THURSDAY
POWDER VALLEY FOOTBALL TEAM AIMING FOR STATE TITLE: SPORTS, A6
NOVEMBER 17–24,2021
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Dive into the world of
‘Tuck Everlasting’
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Terry Hale/Contributed image
Liam Bloodgood, left, plays Jesse Tuck and Fern
McConnell plays Winnie Foster in “Tuck Everlasting,”
which opens Nov. 20 at the Elgin Opera House.
“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
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GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
November 18, 2021
IN THIS EDITION:
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine
$1.50
State off ers
help to
pharmacies
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day
to Herald subscriber Bill
Quigley of Baker City.
Temporary
employee program
not open to local
pharmacies, however
Local, A2
The state of Oregon
plans to test 150
drinking water systems
across the state for the
presence of PFAS, or
per- and polyfl uorinated
substances.
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
BRIEFING
Turkey Trot set for
Thanksgiving Day
The 15th-annual Turkey
Trot 5K run/walk, a fund-
raiser to feed the hungry
in Baker County through
the Northeast Oregon
Compassion Center, is set
for Thanksgiving morn-
ing, Thursday, Nov. 25.
The event starts at 9 a.m.
at Kicks Sportswear, 1801
Main St. in downtown
Baker City. Entry fee is $15
per person. A link to online
registration is available
at the Northeast Oregon
Compassion Center’s
Facebook page.
Halfway tree
lighting ceremony
set for Nov. 28
HALFWAY — The
Halfway Christmas tree
lighting ceremony is set
for Sunday, Nov. 28 at
5:30 p.m. in downtown
Halfway.
A holiday festival and
bazaar is scheduled for
Saturday, Nov. 20 from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the
Halfway Lions Club.
WEATHER
Today
42 / 32
Mostly cloudy
Friday
44 / 29
Rain showers
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Your weekly guide
to arts and
entertainment
events around
Northeast Oregon
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby said a woman who is homeless placed many items, including shopping
carts, on the sidewalk on the east side of Fifth Street between Madison and Baker streets.
Police chief wants limits
on homeless camping
on public property that is
open to the public must be
objectively reasonable as to
Baker City Police Chief
time, place and manner with
Ty Duby plans to ask the
regards to persons experi-
City Council to approve an
encing homelessness.”
ordinance limiting where,
The law also states that
and when, people can camp
“A person experiencing
on public property within
homelessness may bring suit
the city limits.
for injunctive or declaratory
Duby said he was
relief to challenge the objec-
prompted to act by a bill
that the Oregon Legislature tive reasonableness of a city
or county law.”
passed earlier this year
The law states that
and that Oregon Gov. Kate
“reasonableness shall be
Brown signed into law on
determined based on the
June 23.
The law — introduced as totality of the circumstances,
House Bill 3115 and passed including, but not limited
to, the impact of the law on
by the Democratic majori-
ties in both the state House persons experiencing home-
lessness.”
and Senate — is based on
Baker City has no such
a 2019 federal court ruling
in a Boise case that in effect ordinance, Duby said.
Nor does the city have an
prohibited cities and coun-
ties from making it illegal for indoor facility for homeless
people to stay. That means
people to sleep outdoors in
public spaces if the jurisdic- they can legally camp on
public property with no
tion doesn’t provide indoor
limitations.
alternatives.
However, Duby said
Baker County’s two state
legislators, Sen. Lynn Find- he doesn’t believe anyone, in-
cluding homeless people, has
ley, R-Vale, and Rep. Mark
Owens, R-Crane, both voted a legal right to keep their
possessions indefi nitely on
against the bill.
public property or to block
The new Oregon law
states that cities or counties people from using sidewalks,
which have ordinances that streets or other public rights-
regulate “the acts of sitting, of-way.
“The way I look at it,
lying, sleeping or keeping
you have the right to sleep
warm and dry outdoors
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
(on public property), but
that doesn’t mean you can
collect all this stuff and have
it strewn about on public
property and sidewalks,”
Duby said. “It’s not fair to
the neighbors, and it’s not
fair to the city.”
To that end, Duby cited
a situation on Fifth Street,
between Madison and Baker
streets, where a homeless
woman, and possibly others,
have been storing posses-
sions and, at times, living.
Duby said the woman,
Kristi Ann Moudy-Koos, 45,
initially placed a shopping
cart and many other items
on private property on the
east side of Fifth Street.
That property is south
of the former Baker House
building, which Gordon
Holman bought earlier this
year and is renovating into
condominiums.
Holman, who had his
property surveyed, said he
determined that Moudy-
Koos’ possessions were
on property owned by St.
Elizabeth Towers, the con-
dominiums just to the east.
He said he had conver-
sations with Moudy-Koos
earlier this month and told
her that her items were on
private property.
She then moved the
items, which include nine
shopping carts, plastic
tarps and a tattered piece
of a “No Trespassing” sign,
onto the sidewalk on the
east side of Fifth Street,
which is a one-way street,
limited to northbound
travel, in that area.
