Letters to the Editor for Sept. 7, 2009

Family appreciates article

To the editor:

On behalf of my family, I wish to thank you for the kind article written about the death of my cousin, Steve Uptegrove.

We are all deeply saddened by this tragic accident. I was pleased to read the article. Your article was eloquent and I appreciate the in-depth profile that you did of his career in the Forest Service.

He was very dedicated to his job, his family and to his community. Thank you for a job well done.

You get along, or you get canned

To the editor:

Well my husband and I left Baker City Aug. 2 and I see that the squabble continues over the firing of Brocato. Everywhere I have worked whether it has been stateside or in Europe if a person is a stinker the boss has the right and obligation to fire that person. Things have to be cohesive in a workplace. Everyone has to conform to one extent or another. If a person isn’t willing to do what has to be done to keep the job then they get canned.

Everyone that I know of has either had it happen to them or they certainly know someone who has been fired. In the state of Oregon there doesn’t even have to be a reason — good or bad — to be let go. The ones who really liked this man got some pretty hefty raises while he was in office — raises that the citizens of Baker City have to pay. Are the raises really worth it?

As for the four councilors who canned this man I for one applaud them — Brocato could not buy them — he could not stand Mr. Dorrah from the beginning. He even went so far as to court Mr. Pope and try to get him to be the mayor. Mr. Pope realized that he didn’t have the votes so he backed off from that idea.

Mr Dorrah is a humble man who has some very decent ethics. How many times have any of you seen Mr. Dorrah go around doing the egotistic chest pounding. He does his job! Have you watched Mr. Pope at the meetings — his body is there, however, his mind is not on the situation at hand.

Really, who has your best interests at heart? The one who continues to work for the people of Baker City or the one who has other agendas on his mind? Come on people! Do you really want Mr. Pope as your new mayor? That’s where this whole thing seems to be heading. I don’t think that Baker City can handle that kind of ego. 

To the editor:

Every time I read anything about the firing of our ex-city manager I get angry. First and foremost, the name of Jamey Hardy keeps popping up and once again I remind myself that this whole thing could very well be a personal issue between Hardy and Calder. Jamey Hardy was an employee of Bev Calder for some time. Doesn’t it make anyone else wonder if the whole thing is a personal vendetta for things from their past? Is Jamey doing this for the citizens of Baker City or is it a get-even pact she has going?

One other thing is, after we as citizens of Baker City go through all this, the expense of this recall and the aggravation of it all, these people who are being recalled are nearing the end of their terms and we will be voting on them in an election in 2010 for their next term. If we as citizens really feel they were unjust in firing Brocato, we just won’t vote for them. Is this too hard to understand, that we really don’t need to give our community a bad name, by going through this process, plus dividing our great community by going through this process, not to mention the expense and time put into all this. Money and time down the drain, so to speak, just for a personal vendetta.

More at stake than a personal squabble in my book.

Willie George

Baker City

Block needs fountain, gold pan

To the editor:

I was disappointed after seeing the proposed drawing of the Court Street block between Main and Resort streets.

The scene showing trees and benches only didn’t appeal to me.

I would very much like to see a drinking fountain there, like those that formerly graced Main Street. Surely if tourists seek to relax at the Court Street facility, a bubbling fountain would add to their pleasure. Plus it would advertise Baker’s pure mountain water.

Furthermore I suggest a huge oversized replica of a gold pan, 6- to 8-feet high, to be erected and placed in an upright position. It would be an attraction typifying our connection to the past, and I visualize many souvenir photos being taken with the huge pan as a backdrop. (Our local ironworks could be a source.)

I don’t attend planning meetings; however, I really would like these suggestions considered seriously.

Phyllis Badgley

Baker City