SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
Police use spike
strip to stop car
Invasive weed of the week
By Jeffrey Pettingill
The Enemy
Dalmatian toadfl ax
The Strategy
The other day Tom, a
friend of mine, asked me
about this pretty snapdrag-
onlike plant. Most likely an
escaped ornamental plant
from Europe. This noxious
weed is another one of our
troublesome plants due to
its spreading root system
(rhizomes). Dalmatian toad-
fl ax is taller in height than
its relative, yellow toadfl ax,
growing to a height of 36
inches. It has yellow fl owers
with a hint of orange on the
pedals and has broad leaves
that clasp around the stems.
The fl owers are produced on
the upper half of the stems
and produce small pods
that contain the seeds that
will shake or fall out when
disturbed.
Rich Old/Contributed Photo
Dalmatian toadfl ax can grow up to 36 inches high.
promotes stronger regrowth.
Numerous herbicides are
available. Combinations of
Tordon 22k and/or Telar XP
work best. Telar XP at 1.5
ounces and Weedmaster will
Attack
suppress the plant. Treating
Its rhizomes allow the
with a minimum of 30 gal-
plant to creep into adjacent
lons per acre of water is also
properties. It is one of the
key to controlling it. Waiting
most diffi cult weeds to con-
until the plants are in the
tain due to its potential orna- bud to bloom stage of growth
mental beauty. Many people seems to be the best time for
do not know it is noxious un- treatment.
til it is completely out of hand
There are various insects
or we stop by for a visit. It
that are available to help
can be seen along the Snake control this toadfl ax. Assist
River Road out of Hunting-
your local weed profession-
ton. It is usually found in dis- als by not transporting this
turbed soils especially rocky weed in soil amendments or
or gravelly locations, which
by taking this pretty fl ower
adds to its spreadability as it home to your mommy!
will be taken up with the soil
Jeffrey Pettingill is the weed
source and spread to other
control supervisor for Baker
locations..
Defense
As with the other plants
that have a creeping root
system, mechanical control
is not the fi rst choice. Each
time the root is disturbed it
DOSES
Continued from Page 1A
The Moderna vaccine comes
in vials that hold 10 doses,
all of which have to be used
within six hours. Staten said
health department offi cials are
trying to make sure enough
people will be ready to be vac-
cinated once the vial is opened.
The declining trend in
demand for vaccinations
was clear on Saturday, April
24, when the county had a
free, drive-thru clinic at the
Fairgrounds. Although the
county had more than 1,100
doses available, just 62 people
— three of whom don’t live in
Oregon — showed up.
The trend prompted the
health department to tell state
offi cials that Baker County, for
the time being, doesn’t need
more vaccine doses, Staten
said.
For the seven-day period
April 22-28, a total of 347
vaccine doses were given in
Baker County, according to
the Oregon Health Authority
(OHA).
That’s down from 516 doses
County. He encourages people
with noxious weed questions
to call him at 541-523-0618
or 541-519-0204. He also
encourages people to like the
Baker County Weed District’s
Facebook page. Dalmatian toadfl ax fl owers.
during the previous seven-day
period, April 15-21.
As of Monday, April 26, the
health department had 1,100
first doses and 800 second
doses of Moderna vaccine,
along with about 350 doses of
the one-shot Johnson & John-
son vaccine, Staten said.
Pharmacies at the Safeway,
Albertsons, Bi-Mart and Rite
Aid stores in Baker City also
are administering vaccines.
Staten said a small number
of people who have called the
health department regarding
vaccines — the phone number
is 541-523-8211 — have specifi-
cally asked to have the Johnson
& Johnson vaccine, which
requires only one dose.
She said the department has
sufficient doses to meet that
demand.
The number of county
residents being vaccinated has
dropped as the percentage of
older people, who were eligible
earlier, has increased.
As of Thursday, April 29,
about 65% of the approximate-
ly 3,170 Baker County resi-
dents age 70 or older have been
fully or partially vaccinated.
New At The Library
Patrons can reserve materials in advance online or by
calling 541-523-6419. Drive-in hours at 2400 Resort St. are
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday
and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
FICTION
• “A Bound Heart,” Laura Frantz
• “21st Birthday,” James Patterson
• “A Touch of Darkness,” Scarlett St. Clair
NONFICTION
• “The Hard Crowd,” Rachel Kushner
• “The Hero Code,” William McRaven
• “Empire of Pain,” Patrick Keefe
DVDS
• “Animal Babies” (Documentary)
• “Impractical Jokers” (Comedy)
• “Psycho Goreman” (Horror)
Overall, 33% of the county’s
16,800 residents have been
fully vaccinated (4,463, or
26.6%) or partially vaccinated
(1,123, or 6.7%).
Staten pointed out that it’s
far easier today to get vac-
cinated than it was a month
ago, given the abundance of
doses and because everyone
16 and older is eligible.
Only the Pfi zer vaccine
— which like the Moderna
vaccine requires two doses
— is approved for 16- and
17-year-olds.
Staten said the health
department will have a vacci-
nation clinic next week at the
health clinic at Baker High
School for students ages 16
or 17. The department has 33
Pfi zer doses available, and as
of Friday morning about two-
thirds of the doses had been
spoken for, she said.
