50 YEARS AGO

from the Democrat-Herald

May 27, 1971

Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore., flew into Baker yesterday afternoon, with a party of 30, to begin a four-day boat trip on the Snake River.

Packwood will float through Hells Canyon during the Memorial Day weekend to make a firsthand visit of the area as well as make an environmental study.

25 YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

May 27, 1996

EUGENE — Baker finished eighth in the team standings at the OSAA/U.S. Bank Class 3A girls track and field championships Saturday at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus.

The Bulldogs finished with 22 points. Gladstone won the girls’ team title. Baker went scoreless in the boys half of the meet.

10 YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

May 27, 2011

Phillips Reservoir is full, and still filling.

The explanation for this apparent contradiction is that for this reservoir, along the Powder River about 17 miles southwest of Baker City, “full” has two separate definitions.

Which is appropriate, as the reservoir, which first held water in 1968 as Mason Dam was finished, has two purposes.

The first is to impound water that irrigates crops in the Baker Valley.

ONE YEAR AGO

from the Baker City Herald

May 28, 2020

Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff is sticking with his May 18 opinion that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown exceeded her legal authority in issuing executive orders related to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter dated Tuesday, Shirtcliff wrote that “I have elected to stand by my original ruling.”

The Oregon Supreme Court had given Shirtcliff a deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the alternative writ of mandamus the Court issued on Saturday.

That legal document asked Shirtcliff to either vacate his May 18 ruling, which temporarily prevented the state from enforcing the governor’s executive orders, or to issue a written opinion defending his decision. The Supreme Court issued a stay on May 18, which temporarily put a halt to the preliminary injunction and allowed the state to enforce the governor’s executive orders. The state continues to have that authority.

Shirtcliff’s third option is the one he chose — to not vacate his decision but not issue a supplemental written opinion.

The issue now returns to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Attorneys representing the governor have until today to file briefs related to the preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs’ attorneys have until June 2 to file responding briefs.

The current legal issue is the preliminary injunction, not the lawsuit itself.

Whether or not the Supreme Court decides to reinstate the injunction Shirtcliff granted May 18, the lawsuit could proceed to trial in Baker County Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs, led by Elkhorn Baptist Church of Baker City and represented by Salem attorney Ray Hacke of the Pacific Justice Institute, which defends religious freedom, argue that Brown, by invoking in her executive orders a state law — ORS chapter 433 — dealing with public health emergencies, is subject to that law’s 28-day limit on such emergencies. By that measure the executive orders ended in early April, and the plaintiffs contend the governor no longer has the legal authority to restrict a variety of activities, including the current 25-person limit on public gatherings such as church services.

Shirtcliff agreed with the plaintiffs and cited the 28-day limit in his May 18 decision granting the preliminary injunction.