BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, JunE 25, 2022 A3
LOCAL, STATE & NATION
Justices expand right to carry guns
President Biden
‘deeply disappointed’
by 6-3 ruling
ALSO
• Roe v. Wade overturned; abortion
rights set to diverge in Oregon,
Idaho and other states, A6
BY JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a ma-
jor expansion of gun rights after a
series of mass shootings, the Su-
preme Court said Thursday, June
23 that Americans have a right to
carry firearms in public for self-de-
fense, a ruling likely to lead to more
people legally armed. The decision
came out as Congress and states
debate gun-control legislation.
About one-quarter of the U.S.
population lives in states expected
to be affected by the ruling, which
struck down a New York gun law.
The high court’s first major gun
decision in more than a decade
split the court 6-3, with the court’s
conservatives in the majority and
liberals in dissent.
Across the street from the
court, lawmakers at the Capitol
sped toward passage of gun legis-
lation prompted by recent massa-
cres in Texas, New York and Cal-
ifornia. Senators cleared the way
for the measure, modest in scope
but still the most far-reaching in
decades.
Also Thursday, underscoring
the nation’s deep divisions over
the issue, the sister of a 9-year-old
girl killed in the school shooting
in Uvalde, Texas, pleaded with
state lawmakers to pass gun legis-
lation. The Republican-controlled
legislature has stripped away gun
restrictions over the past decade.
President Joe Biden said in a
statement he was “deeply disap-
pointed” by the Supreme Court rul-
ing. It “contradicts both common
sense and the Constitution, and
should deeply trouble us all,” he said.
He urged states to pass new
laws. “I call on Americans across
the country to make their voices
heard on gun safety. Lives are on
the line,” he said.
New York law
The decision struck down a
New York law requiring people
to demonstrate a particular need
for carrying a gun in order to get
a license to carry a gun in a con-
Philip Kamrass/Associated Press, File
The U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision on June 23, 2022, ruled that Ameri-
cans have a right to carry guns in public for self-defense.
cealed way in public. The justices
said that requirement violates
the Second Amendment right to
“keep and bear arms.”
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote
for the majority that the Constitu-
tion protects “an individual’s right
to carry a handgun for self-de-
fense outside the home.” That
right is not a “second-class right,”
Thomas wrote. “We know of no
other constitutional right that an
individual may exercise only after
demonstrating to government of-
ficers some special need.”
California, Hawaii, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey and
Rhode Island all have laws similar
to New York’s. Those laws are ex-
pected to be quickly challenged.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y.,
said the ruling came at a particu-
larly painful time, with New York
mourning the deaths of 10 people
in a shooting at a supermarket in
Buffalo. “This decision isn’t just
reckless. It’s reprehensible. It’s not
what New Yorkers want,” she said.
Gun control groups called the
decision a significant setback. Mi-
chael Waldman, president of the
Brennan Center for Justice and
an expert on the Second Amend-
ment, wrote on Twitter that the
decision could be the “biggest ex-
pansion of gun rights” by the Su-
preme Court in U.S. history.
Republican lawmakers were
among those cheering the decision.
Tom King, president of the plaintiff
New York State Rifle and Pistol As-
sociation, said he was relieved.
“The lawful and legal gun owner
of New York State is no longer go-
ing to be persecuted by laws that
have nothing to do with the safety
of the people and will do nothing
to make the people safer,” he said.
“And maybe now we’ll start going
after criminals and perpetrators of
these heinous acts.”
Public opinion
The court’s decision is some-
what out of step with public opin-
ion. About half of the voters in
the 2020 presidential election said
gun laws in the U.S. should be
made more strict, according to AP
VoteCast, an expansive survey of
the electorate. An additional one-
third said laws should be kept as
they are, while only about 1 in 10
said gun laws should be less strict.
About 8 in 10 Democratic vot-
ers said gun laws should be made
more strict, VoteCast showed.
Among Republican voters,
roughly half said laws should be
kept as they are, while the remain-
ing half closely divided between
more and less strict.
In a dissent joined by his liberal
colleagues, Justice Stephen Breyer
focused on the toll from gun vi-
olence.
