TUESDAY
BAKER/POWDER VALLEY RUNNERS AT BAKER INVITATIONAL: SPORTS, PG. 5A
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
March 16, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber David
Bowers of Baker City.
Sports, 5A
Baker’s volleyball team
started strong against
Vale and showed its
resilience with a late rally,
but the Bulldogs couldn’t
overcome the Vikings on
their home court, losing a
fi ve-set match on Friday,
March 12.
Local • Home & Living • Sports
$1.50
County No. 2 in COVID shots
■ Among Oregon’s 36 counties, only the smallest, Wheeler, is vaccinating residents at a higher rate
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker County had the biggest day
of its COVID-19 vaccination effort
on Friday, March 12.
A total of 791 doses were admin-
istered that day, according to the
Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
Most of those doses — 717 — were
given by the Baker County Health
Department either during a clinic
at Baker High School or, later in the
day, at the Health Department.
Baker County’s previous one-
day record for giving vaccines was
746 doses on Feb. 26. The Health
Department also had a major clinic
that day at the high school.
As of Monday, March 15, Baker
County’s vaccination rate, per
10,000 residents, ranked second
among Oregon’s 36 counties.
Baker’s boys soccer
team played even with the
unbeaten La Grande Tigers
on Friday, March 12 for
almost the entire fi rst half.
Then came the penalty
kick.
La Grande was awarded
that kick with about seven
minutes left in the fi rst half
of a scoreless match.
The Tigers converted
the kick into the match’s
fi rst goal, and that gave La
Grande momentum that
led to a 3-0 lead at halftime
and, eventually, a 6-0 win.
By Jayson Jacoby
BRIEFING
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Vector Control
District board to
meet Thursday
WEATHER
Today
48 / 27
Partly sunny
Wednesday
60 / 39
Mostly cloudy
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
See Vaccine/Page 3A
Trooper
rams
vehicle
going
wrong
way
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center Receives Recognition
Sports, 5A
The Baker Valley Vector
Control District board of
directors will meet Thurs-
day, March 18 at 11 a.m. at
the District offi ce near the
Baker City Airport, 19611 S.
Airport Lane. The meeting
will be livestreamed, and
the link is available at bv-
vcd.org. The district over-
sees mosquito control.
Justin Ash
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center/Contributed Photo
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City was recently named a top 11 critical access hospital.
Hospitals Honored
The (La Grande) Observer
Three Northeast Oregon hospitals,
including Saint Alphonsus Regional
Medical Center in Baker City, have
received recognition as top critical
access hospitals.
The Chartis Group, which provides
comprehensive advisory services and
analytics to the health care industry,
recently released its annual list of
Top 100 critical access hospitals.
Saint Alphonsus, along with Grande
Ronde Hospital in La Grande and
Wallowa Memorial Hospital in Enter-
prise, made the list.
Oregon has 25 critical access
hospitals, according to a press release
from Grande Ronde Hospital, and the
three Northeast Oregon hospitals are
the only ones in the state on the list
for 2021. All three hospitals also are
regulars on the list.
Saint Alphonsus has been in the
top 100 fi ve consecutive years.
Grande Ronde has received the
recognition fi ve times since its fi rst
such designation, in 2011. Wallowa
Memorial Hospital reported that
it has earned the designation eight
out of the 11 years and fi ve years
consecutively.
According to ruralhealthinfo.org,
there are 1,350 critical access hos-
pitals nationwide in the nation. The
Chartis Group listing, then, places
the trio of Northeast Oregon hospi-
tals in the top 7.4% of their peers.
See Hospitals/Page 3A
A Missoula, Montana, man
is in the Baker County Jail
on multiple charges after
he drove the wrong way on
Interstate 84 and collided
with an Oregon State Police
trooper who was trying to
fi nd the wrong-way driver
Friday afternoon, March 12.
Sr. Trooper Andrew Mc-
Clay was evaluated at Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center-
Baker City and released,
according to an OSP press
release.
The driver,
Logan Raye
Clinkenbeard,
28, sustained
minor injuries
and was
treated at the
Clinkenbeard
hospital.
Clinken-
beard is charged with second-
degree attempted assault,
reckless driving and reckless
endangerment.
See Wrong Way/Page 3A
Preparing for
possible trouble
■ Autumn Swiger-Harrell, who grew
up in Baker City, works in a hospital
just three blocks from the building
where Derek Chauvin is on trial
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Autumn Swiger-Harrell isn’t involved in America’s most
notorious current criminal trial, but she only
has to step outside her workplace to see its
effects.
That step is necessary because plywood
temporarily blocks the windows.
Swiger-Harrell, who grew up in Baker City
Swiger-
and graduated from Baker High School in
Harrell
1993, works as a physician assistant in the
emergency room at the Hennepin County
Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis.
The hospital is about three blocks from the building where
jury selection is continuing in the trial of Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin is the former Minneapolis police offi cer accused
of murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, death of
George Floyd.
TODAY
Issue 131, 16 pages
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
Autumn Swiger-Harrell/Contributed Photo
Plywood protects the windows at the emergency department of the Hennepin County
Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis.
Floyd’s death, which came
after Chauvin had pressed
his knee to Floyd’s death
for about nine minutes,
prompted a series of protests
and riots in Minneapolis and
many other American cities
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........4B & 5B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
that continued for several
months.
In anticipation of dem-
onstrations and potential
violence during and after
Chauvin’s trial, offi cials in
Minneapolis have installed
Home ................... 1B-3B
Horoscope ................. 4B
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........3A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
barricades and boarded up
windows at many buildings,
including the hospital where
Swiger-Harrell has worked
for the past year and a half.
See Trouble/Page 3A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports .............. 5A & 6A
Weather ..................... 8B
THURSDAY — GO! MAGAZINE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE