BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, AugusT 16, 2022 A3
LOCAL & STATE
Steak
Continued from A1
Due to limited parking at
the golf course, Cheryl Bu-
chanan encourages diners to
carpool if possible.
Buchanan is one of 40-
some volunteers, from ages
4 to 93, who put on the steak
feed.
“It takes the whole commu-
nity and people out of Baker
help, too,” she said.
The steak feed began in
1948 as a late summer tradi-
tion for the Durkee commu-
nity, about 25 miles southeast
of Baker City along the Burnt
River.
The event has since moved
into Baker City to partner
with the Memory Cruise and
the golf course.
“It’s such a beautiful venue,”
Buchanan said.
The most recent event, in
2019, served 650 steak din-
ners.
Proceeds from the din-
ner support maintenance
and costs of the old Durkee
school, which now serves at
the community building for
dinners, events and special
functions.
In 2014, the Durkee Steak
Feed was named Best Philan-
thropic Event by the Oregon
Festivals and Events Associ-
ation.
Saturday ends with an in-
formal cruise on Main Street,
starting around 7 p.m.
Bentz discusses hot
topics in town halls
ANTONIO ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
Travel Baker County, File
Volunteers cook the famous pan bread during the 2019 Durkee Steak
Feed at Quail Ridge Golf Course. The event returns on Saturday, Aug.
20, 2022, after a two-year hiatus.
Clayton Franke/Baker City Herald
Claire Collier shows her sheep to potential buyers during the 4-H livestock auction at the Baker County Fair on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022.
Auction
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The arena was alive with the rambling of the
auctioneer and a consistent buzz from the au-
dience, which caused trouble for Elissa Nilsen,
who had to prod and drag her goat around the
show ring.
“(The goat) was scared of all the noise,” she
said.
But the animal eventually sold for $9 per
pound. It’s the most she’s garnered from any
auction, earning her just over $1,000 in total, an
amount Nilsen said she was happy with.
The auction was also the culmination of a
journey for many young livestock owners, one
that ultimately means parting ways with their
animal.
Nilsen talked about the range of emotions
that come after parting ways with an animal she
raised for the better part of a year.
“I’m a little upset, but I’m also relieved,” she
said. “It’s a lot of work trying to raise a goat.”
Kellar expressed the same sense of relief.
“I don’t own him anymore!” he exclaimed
shortly after he sold his sheep.
Results from the auction are still being com-
piled, and will be reported in a future issue of the
Clayton Franke/Baker City Herald
Baker City Herald.
The 2021 auction set a record with sales total- Aaron Kellar shows his ewe, which sold for $8 a pound, to potential buyers during the
ing $517,026.
4-H auction on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022.
Lawsuit
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McCarty is seeking either a
ruling that the disputed sec-
tion of the Pine Creek Road
that crosses his property is not
a public right-of-way, or, if a
jury concludes there is legal
public access on the road, that
the extent of the access be de-
fined and that the county pay
him $730,000 to compensate
for the lost value of his land
due to the right-of-way.
McCarty’s lawsuit is pend-
ing, with court hearings ten-
tatively scheduled for Oct. 31
and the week of Dec. 19.
In response to McCarty’s
lawsuit, the Baker County
Board of Commissioners has
been pursuing a legal action
to declare the Pine Creek
Road, including the section
across the property that Mc-
Carty bought in September
2020, as a public route.
Commissioners are sched-
uled to approve a resolution
related to declaring the road
as public during their meeting
Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 9 a.m.
at the Courthouse, 1995 Third
St.
New lawsuit
The Sanderses and La-
gers contend in the lawsuit
that McCarty and Linstrom
have infringed on their abil-
ity to enjoy their properties
by installing the locked gate,
setting up cameras “to moni-
tor the attempted use of Pine
Creek Road,” and “attempted
privatization of Pine Creek
Road.”
The couples are each seek-
ing monetary damages of at
least $250,000.
They are also asking for a
judgment that confirms that
both couples can access their
properties “without notice to
or permission from any De-
fendant and without intimi-
dation, harassment, assault, or
threat of interference.”
The couples also are asking
that a judge issue a warrant
to the Baker County Sheriff
mandating that the sheriff re-
move the gate and the cam-
eras McCarty installed.
Among the parcels that the
Lagers and Sanderses own are
ones completely surrounded
by McCarty’s property. The
Pine Creek Road is the only
vehicular access to their prop-
erties, according to the law-
suit.
“Defendants ignored the
real and private property
rights of the Sanders and the
Lagers, even though Defen-
dants knew or should have
known that the Sanders and
the Lagers relied solely on
Pine Creek Road for ingress
and egress to their respective
properties,” the lawsuit states.
