‘Yart’ Sale and more at
First Friday in Baker City
NORTHEAST OREGON
THURSDAY
MAY 6, 2021
BAKER SOFTBALL, TENNIS AND BASEBALL ALL IN ACTION: SPORTS, PG. 6A
www.gonortheastoregon.com
Painting by Sherri Linnemeyer
GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
May 6, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
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Risk level drops Friday
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Roger
Holden of Baker City.
By Jayson Jacoby
Oregon, 5A
Restaurants and bars in Baker
County can resume limited indoor
dining on Friday, May 7, as the
county drops from extreme to high
risk level.
PORTLAND — Oregon
adopted a controversial
rule on Tuesday, May 4
that indefi nitely extends
coronavirus mask and
social distancing require-
ments for all businesses
in the state. State offi cials
say the rule, which gar-
nered thousands of public
comments, will be in place
until it is “no longer neces-
sary to address the effects
of the pandemic in the
workplace.”
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Gov. Kate Brown announced on
Tuesday that the 15 counties which
have been in extreme risk since
April 30, including Baker, will move
out of that level, which has the most
stringent restrictions on businesses
and activities.
The trigger for the change is a
0.1% difference in one key statewide
metric — the percentage growth in
COVID-19 patients being treated in
hospitals statewide.
Last month Brown announced
that no county would be at extreme
Improving Pedestrian, Bicycle Travel Beneath Interstate 84
See Harvey/Page 2A
County gets
$300,000 for
business aid
Mckenzie Hall
receives John
Leonard Memorial
Scholarship
80 / 44
Sunny
Friday
57 / 31
Cloudy, cooler
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Harvey defends
his actions
Baker County Commission
Chairman Bill Harvey spent
several minutes at the end of
the Commission’s Wednesday,
May 5 meeting addressing a
series of rumors involving his
Harvey
actions.
“Thanks the papers in our
local community, I have been the topic of
discussion,” Harvey said.
He didn’t elaborate.
BRIEFING
Today
See Risk Level/Page 2A
soconner@bakercityherald.com
ATLANTA — Danilo Gal-
linari made seven 3-point-
ers and fi nished with 28
points, leading the Atlanta
Hawks to a 123-114 victory
over the Portland Trail Blaz-
ers in a matchup Monday
night of teams battling for
playoff positioning in their
respective conferences.
WEATHER
risk unless there were at least 300
COVID-19 patients in hospitals,
and the weekly percentage increase
in hospitalizations was 15% or
higher.
By Samantha O’Conner
Sports, 6A
The Baker City Lions
Club recently announced
that Mckenzie Hall is the
recipient of the 2021 Lion
John Leonard Memorial
Scholarship.
The $1,000 scholarship
emphasizes the impor-
tance of community ser-
vice involvement, and the
award is granted to a high
school graduating senior.
Your guide to arts,
entertainment and
other events
happening around
Northeast Oregon
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Workers are preparing to build sidewalks on the south side of Campbell Street at I-84.
Sidewalk Work
Is Underway
The $690,000 project also will
include restriping of Campbell
Pedestrians and bicyclists
Street to a three-lane confi gura-
will soon have a safer way to
tion that includes a center turn
get from one side of Interstate
lane and bicycle lanes, accord-
84 to the other at Baker City’s ing to the Oregon Department
busiest freeway interchange.
of Transportation (ODOT).
Crews from Mike Becker
The federal dollars are part
General Contracting Inc. in La of ODOT’s Eastern Region
Grande are preparing to build Americans with Disabilities Act
a 6-foot-wide sidewalk on the
(ADA) program budget.
south side of Campbell Street
The project includes work to
through the freeway underpass. upgrade curb ramps to ADA-
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
compliant standards.
The work was prompted in
part by business development
on the east side of the freeway,
including the 2018 opening of
the Grocery Outlet store, said
Tom Strandberg, an ODOT
spokesman in La Grande.
That has increased traffi c,
both vehicle, pedestrian and
bicycle, beneath the freeway.
Baker County will receive $300,000 from
the state to help restaurants and other busi-
nesses harmed by recent COVID-19 restric-
tions.
County Commissioner Mark Bennett said
the money is part of the $20 million in federal
aid that Gov. Kate Brown and the state Legis-
lature negotiated to help businesses affected
when 15 counties, including Baker, moved to
the extreme risk level on April 30.
See Aid/Page 3A
Most virus cases
people under 40
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
A large majority of COVID-19 cases in
Baker County over the past two weeks or so
were people younger than 40, a signifi cant
increase from the rate of cases in that age
range earlier this spring.
For the period April 15-30, almost 71% of
the county’s 78 new cases were people 39
or younger, according to the Baker County
Health Department.
See Sidewalks/Page 3A
See COVID/Page 3A
IT’S WILDFIRE AWARENESS WEEK IN BAKER COUNTY
Wary of wildfires
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Wildfi re Awareness Week is designed to
remind people about the threat of wildfi res
yet to come, but this year it seemed that the
event might be a trifl e late in bringing its
message in Baker County.
With most of the county in either moder-
ate, severe or extreme drought, and follow-
ing the second-driest March on record at the
Baker City Airport, the fi re risk is higher
than usual as the annual awareness week
began Monday, May 3.
“This spring, fi re agencies have already
TODAY
Issue 153, 22 pages
Business .............. 1B-3B
Classified ............. 3B-6B
Comics ....................... 7B
responded to a variety of preventable fi res in
Baker County resulting from escaped fi res,”
said Sean Lee, chief of the Baker County
Fire Defense Board as well as the Baker
City Fire Department. “It’s critical that
home and property owners monitor their
fi res and consider the right time and day to
burn.”
See Wildfi re/Page 3A
Al Crouch/Submitted Photo, File
The Indian Creek fi re burns in Malheur
County in August 2020.
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........3B & 6B
Dear Abby ................. 8B
Horoscope ........4B & 6B
Letters ........................4A
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Senior Menus ...........2A
Sports ........................6A
Weather ..................... 8B
SATURDAY — YMCA TO OPEN CHILD CARE CENTER IN SEPTEMBER