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Serving Baker County since1870 • bakercityheratd.com
December 11, 2015
iN mis aonioN: L ocal • Health@Fitness • Outdoors • TV $ <
Classic Christmas cookies
QUICIC HITS JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITHDISABILITIES: LAST IN ATHREE-PART SERIES
Good Day Wish To A Subscriber A special good day to Herald subscriber Jenny Long of Baker City.
Health,SC SALEM — Oregonians have a few days left to make sure they have health insurance coverage on New Year's Day. Although open enrollment lasts through Jan. 31, 2016, Oregonians need to apply by Tuesday, Dec. 15,to ensure they have coverage on Jan.1,2016. Most consumers who already have insurance through HealthCare.gov or directly through an insurance company will be re-enrolled in their same plan if they do not act by Dec.15.
• Workers with disabilities seek jobs outside'sheltered workshops'
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By Chris Collins ccollins©bakercityherald.com
A Baker City man who's been held at the Baker County Jail since Dec. 1 has been arrested on new charges accusing him of making a bomb. Police Chief Wyn Lohner said Jonathon Romine, 35, of Baker City, was charged Tuesday with unlawful manufacturing of an explosive device and unlawfulpossession ofan explosive device. Both crimes are Class C Romine felonies. Romine has been in custody at the jail sincehisDec.1 arreston charges ofpossessing methamphetamine and violating terms of his probation. On Monday, Ort Scott Guthrie, 62, the owner of the property at 627 David Eccles Road, brought photos of items stored in a shed to the Baker City Police Department, Lohner said. In reviewing the photos, Sgt. Wayne Chastain spotted what looked like an explosive device.
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BRIEFING
Chamber of Commerce open house set for Wednesday The Baker County Chamber of Commerce will host a Christmas open house on Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Chamber office, 490 Campbell St. (near the Sunridge Inn). Everyone is welcome to meet the Chamber's new director, Shelly Cutler, who starts work in January, and board members. Refreshments will be served.
SeeCharged/Page2A
Law could make sex offender data more accessible
Candlelight service Dec. 24 at Presbyterian The First Presbyterian Church in Baker City will have a Christmas Eve candlelight service with tone chimes and carols starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 24. The church is at 1995 Fourth St., across from Baker Middle School and the Courthouse. More information is available by calling 541-523-5201 or visit firstpresbaker@ blogspot.com
Free turkey noodle soup dinner Dec. 24 The St. Alphonsus Surgery Department will serve a free turkey noodle soup and goodies on Dec. 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Apostolic Lighthouse Church at Seventh and Broadway Streets in Baker City.
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By Chris Collins Photo Courtesy Dana Stone
Dana Stone is the executive director of ROCCOS Family Support Network. The acronym forms the name of her son, Rocco, right, and explains the network's goals: Reaching Our Community Combining Our Strength. Her two others sons are Blake, left, and Beau. By Chris Collins ccollins©bakercityherald.com
Dana Stone has embraced Oregon's "Employment First" program as she looks toward the future for her son, Rocco. The program is aimed at helping get people with specialneeds out of sheltered workshops and into the community workforce. And that's as it should be, Stone asserts, her thoughts of
Rocco always at the forefront. "Oregon had too many sheltered workshops where people were segregated and not adequately compensated," she said. As theresultofa class action lawsuit, Lane vs. Kitzhaber, and an executive order issued by former Gov. John Kitzhaber, the state has begun working to move peopleout ofsheltered work-
ccollins©bakercityherald.com
shops such as those provided by Step Forward Activities at Baker City and John Day. Instead, the workers are being supported in a variety of ways to find community employment that capitalizes on their abilities and interests. "My highest aspirations are for my kids," Stone says.
There are115 sex offenders registered in Baker County but only one will show up in a search of the Oregon State Police's website. And he no longer lives in Baker County. In fact, Wesley Scott Michael Kenny is included on the list only because this is the last county in which he registered, says Lt. Will Benson, Baker County Parole and Probation manager. iView information about Kenny at http:// sexoffenders.oregon.gov/SorPublictWeb.dll/). Kenny left the area, committed new crimes and is serving prison time somewhere in the South, Benson said.
See Workers/Page 5A
SeeOffenders/Page 8A
EorgetTheEorce: GotyourticketsP By Joshua Dillen >dillen©bakercityherald.com
Released, it was, the blockbuster movie"Star Wars," a long time agoin a decade far,faraway. That was the first movie in an epic series that has enthralled science fiction fans for nearly four decades. The saga continues Thursday when"Episode VII: The Force Awakens" opens at Baker City's Eltrym Theatre. SeeStar WarsIPage8A
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Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm-TNS
Peter Mayhew, left, and Harrison Ford in "StarWars: The Force Awakens."
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Calendar....................2A Cr o s sword........2B & 4B Jayson Jacoby... .......4A Opinion... ...................4A Sports ........................6A Classified............. 1B-4B D e a r Abby ................. 6B News of Record........2A Ou t d o ors............. 1C-3C T e l evision .........5C & 6C Comics... ....................5B Health ........4C,7C & SC Obituaries.................. 2A S e n i o r Menus ...........3A Wea t h er..................... 6B
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2A — BAKER CITY HERALD
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
Aldertsonsquietonylansfor Baker By Joshua Dillen
bankruptcy auction, including the store at 1120 Campbell St. in Baker City, but how that will play out is not clear. Greg Smith, Baker City/County Economic Developer, said he has talked with
ldillen©bakercityherald.com
BAKER COUNTY CALENDAR FRIDAY, DEC. 11 • Live Music by KeithTaylor:4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Crossroads Carnegie Alt Center, 2020 Auburn Ave.; no charge. SATURDAY, DEC. 12 • Sumpter Valley Railroad Christmas Trains:Trains will be running on a regular weekend schedule with roundtrip departures Saturday and Sunday from McEwen at 10 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., and a round-trip from Sumpter at noon. There will also be an evening lights train departing McEwen on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. for the Sumpter tree lighting and parade. • Historic Home Tours:Self-guided tour of select historic homes,museums and churches,includingthe Wisdom House, theAdlerHouseMuseum and CrossroadsAlt Center where public restrooms will be available; noon to 5 p.m., starting at the Baker Heritage Museum, 2480 Grove St.; maps available Saturday at the museum; tickets are $15 for adults; $12, seniors and students; and $10 for groups of 10 or more; get tickets at Betty's Books, Bella Main Street Market, the Chamber of Commerce and at the museum. SUNDAY, DEC. 13 • Baker High School Vespers Program:2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., BHSAuditorium, 2500 E St.
TURNING BACK THE PAGES 50 YEARS AGO from the Democrat-Herald December 11, 1965 Sharpshooting senior forward Blair Sturgill potted 24 points to lead the Baker Bulldogs to a 61 to 49 win over the Ontario Tigers last night at the Baker High School gym. Contrary to the score, the contest was a real thriller in the second half with Ontario closing a first half deficit to 3 points midway in the fourth quarter. 25 YEARS AGO from the Democrat-Herald December 11, 1990 Four people have been nominated for consideration for appointment to a county commissioner seat vacated by Steve Bogart. The Baker County Democratic Committee Wednesday nominatedTruscott Irby, Jack Urey and Jesse Himrnelbach, all of Baker City, and Richard Gasser of Huntington. 10 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald December 12, 2005 Nine Baker City property owners might have to pay part of the cost to pave two streets in their northside neighborhood next year — even if they don't want to buy all that asphalt. The paving plan involves 10 property owners. One controls enough land under city ordinances to allow the paving plan to move forward even if the other nine should protest. ONE YEAR AGO from the Baker City Herald December 12, 2014 The traffic signal at 10th and C Streets is getting the axe pending a two-week comment period starting today. The Oregon Department ofTransportation (ODOT) plans to remove the pedestrian-operated signal, which was installed in1973 but is no longer needed, according to officials from ODOT and Baker City. ODOT is the lead agency because that section of 10th Street is part of Highway 30. ODOT spokesmanTom Strandberg encourages people to contact him if they have any comments about the proposed removal. ODOT actually turned off the signal, and strapped bags around the lights, on Sept. 24.
