Springfield Police arrested the husband of a former Baker City woman Friday on a charge of murder in connection with her March death at the couple’s Springfield home where they had lived for the past seven years.

William Murray “Bill” Wiggins, 61, was arrested at 7 o’clock Friday morning by Springfield Police detectives, according to Sgt. David Lewis.

He pleaded not guilty to one count of felony murder during an arraignment at the Lane County Jail in Eugene, Lewis said today. Wiggins is represented by Eugene attorney Shaun McCrea.

Wiggins is accused of killing his wife, Andrea Nicholson Wiggins, 62, who died March 5. An autopsy conducted by the state Medical Examiner’s Office determined Andrea Wiggins died of strangulation and drowning, Lewis said in a telephone interview Friday from his Springfield office.

Collin Clifford, left, plays the hero against villain Ammona Cunningham in a short film by Joseph Nelson about a young boy’s imagination.(Baker City Herald/S.John Collins)

Suddenly the hero sprints into the frame, glancing a foot off a cottonwood tree and landing in fighting stance to take on the villain who tied up the Fair Maiden.

Cameraman Thor Wixom captures the action with his fancy Red One camera, which is connected to a nearby screen where Director Joseph Nelson is watching with a smile on his face.

“I get to stand in front of this screen and watch my imagination come to life,” he says.

Nelson, who graduated from Powder Valley High School in 2001, is busy this week filming a short he’s titled “Then I Shall Reign Supreme.”

Local scenes were shot near the Elkhorn Wildlife Area west of North Powder. Nelson’s plan is to finish the film, a short about 7 to 10 minutes long, by September to enter it in the Sundance Film Festival.

Road closures are making it difficult to do business in Richland, Halfway and Hells Canyon, but a contract is expected to be awarded around the end of next week to repair flood damage to Road 39 of the Hells Canyon Scenic Byway between Halfway and Wallowa Lake.

Debi Bainter, manager of the Baker County Chamber of Commerce, said it’s important to get the word out that the Eagle Valley and Hells Canyon National Recreation Area are open and accessible up to the lower portion of Forest Road 39, which washed out south of the Hells Canyon Overlook in May.

“Getting the word out that the towns of Richland, Halfway, Oxbow, and Hells Canyon are all open for business is the most important message we need to relay,” Bainter said.

 “Our neighbors to the east need our help encouraging visitors to make the drive to the dam, take a jet boat ride on the Snake River, and spend a night at a lodge, motel, or a bed and breakfast,” Bainter said. “There is hiking, Geo-caching, a museum, gift and quilt shops, fishing and boating opportunities, restaurants and least we forget, tranquil moments of peace and quiet in Richland, Halfway and Hells Canyon for our visitors to experience.”

The six-day event will feature day rides (a total of 400 miles) with support, breakfast and dinner each day and live entertainment in the evenings.

So far 32 have signed up for the entire week. There’s still time to register — $650 per rider — or you can join the group for $50 a day ($65 with meals).

Cost for the full week includes all the meals and entertainment, plus a jersey designed by artist Terri Axness of Haines. The jersey back portrays all six day rides with a small drawing from each destination, and the front shows a bicyclist on a winding road through evergreen trees.

Mallory Bailey topped off her year of serving as state Future Business Leaders of America president, a first for a Baker High School student, with what is thought to be another first for the BHS organization.

Bailey, a 2010 graduate, placed fourth in the sports management competition at the FBLA National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Bailey said she was examined on her knowledge of contract law, sports, finance and marketing in a 100-question objective test.

“It was a really, really great experience,” Bailey said Tuesday of the conference, which ran July 10-18. “It was a great way to end my four years in FBLA.

“It was an honor to represent not only Baker FBLA but Oregon FBLA on stage. I was proud to be successful in an event where the corresponding field is traditionally male-dominated,” she said.

Three family members were hurt, one seriously, in a Thursday morning ATV accident near Phillips Reservoir.

Sheriff Mitch Southwick said the Baker County Dispatch Center received a call at 11:40 a.m. from John Wickert, 60, of 1105 H St., who told the 911 operator that he had wrecked his ATV and that he, his wife, Jerri, 60, and their 11-year-old granddaughter had been injured.

Southwick said the three had been riding on one ATV when it overturned on an old overgrown logging road south of Phillips Reservoir on Forest Service Road 600 near the 1100 Road.

The Baker County Commissioners voted 3-0 Wednesday morning to take control of the Ski Anthony Lakes resort.

What’s not yet certain is whether the county will operate the ski area this winter, or a yet-to-be-formed nonprofit will take the reins.

“I think this is a really good scenario and I think we should do it,” said Fred Warner Jr., commission chairman, who was en route to Washington, D.C, and participated in the meeting via speakerphone.

Warner said the county has the next three months to either start a 501c(3) non-profit organization or take full ownership of the resort.

Commissioners said during a meeting earlier this month that they prefer transfering responsibility for the ski area to a nonprofit.

The three couples who have owned the resort since 1998 will keep the business until Nov. 1, giving the county time to plan the transition and organize a business model.

“We have a lot of work in the next few months, and we want to keep you all involved,” Warner said at the close of the 15-minute meeting.

Vince Woods uncovered a surprise in the Baker County Courthouse: six stained glass windows. (Baker City Herald/Kathy Orr)

“Totally black — no color,” said Woods, who is head of the facilities department.

It took lots of scrubbing and lots of window cleaner, but he and summer employee BJ Savage finally uncovered the surprise: six stained glass windows original to the Courthouse, which was built in 1909.

“It took four hours per window just to pull off the old glazing and clean them,” Woods said. “Every night my hands were jet black.”

And each window was convex — bowed out from age.

The Baker City Council will interview two candidates to replace Steve Bogart as city manager.

Councilors did not name the two people during Tuesday’s meeting, nor did they schedule interviews.

If the Council doesn’t hire either of the applicants, the city will enlist the Prothman firm of Seattle to coordinate the recruitment of other applicants.

Both candidates responded to a letter that Mayor Dennis Dorrah mailed in early July to 160 city managers and department heads working for Oregon cities with populations between 5,000 and 20,000.

The deadline to respond was July 23.

“In my opinion we shouldn’t say ‘Oh, we only got two responses we’ll just ignore them,’ ” Dorrah said Tuesday. “I think these people are interested, they indicated an interest and I think we owe it to them to do something and talk to them immediately.”

Councilor Milo Pope cast the lone “no” vote on Councilor Aletha Bonebrake’s motion to interview the two candidates.

Brian Cole’s attorney has asked a Pendleton judge to reconsider his decision to allow at trial most of the evidence police gathered in an investigation of allegations that Cole provided alcohol to a 17-year-old girl and sexually abused her.

Baker City attorney Bob Moon filed the motion Friday in Baker County Circuit Court.

During a pretrial hearing Monday, a 3 p.m. court session was scheduled for Aug. 25 to consider additional argument on the issue.

Cole’s trial has been set for Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 1 in Baker County Circuit Court.

Moon contends Reynolds based his decision to allow the evidence at trial “on a theory that was not argued by the state” during a May 21 hearing. Moon argued that officers illegally stopped Cole and did not advise him of his rights when they interviewed him and the girl on Halloween night at the Pocahontas Fire Station about two miles west of Baker City.

Cole was cited and released that night on a charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor. The deputies found a bottle of peppermint schnapps from inside Cole’s car and also cited the girl on a charge of minor in possession of alcohol. She was released to her parents.