Local
A2
Thursday, August 11, 2022
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
August 11, 1972
The Baker post offi ce now has a fl eet of six vehicles to
help the postal service deliver the mail cheaper and with
fewer personnel, according to Tom Bunch, acting superin-
tendent.
He emphasized, however, that the success of the pro-
gram depends on how well people cooperate in moving their
mail boxes to the curb to speed delivery.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 11, 1997
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Koon
of Baker City has assumed command of the 448th Civil
Affairs Battalion at Fort Lewis.
When he is not dressed like a tree in camoufl age battle
dress, Koon works for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
in Baker City.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 10, 2012
The Crown Vic is out.
The Interceptor is in.
That’s the sleek new blue-and-white sedan being driven
by Baker City Police supervisors, Sgt. Michael Regan and
Sgt. Josh Bryant.
The police cruiser, built on the Ford Taurus platform, is the
newest in a line of vehicles used by law enforcement offi cers
throughout the county.
Police Chief Wyn Lohner said the Interceptor was the
Baker City department’s choice when Ford discontinued its
Crown Victoria model.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
August 10, 2021
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown on Wednesday, Aug. 11, or-
dered face masks worn indoors in public places by everyone
age 5 and over beginning Friday.
At a Wednesday morning press call, Brown said the highly
contagious delta variant was pushing the virus spread to the
point that each infected person was infecting eight others.
“Moving forward, for the immediate future, masks will be
required for all indoor public settings,” Brown said.
The mandate applies to adults and children older than 5.
On public transit, also includes children older than 2.
Brown also urged, but did not mandate, wearing masks in
crowded outdoor situations. She also urged private compa-
nies and other organizations to enact their own indoor mask
policies.
Brown’s order came the day after the Oregon Health &
Sciences University’s infectious disease experts forecast
the state could see over 1,000 COVID-19 patients per day in
hospitals by early next month. Oregon would be about 500
staffed beds short of needs for all patients if the rate hit its
projected peak of Sept. 7.
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state epidemiologist, said this
“fi fth wave” of COVID-19 to hit the state in the past 18
months was different than earlier spikes.
More than half the population is vaccinated, but the
“relentless” delta variant was spreading rapidly through the
estimated 1.2 million Oregon residents who are not inoculat-
ed. That group includes children under 12 for whom there is
no federally approved vaccine as yet.
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SENIOR MENUS
FRIDAY (August 12): Barbecued ribs, baked beans, corn on the
cob, rolls, macaroni salad, tapioca
MONDAY (August 15): Hot beef sandwiches, mashed potatoes
with gravy, peas and carrots, fruit cup, cookies
TUESDAY (August 16): Pork tips over noodles, mixed vegeta-
bles, rolls, Jell-O with fruit, brownies
WEDNESDAY (August 17): Chef salad, breadsticks, fruit, sherbet
THURSDAY (August 18): Chili cheese dogs, cheese and onions,
tater tots, macaroni salad, cheesecake
FRIDAY (August 19): Pot roast, scalloped potatoes, carrots, rolls,
green salad, pudding
MONDAY (August 22): Spaghetti, mixed vegetables, garlic
bread, green salad, ice cream
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.
Telephone: 541-523-3673
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
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Classifi ed email
classifi ed@bakercityherald.com
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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
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Postmaster: Send address changes to
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City, OR 97814.
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Copyright © 2022
Baker City Herald • bakercityherald.com
Wolf is killed north of Halfway
Baker City Herald
Oregon State Police is in-
vestigating the illegal shooting
death of a wolf north of Half-
way.
Fish and wildlife troopers
from the agency learned on
Aug. 5 that a wolf fitted with a
tracking collar was dead near
Forest Road 66, between Fish
Lake and Twin Lakes in the
Wallowa Mountains north of
Halfway.
Troopers, along with em-
ployees from the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife,
found the wolf carcass near
the road.
The wolf had “injuries con-
sistent with having been shot
by a firearm,” according to an
OSP press release. Troopers
believe the wolf was killed the
morning of Aug. 4.
The wolf, a 2-year-old fe-
male, was part of the Keating
pack.
The Oregon Wildlife Coali-
tion and conservation partners
are offering to pay an $11,500
reward that leads to an arrest
and/or citation, according to
the press release.
Anyone with information
regarding this case is urged to
contact OSP through the Turn
in Poachers (TIP) hotline
at 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP
(*677), or email TIP@osp.or-
egon.gov.
Reference case number
SP22201971.
