FEBRUARY 9–16, 2022
Read
New
paperbacks
Listen
Fox &
Bones
Join
Tunesmith
Night
PAGE 6
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
Fridays and
ragtime piano
PAGE 8
INSIDE
SPORTS A5
SPORTS A6
Go! Magazine
Arts and entertainment magazine
Tigers best Bulldog
boys, 76-44
Baker tops Tigers
to claim GOL title
Lisa Britton/Go! Magazine
Keith Taylor plays during his Friday gathering on Jan. 21, 2022.
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • BUSINESS & AG LIFE • SPORTS
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 • $1.50
School
chief
expects
masks will
go away
March 31
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Ken
Donicht of Baker City.
BRIEFING
—————
GOP candidate to
speak Feb. 12 in
Baker City
Marc Thielman,
Republican candidate for
Oregon governor, will speak
Saturday, Feb. 12, in Baker
City.
Thielman will speak at
the Baker County Events
Center, 2600 East St. Doors
open at 5 p.m. and the
event starts at 6 p.m.
Thielman, who is
being hosted by Baker
County United, is the
superintendent of the Alsea
School District in Western
Oregon, where he decided
in late January to make face
masks optional, in defi ance
of an executive order from
Gov. Kate Brown.
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Dreams of a field
Kenny Keister/Contributed image
This photo of Wade Williams Field, in the summer of 2021, was after the community pitched in to revitalize the field. The newly formed
Wade Williams Foundation will raise money to maintain this property for Little League games.
Kenny Keister wants to
revamp Wade Williams
Field, where he grew
up playing baseball
Valentine’s Day dinner
at Wolf Creek Grange
NORTH POWDER — The
Wolf Creek Grange in
North Powder is planning
a Valentine’s Day dinner
on Monday, Feb. 14, with
seatings at 4 p.m., 5 p.m.
and 6 p.m.
The romantic, seven-
course meal costs $25
per couple, or $15 for an
individual.
To make a reservation,
call 541-786-3927.
WEATHER
—————
Today
36/18
Mostly sunny
Friday
40/15
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, Masks/Page A3
Florida man
accused of
stealing
2 cars
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
Kenny Keister has great memories of playing base-
ball at Baker City’s Wade Williams Field, and he wants
to give future generations the same experience.
“I was a baseball kid — I marched in all the pa-
rades. A lot of my childhood memories are of Little
League,” he said.
Keister, 31, grew up in Baker City. After moving
back as an adult, he began volunteering with Little
League — umpire, coach, board member.
“I’ve been very involved for the last 10 years,” he
said.
Wade Williams, which is between Myrtle Street and
the Powder River in south Baker City, is owned by the
Baker Elks Lodge, but maintenance and improvements
are the responsibilities of Little League, Keister said.
He wanted to help improve the property, and in
April 2021 he organized a work party.
“I had hundreds of volunteers show up for commu-
nity clean up day,” he said.
Another volunteer, Nick Carey, was inspired by
the baseball facility in John Day, and has helped at
Wade Williams.
“He’s done great,” Keister said of Carey.
But maintenance takes money, as does the dreams
Keister has of renovating Wade Williams to the field
he remembers from his youth.
“It’s going to take an army and a lot of community
support,” he said.
Baker School District stu-
dents and staff likely will start
classes on April 4 without
something that’s been a fix-
ture in classrooms and hall-
ways for more than a year.
Face masks.
The Oregon Health Author-
ity and Oregon Department
of Education announced on
Monday, Feb. 7, that the in-
door mask requirement for
schools will end March 31.
That’s the last day of the
first week of classes follow-
ing spring break for the Baker
School District, which is
scheduled from March 21-25.
The first school day sched-
uled after March 31 is Mon-
day, April 4.
Suspect who
gave false names
identified by
fingerprints
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Kenny Keister/Contributed image
Volunteers at a community clean up day in April 2021
spruced up Wade Williams Field. Work included fixing the
irrigation system.
As a solution, Keister has helped form the Wade
Williams Foundation.
