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Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityheratd.com
December 30, 2015
>N >H>saD>i'>oN: Local • Business @AgLife • Go! magazine QUICIC HITS
Good Day Wish To A Subscriber
Nter 2llry Winters, Ileep SnowAWelcome Sight ForBaKerCountyTowns
A special good day to Herald subscriber James Carnahan of Baker City.
Please vote in our website poll:
By Joshua Dillen
Three people were killedTuesday afternoon near Union when the SUV they were in was struck by a freight train at a road crossing.
BRIEFING Photo by Kathy Reedy
Baker City Scouts will be picking up Christmas trees the morning of Saturday, Jan. 2 beginning at 9 a.m. Residents can leave their tree near the curb in plain view from the road. Scouts will collect the trees and deliver them to bins, donated for use by Baker Sanitary Service. Baker Sanitary Service will utilize their equipment and facilities to recycle the trees. Donations for this service are appreciated, but not required. They may be placed in an envelope and attached to the front door of the residence where Scouts can retrieve it. Checks can be made payable to II
BSA
Contributions will stay local, supplementing Baker County scouting activities, camping and supply purchases. For more information, contact Emily Braswell, Eastern Oregon District Executive, at 541-5197677, or search "baker city Christmas tree pick up" on Facebook.
Snow piles are a fact of winter life in Sumpter, 28 miles southwest of Baker City. Snow-coated Mount Ireland looms in the background, at left.
By Jayson Jacoby ]]acoby©bakercityherald.com
The yardstick has resumed its customary role as the necessary snowm easuring devicefor a couple of Baker County's more blizzard-prone towns. The past few winters, by contrast, the puny ruler, the foot-long instrument that elementary students store in their pencil boxes, would have sufficed to keep track of snow depths in Sumpter and Halfway. This year, though, to plunge a ruler into a drift in either place would be to risk losing the thing until spring. "This is getting to be a normal winter, instead of being almost a drought," said Leland Myers, who has lived in Sumpter for about half a century. Myers said the snow depth reached 30 inches earlier this month before settling slightly. Two and a half feet of snow would of course qualify as an abnormal accumulation of snow in most places.
One more step has been completedin the processthat aims to build an animal shelter in Baker City. New Hope for Eastern Oregon Animals has created a capital campaign plan that focuses on a financial strategy to raise money to build the shelter. Jeanie Dexter, chair of New Hope's board ofdirectors,said the plan is an important and necessary step in the planning of the facility that is projected to be constructed in 2019. "It is an important next step in launching our fundraising campaign," Dexter said."Inorder gooutto grantors and ask for sums of money in order to build the shelter ,we'vegottohave a plan in place for making the project a success." One part of the plan is to show potential grant providers that the community stands behind the project. Dexter said substantial local donations will broaden grant opportunities. See Shelter/Page 8A BAII',ER CITY COUNCIL
VACANCY Photo by Karen Kain
Snow drifts line the streets and sidewalks in Halfway, including around the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church.
"This is getting to be a normal winter." moisture-laden Pacific storms and wring — Leland Myers, longtime Sumpter resident
But prodigious snows are among the climatic characteristics that define Sumpter, 28 miles southwest of Baker City, and Halfway, 53 miles northeast. Each town owes its snowy reputation largely to its proximity to mountains — the Elkhorns in Sumpter's case, the Wallowas in Halfway's. Both ranges are tall enough, with peaks surpassing9,000 feet,to intercept
out much of their precipitation. Halfway, for instance, gets an average of 21.4 inches of moisture annually — almost exactly twice as much as the Baker City Airport. Sumpter also has an elevation advantage over most towns in Baker County. At 4,400 feet — 1,000 feet higher than Baker City — Sumpter's winter temperatures typically are cold enough for snow. SeeSnowy IPage 6A Photo by Karen Kain
A wintry scene in Pine Valley
WEATHER
Today
26l 2 Partly sunny
Thursday
17l 0 Partly sunny Full forecast on the back of the B section.
Correction:Jim Carnahan's phone number was incorrect in a story in the Dec. 23 issue of GO! magazine. Carnahan, president of the Powder River Dance Club, can be reached at 541-350-7546.
nima s eter Sroiect ]dillen©bakercityherald.com
Local, 3A
Scouts picking up trees Saturday
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The current question on our website poll at www.bakercityherald. com. is: "What will be the biggest story of 2016?" Options are: • The economy • Presidential campaign • ISIS/terrorism • Drought/weather
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2015: THE VEAR IN PICTURES
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City has no takers
for spot on Council By Joshua Dillen ]dillen©bakercityherald.com
Baker City's seven-member City Council is still short one member. The level of interest in that vacancy has been short as well. As of this morning, the city had not received any applications for the position, which has been vacant for more than a month. The city is accepting applications through noon on Jan. 7 fortheposition leftvacant when R. Mack Augenfeld resigned. Health reasons prompted him to step down before the Council's Nov. 24 meeting. Luke Yeaton, the city's human resources manager, saidthisisa greatopportunity and an important role for a community member who would like to contribute to positive change in Baker City. See Council IPage 2A
T QPA~ Issue100,42 pages
Business........1B2B, 9B Comics.......................3B Dear Abby.... ...........10B News of Record... .....2A Senior Menus ...........2A Calendar....................2A C o m m u nity News ....3A Hor o scope........6B & 7B Ob i t uaries..................2A Sp o r ts ........................5A Class i f ied............. 4B-SB C r o ssword........6B & 7B Le t t ers........................4A Op i n i on......................4A We a t her...................10B
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