A2 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022
Local
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
July 2, 1972
HALFWAY — The search for a new Pine-Eagle High School
coach ended here yesterday as Michael James Murray was
named as the head football and baseball mentor and assis-
tant baskeball pilot for the ’72-’73 season.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
July 2, 1997
The fi rst stages of work will begin on the new back nine
holes of the Baker City Golf Club soon, possibly as early as
next week.
The Baker City Council, meeting in special session Tues-
day evening, voted to enter into a personal services contract
with Willie Hall, owner of Hall and Lindsay Inc. of Victoria,
B.C., Canada.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
July 2, 2012
Jason and Stacy Bingham are living a double nightmare,
watching hearts fail in both their son and daughter.
It’s happened before for the couple, who live near Haines.
Different child, same diagnosis.
Lindsey Lou, 8, and Gage, 3, are now next door to each
other at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.
Lindsey hasn’t felt quite right for a while, but she got really
sick.
Her diagnosis: dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease of the
heart muscle that causes it to become enlarged.
It is the exact same diagnosis the Binghams heard six
years ago when their oldest daughter, Sierra, got sick.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
July 1, 2021
A fi re sparked by farm equipment on the hottest June
day on record in Baker County raced through dry grass and
sagebrush in Keating Valley, threatening several homes
before crews from multiple agencies, with help from a pair
of air tankers, stopped the blaze Tuesday evening, June 29.
“It really took off in 110-degree heat with 20 mile an
hour winds behind it,” said Buzz Harper, chief of the Keating
Rural Fire Protection District. “In that heat and wind it could
have been real bad.”
The fi re, which was fully lined Tuesday night, burned
about 100 acres, Harper said. No homes were damaged.
Crews from the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Man-
agement were mopping up Wednesday morning, he said.
Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash said the Sheriff’s Offi ce
gave evacuation notices to about 10 residents as a precau-
tion.
Flames came within about 50 yards of one home, Harper
said.
The fi re was reported to Baker County Dispatch at 2:52
p.m.
Harper said the blaze started in a fi eld near Middle Bridge
Road, where a swather was operating. He suspects a disc
on the swather hit a rock, causing a spark.
When he was notifi ed about the fi re, Harper said he took
one engine, with a water capacity of 250 gallons, while his
son, Steven Harper, and another Keating volunteer, Brad
Bottoms, headed out with a 1,000-gallon engine.
OREGON LOTTERY
MEGABUCKS, JUNE 29
6 — 13 — 55 — 68
3 — 13 — 15 — 24 — 29 — 39
Next jackpot: $2.8 million
PICK 4, JUNE 30
POWERBALL, JUNE 29
8 — 40 — 49 — 58 — 63 PB 14
Next jackpot: $20 million
• 1 p.m.: 2 — 8 — 8 — 3
• 4 p.m.: 3 — 2 — 9 — 7
• 7 p.m.: 3 — 3 — 1 — 0
MEGA MILLIONS, JUNE 28
7 — 12 — 21 — 43 — 55 Mega 11
• 10 p.m.: 4 — 0 — 2 — 9
Next jackpot: $360 million
3-8-10-14-19-24-28-30
WIN FOR LIFE, JUNE 29
Next jackpot: $25,000
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
THURSDAY (July 7): Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes
with gravy, mixed vegetables, rolls, green salad, bread pud-
ding
FRIDAY (July 8): Baked ham, candied yams, green beans,
rolls, ambrosia, cinnamon rolls
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
2005 Washington Ave., Suite 101
Open Monday through Friday
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
ads@bakercityherald.com
Classifi ed email
classifi ed@bakercityherald.com
Circulation email
circ@bakercityherald.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden an-
nounced the proposal to make
the Jonathan M. Wainwright
Memorial VA Medical Center
in Walla Walla an outpatient
clinic is coming to an end.
Wyden in a press release
Wednesday, June 29, said he
welcomed the news this week
that Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Committee Chairman Jon
Tester, D-Montana, U.S. Sen.
Patty Murray, D-Washing-
ton, and a bipartisan group
of senators will block the vet-
erans Asset and Infrastruc-
ture Review Commission’s
proposals to reclassify the
Walla Walla veterans facility
as a community-based out-
patient clinic and to move its
31-bed residential rehabilita-
tion treatment program 180
miles north of Walla Walla to
Spokane.
Associated Press, File
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., speaks about the child tax credit during a
news conference, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Wash-
ington.
This comes as Wyden has
been pressing the Veterans
Administration through town
halls he hosted for Eastern
Oregon veterans, their fami-
lies and veterans service pro-
viders to ask top VA officials
about proposed VA cuts and
service changes that would
have gone to the AIR Com-
mission for consideration.
Wyden shared Eastern Or-
egon veterans’ concerns at a
June 4 town hall about VA rec-
ommendations to the Walla
Walla VA medical center.
“What I heard earlier this
month from veterans in Uma-
tilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker
and Morrow counties was
their deep and well-justified
concern about how these pro-
posals would undercut the
quality and accessible care
they earned with their service
to our country,” said Wyden,
who also wrote a letter last
month to the VA detailing the
rural Oregon veterans’ con-
cerns. “The end to the process
that could have led to poorer
and more distant care for East-
ern Oregon veterans is good
news, and I’ll continue to ad-
vocate for these rural veterans
to ensure these ill-considered
proposals don’t resurface.”
