Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current, April 01, 2021, Page 3, Image 3

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    BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
One hurt in crash
and failed to see the other
vehicle as he turned left
Two vehicles sustained onto 10th Street at the
major front-end damage in light, which was green for
a crash Tuesday morning, both drivers.
March 30, at 10th and
Duby said the other ve-
Campbell streets that left hicle, a 2010 Honda Civic,
one driver with a cut to
driven by Timothy Sheehy,
the forehead and the other 58, of Union was traveling
with a citation.
west on Campbell Street
Angel De Arcos, 16,
when the crash happened.
of Baker City, was cited
Sheehy sustained a cut on
on a charge of making a
the head from a piece of
dangerous left turn in the plastic that fl ew off the air
incident that happened
bag as it deployed in the
at 7:53 a.m. The teen-
crash, Duby said.
ager was driving a 2007
The Baker City am-
Cadillac sedan en route
bulance responded, but
to Baker High School for
Sheehy refused medical
classes, said Baker City
care. De Arcos was not
Police Lt. Ty Duby.
hurt in the crash and was
De Arcos was traveling able to drive his car from
east on Campbell Street
the scene. Sheehy’s vehicle
with the sun in his eyes
was towed.
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Republicans in Oregon House
won’t delay votes on budget bills
■ GOP leaders say they won’t require bills to be read in full, saving hours
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon House Republicans
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 bud-
get legislation.
“Part of this commitment is
to ensure we have a balanced
budget prior to our constitu-
tional deadline before adjourn-
ing this session,” Drazan said.
Under the Oregon Consti-
tution, the Legislature must
adjourn no later than June 28.
Budget bills are often among
the last items to come before
the Legislature as lawmak-
ers wait until after a state
revenue forecast in May.
The requirement to read
bills in full is in the Oregon
constitution, but tradition-
ally it is waived and only the
two-to-three sentence title of
legislation is read out loud.
It takes two-thirds of the
House — 40 votes — to over-
ride an objection to the waiver.
Democrats have 37 seats.
While the tactic has been
employed in prior sessions on
specifi c pieces of controversial
legislation, Drazan has used it
on all bills. The pace of legisla-
tion in the House has become
glacial.
The refusal to allow just the
EO Media Group/File
The state Capitol in Salem.
title to be announced leads
to marathon readings of bills
that take hours.
On Tuesday, the House used
a computer program to read
the bills in place of the clerks.
First up was a 170-page bill
that changed the name of the
Oregon Liquor Control Com-
mission to the Oregon Liquor
and Cannabis Commission.
Drazan’s statement on the
budget bills is the fi rst crack in
Republicans’ strategy.
Danny Moran, spokesman
for House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, said Tuesday the
budget bill promise would not
change the overall dynamics of
House votes.
“House Republican leader-
ship is still holding up critical
funding for summer learning,
child care, homeless shelters
and wildfi re recovery,” Moran
said.
Kotek said Monday that the
slowdown could cause a pileup
that would bump up against
the constitutional clock.
Tuesday was the 70th day of
the 160-day session that began
Jan. 19.
“We do run into the chal-
lenge of getting bills to the
Senate,” Kotek said Monday.
“It gets complicated.”
The session ran into
problems immediately after
it started in January. The
House recessed because of
security concerns over Oregon
State Police warnings of pos-
sible violent demonstrations
timed to the inauguration of
President Joseph Biden. No
demonstrations occurred at
that time.
Because of the COVID-19
pandemic, the Legislature
held remote hearings for
much of the fi rst two months.
However, the constitution
requires that lawmakers come
to the Capitol for the fi nal pas-
sage of bills.
Two cases of COVID-19
linked to fl oor activity briefl y
shut the House over the past
month.
In response to the slow-
down, Kotek has scheduled
day and evening sessions for
every day this week.
The schedule brings the
lawmakers to the Capitol,
which has been closed since
March 2020 because of the
COVID-19 outbreak. The ZIP
code where the Capitol is lo-
cated has had the most cases
of COVID-19 in the state.
Both sides blame the other
for having to spend so much
time in the Capitol. Republi-
cans say that too much time
is being spent on bills that
aren’t directly related to the
COVID-19, economic slow-
down and wildfi re relief. An
estimated 4,000 pieces of leg-
islation have been introduced,
the most in a decade.
“That would be too much in
a normal year and this is not
a normal year,” said Andrew
Fromm, spokesman for the
House Republican Caucus.
Democrats want to address
police reform, affordable hous-
ing, environmental initiatives,
taxes, health care and gun
control, along with other issues.
They say Republicans are us-
ing a desperate tactic to force
the will of a small minority
onto the majority who say they
were elected to pass the kind of
legislation on the agenda.
So far, no lawmaker has
tested positive, making Oregon
one of only four states to have
its Legislature virus-free over
the past 13 months.
Sheriff’s Office team rescues man
after his vehicle got stuck in snow
driving on packed snow and got stuck
while turning around to head back to
Members of the Baker County Sher-
Highway 26.
iff’s Search and Rescue Team brought
He then walked back to the highway
to safety a Washington man who spent
and tried to fl ag down passing drivers.
Sunday night, March 28, in his vehicle
Patricia Chapin, 61, of Unity, stopped to
after he got stuck in the snow on an
talk to Lewine. She drove to an area with
unmaintained Forest Service road in the cell service and called 9-1-1 about 7 p.m.
southern part of the county.
to report Lewine’s situation, McClay said.
