•
• g
•
• g •
a
•
•
,rj '
i
4R
)
In Sports
Baker track
wx-r Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityheralckcom
March 30, 2015
pr BvlBw
>N>H>saD>i'>oN: Local • H ome @Living • Sports Monday $ < BaKerCountyTownHallMeetings
QUICIC HITS
Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Tim Kerns of Haines.
en z mee s wi cons By Joshua Dillen
BRIEFING
Ladies golf lunch begins April 1 The Baker Ladies Golf and Bridge Association's opening luncheon is set for Wednesday, April 1, at Quail Ridge Golf Course. If the weather permits, the group will play golf with tee off at 8:15 a.m. Any 9-hole players are invited to come and start at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served about 12:30 p.m. After lunch, those interested will play bridge. The charge for lunch this year will be $8. There is a $1 (optional) social membership, which will be covered for those who attend the spaghettifeed. Lunch reservations are requested. Those planning to attend are asked to call the golf course at 541-523-2358 or call Glenda at 541524-1411 or 541-4031623.
Studded tires off by March 31 PORTLAND (AP)The Oregon Department ofTransportation is reminding Oregonians they should remove studded tires by March 31. Given current weather forecasts, transportation officials say they do not plan to extend the Oregon studded tire season. The Washington State Department ofTransportation announced the same deadline last week. A study completed in 2014 concluded studded tires cause about $8.5 million in damage each year on state highways. ODOT says other types of traction tires are available.
Courthouse open through lunch The Baker County Courthouse, 1995Third St. in Baker City, has expanded its hours and will now remain open during lunch. The Courthouse hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
WEATHER
Today
52/37 Partly cloudy
Tuesday
52/27
ldlllen©bakercltyherald.com
HAINES — An Eastern Oregon legislator was busy last week speaking and listening to his constituents. District 60 Rep. Cliff Bentz held nine town hall meetings over two days Friday and Saturday. At Haines, Bentz addressed a crowd of about 35 people atthe Frontier Restaurant on Front Street Friday at noon. "At the end of the day, I want to know what you guys are thinking and what you want me to do," he said."This is your chance to tell me what you're thinking." Bentz said he has told his constituents that if they wanted him to submit a bill for them, he would even ifhe did not agree with it. Bentz had 73 bills drafted out of more than 2,000 in the Legislature. He said 34 of those were introduced to the floor of the Oregon House and of those 22 were scheduled for committee or public hearing. One of the main topics of discussion at the meeting was the low carbon fuel mandate recently signed in to law by Gov. Kate Brown. The law requires that gasoline be blended with 10 percent ethanol. Bentz explained that sugar cane ethanol has less carbon in it than corn ethanol. The carbon mandate will make the imports of sugar cane ethanol increase from Brazil. "How many of you raise sugar cane? Not many," he said to a chuckling audience. Bentz also said that those with vehicles that can't run on the blended fuels would have to buy carbon credits. "The company that is
a* . -
'/ t
I!
t;m.ra
; il
t
i r' h l ~a
"I
Kathy Orr! Baker City Herald
Rep. Cliff Bentz met with Baker County residents Friday in a series of Town Hall gatherings. At Haines, Chuck Chase, seated left, of the Eastern Oregon Mining Association, listened to the presentation. distributing fuel to you will raise the price of your fuel, take the money and buy creditsfrom those thatare selling sugar cane ethanol," he said. Bentz explained that ownersofelectriccarsithatpro-
duce one-third of the carbon as gasoline or diesel power vehicles) would sell their carboncreditstothepeople who are selling fuel. "How do we make sure that works? Well, we don't. What we do is pass a law like
this and we sit here with our fingers crossed and hope it works," he said."And that is the absolute truth." Bentz brought up the fact that the low carbon law does not bring any money in at all for Oregon roads and bridges.
He also said that he was not going to work with other legislators to raise gas taxes becausethe carbon legislation is already going to raise gas prices enough. See Bentz/Page 8A
llarietvoftopicsdiscussedatTownHallmeetinis By Pat Caldwell
sents Baker County at the state Legislature and said The state's new low carbon Sunday he logged nine town fuel standard, the status of hall meetings in two days Oregon's budget and sage across a wide swath of Eastgrouse proved to be the three ern Oregon. Bentz attended key topics for District 60 Rep. meetings from one end of Cliff Bentz during a series the sprawling District 60including sessions in Baker of town hall meetings last week. County — and said each Bentz, R-Ontario, repregatheringgenerated interest For the Baker City Herald
Sr. Trooper Brad Duncan with the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Division was on patrol in Sumpter about noon Sunday when he noticed a vehicle engulfed in flames near the home of 81-year-old Lorraine Wells. Duncan said he reported the fire, carried Wells from her home and helped her son, Geoffrey Wells, 51, escape while firefighters extinguished the blaze. See Wednesday's Baker City Herald for more information about the fire.
from voters. 'There was pretty good attendance. It went great. We didn't lack fortopics,"he said. Bentzsaid thestate's low carbon fuel standard — recently passed into law — consumed a large share oftheinterestofvoters.Tied into that issue, he said, was a recognition by many that the
roadrenovationproposalthis legislative session was placed into limbo in the wake of the passage of the low carbon fuel standard law earlier this month. Most Republican lawmakers — including Bentz — believe the low carbon fuel standard law will boost fuel prices for consumers. See Town Hall/Page 8A
state's road infrastructure is in need of repair. "Pretty interesting how unanimous it was that we needed more money for roads. And those who attended seem to understand that we in Eastern Oregon, left to our devices, couldn't pay for our roads," he said. Yet any type of ambitious
Car fire ignites Sumpter home t
a
..@ ' L I
I'
a'~
.
'
&-
,,
3<
'S
'tr! =.
4.
tll
J
!
'iyltd '
1
~
r
'I
.p
'g>~~~,' Q
P.~
: iidl~
Phato by Carol Free
l8
A few showers Full forecast on the baCk Of the B SeCtiOn.
T ODAY Issue 137, 18 pages
Calendar....................2A Classified............. 4B-7B Comics.......................3B
C o m m u nity News....3A Hom e . ...............1B & 2B Ne w s of Record........2A Se n i o r Menus.............2A C r o ssword........... 5B-6B H o r o scope........... 5B-6B O b i t uaries..................2A Sp o r ts ................ 7A-10A De a r Abby.................SB L e t t ers........................4A Op i n i on......................4A We a t her.....................SB
8
•000
•000
51153 00102
•000
o