The Big Read
concludes March 17
with author talk
BAKER VOLLEYBALL FALLS TO LA GRANDE IN 4 SETS: SPORTS, PAGE 5A
THURSDAY
NORTHEAST OREGON
Page 2
MARCH 11, 2021
www.gonortheastoregon.com
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GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
March 11, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50
Spring forward
Remember to set your clocks
ahead one hour before going
to bed Saturday:
Vintage Snowmobiles To Compete This Weekend At Sumpter
Ready To Race
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Craig
Ward of Baker City.
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
BRIEFING
Saint Alphonsus
Auxiliary offering
$1,500 scholarship
WEATHER
Today
46 / 23
Sunny
Friday
52 / 25
Jim Smith/Contributed Photo
A vintage snowmobile race in mid-February at the Fairgrounds in Sumpter. A two-day series of vintage
races is set for this Saturday and Sunday, March 13 and 14, in Sumpter.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Baker County’s COV-
ID-19 risk level rises by one,
from lowest to moderate, on
Friday, March 12, but the
effects on restaurants and
bars, and other businesses
and activities, are relatively
minor.
The county has been at
the lowest of the state’s four
risk levels since Feb. 12.
But an increase in new
virus cases, and a higher
percentage of positive tests,
during the most recent
two-week measuring period
moves the county to moder-
ate risk.
See Risk/Page 6A
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Snowmobiles are about as common
in Sumpter as ponderosa pine trees,
but the speedy machines that gather
in the old mining town this weekend
won’t be there to take scenic tours on
the nearby mountain trails.
These sleds are coming to race.
A regional championship event is
scheduled for Saturday and Sunday
at the Sumpter Fairgrounds at the
southeast corner of the town.
Sumpter, population around 210, is
about 28 miles west of Baker City.
Bill Sproul, a member of the Grant
County Snowballers snowmobile
club who is serving as race director,
expects 80 to 90 racing snowmobiles
Jim Smith/Contributed Photo
to compete in several classes on the
Vintage snowmobile racers will gather at the Sumpter Fairgrounds this
quarter-mile oval race course.
weekend to race on a quarter-mile oval. Most of the competing sleds
See Sumpter/Page 2A were built before 1985.
Sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
Risk
level
rises
■ Change from
lowest risk to
moderate has
minor effects on
businesses
TNS
Saint Alphonsus Auxil-
iary-Baker City is offering
a $1,500 scholarship to
graduates of a high school
in Baker County, or current
county resident who will
be at least a sophomore in
college in the fall of 2021
and is pursuing a career in
health care.
Applications are avail-
able at the front desk at the
hospital, 3325 Pocahontas
Road, or by calling Peggy
Payton at 541-519-8118 or
Marilyn Delfatti at 541-523-
4598. Applications are due
by April 15, and the winner
will be notifi ed by May 15.
More information about
the Auxiliary is available
by calling Payton.
Your guide to arts,
entertainment
and other events
happening around
Northeast Oregon
Man gets 15 years for child porn
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
A former guard at the
Powder River Correctional
Facility who has spent
nearly a year behind bars at
the Baker County Jail will
spend the next 15 years in
prison after pleading guilty
to child pornog-
raphy charges
Tuesday,
March 9, in
Baker County
Circuit Court.
Cernazanu
Judge Matt
Shirtcliff sided
with District Attorney Greg
Baxter in taking the harsher
end of a plea agreement that
ranged from fi ve years to 15
years in prison in sentencing
David Leon Cernazanu.
As part of the agreement,
Cernazanu, 49, pleaded
guilty to three counts of
second-degree encouraging
child sexual abuse, a Class
C felony.
Cernazanu will be given
credit for time served and
the ability to earn good time
toward earlier release while
in prison.
See Prison/Page 3A
March Is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Identifying the ‘silent disease’
■ Baker City surgeon encourages people to consider having a screening
By Lisa Britton
For the Baker City Herald
Colorectal cancer is the third most
common cancer for men and women
in the United States, yet it is highly
preventable.
A colonoscopy, said Dr. Christopher
Liby, is a way to detect and remove
pre-cancerous polyps.
Liby is a surgeon at Saint Alphon-
sus Medical Center-Baker City.
TODAY
Issue 129, 22 pages
March is Colorectal
Cancer Awareness
Month. Colorectal
cancers include cancer
in the colon, rectum, or
both.
Liby
According to the
American Cancer Soci-
ety (ACS), some types of polyps can
change into cancer over time. If can-
cer forms in a polyp, it can grow into
Business .............. 1B-3B
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........4B & 6B
the wall of the colon or rectum. If left
undetected, the cancer can spread to
lymph nodes or distant organs.
Liby describes colorectal cancer as
“a silent disease.”
“You don’t have any symptoms
until it’s very advanced,” he said.
The ACS recommends a colonos-
copy screening for those age 45 and
older.
See Disease/Page 6A
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Horoscope ........4B & 6B
Letters ........................4A
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Woman
dies after
testing
positive
A 64-year-old Baker Coun-
ty woman died March 7 after
testing positive for COVID-19
on Feb. 18, the Oregon Health
Authority (OHA) announced
on Tuesday, March 9.
The woman’s death is the
10th in Baker County related
to the pandemic.
She had underlying condi-
tions, according to the OHA.
As with the previous nine
deaths, neither state nor
county offi cials named the
person, citing health privacy
laws.
See COVID/Page 6A
Council
lobbies
state on
COVID
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Baker City councilors
voted unanimously Tuesday
night to send a letter to Gov.
Kate Brown asking the
governor to consult with local
residents and to consider
local effects when setting
COVID-19 restrictions. Coun-
cilor Jason Spriet drafted the
letter after the City Council
discussed the issue Feb. 23.
See Council/Page 3A
Opinion ......................4A
Sports ........................5A
Weather ..................... 8B
INSIDE — FORMER CITY COUNCILOR URGES DECORUM: PAGE 6A