Local
A2
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Baker City Herald • bakercityherald.com
Transformer
hauling will
delay traffic
on Hwy. 86
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
September 5, 1972
HUNTINGTON — Council, the defending Long Pin League
champion in Idaho, has a strange way of spelling trouble but
the spelling is becoming more common in Western Idaho
and Oregon with easy passing grid season: H-U-N-T-I-N-G-T-
O-N. The Idahoans have the Herculean task of snapping the
Locomotives’ win streak, which has snowballed through four
seasons and 45 games.
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
September 5, 1997
Public hearings are scheduled in Baker City and Halfway
next week to help fi nalize the list of suggested road names
for the Baker County Rural Addressing Project.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
September 7, 2012
The small yellow airplane fl ying over farm fi elds and other
parts of the Baker Valley recently is treating the local potato
crop so it won’t be affected by a costly ailment called Zebra
chip disease.
The aerial insecticide treatments were discussed during
Wednesday’s meeting of the Baker County Commissioners.
Dick Haines, who operates a small certifi ed crop fi eld
in Baker Valley, said he could “smell chemicals in the air”
when the plane was spraying crops in fi elds adjoining his
property.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
September 7, 2021
There’s likely more brown lawns than usual in these
waning weeks of summer in Baker City, and Michelle Owen
is grateful for those who sacrifi ced their usual lush turf.
Residents heeded the city’s advice and cut back on their
water use during August.
Their voluntary action has helped avoid what could have
been a much more serious water supply crisis, said Owen,
the city’s public works director.
“I’m so pleased with the way the community has pulled
together to reduce their water consumption during this
drought,” Owen wrote in an email to the Herald on Sept. 2.
“The reduction of irrigation use clearly made a difference
this year.”
Residents used 23% less water during August than they
did during July, and 14% less than in June, according to city
fi gures.
“With colder nights and shorter days I would expect to
see a steady reduction in use throughout September,” Owen
said.
She started becoming concerned about the water supply
during June.
With rainfall just 17% of average for the month at the
Baker City Airport, and a record-setting heatwave in the fi nal
week, the city’s water use averaged 4.3 million gallons per
day during June.
That was an increase of 45% compared with June 2020.
The unusually high water use during June prompted
Owen to move the city to Phase 1 of its water curtailment
ordinance on June 28 — asking residents and businesses to
voluntarily reduce their water use.
Two weeks later, with hot temperatures continuing and no
rain falling, the city shifted to Phase 2, in which residents
are asked to restrict outdoor watering to between 7 p.m.
and 7 a.m., when evaporation rates are lower and less water
is needed for lawns and gardens.
At the time, Owen noted that the city had been going
through 5 million gallons or more on several days, a rate
that the city could not sustain throughout summer, she said.
The city gets most of its water from springs and streams
in the 10,000-acre watershed on the east slopes of the
Elkhorn Mountains about 10 miles west of town.
OREGON LOTTERY
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3 — 8 — 27 — 37
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Next jackpot: $159 million
MEGA MILLIONS, SEPT. 2
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LUCKY LINES, SEPT. 4
1-8-10-13-17-23-28-30
Next jackpot: $34,000
WEDNESDAY (Sept. 7): Chicken cordon bleu with hollandaise,
rice, broccoli, rolls, cottage cheese with fruit, bread pudding
THURSDAY (Sept. 8): Ground beef steak with onions and
gravy, mixed vegetables, rolls, green salad, ice cream
FRIDAY (Sept. 9): Spaghetti, broccoli, garlic bread, green
salad, tapioca
MONDAY (Sept. 12): Chicken and gravy over a biscuit, green
beans, green salad, lemon squares
TUESDAY (Sept. 13): Chicken-fried chicken, au grautin pota-
toes, corn, rolls, pasta salad, cinnamon rolls
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
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Advertising email
ads@bakercityherald.com
Classifi ed email
classifi ed@bakercityherald.com
Circulation email
circ@bakercityherald.com
Groups ask state to regulate
large dairies’ air pollution
BY ALEX BAUMHARDT
Oregon Capital Chronicle
SALEM — Two dozen
environmental, farming
and public health groups
are asking the state to regu-
late air pollution from large
dairies.
In an Aug. 17 petition,
they asked the Oregon
Environmental Quality
Commission to create an
air-emissions program to
measure and regulate air
pollution from farms with
700 or more cows. Starting
at that threshold, owners
must obtain a state agricul-
tural permit that regulates
land and groundwater pol-
lution from large livestock
operations.
The commission, a regu-
lation-setting board for the
Department of Environ-
mental Quality, has 90 days
to respond to the petition.
