BAKER CITY HERALD • THuRsDAY, JunE 23, 2022 A3
LOCAL
Orpheum
“Baker loves the rally. So we’re trying to bring it back.”
Continued from Page A1
“It had a good solid plan
ready to go, local support,
and the economic impact
to downtown will be huge,”
said Carol Phillips, a BCD
board member.
This most recent grant,
paired with $295,000 from
the Cultural Resources
Economic Fund that was
awarded in April 2021, gets
the ball rolling again on the
project.
“Now we’re starting to
build,” Bonebrake said.
“These two grants have
been spectacular.”
The last bit of asbestos
has to be removed, and a
geotechnical analysis on
the foundation is under-
way to prepare for con-
crete footings, which will
support the structural steel
framework for the balcony,
staircase and fly loft.
“This is the beginning
that people have been wait-
ing for,” Bonebrake said.
Sid Johnson & Co. is the
general contractor.
The timeline
The project began in
May 2016 with a $130,000
donation from David Bur-
ris that enabled Eastern Or-
egon Regional Theatre to
purchase the 1889 building
that housed the first Or-
pheum Theatre, a vaude-
ville stage that grew with si-
lent films and “talkies” into
the late 1950s.
The theater closed in
1956. In 1964 it was re-
modeled into retail space.
After Burris’ donation,
the Orpheum project grew
with grants and donations
that funded feasibility stud-
ies, design plans and asbes-
tos removal.
Total fundraising to date
is $1,116,027.
Of that, $355,527 came
from local gifts and events.
The amount from foun-
dations and public funds
totals $760,480.
Bonebrake is pursuing
more grants for the sixth,
and final, phase.
“The phase after this is
the finish work,” she said.
The total project cost is
estimated to be $2.5 mil-
lion.
The plan
The Baker Orpheum
Theatre will have 325 seats
with a professional stage,
balcony, fly loft, and state-
of-the-art acoustics, sound
and lighting.
The marquee design is
based on the 1930s art deco
style.
Bonebrake said the Or-
pheum will be used for
EORT performances, as
well as local music groups
and other performing arts.
She said the main floor,
with 125 seats, will provide
a space for smaller gather-
ings or presentations.
The Orpheum will also
bring national acts to Baker
City, she said.
This is where Burris’
support comes in again
— he has created a donor
advised fund through Ore-
gon Community Founda-
tion that will support the
Orpheum’s future, such as
underwriting the cost for
national artists to reduce
the price of tickets for local
residents.
Donate
Bonebrake is happy to
talk about the Orpheum
project with interested
groups and individuals.
“I’ll show what we’ve
done,” she said.
To request a presenta-
tion, call Bonebrake at 541-
519-3255.
Monetary donations can
be mailed to EORT, Baker
Orpheum Theatre Fund,
2101 Main St., Suite 113,
Baker City, OR 97814.
BAKER CITY
Abuse suspect to
enter plea Sept. 19
— Brandy Bruce, who works at Shameless Tees in Baker City
Jerry Shaw Jr. was
arrested in March
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Herald, File
Shameless Tees, a business on Main Street in Baker City, is reviving the city’s annual motorcycle rally,
which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and was not slated to happen in 2022.
Rally
Continued from Page A1
Dukes said his goal was to
bring the rally back in 2023.
But Shameless Tees wasn’t
content to wait another year.
“Baker loves the rally,” said
Brandy Bruce, who works at
the store. “So we’re trying to
bring it back.”
Although the Resurrection
Rally has been scheduled
and a website created —
thebcmr.com/ — organizers
are still seeking permission
from the city to close Main
Street during the weekend,
as has been done with past
Hells Canyon rallies.
Bruce said organizers have
talked with many downtown
business owners, and had “an
overwhelmingly positive re-
sponse” to the rally plans.
“We’re trying to get through
to the rest but I think we have
a majority,” she said.
The website has informa-
tion about camping options
for riders on a ranch in Keat-
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Registrants in the Baker City motorcycle rally will get commemorative
gear including a T-shirt, lanyard good for business discounts, a patch,
pin and more from Shameless Tees.
ing Valley, as well as registra-
tion packets.
