A2 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2022
Local
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
January 29, 1972
CROWLEY, Ore. — The wreckage of a light plane missing
since Dec. 12 was found Friday near here, the Boise Flight
Service station reported.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 29, 1997
Baker County senior citizens may fi nally get the new
activity center they’ve wanted for many years.
The Baker City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to
sponsor an application for a $600,000 federal Community
Development Block Grant to help build the center.
The site for the proposed 9,200-square-foot center is a
two-and-a-half acre lot Baker County Seniors Inc. owns at
2810 Cedar St.
The estimated cost for the center is about $1 million.
The council had two projects to choose from (the
city can sponsor only one). The other was MayDay Inc.’s
proposal to buy a house and use it as a shelter for abused
women and their children.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 30, 2012
Temperatures below 10 degrees on Friday didn’t detour
more than 200 youngsters from bundling up and hitting
the slopes at Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort.
Of course, the cold doesn’t matter much when you’re
maneuvering skis and snowboards up and down the hill.
Every Friday, students from Baker, John Day, North
Powder and Cove board buses for the program “Ski For
the Health Of It” that began Jan. 6. It is for students from
grades 1 to 12.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 30, 2021
The director of Baker County’s Health Department is
optimistic that the county will be ready to start COVID-19
vaccinations for county residents 80 and older the second
week of February.
That’s consistent with the schedule from the Oregon
Health Authority (OHA).
Nancy Staten, the department’s director, said on
Thursday, Jan. 28, that the department and its two
partners that are also administering vaccines, Saint
Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City and the Pine Eagle
Clinic in Halfway, are focusing this week on teachers and
other school employees, child care providers and early
learning workers.
She estimates those groups comprise a few hundred
county residents, although she didn’t have a precise number.
Staten said a vaccination clinic was scheduled for
Friday, Jan. 29, at the health department with about 60
people from those groups set to get the fi rst of their two
doses, while the hospital planned to inoculate about 100
people that day.
Staten said the county received permission from state
offi cials on Sunday, Jan. 24, to start offering vaccinations
to teachers and others in that group.
The previous day the county sent a letter to OHA
affi rming that county residents in what the state calls phase
1A — health care workers, fi rst responders and residents
of assisted living facilities and other long-term group care
centers — had been offered a COVID-19 vaccine.
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SENIOR MENUS
MONDAY (Jan. 31): Chicken strips, mashed potatoes with
gravy, corn, biscuits, pudding, fruit cup
MONDAY (Feb. 1): Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes with
gravy, corn, rolls, green salad, pudding
TUESDAY (Feb. 2): Baked ziti, zucchini and tomatoes, garlic
bread, Jell-O with fruit, cake
WEDNESDAY (Feb. 3): Ham and beans, mixed vegetables,
cornbread, cottage cheese and fruit, brownies
THURSDAY (Feb. 4): Meatloaf, baked beans, corn, rolls,
broccoli-bacon salad, apple crisp
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $5 donation (60 and older), $7.50
for those under 60.
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ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
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Copyright © 2022
COVID
Baker Middle School had
• Brooklyn Primary, four
four of its staff of about 37 out students, no staff, Jan. 18.
Continued from A1
that day.
• Pine Eagle Char-
As with students,
ter School, Halfway,
That’s a testament to stu-
some of the ab-
four students, no
dents and staff wearing masks,
sences are due to
staff, Jan. 19.
washing their hands and fol-
COVID-19, although
• North Pow-
lowing other precautions, as
the district doesn’t
der Charter School,
well as to parents heeding the
know the exact break-
three students, no
district’s advice to keep their
down, Witty said.
staff, Jan. 14.
kids home if they’re ill, Super-
He said the num-
• Haines Elemen-
Witty
intendent Mark Witty said on
CDC/Contributed Photo ber of absent employ-
tary, two students,
Thursday, Jan. 27.
A COVID-19 particle.
ees has remained low enough
no staff, Jan. 9.
“I’m proud of my staff and
that all schools have been able
• Eagle Cap Innovative
the students for doing the right
The absentee percentage, by to continue operating. The sit- High School, one student, no
thing,” Witty said. “We’re not
school:
uation has been in effect bal-
staff, Jan. 16.
perfect but we’re pretty good.”
