BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2022 A3
LOCAL & REGION
COVID
“We are getting through what we hope is
a quick surge.”
Continued from A1
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
Cattle in Baker Valley.
Cattle
“I think it’s a worthy under-
taking,” Bennett said. “Any time
Continued from A1
you have concentration it limits
competition and the opportu-
“The more processing you
nity for innovation. This whole
discussion is really
have the more oppor-
crucial.”
tunities we have for dif-
Bennett said one
ferent markets for the
of the most common
cow-calf producer,” he
topics that come up in
said. “That gives pro-
his conversations with
ducers more options
other ranchers is man-
and it gives consumers
datory country of ori-
more options.”
McElligott
gin labeling.
Now, only about 5%
Although some meat
of the beef cattle born
sold in the U.S., in-
in Oregon are actually
cluding chicken, is re-
butchered here, McEl-
quired to be labeled to
ligott said.
show where the animal
Both he and Martin
was raised, that’s not
pointed out that build-
the case with beef.
ing a processing plant
Beef can be labeled
is no small undertak-
as a product of the
ing.
Martin
U.S. even if the cat-
“To say it’s complex is
tle were raised in an-
an understatement for
other country but were
sure,” Martin said.
butchered in the U.S.
Complying with fed-
(Retailers can also
eral food safety rules and
include details about
other regulations is nei-
where animals were
ther simple nor inexpen-
born and raised;
sive, and Martin said he
they’re just not re-
hopes the Biden admin-
Bennett
quired to do so.)
istration’s $1 billion cam-
Ranchers and industry groups
paign will also include resources
have been pushing for beef,
to help potential entrepreneurs
negotiate the regulatory labyrinth. which has not been subject to
Among other things, he advo- mandatory country of origin
labeling since 2016, to be rein-
cates for the federal government
to eliminate or streamline regula- serted into the labeling law along
tions that deter people from pur- with chicken and other meats.
“American consumers want
suing regional or local processing
plants, and to assign a coordinator to know where their beef comes
to work with prospective owners from,” Bennett said.
There has been some inter-
to help them with all aspects of
the endeavor, including financing. est in Congress in reinstituting
McElligott said a significant ob- mandatory labeling for beef. It
stacle in the industry for ranchers ended after officials from Mex-
ico and Canada vowed to impose
who want to sell beef directly to
tariffs on American beef if the
local customers is that packaged
mandatory labeling continued.
products must be inspected by
A group of U.S. senators in-
someone certified by the U.S. De-
troduced legislation in Septem-
partment of Agriculture.
ber 2021 calling for the U.S.
He said he can sell a half of
Trade Representative and U.S.
beef “on the hoof ” to a neigh-
Department of Agriculture to
bor, but not a single pound of
packaged hamburger unless it’s come up with a plan to improve
beef labeling transparency.
been inspected.
McElligott said country of
McElligott said he’s encouraged
that a draft plan for spending the origin labeling “really needs to
$1 billion includes $100 million to be addressed.”
He pointed out that Ameri-
pay overtime to USDA-certified
cans’ demand for beef has con-
inspectors, which could expand
independent processing markets. tinued to grow even with ris-
ing retail prices.
He considers this evidence
Truth in beef labeling
Mark Bennett, a Baker County that people recognize the value
commissioner who also owns a of beef.
“If you look at everything
cattle ranch in the southern part
of the county near Unity, agrees beef gives you from a nutritional
with Martin and McElligott that standpoint, it’s still an econom-
ical part of your plate,” McElli-
the Biden administration’s an-
gott said.
nouncement is promising.
Council
Mart is that the cost of them
buying the drugs themselves
was outpacing what the mar-
Continued from A1
ket was willing to pay,” Guyer
said.
Customers have waited for
Helen Loennig, the former
hours in line, and in some
longtime pharmacy manager
cases their prescriptions
at Bi-Mart, also cited, in an
weren’t available when they
earlier interview, factors such
made it to the counter.
as limited reimbursements
Guyer said he has talked
from insurance companies,
with Bi-Mart, Safeway and
and Oregon’s corporate activ-
Rite Aid, but not with Baker
City’s other pharmacy, in the ity tax, which took effect in
2020.