Bennett
Continued from A1
The goal of the 2021 legislation that re-
quired the risk map, among other things,
is to encourage rural residents to clean up
their properties and reduce the wildfire
threat, he said — actions that in theory
should reduce, not increase, insurance costs.
Bennett said he fears that the outcry over
the risk map, even though state officials have
decided to revise it, could deflect attention
from the chief objective of encouraging rural
residents to help protect their homes from
fire. Under the legislation that requires the
state to draw the fire risk map — Senate Bill
762 — owners of some properties deemed to
be at high or extreme risk for wildfire could
be required to clean up their land and also be
subject to more strict zoning rules.
State agencies are still working on the reg-
ulations for both of those issues.
Bennett’s involvement
Bennett has for years been a leader in
state discussions about wildfires.
In early 2019 he was appointed to the
Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response.
That group, created by Gov. Kate Brown’s
executive order of Jan. 30, 2019, was tasked
with reviewing the state’s overall wildfire
strategy, including fire prevention and fire-
fighting, protecting homes and communi-
ties that are at a higher risk from wildfires,
and the health effects of wildfire smoke.
In 2021, after fires severely damaged sev-
eral Oregon towns over Labor Day 2020,
and after the Oregon Legislature approved
Senate Bill 762, Bennett was appointed to
another state advisory group, the Wildfire
Programs Advisory Council. He was elected
as chair of that council during its first meet-
ing on Nov. 5, 2021.
A ‘far-reaching’ law
Senate Bill 762, which Bennett described
as “far-reaching” and which he and other
members of the Governor’s Council on
Wildfire Response helped to create, has
several parts. The legislation includes more
than $195 million to help bolster Oregon’s
ability to deal with wildfires, including re-
ducing the risk of blazes.
A key part of that strategy is promoting
what’s known as “defensible spaces.”
The basic idea is to encourage people
who live in areas prone to wildfires to pro-
Oregon State Police/Contributed Photo
This 2-year-old female wolf from the Keating pack was shot and
killed, probably on the morning of Aug. 4, 2022, near Fish Lake north
of Halfway.
tect their homes by, for instance, pruning
trees and maintaining a zone devoid of eas-
ily combustible material within 50 to 100
feet of homes.
The state is focusing on properties that
are deemed to be at high or extreme fire
risk and that are also within what’s known
as the wildland-urban interface — WUI,
where homes are built in or near forests or
rangelands where wildfires are more likely
to start. The legislation includes money for
a grant program to help people who own
property that’s within the WUI, and at high
or extreme risk, to create defensible spaces.
Concerns about reaction
to fire risk map
Bennett said that although as a member
of the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council
he didn’t contribute to drawing the map —
that was a task assigned to the Oregon De-
partment of Forestry and Oregon State Uni-
versity — he and other council members
expressed concern about how landowners
and the public in general might react to the
release of the map.
Bennett said he was especially worried
about cases in which landowners might dis-
pute their fire risk designation.
During the council’s second meeting, on
Jan. 14, 2022, Bennett addressed that issue.
He said the release of the fire risk map could
result in a “tremendous backlash” and that it
“is not going to be a pretty sight” if the map
and its designations came as a surprise to
property owners and to local elected offi-
cials. Bennett also commented during that
meeting that the fire risk map was one of
the more “critical and controversial topics”
related to Senate Bill 762.
Also during the Jan. 14 meeting, Mike
Shaw, fire chief for the Forestry Depart-
ment, said the risk map, and the designation
of properties as being within the WUI, “is
going to be an extremely contentious topic.”
“At the end of the day there’s going to be
folks that are frustrated with the outcome,
regardless of what the outcome is,” Shaw
said.
State solicited public comments
The Forestry Department had three pub-
lic hearings from April 19-21 to collect com-
ments about the fire risk map and criteria
for whether a property is within the WUI.
Based on requests from people attending
those hearings, the agency extended the
public comment period and scheduled an
“information session” on April 29.
Although the state conducted the hear-
ings, the map itself wasn’t available until
about two months later.
During an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 9,
Bennett said he saw the map just two days
before it was released to the public on June
30 through the Forestry Department’s web-
site.
He said that to some extent the map illus-
trated the concerns he had expressed during
the Jan. 14 meeting.
For instance, Bennett said the map
deemed at high risk an irrigated property
along Highway 26 near Prineville, while
unirrigated land on the opposite side of the
highway, which included a residential sub-
division in a juniper forest, was at moder-
ate risk. He said those designations seemed
backward to him, since juniper trees are
especially vulnerable to wildfire, while irri-
gated fields are not.Bennett also noted that
some rural fire stations were deemed at high
or extreme risk.
