THURSDAY
GOV. KATE BROWN REQUIRES MASKS FOR SOME OUTDOOR EVENTS: A3
GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
August 26, 2021
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Story of Baker City.
BRIEFING
Library off ers
two new online
tutoring services
The Baker County Li-
brary District has launched
two new online services,
both from Brainfuse:
HelpNow and JobNow.
Both services offer vetted,
professional, live tutoring
for either education or vo-
cation, and both services
are available free of charge
to library patrons.
These resources are
available thanks to a grant
from the State Library of
Oregon and coordination
by Libraries of Eastern
Oregon.
HelpNow is an edu-
cational resource for
students of varying ages—
including adult learners
seeking to advance their
education. The service in-
cludes skills tests, college
prep and multiple live tu-
toring options, as well as a
writing lab and a portal to
submit detailed questions
for reference help.
The other new service,
JobNow, offers similar
live help for job seekers or
people looking to improve
their career skills.
Both of these new ser-
vices, and more premium
content, are at www.
bakerlib.org/online-library.
Access requires a library
card number from Baker
County Library District.
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Lawyer: Murder charges should be dismissed
Jim Schaeffer of
by Baker City Police
La Grande, argued
Detective Shannon
during a three-hour
Regan, the lead in-
The attorney for Shawn
hearing before Shirt-
vestigator in the case
Quentin Greenwood, the
cliff in the Baker
who allegedly listened
suspect in a 2020 murder in
County Courthouse
to fi ve privileged
Baker City, argued in court
that Regan’s conduct
Tuesday, Aug. 24, that Judge phone calls between
Greenwood
is an “intrusion and
Matt Shirtcliff should dismiss Greenwood and his
violation of my client’s consti-
attorney last year.
charges against Greenwood
tutional rights.”
Greenwood’s attorney,
due to “egregious” conduct
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baxter, meanwhile, told
Shirtcliff that he’s willing to
not use at trial any evidence
that was collected in the case
after Sept. 14, 2020. That’s
the day recordings of the fi ve
phone calls, which Greenwood
made from the Baker County
“Dismissal is the right
answer,” said Schaeffer,
who fi led a motion on June
25, 2021, to either dismiss
charges against Green-
wood, or prohibit District
Attorney Greg M. Baxter
from introducing at trial all
evidence that Regan was
involved with.
Council considers
suing governor
See, Charges/Page A3
County’s
COVID cases
set monthly
record
August has
surpassed
December 2020
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Citizen comments
Twelve people voiced their
opposition to the mask or vaccine
mandate, or both.
Stephanie Johnson of Richland
told councilors she has been a regis-
tered nurse for more than a decade.
COVID-19 cases continue
at a record-setting pace during
August in Baker County.
From Aug. 1-24, the county
reported 239 cases, a daily aver-
age of almost 10.
The previous monthly and
daily records were both set in
December 2020, when there
were 196 cases, a daily average
of 6.3.
There have been more cases
in the county so far in August
than the combined total for the
previous three months.
Cases totaled 212 during May
(51), June (70) and July (91).
August could also become
the fi rst month with at least one
case every day. Daily numbers
have ranged from one case on
Aug. 15, to 24 cases on Aug. 9.
Baker County’s experience
mirrors that in much of Oregon
and many parts of the nation as
the much more contagious delta
variant has spurred a rapid rise
in cases and hospitalizations.
One Baker County resident
has died during August after
testing positive. The 95-year-
old woman died Aug. 17 at her
home, according to the Oregon
Health Authority (OHA). Her
death was the 19th in the county
during the pandemic.
There were two deaths dur-
ing July — Trinidad Navarro, 59,
died on July 14, and his 93-year-
old mother, Mary Hurtado, died
on July 29.
There were no COVID-relat-
ed deaths in the county during
June, and one during May.
County Commissioner Mark
Bennett, who has served as the
county’s incident commander
throughout the pandemic, said
on Wednesday, Aug. 25 that his
chief concerns are the county’s
roster of emergency responders,
and hospital capacity.
On the former, Bennett
said the county needs to have
a contingency plan in case a
signifi cant number of paramed-
ics, nurses and other health care
workers choose not to comply
with Gov. Kate Brown’s mandate
that they be vaccinated by Oct.
18 or potentially lose their jobs.
A group that included
Baker City Fire Department
employees gathered outside
Baker City Hall on Tuesday
evening, Aug. 24, to protest the
vaccination mandate, and to
urge the City Council to oppose
the requirement.
See, Council/Page A5
See, COVID/Page A5
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
A group, including Jayden Freeman, far right, and Shyanne McCoy, next to him, gathered
outside Baker City Hall Tuesday evening, Aug. 24, to protest Gov. Kate Brown’s mandates for
health care workers and teachers to be vaccinated by Oct. 18, and for students and school staff
to wear masks when classes start Aug. 30.
Suit would
focus on vaccine,
mask mandates
By SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
The Baker City Council voted
unanimously Tuesday evening,
Aug. 24, to have City Manager
Jon Cannon obtain legal counsel
for a potential lawsuit the city
could fi le or join challenging Gov.
Kate Brown’s recent mandates
regarding vaccinations for health
care workers and face masks for
students and school staff.
Councilors also voted unani-
mously to keep City Hall open
regardless of future restrictions
from the governor prompted by
the surge in COVID-19 cases.
Councilors approved those
motions after seeing a group of
people outside City Hall who
object to the governor’s mandates,
and hearing from some of those
people during the meeting.
Cannon discussed the lan-
guage of the vaccination man-
date, which requires health care
workers, including fi refi ghter/
paramedics from the Baker City
Fire Department, to be vaccinated
by Oct. 18 or potentially lose
their jobs.
Cannon noted that cities and
other employers that violate the
state rule could be subject to civil
penalties of $500 per day.
TODAY
Issue 46, 34 pages
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
Council chambers at Baker City Hall were crowded Tuesday
evening, Aug. 24, as residents urged councilors to oppose Gov.
Kate Brown’s mask and vaccination mandates.
Cannon said he’s concerned
about those penalties, but also
about the city incurring legal costs
in a potential lawsuit.
“I’m not saying it’s not a fi ght
worth doing, I’m just saying our
pockets aren’t that deep,” Can-
non said.
Mayor Kerry McQuisten said
the governor’s mandates have put
cities and other employers in a
diffi cult situation — “between the
devil and the deep blue sea” — by
forcing them to potentially choose
between facing civil penalties and
losing critical employees who don’t
want to be vaccinated.
Business ...........B1 & B2
Classified ............. B2-B4
Comics ....................... B5
Community News ....A3
Crossword ........B2 & B4
Dear Abby ................. B6
Councilor Jason Spriet sug-
gested seeking out other cities and
agencies that either might want
to join a lawsuit as co-plaintiffs,
or that have already started legal
proceedings that the city could
participate in.
Horoscope ........B2 & B4
Letters ........................A4
Lottery Results ..........A2
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
Opinion ......................A4
Senior Menus ...........A2
Sports ........................A6
Weather ..................... B6
SATURDAY — BAKER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE SETS MOUNTAIN CLIMBING RECORD