THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
RISK LEVEL
Continued from Page 1A
The move to high risk
restricts restaurants, bars,
fi tness centers and theaters
to 25% of indoor capacity, or
a maximum of 50 people, in-
cluding employees, whichever
is fewer.
Under the lowest risk
level, those businesses have a
capacity of 50%.
The county would have
qualifi ed to move to the ex-
treme risk level starting April
9 based on the 79 new cases
recorded between March
21-April 3. The threshold for
extreme risk level was 60
new cases during a two-week
period.
But in March the governor
announced a change to the
risk level system that allowed
some counties, including
Baker, to remain at the lowest
risk level for an additional
two-week “caution period.”
That caution period was
April 3-17.
Baker County recorded 79
fewer. Restaurants, bars and
theaters must close at 11
p.m., instead of the current
midnight.
Terry McQuisten, owner of
The Baker County
the Eltrym Theater, said the
Health Department has
move to high risk will require
scheduled a free drive-
only a slight reduction in
thru COVID-19 vaccina-
capacity at Baker County’s
tion clinic, for ages 18
only moviehouse.
and older, this Saturday,
“We were already limiting
April 24, from 8 a.m. to 1
our admissions more than
p.m. at the Baker County
was required, so it won’t be
Fairgrounds, 2600 East
too bad,” McQuisten said.
St. The Health Depart-
The Eltrym, which closed
ment will have about
in March 2020 due to the
1,000 fi rst doses of the
pandemic and reopened for
Moderna vaccine. No
about two months last fall
registration is neces-
before closing again when the
sary, but you can fi ll out
state tightened restrictions in
forms at www.baker-
mid-November, reopened on
countycovid19.com.
March 5.
That website also has
McQuisten said she
a map showing where
planned to limit ticket sales
Restaurants, bars,
people should enter the
to 30% or 40% of capacity for
theaters and indoor gyms each of the Eltrym’s three
Fairgrounds Saturday.
and fi tness centers, and
screens to ensure enough
swimming pools
space between patrons inside
The current limit of 50%
more new cases over the two
the theater spaces.
capacity goes to 25% of capac-
weeks.
Tyler Brown, who owns
But the governor also decid- ity or 50 total people, includ-
Barley Brown’s Brew Pub
ed that no county would move ing employees, whichever is
and Tap House, separate
to the extreme risk — which
prohibits indoor dining in
restaurants and bars, among
other restrictions — so long
as there are fewer than 300
people being treated in hospi-
tals for COVID-19 statewide.
As of Tuesday, there were 255
COVID patients being treated
in hospitals across the state.
That means Baker County
will move to high risk rather
than extreme on Friday.
Brown said 11 of Oregon’s
36 counties, including Baker,
would previously have moved
to extreme risk but for the
addition of the statewide
hospitalization threshold.
Among the effects on local
businesses and events when
Baker County moves from
lowest to high risk:
Free Drive-Thru
Vaccination
Clinic Saturday
BESSIE
Anyone who would like to support
the project can take a donation to Baker
City Hall and specify it is for Public Arts
Commission’s cow project.
For more information, contact
Robin Nudd at City Hall or email her at
rnudd@bakercity.com.
Other Public Arts Commission proj-
Continued from Page 1A
Wilson wants to grow the herd
around Baker City, but the project
depends on more fundraising. She’s
also looking for a source of metal cow
sculptures.
RAIN
Both March and April
average about 0.80 of an
Continued from Page 1A
inch of rain.
A storm will move from
The driest April was 2020,
the Pacifi c Ocean into Or-
with a rainfall total of 0.20.
egon with widespread rain
The dry spring has been
showers, snow in the moun- a surprise, Breidenbach
tains and cooler tempera-
said. With relatively colder
tures, Breidenbach said.
surface water in parts of
“The pattern looks like it’s the Pacifi c Ocean — what’s
fi nally going to break down known as a La Nina pattern
a little bit this weekend,” he — weather typically is wet-
said. “It’s not a big storm,
ter and cooler than average
but it should bring some
in the Northwest, he said.
moisture.”
“Except for February it
A National Weather Ser-
didn’t work out that way,”
vice model forecast calls for Breidenbach said.
about 0.21 of an inch of rain
Although cold fronts have
in Baker City from Saturday frequently swept through
through Monday.
the region since early March,
That’s more rain than
the storms contained little if
has fallen here since late
any precipitation.
February. The March total
The reason, Breidenbach
at the airport was 0.14. It
said, is that the winds in the
was the second-driest March upper atmosphere, which in
at the airport since at least
effect “steer” storms, have
1943, the fi rst year for which
records are available. The
driest March was 1969, with
BITUARIES
a total of 0.13.
O
Continued from Page 2A
N EWS OF
R ECORD
FUNERALS PENDING
Arlene Mae Schoorl:
There will be a public
celebration of Arlene’s life,
with a potluck, on Saturday,
April 24, from 10:30 a.m. to
2:30 p.m. at the Unity Com-
munity Hall. To offer online
condolences, go to www.
grayswestco.com
Ron Mayo: Graveside
service with military honors,
May 1 at 1 p.m. at the Pine
Haven Cemetery in Halfway.
