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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2021)
Hot art New shows open for First Friday art walk, April 2 THURSDAY BAKER VOLLEYBALL TEAM PUSHES LA GRANDE TO 5 SETS: SPORTS, 6A NORTHEAST OREGON Page 2 APRIL 1, 2021 www.gonortheastoregon.com The art show “Capturing the Flames” at Royal Artisan features photography by Shane Alderson and blacksmith creations by Roy Fontenot. P uzzle Annual Open Theme Show 2020 Auburn Avenue, Baker City, Oregon Ř 541.523.5369 Ř www.crossroads-arts.org This theme show is open to all mediums and artists with their interpretation of “Puzzle.” )URPDEVWUDFWWKLQNLQJWROLWHUDOGHƓQLWLRQ It has been a puzzling time and Crossroads ZRXOGOLNHWRH[KLELWWKHSDVWUHŴHFWLRQVDQG KRZLWKDVLQŴXHQFHGDUWLVWV Exhibition on display Friday, April 2 through Saturday, May 1 GO! Magazine Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com April 1, 2021 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Ross Bond of Baker City. Oregon, 3A Oregon House Republi- cans said Tuesday, March 30, that they will not use delaying tactics on budget bills when they come up for a vote. House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, issued a statement that the Republicans would drop their delaying strategy of requiring bills to be read in full when it came time to consider the budget legislation. Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 Motorcycle rally canceled ■ Organizer says pandemic and potential restrictions present ‘too many unknowns’ to put on July event By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com The Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally, one of Baker City’s biggest annual events, will be a two-time casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Dukes, a partner in High Desert Harley-Da- vidson, the Meridian, Idaho, motorcycle dealership that organizes the Rally, said on Tuesday, March 30, that due to uncertainty about limits on attendance at events, and his concern about the Rally potentially contributing to the spread of the virus, he had to cancel the event for the second straight year. “There are too many un- knowns,” Dukes said. “I’m disappointed. We love going to Baker City and we love doing the event.” The Rally, started in 2006 by brothers Steve and Eric Folkestad, rapidly grew into a signature summer event for Baker City, bringing Volunteers sought to help clean up Wade Williams Field on Saturday WEATHER Today 68 / 34 Sunny Friday 71 / 37 Increasing clouds The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. thousands of riders and motorcycle enthusiasts to town and drawing crowds of hundreds downtown to look at custom machines and check out vendors’ booths. See Canceled/Page 3A High school grades ‘alarming’ American Red Cross Blood Drives Continue To Thrive BRIEFING Baker Little League is planning a clean up day on Saturday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to noon at Wade Wil- liams Field to help prepare the fi eld, owned by the Baker Elks Lodge, for the upcoming baseball sea- son. Volunteers can bring rakes, shovels, garbage bags, wheelbarrows or large plastic garbage cans for hauling, gloves, string trimmers and leafblowers. Lunch will be provided. Wade Kaseberg with Elk- horn Grills will be cooking hot dogs. Those attending should bring their own beverage, although bottled water will be provided. To donate supplies, or for more information, call Kelly Tanzey at 541-519- 8800. Your guide to arts, entertainment and other events happening around Northeast Oregon By Chris Collins ccollins@bakercityherald.com “People want to do something to help,” Evans said. “It’s been pretty awesome, really.” She said more young people have been donating blood over the past year as well. Evans said the increase in dona- tions has happened even though blood drives during the pandemic haven’t been the social occasions they used to be. Chelsea Hurliman is eager for Baker High School stu- dents to return to a four-day week and remain in their classrooms all day except when they are called away for extracurricular activities. Hurliman If all goes as planned, that change should start April 12, for high school and middle school students. Still, as the high school’s assistant principal, Hurli- man can’t help but be con- cerned for students who have fallen behind in their studies because of changes required by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not all students have adapted well to the shift to online studies or the hybrid system of part-time online and part-time in person classes. In a February report to the Baker School Board, Greg Mitchell, BHS principal, stated that the failure rate among freshmen and sophomore stu- Mitchell dents had pro- duced “alarming numbers” by the end of the fi rst semester. See Blood Drive/Page 3A See Grades/Page 5A Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald Danny Story donated blood for the fi rst time on Monday, March 29, at the Nazarene Church in Baker City. In the background is veteran donor Doug Gaslin, who has given about 20 pints. Droves of Donors “Everything is just going really, really well,” Evans said. The COVID-19 pandemic has ham- She has the same assessment for pered all sorts of events, but Ameri- each of the Baker City blood drives — can Red Cross blood drives in Baker Monday’s was the sixth — since the City aren’t among them. pandemic started a year ago. A blood drive on Monday, March Evans said not only has it been 29, brought 96 donors to the Baker easier to recruit donors during the City Church of the Nazarene. pandemic, but the Baker City drives Local coordinator Myrna Evans over the past year have yielded an said very few people either didn’t average of about 80 pints of blood, an show up for their appointment or increase of 20 to 30 pints from the canceled. pre-pandemic period. By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com Philanthropists’ Generosity Benefi ts Baker County Residents The late Jack Clubb Immigrant enjoys helping a small town continues to contribute the United States in 2000 to earn a For the Baker City Herald master’s at Oregon State University. Venkat Subramanian doesn’t live He began working with Richard in Baker City, and Kathleen Chaves, owners of but he wants to Chaves Consulting in Baker City, in support this com- 2004. Since 2010, Venkat’s company, munity as much Arikkan Inc., has worked on several as he can. projects with Chaves Consulting, Venkat grew up including the Synergy Data Center. in Chennai, India, “We became really close friends, a metropolis with and family friends,” said Venkat, Subramanian who lives in Camas, Washington. a population of about 7 million. “And I had an immediate connection His family’s roots, though, are in a with Baker. People are really good.” village that he compares in size with Venkat comes from a family who Baker City. gave back to their community. After earning a bachelor’s degree See Venkat/Page 2A in engineering in India, he came to By Lisa Britton TODAY Issue 138, 22 pages Business .............. 1B-3B Classified ............. 4B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........4B & 6B Dear Abby ................. 8B Clubb, who died on March 4, 2019, at his home in Pendleton, be- Baker City Herald queathed $667,784 to each of the lo- Jack Clubb moved from Baker cal groups, and the same amount to City when he was a teenager, but the Shriners Hospital for Children his affi nity for the town remained in Portland, said Randy Anderson, throughout this life. a CPA who distributed money that And now, two years after Clubb Clubb left in his will. died at age 93, his legacy, and fi nan- Clubb had donated to those orga- cial generosity, continues to be felt nizations during his life and he was in Baker City. also a member of many of them. Clubb, who had lived in Pendle- “Jack had a real love for this ton since 1972, donated more than community,” said Bob Savage of $4 million to several organizations, Baker City, a former board member including the Baker Elks Lodge, for Blue Mountain Community the American Legion and Veterans College, another frequent recipient of Foreign Wars posts in Baker of Clubb’s generosity. City, and the local Scottish Rite and See Clubb/Page 2A Masonic Lodge. By Samantha O’Conner and Jayson Jacoby Horoscope ........4B & 6B Letters ........................4A Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Senior Menus ...........2A Sports ........................6A Weather ..................... 8B SATURDAY — ANTHONY LAKES SKI AREA BUSY DESPITE PANDEMIC