By Terri Harber

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A plan to raise fees paid by business owners for health inspections will return to Baker County commissioners for a public hearing on May 1.

No business owners attended Wednesday’s commission meeting so the hearing has been rescheduled to allow for comments from business owners.

Malheur County’s Environmental Health Office conducts these inspections for all of Baker County. It’s seeking a 5-percent fee increase for inspections of restaurants and mobile food units. 

The six candidates vying for seats on the Baker School Board have been invited to a public forum on April 30 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the commons at Baker High School, 2500 E St.

Nancy Peyron will serve as moderator on behalf of the Baker chapter of the American Association of University Women.

Two of the five positions on the school board are involved in the May 21 election.

Position 4 is held now by Lynne Burroughs, the board chair.

Four candidates are seeking to replace her: Rick Stout, Karen Spencer, Richard McKim and Rosemary Abell.

The winner will serve a four-year term. 

Position 3, held now by Jim Longwell, is also for a four-year term.

Two candidates, Mike Ogan and Kevin Cassidy, have filed for Position 3.

Ballots will be mailed on May 3 and must be returned to the County Clerk's office by 8 p.m. on May 21.

April 30 is the last day to register to vote in the election.

Darby LaHaug, a sixth-grader at Powder Valley School, drew the winning design in the Baker County Chamber of Commerce's annual Design the Miner button contest.

Darby's button design also will be used on posters, programs and advertisements for the 2013 Miners Jubilee, set for July 19-21.

Buttons go on sale June 1. Just 2,500 buttons will be sold this year. Check the Chamber's website, www.visitbaker.com, for a list of businesses with discounts for customers with buttons.

Details about Miners Jubilee are available at http://chambercharge.blogspot.com/

Logan Nedrow from Powder Valley won second place in the design contest, and Jenalyne Swearingen from South Baker School won third. 

Check Friday's issue of the Baker CIty Herald for a story and photos of each of the three winning designs.

Eli Wright, a 12-year-old from Baker City, is recovering in a Portland hospital. A Facebook page — “Pray for Eli Wright” — has been set up to support the boy, who was hurt in an explosion.

By Chris Collins

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A 12-year-old Baker City boy who lost his right hand in a Sunday night explosion is in good condition in a Portland hospital where he will undergo a second surgery today.

Eli Wright, 12, was injured about 7 p.m. Sunday. 

“He’s doing good,” his father, Dennis Wright, said in a telephone interview Tuesday morning from the trauma center at Randall Children’s Hospital.

By Terri Harber

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Carl Stiff has resigned from his seat on the Baker County Board of Commissioners due to health issues.

Stiff, 83, a retired physician, said Tuesday that for a while he has been having “some trouble with multiple little strokes.”

The most recent happened just a few days ago.  

“All of a sudden you have a headache, ...”  Stiff said of what have become all-too-familiar events.

By Terri Harber

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Joe Bell plans to start walking across the United States on Saturday, April 20.

He is the father of Jadin Bell, a 15-year-old teen who killed himself this past winter after being bullied by classmates at La Grande High School.

Telling Jadin’s story to as many people as possible — especially young people — seemed like the right thing to do, Joe said.

Photo by Lisa Britton Sarah Spaugh makes a wavy creation during a 12-hour wheel-throwing session at Baker High School.

By Lisa Britton

For the Baker City Herald

Seven high school students volunteered their Saturday — along with art instructor Kristen Bell — to create at least 100 clay pots that will be sold during May’s First Friday art walk.

The wheel-throwing event was from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the high school’s art room.

The pots are all shapes and sizes — tall, and pitchers, mugs and more.

S. John Collins / Baker City Herald Dan Srack explains that rooms will receive vapor barriers and insulation above ceilings, plus sheetrock and floor improvements. In background is Northwest Interiors worker from Nampa, Idaho, Sergio Chavez. Eulalio Delgado is out of view on ladder.

By Chris Collins

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HAINES — Haines School during a normal school year is alive with the bustle of more than 100 children from preschool age to sixth-graders.

This spring is anything but normal.

The 94-year-old building, which is the hub of community activity, has been closed since January when a flood during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend damaged several classrooms, ceilings and floors. 

The flooding happened when an overhead sprinkler failed in a second-floor classroom at the northwest end of the building during the three-day weekend.

By Jayson Jacoby

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Baker County’s alleged ghosts have earned their keep, at least in the cable TV realm.

“Ghost Mine,” the paranormal series that debuted this January on the Syfy channel, will return to the network in September for a run of 12 new one-hour weekly episodes.

The first season, which started Jan. 16, consisted of six hour-long shows.

“Ghost Mine” averaged 1.25 million viewers during its initial season, according to a press release from Syfy.

A video featuring Baker City's Geiser-Pollman Park is one of 10 finalists in a contest with a $15,000 prize. 

The money would go toward buying new playground equipment for the city-owned park.

The winners will be determined by online voting. The top five videos will each receive $15,000.

To vote for the Geiser-Pollman video, go to www.facebook.com/letsplay.

"Like" the Let's Play page, then click on "Video Contest." Then vote for Geiser Pollman Park.

You can vote once each day, through April 26.