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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2021)
2A — BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021 T URNING B ACK THE P AGES 50 YEARS AGO from the Democrat-Herald March 13, 1971 It will be the “battle of the Wapiti” tonight when Enter- prise and Wallowa, fi rst and second place teams in District 8A, collide for the Region Four “A” title. The two squads won state tournament berths and a shot at the number one spot with a couple of thrillers last night in the Baker gym. Enterprise outlasted the inspired Pine-Eagle Spartans 76-66, and Wallowa edged previously undefeated Harper 61-59. 25 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald March 13, 1996 The U.S. Forest Service is ready with its drip torches and its shovels and its water pumps. Now the agency must wait for the weather. As soon as it’s ready, perhaps by later this month, employees from the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest will begin to light forests on 1,090 acres in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. 10 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald March 14, 2011 The Powder River plays host to people who fi sh, fl oat or prefer keeping their feet dry by walking alongside when the weather is mild. Bank erosion on a stretch near Kirkway Drive has been occurring since the late 1990s. Residents who live along it worry about how the continual carving fl ow has shortened the spaces between their homes and the river. Carefully planted trees look like they’ll fall into the water any time now. And a signifi cant number of barriers erected to protect the land are slowing falling away. “Each homeowner has their own idea what they want the bank to look like,” said Timothy Bliss, chair of the Pow- der Basin Watershed Council. These homeowners’ efforts have “often been done without permits,” he said. For example, huge boulders placed to protect one side of the bank end up hurting the other side because the wa- ter is forced away from the rocks. Even the strongest bar- riers will prove to be short-lived, at least in human terms, because the water fi nds a way to adapt, he said. ONE YEAR AGO from the Baker City Herald March 14, 2020 Coronavirus hadn’t arrived in Baker County as of Friday, but its effects were widespread. On Thursday alone, Gov. Kate Brown closed public schools statewide from Monday, March 16, through Tuesday, March 31, and the Oregon School Activities As- sociation (OSAA) canceled the Class 4A state basketball tournaments. The Baker girls, defending state champions, were scheduled to play Valley Catholic Thursday night in a quar- terfi nal game at the tournament. Schools are expected to reopen on Wednesday, April 1. For Baker School District students that means an extra week and two days of spring vacation. Spring break was already scheduled from March 23-27. The Saint Alphonsus Health System, which owns the hospital in Baker City, announced visitor restrictions to its hospitals effective Thursday. Baker High students compete in unusual Mock Trial competition By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com When the 16 members of Baker High School’s Mock Trial Team got all dressed up for the regional contest last month, they had no place to go except back to school. As with most other activi- ties this school year, the mock trial competition was different. Rather than competing face to face at the Courthouse in their own community or traveling to La Grande as they have in past years, they put their public speaking skills and courtroom decorum on display via com- puter from the BHS library. Students took to the Zoom computer app for the contest. Many students throughout the state chose to argue their cases and portray the parts of witnesses, judges, and attor- neys from their homes and avoided the need for masks and social distancing, said BHS teacher Kris Pepera. But the 16 members of his team took a different tack, said Pepera, who is in his eighth year of guiding the BHS Mock Trial team. Baker County Cir- cuit Court Judge Matt Shircliff served as his co-coach as he has in past years. “We made the decision as a group that we wanted to be together,” Pepera said. “We were one of the few teams in Oregon not to compete at home and wearing masks.” To further complicate logis- tics, the fi rst day of the competi- tion, which had been set for Tuesday, Feb. 16, was canceled because of the massive power outage that struck much of the state during an ice storm in western Oregon. The online option designed to keep participants safe from COVID-19 was not available without a power source. The two-day contest, that was to have taken place on Tuesday, Feb. 16, and Thursday, “This was such a cool and fun team. I