Albertsons CEO Bob Miller says the company plans to re-open the stores itrecently boughtkom Haggen in a
CHARGED
whathe thoughtmightbe stolenpmperty. Thatwas not Conti nIIed~om RIge 1A the case, Lohner said. Rnmine,who had been Policeinvestigated and estabstayingin a single-wide mobile lished thatanexplosive device home on the pmperty mnted by thatbelonged to Rnmine was AleashaWatkins,21, allegedly among theitems beingkeptin had been storingitems in a shed the shed and that Rnmine had there Lohner said. builtit, Lohner said. ''We do nothave anyidea Guthrie had been going thmugh the shed and found whathis intentwas at this
officials kom Albertsons. 'They have told me they have notformally decided what they are doing yet," he said."I think they11 let me know." SeeGrocery/Page 3A
time,"he said. Police contacted Homeland Security, whichleferredinvestigators to the FBI. That agency Iefemd them to theATF
going to be handled locally," Lohner said. Pblioe am storing the device, which Lohner said"was using gunpowderasthevolatile ®meau ofAlcohol,'Ibbacoo, source."Itis notoperational at Kearms and Explosives). The this point," Lohner said."Itwas ATF has examined photos ofthe lackingthe componentneoesdevice and policereportsand sarytoigniteit." will confer with a US. attorney. Theinvestigationis oontinu''Pmsecution pmbablyis lng.
OBITUARY Pam Resnik
with baby blue eyes in the Air Force who was stationed here Pamela"Pam" Resnik, 67, of kom New York. They had Baker City, died peacefully on been married for 35 wonderDec. 4, 2015, due to diabetes ful years at the time of Stan's complications. Her two daugh- passing in 2002. They had two tershad spent precioustim e daughters, Denise and Ashly. with her in her last hours. These four were a very close A Memorial Mass will be family and treasured family time whether it was playing celebrated at 1 p.m. on Monday, boardgames,going for adrive, Dec. 14, at St. camping, fishing, or just plain Francis de Sales being together. Throughout Pam's working Cathedral, First and Church years, she was a bookkeeper Streets. The Rev. Pam at Basche-Sage Place, the Robert Greiner Resn i k Democrat Herald, Levinger's will celebrate Rexall Drug and finally the Mass. There will be a Cenex Co-Op Supply until reception afterward in the the business closed. She was Parish Hall of St. Francis. a very organized person and Pam was born on April 3, everything had its place. She took pride in her work and it 1948, at Twin Falls, Idaho, to Opleand Betty Lou Rambo. showed. Her work ethic was She joined an older sister, Lin- impeccable. da, and brother, Arlie J."Buzz" Some hobbies Pam enjoyed Rambo. After her elementary were ones that sparked her years, her family moved to creativity in ways unimagiBaker where she graduated in nable. She enjoyed crocheting 1965 kom BHS. and knit tingand had made Baker is where she met the some beautiful afghans and love ofher life, Stan Resnik. warm slippers for all family He was the handsome man members. She also enjoyed Baker City, 1948-2015
cross-stitching, ceramics, reading and playing pinochle. Pam was very giving with her creations, as she made and gave many special handmade gifts to the special people in herlife. She also loved to decorate her house for the holidays. She was known to decorate an extravagant Christmas tree which was always different fiom the previous year. Her familylooked forward to seeing the tree in all its beautiful glory that Pam had decorated for the Christmas season. Pam will be remembered for her intelligence, loving and caring personality, quick wit, and most of all what her family meant to her. Whenever anyone needed an ear or a shoulder to lean on she was there and without judgment to listen and be there. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and kiend. She will be dearly missed and fondlyremembered. The family would like to extend a sincere thank you
FUNERALS PENDING Mae Wagner: There will be a brief committal service at 11 a.m.,
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Friday, Dec. 18 (Mae's birthday), at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Friends are invited to join the family for a potluck reception and an opportunityto share memories afterward at the Richland Christian Church fellowship area in the church basement. Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home Br Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements. Rosemary C. Attaway: Memorial service, 1 p.m., Monday, Dec. 21, at Gray's West Br Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Lennie Spooner of the First Church of the Nazarene will officiate.
POLICE LOG Baker City police CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County Circuit Court warrant): Lonnie MaePersicke,37,of2920 Elm St., No. 6, 9:08 a.m. Wednes-
175/65TR -14XL
day, at the Courthouse; cited and released.
TELEPHONIC HARASSMENT (Warrant): Stacy Lynn Wiechman, 53, of 1240Valley Ave., 11:26 a.m. Thursday, at her home; cited and released. CONTEMPT OF COURT (Two Baker County warrants): Jason Lee Edison, 41, of 3055 10th St. No. 21, 12:17 p.m., at his home; jailed. CRIMINAL MlSCHIEF III (Ba ker County warrant): Ryan Ray, 21, of 3320 K St., 1:11 p.m., at 3320 K St.; cited and released. CRIMINALTRESPASS Iand HARASSMENT: Vera Celine Allen, 32, of La Grande, 11:25 p.m. Thursday, in the 2300 block of Seventh Street; jailed. Baker County Sheriff CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County Circuit Court warrant): Kenneth Roy Street, 45, of 2275
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D>sney, An>mat> on. Epr ~ourney >nto theworld ofd>nosaurs! FRI S SAT: (4 10) SUN: (4 10) 7 10 MON -THURS: 7 1 7 10, 940
AsthewarofPanemescalates Katma muslbnng PG-13 together anarmyaga>nst l'res>dent snow FRI S SAT: (3 45) SUN: (3 45) 6 45 MON -WED: 645 645, 935 STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS PG-13 OPENSTHURS 12/17 4 7PM TICKETS ON SALE NOW! 'No Tightwad Tuesday ( )Bargain Maane
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QtgeoNgaIt Thank you for your patronage. Holiday early closedates: 3 pM Dec. 17 4 24 All you can eat Christmas Buffet December 25, close 5PM
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1915 First St. Open Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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DINOSAUR PG HUNGER GAMES: MO CKINGJAY PT 2
CONTACT THE HERALD
Jayson Jacoby, editor jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
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Public luncheon atthe Senior Center,2810 Cedar St., 11:30 a.m.to 12:30 p.m.; $4 donation (60 and older), $6.25 for thoseunder 60.
Kari Borgen, publisher kborgen@bakercityherald.com
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®uket Cffg%eralb ISS N-8756-6419 Serving Baker County since 1870 PublishedMondays,Wednesdays and FndaysexceptChnstmas Day ty the Baker Publishing Co., a part of Western communica0ons Inc., at 1915 First st. (po. Box 807), Baker city, QR 97814. Subscnption rates per month are: by carner $775; by rural route $8.75; by mail $12.50. stopped account balances less than $1 will be refunded on request. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Baker City Herald, pO. Box807, Baker City, OR 97814. Rriodicals Postage Paid at Baker City, Oregon 97814
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19th St., 2:27 p.m. Thursday, at the Courthouse; jailed and later released on bail. Oregon State police DRIVING UNDERTHE INFLUENCE OF INTOXICANTS (Controlled substances) and RECKLESS DRIVING: BlakeWilliam Kollin, 21, of Belflower, California,a:09 a.m. Thursday, on Interstate 84, about 10 miles south of Baker City; jailed and later released; Kollin was arrested after investigation of a one-vehicle crash in the eastbound freeway lanes at 2:17 a.m. Thursday. FAILURETO DRIVEWITHIN LANE: JosephMichael Farley,36, of Richland, 4:14 p.m. Tuesday, on Highway 86 near Oxbow; cited and released;the citation was issued after investigation of a crash in which Farley's loaded dump truck and trailer rolled and slid 150 feet down the highway before coming to rest blocking the road.
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grandchildren, Alexis, Patrick and Deidre Foley, and Draven and Paige Pearce; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Stanley Resnik; her parents and her sister. In keeping with Pam's love for children and the holiday season, we ask to donate a toy to the Toys for Tots program in her memory ifyou wish, or memorial contributions may be made to American Diabetes Association through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light a candle in memory of Pam, please visit www. colestributecenter.com
We wish you a Merry Christmas.'
