COMMUNITY
THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
ARREST
L OCAL B RIEFING
Continued from Page 1A
Both Powell and Baker
were evaluated at the hos-
pital and released Tuesday
morning, Chastain said.
Chastain, who has worked
for the Baker City Police for
20 years, said it’s quite rare
for a local offi cer to be as-
saulted by a suspect.
“We really don’t see this a
lot,” Chastain said on Tues-
day. “It’s an anomaly. The
community overall respects
what we’re trying to do here.”
The incident started about
12:18 a.m. Tuesday when
police received a call about
a vehicle backing into a gas
pump at the Jackson’s Food
Mart, 500 Campbell St.
Chastain said Powell ar-
rived fi rst, followed almost
immediately by Offi cer Rand
Weaver.
Peterman, the suspected
driver of the 2005 Honda
Element that struck the gas
pump, initially agreed to
undergo fi eld sobriety tests,
as Powell suspected that Pe-
terman might be intoxicated,
Chastain said.
But before Powell could ad-
minister the tests, Peterman
said he wanted to be taken to
the hospital.
A Baker City ambulance
took Peterman to Saint Al-
phonsus, where he was evalu-
ated and released, Chastain
said.
But Peterman refused
to leave the hospital after
multiple requests, and in
the ensuing altercation he
punched Baker twice, once on
Local students on honor roll at Oregon
State, Blue Mountain Community College
Students from Baker County were named to the
honor roll for the winter term at Oregon State Univer-
sity and at Blue Mountain Community College.
BLUE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
• President’s list (3.75 to 4.0 GPA): Josie Ash, Lily
Bingham, O’Keeya Brown, Addie Flanagan, Lexie Fla-
nagan, Serenity Foersterling, Alexis Johnston, Emma
Lowe, William Mercado, Elisabeth Munsell, Naomi Pot-
ter, Savannah Potter, Kelly Shank, Maya Smith.
• Vice President’s list (3.5 to 3.74 GPA): Andrew
Ferns, Pedro Heredia, Vicky Ortiz, Taylor Price, Jackson
Rohner, Shaylee Villastrigo, Sara Waldrop, Tiana Wil-
liams.
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Jesse Soliz/Contributed Photo
A gas pump at the Jackson’s Food Mart lies on its side after being hit by a car alleg-
edly driven by Andrew Lane Peterman, 36, of Boise, around midnight Tuesday, April 6.
the upper lip and once on the
side of the head, according to
Chastain’s report.
Peterman also hit Powell
twice in the face, causing a
laceration near his left eye
and a bloody nose, according
to Chastain’s report.
Powell used his Taser to
try to subdue Peterman, who
continued to fi ght, according
to Chastain’s report.
Powell and other offi cers
then arrested Peterman.
Peterman, per police
department policy when a
person is hit by a Taser, was
evaluated again at the hospi-
tal before being taken to the
jail, Chastain said.
The situation was particu-
larly challenging for Powell
because it happened in the
hospital, with doctors, nurses
and other civilians present,
Chastain said.
“That increases the risk
of the situation for sure,”
Chastain said.
Chastain said he didn’t
have any information about
the extent of the damage to
the gas pump. He said the
Fire Department wasn’t
called to the scene.
Photos from the scene
don’t show any liquid on the
ground. Chastain said gas
pumps are equipped with
automatic shutoff valves.
An employee at Jackson’s
referred questions to the
company’s corporate of-
fi ce in Idaho, which hadn’t
responded to an email from
the Herald by press time on
Wednesday.
According to Idaho court
records, Peterman pleaded
guilty on Nov. 13, 2019, to
aggravated assault and
use of a deadly weapon in
commission of a felony. He
was sentenced to prison in
January 2020, and released
from prison, on probation,
less than a week ago, on April
1, 2021.
According to an online
story from KTVB, a Boise TV
station, Peterman, then 33,
was arrested in September
2018 after police responded
to reports of shots fi red in a
Boise neighborhood. No one
was hurt in the incident.
To qualify, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or better
with at least 12 graded hours of course work.
