LOCAL
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald, File
This view from a drone shows the intersection of 10th Street, Hughes Lane (to the right) and Pocahontas
Road (to the left). Jim Ingram, whose family owns the field at the upper right of the photo, is concerned
about losing some of his property due to a redesign of the intersection.
Plan
Continued from A1
“Compensation for this land
will undoubtedly be based
on what ODOT wants to pay,
not what we, the land own-
ers would be asking. ... that is,
IF we wanted to sell it. We do
not,” Ingram wrote in the letter
to Cannon.
Ingram also told councilors
that if ODOT took that part of
the field, the Ingrams would
have to rebuild an under-
ground irrigation system.
“I’ll sum up by saying that
we formally object to the plans
proposed by the Oregon De-
partment of Transportation
for this intersection,” Ingram
wrote in the letter. “We believe
any private land owner would
feel the same in this situation.
We realize that progress comes
with a cost but don’t believe
ODOT should have the au-
thority to make such ambitious
plans with little or no regard
for the rights of private prop-
erty owners.”
Councilor Johnny Wag-
goner Sr. said during Tuesday’s
meeting that he believes the
Ingrams are getting “the short
end of the stick.”
“You’re the cheapest way
out that they could see because
you’re farm land but you and I
know that Hughes Lane is go-
ing to be the next growth area,
probably, in the near future,”
Waggoner said.
Ken Patterson of ODOT,
who attended Tuesday’s meet-
ing remotely, said ODOT has
options for the intersection
that don’t require taking as
much of, or any, of the In-
grams’ property.
“This isn’t set in stone, we
can walk away from it if we
need to, that’s still an option,”
Patterson said.
Rezoning sent back to
planning commission
Councilors voted 3-2 to
send a rezoning request back
to the city planning commis-
sion for reevaluation.
Earlier this fall councilors
had approved the first two of
three required readings of an
ordinance rezoning a south
Baker City property to make
buildings converted into a sin-
gle-family dwelling compliant
with the city’s development
code.
The planning commission
had recommended councilors
approve the zoning change.
Gayle and Leonard Gazley
own the property at 568 Elm
St. The applied to rezone the
property, which covers a little
more than half an acre, from
general industrial to general
commercial.
A prior owner converted
some buildings on the prop-
erty to a dwelling without ap-
plying for approval from the
city’s building or planning de-
partments, according to city
records.
“There have been some
changes in some neighbors’
testimony that were instru-
mental in the planning depart-
ment’s decision,” Councilor
Kenyon Damschen said during
Tuesday’s meeting.
Damschen had cast the lone
dissenting vote in a motion to
approve the second reading of
the ordinance on Oct. 25.
On Tuesday Damschen, Ja-
son Spriet and Waggoner voted
for the motion to send the
matter back to the planning
commission. Spriet was absent
during the Oct. 25 meeting.
McQuisten and Councilor
Joanna Dixon voted against the
motion to send the ordinance
to the planning commission.
Councilor Dean Guyer, who
said previously that he had
worked with the Gazleys in the
past, recused himself from the
discussion and vote, as he did
Oct. 25.
Councilor Shane Alderson
was absent Tuesday.
The Gazleys bought the
property in 2014, after a pre-
vious owner had converted a
building into a dwelling despite
lacking a permit to do so, or
having the structure inspected
to ensure they comply with
residential building codes.
The Gazleys, in their appli-
cation for rezoning the prop-
erty, note that it borders the
industrial zone, and that “this
structure has existed over 18
years as a residence and has no
adverse effects on industrial or
commercial properties.”
Zachary “Zach” Jordan Valentine
December 12, 1992 - November 18, 2022
Zachary
“Zach”
Jordan
Valentine, formerly of Baker
City and North Powder, passed
away Nov. 18, 2022, in Seattle,
Washington, as the result of injuries
sustained in a motorcycle accident.
Zach was born Dec. 12, 1992, to
Tonya Dias and Michael Valentine,
in La Grande, Oregon. Though
tiny at just over 5 pounds, Zach
began his life as a fighter and strong-willed person, a
characteristic that remained prominent his entire life.
Zach was soon joined by his brothers, Joshua (1995)
and Logan (1997). The boys were not only close in age
but also shared an unbreakable bond of brotherhood and
friendship.
