GO! INSIDE
LOCAL A3
SPORTS A8
Country music fest
returns to La Grande
Update on hail
damage in Wallowa
Volleyball ready for
season opener
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL •BUSINESS & AG LIFE • SPORTS Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
Archery hunting for elk
starts Aug. 27, 2022, in
Northeastern Oregon. For
the first time, hunting in
most units is controlled,
meaning hunters must
have applied for and
drawn a tag.
A special good day to Herald
subscribers Louis and Marie
Marks of North Powder.
BRIEFING
—————
West Nile virus found
in more mosquitoes
West Nile virus has been
found in more mosquitoes
trapped in Baker County, includ-
ing some about 2 miles south
of Baker City.
Over the past month or so,
the virus, which mosquitoes
can spread to people through
bites, has been detected in 15
“pools” of mosquitoes in the
county, according to the Baker
Valley Vector Control District.
A pool of mosquitoes general-
ly consists of 10 to 50 bugs
collected in one of the district’s
traps, which are distributed
around the 200,000-acre area.
The district includes most of
Baker and Keating valleys,
and Bowen Valley just south of
Baker City.
A single pool of mosquitoes
trapped about 2 miles south of
Baker City was positive for the
virus.
The 14 other pools were all
trapped in the Keating Valley
about 15 miles east of Baker
City.
Most people who are infected
with West Nile virus never have
symptoms. But the virus can
cause serious neurological
issues, and in rare cases it can
be fatal.
There have not been any
confi rmed human infections in
Baker County this year.
WEATHER
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Today
90/50
Gary Lewis/
Contributed Photo, File
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Big
Season
changes
from
general to
controlled
for most
elk hunts
change
for archery
hunters
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
The archery hunting season will start as usual on the
last Saturday in August, but this year is anything but or-
dinary in one respect.
For most of Northeastern Oregon, the archery season
for elk is a controlled hunt for the first time.
In August 2021 the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commis-
sion decided to change archery hunting for elk in 13 units
and parts of three others from a general hunt — meaning
there’s no limit on the number of tags sold — to a con-
trolled hunt, with a limited number of tags that hunters
have to apply for through the state’s lottery system.
The general hunt system had been in place in Eastern
Oregon since 1979 for both elk and deer.
Since 1983 the archery season for both species has
lasted about a month, from late August to late Septem-
ber. This year the season runs from Aug. 27 through
Sept. 25.
But in 2020, officials from the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced a proposal to
change archery hunts from general to controlled for deer
and elk, starting in 2021.
See Archery / A5
Background photo from 123rf.com
Friday
BAKER CITY
90/54
Maverik
wants to
open 2nd
store
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
Baker City
councilors
could still
face recall
election
Former city
firefighter wants to
replace council,
potentially leading
to city manager’s
firing
Sunny
Sunny
THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 • $1.50
Existing store on
Campbell Street
would stay open
A former Baker City Fire De-
partment employee still wants
to give city voters a chance to
recall at least six of the seven
city councilors, and possibly
all seven, for not blocking City
Manager Jonathan Cannon’s
proposal to remove ambulance
service from the department’s
duties and cut its workforce.
Casey Husk, who resigned
his Baker City position earlier
this summer and now works
for the Hermiston Fire De-
partment, said he’s been busy
with training for his new job
over the past month or so.
But Husk said he still in-
tends to try to gather sufficient
signatures from registered
voters to force a recall election
later this year.
About 50 people attended a
meeting that Husk scheduled
July 14 at the Baker Commu-
nity Events Center where he
explained that he hopes to
have councilors recalled and
replaced with councilors who
would fire city manager Jona-
than Cannon.
Cannon, who has worked
as city manager since January
2021, initially proposed in late
March 2022 that the city end
its ambulance service.
Councilors talked about
the situation during several
meetings, but they didn’t block
Cannon’s proposal.
Baker County commission-
ers, who under Oregon law
are responsible for ensuring
ambulance service within the
county, on June 8 voted to hire
Metro West Ambulance of
Hillsboro to replace the city
fire department.
See Recall / A5
Council gives
Cannon
a 1.7% raise
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Maverik wants to open
its second gas station and
convenience store in Baker
City.
The company, which
opened its current store, at
1520 Campbell St., in No-
vember 2011, has applied
to build a second location
just east of Interstate 84
near the North Baker City
interchange, exit 302.
The property is just
southeast of the freeway
overpass.
Cassie Younger, plan-
ning project manager at
Maverik, said the company
plans to continue operating
the Campbell Street store.
She said the company
wants to expand its pres-
ence in Eastern Oregon.
Recent survey highlights
housing shortage in area
population.
Andi Walsh, public rela-
tions and grants manager
for New Directions, said
that submitting the report
puts New Directions in a
position to pursue grants,
in addition to a $1.4 mil-
lion state award it received
in June, to try to address the
housing issue.
“We’re hoping to be eli-
gible to be able to go after
those additional grant op-
portunities,” Walsh said.
Baker City Manager Jon-
athan Cannon will receive a
1.7% salary
increase af-
ter the City
Council dis-
cussed his
performance
during an
executive
Cannon
session prior
to the regu-
lar meeting on Tuesday, Aug.
23.
Cannon started as city man-
ager in January 2021.
His annual salary for the fis-
cal year that started July 1 was
set at $112,200.
The executive session was
closed to the public under Or-
egon’s Public Meetings Law,
which allows councilors to
discuss certain matters, in-
cluding the performance of a
city manager, during a closed
session.
See Maverik / A5
See Housing / A5
See Cannon / A5
BY CLAYTON FRANKE
cfranke@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 45
36 pages
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
A new home in the Silver Birch subdivision between Birch Street and Interstate 84, north of Camp-
bell Street.
New Directions Northwest receives
$1.4M grant, plans to apply for more
BY CLAYTON FRANKE
cfranke@bakercityherald.com
New Directions North-
west has pinpointed the
need for affordable housing,
and in particular for those
with behavioral health is-
sues, as a significant prob-
lem in Baker County.
New Directions, the non-
profit that provides mental
health counseling and other
services, in coordination
Business .....................B1-B3
Classified ....................B3-B6
Comics ..............................B7
with the Baker County Be-
havioral Health Housing
Task Force recently submit-
ted its final report to the
Oregon Health Authority
(OHA) detailing results
from a housing survey con-
ducted in May of this year.
New Directions serves
1,199 Baker County Medic-
aid behavioral health clients,
which accounts for approx-
imately 7.1% of the county’s
Community News.............A2
Crossword ...............B3 & B5
Dear Abby .........................B8
Horoscope ..............B4 & B5
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports ...............................A8
Sudoku..............................B7
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B8