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In Outdoors
wx-r Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
November 14, 2014
iN mis aomoN: L ocal • Heajth@Fitness • Outdoors • TV $ < QUICIC HITS
Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Patricia Huey of Baker City.
BRIEFING
OTEC offers
scholarships High school students, returning students, and adults entering educational and technical programs can apply for one of OregonTrail Electric Cooperative's 28 annual scholarships. Twenty-six academic and two linemen scholarships are available. Each scholarship is $5,000. To be eligible, applicants: • Must receive or have legal guardians who receive electrical service from OTEC • Must be of good character • Must demonstrate a coherent degree plan • Must be planning to attend an accredited vocational school, technical school, college or university. Two of the scholarships are specifically for linemen school. Eight of the 26 academic scholarships are earmarked for returning college students. To apply for a scholarship go to www.otecc. com under the "community" tab and download an application. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2015.
Woodlands group to meet The Baker County Private Woodlands Association invites the public to attend the Nov. 20 meeting. The association will meet from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the OSU Baker County Extension office, 2600 East St., in Baker City.
Volunteers sought for board Volunteers are being sought to fill three vacancies on the Baker City Golf Board. To apply, visit www. bakercity.com and complete the online application under boards and commissions.
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By Joshua Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com
Bugs and bacteria are increasingly used as tools to battl eproblem weeds in Baker County. Known as biological controlsorbio-controls,they won't completely replace herbicides in the fight against noxious and invasive weeds. Biological control is the deliberate introduction of natural enemies to weaken and suppress invasive plants. Baker County Weed Supervisor Arnie Grammon believesthey can be effective in the battle against harmW ~l~ l - : ful weeds. "Invasives don't have natural checks and balances r~ such as natural predation," eI he said. Grammon uses bugs that aren't normally present to control theseweeds via predation. He may also inoculate the soil with bacteria thatsuppress a particular weed's growth. Grammon has used diffuse knapweed bugs (Larinus minutus),leafy spurge bugsrJ4pthona sps and Eustanopsis sps)and 1 Canada thistle bugs(Ceuto.I rhynchus litura) to control "I el I their namesake weeds. Yel—I low starthistle has been held I in check by Bangasternus lllill, sps and Eustanopsis sps. These bugs damage or destroy their host plants. S. John Collins /BakerCity Herald He said there are some Arnie Grammon, Baker CountyWeed Control District manager, examines paint, stakes promising results with the and bacteria, in hand, that he'll use to create three test plots covering 6 acres to try to use of weed suppressive control medusahead weed in the Durkee area. He said he'll be working in conjunction bacteria %SB). with Gary Paige of the Malheur CountyWeed Control District. Grammon is establishing license and a roadside weed test plots in the Durkee area ence to his use of herbicide weeds. spraying equipment. The Grammon has a masapplicationendorsement as to studythe effectiveness of ter'sdegree from Oregon required for his position. WSB to control medusahead latterrefersto a process of collecting weed killing bugs Innovation and care for weed. State University in weed Grammon is sometimes and redistributing them to range ecology as well as an the environment are imporreferredto as a nozzlejockey places where they can be ef- undergraduate degree in tant to Grammon. fective at killing or suppress- rangeland resources. He or a bug herder. The former being a refering the growth of noxious also has a public applicator's SeeWeeds I Page 8A
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By Chris Collins ccollins©bakercityherald.com
Mostly sunny Full forecast on the back of the B section.
T ODAY
Today
24/-1 Frigid
Saturday
24/-4 Partly sunny
Sunday
25/1
DEALING WITH WINTER WEATHER
First
snowof season By Joshua Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com
With the temperatures on their way below zero in Baker Valley tonight and Saturday, there's no doubt winter has arrived. Since yesterday morning, 4 to 6 inches of light fluffy snow have accumulatedin and around Baker City. AccuWeather and the National Weather Service both predict the high temperatureshere to be in the mid-20s and the lows to be near zero to the low teens through Tuesday. Baker City Public Works Director Michelle Owen said outside water pipes should be insulated and faucets covered. It'sa good idea to open cabinets inside to allow warm air circulation around the pipes as well. She also said running water overnight can help. "The stream of water should be no wider than the diameterofa pencil," Owen said. The weather also kept Oregon State Police officers busy. They responded to nearly a dozen freeway crashes throughoutthe day Thursday because of the ice and snow covering the highway in Baker County. No injuries were reported and both lanes of travel remained open throughout the day See Weather/Page 2A
Former Extension Building to be taken down The green metal building thathas stood at2610 Grove St. for about a half century will be coming down soon as part of a land exchange between Baker County and the National Guard Armory. Road Department employees will be dismantling the building and using the materials to construct a new building on the Road Department grounds, said Fred Warner Jr., Baker County Commission chair. g s The Grove Street site will be turned over to the armory in exchange for 1.2 acresacrossthe streetfrom the Baker County Event Center at 2600 East St. The property is currently used as S. John Collins /BakerCity Herald part of the National Guard's Once the home of Baker County Parole &. Probation and Baker CountyWeed Control, motor pool compound. the former OSU Extension Service building on Grove Street is being taken down. sWe worked out a deal that we would take the property next to our fairgrounds sard. determined that the county w i l l receive $575,000 along and they would expand He added that an apcame out a little short on wit h t he land exchange. their parking lot," Warner praisalofthe property the deal, and so the county Mo s t of that money will go
WEATHER
Battling bucks tangle
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Issue 79, 20 pages
Calendar....................2A Classified............. 1B-6B Comics.......................7B
Co m m u n ity News ....3A Hea l t h ........................1C Obi t u aries..... C r o ssword........... 4B-5B H o r o scope........... 4B-5B O p i n i on De a r Abby.................SB N e w s of Record........2A Ou t d o ors......
.....2A .....4A ..... 1C
to theFairboard to be used forfairgrounds improvements or as seed money for any matching grants that might be available, Warner sard. The county will keep
$75,000 to help pay the cost of movingthe Baker County Weed Department and Baker County Parole and Probation offices. The two agencies were the building's most recent tenants. The green metal building was closed about two weeks ago forasbestos abatement, W arner said. A Bend firm removed asbestostile for a
cost of $20,000. There was no airborne asbestos in the building, he said. Arme Grammon, the county's weed supervisor, has moved his office and equipment to the former Oregon Department of Transportationshop at 1050
S. Bridge St. See Extension/Page 8A
Sp o r ts ........................6A T e l e vision ............ 3C-4C W e a t her ..................... SB
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