MARCH 23–30, 2022
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
Traveling exhibit honors
MARK O.
HATFIELD
PAGE 8
See
BMCC
art show
Read
‘Incurable
Women’
Listen
Humbird
in concert
PAGE 4
PAGE 6
PAGE 12
Oregon Historical Society/Contributed image
“The Call of Public Service: The Life and
Legacy of Mark O. Hatfield” includes three
kiosks, each discussing causes he found
important during Hatfield’s 46-year career.
INSIDE
LOCAL & STATE A3
SPORTS A6
Go! Magazine
Arts and entertainment magazine
Exploring the history of
John Day’s totem pole
Bulldogs tie with
Manitou Springs
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • BUSINESS & AG LIFE • SPORTS
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Larry
Plumbtree of Baker City.
BRIEFING
—————
Baker Relief Nursery
plans open house on
March 30
The Baker Relief Nurs-
ery, 1925 16th St., will be
celebrating its fi rst year of
operation during an open
house on Wednesday, March
30, from noon to 1 p.m. and
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The public is invited to
tour the facility and visit with
the team. Staff will also be
sharing their fi rst Annual
Impact Report.
For more information call
541-523-5054 or email at
info@bakerreliefnursery.org.
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2022 • $1.50
City might stop ambulance service Sept. 30
“Baker City finds itself unable to
demand more from its taxpayers to
provide a service that is the state-man-
Citing an unsustainable and unfair dated responsibility of Baker County,”
financial burden on city taxpayers, the Cannon wrote in a letter to commis-
Baker City Council on Tuesday, March sioners dated March 22.
22, voted 6-0 to tell City Manager Jon
The city would continue to respond
Cannon to notify the Baker County
to fires even if it ceased ambulance ser-
Board of Commissioners that the city vice.
intends to cease providing ambulance
Councilor Shane Alderson said the
services, including within the city lim- situation “is an awful position to fall
its, as of Sept. 30, 2022.
on this council.”
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER AND
JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
Whether the city will actually end
ambulance service Sept. 30 is uncer-
tain.
Cannon said in a phone interview
on Wednesday, March 23, that his
conversation with councilors might
have been different had the county
sent a proposed one-year contract
for ambulance services, including
a proposed county contribution of
$130,000, prior to Tuesday’s meeting.
County Commissioner Bruce
Open house April 9 at
Baker Rural fi re station
The Baker Rural Fire
Department will have an
open house on Saturday,
April 9, at its new station,
3855 23rd St., from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
WEATHER
—————
Today
62/34
Mostly sunny
Friday
67/35
Mostly sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
See, Ambulance/Page A3
Kenyon
Damschen
appointed
to Baker
City Council
Lenten Retreat at
St. Francis de Sales
Cathedral
St. Francis de Sales
Cathedral Parish is present-
ing a Lenten Retreat with
Fr. Bailey Clemons, starting
with Stations of the Cross on
Friday, April 1 at 5 p.m. and
continuing on Saturday, April
2 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
If you would like attend, call
the St. Francis parish offi ce
at 541-523-4251 or email
to offi ce@sfdsc.org.
Nichols said in a phone interview
on Wednesday morning, March 23,
that the county had prepared the
proposed one-year contract, start-
ing with the new fiscal year on July 1,
2022, that would maintain the Baker
City Fire Department as the local
ambulance service provider and in-
clude the $130,000 county payment
to the city.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Oliver Brown, left, and siblings June and Colton Weaver joined a crowd of other youngsters at Geiser-Pollman Park on
March 22, 2022.
Spring surprise
After a typical dismal
start, with wind and
snow, the season
quickly turns balmy
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
S
pring, that most
treacherous of seasons,
put on a predictable debut.
First a chilly north wind on the equinox
itself.
Then the first full day — of spring and of
the weeklong vacation for Baker students —
started with snow flurries.
But unlike some previous breaks marred
by similarly dismal weather throughout, the
2022 version quickly turned tranquil.
See, Spring/Page A2
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Oliver and Sydney Brown spent a sunny afternoon at Geiser-
Pollman Park on March 22, 2022. It was the warmest day in
Baker City since October 2021.
The Baker City Council’s latest va-
cancy didn’t remain vacant nearly as
long as the previous one.
Councilors appointed Kenyon
Damschen on Tuesday evening,
March 22, during their regular meet-
ing at City Hall.
