50YEARS AGO

from the Democrat-Herald

November 1, 1967

The Soil and Water Conservation District semifinal SWCD speech contest concluded yesterday at the Baker Hotel Mirror Room with Steve Joseph from Eagle Valley SWCD named to compete in the state competition at Lakeview.

25YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

November 2, 1992

A joint effort by the Lower Powder River Irrigation District and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to prevent fish kills in Thief Valley Reservoir was unsuccessful.

10YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

November 1, 2007

Granite residents can slake their thirsts straight from the tap again.

No boiling needed.

Unless you crave a mug of hot cocoa to combat the autumn chill.

Officials from the historical gold-mining town, population about 22, have canceled the boil recommendation they issued last week after a test showed Granite’s water was contaminated by E. coli bacteria.

ONEYEAR AGO

from the Baker City Herald

November 2, 2016

The Defrees family has defended its forest against all manner of foes over the decades.

Fire and bark beetles and drought, sometimes separately and sometimes simultaneously, have attacked the ponderosa pines and Douglas-firs and tamaracks that grow on the Defrees ranch in Sumpter Valley about 25 miles southwest of Baker City.

The family’s success at thwarting those tree-killing forces, an effort that spans five generations and more than a century, has earned the Defreeses a national award that 74,000 other families vied for this year.

On Tuesday the American Tree Farm System named the Defrees family as the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year.

“It was a big surprise,” Dean Defrees said in an interview Tuesday afternoon. “It’s an honor to be chosen.”

It’s pretty exciting.”