The Ison House and the
Corner Brick Grill are plan-
ning concerts during the rally,
Bruce said.
More information is avail-
able by calling Shameless Tees
at 541-523-1187. Participants
can register, at Shameless Tees,
1921 Main St., or by calling or
texting 541-921-9114.
A Baker City man ar-
rested in March on multi-
ple sex crime charges is not
scheduled to enter a plea in
the case until Sept. 19.
Jerry Ray Shaw Jr., 40, was
arrested March 21.
He has been in the Baker
County Jail since then.
Baker County Circuit
Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff
set Shaw’s bail at $1 million.
Shaw could be released by
posting 10% of that amount
— $100,000. Shirtcliff also
required that if Shaw posts
bail, a hearing will take
place prior to his release.
A grand jury on March 24
indicted Shaw on 11 felony
counts. If Shaw were con-
victed on all or most counts,
he could be sentenced to
spend more than 30 years in
prison.
The charges include five
counts of first-degree sod-
omy, a Class A felony; two
counts of first-degree un-
lawful sexual penetration,
a Class A felony; and four
counts of first-degree sexual
abuse, a Class B felony.
Each of the three crimes
is a felony, and all are Mea-
sure 11 offenses, meaning
they carry mandatory min-
imum 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 convicted.
First-degree sexual abuse
has a mandatory minimum
of 6 years and 3 months on
each count.
In addition, the case
could potentially involve
“Jessica’s Law for Oregon,”
which the Oregon Leg-
islature 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.
The alleged victim is
a juvenile girl known to
Shaw. The alleged abuse
happened between Jan. 1,
2012, and Dec. 31, 2015,
in Baker City, according to
court documents. The vic-
tim was younger than 14
throughout the period, and
younger than 12 in some
instances.
According to a re-
port from Detective Zach
Thatcher of the Baker City
Police, the investigation
started on the morning of
March 15, when he received
a child welfare report from
the Department of Human
Services documenting the
victim disclosing past sexual
abuse during an interview
earlier that day.
Shaw was arraigned on
the 11 counts in Baker
County Circuit Court on
March 28.
After a status check hear-
ing on June 15, a hearing
was set for Sept. 19 during
which Shaw is scheduled to
enter a plea.
According to a court
record, Shaw’s court-ap-
pointed attorney, Robert
Moon of Baker City, will
have Shaw evaluated. The
record does not specify the
type of evaluation.
Virgene Violet Schlingman
December 17, 1927 - May 25, 2022
Adler
Continued from Page A1
Blair said his father, Alan,
volunteered at the fire depart-
ment.
“So I had a lot of opportuni-
ties to speak with Leo,” David
Blair said.
The Baker City Fire Depart-
ment was a frequent recipient
of Leo’s generosity for much of
his life, and beyond.
He has bought many ambu-
lances for the city and helped
pay for a va-
riety of other
needs, as
Blair noted,
for the de-
partment
over many
decades.
Leo Adler
On the
curb in front
of Adler’s home, a Baker City
Fire Department ladder truck
and ambulance were parked
in homage to the department’s
benefactor.
On the front lawn of the
Adler House Museum, Boy
Scouts cooked burgers and
hot dogs for sale to those who
showed up to honor Adler.
Others offered raspberry
cake, face painting, and a pro-
motion for the Orpheum The-
ater restoration project.
Complimentary tours of
the home were enlightening,
as the house is a piece of art
in itself, a time capsule of not
just memorabilia but an entire
family.
You can imagine Leo him-
self, dining under lamplight,
putting away a book as he
went to bed, living a humble
life that belied the fortune he
amassed through a magazine
distribution business.
What Leo invested in and
thrived on, though, were the
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Leo Adler’s longtime home at 2305 Main St. has been preserved as a
museum. A tour of the home takes in his desk and a wall filled with
awards.
people around him, and es-
pecially those living in Baker
City and Baker County.
Tour guide Steve Bog-
art told his group that in the
1990s Leo said he hadn’t even
been upstairs in the Itali-
anate-style home, built in
1889, in 60 years.
Nearly every item had a his-
tory that Bogart recited, down
to the boards on the floor and
the humble nail where Adler
would hang his hat.
