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In SPORTS, A6
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
August 10, 2021
Local • Home & Living • Sports
IN THIS EDITION:
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscribers Lorrie
and Larry Hill of Baker City.
BRIEFING
$1.50
EAST
DEFEATS
WEST IN
SHRINE
GAME
A family legacy
Mason Van Arsdall becomes third member of his family to partake in East-West Shrine Game
Fundraiser Aug. 13
to benefi t toddler
who has leukemia
A fundraiser to help
Ben and Emily Becktold’s
daughter fi ght leukemia is
happening Friday, Aug. 13.
The couple’s 14-month-old
daughter, Naomi, is currently
with her mom at Seattle
Children’s Hospital.
The fundraiser starts at 6
p.m. at the Baker City Elks
Lodge, 1896 Second St. The
evening includes a pulled
pork dinner, cornhole tourna-
ment, and silent auction.
All proceeds will benefi t the
Becktold family to help with
medical and travel expenses.
Dinner tickets are $15, and
available at the event. There
is a limit of 200 meals.
Entry in the cornhole tour-
nament is $10 per person or
$20 per team. There are slots
for 32 teams.
JR Streifel said donations
are still coming in for the
silent auction.
“It’s awesome to see the
community support and rally
around one of ours in need,”
he said.
To donate, call Streifel at
541-379-5174.
For those who would like
to make monetary dona-
tions, an account has been
set up at Old West Federal
Credit Union under the name
Naomi Becktold Benefi t
Fund.
Donations can also be
made through Venmo:
@NaomisVillage.
WEATHER
Today
92 / 52
Sunny
Wednesday
95 / 56
Partly sunny
Full forecast on the
back of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
In a game with so many different players in the fold, Van Arsdall was able to have ample playing time, and even was able to record the
sack in the midst of the 69th Oregon East-West Shrine game on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021.
By Davis Carbaugh
The Observer
The Van Arsdall name has quite
a legacy at the Oregon Shrine
game.
Mason Van Arsdall, a mul-
tisports athlete for Baker High
School, became the third-gener-
ation Van Arsdall to compete at
the East-West Shrine Game in the
2021 rendition on Saturday, Aug. 7.
Van Arsdall started on the offen-
sive line for the East and helped
the team to a 34-6 victory over the
West.
“It’s great to keep the tradition
and I just feel awesome that I get
to be a part of this,” Van Arsdall
said.
Van Arsdall’s father, Jef, and
grandfather, Jim, both played in
the Shrine Game in previous years.
Jef was selected out of Seaside
High School in 1990 and Jim
represented Franklin High School
in 1961.
“I’m incredibly proud of him,” Jef
Van Arsdall said. “He’s a great kid
and he’s dedicated to his team and
he’s just a good dude. It’s a great
sendoff to represent Baker one last
time and be the hometown athlete.”
The East-West Shrine Game
involves the state’s elite football
players from the 1A to 4A state
levels. Football coaches from across
the state nominate players to
compete in the game and partake
in the fundraising and festivities.
The Shrine Game raises money for
the Shrine Hospital for Children in
Portland and is recognized as the
organization’s largest fundraiser.
The players involved are aware
of the game’s cause, but Van Ars-
dall has learned the importance of
the game through his predecessors
who previously played in the past.
“It’s huge for our community
and it’s a huge event city-wide,” he
said. “It’s just an amazing organiza-
tion. Getting to not only win, but
just be a part of this whole thing, is
just so awesome.”
According to Jef, competing in
the game and raising funds for the
hospital is a way of being a servant
to the community.
“It’s about being a part of
something bigger than yourself,”
he said. “The Shrine Hospital is an
amazing place and the service they
provide is just incredible for folks
that might not otherwise have the
opportunity to have access to medi-
cal care.
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Baker Bulldog graduate Mason Van Arsdall (right) poses with his
dad Jef (left) at the conclusion of the 69th Oregon East-West Shrine
Game. The East went on to win the game, 34-6.
With the East holding a com-
fortable lead in the second half,
Van Arsdall took additional reps
on the defensive line. The versatile
lineman recorded a sack near the
sidelines that drew a huge eruption
from the crowd at Baker Bulldog
Memorial Stadium. After the
game, Van Arsdall was swarmed by
friends, family and fans.
See, Van Arsdall/Page A6
County sets work session to discuss visitor center contract
Baker City Herald
The Baker County
Board of Commission-
ers will meet for a work
session Wednesday, Aug.
11 to discuss the Request
for Proposals (RFP) for
operating a visitors center
in Baker City.
Commissioners will
meet at 6 p.m. at the
Baker County Event Cen-
ter, 2600 East St.
The work session will
not be available on Zoom.
A copy of the draft RFP
TODAY
Issue 39, 12 pages
is available on the county’s
website, www.bakercounty.
org.
It sets a deadline of
Sept. 17 for prospective
contractors to submit a
proposal. The schedule
also calls for the county
to issue a notice of intent
to award the contract on
Sept. 30, and for the Baker
County Board of Commis-
sioners to potentially sign
the contract on Oct. 6.
The current contract,
for about $77,000 per year,
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is with the Baker County
Chamber of Commerce,
which operates the visitor
center at 490 Campbell
St., near Interstate 84.
The money comes from the
local tax that guests pay at
motels, bed and breakfasts,
vacation rental homes and
other types of lodging.
The county put out an
RFP in the fall of 2019,
and in December 2019 it
received two proposals,
from the Chamber of Com-
merce and from the non-
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profi t that owns Anthony
Lakes Mountain Resort.
Both the county Eco-
nomic Development Com-
mittee and the committee
that oversees the lodging
tax, which advise county
commissioners, endorsed
the Anthony Lakes pro-
posal.
But in February 2020
commissioners postponed
awarding the contract. In
November 2020 commis-
sioners decided to restart
the process, after the
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THURSDAY — GO! MAGAZINE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
county’s attorney deter-
mined there were potential
confl icts of interest.
In March 2021 com-
missioners extended the
contract with the Chamber
of Commerce through Aug.
31, 2021.
Both Shelly Cutler,
executive director of the
Chamber of Commerce,
and Peter Johnson, gen-
eral manager of Anthony
Lakes, said they plan
to submit a proposal to
the county.
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