TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
COMMUNITY
VACCINE
Continued from Page 1A
Oregon State Police/ Contributed Photos
Oregon State Police Sr. Trooper Andrew McClay used his patrol SUV to ram a Toyota Camry driven by Logan
Clinkenbeard of Missoula, Montana, on Friday afternoon, March 12, when Clinkenbeard was driving the wrong way
in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 in Baker County.
WRONG WAY
Continued from Page 1A
The incident started just before 2
p.m. on March 12 when OSP dispatch
received multiple 911 calls about a
car traveling west in the freeway’s
eastbound lanes at Milepost 342, near
TROUBLE
Continued from Page 1A
She said workers on Mon-
day, March 8 put plywood
over the windows at the
emergency department,
which is on the ground level.
“That’s the biggest thing
at this point,” Swiger-Har-
rell said in a phone inter-
view on Friday, March 12.
She said the plywood so
thoroughly blocks the natu-
ral light that it’s a perpetual
nighttime in the emergency
room.
Swiger-Harrell said hos-
pital offi cials plan to invite
local artists to draw or paint
murals on the plywood.
Swiger-Harrell moved
to Minnesota from Baker
City four years ago with her
Huntington about 38 miles east of
Baker City.
In his report, McClay wrote that he
was just passing Milepost 327 in the
eastbound lanes when the vehicle, a
gray Toyota Camry sedan, “was travel-
ing towards me at a very high rate of
speed.”
husband, Aaron Harrell. The
couple have two children, a
daughter, Trinity, and a son,
Teagan.
The family lives in Still-
water, Minnesota, a town on
the St. Croix River near the
Wisconsin border, about 25
miles from downtown Min-
neapolis.
Swiger-Harrell said she
commutes to the hospital
and leaves her car in a park-
ing structure that’s part of
the hospital complex.
She said she uses an
underground walkway to get
to the street.
“I feel pretty secure,” she
said.
The Chauvin trial isn’t
the fi rst event that has led
to tighter security in the
emergency room where
HOSPITALS
Continued from Page 1A
Priscilla Lynn, Saint
Alphonsus president and
chief nursing offi cer, said
in a press release that
the Baker City hospitals
recognition results from a
Lynn
team effort.
“This is a direct result of
the daily dedication by our colleagues,
physicians and clinicians to provide
quality, compassionate care in our com-
munity,” she said.
Jeremy Davis, Grande Ronde’s CEO
McClay wrote in his report that he
“rammed the vehicle to get it off the
roadway.”
Both Clinkenbeard’s car, and the
OSP Ford SUV McClay was driving,
sustained signifi cant damage from the
collision, and both were towed, accord-
ing to McClay’s report.
Swiger-Harrell works.
Last summer, while the
protests and riots were hap-
pening nearby, she said she
helped treat patients with
injuries including gunshots
and tear gas inhalation.
The hospital, which is a
Level 1 trauma center, is the
nearest medical facility to
the area where many of the
demonstrations happened,
Swiger-Harrell said.
She said it was strange to
work while National Guard
soldiers stood in the emer-
gency department.
The soldiers also traveled
with ambulance crews, she
said.
Workers erected fenc-
ing around the emergency
entrance, and there was no
damage to the hospital last
and president, said in a press release it
was an honor again to make the list.
“I am honored to work with a dedicat-
ed team of 750 people who understand
that a strong and independent health
care system is crucial to sustaining the
quality of life we all enjoy in our small
community,” Davis said. “An honor like
this, when so many of our nation’s small
and rural hospitals are closing, under-
scores the importance of our continued
strength and support. This is something
our entire community can celebrate.”
The Chartis Center for Rural Health
compiles the annual program to recog-
nize performance among the nation’s ru-
summer, Swiger-Harrell said.
Thus far during the trial,
with testimony not slated
to start until later in March
or early in April, downtown
Minneapolis has been rela-
tively tranquil, she said.