• Baker City — Josephine E. Bryan, senior, Design
& Innovation Management; Anna C. Carter, freshman,
Business Administration; Augustena M. Cook, junior,
Agricultural Sciences; Anthony J. Cowan, sophomore,
General Engineering; Kaylee R. Dalke, freshman,
Agricultural & Food Business Management; Reno
R. Hammond, sophomore, Chemistry; Katrina Horn,
senior, Spanish; Kourtney M. Lehman, junior, Agricul-
tural Business Management; Kaylan M. Mosser, junior,
Natural Resources; Erik L. Ruby, senior, Art; Brandon S.
Stairs, senior, Biology; Casey E. Swanson, Post Bacca-
laureate, Mathematics; Calli N. Ward, senior, Sociology.
• Halfway — Joseph W. Aguilar, senior, Animal Sci-
ences.
OSU Extension Service plans virtual
Teens as Teachers camp on April 23
HOLLAND, A LOCAL HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR, LOST HER UNINSURED HOME TO FIRE IN MARCH
The Oregon State University Extension Service of-
fi ces in Baker, Grant and Malheur counties will have a
free Teens as Teachers virtual camp on April 23 from 6
p.m. to 8 p.m.
Participants will learn about health and wellness,
cooking, and how to succeed in business, while connect-
ing with other teenagers in the region and across the
state.
To register, go to https://bit.ly/33LNpbl. More in-
formation is available by calling Katherine Hauser
at the Baker County offi ce, 541-523-6418, or email to
hauserk@oregonstate.edu
Fundraiser April 17 for Carmelita Holland
Cascade Natural Gas offering debt relief
program for residential customers
By Sherrie Kvamme
RICHLAND — A rising and increas-
ingly popular band called The Locals
has organized a luncheon and auction
for April 17 to help raise money for the
Carmelita Holland family, who lost their
home in New Bridge, near Richland, in a
fi re on March 20.
While the family’s immediate needs
were met, the long-term recovery will be
an ongoing challenge as Carmelita Hol-
land did not have insurance.
“We started out with a plan to provide
a few sets of music and have Mib Dailey
auction off some pies and desserts,” said
Aline Murray, one of the organizers.
“And this whole thing took on a life of
its own. Now we are having a roast pig,
salads, beans and hot dogs and chips.
“The pie auction grew and I hear
that some pretty spectacular pies and
desserts are being planned. Then we
had auction items being donated and
then we added a silent auction. It’s just
been wonderful. I’m starting to catch my
DROUGHT
Continued from Page 1A
Since then the area des-
ignated as being in extreme
drought has expanded to the
south to include parts of the
Burnt River Valley.
Much of the rest of the
county is in severe or moder-
ate drought.
The exceptions are the east-
ern and northeastern parts of
the county, where conditions
are abnormally dry or, in a
sliver at the north edge of the
county, normal.
Rainfall during March at
the Baker City Airport totaled
just 0.14 of an inch, about
17% of average for the month.
Since the start of the “water
breath from all of it and we are feeling
organized but what an incredible experi-
ence.”
Donated items for the auction include
two prime rib dinners at the Shorthorn
in Richland, a 20-volt DeWalt three-tool
combo kit from Miller’s Hardware, three
roadside emergency kits from Com-
mercial Tire, a $100 gift certifi cate from
Snake River PCS, a $100 gift certifi cate
at the Shorthorn from Connor Creek
Mines, a gift certifi cate from Sara’s for
two date night dinners, gift certifi cates
from The Little Pig and from Grocery
Outlet in Baker City, and a $100 dona-
tion from Old Pine Market in Halfway.
“We are still collecting donations and
are welcoming more as Mib is ready to
take on an afternoon of fun,” Murray
said. “The silent auction will start right
away and will be ongoing. If any crafters
or artisans would like to donate items,
we would appreciate them.”
Donation items for both of the auc-
tions, the pies and desserts can be
year,” on Oct. 1, 2020, precipi-
tation at the airport is 2.35
inches, 63% of average for the
period.
In addition to the lack
of rain and snow, frequent
windstorms over the past
month have leached moisture
from the soil, Yencopal told
commissioners.
On a more promising note,
Yencopal said, the county’s
mountain snowpack is above
average.
Yencopal said some of
the melted snow will fl ow
into reservoirs and thus be
available for irrigation this
summer.
But he noted that many
parts of the county don’t have
access to reservoir water.
TESTING
District superintendent.
