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News Archive
Don’s Jewelry Pares Down To One Store
La Grande’s Loss Is Baker City’s Gain
Photo and Story by David Conn
Don McClure, owner Don’s Jewelry at 1937 Main Street in Baker City, was faced with a choice while running stores here and in La Grande.
“It was too stressful to run two stores,” he said, “so I chose Baker because people commented on how they appreciated what I do for the community.”
Another reason McClure chose Baker is to provide customers with better service. Strung out between two stores, he said it was difficult to provide either store with the level of service he wanted.
“I decided to put all my efforts here,” he explained. “I want to work and not just be an administrator.”
The result is that customers at Don’s Jewelry will find an almost entirely new store featuring a new look, larger inventory, and the highest level of attention to customers’ needs.
McClure is now able to devote full time to what he does best: designing, repairing and manufacturing jewelry.
New City Manager Talks About Challenges, Goals
Tim Collins stepped down this month as City Manager and handed the reins over to local resident Steve Bogart who was selected for the position by unanimous vote of City Council. Collins had been serving as Pro-tem manager since the firing of Steve Brocato in June.
The Courier recently had an opportunity to visit with Bogart about his goals, challenges and concerns for the City. The results are presented in question and answer format below:
Courier: — For people who don’t know your background, would you summarize your qualifications to be the City Manager of Baker City?
Bogart: “More than 20 years of local government experience over the last 24 years - 17 of them as the Chief Administrative Officer gives some indication of experience.
“I believe that in every community in which I've worked the county or city governing body has expressed a trust and confidence in my abilities and initiative. I think that I can show a record of sound management and demonstrated progress within each community. “
OSHA Cites Wallowa Whitman For Safety Violations During Unity Area Marijuana Clean-Up
Wallowa Whitman National Forest (WWNF) has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety violations, which occurred during a marijuana grow clean-up near the Monument Rock Wilderness south of Unity. U.S. Forest Service employee Steven Uptegrove, 52, of Unity was killed by a falling tree during the August 2009 clean up.
OSHA issued a notice of “unsafe or unhealthful working conditions” on Jan. 29 stating the violations must be abated by Feb. 25, 2010.
The violations included in the notice were:
• Protective eye equipment was not required where there was a reasonable probability of injury that could be prevented by such equipment. On Aug. 20 an employee, hook-up person engaged in longline operations was not wearing complete eye protection, such as goggles, while exposed to flying debris caused by the rotor wash of the Ch-47 helicopter.
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Burns Supper Attendance Grows From Last Year
Story and Photops
By Suzanne Ellis Jones
What do tipsey laird, rumble thumps, haggis and men in kilts mean? They mean a great time celebrating Scottish poet Robbie Burns’ 251st Birthday. Last Saturday night at the historic Baker Tower Ballroom, the Eastern Oregon Celtic Society and sister organization, the Eastern Oregon Throwers, hosted Baker City’s third annual Robbie (Rabbie as the Scots like to pronounce it) Burns Supper for over 100 kindred souls.
The crowd feasted on haggis, which must be blessed by a Scottish ceremony that included the “Piping in the Haggis,” a bagpipe presentation by Pete Elder, and the “Address to the Haggis” by Richard Forrester, before the dinner could commence.
The supper started with haggis, which is made from beef, lamb and rolled oats, a dab of whiskey and seasoned with nutmeg and other secret ingredients, and has the texture of meatloaf crumbs. The crowd consumed approximately 10 pounds of haggis served with crackers.
Johnson Turns Down City Manager Position, Council Selects Steve Bogart
By Mark Bogart
The Baker City Council selected a new City Manager again on Tuesday night. However, this time the vote was unanimous, and the choice was a local man who is expected to begin work on Monday. Steve Bogart, who served as City Manager in 2004 and 2005, was chosen to return to the position for an indefinite period of time.
The door was opened for Bogart’s unanimous selection by two events in the past week. On Thursday, Tim Johnson of Portland, who was chosen by a 4-3 vote in December, notified Mayor Dennis Dorrah, that he would not be available to take the job due to a medical situation in his family. Then on Tuesday evening, City Manager Pro-tem Tim Collins read his own letter of resignation at the council meeting.
In his letter, Collins explained his reasons for leaving the position.
Black Calves, Black Night Don’t Mix
By Debby Schoeningh
Four vehicles struck and killed 16 calves along Highway 30 Friday, Jan. 22, around 7 p.m. People driving the vehicles involved reported minor injuries, and some reported extensive damage to their vehicles.
Deputy Travis Ash with the Baker County Sheriff’s Department said the calves, registered bulls belonging to the Thomas Angus Ranch, weighed about 500 pounds each.
Rob Thomas said the calves had just been weaned and escaped from their holding pen.
