LOCAL
A2 — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, auguST 31, 2021
A cow, a
missing
tongue, and
a mystery
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, Aug. 31,
the 243rd day of 2021. There are
122 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
IN HISTORY
On Aug. 31, 1980, Poland’s
Solidarity labor movement
was born with an agreement
signed in Gdansk that ended a
17-day-old strike.
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
ON THIS DATE
In 1886, an earthquake with
an estimated magnitude of 7.3
devastated Charleston, South
Carolina, killing at least 60
people.
In 1939, the first issue of
Marvel Comics, featuring the
Human Torch, was published
by Timely Publications in New
York.
In 1972, at the Munich
Summer Olympics, American
swimmer Mark Spitz won his
fourth and fifth gold medals
in the 100-meter butterfly
and 800-meter freestyle relay;
Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut
won gold medals in floor exer-
cise and the balance beam.
In 1992, white separatist
Randy Weaver surrendered to
authorities in Naples, Idaho,
ending an 11-day siege by fed-
eral agents that had claimed
the lives of Weaver’s wife, son
and a deputy U.S. marshal.
In 1997, Prince Charles
brought Princess Diana home
for the last time, escorting the
body of his former wife to a
Britain that was shocked, grief-
stricken and angered by her
death in a Paris traffic accident
earlier that day.
In 2005, New Orleans Mayor
Ray Nagin reported “a signif-
icant number of dead bodies
in the water” following Hurri-
cane Katrina; Nagin ordered
virtually the entire police force
to abandon search-and-rescue
efforts and to instead stop
increasingly hostile thieves.
In 2010, President Barack
Obama ended the U.S. combat
mission in Iraq, declaring no vic-
tory after seven years of blood-
shed and telling those divided
over the war in his country and
around the world: “It is time to
turn the page.”
In 2018, Aretha Franklin, the
“Queen of Soul,” was laid to rest
after an eight-hour funeral at
a Detroit church, where guests
included Bill and Hillary Clinton,
the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Stevie
Wonder and Smokey Robinson.
In 2019, a gunman carried
out a shooting rampage that
stretched ten miles between
the Texas communities of Mid-
land and Odessa, leaving seven
people dead before police
killed the gunman in Odessa.
Ten years ago: The Wartime
Contracting Commission issued
a report saying the U.S. had
lost billions of dollars to waste
and fraud in Iraq and Afghan-
istan and stood to repeat that
in future wars without big
changes in how the govern-
ment awarded and managed
contracts for battlefield support
and reconstruction projects.
Five years ago: The first
commercial flight between the
United States and Cuba in more
than a half century, a JetBlue
Airbus A320, landed in the cen-
tral city of Santa Clara, re-es-
tablishing regular air service
severed at the height of the
Cold War.
One year ago: At a rally
in Pittsburgh, Democrat Joe
Biden condemned violent pro-
testers and called for their
prosecution; he accused Presi-
dent Donald Trump of causing
the divisions that had ignited
the violence. Trump blamed
radical troublemakers who
he said were stirred up and
backed by Biden.
LOTTERY
Friday, Aug. 27, 2021
Megamillions
1-10-44-47-56
Megaball: 23
Megaplier: 3
Jackpot: $306 million
Lucky Lines
2-7-12-16-19-21-27-29
Jackpot: $71,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 4-9-4-7
4 p.m.: 2-5-4-8
7 p.m.: 3-2-7-6
10 p.m.: 5-5-0-1
Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021
Powerball
12-22-26-46-59
Powerball: 26
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $332 million
Megabucks
8-9-13-15-26-41
Jackpot: $2.4 million
Lucky Lines
4-7-12-13-18-22-28-29
Jackpot: $72,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 2-9-8-0
4 p.m.: 1-1-4-1
7 p.m.: 6-9-1-0
10 p.m.: 3-1-2-2
Win for Life
32-36-51-60
Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021
Lucky Lines
1-8-11-13-18-24-28-29
Estimated jackpot: $73,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 3-4-7-1
4 p.m.: 8-5-3-2
7 p.m.: 0-7-2-0
10 p.m.: 4-1-2-6
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Giavonna LaMiller, under the direction of volunteer Catherine Parks, self-administers a COVID-19 test in the Bi-Mart parking lot, the site of
a mass testing event in La Grande on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. Testing will be available at no cost every week on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
starting Aug. 31 and extending through September.
Vaccinations rise in Union County
By ALEX WITTWER
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Vac-
cination rates across most
Eastern Oregon rose nearly
3% as the delta variant
of COVID-19 surges in
the nation. According to
Oregon Health Authority
data, more than 98% of all
new COVID-19 infections
are from the delta variant.
Umatilla County saw the
largest increase in vacci-
nation rates, climbing 4.1%
to a total of 47.9% of the
population having received
their first dose since Aug.