This is the third time
in 15 years that advocates
have called for regulating
dairy air emissions. The
groups claim the state Ag-
riculture Department and
the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality
have focused on regulat-
ing land and water pollu-
tion from large dairies, but
have largely ignored air
pollution. Each year, cows
at large dairies produce
tons of manure and urine
containing ammonia gas,
which is harmful to breathe
and can cause burning in
the eyes, nose and throat
and lead to long-term re-
spiratory issues.
Cows are also among
the biggest sources of the
greenhouse gas methane.
In cows, it’s produced when
they digest and then is ex-
pelled when they burp and
defecate. Methane traps
heat in the atmosphere,
contributing to global
warming.
Large dairy operators op-
pose regulating emissions.
They say Oregon dairies are
doing the best they can to
reduce harmful emissions.
Opponents also say that
more regulations would
further burden family farms
contending with increased
operating and labor costs
and lower milk prices.
Another attempt at
regulation
In 2007, the state Legis-
lature created a Dairy Air
Quality Task Force made
up of local and state offi-
cials, scientists from Ore-
gon State University, public
health professionals and
representatives from envi-
ronmental groups and the
dairy industry.
They studied dairy emis-
sions and the effects of
methane, ammonia and
small particles in the air
from animals and manure,
strongly recommending the
state create a dairy air-emis-
sions program, but legisla-
tion was never proposed.
In 2017, another attempt
at regulation failed when a
bill to create a permit pro-
gram for dairy air pollution
died in the Senate.
Emily Miller, staff at-
torney at the Washington
D.C. based Food & Water
Watch, is one of the 22 pe-
titioners. She said the latest
petition builds on the work
that groups in Oregon have
been doing for years.
“This was necessary in
2007, and it’s necessary
now,” she said. “It’s very
clear that agriculture is
the number one source of
methane in the state, and
that livestock and manure
are an increasingly large
part of that.”
The number of cows in
Oregon has more than tri-
pled in the last three de-
cades, and the number of
farms with 1,000 or more
cows has too. In 1997, Or-
egon had eight dairies with
more than 1,000 cows, ac-
cording to Miller. Today
there are 68. One of the
largest, Threemile Canyon
in northeast Oregon, has
70,000 cows. In 2005, its
ammonia emissions were
among the highest in the
nation, according to a Food
and Water Watch analysis
of Environmental Protec-
tion Agency data.
Threemile Canyon did
not respond to a request
for comment.
In its petition, the co-
alition included research
showing emissions of
methane, ammonia and
other gasses and particu-
lates from large dairies are
detrimental to the health of
people who work at large
dairies and for people who
live nearby.
The groups also claim
that Oregon’s regulators are
reneging on their duties to
“use any and all discretion
vested in them by law” to
achieve the state’s green-
house gas reduction targets
set by the governor’s 2020
executive order on climate.
Those include reducing
Oregon’s greenhouse gas
emissions to at least 80%
below 1990 levels by 2050.
By not regulating meth-
ane from large dairies, the
groups say Oregon’s agri-
culture and environmental
regulators are ignoring a
major source of pollution
in the state.
PICK 4, Sept. 4
SENIOR MENUS
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press, File
Cows are milked at Threemile Canyon Farms near Boardman. Two dozen environmental, farming
and public health groups are asking the state to regulate air pollution from large dairies.
Drivers on Highway 86 east of
Baker City should plan for up to
20-minute delays at night from
Thursday, Sept. 8 through Sun-
day, Sept. 11.
The delays are needed to al-
low a large electrical transformer,
hauled on a trailer 180 feet long
and 16 feet wide, on the two-lane
highway.
The transformer, which will
be hauled from Baker City to the
Oxbow Dam, weighs 416,300
pounds, according to the Oregon
Department of Transportation
(ODOT).
The trailer will be on the high-
way during the evenings and early
mornings, traveling at 10 mph to
40 mph. Drivers should expect
pilot cars, flaggers and traffic con-
trol crews.
Delays might occur between
10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The shipment
is scheduled at night to avoid
heavier traffic loads during the
day.
“It’s just such a big load that
they have to kind of run it down
the middle of the highway and
that blocks traffic,” said Tom
Strandberg, public information
officer for ODOT’s Region 5.
“They stop traffic, move down
a few miles, they open up traffic
again and when things are cleared
they stop it again and they move
down the road a few more miles.
It’s kind of a slow process so it can
take all night long, depending
how much of the traffic’s on the
road.”
The empty trailer will return
to Baker City on the evening of
Sept. 11.
Strandberg said this week’s
transformer shipment is similar
to a load hauled on Highway 86
last year.
The transformer will be hauled
from near the railroad tracks on
the west side of Baker City, fol-
lowing Broadway Street to 10th
Street, then east on Hughes Lane
and north on Cedar Street to
Highway 86.
Strandberg said the freight is
brought into Baker City by train
and a transport trailer is brought
in to carry it on the highway.
Travel times and dates may
change depending on weather
and other unforeseen conditions.