OREGON LOTTERY plcK 4, Dec. 10
and Ashly Pearce (Jakel; her
NEwS OF RECORD
LT MEGABUCKS, Dec. 9
to Dr. Jon Schott and his team and all the wonderful caregivers that had a hand in caring for mom in her times of need.'You all are amazing atwhatyoudoandwe thank you,"they said. Survivors include her brother, Buzz Rambo; her daughters, Denise Foley (Jonl,
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
GROCERY
STAR WARS
cYoucould relax and suspend disbelief and just planned nine-part series Sixteen years later, in May of 1999, get into the flow of the storyline," he said. "I hope the "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"was new movie is treated the same way." Continued from Page1A "Star Wars" aficionados can watch released. The first of three prequels, "The Reinks recalls how the scenes and settings of the much anticipated and heavPhantom Menace" tells the story of the moviewere depicted compared tomost science ily promoted movie at the how the saga starts. fiction films. "It was realistic," he said." Since everything Eltrym Theater Thursday Anakin Skywalker, later to wasn't nice and new. It made the settings more at 7 p.m. or 10 p.m. become Darth Vader, is introEltrym owner Teresa , ffs credible." duced. Episodes II ieAttack of the Clones," from Paul Piche, a private investigator from Portland McQuisten said her staff is excited about who was in Baker City this week, said he was about 2002l and III i eRethe movie and 7 when he watched 'The Return of the Jedi" at a venge of the Sith" released in 2005l theater. expectsto selloutof tickets for the two continue the saga He has a vivid memory of a very upset crowd opening-day showwatching the scene that depicts Han Solo getting and detail Anakin ings. Skywalker's descent "unfrozen" as Princess Leia watched. 'Ticket sales The projector failed. to thedark side ofthe "I remember people freaking out when the screen are really strong," Force on his way to Photo courtesy of Lucesfilm-TNs McQuisten said. Gw en d o l ine Christie in "St arWars: The Force Awakb e coming DarthVader.went blank," he said. "This is probably ens." Nearly a decade Piche has seen all of the "Star Wars" movies and the highest number later, "Star Wars" fans considershimselfan"8" on afan scaleof 1to 10. we've seen in advance ticket sales. But I'm not sure will be treated to the release of"Episode VII: The He said he is going to wait a while after the initial if it will beat Twilight-New Moon.' " Force Awakens," which is set after "The Return of releaseofthenew movie to seeit. "I don't like waiting in lines and don't want to be That movie, the second in the five-part 'Twilight" the Jedi." series, opened in 2009. Baker City astronomy enthusiast Ryc Rienks said in a packed theater," Piche said."I like to suspend "StarWars,"by contrast,datesto 1977. that although he doesn't buy into the"media frenzy" everything and lose myself in the movie." That's when moviegoers were introduced to a 'The Force Awakens" will be shown on the biggest therevivalofthe"StarWars" saga has generated, fictional universe created by writer/director George screen every night it runs at the Eltrym, but on the he does plan on watching"The Force Awakens." Rienks isn't buying advance tickets and plans first night only there may be a chance to see the Lucas in which a mysterious "force" could be tapped movie if you miss out on tickets because they have by certain beings and beused forgood orevil.Scion watching it during a matinee after the initial ence fiction fans and more were introduced to the release. sold out for the night. "If it sells out, we'll show it on the back screens," Dark Lord Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Rienks talked about watching the original movie in 1977 during a visit to Vancouver, B.C, as a young Leia, Han Solo, Jedi Knight Yoda and a plethora of McQuisten said. alien characters. Visit eltrym.com to purchase advance tickets and adult. "Star Wars" — released in May of 1977 — was the "It was fun," he said."It reminded me of when I see showtimes. "Episode VIII" — currently being filmed — is first movie of a trilogy that includes "The Empire was a kid going to the Saturday matinee charged up Strikes Back" i1980l and"The Return of the Jedi" scheduledto bereleased May 26,2017,and "Episode on Jujubes." IX'will be released sometime in 2019. from 1983. Reinks especially liked how the story was put They were the fourth, fifth and sixth episodes of a together. .
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OFFENDERS:
Supervision to conduct a risk assessmentforallsexoffendContinued~om Page1A ers before they are released fiom custody. The reason for the lack of informationaboutregistered All existing registered sex sex offenders online is the offendersarerequired to be result of Oregon law that prior classified by Dec. 1, 2018. to January 2014 limited OSPs Those who were released from authority to list sex offendcustody and registered after ers on public websites to only Jan. 1, 2014, but before the new rules were adopted, are to those deemed"predatory" by the Oregon Board of Parole be assessed"as soon as practiand Post-Prison Supervision. cable," the law states. The new system, which will The new system also will evaluate and place sex offend- givepoliceand parole and proersatLevel1,Level2 orLevel bation officers more latitude 3 is a"new and improved" to let neighbors know when way to help law enforcement a sex offender moves in near agencies betterinform their them. Authorities had been communities of an offender's limited to providing notificarisk of committing more tion onlyin the case of predacrimes, said Brenda Carney, tory sex offenders in the past. "It allows the community executive duector of the Boauf of Parole and Post-Prison to understand what the risk is for a sex offender livingin Supervision. The change came about their community," Carney by a new law passed in 2013: sald. In the case of Robert House Bill 2549. Unfortunately, the law was Lee Witter, the 80-year-old an unfunded mandate, Carney Huntington man being held without bail in the Baker says. The 2015 Legislature County Jail on 13 sex-related authorized money to put the leveling system into practice crimes involving children, and that workis getting under there was no community notification given. And Witter way. wasn't called to the attention Butit will take time for oflaw enforcement because he state officials to evaluate wasn't designated a predatory the approximately 28,000 registeredsex offenders.And offender. only those deemed Level 3 ofWitter was required to fenders, those with the highest register asasex offender risk to re-offend, will make the based on his 2004 Multnomah OSP online sex offender notifi- County conviction for attemptrst-degree sexual abuse cation system, which indudes ed fi and interfering with a police the website and local notifications, such as through press report. "He always came in and releasestothem edia,about where these offenders live. registered," said Pam Smith, "It's a workin progress," OSP office specialist who Carney said.'We're jumpingin handles registration for Baker head first." County sex offenders. The law calls for the Board Witter first registered in of Parole and Post-Prison Baker County in April 2012,
giving the Huntington address of 205 E.Adams St. He was still living there when he was arrested by Baker County SherifI"s deputies on Nov. 16 of this year. "If Mr. Witter is now re-entered into the criminal justice system, ifhe is convicted, he willbeassessed and plugged into one of these ithreel levels," Carney said. As the new system is put into place, Smith and Benson said they are happy to answer questions fiom community members about known sex offenders and to providewhat information they can. More information is available by calling Smith at 541-523-5867 or Benson at 541-523-8217. Looking toward the future, Benson said his department will look at each sex offender on a case-by-case basis to decide when to notify communityresidents under the three-
level classification system. Regardless of the new system, DistrictAttorney Matt Shirtcliffis frustrated that the OSP online registry is not more accessible to the public. "I don't think we have an adequate notification system," he said."Several people have said they've had a hard time accessing who's on the sex offender list." And the district attorney is concerned about another aspect of the law that will allow some sex offenders to seek relief from the registration requirement. However, Shirtcliff notes that Level 3 offenders will be required to register for life along with those convicted of Rape I, Sodomy I, Unlawful Sexual Penetration I, Kidnap I or Burglary I when committed with the intent to commit any of the other crimes listed above. Changes regarding juvenile
sex offenders also have caught ShirtclifI"s attention and he says he11 bewatching that as well as the new system is rolled out. Benson, whose agencyis responsibl eforsupervisingsex offenders on parole or probation, doesn't believe many will seek relief from registration because of the time and money involved and their criminal histories. ''When I look at our caseload, there are not a lot who will have the ability to be removed," Benson said. He agrees with ShirtclifI"s view that all registered sex offenders should be included in the OSP website, but the system was changed after a successful lawsuit against the priorsystem 10 to 12years ago, Benson said. While the registry helps inform the public of where offenders are living, it is just part of the equation for keep-
Continued ~om Page 2A Smith said he hopes that whatever the company does, Baker City will see the return of the 50 jobs lost when Haggen closed its store here recently. "It's important to our economy," he said. Albertsons sold 146 stores, including its Baker City location, early this year after the company merged with Safeway. Haggen re-opened the store in May, but the company, based in Bellingham, Washington, declared bankruptcy three months later. The Bellingham Herald quoted Miller, the Albertsons CEO, as saying cWeare pleasedtobe returning to theselocations and have the opportunity to creategreatjobsin these communities. The process of reopening these stores as Albertsons, Safeway and Vons locations will take some time for us to obtaintheappropriate licenses, but we are confident that our operating playbook will help us create stores that customers will love to shop again."
ing children safe, however, Benson said. While working for Parole and Probation at Hermiston, he said he did several community notifications regarding dangerous sex offenders. cWe spent 15 minutes talking about that guy and 45 minutes talking about how to keep kids safe," Benson said. Stranger abductions are rare and children are most often sexually abused by someone they know and who their family trusts, he said. "And then that person abusesthat trustandvictimizes someone," Benson said. He urges parents to know who their children are spending time with and to take note if anything appears to be out of the ordinary about the relationship. "Putthebrakes on andfind out whyit doesn't feel right," he said.'When it's my kids, I'm going to go the extra mile."
