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News Archive
Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally Hits Baker City This Weekend
By Debby Schoeningh
The 10th annual Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally (HCMR) will be held June 12-15. It begins in Baker City Friday.
Last year a fellow Hells Canyon Rally Rider, Timothy Hunt of Haines, lost his life in an accident on Highway 30 between Baker City and Haines. Hunt was killed Nov. 15, 2008, when a car collided with his motorcycle about five miles northwest of Baker City. This year’s Rally will pay tribute to him.
Reg Madsen of La Grande with Biker’s Fighting Cancer said the club will have about 100 riders attending the Rally this year. Bikers Fighting Cancer, based in Bellingham, Wash., is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 to raise funds for children with cancer.
Steve Brocato Terminated as Baker City’s City Manager
By Candie Campbell
A four-to-three vote at Tuesday’s City Council Meeting resulted in the termination of City Manager Steve Brocato.
Mayor Dennis Dorrah had asked Brocato for his resignation earlier in the day at the request of Councilor Clair Button. Button was unavailable for comment.
Councilor Aletha Bonebrake accompanied the Mayor to Brocato’s office where his request was denied.
In the standing-room-only City Council Chambers, tensions mounted to the point where Dorrah warned that those causing outbursts would be removed. A large majority of the people present in the audience were city employees who came to show their support for Brocato that included yelling threats and insults at the Council.
Councilors Clair Button, Aletha Bonebrake, Beverly Calder and Mayor Dorrah voted in favor of Brocato’s removal and Councilors Andrew Bryan, Sam Bass and Milo Pope opposed it. Councilor Pope threatened to sue every one of the Councilors who voted to remove Brocato.
Brocato Surprised By Council’s Actions
By Debby Schoeningh
Steve Brocato said he isn’t bitter about being fired, but he is disappointed in the City process.
“I received good reviews from the Council in their evaluation just four weeks ago,” he said. “The process was a travesty and very hypocritical— a political power thing that has been brewing for quite awhile.”
Of the councilors and mayor who voted to terminate his position he said, “Beverly Calder made a power play to Dennis Dorrah’s benefit to Aletha Bonebrakes’s detriment and to Clair Button’s bewilderment.”
Brocato said the criticisms that were made against his job performance during the evaluation included that he did not interact with the public enough and that he lobbies too much.
Local Car Dealers Still Open For Business In Spite Of Recent Auto Manufacturer Bankruptcies
By Debby Schoeningh
Local dealers are still sifting through the financial wreckage of the auto manufacturers, but are for the most part driving forward.
Randy Daugherty, owner of Baker Garage signed a contract to continue his franchise dealership with General Motors and sent it Fed-ex to the company Tuesday morning.
"There's still a GM dealer in Baker City and we're open for business," said Daugherty. “We weren’t in the group of 1,100 that received termination notices from GM in May.”
Daugherty said he has no idea what criteria GM used to close some of the dealerships because most of them, including Baker Garage, are independently owned, pay taxes and own their own buildings.
“When GM builds a vehicle we pay for it,” he said. “It’s not costing them much to have us. Anything they supply including brochures and special tools needed for repairs, we have to pay for.”
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Train Derails Near Haines
By Teri Brown-Johnson
According to Haines Fire Chief Jerry Hampton, on Friday, May 29, at 5 a.m., the Haines Fire Protection District responded to a Union Pacific Railroad train derailment south of Haines along Highway 30. At the time it was reported there were 12 cars off the tracks, one a chemical tanker with a possible chemical leak.
Five fire fighters responded to the scene and others were placed on standby. It was determined there was no spill. Haines Fire was involved with this emergency from early morning until 6 p.m. A broken wheel is suspected to have caused this derailment. Training on this type of call was provided through Baker County Emergency Management last summer. Train traffic was restored sometime early Saturday, May 30.
Flaggers were slowing traffic on Highway 30 this week while crews with heavy equipment removed the derailed cars and debris.
Baker’s Class Of 2009 Graduates
By Eden Taylor
On May, 135 students graduated from Baker High School. The class of 2009, decked out in their purple and gold caps and gowns, entered the Bulldog Memorial Stadium at the southeast entrance, marching two by two. The sound of “Pomp and Circumstance” played by the BHS band filled the air.
Greeted by Weston Anderson, ASB President for 2009-2010, the audience and graduates saluted the flag as the Choir Seniors sang the National Anthem.
The first address was by Kristen Hoopes, co-salutatorian. Hoopes repeated Mr. Peacock’s favorite statistic that “only 10% of you will remember 10% of what is said 10 minutes from now.” She then said that the class had spent the last 13 out of 18 years gaining a firm foundation of knowledge. Kristen compared the stages of high school to a rollercoaster ride. The end stage is when the coaster suddenly comes to a halt and the ride is over.
Hoopes gave the statistic that 99 million kids would have had education if given the opportunity. She wanted the class to be grateful for the opportunity they had. She also said that though their best memories in the past 13 years have been of school, that high school shouldn’t wind up being the best years of their lives. She suggested making other memories that are better and greater.
City Councilor’s Properties Under Scruntiny, Brocato Receives Performance Evaluation Scores
By Candie Campbell
At the Baker City Council meeting on May 26 a proposal of Ordinance No. 3292 Property Maintenance Code was introduced for the Council to vote on. However, Mayor Dennis Dorrah began the discussion with the mention of an email attachment regarding a survey done by the City Police Department saying its purpose was “to check all of the councilor’s properties in the city limits for violations of both the existing ordinance and the new [proposed] ordinances.”
According to the State Ethics Commission the council may have a conflict of interest, in which case Dorrah says “They [councilors] must announce publicly and refrain from participating as a public official in any discussion or debate on the issue.”
