THURSDAY
BAKER GIRLS SOCCER TEAM FALLS 2-0 AT LA GRANDE: SPORTS, PAGE A6
OCTOBER 13–20, 2021
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
Celebrate
Harvest Festival,
quilt show
PAGE 3
Twists
andtu
and
tu ns
andturns
Find your way in the
Echo Corn Maze
PAGE 8
Explore
Pumpkin
patches
PAGE 12
Experiment
Chemistry at the
farmers market
PAGE 18
Beth Staff ord/Contributed image
The Echo Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch is open througout October with an 8-acre
corn maze, a smaller straw bale maze, a mini corn maze, a pumpkin patch and more.
“The food is fresh, locally sourced and unbelievably delicious.
Their IPAs are distinct and clearly not copy-cats of each other or
anyone else making NW IPAs.” - Yelp Review, Bend. Oregon
1219 Washington Ave • La Grande, OR 97850
www.sideabeer.com
GO! Magazine
October 14, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
Your weekly guide
to arts and
entertainment
events around
$1.50 Northeast Oregon
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Cindy
Carpenter of Baker City.
State, A3
Oregonians will get
17% of their 2020 Oregon
income taxes back as a
kicker credit when they fi le
their 2021 taxes next year,
the Oregon Department
of Revenue announced
Tuesday, Oct. 12.
Revenue offi cials
determined more than a
month ago that Oregon’s
unique kicker rebate law
would generate a jaw-
dropping $1.9 billion. But
they needed to fi nalize and
certify exactly how much
each tax fi ler would be
entitled to.
The offi cial answer
is 17.341% of 2020 state
income taxes paid. Taxpay-
ers can fi nd their 2020 tax
liability on line 22 of their
2020 Form OR.
Region, A5
BOISE — Conserva-
tion groups in Idaho are
speaking out against the
“inhumane” killings of
eight wolf pups in the wild
that were part of a Boise
high school’s adopted
wolf pack.
Following the killings,
representatives from
several Idaho groups in
August sent a letter to U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack asking that he
“immediately suspend the
killing of wolf pups on all
public lands by the USDA’s
federal agents.”
COUNCIL DEADLOCKS
on train quiet zone proposal
requested. The group has said it
would raise the money to make
required safety improvements to
The Baker City Council came public crossings, alleviating the
need for the city to spend any
to two deadlock votes Tuesday
night, Oct. 12 as it considered a money on the project.
The vote on the motion was
proposal from a citizens group
divided the same way. This time
to pursue a railroad quiet zone
the trio of Alderson, Spriet and
in town.
Sells were in favor, and the three-
Two motions were made,
some of McQuisten, Waggoner
and both failed with 3-3 votes,
with the same trios of councilors and Dixon were opposed.
There were no other motions,
at loggerheads.
and the issue was not resolved
The fi rst motion was to put
the quiet zone matter on the May Tuesday.
Peter Fargo, a representative
2022 primary election ballot.
from the group that is promot-
Mayor Kerry McQuisten and
Councilors Johnny Waggoner Sr. ing a quiet zone — a designation
and Joanna Dixon voted in favor. both La Grande and Pendleton
already have — wrote in a mes-
Councilors Shane Alderson,
sage to the Herald on Wednes-
Jason Spriet and Heather Sells
day morning that “we would like
voted against the motion.
to thank Councilors Shane Al-
The second motion was for
the city to move ahead with the derson, Heather Sells, and Jason
Spriet for their moral leadership
quiet zone application, as the
on Tuesday night. They put the
citizens group, with support
safety of our kids and neighbors
from more than 400 residents
before politics. They supported a
and more than 50 local busi-
simple solution that will benefi t
nesses and organizations,
By SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
everyone in our community —
improving the safety of our rail-
road crossings, reducing harmful
train horns, still allowing train
engineers to use the horns when
necessary, and continuing to
having horns outside of town,
so we can all enjoy them from a
safe distance.”
Sells questioned the benefi t
of the city taking the matter to
voters since the citizens group
has offered to raise the money for
crossing improvements.