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Pmlk IM OWPPIMM'RII'58179 NMI o ®~NIEN After.surgery, eating properly can help with the recovery process. Obtaining aeIequate caIories and protein is vital. Protein is
extrernely important for recuperation. Not only is it.required for fighting infections, it is the backbone for repair and mainienance of many crucial tissues in the body. In addition, protein is vital for building collagen, which is necessary for scar formation.
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Get your nutrients froe a well-balanced eating plan, rich in a variety of fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, and lean proteins, such as lean rneats and low-fat dairy products. (These aregenerai suggestians, so be sure to alw ays fOIIOW yOur PhySiCian'S inStruCtlOnS
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 Baker City, Oregon
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EDITORIAL
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One of the more frightening things about registered sex offenders — people who have been convicted of sex crimes — is how little we know about where they live. There are approximately 28,000 registered sex offenders in Oregon (115 of them in Baker County). But the state's online database of sex offenders has information about fewer than 10 percent of them. But thanks to a new state law, we hope that lamentably low percentage will rise. Previously the state made available to the public the most recent addresses of only those sex offenders deemed "predatory."The state defines "predatory" this way: an individual who exhibits characteristics showing a tendency to victimize or injure others and who has been convicted of certain sex crimes. But under the new law, the state Department of Corrections will assess each sex offender based on a three-level system designed to predict how likely it is that the person will commit another sex crime. Offenders who are most likely to re-oA'end — Level 3 under the system — will be listed on the public website. Although the state has just started assessing sex offenders, we're optimistic that more offenders will be designatedLevel 3 than were labeled as predatory under the previous system. That would give Oregonians more information about where sex offenders live — information that should be more readily available. Even with the new law, however, Oregon lags behind many states in alerting its citizens about sex oA'enders. Idaho's online database, for instance, includes photographs and addresses of sex offenders, and the information is not limited to predatory offenders.
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Your views Four rules regarding guns and gun control A quick study: The four rules of gun control:
1. There will always be guns. 4. You can't change the first three 2 . Criminals will always have guns. rul e s. 3. The way to stop criminals is for lawJoe Bailey abiding citizens to have guns. Baker City
GUEST EDITORIAL Editorial from The (Bend) Bulletin: Oregon lives in a state of emergency, or at least lawmakers seem to think it does. How else can they explain the emergency clauses attached to nearly half the bills introduced in the 2015 Legislature? The clauses allow the bills to become law immediately and, in doing so, make it impossible for citizens to gather signatures and refer unpopular measures to the voters. Among the Legislature's emergencies last spring was the measure tightening background checks on gun sales in Oregon. It's easy to see why some would want the emergency definition on the background check bill, and it's equally easy to see why others would not. But for many bills, the value of or need for an
emergencydeclaration islessclear. Lawmakers declared an emergency so banks and credit unions could immediately hold raffles to lure customers into opening savings accounts. They did so again when they created the office of state resilience officer, a position that had formerly been voluntary.A third time, they made "emergency" changes in the state's agricultural mediation service. It's no wonder, then, a Wilsonville lawyerand the anti-tax group Taxpayer Association of Oregon are working to make changes in the state's constitution that would limit the practice of attaching emergency clauses so freely. The petition would require a twothirds majority of lawmakers to attach an emergency clause to the four laws mentioned above. At the same time, it
would carve out exceptions for measuresdealing with "catastrophic disaster," ordinary spending measures and bills cutting funds if revenues come up short. In otherwords,itscrafters seek to strike a balance that would allow lawmakerstoaddress realemergencies in a timely fashion even as they create a major hurdle for less legitimate emergencies. It'stoo soon to tellifthe effortto get the petition on next year's general election ballot will be successful, but if fairness plays a role, it should. Lawmakers should not be allowed to run roughshod over voters when they're concerned bills will be so unpopular that voters will decide to weigh in on them. This petition would end that practice.
e r ica ocuse oncur in its a t est at s ~
Mass shootings have something in common with airliner crashes besides killing innocent people. Bothtypes ofdisastergarner considerably more attention, from the media and elsewhere, than another tragedy that's much more common in the U.S., and that kills many more people — traffic accidents involving drunken drivers. The vast difference in how our society reactsto thesedisparate but deadly events intrigues me. I don't mean to imply that I think we put too much emphasis on disasters such as the murders this month in San Bernardino, Calif., or the Oct. 1 massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg. W e obsess overthose crimes because we abhor the needless loss of lives and we want to prevent such deaths. I think too that plane crashes and mass murders, whether the killers use guns or bombs or some other weapon, horrify us in part because we feel that the victims — which of course could include any of uswere powerless. When we stepaboard ajumbo jet we become in a sense pawns. Our lives depend on the skills of the engineers who designed the plane, the workers who assembled the millions of parts, the pilots who fly the machines and the air traffic controll erswho guide these600mph missiles through sometimes crowded skies. When we enter a college classroom or shop at a mall, it's beyond our ability to predict, or to influence, whether people bent on murder will
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JAYSON JACOBY pick the same place and the same moment. Driving a car,by contrast,isfor almost all of us a mundane, everyday activity, and moreover it's one that we control. Our hands spin the steering wheel, our feet manipulate the pedals. The very familiarity of driving makes it seem safe. That this confidence is exaggerated — you're far more likely to be killed by a drunken driver than by a deranged gunman or by a plane crash— makes itno lessa staple of our society. The national debate that follows each mass shooting hews to a predictable script, with the question of guns, and how and whether the government should regulate their sale and distribution, playing the primary role. Guns and cars, it turns out, are very nearly equally ubiquitous in America. There are about 260 million vehicles registered in the country, and something like 300 million guns in private ownership. But there the statistical similarity ends. About 10,000 people have died this year in traffic accidents that involve an intoxicated driver. Fewer than 50 people have been killed in the sort of mass shooting exemplified by San Bernardino and Umpqua Community College.
I cite these statistics not to use thefargreaterdeath tollfrom drunken drivers to diminish, even slightly, the carnage committed by mass shooters. My point, rather, is to set a baseline for the extent of these two problems— aprerequisite,I contend, for any campaign to solve such problems. The ideas for curbing mass shootings are many, and most of them involve enacting laws intended to prevent would-be killers from acquiring weapons. This is a logical approach, to be sure, and one President Obama has frequently promoted. Although opponents reflexively disparagesuch proposals,it'sclear that laws such as those requiring background checks for all gun purchases don't violate the Second Amendment. Still and all, it has always seemed to me that the sheer number of guns in America makes any legislative remedy — short of the kind of dictatorial confiscation that is anathema to our nation's principles — unlikely to have an appreciable effect, if any effect at all. Yet when I replace"mass shooter" and"guns" with"drunken driver" and"automobile, "Iseethe prospect for legal action that might yield tangible results — which is to say, it might save lives. In both cases, whether shootings or carcrashes,thegoalisthe same — preventing people from getting accesstothedevice thatallows them to wreak havoc. We don't want deranged or homi-
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cidal people to have guns, and we don't want drunks getting behind the wheel. Cars and guns, as I mentioned several paragraphs back, are in effect equally prevalent. But it seems to me that the person's intent is a vital factor in this equation. The mass shooter intends to kill people, obviously. Which means he intends to acquire guns and ammunition, and so long as he's not a felon, he likely will have little trouble doing so. None of the popular legislative proposals, such as expanding background check laws, would affect this availability in any meaningful way. But consider by contrast the drunken driver. He doesn't intend to hurt anyone. To save lives we don't need to segregatethe soused driverfrom cars all the time, or even most of the time. We just need to make sure he can't drive one while he's drunk. And we know how to do that. We know because we already use the technology in every state to thwart people who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated from repeating their crime. It's called an ignition interlock device. Itattaches to acar,and itwon't allow the engine to start until someone who doesn't have a blood alcohol level above a certain limit breathes into a tube. The interlock isn't perfect, of course. People will inevitably defeat even well-desi gned protective measures.
But in most cases this machine will stop an intoxicated person from driving. To return to our guns versus cars comparison, there is no equivalent technology to render a gun unusable to a person who wants to shoot innocent people (murderous intent being more diKcult to measure, by chemical means, than whether you've tossed back a few white Russians). So why is there no organized political movement calling for a federal law requiring every vehicle, when it's registered for the first time orre-registered every tw o years, to be inspected to ensure it has an interlock installed and functioning? Would this be onerous to lawabiding Americans? Expensive? Perhaps even somewhat impractical, and less than completely effective? Of course it would be all of those things. But each of those descriptions can be reasonably applied to much proposed gun-related legislation. If as a nation we're sincere about saving innocent lives — and I believewe are— then itseems to me ought to consider every mortal threat we face. Better still that we focus our effortson the threatsthatpose the greatest danger, and not solely on those that generate the most headlines. Jayson Jacoby is editor of the Baker City Herald.
