|
February 5, 2009 Front Page |
|
Plug In Cars — Easy On The Environment And No Gas Required
By Debby Schoeningh
The GEM electric car probably won’t win any races, but like the tortoise, its slow steady pace will triumph in the long run by saving energy. Aside from the obvious perks of reduced fuel costs and less pollution, Don Fink of Baker City says it’s also a gem to drive.
He and his wife, Roberta, purchased two GEM models, a smaller e2 car and a flatbed utility vehicle, which Don uses in his work maintaining Mt. Hope Cemetery and Geiser Pollman Park.
Don brought their e2 home from Ohio in the bed of his Ford 350 — with the tailgate up. The GEM, looking somewhat like a misshapen bubble on wheels, he says drew a lot of stares.
“I guessed it looked kind of strange to people who hadn’t seen one,” he says. “I stopped at a Walmart on the way back and one lady thought I had a helicopter in the back on my truck. But after just a week of driving it, we were totally convinced getting it was the right thing to do.”
Made by Global Electric Motorcars, a subsidiary of Chrysler located in Fargo, N.D., the GEM tops out at 25 miles per hour, which is the legal limit for low-speed vehicles in Oregon. GEMs are legal to drive on any road in the state with a speed limit of 35 mph or less.
City Of Haines Gets New Pumper Truck
By Teri Brown Johnson
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the Haines Fire Protection District took delivery of the new 4x4 Pumper truck. Approximately 20 people attended a celebration breakfast at the Sunridge Inn in Baker City. This was a fantastic event for the Haines Fire Protection District.
According to Haines Fire Chief Jerry Hampton, last February, 2008 he met with Dan Weitz from Baker Rural Fire as well as Howard and Vince Payton to discuss what it would take to apply for a FEMA Grant. At that time Jerry knew that he could not do this all on his own so he visited with a group of the Haines firefighters, and they came up with the plan to meet with Dan and Howard. The Grant and Truck committee consisted of Jerry Hampton, Mike Brazofsky, David Johnson, Larry Curry and Martin Neske. Special thanks to Marge Loennig for proof reading and helping with corrections in grammar and spelling. One other person the Haines Fire Protection District would like to thank is Robert Seymour for all his help.
|