She said she drove by the
Hennepin County Govern-
ment Center, where the trial
is taking place, on Thursday,
March 11, and she saw
about 10 people holding
signs.
Among the bigger effects
of last summer’s demonstra-
tions were freeway closures,
Swiger-Harrell said.
Multiple times when her
shift ended around 1 a.m.
she had to fi nd an alternate
driving route to Stillwater
because the freeway she usu-
ally follows was closed.
ral hospitals based on the results of the
Hospital Strength Index, which relies
only on public data and uses 36 indica-
tors to assess rural hospitals across eight
areas of performance, including market
share, quality, outcomes and cost.
Wallowa Memorial Hospital CEO
Larry Davy credited the hospital’s board,
the Wallowa Valley Health Care Founda-
tion and the community.
“Their unwavering support ensures
that we have the equipment we need
to allow us to continue to add to, and
further develop the services that we offer
here in Wallowa County,” Davy said in a
press release.
N EWS OF R ECORD
DEATHS
FUNERALS PENDING
POLICE LOG
James ‘Jim’ Romine: 63, a
former Halfway resident, died
on March 4, 2012, at his home in
La Grande. His memorial service
will be Friday, April 2 at 1 p.m.
at the Pine Valley Presbyterian
Church in Halfway. Arrange-
ments are under the direction of
Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home
& Cremation Services. Online
condolences can be made at
www.tamispinevalleyfuneral-
home.com.
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.
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker
County Circuit Court warrant):
Jason Lee Edison, 46, Baker City,
5:04 p.m. Sunday, March 14 at
Madison and Sixth streets; jailed.
CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker
County Justice Court warrant):
Brenda Herbert Winston, 26,
Baker City, 11:57 a.m. on Sunday,
March 14 in the 1100 block of
Campbell Street; cited.
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Union
County Circuit Court warrants):
Brandy Dawn Arthur, 28, Baker
City, 9:16 a.m. on Saturday,
March 13; cited and released.
DRIVING UNDER THE IN-
FLUENCE OF INTOXICANTS:
Breydon Lloyd Thomas Colvin-
Rice, 21, Baker City, 5:30 p.m.
on Friday, March 12 in the 2000
block of Seventh St.; cited and
released.
Keldon Gross: 81, of Half-
way, died on March 12, 2021, at
Saint Alphonsus Regional Medi-
cal Center. A memorial service
and celebration of Keldon’s life
will take place at a later date,
with the time and place to be
announced. Arrangements are
under the direction of Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home & Crema-
tion Services. Online condo-
lences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.
com.
We’re now offering home remodels through the
winter months as we’re fully licensed and bonded.
541-519-5268
stone.elitesprinklernland@gmail.com
Oregon State Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker
County Circuit Court): Joseph
William Palmer, 40, Huntington,
5:17 p.m. on Friday, March 12, on
Interstate 84, Milepost 340; cited
and released.
Accident report
Saturday, March 13 at 11:07
a.m. on Interstate 84, Milepost
338, OSP Sr. Trooper Andrew
McClay responded to the scene
where a semi-truck hauling straw
bales overturned on a curve,
spilling bales of straw into both
the eastbound and westbound
lanes. The truck was driven by
Jose C. Alfaro-Bautista, 30, of
Nampa, Idaho. The freeway was
closed temporarily while the
straw bales were removed.
Baker County has
had 1,977 residents
fully vaccinated —
11.7% of the county’s
16,800 residents —
As of Monday, March
and another 2,468
15, a total of 4,445 Baker
people — 14.7% —
County residents —
have received the fi rst
26.5% of the population
of two doses.
— had received either a
(The Johnson &
fi rst dose, or both doses,
Johnson vaccine
of a COVID-19 vaccine.
requires only one dose.
The breakdown by age
As of Monday, 169
group and gender:
doses of that vaccine
had been given in
• 80 AND OLDER:
Baker County.)