The plaintiffs contend in
the lawsuit that the defen-
dants, who have logged the
McCarty property, also felled
trees on the Sanders prop-
erty, and removed padlocks
the Sanderses had installed on
their cabin and replaced them
with other locks, and blocked
vehicle access to the couple’s
cabin with “one or more large
obstacles in the driveway.”
“They also installed new
boundary posts on the Sand-
ers Property and around the
Sanders Cabin and ‘no tres-
passing’ signs that claimed the
Sanders Property belonged
to McCarty,” the lawsuit con-
tends.
The lawsuit also accuses the
defendants of financial abuse
and elder abuse, stating that
due to their ages and to Sha-
ren Sanders’ disability, they
are both “vulnerable people
as defined in ORS 124.100(e).”
James Sanders is 69 and
Sharen Sanders is 81 and le-
gally blind, according to the
lawsuit.
The suit also claims finan-
cial abuse and elder abuse
against Tom Lager, who is 68,
due to his age.
The lawsuit claims “McCa-
rty and the other Defendants
knew or should have known
that interference with Plain-
tiffs’ real property, timber,
and personal property would
inflict severe mental or emo-
tional distress and Plaintiffs
are entitled to damages for this
infliction.”
Plaintiffs expressed
concerns during April
public hearing
Both Lagers and James
Sanders were among the 19
people who objected to McCa-
rty’s actions, including install-
ing the locked gate, during a
public hearing called by county
commissioners on April 19,
2022, in Baker City.
During that hearing Tom
Lager told commissioners that
he and his wife own 11 parcels
in the Pine Creek area, as well
as the Timber Tiger Lodge
rental cabin. Tom Lager called
Pine Creek “the most beautiful
canyon in Baker Valley.”
“We love it — it’s our back-
yard,” Tom Lager said on April
19. “We enjoyed that country
so much that we have pur-
chased those parcels.”
He also said that since Mc-
Carty bought the 1,560 acres,
Lager was unable, for the first
time in 13 years, to bring to
Pine Creek a young hunter
who has a terminal illness for a
guided hunt through the Hunt
of a Lifetime program.
Lager accused McCarty of
“greed” and of trying “to take it
away from the public.”
“They don’t own the road,”
Lager said during the April 19
hearing. “They own the 1,560
(acres) they purchased.”
Betty Lager said during the
hearing that she and her fam-
ily feel “like we’re held hostage”
due to the gate McCarty in-
stalled, and that since the gate
went up the Lagers have used
their own property about “one-
tenth” as often as before.
During the April 19 hear-
ing, James Sanders told com-
missioners he first visited Pine
Creek, along with Tom Lager,
in 1975.
Sanders said he bought a
cabin near the Lagers’ property
in 2002. He said he has spoken
with “hundreds” of people in
the area since, and although
he’s reminded a few visitors
about not camping on private
property that adjoins the road
for part of its length, he’s never
had any vandalism at his cabin
or been harassed.
But that wasn’t the case,
Sanders said, after McCarty
bought the property. He said
acquaintances of McCarty fol-
lowed him and his friends af-
ter they rode four-wheelers to
his cabin.
“It’s just crazy,” Sanders
said. “They have no right to
do what they’re doing. Stop
them.”
PENDLETON — The
FBI raid on the residence
of former President Don-
ald Trump, social media
and immigration were
some of the hot topics U.S.
Rep. Cliff Bentz addressed
during town hall meet-
ings Wednesday, Aug. 10, in
Eastern Oregon.
Fifty or so locals attended
the afternoon event at Blue
Mountain Community Col-
lege Science & Technology
Center, Pendleton. While
not every member got their
number called to speak,
many did get an opportu-
nity to make their voices
heard.
After briefly introduc-
ing himself, Bentz opened
up the floor for questions.
Jim Setzer of Adams had
the first question of the
day, asking Bentz about his
voting history, including
his stance on abortion and
other health care options.
“I am a right-to-life can-
didate,” Bentz said in re-
sponse. “If you would like
a choice candidate, you
should vote for someone
else.”
Audience members asked
two separate questions re-
garding the recent FBI raid
of former President Donald
Trump’s private residence
at his Mar-a-Lago resort in
Palm Beach, Florida. Bentz
said he wanted to get more
information on the situa-
tion, but questioned why
the FBI was in the vicinity.
“The FBI has overreached
over and over again,” Bentz
said. “One thing we’re wait-
ing for is why did they do
it?”
Bentz also discussed the
dangers of social media
throughout the meeting.
He questioned the abilities
for tech companies to dis-
tinguish between misinfor-
mation and “something you
don’t like.”
Approximately 15 peo-
ple addressed Bentz during
the public forum though
some did not have a ques-
tion. Several participants
thanked Bentz for his work
in Washington or the vet-
erans on his staff for their
service.
