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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2020)
In Home & Living Kitchen Kids Paid for by committee to Re-elect Boyd Rasmussen. JD & Audrey Cant, Bill & Stacey Merrigan, Mary West Follow us on the web TUESDAY • May 5, 2020 • $1.50 Good day to our valued subscriber Patti O’Reilly of La Grande Oregon rancher shoots wolf chasing cattle COVID-19 by the numbers* Both animals were taken to a veterinarian in Enterprise for treat- ment. Steen said one of the calves had a half-dollar sized hole through its left front leg. The other had a larger, fresher hole in its upper right hind leg along with multiple canine tooth scrapes and punctures above the hock. ODFW examined the wounds, and confi rmed them as wolf depredations. Bigsby could not imme- diately be reached for com- ment, though Steen said the rancher also reported Worldwide cases: 3,442,234 Worldwide deaths: 239,740 U.S. cases: 1,122,486 U.S. deaths: 65,735 Oregon cases: 2,759 Oregon deaths: 109 Union County cases: 4 Union County deaths: 0 Wallowa County cases: 1 Wallowa County deaths: 0 *As of 1 p.m. Monday, May 4. Sources: World Health Organization, Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention, Oregon Health Authority Wolf was not wearing a GPS collar By George Plaven EO Media Group JOSEPH — A northeast Oregon rancher legally shot and killed a wolf caught in the act of chasing livestock on private prop- erty early in the morning on April 23, according to the Wallowa County Sher- iff’s Offi ce and Oregon State Police. Wolves injured two Red tape clogs test pipeline Oregon needs medical swabs to test for coronavirus By Nick Budnick Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — If Oregon pandemic offi cials had a TV show these last two months, it could be called “In Search of Swabs” — and just about every episode would be deeply unsatisfying. Public records show that over the last six weeks, state offi cials have bat- tled repeated bureaucratic obstacles in trying to obtain swabs and other corona- virus testing supplies from the federal government and private manufacturers, con- tributing to Oregon’s low per-capita testing rates. Oregon’s lack of suc- cess is highly signifi cant. Gov. Kate Brown has made testing a central feature in her plans for reopening a state economy that has been battered by the pandemic. To combat the problem, the state recently hired a new state testing director to focus on the problem. Meanwhile, Brown has asked hospitals around the state, which do the bulk of testing, to commit to con- tributing 18,000 tests per week to a statewide strategy to reopen the economy. The success of those plans, Oregon Health See, Testing/Page 5A calves in the same 600- acre pasture the previous day. The Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife confi rmed both attacks, which were attributed to the Middle Fork pack. The rancher, identi- fi ed as Rawley Bigsby, ini- tially called the sheriff’s offi ce April 22 to report the injured cattle about 10 miles north of Joseph. Chief Deputy Fred Steen arrived on the scene, and they found two calves with wounds and bite marks that appeared to be from wolves. hazing two wolves in a neighboring cattle pasture the night of April 21. “He felt there was a pack of wolves nearby,” Steen said. “It was concerning.” Steen told Bigsby to keep a close eye on his cattle, given the wolf activity. At about 5:30 a.m. April 23 — the following morning — Bigsby found a young female wolf about 60-70 yards away that was following a group of cow- calf pairs. He shot at the wolf once and missed, though it was not deterred. Bigsby shot at the wolf again, this time killing it. He reported the incident to Steen and ODFW. “At that time he had to protect his property,” Steen said. “As it turned out, where the wolf was killed was almost exactly in the same place on that pasture where the owner had roped the fi rst calf with a hole in its knee.” Steen said the wolf weighed about 70 pounds and was not wearing a See, Wolf/Page 5A Cleanliness is next to healthiness at hospital Forum airs GOP hopefuls Grande Ronde Hospital amps up effort to curb coronavirus Candidates share visions for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District By Sabrina Thompson By Kyle Spurr The Observer EO Media Group LA GRANDE — Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics is relying on its standards and innova- tive technology to keep its facilities clean and free of the COVID-19 virus. Edna Henderson, Grande Ronde’s manager for central processing ster- ilization, said her depart- ment did not have to put new policies or procedures in place to deal with the pandemic. “We were already doing things that meet and exceed the state and federal stan- dards,” Henderson said. “We have to be prepared for anything that could walk through those doors.” The Torch has become a key tool the hospital uses to clean. The device is a high-in- tensity ultraviolet array that emits UV light for cleaning. The light dis- infects all surfaces it touches. In 2019, the hos- pital had only two torches. Now it has more than six, including tabletop torches that cover smaller areas. Each torch costs approxi- mately $55,000. Money for these addi- tional lights came from the hospital foundation, which donors support. “They cost so much, because they do so much,” environmental services technician Todd Mathews said. LA GRANDE — Seven Republican candidates for Ore- gon’s 2nd Congres- Atkinson sional Dis- trict came together Sat- urday for a virtual forum. Bentz The can- didates included Jason Atkinson, Cliff Bentz, Buehler Knute Bue- hler, Jimmy Crumpacker, Travis Fager, Justin Liv- ingston and Crumpacker Jeff Smith. Four other can- didates did not partici- pate: David Campbell, Fager Glenn Carey Jr., Ken- neth Men- denbach, and Mark Roberts. Livingston A total of 16 can- didates, fi ve Dem- ocrats and 11 Repub- Smith licans, are running for See, Hospital/Page 5A Staff photo by Sabrina Thompson The 6-foot tall “Torch” uses ultraviolet light to disinfect rooms throughout Grande Ronde Hospital. The light disinfects surfaces in 15 minutes. “We were already doing things that meet and exceed the state and federal standards. We have to be prepared for anything that could walk through those doors.” Edna Henderson, Grande Ronde’s manager for central processing sterilization INDEX Classified ...... 4B Comics .......... 7B Community .. 3A Crossword .... 5B See, Forum/Page 5A CONTACT US Dear Abby .... 8B Home ............ 1B Letters ........... 4A Lottery........... 2A THURSDAY 541-963-3161 Obituaries ..... 3A Opinion ......... 4A Sports ........... 7A State .............. 6A Issue 54 2 sections, 16 pages La Grande, Oregon LOCAL BUSINESSES GET HELP Email story ideas to news@lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A. Online at lagrandeobserver.com “Better Relationships for Safer Communities” 3 Please remember to check your registration VOTE status and vote Paid for by committee to elect Cody Bowen.