Duby noted that under
Oregon Revised Statute
166.025, a person who
“obstructs vehicular or pe-
destrian traffi c on a public
way” could be charged with
second-degree disorderly
conduct.
He said he has also
had multiple conversa-
tions with Moudy-Koos,
including pointing out that
local agencies such as New
Directions Northwest can
offer her assistance.
“She just declines that,”
Duby said. “She wants to live
the way she wants to live.”
No one was at the site
Tuesday afternoon or
Wednesday afternoon.
On Tuesday, city offi cials
placed a notice at the site,
citing the state law Duby
referenced. He said 72-hour
notice is required by state
law before the city removes
personal items from public
property.
OTEC to return $3
million to members
Baker City Herald
Oregon Trail Electric Co-
operative (OTEC) will return
$3 million in capital credits to
its members in December.
Members whose return
is more than $15, and who
don’t have a past-due bal-
ance, will receive a check in
the mail in mid-December.
Capital credits returns of
less than $15 will be credited
to the member’s account.
Capital credits are similar
to the dividends that a for-
profi t company returns to its
shareholders.
With OTEC, a member-
TODAY
Issue 81, 32 pages
owned cooperative, each
member’s share of OTEC’s
earned margins are allocated
to a capital credit account
each year after the coop-
erative’s operating expenses
have been paid.
OTEC, which was formed
in 1988, fi rst returned a
share of capital credits to its
members in 1996. Since then
the co-op has returned $49
million in capital credits.
“Positive fi nancial condi-
tions allowed for us to return
these funds to our members,”
said Heidi Dalton, OTEC’s
chief fi nancial offi cer. “Our
Business ...........B1 & B2
Calendar ....................A2
Classified ............. B2-B4
fi nancials are strong, and
we’re proud to demonstrate
the power of the cooperative
business model through
capital credit retirements.”
More information about
capital credits, including an
explanatory video, is avail-
able at www.otec.coop/capital-
credit.
If you’re interested in
donating your capital credit
check to the OTEC Member
Foundation to support local
charitable programs, go to
www.otec.coop/member-foun-
dation or email communica-
tions@otec.coop.
Comics ....................... B5
Community News ....A3
Crossword ........B2 & B4
The Oregon Health Author-
ity is offering to pay pharmacies
$35 for each dose of COVID-19
vaccine they give, a move that
possibly could help pharmacies
hire employees to deal with
the growing workload that has
resulted in long lines in Baker
City and across the state.
The program, which
launched this month, also is in-
tended to boost vaccination rates
and to ensure that vaccines are
available to all residents, said
Rudy Owens, a public affairs
specialist for the Oregon Health
Authority (OHA).
To qualify for the pay-
ments, pharmacies must meet
certain standards for “vaccine
equity,” including such things
as offering multilingual signing
for COVID-19 vaccinations,
“expanded vaccine-related
counseling aimed at boosting
vaccine confi dence,” and “a plan
for ongoing evaluation and con-
tinuous improvement to ensure
equitable access,” according to a
fl yer from OHA.
See, Pharmacies/Page A3
Bob Harrell
inducted into
Hereford Hall
of Fame
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Longtime Baker Valley cattle
rancher Bob Harrell Jr. has been
inducted into the Hereford Hall
of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri.
Harrell, who is the fi fth
generation of his pioneer family
to live in the valley, was inducted
Oct. 23 during the American
Hereford Association’s (AHA) an-
nual meeting and conference.
He was one of four to be
inducted, along with Jim
Courtney of Alzada, Montana,
Lawrence Duncance of Wing-
ate, Indiana, and Dale Micheli
of Fort Bridger, Wyoming.
See, Homeless/Page A3
See, Harrell/Page A3
Herald to publish expanded issue Nov. 23;
e-edition only on Thanksgiving
In observance of the Thanks-
giving holiday, the Baker City
Herald will not publish a print
edition on Thursday, Nov. 25.
Because the Herald is
delivered by mail, an issue
published on Thanksgiving
couldn’t be distributed that
day.
“It’s a chance to give our
employees an opportunity to
spend an uninterrupted holi-
day with their families,” said
Andrew Cutler, regional editor
for the EO Media Group, which
owns the Herald.
The Herald will publish an
expanded edition, including
additional comics and puzzle
features as well as the weekly
GO! magazine, on Tuesday,
Nov. 23.
Dear Abby ................. B6
Horoscope ........B3 & B4
Letters ........................A4
Lottery Results ..........A2
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
SATURDAY — BEST FRIENDS OF BAKER RESCUES LOCAL ANIMALS
An e-edition only paper will
be published on Thanksgiving
and will be available to paid
subscribers through the Her-
ald’s website, www.bakercity-
herald.com.
To make sure you are sub-
scribed to the e-edition, follow
these steps:
• Go to www.bakercityher-
ald.com/users/forgot, enter
your email address and click
I’m not a robot, then Reset
Password.
• An email will be sent to you
with a link — click on the link.
• A website will pop up to
enter your new password.
• You’re all set.
For questions or problems,
call our customer service line
at 800-781-3214.
Opinion ......................A4
Sports ........................A6
Weather ..................... B6