A2 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2022
Local
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
June 27, 1972
Even though the total pieces of mail handled at the
Baker Post Offi ce dropped in 1971, sales showed an
increase over 1970.
During the last six months of 1971, mail handled
totalled 5,334,814, compared to 5,436,721. Gross sales of
metered stamps, stamps and envelopes in 1971 amounted
to $297,243.61. Sales in 1970 were $271,265.47.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
June 25, 1997
A small, apparently human-caused fi re Wednesday
afternoon burned a camp trailer and bus near Whitney.
The fi re, which was less than one-quarter acre, burned
on both private property and U.S. Forest Service land, said
Brett Thomas of the Burnt-Powder Fire Zone.
The Forest Service is still investigating the fi re to
determine its cause, Thomas said. It was not sparked by
lightning, he said.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
June 27, 2012
To celebrate donating his 100th pint of blood, Father
Julian Cassar challenged himself to fi nd 10 new donors.
He recruited 12.
All he said was: “To commemorate my 100th, will you
donate?”
Colleen Brooks, local chair for the blood drive, said the
quote for Baker is 60 people per day for the two-day drive.
Prior to each drive, she calls more than 200 potential
donors.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
June 29, 2021
A California man who nearly crashed into multiple
vehicles while driving erratically in Baker City on Saturday
afternoon, June 26, resisted arrest after he pulled into a
parking lot following a brief chase.
Matthew David Post, 30, of Berkeley, was taken to the
Baker County Jail a little after 5 p.m.
Baker County Dispatch received a report of a vehicle
driving erratically on Campbell Street, according to a press
release from the Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce.
Deputy Talon Colton saw the 2005 black Acura sedan
driving north on 10th Street, pulled behind the car and
turned on his emergency lights.
Post, who was driving, changed lanes multiple times
then pulled over on 10th Street. When Colton stopped his
patrol car, Post drove away, continuing north on 10th Street.
He turned east onto Hughes Lane, then pulled into the
parking lot for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
and Oregon Department of Forestry offi ce at 2895 Hughes
Lane. According to the press release, Post “appeared
agitated and refused to exit the vehicle.”
Lewis thrusts his arm into a spray of green foliage that’s
bursting from a patch of black ground.
This is a willow too.
A new willow, fresh as lettuce plucked from a garden,
and about knee-high on Lewis’ tan pants.
Its fl exible shoots and lance-shaped leaves have risen
from the ash since fl ames swept through here almost two
months to the day.
OREGON LOTTERY
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LUCKY LINES, JUNE 26
3-5-10-16-19-24-25-29
Next jackpot: $21,000
SENIOR MENUS
WEDNESDAY (June 29): Pork roast, stuffi ng with gravy, baby
carrots, rolls, applesauce, birthday cake
THURSDAY (June 30): Chef salad, cheesy breadsticks,
tapioca, fruit cup
FRIDAY (July 1): Beef stew, broccoli, biscuits, green salad,
peach crisp
MONDAY (July 4): Closed for Independence Day
TUESDAY (July 5): Salisbury steak, scalloped potatoes, corn,
biscuits, fruit cup, ice cream
WEDNESDAY (July 6): Chicken cordon bleu with hollandaise,
rice pilaf, peas and carrots, rolls, green salad, cookies
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $5 donation (60 and older), $7.50
for those under 60.
CONTACT THE HERALD
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Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
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Legal challenge
also mentions
wildfire smoke
BY JAMIE GOLDBERG
The Oregonian
A coalition of Oregon busi-
ness groups have filed a law-
suit challenging the state’s
job-site rules mandating that
employers take steps to protect
workers from extreme heat
and wildfire smoke.
Regulations adopted in May
by the Oregon Occupational
Safety and Health Division
lay out steps employers must
take once the temperature or
air quality reaches a certain
threshold. The heat rules went
into effect June 15, while the
wildfire smoke rules are set to
go into effect July 1.
Oregon Manufacturers and
Commerce, Associated Ore-
gon Loggers Inc. and the Ore-
gon Forest & Industries Coun-
cil, which together represent
more than 1,000 Oregon
companies and 50 forestland
owners, are seeking an injunc-
tion to prohibit the state from
enforcing the new rules. The
groups filed a lawsuit in the
U.S. District Court in Medford
the day the first of the rules
took effect, arguing they are
unconstitutional.
