Local
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Saturday, November 5, 2022
Baker City Herald • bakercityherald.com
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
November 4, 1972
Idaho Power is Baker County’s largest property taxpayer.
The company’s tax bill is $1,098,719, heading the list of
the 10 top taxpayers in the county, according to Ralph McCray,
county assessor. McCray said the county will collect a total of
$3,934,976 in property taxes this year.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
November 5, 1997
The Northeast Oregon Assembled Land Exchange is a com-
plicated proposal that could involve more than 160,000 acres
of forests, streams and mountains.
One thing is certain: If the exchange occurs as the U.S. Bu-
reau of Land Management has proposed, maps showing who
owns land in the region will look much different.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
November 5, 2012
A Friday morning truck wreck near Farewell Bend was a
windfall for Baker City residents.
Superior Towing brought the wreckage to its Baker City
garage and opened its doors to community residents Saturday
morning.
People salvaged apples. oranges, bananas, watermelons,
avocados, lettuce, cabbage and other fruits and vegetables
from the crash.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
November 6, 2021
The pair of fi ve-year-olds are discussing COVID-19 vaccina-
tions, and it’s a serious conversation.
“I hate waiting,” says Gwen Swart.
“It just makes it scarier,” says Sloan Defrees, her fellow
Baker City kindergartner.
“Sloan,” Gwen replies with an earnestness that belies her
age, “you already got your shot.”
Sloan’s gentle response:
“Gwen, don’t worry.”
Five minutes later, both these girls had received their fi rst
dose of the Pfi zer vaccine at the Baker County Health Depart-
ment. Gwen and Sloan were among about 25 children, ages
fi ve to 11, who were inoculated Friday morning, Nov. 5, the fi rst
group in that age range in the county to receive the vaccine
that gained federal approval earlier in the week. There are
about 1,200 children in that age group in the county.
Although the vaccine wasn’t available everywhere in Oregon
on Friday, Nancy Staten, director of the Health Department,
said the agency took advantage of a brief opportunity to place
an order for doses and the smaller needles that are used to
administer the vaccine to small children.
“We’re fortunate in that regard,” Staten said.
Gwen’s and Sloan’s mothers, Anna Swart and Jess Defrees,
agreed. Anna Swart said she and her husband, Tony, who
both work at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City,
have been eagerly anticipating the approval of the vaccine for
younger children.
Swart, who also works in Baker schools, said she and
her husband were both inoculated soon after the vaccines
became available in December 2020.
Swart said she’s also had a booster shot.
“We just want to do our part in ending this,” she said.
“COVID has affected all of our lives so much.”
Swart said it was an easy decision to have Gwen vaccinat-
ed.“She doesn’t have a high risk of becoming very sick, but
she could still spread it to others,” Swart said of her daughter.
Once Gwen is vaccinated, Swart said she hopes that should
her daughter be exposed to the virus at school, she would not
have to quarantine.
Swart said she is completely confi dent in the safety of the
vaccine, and that the possibility of a reaction to the vaccine is
much lower than the chance that Gwen could be infected with
the virus.
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SENIOR MENUS
MONDAY (Nov. 7): Chicken with homestyle noodles in gravy,
rolls, broccoli, 3-bean salad, cheesecake
TUESDAY (Nov. 8): Ground beef steak with onions, mashed
potatoes with gravy, peas and carrots, rolls, fruit cup
WEDNESDAY (Nov. 9): Tuna salad, croissant chips, pickle
wedges, green salad, pudding
THURSDAY (Nov. 10): Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with
gravy, carrots, rolls, green salad, apple slices
FRIDAY (Nov. 11): Barbecued ribs, baked beans, rolls, corn,
coleslaw, peach crisp
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.
Miller
Simonis
Missing
child
found after
high speed
car chase
BY ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
NORTH POWDER — A
missing infant was found on
Sunday, Oct. 30, after law en-
forcement pursued parents in
a high speed car chase and trek
through the snowy woods near
North Powder.
