LOCAL A2
SPORTS A5
OUTDOORS B1
Wyden welcomes
news about clinic
Little League all-stars
take 2nd at district
Mosquito-free visit
to Van Patten Lake
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • OUTDOORS & REC • SPORTS
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022 • $1.50
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—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
Republicans
upset about
‘harassing’
letters from
lawyer
A special good day to Herald
subscriber Sandra Grover of
Baker City.
BRIEFING
—————
Nominees sought for
Baker County Fair
Family
Baker County Friends of the
Fairgrounds are seeking nomi-
nees for the 2022 Fair Family of
the Year. Nominations are due
by July 10. Nomination letters
can be emailed to bakercity-
friendsofthefair@gmail.com.
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Volunteers needed to
help with library book
sale July 14-17
Friends of the Baker County
Library need volunteers to help
sort books and to work as ca-
shiers during the book sale July
14-17. Volunteers can sign up
at the library, 2400 Resort St.,
or by calling Jen at 541-519-
7828.
Baker County Garden
Club to meet July 6
The Baker County Garden
Club will meet July 6 at 10:30
a.m. at the Eastern Oregon
Museum, 610 Third St. in
Haines. Please bring a sack
lunch. Water and chairs will be
provided. New members are
always welcome.
WEATHER
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Melissa Grammon/Contributed Photo
Night Counselor Winnie-the-Pooh — with the help of Missy Grammon — reads a story to the stuffed animals who stayed
overnight at the Baker County Library on June 16.
Lots to do at the library
Reading challenges,
games, movies and
even a campout for
stuffed animals
Baker County Library
Basics
• 2400 Resort St.
• bakerlib.org
• 541-523-6419
Hours
• Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.
to 7 p.m.
• Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
It’s not every day you’ll see a cam-
pout in the library, complete with
hiking and s’mores.
Not with real fire, of course —
books are, obviously, kind of flam-
mable.
But the night of June 16 saw un-
usual activity in the Baker County
Public Library with the “Stuffed
Animal Overnight Campout” —
just one special activity organized
for the summer reading program,
which is themed “Read Beyond the
Beaten Path.”
“I had a lot of fun with this one,”
said Missy Grammon, youth ser-
vices coordinator.
Children handed their special
stuffed animals to Grammon on
the afternoon of June 16, and she
gave each one a nametag on a lan-
yard.
Then the adventures ensued,
written up in a journal entry that
was picked up the next day, along
with the animal.
An excerpt:
“Once we checked in at the library,
we started our camp-out off with a
fun hike! We climbed the bookshelves
in the teen room and then hiked our
way to the Storytime room.”
A Baker City couple are vowing to con-
sider filing a lawsuit after receiving a let-
ter accusing them of disrupting a private
meeting of local Repub-
lican Party officials in
Baker City on June 7.
The letter was on be-
half of an attorney repre-
senting the six-member
Baker County Republi-
can executive commit-
Bland
tee, which met that day
at the GOP office at 2100
Main St.
Susan and Jason Bland wrote in a re-
sponse letter that they weren’t involved in
the June 7 incident.
“The correspondence you sent to us is
threatening and harassing — it makes us
feel unsafe,” Susan Bland wrote in a June
23 response letter.
The Blands received a letter on June
21 by certified mail from Kevin Mannix,
a Salem attorney who was the Republi-
can candidate for Oregon governor in
2002.
See Letters / A3
See Library / A3
Today
89/52
Sunny
Sunday
77/49
Storms possible
Monday
73/47
Morning showers
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
COVID-19 cases more than
double in Baker County in June
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
COVID-19 cases in Baker
County more than doubled during
June compared with May.
The county reported 110 cases
from June 1-29, according to the
Oregon Health Authority (OHA).
June’s total surpasses the com-
bined total of 76 for the previous
three months — May (49), April
(13) and March (14).
Baker County reported 18 cases on
June 27, the highest daily total since
Feb. 8, during the omicron surge.
Meghan Chancey, director of the
Baker County Health Department,
said the agency hasn’t seen a signif-
icant increase in the volume of calls
from residents regarding COVID-19.
Chancey said department employees
continue to offer residents home test
kits and vaccinations.
She said recommendations are
the same as they have been during
COVID-19 cases in Baker County
June 2022: 110 (June 1-29)
May 2022: 47
April 2022: 13
March 2022: 14
February 2022: 230
January 2022: 646
December 2021: 106
November 2021: 143
October 2021: 168
September 2021: 465
August 2021: 300
July 2021: 91
June 2021: 70
May 2021: 51
April 2021: 162
March 2021: 97
February 2021: 70
January 2021: 106
December 2020: 196
November 2020: 141
the pandemic — if you feel ill, stay
home and consider taking a test.
“We’re here to provide any in-
formation and resources,” Chancey
said on Friday, July 1. “We always
welcome anybody calling in.”
The health department’s phone
number is 541-523-8211. The office
is at 2200 Fourth St.
Resort Street
mural project
underway
Andrew Gettle painting
mural on wall previously
tagged with graffiti
Case numbers well below
winter peak
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
Although June’s case rate was
higher than during the late sum-
mer and spring, it was well below
the peak during mid and late win-
ter.
See COVID-19 / A3
Crews get handle on range fire
Willowcreek fire in
Malheur County has
burned 40,274 acres
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Crews have gotten a handle on
the first major wildfire of 2022,
burning since Tuesday, June 28 in
remote rangeland northeast of Vale,
in northern Malheur County.
The Willowcreek fire, which has
burned 40,274 acres, was 75% con-
tained as of Friday morning, July 1.
TODAY
Issue 22
12 pages
“If conditions stay the same to-
day, we’ll be looking at a patrol and
monitor status,” said Justin Fenton,
fire duty officer for the Bureau of
Land Management’s Vale District.
Fenton said fire lines have been
holding.
Cooler temperatures are forecast
for Sunday, July 3, and Monday,
July 4, with higher humidities and
a chance of showers and thunder-
storms.
“That will help the firefighters
with mop up,” Fenton said.
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
See Fire / A2
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
Horoscope ..............B2 & B4
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Andrew Gettle on the lift on Resort Street,
sketching his mural first with spray paint and
outlining the radial waves of color for his de-
sign on July 1, 2022.
Vale District Bureau of Land Management/
Contributed Photo
The Willowcreek fire burns in northern
Malheur County on Wednesday, June
29, 2022.
Jayson Jacoby ..................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
“How it all began was, we were called
to remove graffiti off of buildings,” said
Be Tiedemann, who manages the White
House Art and Design shop on Main
Street. “The main thing was the graffiti,
but then it developed into this art.”
Tiedemann serves on the public art-
works subcommittee, which operates
with grant funding under the Baker City
Downtown design committee.
If you’ve ever wondered who to ask
about arranging for a steel giraffe or rhino
to grace your business doorstep, she’s a
go-to.
The graffiti itself, a rudimentary skull
and crossbones, was tagged onto the back
wall of The Trailhead, 1828 Main St., on
the wall facing Resort Street.
Though the responsible parties were
dealt with legally, the actual task of re-
moving the graffiti provoked thought
among Tiedemann and others.
“Tom Novak, a popular artist here in
Baker, says ‘If you want to get rid of graf-
fiti, put a mural there.’ So I thought to my-
self that this would be a perfect spot,” Tie-
demann said.
Opinion .............................A4
Outdoors ...........................B1
Senior Menus ...................A2
See Mural / A3
Sports ...............................A5
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6