TUESDAY
BEAVERS, DUCKS BOTH ADVANCE TO SWEET 16: PG. 6A
In SPORTS, 5A
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
March 23, 2021
Local • Home & Living • Sports
IN THIS EDITION:
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Bill Lee
of Baker City.
Local, 3A
SALEM (AP) — Five
wolves were found dead
in Northeast Oregon in
February, according to law
authorities.
On Feb. 9, a collar on a
wolf indicated a mortality
signal in the Mt. Harris
area in Union County,
Oregon State Police Capt.
Timothy R. Fox said in an
email on Friday, March 19,
when asked about it by
The Associated Press.
$1.50
Baker City Bull And Bronc Riding, Canceled In 2020, Slated To Return In July
Return Of Rodeo?
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
VALE – Anthony Mont-
wheeler sat in clean street
clothes with a fresh haircut
and stared straight ahead
Friday morning, March
19 as more than a dozen
people delivered state-
ments at his sentencing
at the Malheur County
Courthouse.
The session was the fi -
nal chapter on a four-year-
long legal case that began
in the early morning hours
of a cold, overcast January
day 2017.
Sports, 5A
WEATHER
Today
48 / 24
Sunny and breezy
Wednesday
50 / 34
Afternoon rain
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Council
could
declare
crisis
■ Resolution calls
COVID-19 rules
‘draconian’
Oregon, 3A
Led by a dominating de-
fense, the Baker boys soc-
cer team beat Nyssa 5-1
Saturday afternoon, March
20, at the Baker Sports
Complex to improve its
record to 2-4.
Sophomore Diego Quin-
tela had a hat trick to lead
Baker, which improved its
season record to 2-4.
Baker
rallies to
nip Nyssa
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald File, 2018
Bull riders know they risk the dangers of a ride. Mason Cooley narrowly escaped several close attacks and
serious injury after being thrown during the Baker City Bull Riding event in July 2018. A bullfi ghter stepped
in to help distract the irate bull.
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
The organizer of the Baker
City Bull and Bronc riding com-
petition, one of the signature
local summer events, has added
the two-night contest to his list
of rodeo events for 2021.
The bull and bronc riding,
which traditionally happen at
the Baker County Fairgrounds
arena in Baker City during the
same July weekend as Miners
Jubilee, were canceled in 2020
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The virus spoiled what would
have been the fi rst year of the
events as part of the Coastal
Farm & Ranch Challenge of
Champions Tour.
That’s the series of rodeo
competitions that Jason Mat-
tox, a former bull rider who
lives in Roseburg, puts on.
Mattox was prepared to as-
sume responsibility for organiz-
ing the Baker City events from
the group of volunteers, led by
Ken McPheron, who had over-
seen them for the past 25 years
under the nonprofi t Baker City
Bronc & Bull Riding Inc.
Mattox had announced in
January 2020, less than two
months before Oregon began to
impose restrictions on events
due to the pandemic, that the
Baker City events were not
only part of the Challenge of
Champions Tour, but that they
would be televised for the fi rst
time.
In a Friday, March 19 post on
the Baker City Bronc and Bull
Riding Facebook page, Mat-
tox wrote that “we are excited
for 2021 and bringing Bulls &
Broncs back to the great com-
munity of Baker City.”
“We know life is so unpre-
dictable but we are focused
and ready to bring the biggest
Bulls & Bronc Riding back to
the Northwest after a one year
delay. Both events will have
a total of $25,000 for the top
contestants around to compete
for. Baker City look out we are
pumped and ready to shine this
year.”
Shelly Cutler, executive
director of the Baker County
Chamber of Commerce, which
organizes Miners Jubilee, said
she’s excited about the prospect
of the bull and bronc riding
events returning.
She said she talked with
Mattox on Friday and told him
she appreciated his efforts.
See Rodeo/Page 3A
The Baker City Council
this evening will consider
approving a resolution de-
claring an “economic, mental
health and criminal activity
crisis” resulting from Or-
egon COVID-19 mandates
that the resolution deems
“arbitrary, ineffective, and
draconian.”
Councilors will meet at 7
p.m. at City Hall, 1655 First St.
Mayor Kerry McQuisten,
who drafted Resolution
3881, said that it, along with
a letter the City Council
agreed on March 9 to send
to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown,
is in part a response to the
concerns that a Baker City
couple, Whitney and Shan-
non Black, raised in a letter
they sent to the City Council
in late January.
The Blacks expressed
their concerns about how
state COVID-19 mandates
are harming local business-
es and the economy.
See Council/Page 2A
Man, 19,
jailed in
crash
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald File, 2018
Cheyne Olney of Toppenish, Washington,
hangs on for a full ride during the 2018 Baker
City Bull Riding event.
A Baker City
man was jailed
after he alleg-
edly crashed his
car into another
vehicle early
Arenas
Saturday morn-
ing, March 20
and then drove away.
Josiah Arenas, 19, of 930
East St., is charged with
felony hit and run, reckless
driving and three counts
of recklessly endangering
another person. The incident
happened about 2:01 a.m.
at Auburn Avenue and Oak
Street, according to a press
release from the Baker City
Police Department.
See Jailed/Page 3A
Saturday fire destroys home in New Bridge
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
A fi re that started Saturday afternoon,
March 20, destroyed a home in New Bridge,
about three miles north of Richland.
Neither of the two people who live on the
property, Carmelita Holland and her son,
Gary, was hurt, nor were any of the 25 or
so volunteer fi refi ghters who worked on
the blaze, said Dave Kingsbury, chief of the
Eagle Valley Rural Fire Protection District.
That was “very fortunate,” Kingsbury
said, because the abundance of vehicles and
other items on the property were obstacles
that posed hazards for fi refi ghters, particu-
TODAY
Issue 134, 14 pages
Calendar ....................2A
Classified ............. 4B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
larly given the dense black smoke the fi re
produced.
Kingsbury said several people reported
smoke around 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Hol-
land property is at 43080 Main St. in New
Bridge, an unincorporated community along
Eagle Creek.
The black smoke was due in part to tires
burning on several vehicles on the property,
Kingsbury said.
See Fire/Page 2A
Sherrie Kvamme/Contributed Photo
Fire destroyed a New Bridge home on
Saturday afternoon, March 20.
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