SATURDAY BAKER HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING TEAM RETURNS TO THE MATS: PAGE 5A In OUTDOORS, 1B Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com May 22, 2021 Local • Outdoors • Sports • TV IN THIS EDITION: QUICK HITS Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Deborah Hammond of Baker City. Oregon, 3A For Oregon’s state budget, and for Oregon taxpayers, it appears ev- erything’s coming up roses these days. An economic surge as the coronavirus pandemic wanes will produce $1 billion more for state coffers than state economists projected just three months ago. Friends of Haines Planning Multiple Events On Independence Day A Fourth of July Full of Festivities $1.50 Boundary beckons COVID-19 cases drop 50% in May ■ No cases reported in county residents 70 and older during first 20 days of May BRIEFING By Jayson Jacoby Baker School District to offer free summer meals jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Baker County’s rate of COVID-19 cases has dropped by more than half during May compared with April. And the biggest drop has been among residents 70 and older, who are signifi cantly more likely to become severely sick or to die if they’re infected. Baker School District will again offer free meals for youth this summer, beginning Monday, June 14. Meals will be served in a drive-thru style at Baker High School, 2500 E St., from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. (There will be no meals on Monday, July 5.) A sack lunch and break- fast for the next day will be offered. These are free to all youth age 18 and younger. Parents may eat for a cost of $4 for lunch and $2.50 for breakfast. Adult meal tickets must be purchased in advance at the district offi ce, 2090 Fourth St. For more information, contact Jessica Dalton at 541-524-2260. See COVID/Page 3A South Baker teacher honored Jandy Eskew, a fi fth-grade teacher at South Baker Inter- mediate School, was named the regional teacher of the year for the InterMountain ESD. Eskew is one of 16 Oregon Eskew teachers to win a regional award, which makes her a can- didate for Oregon’s 2022 teacher of the year. WEATHER See Teacher/Page 5A Today 52 / 36 Kathy Orr/Baker City Herald File, 2016 A fi reworks show is slated to cap a full day of Fourth of July festivities in Haines. Showers likely Sunday 63 / 39 Rain showers Monday 66 / 41 Partly sunny The space below is for a postage label for issues that are mailed. By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com HAINES — The big show that will brighten the night sky is about seven weeks away, but Garla Rowe is already excited. Although this year she’s even more enthusiastic about what’s slated to happen on the ground in Haines on the Fourth of July. Rowe, who is with Friends of Haines, the group that organizes the annual holiday celebration in the town 10 miles north of Baker City, said the cowboy breakfast, parade, arts festival and other events that for decades have been part of Haines’ Independence Day festivities are scheduled to return this year. Those events were canceled due to the pandemic in 2020. “I’m really excited for the Fourth this year,” Rowe said on Tuesday, May 18 inside her store, Haines Sell-Rite. “I think the community needs to have something positive to celebrate.” Last year the fi reworks illuminated the skies above Haines on the holiday. The community’s other signature seasonal event, the Haines Stampede Rodeo, took place as well. Both the fi reworks and the rodeo are planned this year as well (the rodeo is a two-day event, July 3 and 4). Board OKs city budget By Samantha O’Conner soconner@bakercityherald.com The Baker City Budget Board approved the proposed 2021-2022 city budget Tues- day evening, May 18, during their second meeting. The board, which includes the seven city councilors and seven other city residents, also met on Monday evening. See Haines/Page 3A See Budget/Page 5A MAY IS NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH: LAST IN A 3-PART SERIES Many ways to help By Lisa Britton lbritton@bakercityherald.com There are nearly 6,000 children in foster care across Oregon, and several programs in Eastern Oregon support those children, and provide ways for the community to help, too. Every Child Every Child Oregon is a statewide initiative that partners with the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) to “aid children in foster care and to support foster families.” See Children/Page 2A Contributed photo Erin Taggart said CASA Liz Tarrant, pictured here with Taggart’s son Marshall in 2013, “helped bring Marshall forever home.” TODAY Issue 5, 12 pages Classified ............. 2B-4B Comics ....................... 5B Community News ....3A Crossword ........2B & 4B Dear Abby ................. 6B Horoscope ........3B & 4B Jayson Jacoby ..........4A News of Record ........2A Obituaries ..................2A Opinion ......................4A Outdoors ..........1B & 2B Sports .............. 5A & 6A Senior Menus ...........2A Turning Backs ...........2A Weather ..................... 6B TUESDAY — ARTISTS FIND NEW USES FOR OLD NEWSPAPER BOXES