GO! INSIDE
NEWS B6
SPORTS A6
Getting ready for
the Baker County Fair
The climate deal and
eff ects on farmers
Broadcaster Vin
Scully dies
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • BUSINESS & AG LIFE • SPORTS
QUICK HITS
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to Herald
subscriber Roger Welter of
Gresham.
BRIEFING
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Fire restrictions tighten
starting Aug. 5
Starting Friday, Aug. 5,
campfi res will be allowed only
in designated campgrounds
and recreation sites on the
Wallowa-Whitman and Umatilla
national forests.
Both forests are moving to
Phase B of public use restric-
tions due to increasing fi re
danger resulting from the recent
hot, dry weather.
Firewood cutters with a valid
permit can use chain saws from
between 8 p.m. and 1 p.m. dai-
ly. It’s not legal, however, to use
a chain saw around a campsite.
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2022 • $1.50
Justus withdraws from commission race
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Kody Justus, one of two candidates
for position 2 on the Baker County
Board of Commissioners, has with-
drawn his candidacy.
Justus, who was set for a runoff
against Christina Witham following
an exceedingly close vote in the May
17 primary, posted a video on his
campaign Facebook page on Monday,
Aug. 1, announcing that he wouldn’t
run in the Nov. 8 general election.
Justus noted in the video that
Witham received more votes in the
primary.
But her margin was a mere two
votes out of slightly more than 5,000
cast. Witham received 2,518 votes,
Justus 2,516.
“There are more people that dis-
agree with me than agree with me,”
Justus said in the video. He said he
didn’t “see any way to change the out-
come of the vote.”
Justus hadn’t returned a phone
message by press time on Wednesday,
Aug. 3.
Witham said on Wednesday that
she was “shocked” when she read
Justus’ message two days earlier an-
nouncing his withdrawal.
Witham posted on her
and continuing through Oc-
campaign Facebook page: “I
tober.”
would like to extend a heart-
Witham said she still plans
felt thank you to Kody Jus-
to meet with as many voters
tus.”
as possible, but she conceded
Witham said on Wednes-
that Justus’ withdrawal, leav-
day that based on the narrow
ing her as the only candi-
margin in the primary, she
date on the ballot, drastically
Justus
was expecting a competitive
changes the situation.
race this fall, and a continuation of
Justus said in his video that he’s not
what she described as a “respectful”
“partial to politicians” and “I really
campaign with Justus prior to the May don’t enjoy being one.”
primary.
“I still have a heart to serve my
“I have a lot of gratitude for him,”
community,” he said. “We’ll just have
she said of Justus. “I was preparing to
to look for a different way to do it,
campaign hard starting in September
that’s all.”
GOP
officials
claim July
28 vote
is invalid
Longtime county
chair, former state
GOP chair cite lack
of quorum
Haines Stampede
Demolition Derby
Saturday
The annual Haines Stam-
pede Demolition Derby is set
for Saturday, Aug. 6 at 6 p.m.
at the rodeo arena on the east
side of Highway 30, just south
of Haines. Spectator gates open
at 4 p.m.
Admission is $15 for adults,
$10 for seniors and military
members, $5 for ages 6-12,
and free for kids 5 and younger.
In addition to the demolition
derby (with welded and chain
and bang classes), there will be
youth and adult barrel racing,
the Bill Taylor cow hide race,
and an outhouse race.
WEATHER
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Today
90/46
FIRE FEARS
STATE LAWS
BY CLAYTON FRANKE
cfranke@bakercityherald.com
Wes Morgan/Contributed Photo, File
Wes Morgan has strived to protect his Sumpter
Valley home from wildfire by maintaining an
expense of lush green lawn, pruning limbs from
the ponderosa pines and taking other steps.
A new Oregon law seeks to reduce wildfire risk in rural areas,
but some residents worry about the expense of possible mandates
Inside
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker
County's state
legislators call
for 'full-stop'
on fire risk
map project:
A5
Wes Morgan is an enthusiastic
supporter of the effort to pro-
tect Oregon’s rural homes from
wildfire.
His own, for instance.
Morgan, who is chief of the
Powder River Rural Fire Pro-
tection District, an all-volunteer
agency with a station just outside
Sumpter, has endeavored to re-
duce the risk of fire on his prop-
erty among the ponderosa pines
of Sumpter Valley.
He maintains a lush green
lawn as an effective fire break.