1. Both Union and Morrow
County recorded a 3.6%
increase during the same
time period. Wallowa
County increased its vacci-
nation rate by 3.1%, giving
it the highest vaccination
rate out of all of the Eastern
Oregon counties at 62%
through Friday. Baker saw
a modest 2.5% increase in
vaccination rates, while
Grant County recorded
the lowest increase at only
1.9% over the month of
August.
The Oregon Health
Authority reported 3,207
new and presumptive cases
of COVID-19 in Oregon on
Aug. 26, and on Monday,
Aug. 29, reported 5,545
cases over the weekend.
As well the total number of
alex Wittwer/The Observer
Alynn Lambert, a volunteer, takes information from residents as they prepare to get tested for
COVID-19 at a mass testing site in the Bi-Mart parking lot, in La Grande on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021.
hospitalizations across the
state is at 1,120.
Union County added
15 new reported cases
of COVID-19, bringing
its two-week total to 345
cases. The two-week total
corresponds to an infec-
tion rate of 1,317 cases per
100,000 residents. Earlier
in the year, any county that
saw more than 200 cases
per 100,000 residents would
fall under extreme risk
and would be subjected to
restrictions.
The Monday report
added 62 more cases in
Union County over the
weekend, to bring the total
to 2,312 and the two-week
infection rate to 1401 cases
per 100,000 residents.
The 31st death was also
reported, an 85-year-old
woman who died Saturday,
Aug. 28, and had under-
lying conditions.
“We are far exceeding
the hospitalization numbers
we saw during the pre-vac-
cination surges of last fall
and winter. This is putting
an unprecedented strain
on our local hospitals,”
said Dr. Dean Sidelinger,
the state health officer in a
press release. “This affects
every Oregon family and it
is not sustainable.”
On Monday, Aug. 23, the
Food and Drug Administra-
tion announced the Pfizer
vaccine had received full
approval for use for patients
16 and older, making it the
first vaccine to be approved
beyond emergency use in
the United States.
The Pfizer vaccine,
named Comirnaty, remains
under emergency use
authorization for individ-
uals under the age of 16.
Vaccination rates have
increased after months of
stalling due to vaccine hes-
itancy and rising infection
rates, a surge that led Gov.
Kate Brown to impose vac-
cine mandates on state
workers, medical workers
and school faculty.
Coastal air will keep Northeast Oregon cool
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE —
Cooler air from the Pacific
Ocean will keep tempera-
tures lower than average
for the next three days in
Northeastern Oregon.
The National Weather
Service in Pendleton is
forecasting that La Grande
will have high a tem-
perature of 71 degrees
on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 73
degrees on Sept. 1, and
77 degrees on Sept. 2, all
below average for this
time of year. La Grande’s
average temperature for
Aug. 31 is 82 degrees,
and both Sept. 1 and Sept.
2 average 81 degrees,
according to the National
Weather Service
Enterprise’s fore-
cast calls for highs of 70
degrees on Aug. 31, 71
degrees on Sept. 1, and 73
degrees on Sept. 2.
The relatively cool
weather in Northeastern
Oregon is due to westerly
winds from the Pacific
Ocean that should be
blowing colder air into the
Northwest, according to
Jim Smith, a meteorologist
with the National Weather
Service in Pendleton.
Temperatures are pro-
jected to warm up at
the end of the week and
early in the weekend. The
National Western Ser-
vice is forecasting that La
Grande will have high tem-
peratures of 81 degrees
on Sept. 3 and 84 degrees
on Sept. 4. Enterprise is
expected to have highs of
near 78 degrees on Sept.
3 and near 80 degrees on
Sept. 4.
A weak high pressure
system that will block
westerly winds will cause
the rise in temperatures,
Smith said. The high pres-
sure system will move out
around Sept. 5.
“It will be short lived,”
he said, adding westerly
winds will return Sept. 6.
Low temperatures in
La Grande’s are forecast
to be 42 degrees on Aug.
31, 44 degrees on Sept. 1,
and 47 degrees on Sept. 2.
Enterprise is projected to
have significantly colder
lows of 32 degrees on Aug.
31, 34 degrees on Sept. 1,
and 36 degrees on Sept. 2.
The sub 40-degree tem-
peratures will help develop
frost in the Enterprise area
each of the next three days,
according to Smith.
“There will be frost
in areas where there are
cooler air pockets pro-
tected from wind,” he said.
No frost is forecast in
La Grande at least through
Sept. 5.
Air quality is projected
to be strong at least until
Sept. 1 in both La Grande
and Enterprise, according
to IQAir, an air quality
monitoring website.
NEWS BRIEFS
Light agenda awaits
commissioners
ENTERPRISE — A light
schedule awaits the Wallowa County
Board of Commissioners as they start
the month, Wednesday, Sept. 1.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in
the courthouse.