Zach made friends easily and was an incredibly
fun and charismatic person. His smile and laugh were
infectious, and his goofy personality was a trademark
that all who knew him enjoyed. He was incredibly
generous and loving - if anyone he knew needed
anything, he made sure he did everything possible to
be there for them in any way he could. Family was
everything to Zach, and he always made the effort to
be involved in family gatherings or whenever anyone
wanted to just hang out.
Zach was a free spirit and boundary tester from
the beginning. He loved to live large, enjoying every
minute. He approached everything in his life with
determination, strength and passion and lived life with
no regrets.
Zach is survived by his mom, Tonya Dias, and
stepdad, Jake Jones; father, Michael, and stepmother,
Carla; brothers and sisters-in-law, Joshua and Megan,
and Logan and Lexy; grandparents, Ernie and Donna
Dias, Terry Valentine (Kathy) and Linda Valentine;
aunt, Denise Chamberlain; and many great-aunts, great-
uncles and cousins. Zach was also a phenomenal uncle
to Jackson and Arya. Additionally, he is survived by
his girlfriend, Sophie, and countless close friends who
meant the world to him.
Zach will be missed immensely but never forgotten.
In honor of his wishes, there will not be a memorial
service. He would want his friends and family to
celebrate his life in their own way.
But adjacent landowners,
Anthony and Lisa Constantine
and Kevin and Ruth Wood-
worth, all signed a letter to the
Baker City/County Planning
Department urging that the
Gazleys’ request be denied and
that the property remain in-
dustrial.
In the letter they wrote: “A
residence between two busi-
ness properties could poten-
tially lead to conflicts with the
existing businesses.”
In a later letter, Anthony
Constantine wrote: “Changing
the zoning in order to respond
to the needs of a non-permit-
ted project does not seem jus-
tified.”
Beverly Calder, who likely
was elected to a two-year term
on the city council Nov. 8 and
would take office in January,
also wrote a letter, to Dawn
Kitzmiller, the city’s building
official, suggesting the council
remand the Gazleys’ request to
the planning commission.
“The fact that these changes
are being proposed for a ‘dwell-
ing’ that was not properly per-
mitted, nor built to code in the
first place seems like we are lit-
erally changing a ‘rule’ to allow
one previously broken,” Calder
wrote.
BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, NovEmBER 26, 2022 A3
Meeting
18, he said.
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Divide among Republicans
There has been a public
schism in the Baker County Re-
publican Party this year, with
one group voting during a July
28 meeting to suspend the exec-
utive committee and appoint a
temporary committee.
The Oregon Republican
Party invalidated that vote Sept.
24, citing a Baker County GOP
bylaw requiring at least three ex-
ecutive committee members be
present at a meeting to conduct
business.
During the Nov. 18 meeting,
he and his wife met friends at a
local restaurant. He wrote that
Penny Rienks had increasing
pain from her hip and com-
plained of nausea.
After returning home, the
couple went to the emergency
room at Saint Alphonsus Med-
ical Center, where Rick Rienks
said his wife had X-rays taken.
According to the police dis-
patch log, Officer William
Mercado of the Baker City
Police went to the hospital at
11:31 p.m. Friday.
Rick Rienks said he and his
wife told Mercado about the in-
cident.
McQuisten said she also
talked the next day with Mer-
cado, and told him she believes
she was assaulted or harassed by
Rick Rienks.
McQuisten contends the inci-
dent was planned, with a goal of
implicating her in doing some-
thing wrong.
Not the first incident
at GOP event
On March 25, 2022, two offi-
cers went to the Baker City Elks
Lodge in response to a com-
plaint about audience behavior
during a forum featuring several
Republican candidates for Ore-
gon governor.
The officers escorted Rick and
Penny Rienks from the lodge
after a conflict over the Baker
County Republican Party’s ban
on audience members taking
videos of the event or applauding
while candidates were speaking.
Duby said he assigned an
officer to go to the Sunridge
during Friday’s meeting based
on a report about a poten-
tial threat. He said Suzan Ellis
Jones, the longtime chair of the
Baker County Republican Party,
had contacted him prior to the
meeting to request police pres-
ence.
There were no arrests Nov.
PCPs elected a new executive
committee.
New Chairman Danny John-
son, of Halfway, who received
29 votes to Kate Grace’s 26 votes,
said he’s excited about moving
forward “to build the brand of
Republicanism in Baker County
and the state of Oregon.”