The groups allege that sev-
eral provisions in the new reg-
ulations are too vague to be
fairly enforced and that the
state’s workplace safety agency
overstepped its statutory au-
thority by adopting them in
the first place.
The groups contend that
the wildfire smoke rules don’t
give employers a method for
determining what percentage
of the pollutants in the air at a
worksite are caused by wildfire
smoke versus other factors,
which the groups allege makes
it impossible for employers to
know when the rules go into
effect.
They also allege that requir-
ing employers to pay workers
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at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2022
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
Wildfire smoke blocks Baker City’s view of the Elkhorn Mountains in 2017.
during heat illness preven-
tion breaks oversteps state au-
thority and that the Oregon
Safe Employment Act does
not give the state’s workplace
safety agency “the authority to
regulate general societal haz-
ards which affect employees in
and out of the work environ-
ment.”
Shaun Jillions, executive
director for Oregon Manufac-
turers and Commerce, said
that the state needs to work
with employers to craft new
rules that will protect workers
and businesses.
“Nothing is more import-
ant to employers than keeping
workers safe in the workplace,”
Jillions said in a statement.
“That’s particularly true for
Oregon manufacturers, who
have an exemplary record.
But OR-OSHA’s new heat and
smoke rules are unfortunately
based on arbitrary numbers
that have the potential to dis-
rupt countless Oregon in-
dustries. The regulations are
vague, nearly impossible to
guarantee compliance with,
and apply in conditions that
would be considered safe and
reasonable.”
A spokesperson for Oregon
OSHA did not immediately
respond to a request for com-
ment.
Worker advocates, who
for years lobbied for the state
to adopt wildfire and heat
protections, praised the new
rules after they were adopted
in May while also calling for
more stringent requirements
for rest breaks and in labor
housing.
The heat rules require em-
ployers to provide sufficient
shaded areas, ample water
and increasingly frequent rest
breaks as temperatures rise. It
also requires employers to de-
velop heat prevention plans,
train employees and supervi-
sors about heat illnesses and
ensure employees are given
time to acclimate to heat and
are regularly monitored while
working in high temperatures.
The rules also require em-
ployers to protect workers
from heat in agricultural la-
bor housing, including giving
workers access to cooling ar-
eas and fans.
The wildfire smoke rules
require employers to provide
training to employees about
the dangers of wildfire smoke,
make respirators available as
the air quality reaches un-
healthy levels or require work-
ers to wear respirators if air
quality levels spike above a
“very unhealthy” 251 on the
500-point Air Quality Index.
The state also recommends
that employers consider relo-
cating to other job sites when
the air quality is unhealthy.
The federal government
does not have similar rules,
although it is developing heat
regulations. Several states have
adopted their own heat stan-
dards, and California has rules
to protect workers in extreme
heat and wildfire smoke.
Oregon to begin sending $600 stimulus
payments to some low-income workers
BY JAMIE GOLDBERG
The Oregonian
More than 200,000 Ore-
gon workers will receive $600
checks from the state, some
starting last week.
Oregon lawmakers in
March approved the one-time
stimulus payments for certain
low-income workers. The pay-
ments will go to Oregonians
who claimed the Earned In-
come Tax Credit in 2020, a tax
break for low-income working
households, and lived within
the state in the last six months
of that year.
The Oregon Department
of Revenue said Wednesday,
June 22 that it would distrib-
ute nearly $141.8 million to
236,000 qualifying house-
holds. Payments are limited to
one per household.
About $82 million will be
deposited directly into the
bank accounts of qualifying
individuals, while the remain-
ing nearly $60 million will be
sent via mail. The state said
qualifying individuals will re-
ceive the money no later than
July 1.
The state is paying for the
stimulus payments with fed-
eral pandemic aid approved
by Congress last year.
Rich Hoover, a spokesper-
son for The Oregon Depart-
ment of Revenue, said the pay-
ments are not subject to state
or federal income tax.