• Baker Middle School,
anced, he said — as a few em-
The outbreak report also
Witty said the district’s over- 30%. Witty said a few sports
ployees have to stay home, a
lists one outbreak in a Baker
riding goal is to avoid having to teams were quaranting due to similar number of workers who County business — six cases
return, even briefly, to online
COVID-19, which boosted the had been out are able to return at Marvin Wood Products in
classes, known as comprehen- absentee rate at BMS.
to work.
Baker City, with the most re-
sive distance learning (CDL).
• Baker Early Learning Cen-
“We’ve been able to make
cent onset Jan. 16.
“CDL is pretty challeng-
ter (kindergarten), 20%.
it work,” Witty said. “It hasn’t
ing for families,” Witty said.
• Baker High School, 18%.
been easy for sure, and the staff Breakthrough cases
“The staff wants to keep kids
• South Baker Intermedi-
deserves a lot of credit.”
For the most recent week,
in school.”
ate, 14%.
The OHA’s weekly outbreak Jan. 16-22, Baker County had
Witty said the percentage
• Brooklyn Primary, 14%.
report lists case totals for Baker 65 breakthrough cases — in-
of students absent on Thurs-
• Keating Elementary, 8%.
County-area schools over the
fections in fully vaccinated
day, Jan. 27, was lower in
• Haines Elementary, 2%.
past month.
residents — out of 183 total
most district schools than the
Employees being absent,
• Baker High School, 20 stu- cases, a rate of 35.5%.
previous week.
rather than students, is the
dents, two staff, most recent
The breakthrough case
He said the percentages in- biggest threat to continuing
onset of symptoms, Jan. 20.
rates for the previous two
clude all students missing for in-person schools, Witty said.
• Baker Middle School, 15
weeks were 31.8% and 38.5%.
any reason — some, he said,
On Thursday, Jan. 27, the
students, no staff, Jan. 19.
The statewide break-
certainly are due to either a
school with the most staff out
• South Baker Interme-
through case rate for Jan. 16-
COVID-19 positive test or a
was South Baker, with seven
diate, six students. no staff,
22 was 28%, up from 21% the
possible exposure.
from a total of about 45.
Jan. 19.
previous week.
Oregon hospitals strained under near-record
COVID-19 cases even as new infections wane
health officer and state ep-
idemiologist. “What makes
Oregon hospitals are seeing these losses more painful is
a surge in COVID-19 cases
that nearly all our most re-
caused by the omicron vari-
cent deaths could have been
ant, even as the state is seeing prevented by COVID-19 vac-
the initial signs of a drop in
cines, which remain the best
reported new infections, pub- protection against serious ill-
lic health agencies reported
ness and death.”
Thursday, Jan. 27.
Unvaccinated Oregonians
The Oregon Health Au-
make up the majority of severe
thority reported that 1,130
cases and deaths. The Centers
people in state hospitals have for Disease Control and Pre-
tested positive for COVID-19, vention reported earlier this
a jump of 69 cases in one day. week that Americans 65 and
The record of 1,178 people in older who are not vaccinated
Oregon hospitals was set Sept. are 49 times more likely to
1, when the delta wave that
be infected and require hos-
began in late June peaked.
pitalization than those who
Oregon Health & Science
have received the full course
University forecasted last
of vaccine and booster recom-
week that the number of hos- mended for adults.
pitalizations would peak at
Data shows that Oregon is
1,553 on Tuesday, Feb. 1.
showing signs of following the
There were 169 COVID-19
nationwide trend of hitting a
positive patients in intensive
peak in omicron-driven in-
care unit beds on Thursday, Jan. fections followed by a steep
27, up from 155 the day before. drop-off.
OHA reported 19 new
Oregon’s hospitalization spi-
deaths on Thursday, bring-
ral comes as reported new in-
ing the state total since the
fections dropped to 7,781 on
beginning of the pandemic
Thursday, Jan. 27, down from
two years ago to 6,067. OHA 8,207 in Wednesday’s report.
noted the fatality milestone
The state tallied 10,034 new
on Wednesday.
infections in its Jan. 20 re-
“We’ve lost mothers and
port. The percentage of tests
fathers, sisters and brothers.
that were positive dropped to
Coworkers and neighbors.
