LOCAL & STATE
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
ELECTION
has two positions. Koby
Myer and Jessice Dough-
Continued from Page 1A
erty are vying for one
The bond measure
position, and Travis Cook
would also all the district is running unopposed for
to:
the other.
• Construct an approxi-
• Five-year renewal for
mately 5,000-square-foot the Baker County Library
multipurpose building at District’s local option,
Baker Middle School for
general operations levy.
use as a cafeteria/kitchen. The levy, which would
• Replace the roof at
not increase property
South Baker Intermedi-
taxes, amounts to about
ate.
24.9 cents per $1,000 of
If voters approve the
assessed value. Voters
measure, it would increase approved the last fi ve-year
property taxes within
extension, in 2016, by a
the school district over
margin of 83% to 17%.
fi ve years by 66 cents per
• Measure, for Half-
$1,000 of assessed value. way voters only, to allow
That equates to $66 more marijuana businesses,
per year on a home as-
including dispensaries, in
sessed at $100,000.
the town. In 2016 Halfway
Also on the May 18
voters, by a margin of 10
ballot:
votes, decided to ban mari-
• Baker School Board
juana dispensaries.
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Kids enjoy a sunny but blustery Monday, April 19 at Geiser-Pollman Park.
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CAMERAS
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“There is an app for the law
enforcement to use; they can
monitor those cameras on their
phones,” Waggoner said. “They
will be able to go back and see
where people were, who was
doing what. Maybe we can not
have so much destruction to
the pavilions and carvings on
the picnic tables, and play-
ground equipment torn up.”
Police Chief Ray Duman told
councilors that police officers
are installing the app on their
phones.
Waggoner said the cameras
were set up to cover the entire
parks.
The city received a grant of
$18,745 from the Leo Adler
STUDENTS
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
One of the six security cameras at Geiser-Pollman Park.
Foundation to help pay for the
cameras, Bornstedt said.
The city’s total cost, includ-
ing installing electric lines and
poles, was $36,319.
Waggoner said the city
could potentially install cam-
eras in the future along the
Leo Adler Memorial Parkway,
the paved path that follows
the Powder River through
much of Baker City.
In addition to installing the
security cameras, Bornstedt
said the parks department
is also working to remove
aging trees that pose a safety
hazard.
“Our trees are aging, espe-
cially in Geiser-Pollman Park,
and we just had a couple that
were rotten from the center,”
Bornstedt said. “One in par-
ticular was in close proximity
to the playground, so it had
to come out. The other, the
tree board hasn’t consented to
removal yet. So, we’ll just keep
evaluating until at some point
in time it’ll have to come out
as well.”
Baker High School
• Neah Thomas is state champion in
social systems for her project studying the
Smith
effects on people’s stress level using equine
therapy. She collected data such as blood
pressure and heart rate of people after they
interacted with horses.
• Skye Smith is state champion in animal
systems (division 3) for her experiment on
Thomas
whether horses have taste preferences, us-
ing treats.
• Weston Bryant and Dillon Multop are
state champions in animal systems (division
4) for their study of the effects of different
colored lights on the behavior of fish.
• Kylie Siddoway is state champion for
Siddoway
her job interview performance.
• Jocelynn Hellberg won the HH Gibson
scholarship.
These students earned their state FFA degree: Emma
Baeth, Iriana Rosales, Katie Wilde, Majestic Grove,
Thomas Lyon, Zack Morrison, Lacy Churchfield.
Group hopes to have visitor services proposal by July
contract to Anthony Lakes, commis-
sioners decided to delay awarding
The work group reviewing Baker the contract.
