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January 20, 2011 Front Page |
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Photo by Gary Dielman
Flooding from the Powder River Monday formed a lake on the Ward Ranch’s field south of Hughes Lane. Dielman stitched together three photos for this panorama view.
Ice Jam In Powder River Causes Flooding In Hughes Lane Area
By Debby Schoeningh
The Powder River spilled over its bank Monday morning on Hughes Lane near Kirkway Drive following a warm Chinook-like change in the weather where temperatures neared 50 degrees and uncharacteristic rainfall for this time of year.
Baker City Public Works Director Michelle Owen said the flooding was related to an ice dam at the Hughes Lane bridge.
“The warm temperatures caused melting of snow and ice, increasing river flows as did the rainfall on Sunday,” she said.
Jerry Boyd, director of Baker County Consolidated Dispatch said Dispatch was contacted by the National Weather Service at 3:48 a.m. Monday morning after the Service noticed a rise in the River water levels on their gauges. He said on-duty Baker City Police officers were sent to check it out and at that time the water was about four feet below the bottom of the Hughes Lane bridge.
Boyd said police continued to monitor the situation and at about 6:30 a.m., as the ice jams worsened the water level came up and calls started coming in from residents in the area.
Charles Tracy Received Professional Engineer Certification, OTEC
Oregon Trail Electric announces that Charles Tracy of Baker City, Oregon has passed a state-required professional engineering exam to receive the title of official Professional Engineer. Mr. Tracy currently works for OTEC as an Assistant Systems Engineer. Until an engineer in the State of Oregon obtains the certification, he or she must be supervised by a Professional Engineer. The certification is the result of passing 2 8-hours long exams. Passing them demonstrates a thorough understanding of the principles and practice of the field.
Tracy joined OTEC in 2003 after graduating from New Mexico State University with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. In his current capacity, he assists the engineering and operations staff with project work ranging from facility design to new technology.
In 2005, Tracy briefly left OTEC to work in Western Oregon as an engineering consultant. Eventually, Tracy and his wife both decided that they missed Northeastern Oregon and returned to Baker City. Tracy, a native of Wisconsin and who grew up in Alaska, missed the vast outdoors of the region. “My wife and I love an outdoors lifestyle and the warmth of a small community,” said Tracy. “We wanted to come back to that here in Baker City.” Tracy resumed his work at OTEC in 2008 and has since then been a crucial part of OTEC’s many recent technology upgrades and modernization projects. “I enjoy my work at OTEC so much more than consulting,” said Tracy. “Instead of jumping from project to project with different companies, I get to tend one little garden to ensure it thrives.”
Spanish Class Celebrates Cinco de Mayo
(On El Trece Enero)
By Eden Taylor
Ginger Rembold believes in giving her students hands-on learning experiences. A quarter-long combined Spanish and Hispanic Art Class found a fun way to learn about their subject. On Jan. 13, the students and their families joined for a Mexican Supper potluck. Students brought whatever “Mexican” dish they wanted and added it to the sopiapias that Mrs. Rembold and some of the students made, to have quite a feast.
The quarter-long class doesn’t allow much time to actually learn Spanish. Mrs. Rembold gives the students an introduction to general Spanish vocabulary. She then uses Hispanic art to enhance the students’ learning of the culture. The Cinco de Mayo celebration was also to help the students absorb the culture a little. Last year the Spanish students celebrated The Day of the Dead, a very spiritual holiday in Mexico.
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