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November 12, 2009 Front Page |
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Halfway’s City Well Building Rocked By Explosion
By Tami Waldron
On Sunday, Nov. 8, it was business as usual for city employee Paige Frederickson to go to the City Well building and check pressures and equipment, which was at 7:30 a.m. At 3:06 p.m. that afternoon an explosion and fire was reported at the city well building which resulted in blowing out the city of Halfway's main water pumping station.
Monday brought many folks to Halfway, including Fire Marshall Richard Smith and Gary Timm, David Wildman from Anderson Perry, and more. Monday was a day of trying and retrying in getting well #1 reconnected. The first try of getting parts from Baker failed when the coupling brought out was the wrong size. Idaho Power donated the supplies/materials needed to fabricate and weld the connections. Idaho Power employee and welder Jason Harriman had the expertise to solve the problem with the help of Denny Farwell and city employee's. City Works Employees Paige Frederickson and Duane Wallace worked during the night Monday and all day Tuesday.
Man Impersonating Police Officer Pulls Over Teenager
By Debby Schoeningh
On Nov. 5 at 8:30 p.m. a 16-year-old female was pulled over by what appeared to be a police officer in an unmarked vehicle.
Sgt. Kirk McCormick said a man driving a light colored passenger car with a grill guard on the front placed flashing lights on the dash and pulled the teenager over on Elm Street near the City limits. The teenager was uncomfortable with the situation, and when the man approached her window she remained in her vehicle, rolled her window down slightly, and told him she wanted the Department to send an officer in a marked police car.
“She (the teenager) was very smart,” said McCormick. “The man, who was not really a police officer, told her to ‘have a nice day’ and left.”
McCormick said there has been a rash of similar situations in Idaho where people impersonating a police officer have pulled a vehicle over.
Council Interviews City Manager Candidates
By Mark Bogart
The Baker City City Council reviewed plans for hiring a new city manager, but made no decisions at Tuesday’s meeting. The agenda, which was short, got even shorter after two items were withdrawn. Two councilors, Andrew Bryan and Milo Pope were absent.
City Manager Pro Tem Tim Collins summarized plans for selecting a new city manager. Three candidates were interviewed on Monday and a fourth will be interviewed on Thursday, Nov. 12. A small group of citizens have been invited to share information about Baker City with the four applicants. Those sessions are open to the public, but Collins explained they were not intended to be candidate forums like those held when people run for public office. He stressed that hiring is a Council decision, not an election, although input from citizens will be received. The intent of the gatherings was primarily for the prospective city managers to listen rather than present information. Candidates are also being given tours of the area.
County Continues To Battle Weeds
By Eden Taylor
The Baker County Commissioners heard an update on the Weed Department from Arnie Grammon in their regular session on Nov. 4.
Grammon told the commission of the “three-legged stool” that the Department stands on. Those legs are Innovation, Herbicide Giveaways and Cost-share for herbicide and/or seed. While showing that squelching innovation is not good, Grammon told the commissioners of new herbicides and methods that are winning the battle against some species.
Bio-control releases of mecinis janthinus, a stemboring weevil, have shown progress on controlling dalmation toadflax. Bio-control of whitetop is still at least two years out.
Imazapic is a new herbicide that is working well on medusahead near Richland. A new herbicide is being evaluated that is showing excellent promise on Leafy Spurge. That should be available next spring. Whitetop and scotch thistle near Weatherby are now being treated in a test area with Chapparral.
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