County’s lodging tax system hopes
Then, in the fall of 2020, commis-
to have a draft request for proposals sioners decided to restart the process
for the visitor services contract —
and create a new request for propos-
the issue that prompted the group’s als (RFP).
formation in March — for public
The city/county work group was
review by early July.
tasked with drafting that pro-
The six-member group met on
posal as well as considering other
Wednesday, April 14.
potential changes to the lodging tax
Bill Harvey, chairman of the
system that’s been in place since
Baker County Board of Commis-
2006.
sioners and one of the county’s three
Guests at motels, bed and break-
representatives on the work group, fasts, RV parks, vacation rental
said early July is the tentative goal homes, campgrounds and other
for fi nishing the request for propos- lodging establishments pay a 7%
als.
tax. The tax is collected in Baker
County commissioners voted on
City, some other incorporated cities,
March 3 to propose the work group including Halfway and Sumpter,
to the city.
and in unincorporated parts of the
Commissioners also voted to
county. The tax generated about
extend the current visitor services
$440,000 in the most recent fi scal
contract, with the Baker County
year.
Chamber of Commerce, through
Baker City manager Jon Cannon,
Aug. 31.
one of the city’s three members on
Commissioners had intended
the work group, said the group has
to award a new contract in Febru-
been discussing visitor services,
ary 2020. The county received two
tourism marketing and event coor-
proposals, from the Chamber of
dination.
Commerce and from Anthony Lakes.
The current lodging tax ordinance
Although the county’s Lodging
requires that 70% of the tax rev-
Tax Committee and Economic De-
enue be spent for tourism promotion
velopment Committee both recom-
and 25% for economic development.
mended commissioners award the
The county, which oversees the tax
By Samantha O’Conner
soconner@bakercityherald.com
program, can keep up to 5% for
administrative costs.
“We already have a contract in
place for marketing,” Cannon said
(with Timothy Bishop). “I think if
we write up a good RFP for event
coordination and visitors services,
and then we kind of look at the
mix of our TLT committee to make
sure that everybody in the county
and city is well represented, and
then kind of put it back into play
from there, I think that simplifi es
the structure a lot and addresses
the things that our TLT ordinance
says it wants us to do as well as our
strategic plan wants us to do.”
Cannon’s reference to the TLT
committee has to do with potential
changes to its membership.
Now, the seven-member commit-
tee includes one lodging establish-
ment operator, a city offi cial ap-
pointed by the Baker City Council, a
member appointed by the economic
Development Committee, and four
at-large members.
“I think it’s important you have a
cross section of the right folks within
those industries and different types
of folks that are affected by TLT,”
said Martin Arritola, chairman of
the Economic Development Com-
mittee and one of the county’s three
representatives on the work group.
“We just want willing bodies,
number one, hopefully in the same
category that we’re trying to fi ll.
And that doesn’t always happen,”
Harvey said.
A possible change the work group
discussed would have the Baker
City Council appoint three mem-
bers:
• A lodging business owner or
representative
• a tourism industry representa-
tive
• a city offi cial
“If we got a downtown business
that wants to join the committee
and we don’t have a slot with one
of these other businesses then we
could do that,” said Joanna Dixon,
a Baker City Council member and
one of the city’s three members on
the work group.
The County Commissioners
would appoint four members:
• A lodging business owner or
representative
• a member of the Economic
Development Committee
• a restaurant owner or repre-
sentative
• an at-large member
Jason Brandt, president of the
Oregon Restaurant and Lodging
Association, has been participating
by phone with the work group dur-
ing its meetings.
Brandt said that ideally, a major-
ity of the lodging tax committee
members will be in positions where
they see fi rsthand the results of the
work that’s done with tax revenue,
including tourism marketing and
event coordination.
In addition to the RFP for visitor
services, the work group is discuss-
ing a separate request for proposals
for a person who would operate
what Harvey described as an “event
clearinghouse.”
The contractor could help orga-
nizers coordinate their events to
avoid confl icts.
Cannon said it would be helpful
to have a person responsible for
helping with events.
“It also makes it easy for if
someone calls City Hall and says,
‘hey, I have this great idea for a golf
tournament,’ I can say ‘You know
what, you need to call this person
and they’ll tell when the weekends
are available,’ that’s how I see it,”
Cannon said.
Harvey said the event coordi-
nation contractor also would be
asked to help volunteers get events
started.
The position would not be a year-
round position the fi rst year but
could develop into one.