Jones, of Bridgeport, who had
served as the county GOP chair
for 12 years, has retired.
Jones said she initially
planned to retire as county
county in 2018, but no other ex-
ecutive committees then, or in
2020, was willing to take on the
duties, she said.
Maxwell Justin Upmeyer
September 11, 1973 - November 4, 2022
Maxwell Justin Upmeyer, of
Evans, Colorado took his final ride
at the age of 49 after a sudden loss
of his life.
He was the son of Michael and
Norma (Guilliams) Upmeyer Sr.
He was born in Ontario, Oregon,
on September 11, 1973. Maxwell
attended multiple schools in Payette,
Idaho, Springdale, Washington,
John Day, Oregon, New Plymouth, Idaho and Baker City,
Oregon.
He specialized in mechanics and truck driving, but had
many other jobs throughout his life. When not at work
you could find Maxwell outside. He loved to ski and
snowboard, as well as snowmobile in the winter. During
the warmer months of the year, he enjoyed hill climbing
on his motorcycle, along with other outdoor activities.
Maxwell was married to Laura (Taylor) Edwards.
They later divorced. After a few years, he met Siera
Sears, who he had his beloved son Dalton with.
He leaves behind his son, Dalton, of Colorado, mother
Norma of Baker City; sister, Mary Kenworthy of Payette,
ID, brother Michael “JR” Upmeyer of Pendleton, along
with 13 nieces and nephews and multiple cousins, aunts
and uncles.
Maxwell was preceded in death by his dad, Michael
Upmeyer Sr., grandparents John and Alice Upmeyer, Jack
and Mary Guilliams, brother-in-law, Charles Kenworthy,
and numerous other family members.
There are no services planned at this time. In lieu
of flowers, please donate to either the Go Fund Me for
funeral expenses at GoFundMe, Michael Upmeyer,
https://gofund.me/a859627f or for suicide prevention.
Suicide prevention hotline 1-800-273-8255.
Judith Schroeder
Kimberley Charles “Kim” Kowalski
May 24, 1941 - November 15, 2022
March 16, 1954 - November 15, 2022
Judith Schroeder, 81, of Baker
City, died Tuesday, November 15,
2022, at home surrounded by her
family. A Mass of Christian Burial
will be held Saturday, December
3, 2022, at 10 a.m. at Saint Francis
de Sales Cathedral in Baker City.
A graveside committal will follow
at Mount Hope Cemetery. Friends
are invited to join the family for a
reception immediately following the committal back at
the church.
Born May 24, 1941, in Portland Oregon to pioneer
descendants of the Oregon Trail, Clyde Deval and
Ellen Jean Heater, Judy was the 2nd oldest of five
children. The family lived near Sherwood, Oregon,
before moving to Creswell in 1950. She married her
high school sweetheart, Kenny Fox. They moved to a
small acreage near Creswell where they enjoyed life
and started their family. Kenny passed away at age
28, leaving Judy with four children ages 8 years to 5
months.
Friends set her up on a blind date where she fell in
love and married Gordon Schroeder, a marriage that
lasted 50½ years. Their marriage blended her four kids
with his three, and Judy was one busy lady.
In 1970, with seven kids, three cows and no ranching
experience, they bought a rundown ranch 8 miles west of
Mt. Vernon, Oregon. Judy’s days started early, cooking
three homemade meals, sewing clothing, making quilts,
gardening, canning, riding horses, herding cattle,
building fence, driving farm equipment, irrigating and
working part time at Dameon’s mercantile store, never
missing church or children’s school activities.
In 1979, after successfully restoring their Mt. Vernon
ranch, they purchased a larger ranch in Unity, Oregon,
where she continued to help on the ranch, volunteered
countless hours as a 4-H leader, FFA, community, sports
and church events, while working as a substitute cook
for the Burnt River School District where 100% of the
meals were homemade.
Their years of hard work paid off; their ranching
career was a success. They were founding members
of Country Natural Beef, raised quality alfalfa and
and cattle. In 1989, after their children graduated, they
downsized their operation and leased a smaller ranch
in Richland, Oregon. In 1992 they sold their cattle and
moved to Nye Road outside of Baker City where Judy
worked as a store clerk at the Oregon Trail Interpretive
Center and later as head cook at Brooklyn Elementary
School.
