Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2021)
THURSDAY BAKER BASEBALL, SOFTBALL TEAMS BOTH BEAT NYSSA: SPORTS, PAGE 6A MISSING YOUR FACE NORTHEAST OREGON APRIL 29, 2021 www.gonortheastoregon.com Masks of location, isolation & transformation Also inside: ART & MOVEMENT WRITERS FIND HUMOR ELGIN OPERA HOUSE GOES LIVE GO! Magazine Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com April 29, 2021 IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Dan Free- man of Baker City. BRIEFING Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50 Local and state officials blast COVID restrictions By Jayson Jacoby Locals on EOU winter honor roll LA GRANDE — Several Baker County students were among the 629 named to the dean’s list for the winter 2021 term at Eastern Oregon University. To qualify, students must maintain a grade point av- erage of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, while completing at least 12 hours of graded coursework. Baker City students on the dean’s list: Kayley Ah- Hee, Erin Blincoe, Boston Colton, Paige Pearce, Laura Price, Jayme Ramos, Joanie Sells, Mitchell Stephens. Samuel Pointer of Haines was also named to the dean’s list. jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Baker County Commissioner Mark Bennett and the county’s two state legislators have signed separate letters criticizing Gov. Kate Brown’s decision to ban indoor dining in Baker County and 14 other counties starting Friday, April 30 due to a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. Bennett was among commission- ers from those counties who signed a letter to the governor co-sponsored by the Association of Oregon Coun- ties and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association. Meanwhile, State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, and State Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, sent a letter to Brown and to Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority. Both letters chastised the governor for moving those counties to the ex- treme risk level for at least one week starting this Friday. The letters focus on the resulting restrictions on restaurants and other businesses. For instance, indoor dining is prohibited in restaurants and bars in counties at extreme risk. Baker County hasn’t been at that risk level — the most severe of the four in the state’s system — since Feb. 4. At the high risk level, where Baker County has been since April 23, restaurants and bars can have indoor dining up to 25% of capacity or 50 total people, including staff, whichever Owens Council waits on water, sewer fee hikes Measure On May 18 Ballot Would Allow Marijuana Businesses In Halfway By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com The Baker City Council on Tuesday, April 27 decided not to increase water and wastewater rates by 1.9% as the city staff recommended. Councilors decided to reconsider those fees in six months. The Council unanimously approved the rest of the resolution that includes fees for other city services. It includes a 1.9% hike for fees associated with Mount Hope Cemetery. According to a report to councilors from Jeanie Dex- ter, the city’s fi nance director, the 1.9% proposal for water and wastewater fees equals the increase in the federal Consumer Price Index from February 2020 to February 2021. The fee increase was proposed to keep pace with increasing operating costs for the water and wastewater systems, according to the report. The 1.9% increase would boost the base monthly resi- dential rate by 85 cents, from $45.15 per month to $46. Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald Halfway is in the scenic Pine Valley, with the Wallowa Mountains rising to the north. Halfway voters will decide in May whether to approve the opening of marijuana-related businesses in the town of about 300. Today Sunny Friday Marijuana Measure 78 / 46 By Jayson Jacoby Partly sunny jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Full forecast on the back of the B section. The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. Bennett See Extreme/Page 3A Baker City’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will meet on Monday, May 3 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1655 First St. Agenda items include the new security cameras in Geiser- Pollman and Central parks, and the ongoing online parks survey, results of which will help the city update its parks master plan. To participate in the survey, go to www.survey- monkey.com/r/CQ2KNDC 80 / 44 Findley is fewer. Extreme risk also imposes more stringent limits on other busi- nesses, including gyms and fi tness centers, swimming pools, theaters and museums. Baker City Parks Board meets May 3 WEATHER Your guide to arts, entertainment and other events happening around Northeast Oregon More than four years after voters in Halfway decided by a narrow mar- gin that they don’t want a marijuana dispensary in their town in eastern Baker County, the topic has returned to their ballots. The 257 registered voters in Halfway will decide in the May 18 election whether to allow not only dispensaries but other marijuana-re- lated businesses, including growers, producers and processors. In November 2016, Halfway vot- ers, by a margin of about 10 votes, approved a measure that banned marijuana dispensaries. The measure on the ballot this May, by contrast, would allow such businesses. Amy Olley of Halfway is one of the chief petitioners for Measure 1-107, along with Dianna and Josh Welch. Olley said she and her husband, Derek, would like to open a mari- juana dispensary in Halfway, which is about 55 miles east of Baker City. The couple initially proposed to open a dispensary in Halfway in 2016, prior to voters passing the measure that banned such busi- nesses. Amy Olley, 40, said that after vot- ers approved the measure in 2016, she waited to pursue the matter until her three children were school age. “I’m a mom, and family came fi rst for me,” Olley said. See Halfway/Page 3A See Council/Page 5A State investigator finds evidence that Harvey violated Oregon government ethics laws By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com An investigator for the Oregon Government Ethics Commission found a “preponderance of evi- dence” that Baker County Com- mission Chairman Bill Harvey tried to use his position to benefi t himself, his son and his son’s busi- ness and that he failed to disclose confl icts of interest last year. In a report, investigator Susan Myers recommends that the Ethics Commission make a preliminary fi nding that Harvey committed eight violations of state ethics laws. The Ethics Commission was ini- tially scheduled to review Myers’ report during its meeting Friday, April 30, but Harvey said he has scheduling confl icts that day. See Harvey/Page 3A Harvey Suspect arrested after drug trafficking probe The Baker County Narcotics of heroin, methamphetamine and Enforcement Team, with help from fentanyl in Baker County and sur- multiple other agencies, on Monday, rounding areas. April 27 arrested a suspect in the sale Jacob Kyle Grammon, 25, who TODAY Issue 150, 22 pages Business .............. 1B-3B Calendar ....................2A Classified ............. 3B-6B Comics ....................... 7B Community News ....3A Crossword ........3B & 6B police say had recently been staying at 1604 Fourth St. in Baker City, was arrested Monday morning in an Ontario motel room, according to a Dear Abby ................. 8B Horoscope ........5B & 6B Letters ........................4A press release from Lt. Ty Duby of the Baker City Police Department. Lottery Results ..........2A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A See Arrest/Page 2A Opinion ......................4A Sports ........................6A Weather ..................... 8B SATURDAY — RENOVATION PROPOSAL FOR BHS FOOTBALL STADIUM