Eastern Oregon city seesdivide over council prayer

By RICHARD KOE

BAKER CITY -- Residents of this historic former gold-mining town of 10,160 close to the Idaho border have for three years been pondering a contentious issue -- their city council’s practice of starting meetings with a Christian prayer.

The issue was first brought up by Gary Dielman, a former city councilman, back in 1999, when he suggested taking the Christian prayer off the council agenda because he considered it unconstitutional and discrminatory to people who don’t want to participate.

Dielman was recalled by voters last December, at least in part because of his position on prayer. But Dielman has continued his crusade against the council’s Christian prayer. City officials have voted twice to continue the practice, and at neither time said it wanted to hear what Baker City residents had to say.

But Mayor Nancy Shark decided she had to give the public the opportunity to voice its opinion, although some residents wonder why the city council is asking for public comment now rather than before the recall effort against Dielman. Shark said she had hoped that while waiting until the recall election was over, the city council might have a less confrontational atmosphere in which to discuss the issue, and that calmer heads would prevail.

 

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