Since the beginning of this year,
“there have already been 277 re-
ported mass shootings — an av-
erage of more than one per day,”
Breyer wrote. He accused his col-
leagues in the majority of acting
“without considering the poten-
tially deadly consequences” of their
decision. He said the ruling would
“severely” burden states’ efforts
to pass laws “that limit, in various
ways, who may purchase, carry, or
use firearms of different kinds.”
Several other conservative jus-
tices who joined Thomas’ major-
ity opinion also wrote separately
to add their views.
Justice Samuel Alito criticized
Breyer’s dissent, questioning the
relevance of his discussion of mass
shootings and other gun death
statistics. Alito wrote that the
court had decided “nothing about
who may lawfully possess a fire-
arm or the requirements that must
be met to buy a gun” and nothing
“about the kinds of weapons that
people may possess.”
“Today, unfortunately, many
Americans have good reason to
fear they will be victimized if they
are unable to protect themselves.”
The Second Amendment, he said,
“guarantees their right to do so.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined
by Chief Justice John Roberts,
noted the limits of the decision.
States can still require people to
get a license to carry a gun, Kava-
naugh wrote, and condition that
license on “fingerprinting, a back-
ground check, a mental health
records check, and training in
firearms handling and in laws re-
garding the use of force, among
other possible requirements.”
Backers of New York’s law
had argued that striking it down
would lead to more guns on the
streets and higher rates of violent
crime. Gun violence, on the rise
during the coronavirus pandemic,
has spiked anew. Gun purchases
have also risen.
In most of the country gun own-
ers have little difficulty legally car-
rying their weapons in public. But
that had been harder to do in New
York and the handful of states with
similar laws. New York’s law, in
place since 1913, says that to carry
a concealed handgun in public, a
person applying for a license has
to show “proper cause,” a specific
need to carry the weapon.
Byway
Continued from A1
Chelsea Judy, marketing man-
ager at Anthony Lakes, said 120
inches of snow has fallen at the ski
area since the resort closed for the
season the first weekend of April —
an amount that would be respect-
able for the same period in the mid-
dle of winter.
“It’s been a crazy spring,” Story
said, “with the late snow and these
really cool temperatures.”
The lingering snow is a tangible
effect of the trend, and one that had
prevented travelers from complet-
ing the 106-mile Elkhorn Drive,
which circles its namesake range
and passes through Baker City,
Haines, Granite and Sumpter.
Although warmer temperatures
earlier this week melted snow from
about a mile of the byway, Story
said that when he drove up on June
22, the route was blocked by snow
between the upper Crawfish Basin
trailhead and near Grande Ronde
Lake, just west of Anthony Lakes.
That section includes the high-
est parts of the byway, capped by
Elkhorn Summit about two miles
west of Anthony Lakes. At 7,392
feet, it’s the second-highest point
on a paved road in Oregon, behind
only the Rim Drive in Crater Lake
National Park, which ascends to
7,900 feet.
With one lane opened on Friday,
it’s likely that the complete open-
ing of the byway will happen about
a month later than in 2021, and
around two weeks later than usual.
The Forest Service doesn’t plow
snow from the byway.
But Anthony Lakes Moun-
tain Resort, which has a certain
amount of experience in moving
snow around, starting last year
offered to use its equipment to
punch through remaining drifts
when the byway was almost clear.
Although the byway opening is
unusually late this year, Story thinks
it might have been later still but
for a project he coordinated sev-
eral years ago that had nothing to
do with snow but yielded an unex-
pected benefit.
He hired a contractor to cut
small trees — with a diameter of
Dan Story/Contributed Photo
Lingering snowdrifts on the Elkhorn Drive Scenic Byway near the upper Crawfish Basin trailhead on June 22, 2022.
less than nine inches — within six
feet of the shoulder of the byway
between Crane Flats, a few miles
north of Granite, and the Elkhorn
Summit.
The purpose was to get rid of
tree branches that impeded drivers’
views on the curvy byway, Story
said.
But since the work was done in
2016, Story said he’s noticed that
snow doesn’t accumulate to quite
such prodigious depths in some
places, and it seems to melt earlier
— he estimates the difference at 10
to 14 days.
He figures that removing the
roadside trees, besides extending
drivers’ sightlines, exposed the by-
way to more sunlight, hence the ac-
celerated snowmelt.
