BAKER CITY HERALD • THuRsDAY, DECEmBER 1, 2022 A3
LOCAL
Lawsuit
Continued from A1
They contend that the re-
call petitions Husk filed for six
councilors, and that Henshaw
has supported by gathering sig-
natures, contain “a false state-
ment of material fact,” a viola-
tion of Oregon elections law.
The lawsuit cites the state-
ment, common to each recall
petition, that the councilors
have “directly sanctioned the
dissolution of the professional
fire department in Baker City,
destroying the network of pub-
lic safety that has been in place
for more than 100 years.”
The plaintiffs’ claim about
Henshaw is that a comment
she posted on Facebook, in re-
sponse to a question about the
recall effort, contains a false
statement.
Henshaw’s comment, in
part: “In a tiny nutshell, our city
council and mayor allowed our
city manager to dissolve our city
ran gold-standard fire depart-
ment and ambulance service.
We no longer have enough fire-
fighters on shift to enter a burn-
ing building, and instead of the
excellently dually trained EMT/
Firefighters, we now have an
ambulance service who’s (sic)
staff rotates out. ...”
Each of the three plaintiffs is
asking for $5,000 in damages
— $2,500 each from Husk and
Henshaw. The plaintiffs are rep-
resented by attorney Vance Day.
Husk and Henshaw stand by
the statements in the recall pe-
titions.
Husk, in an earlier interview,
deemed the lawsuit “bogus.”
Henshaw called the lawsuit
“immature and childish” and
said she was concerned that the
complaint could discourage
people from signing the recall
petitions.
McQuisten no longer subject
to recall
Of the three plaintiffs, Mc-
Quisten is no longer subject to
potential recall because she has
resigned as a councilor. Her fi-
nal meeting was Nov. 22. She
resigned her position because
she is moving outside the city
limits and is no longer eligible,
per the city charter, to serve as a
councilor.
Dixon and Waggoner remain
as councilors and are subject to
potential recall by city voters.
Husk was prompted to seek
a recall election for six of the
seven councilors after the coun-
cil agreed earlier this year to
eliminate ambulance service
from the fire department’s list
of duties.
A private company, Metro
West, now operates ambulances
in the city and in much of Baker
County.
Husk resigned from the
Baker City Fire Department
due to the council’s decision. He
now works as a firefighter/para-
medic in Umatilla County.
Husk said he continues to
gather signatures. He believes he
has enough signatures, if they’re
verified, to force a recall election
for at least some of councilors.
In addition to Dixon and
Waggoner, councilors Dean
Guyer, Shane Alderson and Ja-
son Spriet could face a recall
election if Husk submits enough
verified signatures — 680 sig-
natures are required for each
councilor (voters can sign mul-
tiple petitions).
Alderson will also be leav-
ing the council at the end the
year, as he was elected Nov. 8 as
chairman of the Baker County
Board of Commissioners, a job
he’ll start in January.
Husk did not file a recall pe-
tition for the other councilor,
Weather
Continued from A1
The three Novembers with a
lower average high:
• 1985 — 32.8 degrees
• 1995 — 37.9 degrees
• 1994 — 38.2 degrees
This November’s average
low temperature ranks as the
fourth-coldest, at 16.8 degrees.
The top three (or, rather, bot-
tom three):
• 1985 — 14.3 degrees
Kenyon Damschen, because
Damschen hadn’t yet served as
a councilor for six months and
thus was exempt from recall
when Husk began his campaign.
Damschen has since passed
the six-month mark.
Defendants’ attorneys cite
First Amendment protection
In the motion seeking to
dismiss the lawsuit, Husk and
Henshaw’s attorneys write that
“The First Amendment does not
permit plaintiffs to use the civil
litigation process to silence their
political critics.”
The motion also notes that an
Oregon law, ORS 31.150, “gives
teeth to this constitutional com-
mitment, safeguarding those
who speak out on matters of
public interest from attempts to
silence them through litigation.”
That law outlines the situa-
tions in which defendants can
seek dismissal of a civil lawsuit.
Husk and Henshaw’s motion
also quotes ORS 31.152, which
states that 31.150 is “to be lib-
erally construed in favor of the
exercise of the rights of expres-
sion.”
Husk and Henshaw’s attor-
neys argue in the motion that
their clients are entitled to a
dismissal of the lawsuit, and at-
torney’s fees, because the plain-
tiffs will not be able to prove, in
court, that either Husk’s or Hen-
shaw’s statements are false and
that they made the statements
“with knowledge or reckless dis-
regard that it was false.”
The attorneys cite a ruling by
the Oregon Supreme Court that
statements are not “false,” based
on state law, “if any reasonable
inference can be drawn from
the evidence that the statement
is factually correct or that the
statement is merely an expres-
sion of opinion.”