was really proud of this year’s group, especially because of Zoom. There were a lot more moving parts, but the students were really patient and easy to work with, and as always, they represented us really well.” — Kris Pepera, Baker High School Mock Trial coach Feb. 18, instead was shifted to a Thursday-Tuesday schedule. The fi rst day of the competi- tion started on Thursday, Feb. 18. “There were 110 people on the Zoom call when it started,” Pepera said. “They defi nitely made it work on Zoom.” The Baker team competed three times over the two days, fi rst at 2 p.m. and again at 5:45 p.m. Thursday and then once on Tuesday. It took a little extra prepa- ration for the BHS team to work out the kinks of how to make best use of the online system, Pepera said. A plan for the team to make its case in the competition from the Baker County Courthouse was thwarted by Wi-Fi issues. But the students were patient and helpful throughout the process, Pepera said. “They all just rolled with it,” he said. “Zoom was a bit of a nuisance but they accepted it and kept moving forward.” This year’s contest was based on a civil case written by a com- mittee of lawyers and teachers with experience in high school mock trial, according to Erin L. Esparza, executive director of the Classroom Law Project, which sponsors the program. Taken from the headlines of the past year, the case directed students to consider the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment’s protection against arrest without probable cause. As they have in the past year across the country, including in Oregon, the case demonstrated how those rights can collide with the duties of a police offi cer in the course of performing his or her job. In this scenario, a journalist fi led a civil lawsuit claiming that he was wrongfully ar- rested while covering a protest in his community to stop the demolition of a theater in the town. The journalist claimed that police confused him with pro- testers, who he also maintains were not breaking the law, and whose rights he defended to police. The journalist ultimately was arrested on a disor- derly conduct charge. He was released from custody a short time later and the charge was dropped. The journalist maintained that the arrest was retaliatory in violation of his First Amend- ment rights to free speech and peaceable assembly. In his complaint he sought a jury trial with economic, noneconomic and punitive damages to be determined. “The case was really fun and interesting,” Pepera said. “We had some excellent conversations and it was a great case about the First and Fourth Amendments.” Students began preparing for the competition when they returned to school after Christ- mas break. They met Monday through Thursday after school and spent an additional three O BITUARY Lester Short instead, he started working and worked until he was in his 70s. Lester Orval “Shorty” Short, 85, of He married Mildred Irene “Midge” Baker City, died on March 6, 2021, at his Wayne in 1967 and together they lived residence. and worked around Pacifi c Northwest. At his request, no formal He worked as a farm and ranch hand services will take place. and drove produce and stock trucks Shorty was born on locally and long haul. Shorty and Midge June 22, 1935, at Madras owned their own semi-truck for a to Clarence “Kid” and period and often drove as a team, most Winifred “Winnie” Short often pulling “bull wagons.” Shorty and Lester (Hunt). He attended school Mildred often spoke of the time they Short through the eighth grade; hauled cattle for the fi lming of the early at the end of his eighth- ’90s movie “City Slickers.” They both grade year, he helped take care of his said it was their favorite job. Shorty also mother. He never made it back to school; worked for the Forest Service in Baker Baker City, 1935-2021 O REGON L OTTERY MEGABUCKS, March 10 4 — 8 — 30 — 38 — 40 — 41 Next jackpot: $3 million POWERBALL, March 10 17 — 17 — 37 — 44 — 53 PB 18 Next jackpot: $169 million MEGA MILLIONS, March 9 4 — 33 — 46 — 58 — 65 Mega 13 Next jackpot: $79 million WIN FOR LIFE, March 10 13 — 37 — 62 — 66 PICK 4, March 11 • 1 p.m.: 8 — 9 — 8 — 2 • 4 p.m.: 3 — 5 — 1 — 8 • 7 p.m.: 6 — 1 — 1 — 9 • 10 p.m.: 8 — 6 — 0 — 7 LUCKY LINES, March 11 4-6-10-14-19-24-27-30 Next jackpot: $39,000 S ENIOR M ENUS ■ MONDAY: Chicken-fried chicken, mashed potatoes with country gravy, Capri vegetables, biscuit, three-bean salad, lemon squares ■ TUESDAY: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, roll, mixed vegetables, macaroni salad, brownie ■ WEDNESDAY: Corned beef and cabbage, red potatoes, carrots, roll, pea-and-onion salad, tapioca ■ THURSDAY: Liver and onions, red potatoes, peas and carrots, three-bean salad, roll, berry cheesecake ■ FRIDAY: Baked ham, scalloped