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
LOCAL
JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITHDISABILITIES: LAST IN ATHREE-PART SERIES
iv rin By Chris Collins ccollins©bakercityherald.com
When Michael Holden's last job ended, he thought his working days might be over. He imagined himself rummagingthrough garbage canslookingforreturnable cans to make some extra money. Michael, 52, who's originally from Minnesota, grew up at Vale and graduated from Vale High School in 1983. He has a learning disability that limits the work he is able to perform. Michael is a 32-year cancer survivor. Other ongoing health issues restrict his employment options. He's done a variety of work over the years. He milked cows — first at Vale and then at New Bridge — for 15 years before the dairy industry declined and eventually closed in Baker County. He also worked in housekeeping
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Grande and hauled back to Baker City tobe delivered to customers.
she said."He contributes a great work ethic and sense of teamwork that we all apThe job piqued Michael's preciate." When his last job played interest. As an added bonus, Voca"I like being out and tional Rehabilitation paid out, he felt like he'd hit rock half ofhis wages during the bottom. Not knowing where about," he says."I'm not an inside person." first three months of on-theelse to turn, he checked with the office of Vocational RehaHis 23-hours-a-week job job training. bilitation at the Department Holden says he enjoys the as the Baker City Herald's of Human Services office on courier takes him to La newspaper employees and 10th Street. Grande where he spends the friends he has made time with the stafF at The iLa along the route during the Vocational Rehabilitation services helped him land jobs Grande) Observer and then past two years on the job. "I visit with everybody," he at the motel and at the dry back to Baker City where he cleaning business. works with the stafFof the says.'That's how they get to When the dry cleaners Baker City Herald. And in know you and trust you." the meantime, he's deliverIn addition to being closed, he says he began looking at other opportuniing newspapers to customers friendly, Holden understands the importance of treating ties and happened to read an along the way. "Michael is a valued mem- customers courteously. advertisement in the Baker 'You have to be courteous," City Herald. The business ber of our team," said Kari was in need of a courier to Borgen, regional publisher of he says."If you aren't, you're drive back and forth to La the Baker City Herald, The chasing people away from Grande Mondays, Wednesthis business." iLa Grande) Observer and The Union Democrat iSoThe Monday, Wednesday days and Fridays. Newspapers are electroninora, California) newspapers. and Fridayround-trip of cally produced in Baker City "He works hard and takes nearly 100 miles per day is and then printed in La his responsibilities seriously," not without its pressure and at thehospitalfora tim e,for the Knights Inn motel and at the Baker City dry cleaners shop beforeitclosed.
S. John Collins/ Baker City Herald
Dana Stoneshares a moment with her son, Rocco.
WORKERS
tion is nonverbal. But, Stone doesn't linger on what Rocco can't do. "His diagnosis is less of a focus for us," she says.'We're focusing on who he is. "As parents we are natural advocates for our kids. As a mom I want my son to be seen for the treasure he is." Stone doesn't like to use the word disability to describe how Rocco approaches life, she prefers to think in terms of"diverse-ability." "He doesthings differently," she said."That's a more acceptable way to view everybody." As he grows up, Stone hopes that Rocco will have the same opportunities as those that will come naturally to her two older boys. r We believe he wants to have fullness oflife, friends and girlfriends and to be living on his own," she said. She looks forward to Rocco completing high school and earning his diploma. "And having the opportunity to direct his own future, using his individual gifts and skills and talents," she said. That's where Employment First comes in and her roleas executivedirectorof
complications and difFtculties. Her mother's intuition Continued from Page1A proved accurate. She and her former Shortly after his birth in ROCCOS Family Support husband, Jason Stone, share the spring of 2005, Rocco was Network. The acronym, joint custody of their three whisked away and flown by which forms her son's name sons. LifeFlight to St. Alphonsus and explains the network's Blake, 17, is a junior at Hospital in Boise. He spent goals, stands for Reaching Baker High; Beau, 14, is a the first month ofhis life in Our Community Combining Baker Middle School eighth- the hospital's neonatal inten- Our Strength. grader; and 10-year-old Rocco sive care unit. It is one of eight indepenis a fourth-grader at South Rocco has a form of autism dent nonprofit family support Baker Intermediate School. and an undiagnosed genetic networks in Oregon. Stone says she seemed to syndrome, which was not The networks are funded know, even before Rocco was the result of illness or injury, through the Department born, that there would be Stone said. His communicaof Human Services and Streat • 541-gg+
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Dana, who also remarried, has divorceda second time and she has been diagnosed with lupus, fibromyalgia and mixed connective tissue disease. At the age of 38, Stone says she has finally learned to let people help her and to ask for help when it's needed. In the past, she has tried to do it all as "super mom, superexecutivedirectorand super woman — apparently," she says. "Being real and honest is more humbling, but it is certainly a better way to go through life," she adds. As part of the parenting support network, Stone is planningtoform a group specifically for mothers, to be known as "Trauma Mam-
mas." The group will give mothers a chance to share their experiences and to help othersavoid some ofthepitfalls they have experienced. 'There are hard days, but we've seen as a family that the hard days are overshadowed by the light and love and posit ivity ofgood days," Stone said. ROCCOS Family Network serves Baker, Union, Grant, Wheeler, Harney and Malheur counties. More information is available by calling Stone at 877-315-4225 or emailing her at dana@roccos familynetwork.org. The organization also has a website, wwwroccosfamily network.org, and can be found on Facebook by search-
ing for ROCCOSFamily Network.
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Come help us support a good cause. Please join us as we raise money for Alzheimer's. Bring a basket or a homemade product for us to auction off to the public. All proceeds go to Alzheimer's research.
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But Holden doesn't expect to be waving goodbye to his newspaper colleagues and customers anytime soon. "I always go into a job like it's going to be my last one," he says."I like doing something to make a contribution to society and to my community."
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH• 6 P M. ~4>~CZI~~
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stress. "I've had so many close calls," Holden says of the hazardous driving conditions he'sfaced,especially during the winter months. "There have been days when I just want to wave my hand igoodbyel,n he says."It getspretty stressful."
Auction for Alzheimer's
From Headlights
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are aprojectofthe Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities and the OfFtce of Developmental Disability Services. The networks focus on connecting families, providing access to resources and information, supporting family leadership and advocacy, encouraging families to focus on strengths and possibilities for their children and helping them reach out to others in the community. Stone returned to Baker City this year with her three sons after living in Grant County for the past seven years. Because of health issues, Stone has turned the day-today living arrangements of their children over to Jason and his wife, Robin.
S. John Collins / Baker City Herald
Along with his courier duties bringing Baker City Herald newspapers back from La Grande, Mike Holden also restocks newspapers atYork's General Store and at other businesses in town.
a Senior Lifestyle community ASSISTED LIVIN G I MEMORY CARK 2895 17TH STREET I BAKER CITY, OR 97814 WWW. 8E NIO R L I F E ST YLE. C OM
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6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
BAICER SWIMMING PREVIEW
Sakerswimmersogentheir seasonSaturdavathome By Gerry Steele gsteele©bakercityherald.com
Kathy Orr file photorBaker City Herald
Carson Lien is among the returning Baker swimmers who will kick off their season Saturday at Sam-0 Swim Center.
Baker's swimmers will almost feel like a visiting team Saturday at the Baker Invitational meet at Sam-0 Swim Center. The Bulldogs have been in the pool for only a week due to recent renovations kept Sam-0 closed. aWe'vebeen practicing at 5:30a.m. every morning
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since Saturday," said Baker coach Paula Moe. Baker did have some workouts earlier after traveling to the La Grande pool, but Saturday will be Baker's first action against another team. Saturday's meet is scheduled to begin at noon. La Grande and Pendleton are committed to the meet at this point Moe said. "This meet is more of a practice meet for our swimmers," Moe said. "Whateverthey do they will learn something. And, their scores won't count toward district qualifying." Moe said that almost all of the 17 swimmers on the Baker roster return from a year ago. "I have a lot of returning swimmers. In fact there are only two that I haven't had on the Barracudas ithe USA swim team). So we're pretty well-versed in swimming. They know exactly what they need to work on," Moe sard. "That's our team strength, knowing each other so well. There are some great friendships, and the kids are all so helpful to each other."