23.6% on Thursday, Jan. 27,
These losses pain all of us,”
down from the previous day’s
said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state average of 24.9%
BY GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Multnomah County, the
state’s most populous, had
1,101 new cases. Marion (989),
Washington (936), Lane (869),
Clackamas (522) and De-
schutes (454) followed.
The counties with the
highest number of cases over
the previous week, adjusted
for population, were Sher-
man, Jefferson, Wheeler,
Crook and Wasco.
Morrow County had the
highest positive test rate at
52.3%, followed by Wheeler
(50%); Malheur (44.1%); Curry
(42.2%); Douglas (38.1%) and
Wallowa (37.2%).
Oregon is hoping to soon
join the parts of the country
where the wave hit and peaked
earlier and is now receding.
New infections are down
21% nationwide compared
to two weeks ago, according
to an ongoing survey by The
New York Times. Data shows
31 of 50 states reported fall-
ing case rates.
Hospitals reported the num-
ber of COVID-19 patients had
slowed to a 5% increase com-
pared to 14 days ago.
Deaths, which have been a
lagging indicator throughout
the pandemic, are up 34% over
the same period.
A total of 878,220 people
in the United States have died
from COVID-19, the most
of any country among the
more than 5.63 million killed
worldwide, according to the
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus
Resource Center.
Federal officials had said
over the weekend that enough
data had come in to be able to
say the decline in cases was a
nationwide trend.
“Things are looking good,”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s
top infectious disease expert,
said Sunday, Jan. 23. “We don’t
want to get overconfident, but
they look like they’re going in
the right direction right now.”
Health officials have in-
creasingly shifted to the idea
that COVID-19 surges are less
likely in the future as vaccina-
tion and exposure to the virus
leave fewer Americans with
no defenses.
COVID-19 could become
endemic — a permanent but
cyclical part of life that can be
managed but not eradicated.
Local Briefing
Taco Tuesdays fundraiser for Brooklyn School
Brooklyn Primary School is again organizing a Taco Tues-
day fundraiser in February in place of its traditional taco feed
event organized by the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization.
Throughout the month, four restaurants will donate a per-
centage of their proceeds every Tuesday to Brooklyn. Partici-
pating businesses are D&J Taco Shop, El Erradero, Delicioso
Mexican Restaurant, and MC Taco Bus.
Brooklyn students will also sell raffle tickets throughout
the month ($1 each, six for $5, or 25 for $20).
Raffle winners will be drawn live on Zoom on Thursday,
Feb. 24. Winners can pick up their items on Friday, Feb. 25,
from Brooklyn Primary, 1350 Washington Ave.
The school houses students from first, second and
third grades.
OSU Extension offers online science workshops
The Oregon State University Extension Office is offering on-
line “Explore 4-H Science” workshops each Tuesday in Febru-
ary from 4:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Registered participants will receive a kit with all the materials
needed for the 45-minute session. The kits are free to partici-
pating county residents who can pick them up at the local Ex-
tension Office.
Registration is required for each class, and space is limited.
Register online at https://bit.ly/4HVIRTUALSTEM.
Here is the schedule:
• Feb. 1 — Light it Up!: Explore simple circuits and create
your own wand.
• Feb. 8 — Cooking Chemistry: Mix up something fun and
yummy.
• Feb. 15 — Engineering Challenge: Create a DIY that’s part
slingshot and part crossbow.
• Feb. 22 — Chemistry is Cool!: Explore chemical reactions
to create something fun.
Happy
50 th
Anniversary
Gary and Pat Young!
Come help us celebrate their
50 years with an open house!
Saturday, February 12th
2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Veteran’s Memorial Club
2005 Valley, Baker City
News of Record
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
INTOXICANTS: Laif Robert Edison, 24,
Baker City, 8:46 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27,
in the 1000 block of Place Street.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
PROBATION VIOLATION: Paul Lloyd
Niehaus, 54, Baker City, 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, Jan. 27, on Schoolhouse
Road; jailed.
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
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