Baker City Herald, Baker County, OR News, Sports, & Weather

City Council to interview four city manager finalists next week

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:28:50 +0100

By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald The City Council is scheduled to interview the four finalists for the city manager job next week. Councilors plan to interview three of the candidates on Monday, and the fourth on Thursday. Interviews are scheduled Monday at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The Thursday interview is set for 9 a.m. All interviews are planned to take place at City Hall. The four finalists are: • Timothy Johnson of Portland • Eric Strahl of Michigan • Clarence Hulse of Florida • James Patrick of Kalispell, Mont. Johnson, Strahl and Hulse will be interviewed on Monday, and Patrick on Thursday.

Concrete plans for the future

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:27:08 +0100

By ED MERRIMAN Baker City Herald Clark & Company Home Furnishings is joining forces with Molly Wilson Interior Design, Eagle Valley Paint and Sagebrush Studio Design to create a full service design center downtown. “We are expecting to have most of this up and running by the first of the year,” said Matthew Clark, a partner with Brian Olson in Clark & Company, in the brick building at the northeast corner of First and Broadway. Clark and Olson opened their business in May 2008, just before the economy spiraled into recession. Depite the sluggish economy, Clark said sales exceeded his initial expectations and have held up better than expected. “Like most businesses in the area, sales have been flat, but it didn’t really drop off, like it has in some other areas,” he said.

Budget cuts could affect drug treatment in Baker County

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:24:59 +0100

By ED MERRIMAN Baker City Herald A 12-percent budget cut possible if Oregon voters reject two tax hike measures in January could result in clients seeking drug and alcohol treatment being turned away from New Directions Northwest in Baker City. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has directed agencies that receive state general fund money, including New Directions, to prepare for cuts of 10 percent to 15 percent if voters cancel the corporate and income tax increases approved by the 2009 Legislature. If voters defeat Measures 66 and 67, and New Directions is forced to take a 12-percent budget cut, it would eliminate about 790 bed days for alcohol and drug treatment for adults, including mothers, said Bart Murray, director and CEO of New Directions. “This will equate to eliminating treatment for approximately 7.5 adult men and women and eliminating treatment for about two adult women with children,” Murray wrote in a Nov. 4 report.

Joel Cummings awaits new lungs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:24:06 +0100

By LISA BRITTON Baker City Herald Joel Cummings is waiting for the call to change his life, and in the meantime his mantra is “B Positive.” Cummings, 24, has cystic fibrosis, and he is on the list for a double-lung transplant at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. He and his wife, Saundra, are now living in Seattle. The B Positive saying? That’s his blood type. To help with the cost of this transplant, Joel’s case was accepted by the Children’s Organ Transplant Association, a nonprofit charity based in Bloomington, Ind., dedicated to help communities raise funds for those who need transplants. So far, Baker County has raised nearly $38,000 with all sorts of fundraisers — a fun run, “Tips for Joel” ($2,100), the FFA drive-through barbecue ($4,100), a softball game between the county and city ($5,462.28), a coin drive at Baker Middle School ($600), a chili feed and many, many more.

Obituaries for Nov. 6, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:23:05 +0100

Ginger Sergi Ginger Renee Sergi, 33, of Bonanza, a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 30, 2009, at her home. Burial will be at the Oak Hills Cemetery in Red Bluff, Calif. Details of a pending memorial in Klamath Falls will be announced later. Ward’s Klamath Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Ginger was born Nov. 15, 1975, at Baker City to Todd and Loretta McGiffin. She lived life to the fullest. Her family and her children were her world. She loved her home, her flowers, beautiful clothes and pumpkin pie for her birthday. Her distinctive and freely offered laugh was evidence of Ginger’s happy heart, a quality that carried her through adversities, brought her genuine friends and made her a strong and caring adult, her family said.

The scene of childhood bliss looks different after so many years

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:21:51 +0100

There is something uniquely sad about the sight of a certain sort of barnyard on the gray morning after a hard autumn rain. This affliction does not affect outfits which have enjoyed a long and consistent run of bountiful harvests. The prosperity of such enterprises is easy to gauge from the well-tended lawn and the freshly painted buildings and the general absence of disorder and neglect. Even these farms are not immune to grime — it’s awfully hard to grow anything edible without the occasional appearance of mud — but the mess is in the main confined to the fields. The public face of the place, what passers-by see from the road, must at all times and in all weathers present a picture of constant care.

No reason to gamble

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:19:58 +0100

The Oregon Lottery Commission was wise to resist the public school lobby’s latest demand for more money. By rejecting a proposal for the state to keep a larger percentage of video poker and electronic slot machine revenue, the Commission might have helped rather than hurt schools. Now, the 2,600 or so bars and taverns that have video gambling keep an average of 24 percent of the money. The state gets the rest, and two-thirds of that money — $680 million last year — goes to K-12 education. The education lobby urged the Commission to trim retailers’ cut to 16 percent.

Letters to the Editor for Nov. 6, 2009

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:19:02 +0100

How about a Halloween parade? To the editor: I should be the last person on earth to write about Halloween. There is a connection between All Hallow’s Eve and All Saints and All Souls, which the Catholic church celebrates on Nov. 1 and 2, respectively. But I also know what a big day it is for children. I am grateful that the town of Baker City creates such a safe environment for our little ones, when in other places such a day may give rise to mischief and pranks and uncalled-for trouble. I have a simple idea that can enhance the celebration on that busy and crowded afternoon when children invade Main Street dressed up in anything that is scary, spooky, cute and perplexing at times.

Make the most of parent-teacher conferences

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:56:22 +0100

Most importantly, make sure that you don’t leave out the most important person in the equation: your child The arrival of the first snow is a sure sign that it’s time for parent -teacher conferences in most schools.

Warming forests

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:40:10 +0100

It turns out that a warmer climate might not be a universal disaster. Turning up nature’s thermostat could help trees in some Northwest forests grow faster, according to researchers from Oregon State University and the U.S. Forest Service.