State testing this year will
Continued from Page 1A
be conducted between April 13
An exception was the spring and June 11. The district has
of 2020. Because students were mailed opt-in forms to parents
taking online classes only, state of students from grades 3-8,
tests were canceled last year,
and juniors, who haven’t previ-
said Mark Witty, Baker School ously opted out of testing.
Reed & Associates for
excellent service
LOCALLY!
brought to the pavilion at the Eagle
Valley Grange Park on Friday, April 16
starting at 3 p.m., or Saturday morning
starting at 10 a.m.
“We would prefer Friday if you can
make that,” Murray said. “We have ac-
cess to refrigerators.”
Lunch will start at noon. A roasted
pork meal is $10, and a hot dog meal is
$5.
The silent auction starts at noon.
At 1:30 p.m. Dailey will start the live
auction.
The Locals have a full schedule of
music ready and they will also take
requests.
In the interest of safety and consider-
ation of each other, social distancing will
be respected and masks are required.
More information is available by call-
ing Murray at 541-377-5545.
An account has been set up at the
US Bank for Carmelita Holland and a
GoFundMe account has been set up on
Facebook.
The Oregon Public Utility Commission on March 25
approved a debt relief program for residential custom-
ers of Cascade Natural Gas, including those in Baker
City, who have fi nancial hardships and past-due bal-
ances.
The company’s Oregon customers can call 1-888-522-
1130 for more information, or to enroll in the program.
Cascade Natural Gas’ “Big Heart Grant Program” has
two options:
• Automatic Hardship Grant. This is designed for
customers with a history of receiving low-income bill
pay assistance. Qualifi ed customers will automatically
receive a one-time grant equal to the amount of their
total past due balance up to $1,500.
• Financial Hardship Grant. This is designed for
customers who have not received energy assistance in
the past 24 months but are experiencing fi nancial hard-
ship. Cascade Natural Gas will determine the qualifi ed
customer’s benefi t amount based on household size,
income, and account balance. The grant, not to exceed
$1,500, will be applied to the customer’s past due bal-
ance.
Mt. Hope Cemetery clean up starts soon
Baker City’s maintenance contractor, Grass Masters,
will be doing the spring cleanup at Mount Hope Cem-
etery, including removing deteriorated decorations and
fl owers, from April 12-26.
The city is asking people to remove those items before
April 12. They can be replaced starting April 27. Items
that are left and that the contractor has to move will be
stored, except perishable items, until Nov. 1, 2021.
A copy of the cemetery rules is available at www.bak-
ercity.com, and more information is available by calling
541-524-2047.
The drought declaration
cites Phillips Reservoir, along
the Powder River between
Baker City and Sumpter.
Water from Phillips irrigates
more than 30,000 acres,
mostly in Baker Valley.
As of Wednesday, the reser-
voir was holding about 14,200
acre-feet of water — 19% of
its capacity.
A year ago the reservoir
held about 27,000 acre-feet,
nearly twice as much as the
current volume.
In other business Wednes-
day, commissioners accepted
a $15,495 grant from the
Oregon Department of Agri-
culture’s wolf compensation
program. Most of the money
— $13,000 — is to reimburse
the county for its expenses
it administering its own
program to help ranchers pre-
vent wolf attacks on livestock,
and to compensate them from
losses.
Commission Chairman Bill
Harvey said he is upset that
wolves have killed livestock
in the county.
“I want to emphasize
that there’s very damn little
money, excuse my expression,
for the ranchers that have to
suffer through this and I’m
angry as hell that we have
to put up with this because
there are very few (wolves)
on the west side of the state,”
Harvey said.
Since 2012, Baker
County livestock owners
have requested $269,000 in
compensation for confi rmed
or suspected animal losses
or, in some cases, to employ
nonlethal measures to deter
wolves.
The state has given Baker
County $155,000 — 58% of
the requested amount.
Harvey drew laughter
when he offered $500 for
every wolf captured and
released in Portland.
“State testing is really im-
portant,” Witty said in a press
release. “But since we expect
the results to be skewed for
the 2020-21 school year due to
multiple changes in educa-
tion delivery as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic, the
decision was made to utilize an
opt-in system this year, which
requires action if a parent or
guardian wants us to test their
student.”
As of Wednesday morning,
Witty didn’t have an estimate
of how many parents have
decided to have their children
take the tests, which are in
English/language arts, math-
ematics and science.
The letter the district
mailed to parents asked them
to return the forms by today,
April 8.
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