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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2021)
LOCAL & STATE 6A — BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021 OREGON TRAIL experience, including potentially expanding events and activities to a city park across the Continued from Page 1A street,” Wyden and Merkley wrote in their Larisa Bogardus, the Center’s acting director, letter. announced in late January that the building, Bogardus said she couldn’t talk about any one of Baker County’s major tourism draws details, but she confi rmed that BLM and Baker since it opened on May 23, 1992, would be County offi cials have been meeting to discuss closed, likely in January or February 2022, and the proposal. remain closed for about 2 1/2 years so work- Bill Harvey, Baker County Commission ers can renovate the building to make it more chairman, emphasized on Friday that although energy effi cient. county and BLM offi cials are “working on” an The project, which will cost at least $3 mil- agreement, none has been reached. lion, includes replacing the Center’s roof, siding, Harvey said he believes the proposal could insulation and heating and air-conditioning be benefi cial to both parties and to the county’s systems. tourism economy, for which the Interpretive Bogardus said the National Historic Oregon Center is an integral part. Trail Interpretive Center (NHOTIC) is the The senators wrote that although they “fully least-effi cient building in the BLM’s inventory, support” the renovations designed to conserve with a monthly electricity bill averaging about energy at the Interpretive Center, “there is a $10,000. powerful economic argument to maintaining Bogardus also said that BLM offi cials were a solid NHOTIC presence during the facility working on plans to have a temporary “Oregon renovation.” Trail Experience,” while the Center is closed, The Center has attracted a yearly average of and that the temporary site would “absolutely almost 44,000 visitors since 2008, and the sena- be in Baker City.” tors, in their letter, note that “in 2019, tourism In their letter to Bushue, Oregon’s senators visitors spent $48.4 million in Baker County.” wrote that the plan “would provide for co-locat- “We recognize and appreciate the spirit of ing (Center) exhibits and staff with the Baker collaboration and partnership the Vale District Heritage Museum in Baker City.” BLM staff have brought to working with the The county-owned Heritage Museum is at community and with the Baker County Heri- 2480 Grove St., just east of Geiser-Pollman tage Museum,” the senators wrote. “We urge Baker County Heritage Museum/Contributed Photo Park. The museum is in the brick building that you to support this innovative solution that Some exhibits from the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center could be moved temporarily formerly housed the Baker City natatorium. allows the much beloved interpretive center to the Baker Heritage Museum next year when the Center is closed for a major reno- “The staff from both the Museum and the to maintain a presence and support the local vation project that will take more than two years. (Center) will collaborate to curate a unique community.” COVID in the county moving from the lowest of the state’s four risk lev- Continued from Page 1A els to the moderate category, the Holly Kerns, a public informa- second-lowest, on Friday, March tion offi cer for Baker County, 12. notifi ed the Baker City Herald The county will remain at that the OHA report was in error. moderate risk through at least The agency later corrected the March 25. mistake, clarifying that one, not The county had 44 new cases two, Baker County residents had during the most recent two-week died after testing positive. measuring period. Four county residents who For the fi rst fi ve days of the cur- tested positive have died since rent measuring period — March Feb. 26. 7-20 — the county has had 12 In addition to the 85-year-old cases. The county had 20 new man who died March 6, a 64-year- cases for the fi rst fi ve days of the old woman died on March 7 after previous two-week measuring testing positive on Feb. 18. She period. also had underlying conditions. To drop back to the lowest risk An 87-year-old woman and an level, the county must have fewer 88-year-old man both died on Feb. than 30 cases during the measur- 26, two days after testing positive. ing period, and a positivity rate Both had underlying conditions, below 5%. according to the OHA. Baker County sponsored its An increase in cases and in the third large COVID-19 vaccination county’s test positivity rate from clinic on Friday at Baker High Feb. 21 through March 6 resulted School. Even before that clinic, almost one in four of Baker County’s 16,800 residents had received either a fi rst dose (about 14.4%) or both doses (8.8%) of a vaccine. Another 103 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose, had been administered in the county through Thursday, March 11. Baker County’s vaccination rate of 2,319 per 10,000 residents is the second-highest among Oregon’s 36 counties. Only Wheeler County, the state’s least populated county with about 1,440 residents, had a higher vaccination rate at 3,268 per 10,000. Vaccination rates for counties in the region include: • Union: 1,711 per 10,000 • Wallowa: 2,190 per 10,000 • Grant: 1,602 per 10,000 • Malheur: 1,384 per 10,000 • Umatilla: 1,385 per 10,000 • Harney: 1,982 per 10,000 Oregon needs more doses to meet Biden’s vaccine goal the present plan would stay in place until there was a guaranteed supply Oregon would need up to double before she would unleash additional the doses of COVID-19 vaccine it cur- demand onto the already strained rently receives to fulfi ll President Joe system. Biden’s seven-week sprint to allow Oregon offi cials were only recently all adults to be offered inoculation, told they would receive 200,000 doses Oregon health offi cials said Friday. per month, up from the previous Gov. Kate Brown and top state 120,000 doses. medical experts held a press call Asked how much more vaccine Friday, March 12 to say they hoped Oregon would need to meet Biden’s to meet Biden’s timeline, but would schedule, Allen said it would “require move cautiously. a doubling of those doses.” Brown said she welcomed Biden’s “It would need to be an increase “audacious announcement.” on that kind of order of magnitude,” “I will do everything I can to make Allen said. “Maybe 300,000.” it happen,” Brown said. Part of the math problem has to do Oregon’s current staggered priority with the vaccines themselves. Until groups wouldn’t match Biden’s dead- recently, Oregon was only receiving line until July 1. the Pfi zer and Modern vaccines, each States have the central authority of which requires two shots given over public health and Brown said about a month apart. By Gary A. Warner Oregon Capital Bureau Call or come see us at Lew Bros Tire in Baker City More than just a Tire Store Pre-trip safety inspections Battery Testing Tire Inspection Brake Inspection FREE FREE FREE FREE Peace of mind PRICELESS Lew Bros. Tire Your FULL Service Tire Store It’s where you belong We check your brakes, shocks and battery when you buy tires from us. Rich, poor, old, young. Compassion doesn’t discriminate. Lew Brothers Tire Service 541-523-3679 210 Bridge St. Baker City, OR Our calling is you.