BAKER INVITATIONAL SWIM MEET • Saturday, noon • Sam-0 Swim Center, 580 Baker St. • Other teams competing: La Grande and Pendleton
Leading the returning swimmers are nine who advancedtothe state meet a year ago. Jared Miller returns after placingsecond atstatein the 100 backstroke and 200 IM. Miller, Brandon Myers and Nick Barnes advanced to state in the 100 freestyle relay. Returning girls who advanced to state lastyearare Makenna Bachman,Charity Rushton, Gracee Cross, Carson Lien, Eva Jones-Bedolla and Kara Bennett. The other members of the team are Caitlyn Calloway, Corrina Stadler, Isabella Evans, Faith Ashby, Maddee Hatfield, Justin Miller, Mary Rushton and Austin Peck.
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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dwight Freeney has been harassing NFL quarterbacks for 14 years. Add Teddy Bridgewater to the list. Freeney knocked the ball out of Bridgewater's hand as the Minnesota quarterback prepared to pass. Arizona's Calais Campbell recovered with 5 seconds to go and the Cardinals escaped with a 23-20 victory over the Vikings on Thursday night. "Freeney is a heck of a player," Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph said,"and he's been doing that for a long time." The Vikings, as they did much of the night, moved swifUy downfield to the Arizona 31, well within Blair Walsh's range for a game-tying field goal. But it never came to that, thanks to the 35-year-old Freeney, who didn't sign with Arizona until Oct. 13. 'That's why I came back, because moments like this, you can't duplicate those in life," Freeney said."...Yeah, it was one of my spin moves. It's funny because I spun three times on that series." The third time was a charm. Carson Palmer threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns and the Cardinals i11-21 won their seventh in a row and clinched a spot in the playoffs. The Cardinals' goal is at least a No. 2 seed in the NFC West, which would mean a first-round bye. With this victory, Arizona pulled 2V2 games ahead of Green Bay and three ahead of Minnesota for that No. 2 spot with three to play. Palmereven had a 6-foot-5,331-pound receiver.Leftguard Mike Iupati caught a deflected pass and carried it for an 11yardgainto help setup what proved to be a47-yard gamewinning field goal with 1:25 left.
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Friday, December 11, 2015 The Observer & Baker City Herald
WEEICLY FISHING REPORT
ELIC HUNTING
GRANDE RONDE RIVER • Cold temperatures have put a damper on steelhead fishing on the Grande Ronde. The river has been flowing with slush and will likely freeze with continued cold temperatures. However, mid-winter fishing can be good right after the river thaws. IMNAHA RIVER • The cold temperatures have put a damper on steelhead fishing on the Imnaha. The river may freeze with the continued cold weather. Look for fishing to improve during the late winter/early spring. •l
WALLOWA RIVER • Steelhead season is open. However, fishing doesn't normally pick up until later in the year and into the spring. Trout fishing has been good on the river with angers finding some nice fish. Fall caddis and mayfly hatches have been good and fish seem to be keying in on them. • The Wallowa is also a whitefish factory and can produce some large fish. Whitefish are native to Oregon and are a respected sportfish across the West. Whitefish can be great in the smoker and are a great way to keep kids interested while steelhead fishing. WALLOWA LAKE • Some holdover trout will still be available for the hardy trout fisherman willing to brave the cold weather. Kokanee can also be caught by jigging deep during the winter months. The lake does not reliably freeze every year. However, when the lake does freeze, ice fishing can produce good catch rates for trout and kokanee. JOHN DAY RIVER • Steelhead fishing is fair with fish being caught on the lower river below Cottonwood Canyon State Park. The river flows are now near 340 cubic feet per second and summer steelhead moving past McDonald Ford has slowed. Source: ODRN
Jason Kehr photo
Twelve-year-old Alex Kehr poses with a trophy elk taken on a hunt in the Mt. Emily Unit in November. Kehr gained the once-in-a-lifetime hunt when his father, Jason Kehr, won an auctioned hunt at an Oregon Hunter's Association banquet in March.
By Ronald Bond VVescom News Service
Very few people actually get to experience one ofthose "once-in-a-lifetime-opportunities," whether it's a trip to the other side of the world, a business that booms like none other or a rare hunt. La Grande resident Dwayne Craft recently won the latter, as his name was drawn for a Mt. Emily Unit elk hunt in 2015. But he did something with his opportunity that few would even consider. He gave it away for Oregon's mentor hunt program. "I said,'I'm willing to donate my tag even though it took me 16 years of applying to get it,"' he said.
And as a result, 12-yearold Alex Kehr, also of La Grande,reaped the benefits.
An opportunity given Craft, an active member of Oregon Hunter's Association, has annually applied for a Mt. Emily tag. But circumstances through the years have granted him the chance to take advantage of several other rare opportunities, and he has logged many successful elk hunts over the years outside the state— even outside the country. "I've been in a unique situation compared to most anybody that's hunted in the state of Oregon," Craft said. "I've gone to Canada numer-
ous times and could kill an elk up there every year that I wanted." He also knows the importance of passing on hunting to youth and says more needs to be done for young hunters. "I'vealways catered to the kids," he said."I've always wanted the kids to have more, to do more. I still feel like our Fish and Game do not do enough for our kids.... Nowadays you have to draw allthese tags.They'reguaranteed one elk tag and one deertag from the ages of12 to 17. After that, they have to draw like the rest of us.
Special tags like iMt. Emily), they can't even get without going through the draw." So when his name was
uying for an outdoorsman is easy. Our world is filled with"musthave" gimmicks, and new items seem to hit the market almost weekly. Bass Pro Shop used to have me write five Christmaslistarticles— onefor the hunter, fisherman, camper, backpacker and lastminute ideas. So I can't possibly cram everything into one shortarticle,buthere'sa shortlist ofitems I've tested thisyearor have seen that look cool.
B
The organization auctioned the mentor hunt at its annual banquet in March, once OHA and Craft made the necessaryprovisions to ensure the winner could hunt off ofhis tag. "I just wanted someone to have that unique experience ofbeing able to kill a bull,"
Craft said. And interestingly enough, the winning bidder wasn't
A winning bid from afar The night of the auction, Alex Kehr was participating with La Grande in the middle school state wrestling championships in McMinnville. His father, Jason Kehr, seeking to give his son an opportunity of a lifetime, was corresponding with a friend back in La Grande who was at the auction. While Alex was helping La Grande win a state title, Jason Kehr was winning the auction for his son. "It' saonceorm aybe twice in a lifetime opportunity," Jason Kehr said."I didn't want See Hunt/Page 8C
Hunting • ThermaCELL has a lot of great products, including heated insoles, pocket warmers, mosquito repellers and lanterns. • Steel Will knives have some great selections for the outdoorsman. • Irish Setter boots. For a light weight pair, check out their Vapr Treks.
BASE CAMP TOM CLAYCOMB • Ammo. We all need more ammo. Ask him for exactly what type he wants because it is very specific. I hunt almost exclusively with Hornady ammo. • Backpacks. Outdoorsmen use multiple backpacks. I know I do. Daypacks, backpacking packs, gear hauling packs, etc. Check out Slumberjack/Kelt y'sselections. • Try making your own sausage, hotdogs and jerky. Hi Mountain Seasonings owns the market. • Boyds makes some cool laminated wood rifle stocks. • Optics: Leupold makes all levels ofscopes,binoculars and spotting
Tom Clayoomb photo
ThermaCELL makes heated insoles, which are great for snowmobiling, ice fishing and fishing. scopes to fit anyone's budget. • Airguns are wildly popular. GAMO offers a million models.
TO-DO LIST
AnthonyLakes Mountain Resort Snow Report LAST 24 HOURS: 4 Inches LAST SEVEN DAYS: 21Inches TOTAL AT BASE: 25 Inches SEASONTOTAL: 74 Inches
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even in town the night of the auction.
Findingt erig tgiftfort eoutdoorsman
SICI REPORT
Source:anihonylakes.com
finally drawn for the Mt. Emily elk hunt — a unit thatprovidestrophy-sized animals — Craft took the opportunity to pass the hunt on to someone else who may otherwise not get the chance, and donated the hunt to the La Grande chapter of the
Kevin Cassidy photo
Turkey Shoot Saturday morning The La Grande Rifle and Pistol Club is hosting a Turkey Shoot at 10 a.m. Sunday, with sign up starting at 9 a.m. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place. The optional firearms are centerfire rifle, muzzleloading rifle, centerfire pistol and muzzleloading pistol. Entry fee is $15. For more information, contact Darrel Plank at 541-910-4132.