Albertsons store.
“So, as a result of that, in a
He said he was asked to not
business setting and a busi-
quote anyone directly.
“I’m really familiar with the ness planning, look at your
profit centers and if your
pharmacy issue because my
wife actually works for a doc- profit center doesn’t work,
you get rid of those areas,”
tor locally that uses all phar-
macies in the community,”
Guyer said. “So, that’s what
Guyer said. “I’ve been hearing happened at Bi-Mart.”
about the slowness that’s hap-
The closure of the phar-
pening at fulfilling pharmaceu- macy there, which Loennig
ticals in the community.”
said had been processing
Guyer said he has experi-
about 1,500 prescriptions
enced the same thing, waiting per week, caused a sudden
in line and finding his pre-
influx of new customers at
scriptions had not been filled. Baker City’s three remaining
He said Bi-Mart closed the
pharmacies, inside the Safe-
pharmacy in its Baker City
way, Albertsons and Rite Aid
store, and at other Oregon
stores.
stores, due in part to the cost of
“They had this huge paper
prescription drugs.
issue as well because, when
“What happened with Bi-
you’re switching pharmacies,
That’s the highest daily av-
erage since September, which
set a record with 15.5 cases
per day (465 for the month).
January’s count through 11
days exceeds the monthly to-
tals for December (106) and
November (143) and is close
to October’s total of 168.
The percentage of tests in
the county that are positive
rose to 20.6% for the most re-
cent week measured, Jan. 2-8.
The positivity rate for the
previous three weeks ranged
from 10.1% to 10.5%.
Baker County’s rate for
Jan. 2-8 was slightly below
the Oregon average, at 21.6%.
Baker County’s test pos-
itivity rate was also below
that of most other counties
in the region.
Umatilla County had a
rate of 26.9%, Union County
21.6%, Wallowa County
22.1%, Malheur County
23.8%, Morrow County
37.3% and Grant County
11.8%.
The Oregon Health
Authority on Jan. 11 re-
ported Baker County’s 38th
COVID-19-related death.
A 65-year-old woman who
tested positive on Sept. 3 died
Dec. 31 at her residence. The
presence of underlying con-
ditions is being confirmed,
according to OHA.
As case counts are rising,
scientists studying the trends
see evidence that omicron,
because it’s so easily spread,
likely will have a much
shorter surge than previous,
less infectious variants.
“It’s going to come down as
fast as it went up,” Ali Mok-
dad, a professor of health
metrics sciences at the Uni-
versity of Washington in
Seattle, told The Associated
Press this week.
The University of Wash-
ington’s model projects that
the number of daily re-
ported cases in the U.S. will
crest at 1.2 million by Jan.
19 and will then fall sharply
“simply because everybody
— Priscilla Lynn, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City
who could be infected will
be infected,” according to
Mokdad.
In fact, he said, by the
university’s complex cal-
culations, the true number
of new daily infections in
the U.S. — an estimate that
includes people who were
never tested — has already
peaked, hitting 6 million on
Jan. 6.
In South Africa, where
omicron was identified, and
in Britain, cases have de-
clined significantly after the
same major increase that
has happened in the U.S. the
past couple weeks.
The Associated Press re-
ported that in Britain, new
COVID-19 cases dropped to
about 140,000 a day in the
past week, after skyrocketing
to more than 200,000 a day
earlier this month, according
to government data.
Numbers from the U.K.’s
National Health Service
this week show coronavi-
rus hospital admissions for
adults have begun to fall,
with infections dropping in
all age groups.
Baker schools
Although absentee rates
among students have been
well above average this
week, schools have contin-
ued to operate despite staff-
ing shortages in some areas,
Superintendent Mark Witty
said Wednesday afternoon,
Jan. 12.