“When they were refin-
ishing, sanding the floors
up here, they figured out
which room had been the la-
dies powder room, the per-
fume smell came up from the
floor,” Bogart said. “When
they sanded the nursery, they
found the corner where they
used to keep the chamber pot.”
While Adler has been gone
for nearly 30 years, his spirit
of giving lives on in those and
many other tales.
Trailer
Continued from Page A1
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
The Baker City Police Department’s new radar speed trailer was set up on D Street near the
Powder River on Wednesday morning, June 22, 2022.
The new trailer has solar panels to power
the sign.
“It’s pretty handy,” Duby said.
Phoebe Wachtel, the police department’s
office manager, said on Wednesday morning,
June 22 that the department had received
multiple requests in the past day or so to have
the trailer moved to a particular part of town.
Duby said the trailer can have a deterrent
effect on speeding drivers, and it helps aug-
ment the department’s workforce. He said
there are typically two patrol officers on duty
at a time, and they often don’t have time to
focus on traffic enforcement.
“We get complaints about people speeding
in school zones, people speeding in certain
neighborhoods, there’s just a lot more com-
plaints than we can address,” Duby said.
It is with great sadness that
we report the death of Virgene
Schlingman, who passed
away on May 25, 2022, at
the age of 94. Virgene was
born on December 17, 1927,
in Bend, OR to John Leslie
Wright and Emma McBride.
Virgene was the 4th of 5
children, Neal, Alvin, James
and Leonard. Virgene spent
over a year alone in the
Shriners hospital in Portland,
OR being treated for her foot. She went back to Portland
later on to attend a business college to be trained as a
bookkeeper and moved back to Redmond, OR to live
and work.
She met her husband, Chuck, at a very early age
when Chuck had come to their home to visit with her
brothers whom he was friends with. Chuck would later
go to Redmond again to visit her brothers, but this time
came to realize that their sister had grown up to be a
very beautiful young woman. Chuck and Virgene would
continue to date long distance (Chuck lived in Gold
Beach, OR) and write many heartfelt letters back and
forth. Chuck was known to have stated at one time that
“It would be a cold day in Hell when he got married.”
Chuck and Virgene were married on January 29, 1950,
in Redmond, OR and the temperature was reported to
be well below zero. Virgene would always claim that
her corsage froze on the way from the church to their
car.
They moved to California so that Chuck could
attend UC Davis Veterinary School. Upon graduation
they moved to Baker, OR and Chuck became partners
with Doc Ragle at the Animal Clinic in Baker. They had
their first child, Denise, in 1955, followed by Wyatt,
Dyrk and Sherrie. Virgene worked at the Animal Clinic
over the years as a part time bookkeeper and full-time
mom. Virgene was involved in many organizations over
the years in Baker which included Beta Sigma Phi and
Soroptimists. She loved to host pinochle parties at their
home and taught all of her children and grandchildren
how to play. She loved to hunt, fish, and in general do
anything that had to do with the outdoors. Each summer
she would pack up her family and spend 1 month
living on a boat in the San Juan Islands. It started with
a 18-foot boat called the Leaky Teaky that they built
themselves and ended with a 40-foot ocean trawler that
they would travel all the way up to Alaska and back on
after Chuck retired. They traveled extensively with their
travel trailer all over the continental US and even into
Mexico.
Virgene loved spending time with her family and
would travel to help with a project or just spend time
with each and every one of them. Virgene loved the Lord,
Jesus Christ, and was a member at the Baker Christian
Church initially and later the Baker City Nazarene. She
taught her family so many long and lasting lessons; one
of these was to “always keep a sense a humor.”
Virgene will be missed by her family and so many
more people as she was known to never refuse a guest at
her house for a meal, no matter what was going on, she
would just set one more place at the table. Virgene was
preceded in death by all of her brothers, her husband
(Chuck) and her daughter (Denise). Virgene is survived
by her son Wyatt (Anne) Schlingman, her son Dyrk
Schlingman, and her daughter Sherrie (Joe) White. She
had 7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren whom
she loved to the very last day and beyond. The family
will be in Baker City at the Geiser-Pollman Park from
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on August 7, 2022, for an informal
celebration of life. They would love to see their old
friends and share stories and memories.