Damschen replaces Heather
Sells, who resigned
March 1 because she
is moving out of the
city and is no longer
eligible to serve as a
councilor.
Damschen will be
sworn in at the next
council meeting, set
Damschen
for April 12.
The City Council was missing
its seventh member for about four
months last year after Lynette Perry
resigned in August 2021 due to health
issues. After several 3-3 votes on mo-
tions to appoint a replacement, coun-
cilors picked Dean Guyer on Dec. 14.
Replacing Sells took less time, but
it did require more than one round of
voting before one candidate received
at least the four votes needed to be ap-
pointed.
Councilors had five candidates to
consider Tuesday — Damschen, who
applied earlier in the week, along with
Matthew Diaz and Danika Sinram,
both of whom applied March 7, and
Ray Duman and Marvin Sundean,
who applied in December.
On the first vote, Councilors Jo-
anna Dixon, Johnny Waggoner Sr. and
Shane Alderson voted for Damschen.
Mayor Kerry McQuisten voted
for Diaz.
Councilors Guyer and Jason Spriet
voted for Duman.
After those results were tallied,
both McQuisten and Spriet decided to
change their votes to Damschen, giv-
ing him five votes.
See, Council/Page A2
Baker City man arrested on sex abuse charges
Shaw is charged with 10
total counts — four counts
of first-degree sodomy, four
A Baker City man was ar-
counts of first-degree sex
rested Monday afternoon,
abuse, and two counts of un-
March 21, on multiple sex
lawful first-degree sexual pen-
crime charges that, were
etration with an object.
he convicted on all or most
Shaw was arraigned on
counts, could result in a prison
Tuesday afternoon, March
sentence of more than 30
22, in Baker County Circuit
years.
Court. Baker City attorney
Jerry Ray Shaw Jr., 40, was
Bob Moon was appointed to
arrested at the Baker City
represent Shaw, who requested
Police Department at about
a court-appointed lawyer.
4:30 p.m. and taken to the
Greg Baxter, Baker County
Baker County Jail, according
to a press release from the Po- district attorney, said he will
present the case to a grand
lice Department.
The alleged victim is a juve- jury.
Judge Matt Shirtcliff set
nile girl, according to the press
release. According to court re- Shaw’s bail at $1 million.
cords, Shaw knew the alleged Shaw could be released by
posting 10% of that amount
victim. The investigation is
— $100,000. Shirtcliff also re-
continuing.
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 132
28 pages
Business .................B1 & B2
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
quired that if Shaw posts bail, a
hearing will take place prior to
his release.
Shaw is scheduled to enter a
plea in Baker County Circuit
Court on April 14 at 1:30 p.m.
The alleged abuse happened
between Jan. 1, 2012, and Dec.
31, 2015, in Baker City, ac-
cording to court documents.
The victim was younger than
14 throughout the period, and
younger than 12 in some in-
stances.
According to Oregon Re-
vised Statutes, first-degree
unlawful sexual penetration
involves a victim younger than
12 or a victim who is “inca-
pable of consent by reason of
mental incapacitation, physi-
cal helplessness or incapability
of appraising the nature of the
Community News.............A2
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
victim’s conduct.”
First-degree sexual abuse in-
volves a victim who is younger
than 14 or is “incapable of
consent by reason of mental
incapacitation, physical help-
lessness or incapability of ap-
praising the nature of the vic-
tim’s conduct.”
Each of the three charges is
a felony, and all are Measure 11
offenses, meaning they carry
mandatory minimum prison
sentences on conviction.
First-degree sodomy and
first-degree sexual penetra-
tion both have mandatory
minimum sentences of 8 years
and 4 months for each count
on which a defendant is con-
victed.
First-degree sexual abuse
has a mandatory minimum of
Horoscope ..............B2 & B4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports ...............................A6
6 years and 3 months on each
count.
In addition, the case could
potentially involve “Jessica’s
Law for Oregon,” which the
Oregon Legislature passed in
2006. That law includes a 25-
year mandatory minimum
prison sentence for people
convicted of first-degree sex
crimes against a child younger
than 12.
According to a report from
Detective Zach Thatcher of the
Baker City Police, the investi-
gation started on the morning
of March 15, 2022, when he
received a child welfare report
from the Department of Hu-
man Services documenting
the victim disclosing past sex-
ual abuse during an interview
earlier that day.
Sudoku..............................B5
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6