Advocates call Snake River prison court order a landmark
■ Multnomah County Circuit Judge Amy Baggio ruled that the Ontario prison failed to comply with face mask requirements
has left vulnerable prisoners
in unconstitutional condi-
ONTARIO — Lawyers and tions during COVID. Sixteen
advocates say that the sweep- lawsuits involved SRCI.
ing court order requiring
Less than 10 COVID-
reforms in Snake River Cor-
related habeas corpus cases
rectional Institution’s COVID have made it to trial so far due
protocols is a landmark. The
to the backlog in the courts.
case, they say, not only raised In cases where judges have
questions about the quality
ruled, most have ordered relief
of medical care at the prison
for a particular inmate, but
but also exposes problems en- “most judges have not wanted
demic to the Oregon Depart-
to touch the COVID claims,”
ment of Corrections’ handling Herivel said.
of the pandemic.
Multnomah Circuit Judge
“It’s an extensive, expansive Amy Baggio ruled that the
order on the issue of masking, Ontario prison’s masking com-
and really hopeful,” said Tara pliance has been inadequate
Herivel, coordinating attorney and “creates an unjustifi able
of the Oregon Habeas Strike
risk” throughout the prison.
Force.
She ordered prison offi cials
Herivel’s organization has
to document “how SRCI is
handled over 400 civil law-
enforcing the masking policy,
suits alleging that the Oregon including proof of specifi c
Department of Corrections
enforcement; (and) consider-
By Liliana Frankel
Malheur Enterprise
ation of a plan to engage in
mass COVID-19 testing at
SRCI, particularly rapid test-
ing of staff prior to entry.”
Jennifer Black, commu-
nications manager for the
Oregon Department of Cor-
rections, declined to answer
specifi c questions from the
Enterprise. She said that
to do so would run “the risk
of preempting the court’s
decision-making process” re-
garding the “detailed report”
that SRCI must submit to
Baggio by the end of April.
The fi ndings by Baggio con-
fl ict with what prison offi cials
have been telling the public
for months.
Last September, for
example, prison offi cials sug-
gested corrections workers
and inmates – referred to
by the agency as adults in
custody — were following
COVID orders.
“We continue to require
employees and (AICs) to wear
masks when social distanc-
ing is not possible, as well as
requiring employees to be
screened prior to entry into
the facility,” Amber Camp-
bell, public information of-
fi cer for SRCI, said in a Sept.
22 email to the Enterprise.
But the report of a Feb.
6 inspection at the prison,
submitted to the judge,
showed that only 80% of staff
at SRCI was wearing their
masks correctly.
“Some staff remark to
AICs that they already had
COVID,” according to the
inspection report. “Observed
AICs and staff pull down
masks to talk and/or do not
wear them properly.”
Zach Erdman, operations
and policy manager at the
Oregon Department of Cor-
rections, wrote in a Sept. 17
email that “many staff have
been verbally counseled,
resulting in immediate and
cooperative compliance.
DOC does not track these
minor corrections. To date, a
few employees are in investi-
gative processes which could
lead to discipline. Non-com-
pliance with face covering
directives has not yet led to
a dismissal, but it could.”
But the accountability
processes Erdman spoke of
were not effective in pre-
venting the 20% mask non-
compliance rate documented
in the February evaluation.
And in the court ruling,
SRCI’s assistant superin-
tendent, Jason Bell, testifi ed
under oath that there was
widespread noncompliance,
but “only one staff member
had progressed in discipline
to step six (of six possible
disciplinary steps) for mask
violations.”
Kate Edwards, the Hills-
boro attorney who tried the
SRCI case, said that the cul-
ture of mask noncompliance
in Ontario wasn’t unique, but
refl ected a problem across
the Oregon Department of
Corrections.
“As an organization, they
have kind of thrown up their
hands and said, ‘What do
you want us to do about it?
We have all of these policies
in place,’” she explained. “But
on the ground, it’s not trickling
down, it’s not being enforced.”
See Landmark/Page 5A