The first-term representa-
tive briefly touched on other
issues such as the 2020 pres-
idential election and voting
issues before concluding the
town hall and thanking all
participants for their partic-
ipation and time.
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner, Umatilla County
Commissioner John Shafer,
and BMCC President Mark
Browning were all in atten-
dance. None of them asked
questions.
It was the sixth stop for
Bentz on his trip around
Oregon’s 2nd Congressio-
nal District. The represen-
tative before the Pendleton
event made stops on Grants
Pass, Medford, Prineville,
Madras, and that morning
in Boardman. He said he
plans to make more stops
throughout the district in
Hail
Continued from A1
But then she noticed that
she could hear individual
stones slamming into her
home’s roof, which has com-
posite shingles — much less
musical than tin.
“I thought that was weird,
that I could hear that,” Den-
nis said.
But not as weird as what
she saw outside.
“It was piling up and beat-
ing my plants to death,” she
said. “I’ve never seen hail
that big. I couldn’t believe
my eyes.”
She said stones, which
were bulbous and mis-
shapen rather than perfectly
round, bounced a foot or so
off the ground.
Dennis said the hail con-
tinued for 5 to 6 minutes.
The storm knocked many
of the plums out of Dennis’
trees, and severely damaged
her jalapeno plants, prompt-
ing the impromptu pickling
lest the peppers go to waste.
She said hail cracked the
windshield of her son Jason
Molina’s pickup truck, which
was parked on her property
while her son is visiting.
Fortunately, she said,
her own truck was parked
in a carport, and her four-
the follow-
ing weeks.
Boardman
town hall
Bentz ad-
dressed im-
migration,
Bentz
child care
and veter-
ans’ benefits a few hours
before at the SAGE Cen-
ter at the Port of Morrow,
Boardman. About a dozen
residents attended the town
hall.
He also gave some indica-
tion as to how things might
change in Washington with
the upcoming midterm
election. If Republicans are
in the majority next year, he
said, they will be looking for
ways to cut back on govern-
ment spending.
Some in the meeting
wanted to know about gov-
ernment assistance. Debbie
Radie of Boardman Foods
asked Bentz about issues re-
lated to employment.
Radie pointed out the
nation has a low unemploy-
ment rate, but Boardman
Foods is having trouble
finding enough employees.
She said businesses such
as Boardman Foods could
benefit if the federal govern-
ment acted on child care,
freeing parents to work.
Also, she said, businesses
need foreign immigrants for
their labor, and government
could help with that, too.
Cameron Krebs agreed,
saying foreign workers are
key to our community and
essential to local business.
He called for Bentz to sup-
port their efforts, possibly
with a program to offer am-
nesty.
Bentz responded to both,
saying the U.S. is facing an
“organized wave” of immi-
gration that will need to be
addressed before it can ex-
pand a visa program.
He said he has visited the
U.S.-Mexico border, and
he has seen immigrants
massing there. Many of the
people, he said, are poor,
uneducated and lacking
proficiency in English. Ac-
cording to Bentz, many
people are illegitimately
claiming asylum. And Bentz
expressed the hope the bor-
der could be fixed.
Radie also asked about
nitrate contamination, a
major issue of concern in
the Boardman area. Bentz
acknowledged there has
been a long-standing prac-
tice of imprecise nitrate use,
which has led to the con-
tamination of many private
wells. He said this problem
needs addressing, both in
short and long terms.
And veteran Chris Brown
said he suffers from health
problems and has had dif-
ficulty receiving care. Ac-
cording to Brown, the sys-
tem of providing health
care to veterans is “not user
friendly.” Other vets agreed
more needs to be done.
He said he would look
into the issue and commu-
nicate further with people
who were having troubles.
wheeler was also covered.
Dennis said that based on
conversations with relatives
and friends, it seemed that
the hailstones were bigger,
or at least the damage more
extensive, closer to Oxbow.
She said her niece, Emily
Kormyla, was visiting her
mother, and Dennis’ sis-
ter, Julie Stromer, who lives
about a quarter-mile north
of Oxbow.
Dennis said stones dented
Kormyla’s Toyota 4-Runner
in several places.
Sven Berg, a spokesman
for Idaho Power Company,
which owns and operates
the Oxbow Dam and has
many employees living in
the area, said the storm
didn’t damage any company
facilities.
Berg said he did hear,
however, from employees
about damage to vehicles
and camp trailers.
Dennis said she considers
herself lucky that the dam-
age wasn’t worse.
She noted that hail that
fell a day earlier, on Aug. 11,
in Wallowa caused wide-
spread damage to vehicles,
homes, signs and other
structures.
“My sympathy goes to
Wallowa Valley residents,”
she said.