Story notes that this effect is
muted, however, when snow is ac-
tually falling, as it did on many days
this spring.
Other roads, other issues
The Elkhorn Drive wasn’t
the only road on the forest still
blocked by snow earlier this week,
Story said.
The rough route to Marble
Creek Pass west of Baker City is
impassable on the east (Baker
Library
Continued from A1
“Now we have a phone on-site that kids can
use to check in with their parents when they’re
here at the library or in the park, seniors can
use to schedule bus rides from Community
Connections, and anyone can use in an emer-
gency or to stay in-touch with family and
friends anywhere in the country,” Stokes said.
He said he’s also excited about the placement
of the new phone — it’s outside, on the east
City) side of the pass.
The culprit here is an excep-
tionally deep drift that tends to
plug the pass itself, where the road
follows a narrow gap in the stone.
The west side of the pass, ac-
cessed from Sumpter Valley and
on a much sunnier southwest ex-
posure, is accessible.
In eastern Baker County, snow
continues to block the last mile
or so of Forest Road 66 leading to
Fish Lake, a popular campground
and angling destination north of
Halfway.
Above Cove, the 6220 road run-
ning north from Moss Springs
toward Mount Harris and Point
Prominence is also closed, Story
said.
Some other popular routes are
open, however, including Forest
Road 39, the Wallowa Mountain
Loop Road, which leads north
from Highway 86 east of Halfway
to near Joseph.
The Blue Mountain Scenic By-
way from Granite to Ukiah is also
open.
Besides the persistent snow,
Story, who has worked on the
Wallowa-Whitman for 31 years,
said this spring has been notewor-
thy for the amount of debris he’s
side of Resort Street near the entrance to the li-
brary’s north parking lot.
“This provides enhanced privacy for callers,
and less disruption to the library from loud
talkers,” Stokes said.
The phone is under a blue hood, and the
unit is made of industrial-grade stainless steel
and fiberglass designed to protect against
weather and vandalism.
The library district spent about $2,200 from
its general fund to buy and install the phone.
The district will spend about $300 per year for
seen on forest roads.
The detritus includes rocks as
well as fallen trees.
Story said an infestation of fir
engraver insects has killed many
white fir trees, and the combina-
tion of strong winds on dead firs,
bearing loads of heavy, wet spring
snow, led to what he called an “ex-
cessive” number of trees toppling
across roads.
Other than one year in the
1990s, Story said the treefall has
been heavier this spring than any
other year in his tenure.
He also noted — as campers
and other outdoor enthusiasts
undoubtedly did — that some of
the soggier storms happened on
weekends.
Story said he’s found several
places where people driving on
saturated roads left deep ruts that
channel water onto the road and
prevent it from draining.
“There’s been a lot of damage to
our road system,” he said.
Story recommends forest users,
who will be out in larger numbers
with the summery weather that
began this week and is forecast to
continue through the Fourth of
July weekend, to expect possible
debris as they ply forest roads.
the subscription that routes calls through the
internet system.
Upcoming projects
The library’s facilities plan includes a major
roof repair at the Baker City branch, and an out-
door solar-powered charging station where the
public can charge cellphones and other devices.
Stokes expects work on the roof to start
within two to three weeks and be finished by
fall, and the charging station has been ordered
but there is no delivery date at this point.
Sentence
Continued from A1
Adair was returned from Coffee Creek to
the Baker County Jail on May 25 at the request
of her attorney, Robert Whitnah of Baker City,
prior to the Wednesday sentencing, Baker
County District Attorney Greg M. Baxter said.
Adair has been in custody, either in the
Baker County Jail or at Coffee Creek, since
early October 2021, Baxter said.
Prior to sentencing Adair, Shirtcliff noted
her recurring criminal history, most recently
an Oct. 6, 2021, incident in which she entered
a home in Baker City while the couple who
lived there were home.
Adair pleaded guilty on Wednesday to
first-degree burglary, a Class A felony, in
that case. She was sentenced to 26 months in
prison on that charge, Baxter said.
Two other charges, for third-degree theft
and second-degree criminal trespassing, were
dismissed.
The resident of the home took cellphone
videos showing Adair in his backyard on the
evening of Oct. 6, 2021.
