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January 12, 2012 Front Page |
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Photo by Joni Lea Linscott
House Catches Fire Due To Crack In Chimney
By Joni Lea Linscott
On Sunday, Jan. 8, at approximately 8:20 a.m. a chimney fire broke out in a house located at 1514 Oak Street near Spring Garden Avenue in Baker City. The house is owned by Ted Dockweiler.
Police, fire and ambulance all responded. The Baker City Police Department was asked to come due to the fact that the fire department had to stretch their hydrant hose across Auburn Ave., and didn’t want traffic to run over the hose. The streets were blocked off on Oak from Auburn to Spring Garden. Eleven firefighters were present and worked for about two hours to extinguish the fire.
There currently isn’t an estimation of the cost of damage, but there was damage to the chimney, the wall around it, and the roof. The fire was caused by a crack in the chimney, and the fire spread from there.
City Hires New Attorney, Golf Course Contractor Fails To Pay Concession Fee
By Mark Bogart
Baker City has a new City Attorney, Brandon Eyre of the La Grande law firm Baum, Smith and Eyre was introduced at the beginning of Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Then Councilors plunged into lengthy discussions of water treatment, burying utilities on Resort Street, and paying the bills at Quail Ridge Golf Course.
As City Manager Mike Kee and Public Works Director Michelle Owen reported on developments in the water treatment project, Councilor Roger Coles said, "I can't buy it.” He then referred to an article about cryptosporidium in New York and recommended that Baker City keep testing for the parasite and "try to get out of this."
Councilor Aletha Bonebrake referred to developing scientific information and possible changes in testing and regulation. She said, "We won't know till 2016, but then we'll have spent the money." Current testing can show the existing of crypto oocists (coverings), but cannot show if live parasites are in the water samples.
Kee explained that he had talked to an official at the Oregon Health Authority. According to Kee, their message was, "The rules may change, but for now these are the rules." He and Councilor Clair Button explained that testing would cost thousands of dollars without changing the situation.
Officials Shoot Two Cougars in John Day
Law enforcement and Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) searched for over 6 hours Friday afternoon, Jan. 6, in the area of a John Day city park and athletic facility after three cougars were reportedly spotted in the area within the city limits of John Day. An Oregon State Police (OSP) trooper shot and killed the first cougar and a second one was killed about four hours later. A third cougar wasn't found.
According to OSP Master Sergeant Gordon Larson, on Jan. 6 at approximately 12:15 p.m. a John Day resident called 9-1-1 to report a cougar was in a dugout at the John Day 7th Street Complex, a park and athletic facility in the city limits of John Day.
Baker County Faces Justice Court Funding Loss, $170,000 Per Year
By Mark Bogart
What would happen if Baker County no longer had a Justice Court? Could the Justice Court be cut back in order to function with sharply reduced funding? How does the upcoming election for a new Justice of the Peace impact the commissioners' options? These and other questions came to the forefront as the Baker County Board of Commissioners learned about the possible implications of House Bill 2712, passed by the 2011 Oregon Legislature.
Commission Chair Fred Warner, Jr. shared information from the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) as well as his own preliminary assessment at the regular commission meeting last Wednesday morning. He reported on a combination of fines and assessments that will no longer be available to the county to fund its Justice Court. As a result of HB 2712 those dollars either could not be collected or would go to the state.
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