Baker City Herald 03-16-15

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Serving Baker County since1870 • bakercityheratd.com

March 16, 2015

>N >H>s aD>i'>oN: Local • H ome @Living • Sports Monday $ <

In SPORTS, 8A

Ducks in

Big Dance

QUICIC HITS

Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscribers Robert and Nan Ferree of Baker City.

State, 3A GRANTS PASSGoing into the 10th anniversary of Sunshine Week, a weeklong initiative highlighting the accountability of government through access to public records, news organizations in Oregon report that government bodies increasingly charge high fees, despite requests to waive them in the public interest. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said she is organizing a task force to propose updates to the publicrecords law.

• Judge Ronald By Jayson Jacoby llacoby©bakercityherald.com Pahl rules that The judge overseeing Baker City Richard LanBaker City can't use grell'sCouncilor lawsuit against the city its key evidence to has ruled that the city can't use its key evidence if the case defend itself in goes to trial. Both Langrell and his lawsuit the city attorney, Rebecca J. Knapp of councilor filed Enterprise, said this morning

that they believe Judge Ronald J. Pahl's Friday rulingin effect negates the need for a trial, which is scheduled Langr e ll for April 2-3 in Baker County Grcuit Court. 'The city has never had a case," Langrell said this morn-

ing.'The only reason the city would continue with a trial is if they want to spend more taxpayer money." Langrell and his wife, Lynne, filed the lawsuit last sprmg. They contend the city has illegally charged them double water and sewer ratesforthe pastseveralyearsfortheir

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bill hearing By Pat Caldwell For the Baker City Herald

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Kathy Orr/Baker City Herald

Thecommunity concert scheduled for Thursday, March 19, has been canceled due to medical issues. It is uncertain whether it will be rescheduled. The Baker Community Concert schedule will continue April 19 with "SAXsational featuring RobertVerdi" and then theTri-Cities Steel Band will perform May16. Both concerts will be at Baker High School. Admission is $25 adults and $15 students.yearly memberships are also available for $60 adults, $25 students and $150 for a family.

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grouse

Free vision screenings for children ages 3-7 will be offered on Tuesday, March 17, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the library, 2400 Resort St. No pre-registration is necessary.

Concert canceled

Knapp said this morning that she has not asked the city foran updated reportofthe motel's utility account.

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Free vision screenings for kids ages 3-7 Tuesday at the library

The Baker High School Guidance Office is asking for donations of caps and gowns for this year's graduating seniors. Past graduates who would like to offer their purple gowns bearing gold stripes down the front and purple mortarboards may take the items to Baker High School at 2500 E St. More information is available by calling the Guidance Office at 541524-2601.

about $9,000 fiom the city,

Video linkto

Sen. Ron Wyden'sBaKerCity TownHallMeetino

BRIEFING

BHS seeks donations of caps and gowns

motel, the Always Welcome Inn. Although the lawsuit said the Langrells are seeking

Baker City Mayor Kim Mosier, right, introduces Sen. Ron Wyden at a town hall meeting Saturday morning at the Baker City Senior Center.

WW • Senator says current system takes money away from fire prevention projects

Local residents concerned about the possibility that the sage grouse will secure protection under the federal Endangered Species Act will have a chance to Bentz observe state legislators in action regarding the issue Tuesday. Oregon District 60 Rep. Cliff Bentz, the Ontario Republican who represents Baker County in Salem, said area residents can watch a hearing on his legislationHouse Bill 3334 — Tuesday morning at 8 o'clock at the Baker County Extension Office, 2600 East St. The bill will be discussed by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. SeeGrouselPage2A

By Joshua Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com

About 70 peopleattended Sen.Ron Wyden's town hall meeting at the Baker County Senior Center in Baker City Saturday morning.

Wyden, D-ore., said it was his 724th town hall meeting in Oregon. Jan Kerns, a Baker Valley farmer and rancher, told Wyden that she is very concerned about Oregon's low carbon fuels law because it will raise the operating costs on her ranch. Kerns, whose husband, Tim, is a Baker County commissioner, asked Wyden about his views on low carbon standardsatthefederallevel. After noting that he had nothing to do with the issue at a state level, he explained his thoughts on carbon

policy. 'There's a pretty strong difference of opinion about whether or not there is a problem. I think there is a problem ... it is contributing to the kind of weatherwe are seeing.It'sgetting hotter and drier,"Wyden said. He explained that he is doing everything he can to address the problem of climate change both nationally and worldwide. Wyden mentioned that the 2015 fire season could be a bad one in Oregon due to drought.

"Onefmy o top prioritiesin the nextfew weeks — not the next month or later — is tofix the broken systemoffightingfires. The focus hasgot to be onprevention — thinning and goingin there and clearing out the underbrush and small trees." — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

"One of my top priorities in the next few weeks — not the next month or year — is to fix the broken system of fighting fires," he said."Understand the focus has got to be on prevention — thinnmg and going in there and clearing out the underbrush and small trees." Wyden explained that when big fires happen because there has not been enough preventive work done, bureaucracy takes money fiom the prevention fund to fight the fire. This takes dollars away fiom essential fire prevention work such as thinnmg overcrowded forests. His solution is to pay for the big fires with disaster fund money. That would leave money for the thinnmg and other work designed to prevent catastrophic blazes. George Hauptman, owner of Canyon Outfitters, a Halfway business that runs drift boat and raft trips on the Snake River in Hells Canyon as well as fishing and chukar-hunting

excursions, told Wyden he is concernedabout the trend to privatize lands in the West. Wyden said that was a very good point. "My view with respect to public lands is we always ought to try first and foremost to promote multiple use. That is public land policy at its best,"Wyden said."Obviously we have made some judgments about protecting some of our special places. In my view it doesn't get any more special than Hells Canyon." Wyden said on his watch there wasn't going to be any kind of privatization of places such as Hells Canyon. Al Free told Wyden about the Baker City Council's effort to ban marijuana dispensaries here. He asked Wyden if there is any proposal in Congress to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances. See Wyden/Bge 8A

Cougar search comes up

empty By Josh Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com

Baker City Police searched part of southwest Baker City Friday morning after a resident reported seeing a cougar in the area. Kari Carter, who lives at 4000 Indiana Ave., said she saw the cougar just before 9 a.m. Friday and called the police. "I looked out the window and watched it walk onto Boulder Lane, and into the neighbor's yard," she said. Carter saw the animal disappearintothe sagebrush after that. SeeCougar IPage8A

Tuesday

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TO D A T Issue 131, 16 pages

Calendar....................2A C o m m u nityNews....3A Hom e . ...............1B &2B Lot t e ryResults..........zA Op i n i on......................4A Classified.. ...........4B-7B Crossword........BB & 7B Horoscope........BB & 7B News of Record........zA Sports ......5A,6A & SA Comics....................... 3B D e a r Abby ................. SB L e t t ers........................4A Sen i o r Menus ...........2A Wea t h er..................... SB

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Baker City Herald 03-16-15 by NorthEast Oregon News - Issuu