According to a police report, when the res-
ident confronted Adair and told her to drop
the items she was holding, she claimed the
items belonged to her.
Baker City Police arrested Adair at about
1:23 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2021.
The rest of the 73-month sentence includes
the 17 months on the Union County theft,
and 30 months on a first-degree burglary con-
viction in Baker County in 2021. That prison
sentence was initially suspended, Baxter said.
Shirtcliff imposed the three prison sen-
tences — 26, 17 and 30 months — to run
consecutively, yielding the total term of 73
months.
Baxter said he argued for the sentences to
run consecutively rather than concurrently —
in which case Adair would have served a max-
imum of 30 months, the longest of the three
terms — because “there were separate victims
and she had been given multiple opportunities
to better herself while on probation.”
The 30-month sentence was based on Adair
pleading guilty April 23, 2021, to first-degree
burglary. She admitted spending a night in
the Eldorado Motel in Baker City in February
2021, without paying for it, according to court
records.
Failures to comply with probation terms
Baxter said Adair had been ordered to
complete substance abuse treatment and par-
ticipate in the Baker County Mental Health
Court, which offers mental health services to
people, most of whom are on probation, but
she failed to do either.
“She had every opportunity,” Baxter said.
Adair’s history of failing to comply with
probation requirements is outlined in two re-
ports from probation officer Debbi Wray, one
from June 15, 2021, the other from Oct. 14,
2021.
Adair was on probation at the time for the
Eldorado Motel incident and for convictions
in 2020.
In the June 15 report, Wray writes that “Ms.
Adair has failed to engage in any of her treat-
ment recommendations.”
Adair tested positive for methamphetamine
and marijuana on May 18, 2021, and she failed
to report to her probation officer on April 26
and May 4, according to Wray, who had su-
pervised Adair’s probation since August 2020.
“She was referred to employment services
but due to pain, she states she cannot work,”
Wray wrote in the June 15 report. “Ms. Adair
went through the process and qualified for so-
cial security disability, which she did on her
own less than a year ago. Ms. Adair exhibits
the ability to get things done if it’s something
she wants. I believe Ms. Adair does need men-
tal health and addiction treatment but getting
her to engage has been ineffective. Unfortu-
nately, Ms. Adair is unable to count on family
for support, money or housing. Family mem-
bers that live out of state have contacted me
but do not want to give her money unless she
‘is clean’ and ‘doing good.’ ”
Baxter said Adair lived in the Boise area be-
fore moving to Baker City.
In the Oct. 14, 2021, report, Wray wrote
that Adair had again failed to attend required
drug treatment.
“She has been provided a place to live twice
in which she was asked to leave for violation
of curfew and drug use,” Wray wrote. “She was
presented with the possibility of transition
housing for women, clean and sober housing,
upon successful completion of treatment as
encouragement to make good choices.”
Two arrests in 2019 lead to prison term
Adair’s first arrest in Baker County was
in February 2019, when her address was in
Boise.
Adair and Deylen Scott Loos of Merid-
ian, Idaho, were found in a home on Vande-
car Road in Durkee that was supposed to be
empty.
A local resident who knows the homeowner
called police and then went to the home with
a friend, who had a shotgun.
Eric Colton of the Baker County Sheriff’s
Office arrested Adair and Loos.
While charges from the Durkee case were
pending, Adair was arrested in April 2019 for
stealing a variety of items, including a .357 pis-
tol, from a home near Halfway.
On June 12, 2019, Adair pleaded guilty to
charges in both the Durkee and Halfway in-
cidents, including first-degree burglary in the
Halfway case, and first-degree criminal tres-
passing and third-degree theft in the Durkee
episode. She was sentenced to 18 months in a
state prison and three years probation.
Adair entered the prison system on June
20, 2019, and she was released from prison on
Aug. 20, 2020, according to the Oregon De-
partment of Corrections.
After she was released from prison, Adair
pleaded guilty to mail theft from the Mc-
Donald’s restaurant in Baker City on Sept. 30,
2020.
She was charged with first-degree crimi-
nal trespassing on the Union Pacific Railroad
right-of-way in June 2021. In September 2021
she was charged with second-degree criminal
trespassing and third-degree theft, both inci-
dents in Baker City.