the box
truck on Feb. 23. The offi cers
found 1.5 pounds of marijua-
na, 104 grams of metham-
phetamine and 288 grams
of suspected fentanyl during
the search. The truck also
contained two stolen Stihl
concrete saws, burglary tools
and three forged checks, Fox
stated.
Caoile and DeRoche,
meanwhile, returned to the
Baker City OSP offi ce at
about 10:15 a.m. on March 3.
Fox said the couple had ex-
pected to claim property they
believe they were entitled
to, but instead they were ar-
rested in a joint operation by
OSP and Baker City Police.
SURVEY
“We hope to get a better idea of what the
community is thinking,” Duman said.
Continued from Page 1A
Those thoughts will help the department
The 24-question survey is completely
as it approaches the budgeting process and
anonymous and asks those completing it their begins to set department funding priorities
opinions about topics such as overall satisfac- for the future.
tion with the Baker City Police Department,
“Baker City Police Department is asking
whether they believe the crime level has gone the community to participate in a survey so
up, down or stayed the same during their
we can identify community concerns, allocate
time in the community and whether they be- resources in a more effi cient manner and cre-
lieve 24-hour police coverage is needed within ate a safer community for all,” Duman stated
the city limits.
in a press release.
Police Chief Ray Duman said the depart-
The survey link will be posted on the Baker
ment took the idea from New Directions
City Police Department’s Facebook page and
Northwest, which recently conducted a com- in the weekly newsletter from City Manager
munity survey of its own.
Jonathan Cannon.
school districts to continue to work
in good faith with local educators,”
Ahnen said.
The union represents 44,000 K-12
teachers across Oregon.
Most students in Oregon have
been learning online for the better
part of a year. Some school districts
have returned to part-time in-person
learning, mostly at the elementary
level.
Brown said all but six counties in
the state currently meet or exceed
the advisory metrics for a return
to in-person, hybrid learning for all
grade levels. Five of the counties
that do not yet meet the guidelines
for all grade levels do make the cut-
off for a return to elementary school.
RISK LEVEL
Ashley Manor-Lund Lane (four cases), and
Memory Lane Homes (three cases).
Continued from Page 1A
If the county’s two-week total is be-
To qualify for that level, the county needs tween 45 and 59, it would move into the
to meet two criteria:
high-risk category.
• fewer than 30 new cases over the two-
Differences in restrictions between the
week measuring period
lowest and moderate categories include:
• a positive test rate below 5% for the
Restaurants and bars
two-week measuring period
• Lowest risk: Indoor dining up to 50%
State offi cials set risk levels for each of
Oregon’s 36 counties every two weeks. The of capacity; up to eight diners per table;
next period starts March 12, and the risk
midnight closing time
levels will be based on COVID-19 case
• Moderate risk: Indoor dining up to
totals and positivity rates from Feb. 21
50% of capacity or 100 total people, includ-
ing staff, whichever is fewer; up to six din-
through March 6.
ers per table; 11 p.m. closing time
For that period, Baker County had 42
new cases through March 4. That would
Gyms, fi tness centers, indoor pools,
move the county from the lowest to the
indoor school sports
moderate risk level starting March 12.
• Lowest risk: Maximum of 50% of
County Commissioner Mark Bennett
said he has lobbied state offi cials — with- capacity
• Moderate risk: Maximum of 50%
out success — to not count the 15 cases at
Settler’s Park memory care community in of capacity or 100 people, whichever is
fewer
Baker City, as residents there generally
don’t move around the community.
Theaters, museums, other indoor
Bennett pointed out that the state
doesn’t count cases among inmates at Pow- entertainment
• Lowest risk: Maximum of 50% of
der River Correctional Facility in Baker
City, in determining the county’s risk level, capacity; midnight closing time
• Moderate risk: Maximum of 50%
because inmates are confi ned.
of capacity or 100 people, whichever is
According to the OHA’s most recent
fewer; 11 p.m. closing time
weekly report, which has data through
Feb. 28, Baker County has two active
Churches, funeral homes and
COVID-19 outbreaks, the one at Settler’s
mortuaries
Park, which includes one death, and an
• Lowest risk: Indoors, up to 75% of
outbreak at Behlen Mfg. Co. that includes
capacity; outdoors up to 300 people
13 cases.
• Moderate risk: Indoors, up to 50%
Three other outbreaks at care facilities
of capacity or 150 people, whichever is
have been resolved. Those were at Mead-
fewer; outdoors up to 250 people
owbrook Place (27 cases, two deaths),
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