potatoes, mixed vegetables, roll, broccoli-bacon salad, lemon squares 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 hours on Saturdays to prepare. COVID-19 protocols were observed throughout all prac- tices, which meant long days of wearing masks for their coach and for students attending school in person on some of those days. Social distancing was maintained throughout the practices as well, Pepera said. Judge Shirtcliff accom- modated some trips to the Courthouse to give students the feel for an actual court- room as well. “He’s an incredible re- source,” Pepera said. “I can’t say enough about what he brings to the program.” In addition to routine courtroom protocol, Shirtcliff also provided his own experi- ence with working through COVID-19 online and in- person courtroom procedures, mask requirements and social distancing, Pepera said. Although the students didn’t advance to the state contest as last year’s team did, their coaches were proud of them nonetheless. The region was divided dif- ferently this year and included two Bend teams, Baker and La Grande, rather than the usual Baker, La Grande, Vale and in some years, John Day teams. The two Bend-area teams, Summit High School of Bend and Cascade Academy of Tumalo, will compete at the state contest this weekend. Pepera said he was sorry this year’s team was not able to compete in person. “This was such a cool and fun team,” he said. “I was re- ally proud of this year’s group, especially because of Zoom. “There were a lot more moving parts, but the students were really patient and easy to work with, and as always, they represented us really well,” he said. City right before retiring. After retiring, he moved to Montana to live with his son. Shorty is survived by his son, Laur- ance Short of Deer Lodge, Montana; his brother and sister-in-law, Charlie and Peggy Short of Cove; seven grandchil- dren and eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, and grand- nieces and grandnephews. He was preceded in death by his par- ents, Clarence and Winifred Short; fi ve siblings; and two stepchildren. To leave an online condolence for Shorty’s family, go to www.grayswestco. com. N EWS OF R ECORD DEATHS Walter L. ‘Walt’ Dill- man: 76, a longtime Halfway resident, died March 10, 2021, at his home. Services are under the direction of Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light a candle in memory of Walt, go to www. colestributecenter.com. Barbara Wendt: 90, of Haines, died on March 12, 2021, at her home, surrounded by family. Arrangements are under the direction of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home & Cremation Ser- vices. Online condolences can be made at www.tamispinevalley funeralhome.com. FUNERALS PENDING Taran Arthur Moothart: There will be a celebration of Taran’s life at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 20, 2021, at Harvest Church, 3720 Birch St., in Baker City. Pastor Brad Phillips will offi ciate. Memorial contributions may be made to the Taran Me- morial Fund at Old West Federal Credit Union, 2026 Broadway St., Baker City, OR 97814, or through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Cha- pel at 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. To leave an online condolence for the family, go to www.grayswestco.com Tommy G. West: Graveside services will be Wednesday, March 24, at 2 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery, with military honors. Those wishing to make memorial contributions in Tom- my’s memory can direct them to a charity of one’s choice through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light a candle in memory of Tommy, go to www.colestributecenter. com. POLICE LOG Baker City Police Arrests, citations FAILURE TO APPEAR (Two Baker County warrants): Stacey Lee Bork, 32, Baker City, 5:37 a.m. on Thursday at Indiana Avenue and Resort Street; cited and released. FIRST-DEGREE BURGLARY: Trevor James Heath, 25, 12:21 p.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Campbell Street; jailed. Oregon State Police Arrests, citations FAILURE TO REPORT AS A SEX OFFENDER FOLLOWING CHANGE OF RESIDENCE: Lyle Lester Ray, 52, Durkee, 8:21 a.m. Thursday in Huntington; cited and released. POSSESSION OF MORE THAN 1 GRAM OF HEROIN, FORG- ERY (Union County warrant), POSSESSION OF METHAM- PHETAMINE (violation): Eric M. Collins, 31, La Grande, 10:52 a.m. Wednesday at Elm Street and Spring Garden Avenue; jailed. FIRST-DEGREE THEFT (War- rant): Allen Lee Suther, 48, Baker City, 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday at 10th and Place streets; cited and released. Providing quality and compassion to all his patients. Dr Sanders specializes in all aspects of the foot and ankle. 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