2A — BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2021
B AKER C OUNTY C ALENDAR
RAIN
Continued from Page 1A
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28
■ Baker City Airport Commission: 5:30 p.m. at City Hall,
1655 First St. Agenda items include the selection of chair
and vice chair, and an update on runway 13-31 seal coat
project.
T URNING B ACK THE P AGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
April 26, 1971
SAN FRANCISCO — C.S. Rasmussen, manager of the
Eastern Oregon Division of California-Pacifi c Utilities, was
elected vice president by the Board of Directors, it was an-
nounced today by President Donald J. Carman.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
April 26, 1996
What began as a child custody dispute escalated into a
hostage situation involving gunfi re and a torched vehicle
in a south Baker City neighborhood Thursday night.
Baker City Police became involved in the incident about
5:30 p.m. It ended at 1:17 a.m. today when Anthony Mont-
wheeler surrendered and released his 3-year-old son.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
April 27, 2011
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says trail
camera images confi rm the existence of at least two wol-
verines in the Wallowa Mountains.
Making the photos even more exciting to researchers
is that the animals are “secretive in terms of avoiding
people,” said Meg Kenagy, ODFW Conservation Strategy
coordinator.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
April 28, 2020
Baker County’s two representatives in the Oregon
Legislature lauded the county’s plan to gradually reopen
its economy and encouraged Gov. Kate Brown to approve
the proposal soon.
State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, and Rep. Mark Owens,
R-Crane, both endorsed the 15-page plan that county of-
fi cials sent Friday to the governor’s offi ce.
The plan calls for easing restrictions on businesses and
some events, while continuing to encourage people to
practice social distancing, over a period of about a month
so long as parameters related to the coronavirus are met.
As of Monday Baker County had yet to have a con-
fi rmed case.
Nancy Staten, administrator at the Baker County Health
Department, said 75 residents had been tested.
In a press release, Findley said he is “thoroughly
impressed with the preparedness of the Baker County
Commissioners and their staff that coordinated and put
together this plan in such a short timeframe. This response
should be used as an example for others to utilize during
this pandemic.”
Owens urged Brown “to approve this plan and allow
Baker County to immediately begin implementation and
reopening. Act now and do not delay this any further.”
O REGON L OTTERY
MEGABUCKS, April 24
12 — 14 — 20 — 33 — 36 — 39
Next jackpot: $1.9 million
POWERBALL, April 24
22 — 36 — 48 — 59 — 61 PB 22
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MEGA MILLIONS, April 23
4 — 28 — 29 — 30 — 60
Mega
25
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WIN FOR LIFE, April 24
9 — 54 — 66 — 68
PICK 4, April 25
• 1 p.m.: 1 — 0 — 2 — 4
• 4 p.m.: 6 — 0 — 0 — 7
• 7 p.m.: 3 — 4 — 1 — 6
• 10 p.m.: 3 — 3 — 4 — 3
LUCKY LINES, April 25
1-8-9-16-18-21-27-31
Next jackpot: $12,000
S ENIOR M ENUS
■ WEDNESDAY: Chicken and homestyle noodles, carrots,
biscuits, fruit cup, birthday cake
■ THURSDAY: Baked ziti, zucchini, garlic breadsticks, green
salad, brownies
■ FRIDAY: Barbecued pork ribs, au gratin potatoes, green
beans, biscuits, broccoli and bacon salad, apple crisp
■ MONDAY (May 3): Barbecued ribs, baked beans, corn,
rolls, ambrosia, cookies
■ TUESDAY (May 4): Chicken fried chicken, mashed
potatoes with gravy, carrots, rolls, macaroni salad, ice cream
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $4.50 donation (60 and older),
$6.75 for those under 60. Meals must be picked up; no
dining on site.
Both days exceeded the
rainfall total for the whole of
March. With just 0.14 of an
inch, it was the second-driest
March at the airport since at
least 1943. The driest March
was 1969, with a total of 0.13.
Both March and April aver-
age about 0.80 of an inch of
rain. Ralph Morgan, a cattle
rancher who lives southwest of
Baker City near Mason Dam,
said the weekend rain was
welcome.
“We’re defi nitely in a
drought period,” Morgan said
on Monday morning, April 26.
“It’s extremely dry.”
Morgan said rainfall was not
evenly distributed.
At his house, for instance, he
measured just 0.13 of an inch.
A rain gauge just below
Mason Dam recorded 0.11 of
an inch.
Amounts were generally
higher in the northern and
eastern parts of the county.
A weather station on Mor-
gan Mountain, northwest of
Huntington, measured 0.62 of
an inch Saturday and Sunday,
while Sparta Butte north of
Richland had 0.43.
The soggy spell continued
into Monday, April 26.
A strong shower in the
afternoon brought hail as well
as rain. As of 2:30 p.m., an
additional 0.12 of an inch of
rain had fallen, bringing April’s
total at the airport to 0.56.
Morgan said this spring has
been noteworthy not only for
its lack of rain, but also for its
cool nights.
The overnight low has
dipped below 20 degrees on
six days during April. Three of
those days set new record lows.
The chilly nights have
slowed the melting of snow,
Morgan said.
He noticed a drift of snow
near his home while he was
changing irrigation pipes Mon-
day morning.
Typically, the last drift disap-
pears in early April from that
area, Morgan said.
The relatively abundant
mountain snowpack will par-
tially help to offset the effects of
Telephone: 541-523-3673
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Jayson Jacoby, editor
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ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and
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Copyright © 2021
the dry spring, said Jeff Colton,
who manages the Baker Valley
Irrigation District.
With rain absent for the
past month, he had to start
releasing more water from
Phillips Reservoir more than
two weeks ago. Only about
once a decade is it necessary
to increase the outfl ow from
the reservoir to meet irrigation
demand, Colton said.