With regard to Husk’s state-
ment in the recall petitions, the
attorneys argue that the state-
ment isn’t an “assertion of objec-
tive fact” in part because Husk
used “hyberbolic language” in-
cluding the statement that the
council’s decision to end am-
bulance service constituted the
“dissolution” of the fire depart-
ment and was “destroying” the
public safety network.
But even if Husk’s statement
is construed as a statement of
objective fact, his lawyers argue,
“it can reasonably be inferred to
be factually correct” because the
council did agree to end ambu-
lance service.
As for Henshaw’s comment
on Facebook, her attorneys
argue in the motion that the
comment is not a “material”
statement, under Oregon law,
because it is not directly affil-
iated with the recall and was
made in response to a question
posted by someone who doesn’t
live in Baker City, isn’t eligible
to vote in a recall election and
thus couldn’t influence a poten-
tial voter.
The attorneys also contend
in the motion to dismiss that
even if Husk and Henshaw’s
statements were both false and
material, the plaintiffs “cannot
present substantial evidence to
show it was probable that Mr.
Husk and Ms. Henshaw knew or
recklessly disregarded the truth
when causing the statement to
be published.”
“Both Mr. Husk and Ms.
Henshaw have submitted decla-
rations with this motion attest-
ing that each believed their state-
ments true at the time they were
made. Plaintiffs will be unable
to rebut these declarations with
substantial evidence from which
a factfinder could find that Mr.
Husk and Ms. Henshaw knew
the statements at issue were false
at the time they were made.”
• 1993 — 14.8 degrees
• 1952 — 15.1 degrees
This November didn’t set any
daily low temperature records.
The month’s coldest days, both
with a low of 4, were the 19th
and 28th. Despite the long dry
spell, this was the dampest No-
vember at the airport in 15 years.
The monthly total, through
Wednesday morning, Nov. 30,
was 0.73 inches. That’s the most
in November since 2007, when
the total was 1.16 inches.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
Deciduous trees on the east side of the Baker County Courthouse have held most of their leaves despite recent wintry weather.
Leaves
Continued from A1
And never during that period has Hayes
seen so many trees holding on to so many
leaves so late in the year.
“This year it seems like the leaves have
hung on and on,” Hayes said on Tuesday
morning, Nov. 29.
Kris Younger, the public works de-
partment’s facilities maintenance spe-
cialist, agreed.
“We’ve all noticed it,” Younger said.
So has Lyle Kuchenbecker, who is
chairman of the Baker City Tree Board.
Kuchenbecker said certain trees, such
as oaks, seem to have particularly thick
complements of leaves even as Christ-
mas approaches and snow covers the
ground.
City workers have hauled plenty of
leaves this fall, to be sure.
Younger said certain neighborhoods
with large numbers of older maples and
other deciduous trees, including sections
of Second, Third and Fourth streets on
both sides of Campbell, have dropped
quite a lot of leaves.
City crews use the street sweepers to
gather the leaves, which are hauled by
dump truck to Baker Sanitary Service’s
landfill, where they’re spread over gar-
bage before it’s buried in dirt, Younger
said.
(He said the leaves can’t be com-
posted, since they’re mixed with gravel
and other street debris the sweepers col-
lect.)
Anthony Constantine, with Oregon
Trail Landscape and Nursery in Baker
City, has also noticed the unusual abun-
dance of leafy trees even as the holiday
season is underway.
“In some places it doesn’t even look
like fall hit,” Constantine said.
Why haven’t leaves fallen?
Constantine figures weather is respon-
sible for the abnormal prevalence of late
leaves, and in particular a cold snap in late
October and early November when tem-
peratures slid into the upper teens or low
20s on several nights.
Cold weather, of course, starts the au-
tumn progression for deciduous trees.
That process begins when trees, pre-
paring for winter dormancy, curb their
production of chlorophyll, the substance
that lends leaves their spring and summer
shade of green.
Without chlorophyll, other pigments
in the leaves (which were there during
spring and summer, but not visible) are
revealed, resulting in the annual photoge-
nic alteration to yellow, orange and red.
But a sudden, unseasonable spate of
frigid weather can interrupt the next step
of the process — the creation of abscis-
sion cells.
Those cells cause leaves to fall as well as
heal the junction of stem and branch.
A cold spell can kill leaves so quickly
that the tree doesn’t produce the abscis-
sion cells. The leaves tend to turn from
green to a uniform brown, and, without
the abscission cells, the leaves don’t fall,
according to the Alpine Nature Center
website.
Jay Pscheidt, a plant pathologist and
professor at Oregon State University, said
that although he hasn’t examined any
trees in Baker City, the theory that the
Baker County Garden
Club meets Dec. 7
The Baker County Garden
Club will meet Wednesday, Dec.
7, at 11 a.m. for a luncheon and
meeting at the Loennig home,
1638 Broadway St. in Baker
City. If you wish, bring your fa-
vorite dish or snack. New mem-
bers are always welcome.