“The gate to the pen had been chained and the calves managed to break it open,” he said. He said they had people working in the nearby shop at the time, but it happened so fast there was nothing they could do to stop them. He said about a 100 head escaped onto the Highway.
A 1996 Ford pickup driven by Eugene Robertson, 83, of Baker City hit 12 calves just south of Imnaha Road. Ash said Robertson’s vehicle was totaled.
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Chamber Presents Annual Awards
The Baker County Chamber of Commerce held its 83rd honors banquet and awards ceremony “Ruts To Rails And Miner’s Tales” Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Baker Elks Lodge. Awards were given for the year 2009.
Business of the Year
The Baker County Chamber of Commerce named Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Inc. (SVRR) the Business of Year. Cynthia and Steve Christy, Taylor Rush and Ryan Dela accepted the award. Lew Brothers Les Schwab Tires of Baker City won the award in 2008.
Nomination information stated, “In 38 years of operations, SVRR, Inc. has increased membership, expanded operations, and acquired equipment to become a tourist railroad comparable to any in the country, with a reputation of being one of the friendliest.”
Council Completes Review Of City Code Ordinance Revision
By Mark Bogart
Before finishing its review of city ordinances at a work session on Tuesday morning, the Baker City Council heard a brief update from City Manager Pro-tem Tim Collins regarding prospective manager Tim Johnson. Collins reported that he had heard from Mayor Dennis Dorrah, who was out of town during Tuesday’s meeting. Dorrah has had further contact with Johnson and could only confirm that he is still interested in taking the city’s top management position and that the family medical situation, which has kept him from taking the job, has not been resolved. According to Collins, Dorrah said he would have more information on Thursday.
After about two years of work, the council completed its review of the Baker City Code of Ordinances on Tuesday. All of the council members except for Dorrah attended the work session, which was part of a thorough overhaul of the City Code. Some of the ordinances need to be removed and replaced with more recent laws.
Eagle Cap Extreme Dogsled Races
The Eagle Cap Extreme, Oregon’s only qualifying Race for both the Iditarod in Alaska and the Yukon Quest in Alaska/Canada was held Jan. 13-16 in Wallowa County. This was a 100 mile, 8-Dog Race along with a 200 mile, 12 Dog Race. Both races made their way through the Eagle Cap Wilderness. Visit www.eaglecapextreme.com for race results.
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Prospective City Manager Unable To Begin Job, Council Considers Options
By Mark Bogart
After discussing stop signs and snow berms, Mayor Dennis Dorrah dropped another bomb on the Baker City Council Tuesday night. Dorrah, who added the City Manager issue to the agenda after the meeting began, notified the Council that the prospective new City Manager, Tim Johnson of Portland, would be unable to fill the position in the near future due to an illness in his family.
Dorrah then laid out three options for the Council in order to hold the position until Johnson can come to Baker City. He recommended that the counselors consider the third option, to discuss the possibility of hiring another former interim manager, Steve Bogart, to fill the position, which has been held by Tim Collins since the termination of Steve Brocato.
Dorrah reported that he had assured Johnson that the Council understood his situation and would keep the position open for him. He said there is no way to know when that might be. In the meantime, he suggested that the Council has three options:
County Fine Tunes Deputy Watermaster Job Description
by Eden Taylor
In the first County Commission session of 2010, the Commissioners defined and refined the job description for a watermaster position with the County. The session was held Jan. 6 at the County Court room.
Commission Chair Fred Warner Jr. had proposed that the Deputy Watermaster II position be combined with a county road snow removal position in order to make it full-time status. After a discussion with the Powder Valley Water Control District last commission meeting, it was determined that snow removal may not be the best fit for extra duties in the watermaster position. However, leaving the job description open to other duties is vital to the position being full-time.
After Warner read aloud the additions to the position description, which included secondary duties of snow removal under the supervision of Baker County Roadmaster and natural resource information gathering and collection under the supervision of the Commissioners, some objections were raised.
Longtime Baker Rancher Passes Away
Robert J. Thomas
(June 18, 1936—Jan. 3, 2010)
Robert J. Thomas, 85, a longtime Baker Rancher, died at his ranch home on Jan. 5, 2010. His graveside service was held Saturday, Jan. 9, noon at Mount Hope Cemetery followed by a memorial service at the First Church of the Nazarene at 2 p.m.. Doug Connelly, the husband of one of Bob’s granddaughters, officiated both services.
Robert J. Thomas was born to Merton and Martha Thomas in a farmhouse in Crawford County, Iowa on July 8, 1924. He was one of six children. Bob was involved in agriculture even as a young man. He graduated from Dow City High in 1943 and went into the Army. He was stationed in Iwo Jima and Saipan until the end of WWII. After returning home he attended Iowa State University where he majored in Animal Husbandry. On Feb. 6, 1949, Bob married Gloria Ewoldt in Vail, Iowa. The couple began farming in Iowa where their three daughters were born.
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