GO! INSERT
LOCAL A5
SPORTS A8
Holiday events
across the region
Baker City
snowplowing map
Baker girls, boys
basketball previews
IN THIS EDITION: LOCAL • BUSINESS & AG LIFE • SPORTS Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022 • $1.50
November
2nd-coldest
here since
World War II
QUICK HITS
—————
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to Herald
subscriber Mike Sullivan of
Baker City.
BRIEFING
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Cookie crawl, parade,
tree-lighting set for
Saturday
Saturday, Dec. 3 is full of
festive events in Baker City.
First, head to the Baker County
Fairgrounds, 2600 East St.,
to shop the 4-H Christmas
Bazaar in the show barn (Friday,
noon-5:30 p.m. and Saturday,
9 a.m.-3 p.m.) and visit the
Saint Alphonsus Foundation
Festival of Trees (inside the
Event Center) on Saturday, 10
a.m.-3 p.m. This year’s festival
is a smaller scale than previous
years, but features miniature
trees on silent auction, photos
with Santa courtesy of the Bak-
er City Kiwanis Club ($10 for
prints) and free art projects with
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center.
Also, CASA of Eastern Oregon
will again display gingerbread
house creations in downtown
windows. This year’s theme is
Christmas movies.
From 2-4 p.m. Saturday,
Baker City Downtown is
again hosting a cookie crawl.
Purchase a box for $10 and a
map at Crossroads Carnegie Art
Center, 2020 Auburn Ave., and
then head downtown to collect
a variety of cookies. Then, at 5
p.m., gather on Main Street for
the Twilight Parade (this year’s
theme is Santa’s Workshop),
followed by the illumination of
this year’s Community Christ-
mas Tree at Main and Court
streets.
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Photos
A leaf-laden tree on the east side of the Baker County Courthouse on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.
Leaves refusing to, well,
WEATHER
—————
Today
37/12
Snow likely
Friday
27/14
Mostly cloudy
Cold snap apparently
interrupted process that
causes leaves to let go
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
for weeks but his colorful quarry
stubbornly refused to show up.
At least not where Hayes could do
anything about them. Hayes drives
one of the Baker City Public Works
Department’s two street sweepers.
It’s a job he’s done, at times, for the
past 15 years or so.
Tommy Hayes was on leaf patrol
See Leaves / A3
See Weather / A3
A line of trees along Second Street in
Baker City still held most of their leaves
on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for a postage label
for issues that are mailed.
Two places to get a photo with Santa
BY LISA BRITTON
lbritton@bakercityherald.com
TODAY
Issue 86
34 pages
Husk, Henshaw
seek dismissal
of lawsuit
Three Baker City Council members
filed suit based on recall effort
BY JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
This weekend brings two oppor-
tunities to visit with Santa while also
supporting local causes. And one stop
has a “Nightmare Before Christmas”
twist.
Churchill
Churchill School is another op-
portunity to get a photo with Santa,
as well as Jack Skellington and
Sally from “The Nightmare Before
Christmas,” on Saturday and Sun-
day, Dec. 3 and 4.
“This has been several years of
collecting,” said Corrine Vegter,
who will be dressed as Sally.
Her husband, Brian, will appear
as Jack.
Corrine said she’s gathered spe-
cial trees every year to build the set,
along with a Victorian-style couch.
The Jack and Sally costumes
were donated, and she carved the
movie’s dog Zero from a single
piece of foam that she then covered
with mortar/concrete layers.
“It took multiple days just to
make him,” Corrine said.
November typically marks the transition
from fall to winter, but this November leaned
strongly toward the latter season.
There were snowstorms early in the month
and again in the final four days.
And although
most of the rest of
November was no-
November
table for sunshine
by the
rather than for snow
numbers
— there was no
measurable precip-
Average high
itation at the Baker
temperature: 39.2
City Airport from
Average Novem-
Nov. 8-26 — tem-
ber high (1943-
peratures were con-
2022): 45.4
sistently chilly.
Average low tem-
Almost chilly
perature: 16.8
enough to break a
Average Novem-
37-year-old record.
ber low (1943-
The average
2022): 24.0
temperature at the
Average tempera-
airport during the
ture: 28.1
month was 28.1 de-
Average Novem-
grees.
ber temperature
That’s the sec-
(1943-2022): 34.7
ond-lowest Novem-
ber average at the
airport, where tem-
perature records date to 1943.
To calculate the average temperature, add
the average daily high and low temperatures
and divide by two.
The only November with a lower average
temperature was 1985. No other November
comes close to the 1985 record of 23.6 de-
grees.
This November just edged out 1993 for the
runner-up slot.
The average temperature in November
1993 was 28.2 degrees.
The overall average for November, from
1943-2022, is 34.7 degrees.
This November was also among the cold-
est based on average daily high and low tem-
peratures.
The average high was 39.2 degrees, rank-
ing as the fourth-coldest.
The temperature reached 50 degrees on
just two days — 52 on the first, and 50 on the
24th.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Andrew Kendall poses during a photo shoot at Churchill School featuring Santa,
along with Sally and Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This
photo opportunity is Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4, at Churchill. A portion of
the proceeds will benefit CASA of Eastern Oregon.
Mike Meyer built Zero’s dog-
house, and bows were donated for
the wrapped gifts from Baker Flo-
ral and Botanicals.
The photo shoot is $10 per
group, and includes a digital
Business .................B1 & B2
Classified ....................B2-B4
Comics ..............................B5
Community News.............A2
Crossword ...............B2 & B4
Dear Abby .........................B6
download. A portion of the pro-
ceeds will support CASA of East-
ern Oregon.
Times are 6-8 p.m. Saturday and
11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
A former Baker City firefighter and a
Baker City resident who are the defendants
in a civil lawsuit filed by three Baker City
Council members are asking a judge to dis-
miss the suit.
Casey Husk, a former firefighter, and
Debbie Henshaw are the defendants.
Husk is the chief petitioner in a campaign
to force a recall election for several city
councilors. Henshaw has been helping to
gather signatures for the recall effort since
Husk filed the petitions in September.
Husk and Henshaw’s attorneys, Chad A.
Naso and Laura Salerno Owens of Portland,
filed a motion Nov. 15 asking Judge Matt
Shirtcliff of Baker County Circuit Court to
dismiss the suit and award their clients rea-
sonable attorney fees.
Husk and Henshaw have requested oral
arguments on their motion. A hearing is
tentatively set for Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. in circuit
court.
Former Baker City Mayor Kerry Mc-
Quisten, and current city councilors Joanna
Dixon and Johnny Waggoner Sr., filed the
suit Oct. 7.
See Santa / A3
Horoscope ..............B2 & B4
Lottery Results .................A2
News of Record ................A2
Opinion .............................A4
Senior Menus ...................A2
Sudoku..............................B5
See Lawsuit / A3
Sports ...............................A8
Turning Backs ..................A2
Weather ............................B6