Friends are invited to join
the family for a reception
immediately following at
the VFW Hall. Donations
in Ron’s memory can be
made to the VFW Post 7847
through Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Crema-
tion Services, P.O. Box 543,
Halfway, OR 97834. Online
condolences can be made
at www.tamispinevalleyfu-
neralhome.com.
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
COMMUNITY
Eugene Meier
North Powder, 1972-2021
Eugene was the best kind
of friend you could ask for,
and he was generous and
kind to a fault. He made
friends easily, and he loved
bonding with others that
shared his same interests
from fi shing, hunting, cars,
camping, and so much more.
He was just fun to be around
most of the time. We are so
ects include more vinyl wrap decora-
tions on utility boxes around town, and
installing an art sculpture by Shawn
Peterson outside of Royal Artisan.
To learn more about the Commis-
sion’s mission and projects, go to baker-
city.com. Under “Government,” click on
“Public Arts Commission.”
been from the north and
northwest, meaning the
storms travel not over the
Pacifi c, an obviously ample
source of moisture, but over
land.
Storms that originate over
land are much less likely
to bring precipitation to
Eastern Oregon and Idaho,
Breidenbach said.
This weekend’s storm, by
contrast, is the fi rst in more
than a month that will blow
across a long fetch of the
ocean, allowing it to entrain
enough moisture to deliver
rain and mountain snow far
inland, he said.
The recent dry stretch,
combined with Phillips
Reservoir being well below
its capacity, prompted the
Baker County Board of
Commissioners to approve a
drought emergency declara-
tion on April 7.
Although the mountain
snowpack is above average,
much of Baker County is in a
moderate or severe drought
as of April 13, according to
the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Baker Valley is in extreme
drought, the second-highest
of the four levels behind only
exceptional drought.
Typically the wettest pe-
riod in Baker County is May
and June.
May ranks as the wettest
month at the Baker City
Airport, with an average
rainfall of 1.43 inches, and
June ranks second with an
average of 1.28 inches.
Those are the only two
months with an average
rainfall of more than one
inch. The yearly average
at the airport is about 10
inches.
thankful for the outpouring
of love and support and the
many condolences we have
received from friends, family,
and the community, his family
said.
Eugene is survived by his
daughter, Stormy Hampton;
his mother, Sung Meier; his
brother, Doug Meier; and his
sisters Min Meier, Kim Stan-
difer and Tai McClure.
Eugene was preceded in
death by his father, Joseph
Meier Jr.; his paternal grand-
parents, Joseph and Lillian
Meier; and his maternal
grandparents, Sook Ho and
Ok Hyun Kim.
For those who would like to
make a donation in memory
of Eugene, the family suggests
Hunt of a Lifetime through
Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services,
P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR
97834. Online condolences
can be made at www.tamispi-
nevalleyfuneralhome.com.
restaurants on Main Street,
said the restriction to 25% of
capacity won’t have a major
effect on the number of diners
in the pub because to comply
with the 6-foot social distanc-
ing requirement, he’s already
had to remove tables, limiting
the capacity.
The biggest challenge with
the 50-person limit, based
on his experience with that
limit this winter, is that in
some cases customers who
are waiting for a table have to
wait outside to avoid exceed-
ing the limit.
“That’s the biggest struggle
we’ve had,” Brown said.
Retail stores, including
grocery stores
The current limit of 75% of
capacity drops to 50%.
Outdoor recreation,
including K-12 sports
The current limit of 300
people drops to 75.
Buell Gonzales Jr., athletic
director for the Baker School
District, said the reduced
capacity will require the dis-
trict to impose more limits on
spectators, and visiting teams
won’t be allowed to have fans.
Lisa Britton of the Baker City
Herald contributed to this story.
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Fire damaged a Baker City home Wednesday, April 21.
FIRE
Continued from Page 1A
He said it might be pos-
sible to rebuild the main
part of the house, which
has multiple additions.
Lee said investigators
for the Baker City Fire De-
partment and the Oregon
State Fire Marshal’s Offi ce
were looking for the cause
of the fi re in the laundry
room, which contained a
washer and dryer, water
heater and heater. The
home had a natural gas
line as well as electricity.
Lee said the American
Red Cross was helping the
family with housing and
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Both paid and volun-
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Baker City Fire Depart-
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fi re, for which there were
two general alarms. The
Baker Rural and Greater
Bowen Valley volunteer
districts each sent a truck,
Lee said.
The house sits near the
base of Spring Garden
Hill, and Lee said that
had the fi re happened
later in the year, when the
sagebrush and grass on
that steep hill is drier, or
on a windier day, the fi re
“would have gone up that
hill in a heartbeat.”
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Jay & Kristin Wilson, Owners
2036 Main Street, Baker City
541-523-6284 • ccb#219615
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
FAILURE TO APPEAR
(Baker County Circuit Court
warrant):
Baker Co. Sheriff’s
Offi ce
FAILURE TO APPEAR
(Union County Circuit
Court warrant): Kirk William
Roberts, 57, Baker City, 10:45
a.m. Monday, April 19 in the
3400 block of 13th Street;
cited and released.
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