Most years, rainfall keeps
newly planted crops nourished,
he said.
Colton is optimistic that once
the mountain snow begins
melting more rapidly, farmers
won’t need as much water and
he’ll be able to store much of
the water in the reservoir, to be
doled out this summer.
But Colton said it’s all but
certain that the reservoir will
have little water this fall, once
the irrigation season ends.
As of Monday, Phillips was
holding 23% of its capacity of
73,500 acre-feet of water.
(One acre-foot of water
would cover one acre of fl at
ground to a depth of one foot.
The measurement equals
about 326,000 gallons.)
Other reservoirs, with
much smaller volumes, were
in better shape. Both Thief
Valley (capacity of about 13,300
acre-feet) and Unity (25,000
acre-feet) reservoirs were full
on Monday.
Morgan said the cold nights
EXTREME
levels for each county based on its case
counts — and, for counties with larger
Continued from Page 1A
populations, positivity rates — for a
That change kept Baker County
recent two-week period.
from moving to extreme risk on April
The state apparently will use a
23. The county’s total of 79 new cases
different measurement period in
during a two-week period ending April determining which counties move to
17 would have previously qualifi ed the extreme risk, but Bennett said he has
county for extreme risk. The threshold yet to see specifi cs.
for that risk level is 60 cases over two
Regardless, he said the fewer the
weeks.
cases the county has, the stronger the
But over the past week the number county’s negotiating position should be.
of people hospitalized in Oregon for
“We’re certainly going to keep up
COVID-19 treatment has increased
the advocacy,” Bennett said. “It’s a
signifi cantly, from 200 on April 17 to
full-court press. We will push it really
295 on April 24.
hard.”
The number dropped to 291 on Sun-
The county’s trend over the weekend
day, April 25.
was encouraging, Bennett said.
Bennett said that after participat-
After reporting 14 new cases on
ing in a conference call on Friday with April 21 and 11 more on April 22 — the
state offi cials, he believes that “if we
fourth-highest two-day total during the
can keep our numbers low there is a
pandemic — the county’s daily totals
slim chance of negotiating out of (mov- from Friday through Sunday were six,
ing to extreme risk).”
two and one.
But as of Monday, April 26, Ben-
The county’s daily new case rate has
nett said state offi cials hadn’t given
dropped slightly in the second half of
counties details about how the state
April, from 6.2 per day from April 1-15,
will determine which counties move to to 5.1 per day from April 16-25.
extreme risk should the hospitalization
Staten said last week that the major
total surpass the 300 mark.
sources of the recent surge in cases are
In the past the state has set risk
private social gatherings.
have also retarded the growth
of spring grasses in the moun-
tains where cattle graze during
the summer.
The sluggish growth has
somewhat tempered the effects
of the dry spring, he said, since
the grasses will most ben-
efi t from rainfall once the soil
warms and they start growing
more rapidly.
Morgan said it’s defi nitely
not too late for rain to improve
the situation this spring.
That’s often the situation in
Baker County, where May, on
average, is the wettest month
at the Baker City Airport, with
an average of 1.43 inches of
rain. June ranks second, with
1.38 inches.
Baker School District
reports 3 new cases
The Baker School District re-
ported that one individual each at
Brooklyn Primary School, South
Baker Intermediate School and
Baker High School tested positive
for COVID-19 last week. The district
announced the positive cases on
Friday, April 23.
The district, which until recently
had distinguished between stu-
dents and staff who tested positive,
no longer does so, identifying them
only as “individuals” and the school
each is associated with.
Students or staff who were in
close contact with one of the people
who tested positive will be asked to
quarantine temporarily.
As of Tuesday, April 27, a total of
25 students, and no staff members,
are quarantining in the district, said
Lindsey McDowell, the district’s
public information and commu-
nications coordinator. Of the 25
students, 16 are attending Baker
High School.
N EWS OF R ECORD
C ONTACT THE H ERALD
1668 Resort St.
Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
The Powder River fl ows through Baker City on Monday, April 26. The river is carrying
more water than usual for April to supply irrigation water to farmers and ranchers.
543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online
FAILURE TO APPEAR (4
Baker County Sheriff’s
Baker County warrants); OUT-OF- Offi ce
Betty Perry: 93, of Baker City, condolences can be made at
www.tamispinevalleyfuneral-
COUNTY WARRANTS: Darion
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF
died April 23, 2021, at Settler’s
home.com.
Alyssa Marie Grove, 26, Baker
A MOTOR VEHICLE, FELON IN
Park. Services are under the
City, 6:13 p.m. Friday, April 23
POSSESSION OF A FIREARM:
direction of Coles Tribute Center.
in the 2200 block of Broadway
Brian Anthony Heredia, 31,
To light a candle in memory of
POLICE LOG
Street; jailed.
Baker City, 6:54 a.m. Saturday,
Betty, go to www.colestribute-
Baker City Police
April 24 at Chandler Lane and
center.com.
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO PERFORM DU-
Slough Road.
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker
TIES OF A DRIVER: Monica
CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker
County Circuit Court warrant):
FUNERALS PENDING
Millie Robles, 23, Baker City, 4:48 County warrant): Zachariah Todd
Melissa Lee Zimmer, 44, Baker
Ron Mayo: Graveside service
Hensen, 37, transient, 8:56 p.m.
City, 12:17 a.m. Sunday, April 25 p.m. Friday, April 23 in the 1500
with military honors, May 1 at 1
block of 11th Street; cited and
Friday, April 23 at the Haines
at Main Street and Washington
p.m. at the Pine Haven Cemetery
released.
Pond; cited and released.
Avenue; cited and released.
in Halfway. Friends are invited
to join the family for a reception
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
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 &
Cremation Services, P.O. Box
DEATHS
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com