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Serving Baker County since1870 • bakercityherald.com
September 11, 2015
iN mis aomoN: L ocal • Heajth@Fitness • Outdoors • TV $ < QUICIC HITS
City Council member Ben Merrill resigns
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Baker City Council Ben Merrill announced his resignation, effective immediately, this morning. The Council will meet Sept. 22 to discuss the process of replacing Merrill, whose term continues through the end of 2018.
l8 Il By Joshua Dillen ldillen©bakercityherald.com
Baker City Councilor Richard Langrell claims he isn't the only business owner who's owed a refund from the cityforw aterand sewer fees. Glen VandenBos also paid double the city's normal water and sewer rates for severalyearsfor hisformer business, Eagle Valley Feed
Walden to visit Baker on Tuesday U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, will visit Baker City next week to talk about the recent wildfires and efforts to prevent such conflagrations. Walden will host a public meeting Tuesday, Sept. 15 starting at 8 a.m. at the Sunridge.
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The business on Windmill Lane was on property owned by John and Margaret Bootsma. Like Langrell's nearby motel, the Always Welcome Inn, the Bootsmas' property was annexed into the city in
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2005. SeeFees/Page GA
BRIEFING
SaltLick Contest,
Virus
Auction Sept. 19 Great Salt Lick Hoof Arted Contest/Auction' Benefit is set for Saturday, Sept. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. at Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, 2020 Auburn Ave. Entries of salt blocks licked into interesting shapes by livestock or wildlife can be submitted at Oregon Trail Livestock Supply in Baker City and Richland Feed and Seed. A replacement block will be provided at these locations. Organizer Whit Deschner prefers that blocks are submitted at least five days before the event, but said entries will be accepted up to Sept.19. More than $1,000 in prize money is up for grabs in these categories: • Overall: first place, $150; second, $125; third, $100; fourth, $75 • Best Purple Cow Poem: $100 for best poem; $50 for second place (you don't have to submit a salt block to enter this category) • Best poem submitted with block: $100 first, $50 second • Closest resemblance to Michael J. Fox: $100 • Best Forgery: $100 For more information about the contest, visit www.whitdeschner.com or call Deschner at 541519-2736.
WEATHER
Today
90/40 Mostly sunny
Saturday
92/43
killing Submitted Phato
The 2,220 bicyclists participating in Cycle Oregon wil ride along the Snake River between Farewell Bend and Weiser, Idaho, on Monday, the second day of the week-long, 450-mile route.
local deer
By Lisa Britton
llacoby©bakercityherald.com
For the Baker City Herald
A virus spread by midges, a type ofbiting fly, has killed at least one whitetail deer in Baker Valley, and is the suspected cause in the death of about a dozen other whitetails in the area between Washington Gulch and Marble Creek.
By Jayson Jacoby
The miles may be long, and the hills may be steep, but the scenery Cycle Oregon offers can't be beat. "Itallows me to see partsof Oregon I otherwise wouldn't have," says Kim Mahaffey of Baker City, who will ride in his sixth Cycle Oregon next week. Cycle Oregon's 28th week-long ride — "Hell on Wheels" — begins and ends in Baker City this year, Sept. 12-19. In addition to offering riders support along the way (meals, entertainment, showers, etcl, there's a bonus that benefits communities across the state — money. Cycle Oregon gives back to the towns in two main ways. First are "community relation payments" to community groups (such as athletic teams and civic clubs)that provide event support, saidAlison Graves,executive director for Cycle Oregon. "This year we will provide
$182,000 for groups along our routes," she said. The second source of funding is grants from the Cycle Oregon Fund, which was started in 1996 at theOregon Community Foundation.
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Man S. Jahn Collins / Baker City Herald file photo
Riders leaving Baker High School during the 2008 Cycle Oregon.
Qualifying projects should addressat leastone ofthree categories — community building projects, bicycle tourism and safety, and environmental conservation and histori cpreservation. Baker City has received two
grants — $1,500 in 1996 for bicycle racks, and $5,000 in 2015 for mountain bike development. Grant applications are available now, and due Friday, Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. Here is the link: http:// cycleoregon.com/cycle-oregon-fund/
granting-procedures/. Asidefrom these directdollars, Graves said riders spend about $400,000 in communities along the routefor lodging, food,experiences and gifts. "Add these all up and our annual direct economic impact is in the
in a press release. Three other counts were dismissed in a plea agreement, Shirtcliff said. Padilla's 7V2-year prison term is the longest drug crime sentence handed down in Baker County during Shirtcliff's 15 years in offtce. "The large amount of methamphetamineand
with assaulting hiS mOm By Chris Collins
vicinity of $660,000," she said.
ccollins©bakercityherald.com
And in its 28 years, Cycle Oregon has come through the eastern part of the state many times.
informant, was able to obtain a search warrant that led police to the methamphetamine. The second count of delivering the drug was tied to the discovery of methamphetamine found hidden in Padilla's home.
Police arrested a Baker City man Wednesday night on charges that he assaulted his mother by setting her hairon fi re and squeezing her neck with a pair of tongs. Andrew Levi Myers, 37, was arrested at 6:40 p.m. at his mother's home at 2285 Cherry St. He is being held at the Baker County Jail. District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said Myers is charged with one count of attemptedfi rst-degreeassault, a Class B felony, for"intentionally" attempting to cause "serious physical injury" to his mother, Sharon Myers.
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Melh-Seller'SIIriSOnlerm:11/2yearS A Baker City man will serve 7V2 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine in the community. JosePadilla,38,of3025 D St., pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine Wednesday in Baker County Circuit Court, District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff stated
charged
Padilla's distribution of the drug in our community warranted the lengthy sentence," Shirtcliff said. Padilla was indicted after police found a"substantial amount" of methamphetamine in the trunk ofhis vehicle on Feb. 9. The Baker County Narcotics Team, working with an
Mostly sunny
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Issue 54, 20 pages
Calendar....................2A C o m m u nity News ....3A He a lth ...............5C & 6C O b i t uaries..................2A Sp o r ts ........................5A Classified............. 1B-SB C r o ssword........5B & SB J a y son Jacoby..........4A Opi n i on......................4A T e l e vision .........3C & 4C Comics... ....................7B DearAbby.................SB News of Record... .....2A Outdoors..........1C & 2C Weather.....................SB
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