•
• g
I
4R
•
•
•
• g
0
•
•
•
•
) P ~ i - J
w j
r -
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
Monday, May 5
'l
i
INTHIsEDITIQN:
Local H o m e &Living
QUICIC HITS
Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscribers Blaine and Jo George of Baker City.
S p ortsMonday 75g
~
"
Water ContentAhove AverageInElkhorns,Wallowas
now c
roun
• Region in much better shape than most of Oregon and the West
• Oficials might ask voters this November to approve sale of 40 acres the city has owned since 1880s along Salmon Creek at base of the Elkhorns
Masayuki "Masa"Yano, a Japanese-American who lived in Baker City.
History, Page 5A It's well known that a small Chinese ghetto existed at the southeast corner of Baker City's business district from the late 1860s until about 1940. Not so well known today is the fact that from the early 1900s until 1942, Baker, as it was known then, also had a small population of Japanese. A three-part series by local historian Gary Dielman starts today. The series will continue Wednesday and Friday.
By Pat Caldwell pcaldwell©bakercltyherald.com
A plantosellapiece ofcity-owned property at the base of the Elkhorn Mountains will probablyend up on the November ballot. The city wants to unload its 40-acre Salmon Creek property — about eight miles west of Baker City and originally purchased in the late 19th century — but must secure voter approval first, as mandated by the city charter. ''We've never done anything with it," City Manager Mike Kee said of the parcel of timbered property. The city had trees thinned on the property in 2003. Kee said the property could be worth as
much as $100,000. "I guess the city potentially could have developedit.Itwaspurchased in the 1880s probablyfor some kind ofwaterproject,"Kee sald.
BRIEFING
Three local students will NRA scholarship Baker City students Sarah Spaugh, Brian Staebler-Siewell and Lukas Huggins are among 15 Oregon students to receive $1,000 college or technical school scholarships from the Oregon Friends of the NRA. No other Oregon city had more than two winners among the 15. Applicants were evaluated based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, community volunteerism and an essay about the Second Amendment. "It is an honor to see these youth learn about our Second Amendment through this program," said Kati Jones, scholarship committee member. More information about the scholarship, including application requirements for next year, is available at www.friendsofnra.com.
WEATHER
Kathy Orr / Baker City Herald
Signs of spring abound in Baker Valley, including center pivot sprinklers nourishing newly planted crops, but high in the Elkhorn Mountains the snow is still several feet deep.
By Jayson Jacoby llacoby©bakercityherald.com
While most of Oregon and the Westbrace forpossible water shortages this summer due to a scanty snowpack, the northeastern corner boasts a relative bounty. This is the only part of the state where the snowpack is above average. As of this morning, the water content in the snow in the region comprising the Burnt, Powder, Grande Ronde and Imnaha river basinsis9 percent above average. In the Willamette River basin, by contrast, which includes much of the Central Cascades, the snowpack is just half of average. The situation is even more dismal in the southern half of Oregon — the Rogue and Umpqua basins are 25 percent of average, the Klamath basin a meager 14 percent. In Northeastern Oregon most of the snow has melted
belowabout 5,000 feetelevation. But high in the Elkhorns and the Wallowas, the source for water in the summer, the snow still lies deep. At AnthonyLake,forinstance, snow surveyors from the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service measured 81 inches of snow on Wednesday. The water content was 34 inches. That's about 11 percent above average, and the secondhighest water content for the official May 1 measurement in the past 14 years. iln 2011 the water content on May 1 was 34.2 inches.) The snowpack at Anthony Lake,elevation 7,125 feet,and at other sites high in the Elkhorns and Wallowas, tends to peak aroundthe fi rstofM ay. The all-time record for May 1 at Anthony Lake is 45.6 inches, measured in 1997. Last year the water content
• He belieVeS mOre By pat Caldwell
55/32
logging could benefitforestsand the local economy
Showers or thunderstorms
YMCA settles dispute with with contractor By Pat Caldwell pcaldwell©bakercltyherald.com
A dispute between the Baker County YMCA and a local contractor regarding a project to remodel the former Wilson's Market — now the YMCA's Fitness Center on Pocahontas Road — is over. Baker County YMCA CEO Heidi Dalton saidFriday that the legalnegotiations between the YMCA and Gyllenberg Construction Inc., had been resolved outside of the court system. Because the matter was settled outsideofcourt,thedetailsofthe agreement have not been publicly announced. "It's been resolved,settled outofcourt.All the liens have been removed," Dalton said today. At issue was a claim of construction lien from Nov. 4, 2013, by Brent Gyllenberg. The firm asserted the YCMCA owed Gyllenbeg Construction $385,262.70.
andidateFlemingfocusing onforesthealth
Today
a;a,
was 24.8 inches. In the Wallowas, the automated measuring site near Aneroid Lake, elevation 7,400 feet, recorded awa tercontent this morning of 27.7 inches. That's 10 percent above average. Last year the water content on this date was 23.7 inches. At Mount Howard, just east of Wallowa Lake, the water content this morning was 21.2 inches — 26 percent above averageforthatsite,elevation 7,910 feet. On the west side of the Wallowas, at Moss Springs above Cove, the water content this morning was 24.4 inches, 38 percent above average for the 5,760-foot station. The southern Wallowas of Baker County haven't fared quite so well. At Schneider M eadows north ofH alfway the water content is 13.3 inches. That's 10 percent below averageforthesite,elevation 5,400 feet.
See PropertyIPage 8A
timber and agriculture. But two legs on the stool have been faltering. "Overthe last40 years I've seen beavers chewing vigorously on the mining and timber leg. Which, of
pcaldwell©bakercltyherald.com
Baker County Commission caneconomy, in decades past, to a threeleggedstool, supportedbymining,
course, leaves us a stool with one
leg," he said. And that shaky situation, he said, bodes badly for the county's future. See Forests/Page 2A
Fle m ing
Tuesday
59/31
a„a,
Possibly showers in the afternoon
Carendar....................2A Classified............. 4B-7B Comics....................... 3B
TO D A T Issue 149, 18 pages
•
I
C o m m u nityNews....3A Hom e . ...............1B &2B Lot t e ryResurts..........2A Op i n i on......................4A C r o ssword........BB & 7B H o r o scope........BB & 7B N e w s of Record........2A Sp o r ts ......... 6A-SA, 10A D e a r Abby ................. SB L e t t ers........................4A Obi t u aries..................2A We a t h er..................... SB
i
I
i
8
•000
•000
51153 00102
•000
o