(Using the Pfi zer vaccine
is more complicated because
it has to be stored at ultralow
temperatures, and the health
department lacks the proper
freezers, Staten said. The de-
partment obtains Pfi zer doses
from Grande Ronde Hospital
in La Grande.)
Baker County case counts
Staten said she’s “cau-
tiously optimistic” about the
spread of COVID-19 in the
county over the past week.
For the seven-day period
April 23-29, the county had
24 new cases, compared with
42 new cases for the previous
seven-day period, April 16-22,
and 57 cases from April 9-15.
“It appears that our case
count is down, and I’m
hopeful that it will stay low,”
Staten said.
Despite the trend, Gov.
Kate Brown moved 15 of
Oregon’s 36 counties, includ-
ing Baker, to the extreme risk
level starting Friday, April 30.
Those counties will remain
at that level, which prohibits
Rich Old/Contributed Photo
indoor dining at restaurants
and bars and severely re-
stricts capacity at some other
businesses, through at least
May 6.
The governor said the OHA
will review the COVID-19
situation in counties weekly
rather than every two weeks,
as has been the case since
December.
Counties could potentially
drop out of extreme risk start-
ing May 7, but Staten said
that as of Friday the OHA
had not given the county
details about what thresholds
the county would need to
meet to qualify to move out of
extreme risk.
All counties could drop out
of extreme risk if the statewide
number of COVID-19 patients
in hospitals drops below 300.
As of Friday, April 30, there
were 334 people hospitalized
for treatment of COVID-19,
according to OHA.
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
A Baker City Police offi cer deployed a spike strip on
Wednesday evening, April 28, to stop a car that had led
an Oregon State Police trooper on a high-speed chase
along Interstate 84 and then onto Highway
86.
Clayton Ted Snell, 36, of Sandy, Utah,
was arrested on multiple charges, in-
cluding driving under the infl uence of
intoxicants, attempting to elude police in a
Snell
vehicle and on foot, and reckless driving.
The pursuit started east of Baker City.
In a written report, Deputy Gabe Maldonado of the
Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce wrote that at about 7:10
p.m. on Wednesday he heard on the radio that OSP Sr.
Trooper Andrew McClay was in high-speed pursuit, in
the westbound lanes of I-84, of a black SUV with Florida
license plates.
McClay notifi ed other offi cers that the SUV exited the
freeway at Campbell Street but became stuck in traffi c.
The driver then returned to the freeway, still heading
westbound.
Baker City Police offi cer Zach Thatcher saw the black
SUV take the next freeway exit near Milepost 302, and
then drive east on Highway 86 toward Richland, Maldo-
nado wrote in his report.
Thatcher followed the SUV to about Milepost 7 on
Highway 86, where the vehicle turned around and
started driving west on the highway, toward the freeway.
Maldonado wrote in his report that he pulled his
patrol car off the highway about 7:15 p.m. at the Grey
Eagle Mine Road, at the base of Flagstaff Hill.
“A few seconds later I saw the black 2020 Ford Expe-
dition with Florida license plates go by me with a white
male adult in the driver seat,” Maldonado wrote.
As Maldonado pulled onto the highway behind the
Expedition, he wrote that he saw Baker City Police of-
fi cer Rand Weaver, who was parked beside the highway
and had deployed spike strips.
Maldonado wrote that he saw the Expedition’s brake
lights come on “as it did a quick weaving motion and
then continue past Offi cer Weaver’s patrol vehicle.”
The deputy followed the Expedition and at about 7:16
p.m. the vehicle crashed at the intersection with Lindley
Lane, about a mile and a half west of the Grey Eagle
Mine Road.
Maldonado wrote that Snell got out of the vehicle and
ran north on Lindley Lane, then through an open gate
and toward a cattle truck. Maldonado wrote that the
offi cer with him, Baker County deputy Kyle Ebeling,
opened the door and told the man, later identifi ed as
Snell, to stop. Snell did so, and the deputies arrested
him.
Maldonado wrote that he “could detect a strong odor
of an alcoholic beverage coming from Snell’s person.
Snell would not give me his name, so when I went to
the crashed vehicle to look for a wallet, I saw multiple
empty cans of beer on the fl oor and there was alcohol
spilled in the vehicle.”
Snell was also charged with second-degree criminal
mischief. He is scheduled to return to Baker County
Circuit Court for a probable cause preliminary hearing
on May 6 at 1:15 p.m.
CRACK
Continued from Page 1A
Once a package came to
rest, the owner darted out
to grab it. After everyone’s
egg had a turn, the class
went inside to see the
results.
Kassandra Groves en-
listed help to unwrap her
box from layer upon layer
of clear packaging tape.
She had her doubts
about the entire endeavor.
“I sure hope there’s
something in here,” she
muttered as she unwound
more tape.
Inside that box was
another box stuffed with
bubble wrap.
And inside the bubble
wrap was a pristine egg.
“It survived!” she said,
drawing a crowd of kinder-
gartners to her table.
Once all the eggs were
unwrapped — and laid
to rest in the trash can
— kindergarten teacher
Melissa Garner took a tally
of eggs.
Of the 12 tested in this
class, fi ve survived.
“Did you have fun watch-
ing the drop?” she asked
her students.
“Yes!” came the quick
answer.
“Did you have fun pack-
aging the egg?”
Again, another “yes!”
“What matters is you
had some fun, right?” she
said.
Again came the chorus of
voices with a “yes!”