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• Browning Hells Canyon clothing. • Crimson Trace laser grips. See Claycomb/Page3C
FLY-TYING CORNER
Hexagenia is the biggest of mayflies The biggest of the mayflies, the Hexagenia's life span is about two years. Tie this pattern with yellow or light green thread on a No. 6-8 long nymph hook — curved or flexed. For the tail, use dun-colored marabou. Use pale yellow dubbing for the body and rib with small copper wire. For the gills, use grizzly marabou. Tie in yellow rubber legs. For the eyes, use black 2.5 mm strung eyes. Finish the thorax with fine amber yarn. At the throat, tie down a section of trimmed turkey quill.
Source:GaryLewis, ForWesComNews Service
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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015
THE OBSERVER a BAKER CITY HERALD — 7C
HEALTH 8 FITNESS
ssenia ois: erna iveme icineor an er~ • Once used mainly for their scents, these concentrated plant extracts are now being ingested, but their safety hasn't been tested By Kathleen McLaughlin WesCom News Service
Despitethefederalgovernment'swarning ofunfounded therapeutic claims, consumers are embracing the use of essential oils for a variety of ailments and chronic conditions. Concentrated extracts of plant material, essential oils have long been used in aromatherapy, but thanks to successful multilevel marketing companies, they've become a juggernaut of alternative medicine. Evidence of the trend can be seen in the growth of Utah-based Do Terra, which distributes its oils through "wellness advocates." Bend wellness advocate Elizabeth Mara said that three years ago, Do Terra had 100,000 wellness advocates nationwide. Now there are 2 million. Aficionados place a few drops of oil in a diffuser to create a mood-enhancing mist or to disinfectaroom. They add the oils to homemade lotion, or rub them directly on their skin. In a more controversial trend, they ingest the oils with water,food orin gelcapsules. As essential oils and their paraphernalia graduate from naturalfood stores to Walmart, people may wonder whether they're safe and effective. The answer is unclear. Even within alternative medicine, practitioners disagree on the appropriate use of essential oils. 'There's no double-blind placebo study on any of this," acknowledged Bend naturopathic doctor Azure Karli. She does not think essential oils are as effective as pharmaceuticals, and Karli doesn't widely recommend them. Yet she sells them in her office because some of her patients like to use them, and she thinks that for the most part, they're harmless. She pointed out that the oils people commonly ingest, such as lemon and orange, are also found in food and beverages.
Assacieted Press
Essential oils are sold in health stores and mainstream outlets including Walmart. They are commonly diffused through the air, applied topically to the skin or even taken orally. Oils made from wintergreen plants (shown above) are common for ingesting.
"Touse it in lieu of proven medical intervention
againstinfections, I think would befoolhardy." — Dr. Dawn Nolt, pediatric infectious disease specialist, talking about the use of essential oils
need to see much faster and more far-reaching improvement with our efforts to eliminate inappropriate claims. ewe want to reiterate our longstanding policy that Do Terra products are not drugs and maynotbe promoted to diagnose,treat,cure or prevent any disease. No one should make any such claim about our products." The FDA did not respond to a request for more information about the status of Do Terra's compliance. Mara acknowledged the Varying uses FDA action while giving an Karin Parramore, an essential oils workshop at acupuncturist who teaches a Hawthorne Healing Arts in class on essential oils at the July. She said she hoped the National College of Natural government would police Medicine in Portland, holds exaggerated claims, but the opposite view. at the same time, she said She believes essential oils peopleareneedlessly fearful of ingesting essential oils. are very effective in killing airborne germs, soothing The best oils to ingest are "hot" oils, such as oregano, chronic conditions such as arthritis and restoring menMara said during her Friday tal and emotional balance. evening workshop. But she thinks the massDuring the talk, which marketing of essential oils as Mara would not allow a Bulmedicine is dangerous. letinreporterto record,she Essential oils can cause al- was careful to use the words lergic skin reactions, worsen "assist" and "support,"rather than"treat," and at one point respiratory conditions and damage mucus membranes, corrected her use of the word Parramore said. "treat." ''When it comes to meParramore thinks the FDA's attempt to rein in dicinal use, I think it takes more than a pamphlet from the sales pitches is too little a company, or an hour-long and too late."There's now course," she said. thousands and thousands What is clear is that essen- ofpeopleouttheretalking tial oils don't meet U.S. drug aboutessentialoilsand aromatherapy in the language standards. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in that was presented by these multilevel marketers," she September 2014 sent warning let terstoUtah-based sald. distributors Young Living Do Terra's guide and Do Terra because the companies' representatives Do Terra created an essential oil usage guide, which were claiming that essential oilscould be used to treat covers common conditions, ailmentsfrom athlete'sfoot such as acne, that people can self-treat with any number of to the Ebola virus. commercialproducts.Italso Specific language includes serious illnesses, Do Terra responded in July such as hepatitis."Try: gerawith a letter to its members, nium, frankincense, Detoxiexplaining how to present fication Blend," the Do Terra the products in a"legal and guide recommends. 'Take compliant manner." a few drops internally in a ''While we have decapsule or use with a warm compress over the kidney voted significant additional resourcestoward compliarea, or apply topically on the right and left side of the ance and made progress to throat daily." address the FDA's concerns The guide also includes aboutourwellnessadvocates' common illnesses that can disease and drug claims, we
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progress to more serious problemsifleftuntreated, such as strep throat. Strep throat, most common among children and teens, can lead to rheumatic fever, which can result in damage to the heart. Do Terra's guide recommends trying the company's proprietaryProtective Blend, oregano or thyme oil. eniffuse into the air and inhaleorgarglea few drops mixed with water or take internally in a capsule several times daily. Oregano is very strong, diluteasneeded." The guide directs users to pre-recorded phone messages for more information about treatingcertain conditions. The message on strep throat notes that essential oil is m ore cost -effectivethan taking a child to the doctor and buying prescription antibiot1cs.
Dr. Dawn Nolt, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, said severalofher patients report using essential oils, mainly forstress relief,and she's fine with that. eTo use it in lieu of proven medical intervention against infections, I think would be foolhardy," Nolt said. She's aware of studies of essential oils that were applied to germs or cells infected with germs, and they appear to have had an effect."My understanding is these have not been tested on people. It has just been tested in the lab in a petri dish," she said.eTo say it must work when a person actually has a live infection in their body is a stretch."
essential oils are often looking to take control of their health. That was the case for Linda Kurtz of Sisters, who discovered essential oils and aromatherapy 20 years ago. At the time, she said she was battling a serious inflammation of the eye tissue, uveitis, which took several years to resolvethrough traditional medicine. "I think aromatherapy helped me deal with the emotional fallout and the stress," she said. Now Kurtz, 64, keeps lavenderand tea tree oilsin her medicine cabinet, and she uses tea tree oil on wounds to preventinfection. While she buys high-quality oils from a company in Portland, she said she would never ingest them. "I would not recommend ingesting anything without working with a professional," she sard. Melinda Linss of Bend recently began taking a couple of drops of frankincense oil in water every day in hopes that it would help with arthritis. She said her
.
