SPORTS A3
OUTDOORS B1
Baker baseball team off to 3-0 start
Hunting hares in their natural habitat
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • OUTDOORS & REC • SPORTS
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Kelsey
Eastman of Baker City.
BRIEFING
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Baker County Library
plans several events for
spring break
The Baker County Library
is planning several special
events for spring break.
On Tuesday, March 22,
there will be a special
spring-themed storytime at
10 a.m., and Friday, March
25, is Teen Game Day from
3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The
library is at 2400 Resort St.
in Baker City.
Tickets on sale for
Powder Valley halibut
feed fundraiser
NORTH POWDER — Tick-
ets are on sale for the
20th-annual Alaskan halibut
dinner, a fundraiser for the
girls basketball and volley-
ball programs at Powder
Valley High School.
The event is set for May
7 in the Powder Valley gym.
There will be four sessions:
1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; 2 p.m. to 4
p.m.; 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and 6
p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30 per plate
and include halibut, baked
potato, coleslaw, bread,
dessert and drink. Tickets
for a hot dog, chips, cookie
and drink meal are $5.
WEATHER
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Today
49/26
Rain likely
Sunday
44/27
Snow showers
Monday
51/35
Morning rain
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2022 • $1.50
Fire damages
building,
vehicles at
city’s public
works facility
CITY ISSUES
WASTEWATER
NOTICE
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Public Works/Contributed Photo
The 70-acre sewage lagoon, the largest of the four lagoons at Baker City’s treatment facility about a mile north of town, was
still frozen on March 9, 2022.
High bacteria levels in
wastewater released into
Powder River north of town
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
B
aker City issued a
notice Thursday
morning, March 17,
urging people to avoid en-
tering the Powder River
or drinking untreated wa-
ter from the river north of
the city’s sewer treatment
lagoons, which are near
Imnaha Road about a mile
north of town.
The warning does not
affect the reach of the river
through Baker City.
Wastewater from the
four lagoons, which is re-
leased into the river, have
contained higher than
usual levels of E. coli bac-
teria, some types of which
can make people ill.
The bacteria is not a
health concern for cattle,
according to a press release
from the city.
The river runs through
private property north of
the lagoons, so there is
little, if any, public access
to or use of the river in
that area.
The city has been re-
leasing wastewater that
exceeds the E. coli concen-
tration limits in its permit
due to a leak discovered
March 7 in a dike on the
largest lagoon, which cov-
ers about 70 acres, said Mi-
chelle Owen, the city’s pub-
lic works director.
City workers plugged
the leak with soil and ben-
tonite, but as a precaution
the city also lowered the
water level in that lagoon
to below the area where
the leak was found, mov-
ing some of the water to
the three smaller lagoons,
each about 10 acres, Owen
said.
Now, the city is releas-
ing into the river about the
same amount of wastewa-
ter that is coming into the
lagoon complex each day,
to avoid overflows from
the three smaller lagoons,
Owen said.
That’s been running at
about 0.9 million gallons
per day, she said.
That’s actually slightly
less water than the city
usually releases into the
river in early spring once
the ice melts off the la-
goons, Owen said. Typ-
ically the city lowers the
reservoir levels to make
space for the higher vol-
umes of wastewater that
start when residents begin
to use more water in the
warmer days of spring.
The wastewater being
released now contains
higher bacteria levels
than usual because the
natural organisms that
consume some of the bac-
teria aren’t yet active due
to recent cold tempera-
tures, Owen said.
Ice still covers the la-
goons, she said.
“We need the ice to
come off, and warmer wa-
ter” to spur the organisms
A fire that apparently started in a ve-
hicle damaged that vehicle and others,
as well as a building at the Baker City
Public Works Department facility at
Seventh and Place streets Wednesday
evening, March 16.
A resident reported the blaze at
about 7:49 p.m., according to the Baker
County Dispatch Center log.
Michelle Owen, the city’s public
works director, said it appears that the
fire started in the engine compartment
of a truck the city uses to clear blockages
in sewer lines, possibly resulting from
an electrical short.
“We sustained substantial damage
to what we call the sewer jetter truck,
and that’s where they believe the fire
started,” Owen said on Friday morning,
March 18.
David Blair of the Baker City Fire De-
partment, who served as incident com-
mander during the blaze, said there was
no indication of arson.