773 people
Baker County’s vac-
cination rate of 2,643
• 75 TO 79:
people per 10,000
517 people
residents ranks second
among Oregon’s 36
• 70 TO 74:
counties, behind only
821 people
Wheeler County.
The state’s least-
• 65 TO 69:
populated county, with
703 people
about 1,440 residents,
Wheeler County’s vac-
• 60 TO 64:
cination rate is 3,303
365 people
per 10,000.
Nancy Staten, direc-
• 50 TO 59:
tor of the Baker Coun-
462 people
ty Health Department,
said Baker County’s
• 40 TO 49:
vaccination rate is a
352 people
testament not only to
the Health Depart-
• 30 TO 39:
ment, its staff and the
286 people
volunteers who have
worked at the large
• 20 TO 29:
clinics, but also to the
140 people
county’s partners that
also are administering
• 19 AND YOUNGER:
vaccines.
26 people
Those include Saint
Alphonsus Medical
Center-Baker City, St.
• FEMALE
Luke’s Clinic-Eastern
2,478 people
Oregon Medical As-
sociates, Pine Eagle
• MALE
Clinic in Halfway, and
1,961 people
the pharmacies at
Safeway, Albertsons,
Bi-Mart and Rite Aid
stores in Baker City.
“It’s a community-wide effort,” Staten said.
Because most of the doses that have administered
in Baker County are either the Moderna or Pfi zer-Bi-
oNTech vaccine, which require two doses, the biweekly
clinics that the Health Department has put on at the
high school — on Feb. 12 and 26 and March 12 — have
been a mixture of people receiving either the fi rst or the
second dose, Staten said.
On March 12, about 300 of the 717 doses the Health
Department administered were second doses that fully
vaccinated the people who received them, she said.
Staten said the Health Department will continue to
offer inoculations to county residents who are 65 and
older, based on Oregon’s eligibility guidelines.
However, with 63.3% of those residents having
received either their fi rst dose or both doses, Staten said
the number of people in that age range who are on the
county’s waiting list has shrunk considerably in the past
couple weeks.
Staten urges all residents, even those who are
younger than 65, to go to the county’s website — www.
bakercountycovid19.com/ — to have their name added
to a waiting list.
She said the county also shares that information on
occasion with other vaccination partners when they
have available doses.
Staten said some residents are also making appoint-
ments to be inoculated at pharmacies, and when county
employees call them to set up an appointment, they
don’t need to make one because they’ve already received
a vaccine at a pharmacy.
Staten said state offi cials have told her that the
county’s weekly allotment of doses could increase start-
ing the week of March 29. She said that could lead to a
situation where the county has enough doses to start
offering vaccinations to people between 45 and 54 who
have underlying medical conditions.
So far more than 1,200 county residents younger
than 60 have received one or both doses. Many of those
people either work for a school district, a childcare pro-
vider or a police or fi re agency, all groups that have been
eligible for vaccines, regardless of age.
Staten said the county has also inoculated people
from a variety of age groups following the large clinics
at BHS after all the people with appointments have
received a vaccine. That’s done to avoid wasting a single
dose, she said — once a vial of 10 doses is punctured, all
the doses have to be used within six hours.
Are you Interested in Teaching Preschool?
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is hiring a
part-time preschool teacher. Candidates
with a background in early education
and experience working with children are
preferred. The position will pay $20-$25/
hour, depending on experience. Classes
run three hours per day Monday-Thursday
with additional prep time. Interested can-
didates need to submit a letter of interest
detailing their relevant background and
experience along with two current
references to St. Stephens Preschool, P.O. Box 1146, Baker City, OR 97814 or
email to: Z[Z[LWOLUZ'X^LZ[VɉJLUL[
If you or someone you know might be interested in this
opportunity you can also visit our YouTube
channel to learn more by
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ2rUNn94FA.
CCB#231936 LCB# 9809
COVID-19
vaccinations in
Baker County,
by age group,
gender