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Transmission Line Route Receives Negative Feedback From Residents By Mark Bogart Representatives of Idaho Power got a cool and sometimes hostile reception when they presented their selected route for a 500 kilovolt electric transmission line on May 5 at the Community Connection building in Baker City. The gathering was officially the sixth meeting of the Project Advisory Team in which Idaho Power has presented information and asked for public input about possible routes through Baker County. About 50 Baker County residents attended along with a handful of Idaho Power employees and other interested parties. The proposed line would run from Boardman, Ore., southeast through several counties and connect to the Hemingway substation in Southwestern Idaho. Three routes have been discussed over the year-long process, and the company has chosen the eastern route, with minor changes. An earlier version would have been within view from the front of Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, but a change has moved the line to theeast where it would still be visible from the back of the facility. The current proposal would be within one mile of the center’s property and 3.5 miles from the entrance, explained Kent McCarthy, Idaho Power System Planning Engineer.
Firefighters Decline One-Year Salary Freeze, Council Maintains Current Contract By Mark Bogart At its regular meeting on Tuesday, the Baker City Council approved an amended version of a parking plan for the Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally, and got mixed results on an effort to forego cost of living increases for police and firefighters. It also approved resolutions honoring Poppy Day and National Corrections Employee Week and listened to a report on Powder River Corrections Facility. Councilors Andrew Bryan and Milo Pope were absent. The council received input from Historic Baker City regarding a proposal to establish motorcycle-only parking on a section of Main Street during the Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally. Asurvey done through email by HBC Director Ann Mehaffy indicated 19 merchants favoring the plan and three opposed.
County Donates Rock To Kirkway River Project By Eden Taylor In the regular County Commission Meeting held on May 5, Vicki Wares stood before the commission on behalf of the Powder Basin Watershed Council to ask that the County donate rock to secure the river bank that runs along Kirkway Drive. The goal is to have a half a mile of uniform bank structure. Powder Basin Watershed Council has been working on the project for 4 years. In November of 2007 they received a grant to design the 1⁄2 mile stretch of river. Owners Chuck Risley and Jason Bland, the south and north owners of Kirkway property appeared before the council to explain that it has taken a community approached to get the owner’s to agree to the project. The plan was presented to the City on March 23.
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