According to a press release
from Union County Sher-
iff Cody Bowen, deputies ar-
rested Remington Miller, 35, for
reckless driving, two counts of
recklessly endangering another
person, two counts of failure to
register as a sex offender and
misdemeanor and felony fleeing.
He was also arrested on felony
Klamath County warrants and
a felony State Parole Board war-
rant. McKinzie Simonis, 24, was
arrested on a second-degree fail-
ure to appear warrant.
Deputy Dustin Heath saw
Miller at the Sinclair gas station
in North Powder at 12:23 p.m.
as he got into a blue Ford F150
truck, according to a probable
cause declaration. Heath knew
there was a felony warrant for
Miller’s arrest, so he approached
the truck and knocked on the
driver’s side window. He did not
see anyone else in the truck at the
time and signaled for Miller to
step out.
Instead Miller sped out of the
parking lot and onto Anthony
Lakes Highway, according to
the probable cause declaration.
Heath followed in his patrol car
— noting that the truck weaved
in and out of the oncoming lane
while traveling over 70 mph.
The chase continued into the
mountains past Pilcher Creek
Reservoir and onto Forest Ser-
vice Road 4350, according to law
enforcement documents. Heath
found the vehicle unoccupied
in the snow and saw two sets of
human footprints leaving from
the driver’s side, the documents
stated. The footprints continued
about 100 yards up the road be-
fore traveling down a steep em-
bankment.
Heath stayed with the truck in
case the suspects returned. After
some time Deputy Dane Jensen
arrived on scene with a K-9 unit.
The pair tracked the footprints
through the woods with assis-
tance from Oregon State Police
troopers.
Just before 5 p.m. Miller and
Simonis were taken into custody.
The couple had their 6-month-
old infant, Oakley Miller, with
them.
In August, the Oregon De-
partment of Human Services’
Child Welfare Division issued a
statement indicating the infant
may be at risk after he went miss-
ing with his mother. DHS issued
a missing person report and, ac-
cording to the sheriff’s press re-
lease, there was a court order to
place the child in state protective
custody.
Law enforcement contacted
DHS and the child was taken
into the department’s custody
when Miller and Simonis were
arrested.
Miller was transported to
Union County Jail. Circuit Court
Judge Thomas Powers set bail
at $10,000. Miller is represented
by court-appointed counsel, La
Grande attorney J Logan Joseph.
He is due to appear in court for a
plea hearing on Nov. 28.
Telephone: 541-523-3673
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
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Karrine Brogoitti
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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
the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker
City, OR 97814.
Periodicals Postage Paid
at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2022
Brentwood Reid/Pacific Northwest Incident Management Team, Contributed Photo
Firefighters on the Double Creek fire near the Imnaha River on Sept. 7, 2022.
Residents discuss forest
plan revision process
BY DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — One Northeastern Oregon
resident believes there is a critical factor being
overlooked by many experts for the increase in
large wildfires in the West.
Jon Patterson said he is convinced that wild-
fires are more common today and burn hotter
because there are more grasses and other veg-
etation in forests since fewer livestock, includ-
ing cattle and sheep, are consuming it due to
increasing grazing restrictions that are more
stringent than they were decades ago. Vegetation
once consumed by livestock, he said, now helps
ignite fires.
“It is like kindling,” the Sumpter resident said
during a public meeting of the Blues Intergov-
ernmental Council on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at East-
ern Oregon University.
The meeting was one of a series the Blues
Intergovernmental Council is conducting in
Northeastern Oregon to garner input on how
the public thinks the U.S. Forest Service’s next
revised forest management plan for the Wal-
lowa-Whitman, Umatilla and Malheur national
forests should be developed. The management
plan the three national forests now operate un-
der was written in 1990.
An attempt to create a new plan started about
a decade ago.
