A 17-year-old Baker City boy who was hurt Tuesday when his bicycle collided with an unmarked police car is recovering in a Boise hospital, and he could be released as early as today.

Tyler James Arthur was listed in fair condition this morning at St. Alphonsus Medical Center.

Arthur was in critical condition when he was admitted to the hospital Tuesday afternoon. He was initially taken by ambulance to St. Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City, then flown from there by Life Flight to the Boise hospital.

Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner said this morning that a hospital official told police that Arthur could be released either today or Friday.

Arthur was not wearing a helmet when his bicycle collided with a 2008 Dodge Durango driven by Oregon State Police detective David Aydelotte. Oregon law requires bicyclists 16 and younger to wear a helmet.

The incident happened about noon at the intersection of Campbell and Seventh streets.

Aydelotte was driving west on Campbell Street, and Arthur was riding his bicycle north on Seventh Street, Lohner said. There is a stop sign on Seventh Street where it intersects Campbell. Traffic on Campbell is not required to stop at that intersection.

Although police are still waiting for a report from an OSP accident reconstructionist, Lohner said there is no indication that Aydelotte was exceeding the 25 mph speed limit. No citations were issued.

A 17-year-old Baker City boy was in critical condition in a Boise hospital today after his bicycle collided with an unmarked Oregon State Police vehicle on Campbell Street at about noon Tuesday.

Tyler James Arthur was taken by ambulance to St. Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City and later was flown by Life Flight to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, said Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner.

When she began her job a year ago as the First Presbyterian Church’s youth and missions coordinator, Liz Romtvedt was looking for a way to reach out to the kids across the street at Baker Middle School.

She welcomed middle school students to join her at the church for an early morning respite complete with rolls, hot chocolate and help with their school work. They can also play a round of foosball, air hockey or pingpong while waiting for a new school day to begin.

“You know — anything positive kids need,” says Romtvedt, 25, a 2004 Baker High School graduate.

Shannon Moon, a Presbyterian Church member, joins Romtvedt on Tuesday mornings at 7 o’clock. Jim Tomlinson, a member of the Episcopal Church and the community’s literacy program coordinator, pitches in on Thursdays at the program dubbed “Open Door."

By LISA BRITTON
For the Baker City Herald

Bill Hubert speaks in a voice so low that it immediately snags your attention.
You want to listen; you want to learn.

Then he brings out rubber balls and bean bags.

Dawson Smith from Powder Valley School finds the only inchworm caught in his group’s session of insect studies. The class was taught by Janice Cowan, Oregon State University Extension agent for Baker County. Students’ catches included grasshoppers, spiders and dragonflies.

By CHRIS COLLINS
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Janice Cowan brought a sun hat to Phillips Park for Outdoor School this week.

“I’ve never had to bring my hat before,” she said while encouraging sixth-graders to search the field for insects Tuesday morning.

 Usually, Cowan brings rain gear to her annual sessions while helping students gain a deeper appreciation for the bugs in their lives.

A sun hat was more appropriate this year under the clear blue skies and temperatures that have reached into the 70s and 80s.

The difference is the result of a change in scheduling.

Turns out that Baker County’s history with triplets — human, not bovine or otherwise — is rather older than some might have supposed.

It all started with a letter to the editor.

Karen Mitchell, who lives on Bainbridge Island, Wash., submitted the letter to the Herald earlier this month.

Karen was visiting Baker City with two cousins. They were searching for information about their mothers who, or so Mitchell believed, were the first triplets born in Baker County.

The triplets, born Jan. 20, 1928, were Mary, Mildred and Margaret Gray. Their parents were Ada Knowles (Smith) Gray and William Warsaw Gray of Pondosa.

The phrase “first triplets” in the headline above Karen’s letter, which was published in the Sept. 14 edition, caught Linda Wunder Wall’s eye.

Oregon Trail Electric customers will notice an increase in their electric bills beginning Oct. 1. 

OTEC’s Board of Directors this week approved a 7.11 percent rate hike.

The increase comes after the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) announcement that it would raise wholesale power costs to its utility customers — including OTEC, which buys almost all of its power from that federal agency.

Baker City artist Tom Novak has helped the 24 students at Keating School paint a mural on the east side of the building, about 15 miles northeast of Baker City. Here, first-graders Skye Smith, on footstool, and Mark Shetler work on the colorful scene, which features Oregon Trail themes.

By LISA BRITTON
For the Baker City Herald

Skye Smith dips her brush in pale blue paint, then presses her lips together in concentration as she touches the bristles to the wall.

With careful strokes, the first-grader creates a blue river flowing out of a purple snow-topped mountain — just one part of the mural that now graces the east side of Keating School.

A proposed policy that would make Baker School District properties weapons-free zones drew opposition from two school board members who say people with concealed handgun permits should be able to carry their guns on school property.

The issue came up Tuesday night when the board met to begin a routine first reading of updated district policies proposed by the Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA).

The weapons policy, written by OSBA lawyers, would prohibit anyone, including those with concealed handgun permits, from bringing a “dangerous or deadly weapon or firearm” on district property or to school-sponsored events.

As a picker, Jessica Hellberg is the last person on the assembly line at Brad and June Allen’s farm near Haines before the Russet potatoes are stored in a temperature-controlled cellar until they are shipped to Idaho.

By JAYSON JACOBY
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Spring was rather treacherous for Baker County potato growers, with its persistent cold, wet weather, but summer might turn out pretty sublime.

“We had just about as ideal of conditions as you could hope for growing potatoes,” said Jan Kerns, who with her husband, Tim, raises spuds in Baker Valley west of Haines.