Chase Lewine, 29, of Seattle, became
A short time later a Canyon City
stuck in the snow after deciding to take
couple, Jessie Madden, 51, and Michael
the scenic route over Road 16 while
Madden, also met Lewine on Highway
out for a drive Sunday, Ashley McClay,
26. The Maddens started driving up
Sheriff’s Offi ce spokeswoman, stated in a Road 16, making it about 3 miles and
press release.
then deciding to walk the rest of the way
That road branches off from Highway to Lewine’s vehicle. Lewine also walked
26 about 9 miles east of Unity, and fol-
back to his stranded SUV.
lows East Camp Creek into the moun-
But before the group was able to try to
tains.
return to the highway, high winds from
Lewine had traveled about 5 miles on a strong cold front felled several trees,
the snowy road when his 2000 Toyota
blocking the escape route for Lewine’s
4-Runner four-wheel drive became stuck, and the Maddens’ vehicles. One tree fell
McClay said. She said Lewine had been near the Maddens’ vehicle.
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
CANCELED
rescind restrictions, or even
relax them signifi cantly, by
Continued from Page 1A
July, when the Rally would
Dukes said the crowds
have taken place, Dukes said
are one of the challenges to
it’s not feasible to spend the
planning the Rally during the time and money to plan the
pandemic.
Rally when it might not be
Under Oregon’s current
possible to put on the event
regulations, outdoor events
at its usual scale.
in counties at the lowest risk
“It takes fi ve or six months
— including Baker County — to plan an event like this,” he
are limited to 300 people.
said. “What if it closes down
“We’d have way more than again? We don’t want to go
300 people show up,” Dukes
there and not do a great job.”
said.
Dukes said he also recog-
With no guarantee that
nizes the potential for people
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will to become infected with the
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McClay said the Maddens walked back
to the highway and called relatives who
picked them up.
Lewine, meanwhile, chose to stay
overnight with his vehicle.
The Baker County Search and
Rescue Team was activated at 7:55
a.m. Monday, March 30, led by Sgt. Eric
Colton. McClay said team members
used a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle
to travel to the area. They cut through
the downed tree and other debris with
chain saws to reach Lewine’s vehicle.
“Despite the cold weather, Lewine
was uninjured and appeared in good
health,” McClay stated in the press
release.
The Sheriff’s Department warns
travelers to be prepared when heading
out on Eastern Oregon roads this time of
year. Despite rising temperatures, many
unmaintained Forest Service and BLM
roads remain impassable, McClay stated.
virus during a big event.
“I don’t want people to get
sick,” he said. “If someone
gets sick they’re going to
point the fi nger back at us.
I don’t want to be that guy.
(This) is the right thing to
do.”
Dukes said he intends for
the Rally to return to Baker
City in 2022.
“We absolutely still want to
do it,” he said.
Two other major July
events in Baker City that
were canceled in 2020 are
still scheduled to happen
BEST OF HAWAII
FOUR-ISLAND
TOUR
this year, according to their
organizers — Miners Jubilee,
July 16-18, and the Baker
City Bull and Bronc Riding
competition, July 16 and 17.
Shelly Cutler, executive
director of the Baker County
Chamber of Commerce,
which organizes Miners
Jubilee, said on Wednesday,
March 31 that although she
is disappointed that the Mo-
torcycle Rally won’t happen,
she “completely understands
where they are coming from”
and that she supports the de-
cision due to the uncertainty.
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Ginger and Rick Rembold have between them
donated about 200 pints of blood.
BLOOD DRIVE
Continued from Page 1A
In the past, people were encouraged to mingle and
visit while enjoying sandwiches and juice after donat-
ing. That’s not happening now.
Evans said many donors Monday have had one or
both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Donors don’t need to wait to give blood after receiving
a vaccine, so long as they feel healthy.
Red Cross offi cials from Boise, including collections
manager Judy Knehans, made sure Monday’s drive ran
smoothly. Knehans lauded the organization’s phleboto-
mists and staff.
“They’re very dedicated,” she said.
Donors’ stories
For Ginger and Rick Rembold of Baker City, donating
blood has been part of their schedule for decades.
“I started in college, so probably in ’72,” Rick said.
He said he started donating to help his friend’s father,
who was having surgery. Rick said that at that time,
donating blood actually reduced the medical cost for
someone undergoing surgery.
Ginger said she began donating regularly after her
father died, as a way to honor him.
“He was a lifelong blood donor,” Ginger said.
Following Monday’s drive, the Rembolds, who are
both retired Baker School District teachers, have com-
bined to donate more than 24 gallons of blood.
Ginger has donated 101 pints, Rick almost as many.
“She’s always one or two ahead of me,” Rick said.
The Rembolds stick with their schedule whether
they’re home or not.
They have donated in New Mexico, Texas and Port-
land, among other places.
“Wherever we’re at when the time comes,” Rick said.
Like the Rembolds, Doug Gaslin has been donating
blood regularly for many years.
“I started out in the Portland area, (then) started giv-
ing here,” Gaslin said during Monday’s drive.
He said he has O+ blood, which is the universal type,
able to be given even to people with other blood types.
Gaslin said he is up to about 20 pints donated.
Danny Story, on the other hand, donated his fi rst pint
on Monday.
He said his father, sister and wife — she’s a nurse —
have been donating blood for a long time.
“Honestly, I couldn’t come up with a reason why I
haven’t been doing it,” Story said.
Although his main purpose is to help with the blood
supply, Story said he’s also interested in fi nding out
whether he was ever infected with COVID-19.
Evans said the Red Cross tests all donated blood for
virus antibodies, and will give the information to donors
who ask for it.
“I think I’ve had it but I don’t know,” Story said.
He said his wife contracted the virus but he didn’t get
it from her, and he suspects he had been infected earlier
and thus had protective antibodies.
“I think there’s a reason why I didn’t get it from her,”
Story said.
After making his fi rst donation, Story was already
making an appointment to give another pint during
the next Baker City blood drive, set for June 14 at the
Nazarene Church. Information is available by calling
Evans at 541-523-5368.
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