Baker City Herald paper 1-7-15

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January 7, 2015

Music, art

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>N >H>saD>i'>oN: Local • Business @AgLife • Go! magazine QUICIC HITS

BAICER COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

ThirdAccidentalActivationOfBrooklynSchoolAlarm

Good Day Wish To A Subscriber

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A special good day to Herald subscriber Marcella Neske of Baker City.

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Oregon, 5A GRANTS PASS — The U.S. Forest Service has abruptly decided not to spend $10 million on a five-year nationwide public relations campaign to brand itself as a public agency that cares about people and nature.

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BRIEFING

By Joshua Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com

Bandstand gets key grant, will be built this year The Baker City Bandstand Committee/Soroptomist International of Baker County is very pleased to announce that it has received an"Over the Top" grant from The Ford Family Foundation, which ensures the construction of the bandstand this spring. The Ford Family Foundation was established in 1957 by Kenneth W. and Hallie E. Ford. Its mission is "successful citizens and vital rural communities" in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. The Foundation is located in Roseburg, with a Scholarship Office in Eugene. "This grant, plus our recent major award from the Leo Adler Community Foundation, have ensured the project's success and will enable us to begin construction in Geiser-Pollman Park as soon as weather will allow," said Dave Hunsaker, committee chair. "Ash Grove Cement Company, Pease Family Fund, the Durgan family fund, the Oregon Community Foundation, Idaho Power Company, MDU Resources Foundation (Cascade Natural Gas) and the Powder River Music Review have each demonstrated continued financial patronage for this community asset," Hunsaker added. Long-term community support has been essential with 18 local individuals and families gifting $1,000 each and 350 individuals and businesses purchasing bricks and tiles. Over 4,500 volunteer hours have been given to the project along with volunteer performances by musicians, and major support by every newspaper in Baker County. "Watch for our ribbon cutting this summer," said Hunsaker.

WEATHER

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r' 'j' S. John Collins/ Baker City Herald file photos

WaltWegener, Baker School District superintendent, said the district will disconnect panic alarm systems at Baker schools until officials can fix a glitch that has contributed to three accidental activations of the system at Brooklyn Primary School since September. The most recent incident happened Monday morning. The problem is the unintentional pressing of the two buttons on the fob (inset photo at upper left) that all school employees wear around their neck.

By Chris Collins ccolltns©bakercttyherald.com

ofFuntil the glitch is fixed. "This is intolerable to us. So ttye'll turned The new system, which was go back to the old system." installed at Brooklyn last spring, will

Police and school administrators be replaced by the former system. were called to Brooklyn Primary — WaltWegener, Baker School It also relies on locking down the School Monday on the third false District superintendent alarm in just a little more than four school when an emergency situation months. most of the false alarms that have is suspected. Superintendent Walt Wegener said taken place since the system was Intercom communication will an alarm fob was activated when installed. be used to connect staff inside the "somebodyhugged somebody really During the Monday incident, buildings and 9-1-1 dispatchers and hard." police and other emergency workers cellphones will be used to alert police, Doug Dalton, the district's chief fire and school staff. and school districtem ployeeswere "This is intolerable to us,"Wegener financial officer who also oversees called to Brooklyn, at 1350 Washsecurity, student and stafF safety, and ington Ave., at 11:12 a.m. The school said of the false alarms."So we'll go risk management, said"compreshouses about 450 students in Grades back to the old system." sion" that places weight on the fob K-3 anda stafFofabout 35. has been identified as the cause of Wegener said the system has been SeeAlarm I Page 8A

Bill Harvey has taken the reins this week as chairman of the Baker County Board of Commissioners. He is taking a break from his contracting business to help manage the affairs ofthe county for the H arv e y next four years. Harvey was unopposed in the November election after defeating three-term incumbent Fred Warner Jr. in the Republican primary in May. "I won't be building homes after I finish the latest project that I'm on," Harvey said. "I've made a commitment that I have to finish it." Until that project is done, Harvey will be working on it until 8 a.m. each day, when he takes up his commissioner duties. His lunch hour will also be spent finishing his final building project. Harvey said that running his business, combined with serving the past 12 years as a member of the county's planning commission, has prepared him well for the full-time elected position

that pays just over $73,000 a year. SeeHarvey I Page 8A

InteriorSecretaryAnnonncesCampaignToProtect SageGrouseHaditat FromWildfires

S. John Collins / Baker City Herald file photo

The Radio Tower fire burned about 3,300 acres of sagebrush and grass southeast of Baker City in July 2014.

e s'mewirei By Jayson Jacoby llacoby©bakercityherald.com

The ubiquitous sagebrush lacks the cachet of an old growth ponderosa pine, but the lowly shrub will get special treatment this summer when lightning threatens to ignite the sagebrush steppe of Baker County. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Tuesday announced a campaign to

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combat wildfires that have charred millions of acres of sagebrush across the West over the past decade. The ultimate goal is to protectthe sage Jew e ll grouse. That bird, which as its name implies depends on sagebrush for habitat, is a candidate forfederal

protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service isslated to decide this September whether to list the sage grouse as threatened or endangered. If the bird is listed the effects could be widespread, including possible restrictions on livestock grazing, mining and motor vehicle travel on public lands. "Targeted action is urgently

needed to conserve habitat for the greater sage grouse and other wildlife in the Great Basin, as well as to maintain ranching and recreation economies that depend on sagebrush landscapes," Jewell said in a press releasing announcing her Secretarial Order for the 2015 fire season. SeeSagelPage 8A

Mostly sunny

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Issue102, 28 pages

Mostly sunny

Business... ........1B & 2B Comics.......................3B DearAbby..... ............SB News of Record... .....3A Senior Menus...........2A Carendar....................2A C o m m u nity News....3A Hor o scope........5B & 6B Ob i t uaries........2A & 3A Spo r t s ........................7A Classified............. 4B7B Cr o s sword........5B & 7B L e t t ers........................4A Op i n i on......................4A We a t her.....................SB

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