fingers have been less stiff than they were at the onset of winter last year, but it's hard to tell whether that's attributableto the essential
oil alone because she also started following an antiinflammatory diet. Linss, 51, said she hasn't consulteda doctor about her arthritis."I just do a lot of research." She began using essential oils because when she hit menopause her skin became incredibly sensitive. She couldn't use her usual makeup or other skincare products and switched to coconut oil as a post-shower lotion. She started making her own soap and added in lavender and geranium oils. "It seems to calm my skin," she said. Topical uses of essential oil raise fewer alarms with medical professionals, but dermatologist Tanya Kormeili said she recommends thatpatients proceed cautiously by doing a test on the inside of the forearm with one oil at a time. Kormeili said essential oils are in high demand where she practices in Santa Monica, California. She uses high-grade lavender oil in addition to antibacterial soap on her patients, and she uses a compounding pharmacy to create custom skin-care products with essential oils. See Essential/Page 8C
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Friday, December 11, 2015 The Observer & Baker City Herald
Dea line nearsfor insurance enrollment
PROGRESS CONTINUES ON NEW ELGINHEALTH CLINIC
By Tiish Yerges ForWescom News Service
The Elgin Health District and its community partners have taken significant steps toward expandingand improving medical delivery while fundraising for the construction of a new medical facility on Albany Street. oWe dohave a new family nurse practitioner, Kelli Vicek, and it looks like she will be workingin Elgin with Jamie Jo Haddock on Tuesdays and Thursdays," said Jared Rogers, EHD board member and spokesman. oWe also have new hours in Elgin: M onday through Friday 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. We are also working on offeringsome Saturday hours when we can get that figured out." The Elgin Family Health Clinic at 1400 Division St. in Elgin is occupied by GRH medical providers and dentist Dr. Eli Mayes with his staf, but plans are underway for the medical clinic operation to vacate that building and set up temporarily at another site by early 2016. Grande Ronde Hospital has leased a triple-wide Design Space modular building that will be set up on the gravel lot adjoining W.C. Construction on Highway 82. When it is ready for use, the medical providers will move out of the Division Street building and into the modular. W.C. Construction has been working on the lot in preparation for this move. 'The work done here has been a real team effort," said Bob Wiles, co-owner of W.C. Construction. ''WC. Construction has facilitated and donated a sanitary sewer easement that goes through our property and connects to the manhole on Hemlock Street. This line will not only allow use by Grande Ronde Hospital, but will alsobe availableforfuture use
1 t
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ci
Tim MustoeNVescom News Sennce
Jaime Jo Haddock, family nurse practitioner, left, and medical assistant Amy Clark work in a small office room in the current Elgin Clinic location. The new clinic site will have bigger workstations along Highway 82 and provide a connection point for the Elgin Stampeders and other future needs on the east side of the highway." The City of Elgin has procured engineers to draw plans and then bid out the work to install the new 6-inch sanitary line, Wiles sald, "Grande Ronde Hospital has helped with the financing of the sanitary development," he said. "The hospital is also responsible for bringing in the other utilities." Wiles estimated that the triplewide modular clinic building will be setup and ready to deliver medical services in early 2016. The modular building will remain in use during construction of the new, permanent building on Albany Street. In the interim, the modular will offer more exam rooms, improve patient wait
ESSENTIAL
fordecades,butthemul ti-level marketing companies seem to Continued from Page 7C have popularized their use. Do Terra's main marketing Growing up in a Persian family where herbal medicine was claim is that its products are of the norm, Kormeili said she's a higher quality than what one comfortable with the ambiguimight find at a chain retailer. That plays into the message that ties of natural medicine.'When you take an aloe plant from your essential oils are safe for medicinal use."Because they're so pure, backyard, how do you know it has as much active ingredient as they're very safe," Mara said. my aloe plant? Or a cat didn't pee The quality claim is based on on your aloe plant?" product testing by independent In the face of those unknowns, chemist Robert Pappas. While she said, "A little bit of comhe speaks at Do Terra and mon sense will go a long way." If aromatherapy conferences, he something doesn't work or causes also maintains a Facebook page an irritation, stop using it, she in which he addresses common said."Being willing to be wrong is myths about essential oil. "Ifyou follow it at all, you can important." see what kind of ignorance I'm Quality equatesto safety? up against," said Pappas, whose Essential oils have been testing lab is in Indiana. available in health-food stores Pappas became anindepen-
times and reduce any patient
backlog. The Elgin Health District has hired W.C. Construction as the general contractor for the Albany Street building. The district hired Pinnacle Architecture Inc. to do the design. This decision came afterthe board toured themedical facility that Pinnacle Architecture designed for Boardman. "Pinnacle has just recently completed the conceptual design, which includes a floor plan and outsideelevations and architecture," said Rogers. The construction drawings should be ready for W.C. Construction by April 1, he said. Rogerssaid thecapitalcampaign effort is in full swing. oWe have received word that Wildhorse has awarded us a $15,000 grant and that Northwest Farm Credit Services has
dent consultant after working for a large essential oil and fragrance company. Many ofhis clients are fragrance and flavor companies, which use essential oilsin productsfrom toothpaste to tobacco. A key point that many people in the aromatherapy world don't understand, Pappas said, is that essential oils are not natural products. 'They are manufactured products. I've never in the wild seen a plant distilling itself," he said. To producemost essentialoils, the plant material goes through a high-temperature steam distillation process, which, combined with the metal in the distillation equipment, causes various chemicalreactions,Pappas said. The oil that's collected at the end is "not 100 percent like the
awarded us a $4,500 grant," said Rogers. oWe have also submitted a proposal to the Ford Foundation, seeking a $200,000 grant, and we are working on a proposal to the M.J. Murdock Trust,
seeking $275,000 from them." Community donations and local pledges have been coming in andaremost appreciated, Rogers said. oWe are down to just needing
another $200,000," he said. Anyone interested in donating can pledge an amount over several payments, or by sending a one-time lump sum to the Elgin Health District, P.O. Box 983,
Elgin, OR 97827. "Local donations help us a lot when seeking larger grants from privatefoundations as it demonstrates the need and local supportforthe project,"Rogers sald.
oil that was in the plant to begin with," he said. While Pappas prides himself on the fact that his lab can detect synthetic substitutes that others can't, he said that for most of his clients, purity is not as important as chemical profile, which is what guarantees the desired flavor or fragrance. Purity is important in aromatherapybecause additivesthat are used to dilute or imitate an essential oil could trigger an allergicreaction,Pappas said. At the same time, the purity of an oil, which is really a collection of chemicals that includes the desired active ingredient, is no guarantee of safety. "I can give you pure arsenic," Pappas said."People that say that stufFmake my head spin," he said.
'Male' or 'female' brain? No such distinction The brain, it appears, is not a battleground for the battle of the sexes. That's because there is no such thing as a 'male brain' and a 'female brain,' according to a firstof-its-kind study that examined sex differences in the brain as a whole. Scientists atTel Aviv University in Israel analyzed MRI scans of more than 1,400 brains from multiple studies. They concluded that the brain does not reflect a clear dichotomy based on gender diff erencesin Fotolia-TNs the same way thatsay,sex organs do. Instead, human brains are unpredictable mash-ups of "masculine" and "feminine" traits. The researchers also found no distinction between men and women when it comes to gray matter, white matter and brain connections. "Brains with features that are consistently at one end of the 'maleness-
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femaleness'continuum are rare," the authors wrote this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Rather, most brains are comprised of unique 'mosaics' of features — some more common in females compared with males, some more common in males compared with females, and some common in both females and males." Though the new findings tackle brain biology, they do not address questions of how a person's gender affects behavior. In other words, whether brain differences stem from nature vs. nurture.
268-3767 itoll free).
Drinking to women's health One study suggests that the antioxidantsin tea may reduce a woman's risk of ovarian cancer.
A cup, or two or three 1 cup daily 24% lower risk" 2 or more 46% lower *Than women who drank no tea
Fotolia- TNS
— Allie Shah, Minneapolis StarTribune
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SALEM — Oregonians have a few days left to make sure they have health insurance coverage on New Year's Day. Although open enrollment lasts through Jan. 31, 2016, Oregonians need to apply by Tuesday, Dec. 15 to ensure they have coverage on Jan. 1, 2016. Most consumers who already have insurance through HealthCare.gov or directly through an insurance company will be re-enrolled in their same plan if they do not act by Dec. 15. Oregonians can sign up, renew or change their health insurance plans at HealthCare.gov. "Dec. 15 is the first deadline, but people will have until Jan. 31 to enroll in a 2016 health plan," said Beth Stewart, co-owner of Valley Insurance in La Grande.'While health insurance rates haveincreasedfor2016,the tax credits have also increased, often making up the difference in the higher premiums. Before going uninsured in 2016, people need to stop in and let us help them see if they qualify for generous tax credits." According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, consumers who shop and switch plans could save an estimatedaverage of$569on their 2016 plan. Open enrollment is the time of the year to change plans and, for those who do not have insurance, to buy a plan and avoida potentialpenalty on their2016 taxes. As ofDec.5,atotalof49,825 Oregon residents had signed up for insurance through HealthCare.gov, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That tally includes both new enrollees, and consumers returning to shop for private health insurance plans. Financial help is available for many people if they enroll through HealthCare.gov. Depending on their income, they may qualify for tax credits to help pay their monthly premium and help with out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-pays. Of the approximately 107,000 Oregonians who enrolled through HealthCare.gov for 2015, more than 77,000received a premium tax credit averaging $199 permonth. Consumers whose income or household size has changed will need to report these changes to HealthCare.gov to ensure they get the help they are entitled to. This is necessary even for those who want to keep their current plan. Free, one-on-one help is available to Northeast Oregonians to help them shop for an enroll in the health insurance plan that is right for them. Valley Insurance, 1603 Washington Ave., La Grande, has been named one of 24 dropin enrollment centers in the state, and the only one east of the Blue Mountains. Call Valley at 541-963-3121, or find another agent or community partners online at http://www.oregonhealthcare. gov/get-help.html or by calling 1-855-
Source: Karolmska Inst>tute, TNS Photo Serwce
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