Finally, in 1999 she retired. She enjoyed traveling,
fishing, pottery, painting, camping, Soroptimist,
cooking church meals and grannies quilt club but
most of all where she loved spending time with her 16
grandkids, hosting grandkids week which included tea
parties and swimming with Allie the alligator.
Family and friends will remember her generous
heart and helping hand, love for family and faith in her
Lord, Jesus Christ.
Judy is survived by her seven children: Kelly Fox
(wife Lorrie), Mike Schroeder (wife Julie), Robin
Fox-Lavala (husband Robin), Nicki Schroeder-Norton
(husband Scott), Monique Schroeder-Devin, Terri-Fox
Berthelsen (husband Mark), Tony Fox (wife Ronda), 16
grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren, one brother,
Don Heater and two sisters, Mary Wadds (both from
Australia) and Bonnie Clugston (from Unity, OR).
For those who would like to make a memorial
donation in honor of Judy the family suggests the
Alzheimer’s Association through Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home and Cremation Services, P.O. Box 543,
Halfway, Oregon 97834. Online condolences can be
shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Kimberley Charles “Kim”
Kowalski, 68, of Huntington,
Oregon, crossed into spirit
peacefully in his home on
November 15, 2022, from
pancreatic cancer.
Kim was born on March 16,
1954, in Troutdale, Oregon, the
first son of Joseph Kowalski and
Marie Kowalski, nee Anderson. He
grew up working on his family farm where he created
many fond memories of mischievous fun with his
siblings and cousins. As a child, he won awards in 4-H
for horsemanship and he became a skilled mechanic
working on farm vehicles. He attended Sam Barlow
High School in Gresham, Oregon, where he enjoyed
participating on the school wrestling team and held a
school record for fastest pin for multiple decades.
He graduated early to join the US Army and served
during the final years of the Vietnam War from 1972
to 1975. He proudly served our country as a mechanic
in a military hospital in Germany until 1975, but was
injured unloading supply vehicles, and returned to the
US.
He married his first wife, Lilja Jordan, in 1975
and they had three children. Their youngest son,
Christopher, sadly died in 1982. Kim worked at
Reynolds Aluminum in Troutdale, Oregon, from 1976
to 1986. Then, Kim moved with his family to Mitchell,
Oregon, to experience an off-grid homestead lifestyle
and spent summers working on a family mine in
Durkee, Oregon. In 1989, they moved to Huntington,
Oregon, to live near Kim’s parents. Kim started a
business selling firewood, and he volunteered in town
in a variety of roles including serving as City Planning
Commissioner. He was also an active member of the
Chamber of Commerce, (and its president for two
years) through which he volunteered on local projects
such as installing solar-powered irrigation lines for
watering plants in the town cemetery, and launching the
Pioneer Days fair, which was held annually for several
years. He was divorced in 2010. Kim was very proud
of the accomplishments of his daughters, and later his
grandchildren.
Kim married Debi Shaver Kowalski in October
2020. He became an active member of the Open Arms
church in Huntington where he attended frequently with
his wife and stepdaughter. Sadly, Kim fell into poor
health in 2021, but he was diligently cared for by Debi
and her daughter Samantha throughout his illness.
Kim was known as a generous person with a big
heart, who took in stray animals and helped any person
in need. He loved hunting, fishing, gardening, and
cooking. He loved children and enjoyed dressing up as
Santa Claus for the kids in the community, and teaching
others anything he learned.
He was predeceased by his son, Christopher Charles
Kowalski, and his parents, Joseph and Marie Kowalski,
also of Huntington, Oregon.
Kim is survived by his wife, Debi Shaver Kowalski;
his stepdaughters, Candace Renee Salim of La Grande,
Oregon and Samantha Coulter of Huntington, Oregon;
his daughters, Marcie Kowalski of Mebane, North
Carolina, and Marija Mikolajczak and her husband
Chuck Mikolajczak and their two children, Jordan and
Lauren, of Greenwich, Connecticut; his brother, Kelly
Kowalski of Huntington, Oregon, his sisters, Denise
Lein of Huntington, Oregon and Debra Kowalski and
her husband Donald Gourley of Prineville, Oregon; and
a host of aunts and uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews,
great-nieces, great-nephews, and friends.
A celebration of life will be held on December 10,
2022, at 2 p.m. at the Open Arms Pentecostal Church of
God in Huntington, Oregon.