SPORTS A5
SPORTS A6
Tigers snatch GOL title from Bulldogs
Baker girls beat La Grande for GOL crown
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • HOME & LIVING • SPORTS
QUICK HITS
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Lee Swiger
of Baker City.
BRIEFING
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Speaker to discuss
modernizing irrigation
systems
The Powder Basin Water-
shed Council in Baker City
will have a guest speaker on
March 2 who will talk about
ways to modernize irrigation
systems.
Julie Davies O’Shea, exec-
utive director of the Farmers
Conservation Alliance (FCA)
based in Hood River, will
discuss how her organization
has worked throughout the
West to modernize irrigation
systems benefi ting both agri-
culture and the environment.
Her presentation will start
at 6:30 p.m. at the Sunridge
Inn, 1 Sunridge Lane.
Davies O’Shea will explain
how FCA’s Irrigation Modern-
ization Program creates a path
forward for irrigation districts
to upgrade their infrastructure,
saving water and operating
costs, while restoring streams,
protecting fi sh, and generating
clean, renewable energy. In
addition, she will give an over-
view of recent projects the
organization has worked on
to give an idea of possibilities
and approaches.
“One of our board mem-
bers thought that given the
recent drought, it is an ideal
time to share information
with irrigators and planners
on ways to more effi cient-
ly use our limited water
resources,” said Tim Bailey,
the Watershed Council’s
executive director.
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022 • $1.50
COVID cases down 78% in past month
Baker City Herald
COVID-19 cases have been de-
clining in Baker County for almost
a month.
The Baker County Health Depart-
ment reported 40 cases during the
most recent measuring week, Feb.
13-19.
That’s a 37.9% drop from the previ-
ous week’s total of 60.
Since the week of Jan. 16-22, when
the county set a record high with 183
new cases, cases have plummeted by
78.1%, dropping for four consecu-
tive weeks.
Weekly case totals, and the percent-
age decline, for that period:
• Jan. 23-29 — 165 cases, 9.8% drop
from previous week
• Jan. 30-Feb. 5 — 115 cases, 30.3%
drop
• Feb. 6-12 — 66 cases, 42.6% drop
• Feb. 13-19 — 40 cases, 37.9% drop
The most recent weekly total of 40
was the fewest in a week since Dec. 26-
Jan. 1, when there were 29 cases.
That’s just before the surge caused
by the highly contagious omicron
variant began to spread across Ore-
gon, resulting in record numbers of
cases statewide.
But as has been seen in other coun-
tries where omicron spread earlier, as
well as in the eastern part of the U.S.,
cases tend to drop dramatically after
the omicron wave peaks.
Fund honoring Virginia Kostol
will maintain Chinese Cemetery
Kostol, who died in
2020 at age 94, was
dedicated to historic
Baker City site
tenance of the Chinese Cemetery mill Lane, east of the Campbell
on the east side of Baker City.
Street interchange on Interstate 84,
“Virginia Kostol was a
served as a resting place
vital member to the Baker
for members of the Chi-
County Historical So-
nese community who re-
ciety’s mission, and she
sided in Baker County
served in numerous lead-
from 1880 through 1940.
ership roles,” said Ginger
Many of those remains
Baker City Herald
The Baker County Historical
Savage, president of the
were returned to their
Society and the family of Virginia Baker County Historical
homeland.
Kostol recently announced The
Society. “Her dedication
Today, the only remain-
Kostol
Virginia L. Kostol Fund, an annual to the development and
ing marked grave belongs
fund established through the Ore- maintenance of the Chinese
to Lee Pak Chue, 1882-1938.
gon Community Foundation that Cemetery was unwavering.”
See, Kostol/Page A3
is dedicated to the care and main-
The cemetery, located on Wind-
Today
20/3
Partly sunny
Wednesday
21/3
Partly sunny
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
John Noble Holcomb is the only Baker
County resident to receive the Medal
of Honor, America’s highest military
decoration.
State
resolution
honors
John Noble
Holcomb
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
WEATHER
—————
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The Oregon Health Authority
(OHA) on Friday, Feb. 18, announced
the 45th COVID-19 related death of
a Baker County resident.
The 84-year-old man tested pos-
itive on Feb. 1 and died Feb. 17 at
Saint Alphonsus Medical Center, ac-
cording to OHA. He had underlying
medical conditions.
It was the third COVID-19-re-
lated death in the county during
February.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Baker City’s Chinese Cemetery is just east of Windmill Lane. To get there, drive east on Campbell Street under the freeway and past
the Super 8 Motel and Chevron service station. Turn right on Windmill Lane and head up the hill. The cemetery is just to the left of
Windmill Lane a few hundred yards from Campbell Street.
Baker County’s only recipient
of America’s highest military rec-
ognition — the Medal of Honor
— could have a stretch of high-
way near his hometown dedicated
to his sacrifice.
John Noble Holcomb, who was
born and raised in Richland, was
killed during a firefight in Viet-
nam on Dec. 3, 1968.
Holcomb was 22.
Earlier this year, Steve Bates,
chair of the Committee on Me-
morials and Remembrance,
which is affiliated with the
Vietnam Veterans of America,
emailed the two state legislators
who represent Baker County —
Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, and
Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale — on
behalf of John Duggan, com-
mander of the Veterans of For-
eign Wars post in Halfway.
See, Holcomb/Page A3
Construction prompts changes to school calendars
School will start
a bit later next 2
years, with
slightly shorter
winter break
Baker City Herald
Some Baker schools will
have slightly amended sched-
ules over the next three school
years to accommodate con-
struction projects made pos-
sible by voter approval of a $4
million bond measure in the
May 2021 election.
The Baker 5J School Board
on Thursday, Feb. 17, ap-
proved several changes to
the calendar for the current
school year and for the 2022-
23 and 2023-24 calendars.
The alterations will give
school staff time to pack and
unpack their rooms before
and after construction.
“We are thankful for a
Board that recognized the
need for staff to have some
TODAY
Issue 119
14 pages
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File
Students gather outside Brooklyn Primary School in October 2020.
dedicated time to prepare for
construction in their schools
and to prepare for students to
return to the space when con-
Classified ....................B4-B6
Comics ..............................B7
Community News.............A2
struction is completed,” 5J Su-
perintendent Mark Witty said
in a press release. “This will
ease some potential anxiety
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B8
Home & Living ............B1-B3
and ensure that our students
have the best learning envi-
ronments possible during a
construction phase.”
Horoscope ..............B2 & B4
Letters ...............................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
The district will meet state
requirements for total class-
room hours for all schools.
The one school affected in
the current year is Brooklyn
Primary, which houses stu-
dents from first grade through
third grade.
June 6, 2022, will be the last
day of classes for Brooklyn
students, two days earlier than
for other district schools.
For the 2022-23 school
year, the Baker Early Learn-
ing Center (in the former
North Baker School), Haines
Elementary and South Baker
Intermediate will have two
fewer classroom days than
other district schools.
All schools will start the
2022-23 school year on Sept.
6, 2022, one week later than
previously planned. All
schools will begin the 2022-
23 winter break on Dec. 21,
2022, two days later than
previously planned, because
See, Schools/Page A3
Sports ..................... A5 & A6
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B8