LOCAL A2
THE WEST A5
OUTDOORS B1
Operator sought for
Spout Springs ski area
White House: Snake
dams might have to go
Fresh perspective
on familiar peaks
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • OUTDOORS
A WET SPRING
Much needed rains a boon for
farmers and ranchers
SUMMER 2022
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The
Blue Mountain
HERMISTON
EAGLE
HERALD
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
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COMING NEXT WEEK
A 30-page special section
focusing on the farming and
ranching industry will be includ-
ed with the July 21 issue. Topics
include how a damp spring
helped ease the drought and
improve prospects for wheat,
hay and other crop yields, a
benefi cial trend that’s being
offset by escalating costs for
diesel and other production
expenses.
SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022 • $1.50
Juvenile charged in fatal shooting
could be prosecuted as an adult
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker County District Attorney
Greg Baxter is seeking to have the
17-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting
in Baker City on Wednesday, July 13
tried for second-degree murder and
unlawful use of a weapon as an adult
rather than a juvenile.
Baxter confirmed on Friday, July
15 that he had filed for a motion for
a waiver under an Oregon law, ORS
419C.349.
Under that law, a district attorney
can seek a hearing in a case in which
a suspect who was 15, 16 or 17 years
old is accused of a crime that, if com-
mitted by an adult, would constitute a
Class A or Class B felony.
The male suspect is accused of fa-
tally shooting another juvenile male
just after midnight on July 13 in the
parking lot at the Baker Technical
Institute, on the Baker High School
campus.
Police have not released the name
of the victim or the suspect, nor have
they given the age of the victim, who
died at the scene.
Police haven’t said what type of gun
was used.
Baxter said he couldn’t give any ad-
ditional details. He said the investiga-
A special good day to Herald
subscriber Kathleen Sayers of
Baker City.
INSIDE
—————
Local, A2
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
Mitchell Stephens/Contributed Photo
Sarah Correll and her daughters Kimber, left, and Savannah enjoyed a sweet treat from the Ice Cream Pedalers at Geiser-Poll-
man Park.
WEATHER
—————
Sweet
Today
92/51
Sunny
Sunday
89/49
Sunny
Monday
83/45
Sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
See Suspect / A3
Meeting
to discuss
Council
recalls
draws 40
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
PENDLETON — Joe Yetter,
the Democratic nominee for
Oregon’s 2nd Congressional
District, stopped by Pendleton
on Tuesday, July 12, during his
Eastern Oregon tour.
Yetter is running against in-
cumbent Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On-
tario, and plans to use his trip
as a “listening tour,” learning
from the residents of Eastern
Oregon and asking questions
about their needs.
tion is continuing.
The 17-year-old suspect was taken
to a juvenile detention facility in The
Dalles.
The shooting was reported at
12:25 a.m. on July 13, according to a
press release from the Baker County
Sheriff’s Office.
The caller told a dispatcher that the
shooting suspect had fled.
Ice Cream Pedalers offer frozen
confections in Baker City
Summer
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
This summer, be sure to bring
cash if you visit the park or stroll the
path because you never know when
you’ll crave a cold treat.
And the Ice Cream Pedalers will
be there, ready to sell a frozen con-
fection.
“We don’t have an ice cream truck
— we have bikes,” said Sophia Daf-
fer, who stood ready for customers
at Geiser-Pollman Park on Tuesday,
July 12.
The service started July 11. It is a
program of Baker School District’s
Youth Transition Program (YTP),
which provides job skill opportuni-
ties for students with special educa-
tional needs.
YTP is a collaboration with Vo-
cational Rehabilitation, the Oregon
Department of Education, the Uni-
versity of Oregon and local school
districts.
Baker’s YTP gained the specialized
bike about six years ago. This year,
a grant helped launch the summer
project by providing funds for wages.
The Ice Cream Pedalers are spon-
sored by Sorbenots, which supplies
the ice cream and T-shirts for the
workers.
See Sweet / A3
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Ice Cream Pedalers, a project of Baker
School District’s Youth Transition Pro-
gram, employs four adult supervisors
and 12 student employees, including
Sophia Daffer, left, and Isabel Hardy.
Wages are funded by a grant.
Former Baker City firefighter Casey
Husk has not sat idly while the city’s fire
department has been roiled by the pend-
ing elimination of ambulance service
and staffing cuts that City Manager Jona-
than Cannon proposed in March and the
Baker City Council approved this spring.
Husk, who recently resigned from the
department, believes Cannon should be
fired.
But the city manager is hired by the
seven city councilors, not elected by city
voters.
The city councilors, per the city char-
ter, have the authority both to hire and to
fire a city manager.
Given that, Husk is promoting an ef-
fort to ask voters to recall eligible coun-
cilors, with an ultimate goal of replacing
them with councilors who would termi-
nate Cannon’s employment.
According to Oregon law, elected offi-
cials can be recalled only after serving at
least six months. One of the seven coun-
cilors, Kenyon Damschen, was appointed
in March 2022. The six others have been
in office for at least six months.
Four of the seven positions on the city
council will be up for election this No-
vember, those held by Joanna Dixon,
Johnny Waggoner Sr., Dean Guyer and
Damschen.
The three other councilors — Kerry Mc-
Quisten, Shane Alderson and Jason Spriet
— are serving terms that continue through
the end of 2024. All three were elected to
four-year terms in November 2020.
Husk sponsored a meeting at the
Baker Community Events Center Thurs-
day evening, July 14, that attracted about
40 people.
See Council / A3
County meets with landowners along B2H route
in Baker City, the firm the
county has enlisted, also
About 20 Baker County
attended.
property own-
Bennett said
ers whose land is
county officials of-
along the proposed
fered many years
route for the Board-
ago to help affected
man-to-Hemingway
property owners
power transmission
navigate the poten-
line attended a meet-
tially complicated
ing this week to dis-
process.
Bennett
cuss their options in
Idaho Power, the
dealing with Idaho
Boise company that
Power Company regarding
has been leading the Board-
payments for permanent
man-to-Hemingway project
easements.
since it was first proposed in
County Commissioner
2007, would own 45% of the
Mark Bennett set up the
line, and PacifiCorp of Port-
meeting the evening of
land would own 55%.
Wednesday, July 13 at the
The Bonneville Power Ad-
Courthouse.
ministration (BPA), a federal
Andrew Martin, an attor-
agency, was also involved
ney with Intermountain Law
in the project, but early this
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 28
12 pages
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
The proposed Boardman to Hemingway power transmission line
could follow the route of an existing line that runs along the eastern
edge of Baker Valley near Highway 86.
year the BPA transferred its
ownership interest to Idaho
Power.
“Over the years we dis-
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
Horoscope ..............B3 & B4
cussed what would we do
when we got to this point,”
Bennett said during Wednes-
day’s meeting, noting that
Jayson Jacoby ..................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Outdoors .................B1 & B2
Senior Menus ...................A2
the proposed route covers
more than 70 miles in Baker
County and affects about 30
separate landowners, making
it a challenge to get most or
all to gather.
About 20 landowners at-
tended, some by Zoom.
“I want to make this clear,
we’re not pushing anything
specific, but we do think it’s
important that you hear from
a confident land use law at-
torney,” Bennett said, refer-
ring to Martin. “We think it’s
important that information
gets out.”
“I think it’s a certainty that
the line’s going to happen,
and they’re nearing the stage
that they’re now approaching
landowners,” Martin said.
See Easements / A3
Sudoku..............................B5
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6