“We believe it was probably a me-
chanical failure in some part of the ve-
hicle,” Blair said on Friday morning,
March 18.
See, Fire/Page A3
Baker City Public Works/Contributed Photo
Baker City Public Works Department employees examine
a valve structure at the city’s sewer lagoon complex on
March 7, 2022.
that help to reduce bacte-
ria levels, Owen said.
The city continues to
treat wastewater with
chlorine, but that dis-
infectant isn’t sufficient
to keep bacterial levels
below the limits in the
city’s wastewater permit,
Owen said.
The city uses sulfur
dioxide to remove the
chlorine from wastewa-
ter before it’s released into
the river.
Owen said the city’s
newly constructed treat-
ment lagoon, which is
east of Interstate 84, isn’t
yet available because the
pipeline that leads from
the current lagoons to the
new facility has not yet
passed a pressure test.
Once that pipeline is
available, the city could
potentially divert waste-
water into the new la-
goon, she said.
More information
about E. coli is available at
www.CDC.gov/ecol.
Owen said the city will
be testing water from the
Powder River upstream
from the lagoons to estab-
lish a baseline of E. coli
levels and compare the
levels there with those in
the wastewater the city
is releasing into the river
downstream.
Wolves kill
working dog
near Halfway
Wolves from two packs
have been mingling in
eastern part of county
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
A wolf or wolves from the Cornu-
copia pack inflicted fatal injuries on
a working dog on a cattle ranch near
Halfway this week.
And a state wildlife biologist who
monitors wolves in Baker County said
wolves from the Cornucopia and Keat-
ing packs — a total of at least 15 animals
— have been making some unusual
movements over the past month or so.
“It makes it harder to predict what’s go-
ing to happen, and it makes it harder on
producers,” said Brian Ratliff, district wild-
life biologist at the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife’s Baker City office.
See, Wolves/Page A2
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
Cascade Natural Gas replacing lines
Project is north of
Campbell Street
project to add wheelchair-ac-
cessible sidewalk ramps.
That project, which is slated
to start Monday, March 21,
Baker City Herald
runs from just east of Cedar
If you’ve seen orange paint
Street to Balm Street, on the
on the streets in parts of Baker
north side of Campbell, Han-
City north of Campbell Street
son said.
the reason, most likely, in-
Tom Fisk, Baker City Pub-
volves natural gas.
lic Works operations supervi-
Cascade Natural Gas Corp.,
sor, said the contractor Cas-
which supplies that fuel to
cade Natural Gas hired is also
the city, is planning to replace
marking the location of city
gas mains and service lines
sewer laterals, which connect
in parts of North Baker City
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald homes to main lines. That’s
starting April 11. The work
A contractor has been marking the location of natural gas lines in north Baker City in preparation for
necessary to avoid puncturing
will continue for an estimated Cascade Natural Gas replacing the service lines.
sewer lines during the natural
five to six months, depending
gas work.
on weather, according to the
Fisk said that although the
about one week, according to lawns, at no cost to the prop- federal Gas Distribution Integ-
company.
city knows where its main
Cascade Natural Gas.
erty owner.
rity Management Program.
In general the area runs
sewer lines are, details about
There will be a short inter-
Residents can do their own
In addition to replacing
between Main and Ninth
the laterals, including the
ruption to gas service, and the repairs, but Cascade Natural
mains and service lines in
streets, and north of Camp-
angle at which they run, is
company will notify custom- Gas won’t reimburse people if neighborhoods, Cascade
bell. Eighth and Ninth Drives, ers about the timing.
they choose that option.
Natural Gas is also moving a not known in all cases so the
north of Baker High School,
data the contractor is gath-
Cascade Natural Gas will
Mark Hanson, a company
4-inch-diameter main sup-
are also included.
ering will help the city in the
fix damage resulting from
spokesman, said the project is ply line on Campbell Street
The work at any specific
future in the event of issues
the line replacements, such
part of its annual pipeline re- as part of the Oregon De-
property will typically take
as holes in sidewalks or in
placement program under the partment of Transportation’s with laterals.
TODAY
Issue 130
12 pages
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
Horoscope ..............B2 & B4
Jayson Jacoby ..................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Outdoors .................B1 & B2
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports .............. A3, A5 & A6
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6