SATURDAY
TRAIL PARTNERSHIP TRANSFORMING CUNNINGHAM COVE TRAIL: PAGE 1B
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
July 3, 2021
Local • Outdoors • Sports • TV
IN THIS EDITION:
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A special good day to
Herald subscriber Neil
Carroll of Baker City.
Local, 3A
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Fireworks Shortage Affecting Selection At Local Stands
Not Such A Big Bang
The Baker and Haines
United Methodist churches
have resumed in-person
worship services after a
16-month closure during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual worship services
will continue, according to
a press release from the
churches.
■ Lightning has
started at least two
dozen blazes this
week in NE Oregon,
but most have
burned less than
one acre
BRIEFING
God and Country
service Sunday in
Geiser-Pollman
The 28th-annual Baker
County God and Country
service is set for Sunday,
July 4 at 10 a.m. in Geiser-
Pollman Park. Everyone
is invited. Pastor Garth
Johnson of Agape Church
will be the special guest
preacher. Liberty Quartet
will lead the worship.
Baker County
Garden Club to
visit lavender farm
The Baker County Gar-
den Club will meet July 7
at Curtis Lavender Farm,
44368 Pocahontas Road.
Everyone is welcome to
meet at 10 a.m. at Ace
Nursery to carpool to the
farm. Bring a sack lunch
and chair. Some shade will
be provided.
WEATHER
Today
97 / 54
Sunny
Sunday
94 /52
Sunny
Monday
97 / 53
Sunny
Full forecast on the
back of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Crews
keep
fires
small
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
of a lucky shot.”
Matt Diaz, who runs the fi rework
stand in the Safeway parking lot, said
he actually has about twice as much
product as usual because he received
all the fi reworks that usually are sold
from a stand in Ontario, which is not
operating this year.
Lightning has sparked
more than 20 wildfi res in
Northeastern Oregon this
week, but crews, with an as-
sist from rain showers, have
quickly corralled most of the
blazes before they burned
more than one acre.
A series of storms
spawned dozens of lightning
strikes across the region the
afternoons and evenings of
Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday.
Fortunately those cells
dropped rain along with the
lightning bolts, said Jerry
Garrett, assistant manager
at the Blue Mountain In-
teragency Dispatch Center
at the La Grande/Union
County Airport.
Most of the new fi res
started in the mountains,
where lingering moisture
from the winter snowpack
has kept the fi re danger
from reaching the extreme
levels at lower elevations,
Garrett said.
“They’re not seeing
extreme fi re behavior by
any means,” he said. “It’s
still early in the season and
the fuels are not quite cured
out.”
Much of the lightning
on Wednesday afternoon
and evening struck in the
northern part of the Elkhorn
Mountains west into the
North Fork John Day River
region.
See Fireworks/Page A3
See Fires/Page A6
Joanna Mann/Baker City Herald
A nationwide shortage of fi reworks has had an effect on the selection at Baker City stands.
By Joanna Mann
jmann@bakercityherald.com
The Fourth of July is right around
the corner, and fi reworks are harder
to come by than usual. A nationwide
shortage of fi reworks has affected
stands across the country, including
in Baker City.
Kristin Neff, who runs a fi rework
stand on Campbell Street, said she
received about 60% of the fi reworks
she usually gets each year.
“This year when the boxes got here,
I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ ” Neff
said. “What do you mean, you don’t
have colored smoke balls?”
Each year, she puts in the order for
the next year on July 5, only one day
after the big day. The order is a seven-
page list of everything she needs, plus
whatever her supplier recommends
based on her previous sales.
Neff said fi reworks that crackle
are usually her best sellers, and
she’s already had to make multiple
reorders for those. The crackling
type comes from China, where
there’s been a signifi cant shipping
delay due to a shortage of long-
shoremen and truck drivers.
“We’re lucky that we got anything
that crackles,” Neff said.
Her stand is a fundraiser for the
Joanna Mann/Baker City Herald
Some items are well-stocked at a Baker City fi reworks stand.
Apostolic Lighthouse Church of
Baker City, where her husband,
Nathan Neff, is the pastor. This
year, she said, people have been
nervous that they might not be able
to set the fi reworks off at all due to
extreme heat and the risk the explo-
sives pose to wildfi res.
“I just think the heat has made
people nervous,” Neff said. “It’s kind
Sweet Wife Baking Prepares To Open In Its New Main Street Location
A fresh start
■ The bake shop is in the historic
Lynndale Building at 2028 Main St.
By Lisa Britton
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
After nearly two months, Sweet Wife Baking will again
satisfy local cravings for sweet rolls, cookies, coffee, savory
sandwiches and more.
The bake shop opens July 8 in its new location, 2028
Main St.
Owners Jenny Mowe and Loran Joseph said the bakery
will be open Thursday through Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Going forward, they plan to be open for the First Friday
art walk and display work by a featured artist.
The new location is in the historic Lynndale Building,
built in 1890.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Jenny Mowe and her husband, Loran Joseph, will reopen their business, Sweet Wife
See Sweet Wife/Page A6 Baking, in its new Main Street location on July 8.
TODAY
Issue 23, 12 pages
Classified ............. B2-B4
Comics ....................... B5
Community News ....A3
Crossword ........B3 & B4
Dear Abby ................. B6
Horoscope ........B2 & B4
Jayson Jacoby ..........A4
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
Opinion ......................A4
Outdoors ...B1 & B2, B6
Senior Menus ...........A2
Sports ........................A6
Turning Backs ...........A2
Weather ..................... B6
TUESDAY — CHURCHILL SCHOOL GETS GRANT TO REPAIR WINDOWS