Todd Rodgers is scheduled to
speak on government-ordered mask
mandates issued because of a surge
in the number of coronavirus cases.
In addition, county counsel Paige
Sully will discuss training on manda-
tory reporting.
Also on the agenda are three
employee-related items: Wes Garth
is being hired as a new Wallowa
County deputy; Hailey Collier is
resigning from the 911 dispatch ser-
vice; and Amy Stangel is resigning
from the county’s Department of
Youth Services.
The public is invited to attend in
person or via Zoom. To get Zoom’s
browser client, visit https://zoom.us/
signup.
Then enter the meeting ID 842
06009 7022 and the passcode 246617.
If no microphone or camera is avail-
able, members of the public may
participate by phone by calling
1-253-215-8782.
Also, the public is reminded that
a public input session will be held
6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the Clover-
leaf Hall in Enterprise on the East
Moraine Forest Management Plan.
For more information, call 426-
4543, x1130.
Josephy Center cancels
appreciation event
JOSEPH — The donor-appreci-
ation event planned at the Josephy
Center for Arts and Culture has
been postponed, according to a press
release on Thursday, Aug. 26.
Given current restrictions on gath-
erings because of the coronavirus
pandemic, organizers felt unable
to hold the event indoors, where it
seemed more appropriate.
“This certainly won’t be the
last event held in honor of our sup-
porters,” Kellee Sheehy, development
director, said in the release. “And
while it’s definitely disappointing,
a celebration of the purchase of our
building will feel much more celebra-
tory when we’re able to have it IN the
building.”
The event was to be held in Sep-
tember to thank donors and other
supporters for their help in the pur-
chase of the center’s building that
was accomplished June 23.
She reminds those who appreciate
art, culture and each other, that “This
too shall pass.
The center will provide notice
when the event can be rescheduled.
— Wallowa County Chieftain
BAKER CITY — Brian
Ratliff has sliced open and
probed the innards of quite
a number of cows, but he’s
never come across a case as
confounding as the missing
tongue.
“This is a stumper,”
Ratliff said on Thursday,
Aug. 26. “I don’t have an
answer.”
The mystery started
the day before for Ratliff,
the district wildlife biolo-
gist at the Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife’s
(ODFW) Baker City office.
A ranch manager found
the carcass of a 3-year-old
cow that morning on a
public grazing allotment
near the head of Fox Creek.
That’s near Lookout Moun-
tain, about 14 miles north of
Huntington.
Ratliff investigated the
case as a possible wolf
attack.
Wolves from the
Lookout Mountain Pack
have killed three head of
cattle, and injured three
others, this summer several
miles to the west. Wolves
didn’t kill the cow at Fox
Creek — Ratliff is sure
about that.
He’s also confident in his
conclusion about why the
cow died. Almost the whole
of the cow’s tongue — at
least a couple pounds of
flesh — was missing.
The wound severed two
arteries at the base of the
tongue, and Ratliff said a
veterinarian told him that a
cow with that injury would
bleed to death relatively
rapidly.
That was the only injury
which happened prior to the
cow’s death, Ratliff said.
The carcass was undis-
turbed with one exception
— birds had pecked out one
eyeball.
He estimated the cow
died either late on Aug. 24
or early on Aug. 25.
Ratliff said tracking con-
ditions were “phenomenal,”
with a large area of dry, soft
dirt around the carcass.
He didn’t find any pred-
ator tracks, but there were
tracks from deer, elk, mice,
squirrels and birds. There
were also human boot
tracks — presumably from
the ranch manager who
found the carcass.
The carcass was near the
upper Fox Creek road, east
of Lookout Mountain in
eastern Baker County.
But Ratliff said the evi-
dence suggests that the cow
sustained the fatal injury
on or near the road, about
100 yards from where the
carcass was found. That
evidence, in the main, is
blood.
“Buckets,” Ratliff said.
There were multiple
large patches of bloody
ground, splashes of blood
as high as five feet up in
nearby trees, and a blood
trail between the road and
the carcass. Ratliff sur-
mises that the blood was
splashed onto the trees
when the cow whipped her
head from side to side after
the injury.
Tracking conditions were
also good at the road, which
was dry and dusty. Ratliff
found ATV tracks on the
road, but, as at the carcass
site, no predator tracks.
Ratliff said that as he
cut open and examined the
carcass, he considered, and
in turn discarded, multiple
theories about the cow’s
demise.
He initially thought the
cow might have been shot.
But there was no bullet
wound — no wound at all
in the hide, come to that.
The mystery deepened
when Ratliff examined the
jaw and, for the first time,
saw that most of the tongue
was gone. The wound was
jagged, not the clean cut
that a knife or other sharp
implement would make, he
said. There were no tooth
marks or other evidence of
a predator.