House Bill 4157 passed by
wide margins in both cham-
bers of the Oregon Legislature
this spring, with a handful of
Republicans joining majority
Democrats in supporting the
bill. The payments evolved
from a 2021 plan for larger
stimulus payments — up to
$2,000 — to essential workers
who stayed on the job during
the pandemic and those who
rejoined the workforce last fall.
Oregonians with questions
can email The Oregon De-
partment of Revenue at one-
time.assistancepayment@dor.
oregon.gov.
CONDUCT, HARASSMENT, RECKLESS
ENDANGERMENT: Jeffrey Willis Heaton,
61, Baker City, 2:11 p.m. Friday, June 24 in
the 1400 block of Resort Street; jailed.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
INTOXICANTS: Daniel Allen Clary, 42,
Baker City, 6:51 p.m. Sunday, June 26 on
Highway 30 near North Powder; cited and
released.
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker County Circuit
Court warrant): Bryan Christopher Keyes,
40, Baker City, 11:08 a.m. Sunday, June 26
at the sheriff’s office; cited and released.
FOURTH-DEGREE ASSAULT (domestic),
UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF
METHAMPHETAMINE: Joshua David
Givens, 28, Halfway, 8:36 a.m. Saturday,
June 25 in Halfway; jailed.
CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County
Justice Court warrant): Shyla Dawn
Melchior, 33, Halfway, 8:36 a.m. Saturday,
June 25 in Halfway; cited and released.
BAKER COUNTY WARRANTS: Margaret
Samantha Lacey, 35, Baker City, 10:13 a.m.
Friday, June 24 at 10th and D streets;
jailed.
News of Record
DEATHS
Rebecca Irene ‘Becky’ Matheson
McVicker: 74, died June 24, 2022, at
Auburn Medical Center in Auburn,
Washington. Becky loved spending
time in Richland with her mother, Pat
Matheson, as well as camping, fishing
and hunting in the area. A graveside
service will take place Saturday,
July 2, at 11 a.m. at the Eagle Valley
Cemetery in Richland. Those who
wish to make a donation in Becky’s
memory may do so to Hunt of a
Lifetime through Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Cremation Services,
P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online
condolences can be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
PROBATION VIOLATION, FAILURE TO
APPEAR (Baker County Circuit Court
warrants): Brandon Douglas Culbertson,
34, Baker City, 11:28 p.m. Friday, June
24 in the 1700 block of Auburn Avenue;
jailed.
PROBATION VIOLATION (Baker County
Circuit Court warrant), SECOND-DEGREE
CRIMINAL TRESPASSING: Timothy Kelly
Slaney, 33, Baker City, 4:52 p.m. Friday,
June 24 in the 1100 block of Campbell
Street; jailed.
FOURTH-DEGREE ASSAULT (domestic),
SECOND-DEGREE DISORDERLY
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
FUNERAL PENDING
Merrilyn Seal: Celebration of life
will take place Friday, July 1 at
10 a.m. at Richard and Merrilyn’s
home at 46682 Fish Lake Road in
Halfway. The family requests that in
lieu of flowers, donations be made
to the Halfway Ambulance Fund
through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services, P.O.
Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online
condolences can be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
POLICE LOG
Telephone: 541-523-3673
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
Oregon business groups challenge
rules to protect workers from heat
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
PROBATION VIOLATION (Baker County
Circuit Court warrant): Sammy Garcia Jr.,
37, transient, 7:38 p.m. Sunday, June 26 in
the 1600 block of Indiana Aveue; jailed.
PROBATION VIOLATION: Alexander Alen
Adams, 26, Baker City, 1:54 p.m. Sunday,
June 26 in the 1300 block of Ninth Street;
jailed.
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
INTOXICANTS: Brittany Lane Peterson, 29,
Baker City, 12:22 a.m. Saturday, June 25 in
the 1600 block of Auburn Avenue; cited
and released.
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com
Baker City's
Newest Brewery
Taproom Hours:
Wed-Fri 4pm to 8pm
Sat 2pm to 8pm
Closed Sun-Tues
Snacks | Beer | Cider
541-519-1337 | 1935 1st St, Baker City, OR