He said he was concerned that the risk
map, which designated properties based
on local weather, climate, topography and
vegetation and used satellite images rather
than on-the-ground surveys, didn’t con-
sider whether an individual property owner
had already created a defensible space, or
whether the parcel was within a fire pro-
tection district. Either factor, Bennett said,
could make a property less vulnerable to
wildfire, even if it’s within the WUI.
Bennett said he was also troubled by the
timeline. Senate Bill 762 required the For-
estry Department to release the fire risk
map by June 30.
Bennett and other members of the advi-
sory council said during the Jan. 14 meeting
that letting the public, and affected property
owners, know about the fire risk map in ad-
vance was vital.
State Forester Cal Mukumoto, in an Aug.
3 statement announcing the map had been
withdrawn, conceded that the state had not
been aggressive enough in notifying the
public about the map and soliciting public
comment about the map’s creation.
“While we met the bill’s initial dead-
line for delivering on the map, there wasn’t
enough time to allow for the type of lo-
cal outreach and engagement that people
wanted, needed and deserved,” Mukumoto
said.
News of Record
DEATHS
Billy James Lee Sr.: 90, of Baker City,
died Aug. 8, 2022, at his residence
with his loving family by his side.
His memorial service will take place
Saturday, Aug. 13 at 10 a.m. at the Baker
City Church of the Nazarene, 1250
Hughes Lane. Memorial contributions
can be made to the Northeast Oregon
Compassion Center through Gray’s
West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey
Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. To light
a candle in Bill’s memory, or to offer
online condolences to his family, go to
www.grayswestco.com.
Zona K. Irby Hiatt: 68, of Baker City,
died Aug. 5, 2022, at her home. Services
are under the direction of Coles Tribute
Center, 1950 Place St. in Baker City. To
light a candle in memory of Zona, go to
www.colestributecenter.com.
Nelda Faye Marshall: 91, of Haines,
died Aug. 5, 2022, at Saint Alphonsus
Medical Center-Baker City. Her
memorial service will take place
Saturday, Aug. 13 at 2 p.m. at the Haines
First Baptist Church, with Pastor Ben
Janzen officiating. A graveside service
and interment will be at the Haines
Cemetery Saturday, Aug. 13 at 3 p.m. A
reception will immediately follow at the
Haines First Baptist Church. To leave an
online condolence for Nelda’s family and
friends, go to www.grayswestco.com.
Gary Lee Way: 80, of Baker City, died
Aug. 9, 2022, at his residence. To leave
an online condolence for Gary’s family,
go to www.grayswestco.com.
bakercityherald.com
Tuesday, Aug. 9 in Huntington; jailed.
DRIVING WHILE SUSPENDED: Robert
Wayne Jarboe, 47, Huntington, 11:04 a.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 9 in Huntington; cited and
released.
Oregon State Police
Arrests, citations
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
INTOXICANTS: Cindy Kay Gipson,
50, Gooding, Idaho, 5:49 p.m. Friday,
Aug. 5 on Interstate 84, Milepost 304
eastbound; cited and released.
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF
INTOXICANTS: David Joseph Kerwynn,
66, Salt Lake City, 2:46 p.m. Friday,
Aug. 5 on Interstate 84, Milepost 351
westbound; cited and released.
Accident report
On Saturday, Aug. 6 at 5:03 p.m., Sr.
Trooper Tim Schuette responded to
a report of a single-car rollover crash
on Highway 86, Milepost 22. Schuette
wrote in his report that he arrived at
found that the driver, Travis L. Cannon,
52, of Richland, had extricated himself
from his Chevrolet Silverado pickup.
Schuette wrote that Cannon told him he
had fallen asleep while driving. Cannon
was taken to Saint Alphonsus Medical
Center-Baker City, where he was treated
and released.
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POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
PROBATION VIOLATION: Juan Pablo
Burgos, 61, transient, 2:25 p.m. Tuesday,
Aug. 9 in the 2100 block of 10th Street;
jailed.
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Baker County
Justice Court warrant), FAILURE TO
APPEAR (Washington County Circuit
Court warrant): Rito Nito Gutierrez, 39,
Baker City, 1:52 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9 at
Geiser-Pollman Park; jailed.
VIOLATION OF RELEASE AGREEMENT:
Kristi Ann Moudy-Koos, 45, Baker City,
7:14 a.m. Monday, Aug. 8 in the 1900
block of Birch Street; cited and released.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
PROBATION VIOLATION: Victoria Jean
McLean, 39, Huntington, 6:22 p.m.
(PG-13)
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