Forest Service sets up firewood cutting area
Baker City Herald
The Whitman Ranger District has created a
special firewood cutting area near Eagle Creek,
northeast of Baker City, to encourage residents to
cut trees burned in the 2015 Eagle fire.
An infestation of Douglas-fir bark beetles is also
killing trees in the area, according to the Whitman
District.
Kendall Cikanek, Whitman District ranger, ap-
proved the firewood area and allowed woodcut-
ters to use two roads that had been closed after
a 1993 timber sale. The roads are in the O’Brien
Creek area.
The special firewood cutting area will be open
until Aug. 24.
Many of the burned trees have been falling
across multiple roads in the area since the fire, po-
tentially blocking access for firefighting crews, ac-
cording to the Whitman District.
Woodcutters will need a personal use cutting
permit. Those are free this year, to a household
limit of 10 cords. Permits are available at Forest
Service offices and at some local businesses.
Details about the O’Brien firewood cutting area:
• All roads connected to roads 7700-390 and
7700-400 that are not closed by a barrier are in-
cluded in the area.
• Cutting limited to trees within two tree
lengths of a road.
• Ponderosa pine is not included.
• No off-road skidding with mechanical
equipment allows.
Log decks also available for firewood
The Oregon Department of Forestry and the
Forest Service are also making leftover log decks
available for firewood cutting at the Sparta GNA
timber sale.
The decks are along open roads north of
Sparta Butte, including roads 7000-075 and
7000-079.
There is an active timber sale in the area, as
well, and firewood cutting is not allowed within
that sale.
U.S. Forest Service map
The O’Brien special firewood cutting area is near Eagle Creek, northeast of Baker City.
Fire
Continued from A1
Crews will continue to
travel along firelines to check
for flare ups or hot spots.
Firefighters worked through
the night Thursday, June 30
into the first morning of July
to mop up and monitor.
The fire started on private
land about 3:15 p.m. on June
28, and burned later that day
onto public land on BLM’s
Vale District.
The cause is under investi-
gation.
On Wednesday, June 29
flames spread to the edge of
Interstate 84 between Fare-
well Bend and Ontario. The
fire did not cross the free-
way.
The fire didn’t damage any
structures, and no residents
were evacuated, as the blaze
burned in uninhabited grass
and sagebrush range.
Two public cattle grazing
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays except Christmas Day by the
Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media
Group, at 2005 Washington Ave., Suite 101
(P.O. Box 807), Baker City, OR 97814.
Subscription rates per month are $10.75
for print only. Digital-only rates are $8.25.
Postmaster: Send address changes to
the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker
City, OR 97814.
Periodicals Postage Paid
at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2022
Vale District Bureau of Land Management/Contributed Photo
Crews work on the Willowcreek fire beside Interstate 84 between
Farewell Bend and Ontario on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
allotments were burned, and
BLM staff are assessing the
damage to those areas.
Fire danger increases,
fireworks banned
on public land
The Vale District has in-
creased the fire danger from
moderate to high due to re-
cent dry, warm weather.
“This is especially the case
around high recreation use
areas and wildland urban in-
terface zones,” said Al Crouch,
fire mitigation specialist for
the Vale District. “Conditions
are very different in the higher
elevations where the live fuel
moistures are still higher.”
With thousands of visitors
expected to enjoy the holiday
weekend outside, the risk of
human-caused wildfire in-
creases.
BLM officials remind rec-
reationists that fireworks are
prohibited on public land.
Other restrictions include:
• Discharging or using
combustible or explosive
composition or chemical de-
vices, including exploding
targets.
• Discharging or using
tracer, explosive, or incendi-
ary ammunition.
• Discharging steel compo-
nent (core or jacket) ammu-
nition.
• Releasing or causing to be
released any sky lanterns, air-
borne paper lanterns, aerial
luminaries and/or fire bal-
loons.
• Shooting at any metallic
object, including but not lim-
ited to using metal targets for
target shooting.
News of Record
DEATHS
Telephone: 541-523-3673
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.com
EAST OREGONIAN
LUCKY LINES, JUNE 30
SENIOR MENUS
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
Wyden welcomes end to proposal to
reduce care for Eastern Oregon veterans
Leigh Ann Hammond: 41, of
Baker City, died June 21, 2022, at
her home. No services are planned
at this time. To light a candle in
memory of Leigh Ann, or to offer
online condolences to her family, go
to www.grayswestco.com.
Ida Marie Haefner: 74, of Pleasant
Valley, died June 28, 2022, at her
home. No services are planned
at this time. To light a candle in
memory of Ida, or to offer online
condolences to her family, go to
www.grayswestco.com.
Marlene Jacobson: 88, of Baker
City, died June 27, 2022, at
Settler’s Park, surrounded in love.
A celebration of her life will take
place at a later date, details to
be announced. Arrangements are
under the direction of Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home & Cremation
Services. Online condolences
can be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.
com.
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker County
Circuit Court warrant): Tami Deann
Dudley, 41, Baker City, 11:15 p.m.
Thursday, June 30 at Main Street and
Washington Avenue; cited and released.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
DRIVING WHILE SUSPENDED
(Baker County Justice Court
warrant): Joshua Cain Collins, 41,
Baker City, 3:41 p.m. Thursday, June
30 at the sheriff’s office; cited and
released.
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
225 H Street • East of I-84 • 541-523-3200 • grumpysrepair.com