“We’re just trying to let folks
know that hey, it’s going to be
there so if you’re planning on do-
ing some travel, you might want
to adjust it so you either travel
before or after or modify it some-
how,” Strandberg said.
Updated information will be
posted on TripCheck.com during
the move. The freight contains
no hazardous materials, fuels, or
liquids.
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
for print only. Digital-only rates are $8.25.
Postmaster: Send address changes to
the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker
City, OR 97814.
Periodicals Postage Paid
at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2022
News of Record
DEATHS
Gordon Eugene Colton: 82, of Baker
City, died Sept. 3, 2022, surrounded by
family. His memorial service will take
place Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. at
St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, followed
by interment, with military honors, at
Mount Hope Cemetery. Friends are
invited to join the family for a reception,
after the interment, at the St. Francis
Parish Hall. Visitations will be Friday,
Sept. 9 from noon to 4 p.m. at Gray’s
West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey
Ave., with the Rosary said at 3 p.m.
Contributions in Gordon’s memory can
be made to the Baker FFA chapter or to
the Alzheimer’s Association. To leave an
online condolence for Gordon’s family,
go to www.grayswestco.com.
Dale Dodson: 91, of Baker City,
entered into Heaven on Sept. 2, 2022,
at Meadowbrook Place in Baker City, A
celebration of his life will be planned
and announced later. Memorial
contributions can be made to the Baker
Orpheum Theatre Project in care of
Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500
Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. To
light a candle in Dale’s honor, or to offer
online condolences to his family, go to
www.grayswestco.com.
Eva LaVelle Scrivner: 89, a longtime
Baker City resident, died Sept. 4,
2022, at Ashley Maney Assisted
Living, surrounded by her family.
Arrangements are under the
direction of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services. Online
condolences can be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
FUNERALS PENDING
Dulcina Robertson: Mass of Christian
burial will be Thursday, Sept. 8 at
11 a.m. at St. Therese Catholic Church
in Halfway. Rev. Suresh Telagani of St.
Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker City
will celebrate the Mass. Vault interment
will follow at Pine Haven Cemetery in
Halfway. Donations in her memory
can be made to the Halfway Library
through Coles Tribute Center, 1950
Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light a
candle in Dulcina’s memory, go to www.
colestributecenter.com.
Frank William Hermann: A celebration
of his life will take place on Sept. 9 at
1 p.m. at the Harvest Christian Church,
3720 Birch St. in Baker City. To leave an
online condolence for Frank’s family, go
to www.grayswestco.com.
Kenneth Kulis: A celebration of his
life take place Saturday, Sept. 10 at
1 p.m. at the Senior Center in John
Day, with a potluck lunch to follow. The
family will provide the main course
and everyone else is welcome to bring
a side dish of their choice. Online
condolences can be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Peggy Anna Pittman: Graveside
service Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. at Mount
Hope Cemetery. Friends are invited to
join the family for a reception afterward
at the Baker City Christian Church, 675
Highway 7. In lieu of flowers, memorial
contributions can be made to Smile
Train, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or
Shriner’s Children’s Hospital through
Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500
Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. To
light a candle in Peggy’s memory, or to
offer online condolences to her family,
go to www.grayswestco.com.
Cass Robertson Vanderwiele:
Celebration of life/anniversary
celebration, Sept. 10 from 4 p.m. to
6 p.m. at the Thomas Angus Ranch
party barn, 42734 Old Trail Road, north
of Baker City. It will be a time to visit
with Cass’ family and offer them love,
support and condolences. Friends and
loved ones are welcome to stop by at
their convenience between those times.
Memorial contributions can be directed
to Colton Accounting, on Church Street
in Baker City. Cass loved making sure the
children of Baker, who were in need, had
a great Christmas. A foundation will be
created to honor his wishes in his name.
To leave an online condolence for Cass’s
family, go to www.grayswestco.com.
Gerald ‘Jerry’ Burke Goodwin:
Celebration of life will be Saturday, Sept.
17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Baker
City Christian Church, 675 Highway 7 in
Baker City. Memorial contributions can
be made to the Blue Mountain Masonic
Lodge No. 47 through Gray’s West &
Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.,
Baker City, OR 97814. To leave an online
condolence for Jerry’s family, go to
www.grayswestco.com
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
• Lumber
• Plywood
• Building Materials
• Hardware
• Paint
• Plumbing
• Electrical
And much more!
Arrests, citations
DRIVING WHILE SUSPENDED: Justin
Lee Kasinger, 35, Baker City, 11:17 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 2 at Campbell and 12th
streets; cited and released.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
FIRST-DEGREE THEFT (Baker County
Circuit Court warrant): Malia Charlin
Rich, 30, Halfway, 8:37 p.m. Saturday,
Sept. 3 in Halfway; cited and released.
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