“It’s certainly not business
as usual,” he said.
The absentee rates for
Jan. 12:
• Baker Middle School,
South Baker Intermediate
and Keating Elementary:
21%
• Baker High School: 19%
• Brooklyn Primary: 13%
• Haines: 12%
Those are high percent-
ages, Witty said, but he also
sees the numbers as poten-
County
ment” that the county will
“not be silent” and will not
Continued from A1
comply with the state man-
dates.
our own rights but also the
Martin disputed Nichols
rights of others as well.”
on the legality of Brown’s ex-
Although the work ses-
ecutive orders.
sion was scheduled to con-
“We’re rolling over for ille-
tinue the discussion, and
gaility being exhibited at the
to take public comments
highest levels of state gov-
about, the proposed “con-
ernment,” Martin said.
stitutional county” resolu-
Harvey called the man-
tion, several residents who dates “stupid” and said the
spoke referenced both the
county is not complying
mask and vaccine man-
with all of them, including
dates, as well as how the
requiring audience members
pandemic has harmed the
to wear masks.
local economy and had ef-
“We don’t jump at ev-
fects on local residents, in- erything she tells us to do,”
cluding students.
Harvey said. “We won’t force
Curtis Martin of North
anyone to get a shot that isn’t
Powder called the mandates even a vaccination.”
“totally unconstitutional”
Penny Rienks of Baker
and urged commissioners to City said that if commission-
approve the resolution.
ers don’t approve the “consti-
Doing so, Martin said,
tutional county” ordinance,
would “make a bold state-
“obviously you guys are not
you have to do all this new
input into your system to en-
gage new patients,” Guyer
said. “So that was the initial
problem.”
He said he learned that a
pharmacist at Rite Aid had left
the job, exacerbating the chal-
lenge created by the addition of
dozens of new customers.
“They’re looking. These
folks are looking for replace-
ments for techs but the prob-
lem, again, resides in, OK,
how do you entice people to
come to Baker,” Guyer said.
“That process takes time and
that’s what we’re seeing.”
“They are doing as much as
they possibly can in the time-
frame that they have available
to them,” Guyer said of the
pharmacies.
Councilor Johnny Wag-
goner Sr. suggested people
look into auto refills for pre-
scriptions if their pharmacy
offers that service.
“It makes it easier on them
because they can see it coming
up,” Waggoner said.
Councilor Joanna Dixon
said it takes almost as long to
become a pharmacist as it does
to become a doctor.
“I have a cousin’s wife that
just received her pharmaceu-
tical license this past summer
and she was at it for a long
time,” Dixon said.
Councilors Heather Sells
and Shane Alderson were ab-
sent from the Jan. 11 meeting.
In other business, coun-
cilors:
• unanimously appointed
Doni Bruland to the Public
Works Advisory Committee.
• heard from City Manager
Jon Cannon, who discussed
a concern raised during the
previous meeting about how
DoorDash, a restaurant meal
delivery service, could harm
the city’s existing licensed taxi
business, Elkhorn Taxi, which
also delivers meals.
Cannon said he reviewed
state statutes and Baker Mu-
nicipal Code with the city
attorney, who indicated he
does not believe either would
regulate DoorDash or similar
services.
“At this time, I don’t see
where we would regulate
DoorDash as they’re not a
taxi cab, they’re not a limou-
sine, it’s not a delivery guy,”
Cannon said.
tially positive. They suggest
that students and parents
are heeding the district’s ad-
vice to stay home if they feel
ill — regardless of whether
the symptoms are consistent
with COVID-19 or whether
or not they have been tested.
“We just can’t have stu-
dents and staff at school
at this time if they’re sick,”
Witty said.
As for staffing, the number
of employees who were not
working on Jan. 12:
• Brooklyn Primary: 6
• South Baker Intermedi-
ate: 4
• Baker Early Learning
Center: 4
• Baker High School: 3
• Baker Middle School: 3
• Haines Elementary: 2
In classrooms, Witty said
the district has been able to
fill in for missing teachers
with either substitutes or, in
some cases, principals.
