LOCAL A2
SPORTS A5
OUTDOORS B1
McQuisten attends
Trump speech
Baker basketball
prepares for season
Feeding stations
ready for elk to arrive
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • OUTDOORS & REC • SPORTS
QUICK HITS
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Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to Herald
subscriber Britta Yates of Baker
City.
BRIEFING
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Gingerbread house
decoration contest
Youth are invited to design
and decorate a gingerbread
house for a contest sponsored
by CASA. Houses are built at
home on a base no larger than
12 inches by 15 inches. The
house and all decorations must
be edible. Please include the
child’s name and age. Decorat-
ed houses can be submitted
Friday, Dec. 2, between 9 a.m.
and 3 p.m. at the CASA offi ce,
2024 Main St. Winning entries
will be displayed after 4 p.m.
on Dec. 2. Special prizes will be
awarded to these age groups:
2-4; 5-7; 8-10; 11-15; and
15-18.
Gingerbread houses can
be picked up on Friday, Dec.
9, between 9 a.m. and noon.
Any that are not claimed will
be thrown away. For more
information, call Sue Richard at
541-519-7227.
Pet supply drive
through Dec. 16
Bisnett Insurance is hosting a
pet supply drive for Best Friends
of Baker through Dec. 16. You
can drop off donations at Bis-
nett, at 2001 Main St. (corner
of Washington Avenue and
Main Street). Needs include
kitten and adult cat food (dry or
wet), dog food (large and small
breeds), kitten milk replace-
ment powder, and monetary
donations for medical needs
will be accepted as well.
WEATHER
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Today
43/25
Mostly sunny
Tuesday
37/26
Afternoon rain
Monday
33/14
Snow showers
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022 • $1.50
BAKER CITY COUNCIL
Property owner objects to intersection plan
Jim Ingram concerned
about loss of some of
his family’s alfalfa field
without compensation for the long-term
loss in productivity.
Jim Ingram attended the meeting at
the request of Mayor Kerry McQuisten.
Ingram, whose family has owned the
field at the northeast corner of the inter-
section for 27 years and farmed the land
for 45 years, told councilors that the Or-
egon Department of Transportation’s
(ODOT) proposed design for the inter-
section could take about one-third of an
acre from the field.
“We all value our private property
and I think this community should
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
A Baker City man told the city coun-
cil Tuesday, Nov. 22 that a proposed
change to the intersection of 10th Street
and Hughes Lane/Pocahontas Road
could take part of his family’s farmland
value its farm ground,” Ingram said.
“And, while I don’t have any personal
objection to ODOT making improve-
ments to the safety of intersections, I
believe there are ways to do it that don’t
encroach as much on people’s private
property rights.”
The intersection redesign is part of
a larger project intended to make im-
provements to sections of 10th Street
and Cedar Street.
ODOT and Baker City and Baker
County officials have been discussing
the proposal for the past few years.
A
day
set aside
for
giving
Giving
Tuesday
set for
Nov. 29
not buying
123rf
BY LISA BRITTON
britton@bakercityherald.com
Black Friday is known for its hectic early morning rush of
snatching deals, and Small Business Saturday aims to keep
dollars in communities by encouraging shoppers to browse
local shops.
Cyber Monday turns everyone to their computer for the
best online deals.
But there’s another day, coming up soon, that encourages a
different type of gift.
Nov. 29 is Giving Tuesday, a movement started in 2012 to
inspire people “to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity,”
as described at givingtuesday.org.
Some organizations plan special fundraisers on this day —
for instance, Crossroads Carnegie Art Center in Baker City
has a Giving Tuesday fundraising link posted on Facebook.
“Giving Tuesday allows us to reach a much wider audience
about our mission and programming,” said Ginger Savage,
executive director of Crossroads. “It is just so important that
when you have shopped Black Friday, Small Business Satur-
day and Cyber Monday to remember Giving Tuesday where
you give back to those organizations in your community
that we know need help. This is a critical piece of Crossroads’
budget each year.”
She said checks are welcome too, in case donors don’t want
to do an online transaction.
Oregon Cultural Trust/Contributed Image
The Oregon Cultural Trust released this new license plate de-
sign Oct. 1, 2021. Designed by Liza Burns of Eugene, it includes
127 symbols that represent life and culture in Oregon.
Crossroads’ Giving Tuesday campaign continues through
Dec. 31.