LDS Christmas
devotional
broadcast Dec. 4
The First Presidency of The
Santa
Continued from A1
Food and beverages will be
available to purchase, and kids
can write letters to Santa.
Kiwanis
On Saturday, Dec. 3, the
Baker City Kiwanis Club will
offer the annual photos with
Santa during the Saint Alphon-
sus Foundation’s Festival of
Trees from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
the Baker County Event Cen-
ter, 2600 East St. The cost is $10,
which includes two 5x7 prints
or three 4x6 prints.
Proceeds support Kiwanis’
Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-day Saints invites mem-
bers, their families and friends
to participate in the First Pres-
idency’s annual Christmas de-
votional broadcast on Sunday,
Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. PST. Music
will be provided by
The Tabernacle Choir and
Orchestra at Temple Square.
This Sunday, Dec. 5, will be
Fast Sunday for December, so
please help the less fortunate
by making a generous dona-
tion and help your spiritual
self by fasting, sharing testi-
monies and focusing on the
community service projects,
which focuses on supporting
children that supports the club’s
mission of “changing the world
one child and one community
at a time.” Children can also
write letters to Santa either be-
fore or after visiting with the
jolly elf.
Festival of Trees
This year’s festival is only one
day, and features miniature dec-
orated trees that will be sold by
silent auction. Admission is free.
In addition to photos with
Santa, Crossroads Carnegie Art
Center will have “make it and
take it” craft activities.
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Potential trouble for trees
Although the leaves will eventually
fall — if not from winter winds then next
spring, when the new leaves will in effect
push off the old, dead ones —trees that
carry a lot of leaves into winter could be
unusually vulnerable to damage for the
next few months, Constantine said.
The combination of snow and leaves
could prove too heavy for limbs, he said.
“That’s a lot of weight and wind resis-
tance,” he said.
The effect of snow accumulating on
leaf-laden trees was obvious in early No-
vember, when a storm brought a few
inches of heavy, wet snow that snapped
limbs on many deciduous trees in Baker
City, Constantine said.
The leftover leaves can also lead to ice
dams in trees, he said. When a deciduous
trees loses all or most of its leaves, snow
that sticks to limbs has little to impede it
when it melts.
But in a tree with a lot of leaves, those
leaves can prevent some of the meltwater
from dripping to the ground, and given
the likelihood of temperatures falling be-
low freezing at night, ice dams can form,
adding to the weight load on the limb.
Spring cleaning
With snow on the streets, Hayes can
no longer use the street sweeper to gather
leaves. He figures this coming spring will
be unusual, with a lot more leaves to collect
than usual.
“It’s going to be an interesting spring,”
he said.
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great gifts we have received
from our Heavenly Father.
Sunday School classes will be
held during the second hour
of services.
The “Come, Follow Me”
lesson for the week of Dec. 5
will be based on the Old Testa-
ment books of Haggai and se-
lect chapters of Zechariah at a
time when a group of Israelites
were allowed to return to Je-
rusalem and rebuild the tem-
ple. During this special time
of year, seek to show kindness
and help one another. Visit
www.lighttheworld.org for
ideas.
Kenneth Burl Swiger
June 20, 1941 - November 22, 2022
A former Baker resident,
Kenneth Burl Swiger, passed
away November 22, 2022,
at St. Vincent’s Hospital in
Beaverton, Oregon. Burl, as
he was known, was born in
Carson, Oregon, on June 20,
1941, to Ehrman and Esther
Lee Swiger.
His early life was spent in
Northern California, Richland,
Halfway and on Little Lookout
in Baker County. The family
moved to Baker in 1952 and Burl finished school in
1959 as a Baker High graduate. Burl attended college at
Pacific University and Portland State. He was a member
of the early Baker Elks Drug and Bugle Corps, which
he loved.
Burl worked for Eastern Oregon Lumber after
school and during the summer throughout high school.
He had saw milling in his blood and worked in several
mills throughout the Northwest. Burl became a saw filer
and traveled around the world as a consultant to many
sawmills. After he retired, he started his own company,
Triple S, where he kept his hands in his love of saw
filing.
Burl married Kathy Thompson in 1961. From that
marriage they had three children, MaryDee, Christopher
and Michael. In 1987, Burl married Lorraine Haydock
Rouse, a friend from high school. Lorraine has two
daughters, Linette and Garnette. Burl is survived
by his wife, Lorraine, his daughter, MaryDee (Jeff),
sons Christopher (Leah) and Michael, grandchildren,
Christine, Kenneth, Casey and Cierra, and several
great-grandchildren, stepdaughters, Garnette Rouse
(Don) and Linette Dressel, and his brother, Lee (Lorna).
Burl will be laid to rest in June at Pine Haven
Cemetery in Halfway, Oregon.