‘The problem is,” said Dorrah, “we are personally liable for law suits if anyone wanted to take it that far.”
For the councilors to be in a position to vote on a property maintenance ordinance, while being property owners themselves, Dorrah claims the Ethics Commission has said there is potential for a conflict of interest.
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Lipizzaners Perform In Baker City
The Lipizzaner Stallions performed at the fairgrounds in Baker City last Wednesday, May 13, during their 39th Anniversary Tour.
Over the years, 23 million people throughout North and South America, Great Britain, Europe, Australia and Hawaii have seen this performance. When traveling overseas, the horses are flown Fed-ex.
The show maintains a traditional performance similar in many ways to what you would see at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.
Also included in the performance is a segment called the "Airs Above the Ground." These are the spectacular leaps and maneuvers, once used by riders in saddle to protect and defend themselves on the battlefield.
The current tour features 12 to 14 stallions. Most Lipizzans are born dark - usually bay or black — and turn white at 6 to 10 years of age.
The Lipizzaners last visit to Baker City was in 1985.
School Budget Board To Make Tough Decisions
By Eden Taylor
The first of what will probably be many District Budget Board meetings was held at the 5J building on May 12. With the drastic cuts necessary for the school district to balance the budget, the board members may feel more like butchers.
At the beginning of the meeting Deon Strommer was elected Chairman of the Budget Committee and Ron Luelling was appointed Vice Chairman.
Ed Hayhurst explained the budget process and the proposed budget submitted by the administration. It is a law that the school budget be balanced every year. The 2008-2009 school funds were cut by the state after the year’s budget was set. Superintendent Don Ulrey froze spending in December 2008. Since that time, other cuts have been made just to survive this school year. Finally, five days were cut at the end of the school calendar at a savings of approximately $250,000. As a result, May 28 will be the last day of class for the students. It will be an early release day. Teachers and classified employees will work May 29 and June 1. The entire district will be closed June 2 through 8. The administration finished negotiations with the teacher’s union to finalize the 5 days without pay solution.
City Council Discusses Billboards
By Candie Campbell
Councilor Aletha Bonebrake started the continuing discussion at last Tuesday’s Baker City Council meeting concerning the adoption of Ordinance No. 3291 Sign Regulations, by stating. “I’d like to reiterate my statement from last time, that I think the restrictions on the freeway zone billboards is a method of getting rid of the whole concept of billboards.”
Bonebrake then added. “It was captured in the newspaper and it was not captured in the minutes and I mean for that statement to stand.”
Councilor Clair Button pointed out that it was brought to his attention that the ordinance has a discrepancy and suggests that, if passed, council might want to consider an amendment to said ordinance which would take into consideration the grade of the landscape surrounding the freeway zone. He said, “It leaves our current ordinance a little weak.”
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Photo by David Conn
Storm clouds gather over the Wallowa Mountains near Halfway. The town is snuggled into one of most picturesque valleys anywhere in the world –– home to a total of 24 mountain summits and peaks.
Baker County Commission Meets: Ellingson Zone Change Approved
By Eden Taylor
After the second public hearing held during the regular session of the County Commission Meeting on May 6th, the Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the zone change for the Ellingson property in Halfway. The Planning staff will prepare an order that the commissioners will sign. There is a 21-day appeal period that began May 6.
The property is located on Sawmill Cutoff Lane and bordered by Pine Town Lane and the Baker Homestead Highway. It is 27.93 acres. The zone will change from the Industrial zone to a zone based on the Limited Use Combining Zone. David Gene Moore had removed any objections to the change in a letter from J. David Coughlin to the Baker County Planning Department the previous day.
After some discussion, it was determined that the Watchman’s quarters and the Quarters/Temporary Housing in Conjunction with Industrial Use be made conditional uses (subject to Planning Commission review).
Eleven Involved In Valley Avenue Fight: Five Arrested
By Debby Schoeningh
One of the largest fights Sgt. Kirk McCormick with the Baker City Police Department said he has seen in some time erupted Sunday night, May 10, at a residence on Valley Avenue. Eleven people were involved.
Five were arrested on charges of third degree assault, riot and harassment. McCormick said pending further investigation, other charges may be made. Those arrested were:
Dan Dixon, 22 of Baker City
Kyle Dixon, 20 of Baker City
Anthony Mailman, 24 of La Grande
Peter Morales, 24, of La Grande
Benjamin Woods, 26, of La Grande
Mailman and Morales were also cited for being felons in possession of a weapon, and Woods for interfering with a police officer.
There are also two suspects who are being investigated in the incident, Thomas Goodwin, 20 of Baker City and Joe Infante, 18 of Baker City.
The victims were:
Julie Gonzales, 25, of Baker City
Dustin Melgarejo, 21, of Baker City
Homer Relaford, 35, of Baker City
Shalon Spriet, 20, of Baker City
OTECC Board Members Re-Elected At Annual Meeting
Burns — Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative’s (OTECC) 23rd annual meeting of members was held Saturday, May 9, at the Harney County Memorial Building in Burns, Ore.
A large crowd of OTECC members enjoyed live music played by the Burns area band, The Johnson Brothers. About 65 raffle gifts were given away during the course of the meeting. The opening door prize, a digital camera, was won by George McGee, Jr. of Burns; the grand prize winner, Erma Wright of Baker City took home an LG air conditioner.
During the business portion of the meeting, Board President Gary Miller reflected on the 20th Anniversary celebrated by OTECC in October of 2008. In doing so, he focused on how the seven guiding principles of cooperatives have helped shape the success of OTECC.
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