He prunes the pines to deprive
the trees of a ladder that flames
could climb into the combustible
crowns.
He stacks his firewood a safe
distance from his home and
makes sure needles and other tin-
der don’t accumulate on his roof.
Yet for all that, Morgan is trou-
bled by the prospect of the state
compelling property owners,
possibly including some of his
Mostly sunny
Friday
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Mostly sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
Oregon Department of Forestry map
This map shows the wildfire danger ratings in an area including Baker City
and Baker Valley. Orange denotes high danger and red is extreme danger.
Areas with diagonal lines are in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Yellow
is moderate and green denotes either low or no risk. Owners of properties
that are both within the WUI and have a high or extreme danger rating
could be required to take steps to reduce the fire risk on their properties,
and comply with new building codes, under a new state law.
neighbors, to take similar precau-
tions under penalty of law.
“There are a lot of people that
need to do something” to pro-
tect their properties, Morgan
said.
“But I have mixed feelings.”
His ambivalence stems from
a law the Oregon Legislature
passed in 2021.
Senate Bill 762 requires,
among other things, that the
state create a map that shows a
wildfire danger level for each of
Oregon’s 1.8 million tax lots.
The Rachel Pregnancy
Center, which provides free
services to those in unplanned
pregnancies, received a $750
donation from the Knights of
Columbus, a Catholic frater-
nal organization, on Tuesday,
Aug. 2.
Matt Reidy, financial sec-
retary for the Knights of Co-
lumbus Baker City Council,
said the donation came from
the Oregon State Knights
of Columbus Council. He
said the money is part of the
Knights’ Life Program.
Reidy said it’s through this
program, which includes re-
sources such as Aid and Sup-
port After Pregnancy (ASAP),
TODAY
Issue 36
32 pages
that the goals and values of the
Knights overlap with those of
the Rachel Center.
“We’ve had a long-stand-
ing relationship with the Ra-
chel Center, where in the past
we’ve made donations to as-
sist them in helping young
women and families make
choices about life,” Reidy said.
Tuesday’s $750 donation is
in addition to yearly contribu-
tions the Knights of Colum-
bus make to the Rachel Cen-
ter, Reidy said.
He and Tim Delsman,
grand knight of the Baker
City Council, brought the
$750 check to the center at
2192 Court Ave. on Tuesday
morning.
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
See Donation / A2
Clayton Franke/Baker City Herald
The Knights of Columbus donated $750 to the Rachel Center in
Baker City on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2022. From left, Vera Grove, the
center’s director, Patsy Hoelscher, chair of the center’s board of
directors, Matt Reidy, financial secretary for the Knights of Colum-
bus Baker City Council, and Tim Delsman, grand knight for the lo-
cal council.
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
Business ...........................B1
Horoscope ..............B3 & B4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
See Republicans / A3
Police arrest
man hours
after he was
released
from prison
See Wildfire / A5
Group donates $750 to Rachel Center
BY CLAYTON FRANKE
cfranke@bakercityherald.com
Suzan Ellis Jones, longtime
chair of the Baker County Re-
publican Party, contends a July
28 vote to suspend her and
other executive committee
members and elect a temporary
committee and chair violated
a party bylaw and thus is not
valid.
Jones and Vance Day, former
chair of the Oregon Republican
Party, said in a Monday, Aug. 1
interview that due to the lack of
a quorum of the county GOP
executive committee during
the July 28 meeting at the Baker
County Library, the votes are a
“nullity,” meaning the results ar-
en’t official.
During that meeting, elected
Republican precinct commit-
tee persons (PCPs) voted to
suspend for 60 days the county
party’s six-member executive
committee, including Jones,
and to investigate complaints
made about Jones.
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports ...............................A6
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Police arrested
a man on Monday, Aug. 1
on burglary, harassment and
criminal mischief charges less
than six hours after he had
been released from prison.
Alan William Wolfe, 35,
whom police described as
a transient, was arrested at
4:46 p.m. at 1340 Auburn Ave.
after officers responded to a
report of a burglary in prog-
ress there.
Baker City Police, deputies
from the Baker County Sher-
iff’s Office and employees from
the Baker County Parole and
Probation Department arrived,
finding Wolfe, shirtless and
bleeding from cuts to his arms.
Police found that the back
window of the home at that
address had been broken. Of-
ficers also found blood.
See Burglary / A2
Sudoku..............................B5
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6