The bigger concern now,
he said, is with the cafeteria
staff.
If the district temporarily
loses one or more additional
staff in that area, Witty said it
might be necessary to make
changes, such as potentially
doing all the cooking at one
site.
No bus drivers were out as
of Jan. 11, but Witty pointed
out that the district has few
substitute drivers, and filling
vacancies on bus routes is
difficult because drivers are
required to have a commer-
cial driver’s license and a cer-
tain level of training.
Witty said the omicron
surge poses a challenge to the
district, but the goal remains
to keep students in class-
rooms.
He lauded district em-
ployees who have filled in as
needed since classes resumed
Jan. 3 following Christmas
break.
“I’ve got to take my hat
off to all the employees who
Saint Alphonsus Medical
Center-Baker City
Baker County’s large in-
crease in test positivity rates
for the virus — from 10.5%
for the week Dec. 26-Jan. 1,
to 20.6% the following week
— has thus far not resulted
in a similarly large increase
in the number of COVID-19
patients at the Baker City
hospital, said Priscilla Lynn,
president and chief nursing
officer for the Baker City
hospital.
“We’re still managing
care for the patients who are
here,” Lynn said on Wednes-
day, Jan. 12.
As was the case during the
delta surge in September, the
Baker City hospital is trans-
ferring COVID-19 patients
who need critical care to
Saint Alphonsus hospitals in
Boise or Nampa, Lynn said.
She said that so far during
the current surge, the Baker
City hospital has admitted
fewer patients for COVID-19
treatment than during the
September surge. She didn’t
have specific numbers.
Lynn said there have been
more people recently, how-
ever, coming to the hospital
to be tested.
She said the hospital
has had staff out due to
COVID-19, but so far other
employees have been able to
cover those absences.
With a small hospital,
however, losing even a few
workers can potentially affect
its ability to continue operat-
ing normally, she said.
Lynn said she’s optimis-
tic that trends seen in other
countries where omicron
started spreading earlier —
a relatively short, but sig-
nificant, surge in infections
but with generally milder
symptoms on average —
will repeat in Oregon and
in Baker County.
“We are getting through
what we hope is a quick
surge,” she said.
standing up for the constitu-
tion of Oregon or the consti-
tution of the United States.”
Bennett said he has
worked as a public servant
for 50 years and that he takes
his oath of office, to uphold
both the state and federal
constitutions, seriously.
But Bennett said the U.S.
Supreme Court, not local
elected officials, decides
what is unconstitutional.
“I promise you that I will
uphold the constitution and
I will uphold my oath office,”
Bennett said. “We can’t have
all of us randomly interpret-
ing the constitution. We’re a
legislative body, we’re not a
judicial body. If you feel that
your constitutional rights
are being violated, there is a
path, and that’s the Supreme
Court.”
Bennett pointed out that
the High Court is expected
to rule soon on a legal chal-
lenge to the vaccine mandate
that the Biden administra-
tion has issued for busi-
nesses with more than 100
employees, and for health
care workers.
Carrie Matthews of Baker
City, who supports the
“constitutional county” res-
olution, told commission-
ers that by approving the
resolution the county has
the power to refuse to com-
ply with mandates, includ-
ing, in reference to masks
and vaccines, “what to wear
and what to ingest into our
bodies.”
“What’s happening right
now is not working,” Mat-
thews said. “It’s going to get
worse.”
See more from the Jan. 12
work session in the Saturday,
Jan. 15 issue of the Baker
City Herald.
Dixon said she had seen the
only places using DoorDash
are McDonald’s and Subway.
“In the spirit of supporting
local businesses, if you don’t
want to go out and pick it up
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yourself, you can call a taxi
and they will deliver it. Pizza
Hut, they’re charging five,
six, seven dollars for delivery.
Taxi, I think they said they are
six dollars,” Dixon said.
Medicare, Auto,
Home Insurance
and Annuities