50 YEARS AGO

from the Democrat-Herald

June 14, 1971

The congregtation of the Baker First Lutheran Church celebrated both the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Baker church and the retirement of the mortgage on the church last weekend.

25 YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

June 14, 1996

SUMPTER — The Sumpter City Council voted to apply for a state grant after meeting with a representative of the State Health Division Thursday night.

10 YEARS AGO

from the Baker City Herald

June 15, 2011

Baker County’s cool, wet spring has already been hard on gardeners.

For the county’s paid mosquito-hunter, though, the tough times are still ahead.

Jim Lunders, who manages the Baker Valley Vector Control District, expects this will be a busy summer for him and his crew.

ONE YEAR AGO

from the Baker City Herald

June 16, 2020

On Friday afternoon about 50 people gathered along a section of Baker City’s busiest street to show their support for law enforcement.

Many black-and-white flags with a blue line — a symbol of support for police — waved, and the occasional MAGA hat, President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, was seen in the crowd.

“We really love our police, we need to support them, they’re the ones that protect us,” said Patti Hanley, a lifelong Baker City resident. “There’s always bad apples and they need to get rid of them however they can, but I do support the police.”

The event was prompted through a Facebook post by Ken Hackett of Baker City.

Ida Scott said that she attended the event to show her support for both law enforcement and first responders.

“This is the first time I’ve gone to a rally,” Scott said.

Since the killing of George Floyd May 25 during his arrest in Minneapolis, rallies have erupted across the country, and in some cases protesters have called for reducing police department budgets or replacing departments.

Tom Wilcoxson, a Baker City resident and former police officer, thinks the people calling for such changes are misguided.

“I did 25 years in law enforcement, and I think our officers are being discriminated against, I think they’re being categorized by people who don’t want to be categorized themselves,” Wilcoxson said. “I think they’re trying to pigeonhole officers into all being criminals and we’re not criminals, we’re not prejudice, we’re not racist.”