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In SPORTS, A5
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
December 21, 2021
Local • Home & Living • Sports
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BAKER COUNTY HEALTH
DEPT. DIRECTOR
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Patti Hall
of Baker City.
Publication
schedule for
Christmas and
New Year’s weeks
The Baker City Herald
will publish as usual on
Tuesday, Dec. 21 and
Thursday, Dec. 23. There
will not be an issue for
Saturday, Dec. 25.
Next week, the Herald
will publish issues on
Tuesday, Dec. 28, Thursday,
Dec. 30 and Friday, Dec. 31.
There will not be an issue
on Saturday, Jan. 1.
Passion
forPowder
Powder
U.S. Bank has awarded
Community Connection of
Northeast Oregon $7,500
for Community Connec-
tion’s Housing Resource
Center.
The Center offers servic-
es including pre-purchase
and mortgage default
counseling, fi rst-time
homebuying education,
and fi nancial empower-
ment education.
The free workshops are
being done virtually due
to the pandemic. More
information is available at
https://ccno.org/housing-
and-homeownership-
programs/.
WEATHER
Today
36 / 20
Partly sunny
Wednesday
34 / 27
Rain or snow
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
Staten
urges
booster
shots
 Baker County
cases drop again,
but surge predicted
due to new variant
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
BRIEFING
Community
Connection
receives grant for
housing resources
Wrestlers
second
at Elgin
Davis Carbaugh/The (La Grande) Observer
Snowboarders walk the incline near the Alice’s Wonderland learning area at Anthony Lakes Mountain
Resort during opening day on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. The resort received enough snow from recent
storms to open the winter ski season just in time for winter break.
 The Anthony
Lakes Mountain
Resort opens for
the season
this year, noting that
last year at this time she
sometimes had to wait up
to 20 minutes to board the
ski lift.
Another skier at the
opening day stated that
they were a bit rusty since
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
last ski season, but that
The (La Grande) Observer
the conditions were ideal
NORTH POWDER
for getting back in the
— Ski season is back in
swing of things.
Eastern Oregon.
Judy emphasized that
Recent snowstorms
skiing in general has seen
allowed Anthony Lakes
a rise in newcomers in
Mountain Resort to open
recent years, which was
just in time for winter
only furthered during the
break as skiers fl ocked to
pandemic. While those
the slopes on opening day
at Anthony Lakes were
Saturday, Dec. 18. Condi-
tions were ideal as ski
Davis Carbaugh/The (La Grande) Observer happy to see an increase
in visitors, the resort
resorts across the Pacifi c Skiers ride the Rock Garden triple-chair lift up
underwent a series of
Northwest continue to see the mountain on opening day at Anthony Lakes
precautions.
a rise in traffi c during the Mountain Resort on Saturday, Dec. 18, 2021. Re-
Anthony Lakes opened
COVID-19 pandemic.
cent snow storms allowed the resort to open for
its lodge again this year
“There’s a lot of folks
ski season just in time for winter break.
after closing it last winter
excited to get out and ski
“With no winter sports for COVID-19. More skiers
this weekend and through midst of the pandemic,
Anthony Lakes saw a ma- and people being eager to are also allowed to park
the holiday break,” said
and congregate in closer
get outside, throughout
jor rise in skiers as most
Chelsea Judy, market-
confi nes than last season.
the Northwest and even
indoor activities were
ing director at Anthony
closed off. Judy noted that the nation the ski industry Masks are required inside
Lakes. “We defi nitely
was very busy,” Judy said. at the ski area as the
the absences of winter
expect to see it busy, but
pandemic persists.
One skier noted that
maybe not quite like last sports also added a rise in
she was surprised by the
individuals looking for a
season.”
more standard turnout
different athletic outlet.
Last winter in the
See, Powder/Page A3
Gett ing into
video gaming
 The Attic in Baker City offers classic and
contemporary video games, snacks and more
dream came to fruition when
he found the space above
Kicks was available to rent.
Familiar tunes from
The Attic isn’t just a place
classic video games such as
for kids — it caters to families
Street Fighter, DigDug and
more drift down the stairs of of all ages. Eide offer snacks,
coffee and other beverages,
Baker City’s newest estab-
and more.
lishment — The Attic.
Chris Brown, 38, who is
Located above Kicks
Sportswear, at the southwest The Attic’s co-owner, said
Baker City residents have
corner of Main and Valley
helped them with donations.
— the entrance is on Valley
“Just thinking about
— the dynamic club offers a
how, Xboxes, controllers,
variety of games and a fun
and games, people were just
atmosphere for everyone to
donating stuff to us. It was
enjoy.
“Kids want thrills and this really cool,” Brown said.
“Once we posted on
is kind of a place to do that
Facebook, it was growing like
without getting in trouble,”
wildfi re and I was picking up
said owner Timothy Eide.
ten TVs a day,” Eide said.
Eide, 38, had been think-
ing about starting a sitdown
arcade for six years and his
See, Gaming/A3
By SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 94, 14 pages
Classified ............. B4-B6
Comics ....................... B7
Community News ....A3
Although COVID-19 cases have
dropped for four straight weeks in
Baker County, to near the low-
est weekly total
since July, health
offi cials across the
state and nation
are bracing for a
projected rapid
rise in cases due to
the new omicron
Staten
variant.
Nancy Staten is among those
worried about the possible effects.
Staten, director of the Baker
County Health Department,
encourages residents to be vac-
cinated.
And for those who already are
vaccinated, Staten recommends
a booster dose, which experts say
can increase protection against
the omicron variant, which has
proved to be much more resis-
tant to the two-dose vaccination
compared with the still-dominant
delta variant.
“Our case count is staying low,
and we may get through Christ-
mas with low counts, but they’re
anticipating a spike in cases after
the fi rst of the year,” Staten said
on Monday morning, Dec. 20. “Our
best protection is being vaccinated
and getting boosters.”
A forecast from the Oregon
Health & Science University proj-
ects that omicron will replace delta
as the dominant variant by the last
week of December.
See, COVID/Page A3
Berms are back ... briefl y
 City crews will
haul away snow as
quickly as possible
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
And just like that, the
berms are back.
But not for long.
Although there’s no
winter thaw in the forecast
to do away with the heavy
snow that descended on
Baker City on Sunday, Dec.
19, crews from the city’s
public works department
will strive to haul away
the temporary snow berms
from streets as soon as
possible, said Tom Fisk,
operations supervisor for
the department.
“We’re going to continue
to run a midnight pickup
crew to remove the berms
until they’re all gone,” Fisk
said on Monday morning,
Dec. 20.
That’s been the city’s
Crossword ........B5 & B6
Dear Abby ................. B8
Home ................B1 & B2
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
Snow berms along Washington Avenue between
First and Second streets, looking east, on Monday
morning, Dec. 20.
practice for several years.
Previously, the berms,
which snowplows push into
the center of some streets,
sometimes stayed in place
for several weeks.
Typically, crews plow
heavily traveled streets
when at least four inches
of snow have fallen, and
there’s a likelihood for
more, Fisk said.
Horoscope ........B5 & B6
Letters ........................A4
Lottery Results ..........A2
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
Opinion ......................A4
THURSDAY — GO! MAGAZINE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE
That was precisely
the situation on Sunday
evening, when four to fi ve
inches had accumulated,
with snow continuing to fall.
Fisk said a four-man
crew arrived at the public
works shop at 11 p.m. on
Sunday to put chains on
the city’s graders.
See Berms/Page A3
Senior Menus ...........A2
Sports .............. A5 & A6
Weather ..................... B8