A tax credit
In addition to encouraging people to support a favorite
nonprofit on Giving Tuesday, the state of Oregon provides a
cultural tax credit for those who also donate to the Oregon
Cultural Trust.
A tax credit can reduce the amount of tax you owe or in-
crease a tax refund.
See Giving / A6
Learning to love reading
OTEC giving newborns a book
before they go home
BY SAMANTHA O’CONNER
soconner@bakercityherald.com
Parents of infants born at Saint Al-
phonsus Medical Center in Baker City
receive gifts on their special day, and
now they’re going home with more
than diapers and blankets.
Newborns get a new book, as well.
And the chance to get a lot more
during their first five years.
In 2019, Oregon Trail Electric Co-
operative partnered with the Dolly
Parton Imagination Library, a foun-
dation that provides books to children
from birth to age 5. And now OTEC
has joined with the James and Shirley
Rippey Family Foundation of Port-
land, which pays half the cost for the
new book donation program.
See Reading / A6
TODAY
Issue 84
38 pages
Although ODOT would have to pay
the Ingrams for the market value of
private property taken as part of the
project, Ingram told councilors that the
one-time payment wouldn’t compen-
sate the family for the permanent loss of
production. The 77-acre property grows
alfalfa now.
In a letter to City Manager Jonathan
Cannon, Ingram wrote that based on
current hay prices, that third of an acre
could yield hay worth about $50,000
over 50 years.
See Plan / A3
Police look
into
altercation
at GOP
meeting
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker City Police are investigating an
altercation that happened after a meeting
of the Baker County Republican Central
Committee Friday evening, Nov. 18, in
Baker City.
People involved give distinctly different
accounts of the episode in a meeting room
at the Sunridge Inn.
Baker City Police Chief Ty Duby said
“we’re investigating all of it.”
“We’re in the early stages; the reports ar-
en’t done,” Duby said on Monday, Nov. 21.
There is agreement on the basic ele-
ments.
Kerry McQuisten, a Republican precinct
committee person (PCP) and Baker City
mayor, said she was talking with a group of
people standing next to the wall inside the
meeting room after the meeting.
Rick Rienks of Baker City, who is also a
PCP, was also in the room.
Rienks said his wife, Penny, 71, who had
hip replacement surgery 11 days earlier
and is using a walker, was coming into the
room to meet her husband.
In Rick Rienks’ written account, which
he emailed to the Baker City Herald,
Penny Rienks was trying to move past Mc-
Quisten, saying “excuse me” to McQuisten.
Rick Rienks contends McQuisten said
“just go around me,” and that McQuisten
“grabbed” Penny Rienks and “pushed her
from behind.”
Rick Rienks said he “grabbed McQuis-
ten and pushed her away from (Penny
Rienks).”
McQuisten called Rienks’ account of the
episode “complete garbage.”
McQuisten said she and the group she
was talking with were standing next to the
wall and were not blocking anyone’s prog-
ress.
“I was literally standing there, talking,”
McQuisten said.
She said Penny Rienks walked directly
toward her. McQuisten denied grabbing or
pushing Penny Rienks.
McQuisten’s account coincides with
Rick Rienks in that both said he grabbed
her arm.
Rick Rienks wrote that after the incident
See Meeting / A3
Printing Issue Delayed GO!
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Cebrina Phillips-Baggerly and her newborn daughter, Erin May Warner, are the first
recipients of a bag containing a book and information about signing up for the Dolly
Parton Imagination Library program, which provides children one book per month
through age 5. Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative is partnering with the James and
Shirley Rippey Family Foundation to give the gift bag to parents of all babies born
at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City.
Classified .............B2-B4, B9
Comics ...............B10 & B11
Community News.............A2
Crossword ............B2-B4, B9
Dear Abby ...................... B12
Horoscope ...........B2-B4, B9
Jayson Jacoby ..................A4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Due to a printing plant problem, this
week’s issue of GO! magazine, the arts
and entertainment guide for Northeast-
ern Oregon, was not inserted as intended
in the Tuesday, Nov. 22 issue. GO! is in-
cluded in today’s issue. As a result, some
of the events listed in this week’s issue
have already happened. This week’s GO!
was included with the e-edition only sec-
tion available to subscribers on Thursday.
Next week GO! will return to its usual
schedule, inserted with the Thursday,
Dec. 1 issue.
Opinion .............................A4
Outdoors .................B1 & B2
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sports ...............................A5
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ......................... B12