However, the development of the Blue Moun-
tains Forest Plan, for which a large draft was
written, was shut down in 2018 before it could
be finalized after receiving a negative reception
from many people across Northeastern Oregon.
Among the many things the proposed update
of the Blue Mountains Forest Plan was criticized
for was the limited number of opportunities
for people in Northeastern Oregon to provide
meaningful input on its development.
“There was a lack of community engage-
ment,” said Union County Commissioner Paul
Anderes, one of about 40 members of the Blues
Intergovernmental Council.
Wallowa County Commissioner Todd Nash,
also a member of the council, noted that the
plan, which was shelved, was not made available
to the public and elected officials until the pro-
cess was too far along. He said county commis-
sioners in Northeastern Oregon did not see the
draft until about a week before the public did.
“We do not want to get blindsided again,” he
said.
The Blues Intergovernmental Council was
created to provide the U.S. Forest Service with
guidelines for addressing concerns expressed by
the public when it creates another forest plan for
the three Northeastern Oregon national forests.
The council is composed of elected officials and
representatives of natural resource organiza-
tions. The purpose of the council was discussed
in depth at the Nov. 1 meeting.
Input from the public, like that expressed by
Patterson, was also taken at the meeting. Issues
like maintaining access to forestland were often
brought up by those giving input. One resident of
Baker County spoke of how he enjoys taking visi-
tors to an old mine near his home, one once enor-
mously productive. He said he fears that a forest
plan with too many restrictions on access would
make it impossible to continue giving these tours.
Members of the council also discussed what
they wanted the new forest management plan to
address. Wallowa County Commissioner Susan
Roberts said forest health is a concern she wants
the future plan to address. She wants to see for-
ests opened up so there is not a large buildup of
vegetation that can make it hard for firefighters
to get through in an emergency.
Roberts also said reducing forest density
would prevent fires from getting so hot that ev-
erything they touch is destroyed and the land is
burned to the point that nothing will grow.
“We want our forests to be fire resistant and
resilient,” she said.
Roberts said she also wants to make sure the
next forest plan allows for the airfields in North-
eastern Oregon’s forests to remain open because
they could save lives in an aviation emergency.
“Landing strips are a real safety issue,” she
said. “I want to keep these airfields open.”
Roberts also noted they provide a good place for
helicopters to land during firefighting operations.
Shaun McKinney, supervisor of the Wal-
lowa-Whitman National Forest and a council
member, said it will take two to three years to
create an updated forest plan once the process is
started. McKinney said he is delighted with the
opportunity the public is being provided.
“The emphasis on community involvement
means that more decisions will be made locally,”
he said.
News of Record
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO APPEAR (multiple
Malheur County warrants): Robert
M. Metz, 37, transient, 6:34 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the 1600 block of
Indiana Avenue; jailed.
Baker County Sheriff’ Office
Arrests, citations
CONTEMPT OF COURT: Sean Michael
Dethloff, 24, Baker City, 3:35 a.m.
Friday, Nov. 4 at Oak and Madison
streets; cited and released.
PROBATION VIOLATION: Frank
Nathan McNair, 42, Baker City,
4:51 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the
3400 block of 13th Street; jailed.
DEATHS
John Vernon Hays: 80, of Baker City,
died Nov. 2, 2022, at Saint Alphonsus
Medical Center in Nampa, Idaho. A
visitation will take place Tuesday, Nov.
8 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Gray’s West
& Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey
Ave. Recitation of the Rosary will
follow, at 6 p.m. at Gray’s West & Co.
Mass of Christian burial will take place
Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 11 a.m. at St.
Francis de Sales Cathedral, with Father
Rob Irwin officiating. Vault interment
will follow the mass at Mount Hope
Cemetery. Memorial contributions can
be made to the Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association through Gray’s West &
Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.,
Baker City, OR 97814.
“You’ll love the work we do. I guarantee it.” - JR
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