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February 10, 2011 Front Page |
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City Council Discusses Plans For Stormwater Management
By Joni Lea Linscott
At the regular meeting of Baker City Council on Tuesday several items were on the agenda including the Stormwater Management Plan Update. The meeting was brought to order by Mayor Dorrah and all were present.
Mayor Dorrah presented the Proclamation of The Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda week. It was dedicated that the week of Feb. 6-12, 2011 is designated National FBLA-PBL Week in Baker City and a certificate was provided proclaiming this.
County Reviews Changes Proposed To State Fish Consumption Rate
By Debby Schoeningh
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is promulgating new rules on the Oregon Fish Consumption Rate for setting water quality standards for the amount of toxic pollutants allowed to be discharged into the state’s waterways.
A public hearing notice issued earlier this month for other areas of Oregon stated the objective of the change is to "adopt water quality standards for Oregon that will protect people from adverse health effects as a result of consuming fish and water from Oregon streams and lakes. In addition, the objective of the rulemaking is to allow DEQ and other agencies to implement the water quality standards in a manner that is cost effective and achieves meaningful environmental results."
911 Dispatch To Receive Reverse 911 Capability For Emergency Notification
By Debby Schoeningh
Jerry Boyd, director of Baker County Consolidated Dispatch told Commissioners at their Feb. 2 meeting that last year the 911 Center processed 67,000 calls for service, a decrease of almost 3,000 from the previous year. That’s calls coming in, he said, and calls dispatched increased from 14,933 to 20,551.
Reports that were processed also increased by almost 5,000. Boyd said the Baker City Police Department has made a couple of reporting adjustments on how they handle some things and he believes that had to do with some of the increases noted. Basically he said there are fewer public calls than previous years, but more calls to dispatch.
“The point is, we remain busy,” he said. “We have remained staffed consistently, and have no vacancies. We did downsize by one dispatcher two years ago due to state funding reductions." He said it has been working to have one dispatcher on after midnight certain nights of the week, and they are bringing in a Clerk Dispatcher at 5 a.m. to help fill in on computer hours.
County Weed Department Seeks To Expand Mandatory Whitetop Control Boundaries
By Debby Schoeningh
Arnie Grammon, Baker County Noxious Weed Supervisor, said the Baker County Weed control Board of Directors has recommend expanding the boundaries of whitetop mandatory control areas.
Grammon told County Commissioners at their Feb. 2 meeting there are currently two mandatory control sections for the weed, one in Baker Valley, which includes parts of Sumpter and areas north and west of the Freeway, which they would like to expand to include Sutton Creek, Ebell Creek and areas South of Bowen Valley to the top of Dooley Mountain. The proposed whitetop expansion boundary follows the upper Powder River Watershed boundary. The upper Powder Watershed boundary is defined as all areas within Baker County that flow into the Powder River above Thief Valley Reservoir.
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