HOME B1
LOCAL A2
SPORTS A6
Put some spice into
your grilling game
OTEC offi cial talks
about recent outage
Scenes from the Baker
City Cycling Classic
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 Frank
Peterman of Baker City.
BRIEFING
—————
Leo Adler Day
celebration June 21
Everyone is invited to
celebrate the birthday of Leo
Adler, the late philanthropist
who left $20 million to
Baker County for college
scholarships and community
projects.
Adler was
born on
June 21,
1895. He
died on Nov.
2, 1993.
The Leo Adler Day
celebration is set for
Tuesday, June 21 from 3
p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Adler
House Museum, 2305
Main St. Residents can
stop by for a piece of cake,
a tour of the museum,
which is in Adler’s former
home, and games and
activities by CASA of
Eastern Oregon and the
Crossroads Carnegie Art
Center. All events are free.
Attendees are encouraged
to honor Adler by bringing a
new, unopened toy or game
to donate to CASA — Court-
Appointed Special Advocates
— whose volunteers help
represent children in the
court system.
The Adler Museum will
also be selling burgers for
$5 and hotdogs for $4
(chips and water included)
as a fundraiser for a “Save
the Nat: Next Generation”
project to replace the Baker
Heritage Museum’s leaking
roof.
WEATHER
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Today
77/45
Sunny
Wednesday
84/49
Sunny
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Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2022 • $1.50
Fire union chief: Morale at ‘all-time low’
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Morale in the Baker City Fire De-
partment is at “an all-time low,” as it
transitions from a dual-role department
that responds to fires and ambulance
calls to a firefighting only agency, the
president of the local firefighters’ union
chapter said on Thursday, June 16.
“We come to work and we realize
we don’t have the support of the ad-
ministration, and that is a very de-
pressing place to be,” said Casey John-
son, who is a firefighter/paramedic.
Johnson said three of his co-workers
have left the department for other jobs
since early April.
Two others are mulling job offers,
he said.
Johnson said the departing employ-
ees were motivated by the City Coun-
cil’s decision to have the city stop oper-
ating ambulances Sept. 30.
Councilors notified Baker County
about that plan on March 22.
They voted to do so after City Man-
ager Jonathan Cannon told councilors
he doesn’t think the city can afford to
continue the ambulance service be-
cause the city isn’t collecting enough
from billing to cover its costs.
Under Oregon law, the county, not
the city, is responsible for providing
ambulance service throughout the
county.
See, Firefighters / Page A5
GEISER-POLLMAN
Human Library brings
personal stories
to life
Gretchen Stadler/
Contributed Photo
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
M
a’Lena Wirth
wasn’t sure
what to talk
about when Gretchen
Stadler asked her to “share
her story.”
“My initial thought was to share my cul-
ture,” said Wirth, who is Latina. “I said
‘where do you want me to start?’”
Stadler’s request to Wirth was to be a
“book” for a Human Library event in Baker
City.
The Human Library was founded more
than 20 years ago in Copenhagen, Den-
mark. Now an international program, its
motto is “unjudge someone.”
The format mimics a library, but with
real people as the books, which readers
can “borrow” to learn more about a topic
through conversation.
Human books are volunteers who have
unique experiences with prejudice, stigma,
or stereotypes.
The Baker City event took place April 9.
But work began much earlier when, in
2021, Gretchen Stadler and Perry Stokes de-
cided to organize a local Human Library.
Stadler helped establish Neighbors of
Baker, which is a story sharing project for
Baker County. Stories from local residents
are then published on the website neighbor-
sofbaker.org.
Stokes is the director of the Baker County
Library District.
From left,
Heather
Rudolph, Alex
Castillo, Barbara
O’Neal, Andy
Micka and
Ma’Lena Wirth
shared personal
stories during a
“Human Library”
event this spring
at the Baker
County Library.
Donated
benches to
be installed
at park
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Events will be
working with Baker City to
place seven donated benches
at Geiser-Pollman Park soon.
Lynette Perry, treasurer
and event planner for Baker
County Events, a nonprofit
organization, said in a press
release that the group is work-
ing with Robert Collins Con-
struction, RD Mac, Natural
Structures, Baker City Man-
ager Jonathan Cannon, the
city parks department and city
councilors to move the project
forward.
“It has been a long pro-
cess organized by Baker City
Events volunteers, but nearing
fulfillment,” Perry said.
One challenge is building
the concrete pads to which
the metal benches, which cost
$1,750 each, will be anchored.
Michelle Owen, the city’s
public works director, said a
concrete truck is so heavy it
could cause damage in the
park, so concrete for the pads
will have to be brought in by
other means, potentially by
wheelbarrow.
“The benches have to be
secured to a concrete pad —
they can’t just be loose in the
park because people would
just take them or throw them
in the river,” Owen said.
The rainy spring has de-
layed work on the concrete
pads, she said.
See, Park / Page A3
Logging
is planned
at Elkhorn
Wildlife Area
Recruiting books
A library in all forms requires books.
The April 9 event had five human books
who, over the course of three hours, had
30-minute conversations with readers.
See, Library / Page A3
Project intended to
boost forage for deer,
elk, reduce fire danger
North Powder looks to expand market
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
NORTH POWDER — Shoppers perused
the offerings while children crafted walking
sticks at a library program during North Pow-
der’s farmers market on Friday, June 17.
The market started June 10 and runs Fri-
days from 9 a.m. to noon in North Powder’s
community park, next to the library and just
below the water tower.
Six vendors set up booths on June 17, and
manager Lindsey Thompson said the park has
room for many more.
“We’re hoping to expand,” she said. “We’re
welcoming anyone who wants to attend.”
Offerings on Friday included local beef, pot-
tery, locally spun yarn, artwork, crafts and more.
“Anything is welcome,” Thompson said.
Cost to be a vendor is 10% of a booth’s daily
sales, with a cap of $20. This is donated back
to the market to support additional activities.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
See, Market / Page A3
TODAY
Issue 17
14 pages
Classified ....................B3-B6
Comics ..............................B7
Community News.............A2
Vendors offered food, arts and crafts at the North Powder farmers market on Friday,
June 17, 2022.
Crossword ...............B3 & B5
Dear Abby .........................B8
Home & Living ............B1-B3
Horoscope ..............B3 & B5
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports ...............................A6
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
The Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife is planning a
logging project this year at the
Elkhorn Wildlife Area west of
North Powder that’s designed
to spur the growth of forage
for elk and deer.
The logging will also yield
about 2 million board-feet
of timber from 414 acres in
the Rogers Creek watershed
and north of the wildlife area
headquarters about nine miles
west of North Powder, said
Dan Marvin, who manages
the Elkhorn Wildlife Area.
The logging area, which
includes ponderosa pine and
mixed conifer forests, is be-
tween the Anthony Lakes
Highway and Tucker Flat
Road, which passes Pilcher
Creek Reservoir.
See, Logging / Page A3
Sudoku..............................B7
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B8