This nonprofit’s first fundraiser was a cornhole tour-
nament in November 2021. Proceeds from that will
purchase benches for the teeball and farm fields.
See, Field/Page A3
A Florida man whom
Baker City Police initially
identified as “John Doe” be-
fore confirming his identity
through fingerprints is ac-
cused of stealing two vehi-
cles, in separate incidents,
and threatening a man in a
motel on Friday, Feb. 4.
Joshua Brandon Williams,
37, of Panama City Beach, is
in the Baker County Jail on
robbery, theft and burglary
charges, among others.
See, Theft/Page A3
CORRECTION
• Agreed to request $66,450
A story in the Jan. 22 issue of
for deaths and injuries to cattle, a
the Baker City Herald mistak-
total of five applications.
enly stated that the Baker County
Bennett noted that in the past
Wolf Depredation Compensation decade, the state has typically
Committee had approved $87,000 awarded only a portion of the
in payments to county ranchers
money the Baker County com-
whose cattle were killed by wolves mittee has requested on behalf of
last year, who have missing cattle, local ranchers.
or as compensation for work they
The biggest differences be-
have done to deter wolves.
tween the amount requested
The committee did approve re- and the amount awarded typi-
quests for that money, but in most cally involves cattle that ranch-
cases the amount the ranchers re- ers report as missing, rather
ceive will depend on how much
than animals that were killed or
money the state allocates, some-
injured by wolves in incidents
thing that hasn’t happened, said
confirmed by the Oregon De-
Mark Bennett, county commis-
partment of Fish and Wildlife,
sioner and a member of the wolf and in requests for range riders
compensation committee.
and other work designed to pre-
The committee did award
vent wolf attacks on livestock.
$13,500, distributed among five
In 2021, for instance, the
applicants, to help pay for range
county requested $45,000 for
riders who try to deter wolves
prevention, and $13,500 was
from attacking livestock on graz- awarded.
ing allotments. That’s out of
In 2019 the county requested
$41,145 that was requested.
$48,199 for missing cattle,
With other applications, the
but the amount awarded was
committee:
$5,891.
• Agreed to request $8,480.80,
In 2016 the county requested
for deaths or injuries to cattle, a
$15,724 for missing cattle, and
total of four applications.
$11,793 was awarded.
BAKER CITY HERALD
TODAY
Issue 115
28 pages
Business .................B1 & B2
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
New Directions to
conduct housing survey
Focus is on
people with
behavioral health
issues, including
the homeless
County Commissioners
on Feb. 2, and sought their
ideas about the project.
“It’s a housing survey, to
find out what their housing
needs are,” Walsh said.
The survey is sched-
uled to take place during
March and April.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
New Directions will use
soconner@bakercityherald.com
New Directions North- a variety of tactics to reach
west of Baker City is plan- people who are the focus of
the survey, Walsh said.
ning to survey local res-
“We’ll put that out
idents with behavioral
through a variety of dif-
health issues, including
those who are homeless, to ferent means whether
figure out what their hous- it’s through Facebook,
our community partners
ing needs are.
working with their cli-
New Directions has re-
ceived a $44,000 grant from ents, as well as trying to
the Oregon Health Author- be visual in different set-
tings where people might
ity (OHA) for the survey.
Andi Walsh, the grants
be that we can hand out
and public relations man- the paper copies of (the
ager for New Directions,
survey), through radio,
gave a presentation about
things like that,” she said
the survey to the Baker
in a phone interview.
Horoscope ..............B3 & B4
Letters ...............................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Walsh said the survey is
intended to reach people
who have housing needs,
including homeless peo-
ple who have behavioral
health issues.
“The target audience
are the folks with a be-
havioral health condition
as well as those service
providers. So, in a sense,
it’s two surveys in one,”
Walsh said.
The timeline is for of-
ficials to compile survey
responses during May,
in conjunction with the
Baker County Housing
Task Force, Walsh said.
That group includes lo-
cal government officials
as well as people from
agencies that work with
people who have behav-
ioral health issues.
See, Survey/Page A3
Sports ..................... A5 & A6
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6