McQuisten referenced the
May 2002 election, when a mea-
sure asking city voters whether
they supported a quiet zone — at
a cost to the city estimated at
$40,000 to $60,000 — failed by
82% to 18%.
McQuisten also said she con-
ducted a straw poll on Facebook,
and that the poll explained the
quiet zone wouldn’t cost the city
any money, and that most people
were opposed.
See, Trains/Page A5
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
A local group wants Baker City to pursue a quiet zone
designation, in which freight trains would no longer blow
their horns before every crossing. Trains would still use their
horns in emergencies.
A. Lakes pulls
visitor center
proposal
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Anthony Lakes Outdoor
Recreation Association has
withdrawn its proposal to
operate a visitor center in
Baker City.
Anthony Lakes, along
with the previous contractor,
the Baker County Chamber
of Commerce, had been vy-
ing for a new contract with
Baker County.
County commissioners, who
have the fi nal say on awarding
See, Visitors/Page A5
Budget board
member
says mayor
defamed him
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Jason Bland, a member of
Baker City’s budget commit-
tee who sometimes speaks
with slurred speech due to
multiple sclerosis, contends
Mayor Kerry McQuisten
defamed him by suggesting
that he was drunk when
he left voice mails on her
cellphone recently.
See, Mayor/Page A3
Former Baker
man convicted
of stealing
from business
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
A jury convicted a former
Baker City man of felony
theft for stealing money in
2017 from a local assisted liv-
ing center he co-owned.
Jeremy Gale Thamert,
49, was convicted on Oct. 8 of
three counts of fi rst-degree
theft, a Class C felony, and
one count of second-degree
theft, a Class A misdemeanor,
after a fi ve-day trial in Baker
County Circuit Court.
The jury also acquitted
Thamert, who moved from
Baker City to Prineville in
2017, of one count of fi rst-
degree theft and one count of
second-degree theft.
WEATHER
Today
51 / 29
Partly sunny
Friday
60 / 31
Partly sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
See, Theft/Page A3
Book Buddies
Friends of the
Library donate
hundreds of hours
of volunteer work
noon in the library’s meeting
room, 2400 Resort St.
And she’d like more
patrons to peruse the shelves
— and in turn make room for
even more books.
The Friends of the Baker
By LISA BRITTON
County Library is a group of
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
volunteers who support the li-
Although not often seen,
brary by helping sort book do-
the Friends of the Baker
nations and also raise money
County Library work hun-
dreds of hours sorting books, to help fund library services
staffi ng the annual book sales, or other special requests.
So far in 2021, the Friends
and making sure the book
shop has new offerings every of the Baker County Library
have logged 226 hours.
few weeks.
The Friends has basically
“There’s some amazing
two divisions: book sales and
stuff in there right now,” Jen
work room.
Albright, president of the
Karylanne Brown, for
Friends, said on a recent after-
TODAY
Issue 67, 32 pages
Business ...........B1 & B2
Calendar ....................A2
Classified ............. B2-B4
instance, sorts donations and
fi gures out which books may
be a good fi t for the library’s
collection, such as a series
that is missing one volume.
Books that are not needed
for the collection are routed to
the book sales, which are held
twice a year — during Miners
Jubilee in July and the winter
sale in January and February.
Between book sales, the
Friends rotate books through
the book shop, which is
located right inside the main
entrance. Albright said they
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
swap books in the shop about Karylanne Brown, left, Kathy Peterson and Jen
every two weeks.
Albright keep the Baker County Library’s book shop
stocked as part of their volunteer work with Friends of
See, Library/Page A3 the Baker County Library.
Comics ....................... B5
Community News ....A3
Crossword ........B2 & B4
Dear Abby ................. B6
Horoscope ........B2 & B4
Lottery Results ..........A2
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
Opinion ......................A4
SATURDAY — RESTORING AN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BAKER BUILDING
Senior Menus ...........A2
Sports ........................A6
Weather ..................... B6