FROM PAGE ONE
TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2022
THE OBSERVER — A7
DEBATE
its June 8 meeting, which
will deal with the Greater
Idaho proposals, is set
to start at 6 p.m. in La
Grande.
Anderes also pointed
out that each member of
the board of commissioners
is assigned Union County
cities to serve as a liaison
for. His cities are Imbler
and Elgin, which he works
closely with. He said he is
delighted that the city of
Elgin recently received $2.6
million in funding from
the state for upgrading its
wastewater system.
Continued from Page A1
years during the summer
in areas similar to MERA.
What he often saw was
disheartening.
“They were burned out
completely,” he said.
This is why he believes
active forest management is
critical at MERA.
“It is what we have to
have. There will be short-
term pain for long-term
gain,” Anderes said.
River Democracy Act
The candidates found
some common ground
when asked about the fed-
eral River Democracy
Act. The bill, co-spon-
sored by Oregon U.S.
Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley, would add
4,684 miles to the Wild
and Scenic River system
in Oregon, including 135
miles in Union County.
Hill said she does not
like the idea of having
135 miles of Union Coun-
ty’s waterways being
under federal control. She
explained that the federal
government is not aware
of the issues facing rivers
in Union County and is
not sure that it is prepared
to address the erosion and
flooding problems some
local rivers are periodi-
cally experiencing.
Anderes is also
opposed to the River
Democracy Act. He said
the Union County Board
WOLF
Continued from Page A1
deaths, 26 in 2021, up from
10 the previous year. Of the
26, the cause of death was
unclear for four of the ani-
mals, one was killed by
other wolves and another
died of what are believed to
be natural causes.
The rest of the deaths,
21, were caused by
humans. The Depart-
ment of Fish & Wildlife
killed eight wolves asso-
ciated with the Lookout
Mountain Pack, including
two pups, after repeated
attacks on livestock in
Baker County.
Especially trou-
bling to state biologists
and wolf advocates was
the alarming number of
poaching incidents.
At least eight wolves,
including the entirety
of the Catherine Pack,
were poisoned in Union
County. That case remains
open, and a $50,000
reward has been offered
for information that leads
to an arrest.
In February of this
year, a wolf was illegally
shot in Union County,
according to Oregon State
Police, and another was
illegally killed in Baker
County in March, though
officials did not specify
how the wolf was killed.
Rewards of $22,000
and $11,500 were
offered in those cases,
respectively.
The kill permit granted
to the rancher who killed
the Chesnimnus Pack wolf
earlier this week allows
Union County identity
Davis Carbaugh/The Observer
Union County commissioner candidates Paul Anderes, left, and Lisa Hill participate in a debate moderated by Eastern Oregon University
students at Huber Auditorium in Badgley Hall, La Grande, on Friday, May 6, 2022. The candidates answered questions in three sections,
discussing a variety of local, regional and national topics.
of Commissioners sent a
letter, signed by all the
commissioners, to Wyden
asking that all 135 miles
of the Union County river
segments be removed
from the proposed legisla-
tion. Anderes said the fed-
eral government has not
been forthcoming about
the act. He also said the
River Democracy Act
would put 89,000 acres
of land in Union County
under the strain of addi-
tional federal government
red tape and bureaucracy.
for one more wolf to be
killed before it expires
May 24.
working cattle gathered
on a private pasture. Both
calves survived and are
healing.
One calf was about
three weeks old, weighing
75 pounds, and the other
was about eight weeks old
and weighed about 100
pounds.
Biologists examined
injuries to both calves that
they estimated had hap-
pened about two weeks
earlier.
Biologists shaved por-
tions of the calves’ hides.
One calf had bite scrapes
up to an inch and a half
long on the inside and out-
side back of its left rear
leg, with tooth punctures
measuring up to 3/16th
inch wide. The other calf
had bite scrapes up to an
inch long on the outside of
the right rear leg, and an
infected wound, with mul-
tiple bite punctures, on the
left rear hock.
The wounds were con-
sistent with wolf attacks
on live calves, according
to ODFW.
The agency is also
investigating a report
of another possible wolf
attack reported on Sat-
urday, May 7, at a prop-
erty on Skinner Road
at the northeast part of
Keating Valley.
A calf was injured
in that area about two
weeks ago, but the animal
survived.
A separate wolf pack,
the Keating pack, uses
that area, according to
ODFW.
Wolves kill 1 calf,
injure 2 others in
Baker County
BAKER CITY —
Wolves from the Cornu-
copia Pack killed a calf
north of Richland last week
and injured two other calves
in the same area about two
weeks ago, according to the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife.
ODFW biologists on
May 5 investigated both
cases, which happened in
the same area.
In the case of the dead
calf, ODFW staff found
the carcass of the approx-
imately 225-pound calf on
a 5,400-acre public land
grazing allotment man-
aged by the Bureau of
Land Management.
The carcass was mostly
eaten, but most of the hide
was intact, according to
an ODFW report. Biol-
ogists estimated the calf
died about a day earlier,
on May 4.
They skinned the car-
cass and found pre-mortem
bite scrapes on the outside
and back of the calf’s right
rear left above the leg,
with underlying trauma
up to one inch deep to the
muscle tissue. There was
also trauma to the right
shoulder and throat.
“The location and
depth of trauma is consis-
tent with wolf attack inju-
ries on calves this size,”
according to the report.
In the second inci-
dent, a rancher found
two injured calves while
Evening meetings
Communication was
another issue discussed
during the debate. Hill
said she would like to see
more community outreach
on behalf of the Union
County Board of Com-
missioners. The candidate
said she wants the board
of commissioners to begin
holding its meetings in the
evening to make it easier
for people from outlying
communities to come to La
Grande to attend. Hill said
she would also like to see
more meetings in commu-
nities outside La Grande to
boost outreach.
If elected, Hill said, she
would strive to attend all
city council meetings in
Union County.
“I want to be out more
in the community,” she
said.
Hill’s work experience
includes 11 years with
the Oregon Department
The Observer, File
An Eastern Oregon University student walks across the campus quad on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. The
university’s board of trustees, which meets Thursday, May 19, 2022, is considering a tuition increase
at EOU in response to post-pandemic infl ation and lowered enrollment.
EOU
Continued from Page A1
With tuition and stu-
dent fees accounting for
roughly half of most uni-
versities’ overall revenue,
lowered enrollment trends
due to the pandemic play
a pivotal role. Add in the
ongoing infl ation, and col-
leges are being forced
to increase tuition while
they concentrate eff orts on
rebuilding enrollment to
pre-pandemic levels.
Read more at
GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
“Certainly the emphasis
is to increase enrollment
to ensure that more student
have an opportunity to go
to Eastern,” Seydel said.
“What we’re doing there
is really focused on inten-
sive connection with our
students and prospective
students.”
Seydel noted that the
university’s aim is to retain
its student services and
its faculty members. The
challenge of enrollment
creates a balance between
managing cost factors
while still ensuring that
EOU can continue to serve
as an aff ordable, accessible
university.
“We’re trying to do
everything we can to make
it possible for them to
come to La Grande, be on
our campus, be here taking
classes, meet one on one
with their faculty men-
tors, and be able to get the
wraparound services they
need from our tutoring
centers or student support
areas so that they can be
successful,” Seydel said.
Charles & Eileen
Stewart
10304 A 1st St.
Island City, OR
cstewartpc@gmail.com
541.910.5435
Pay cash or
Rent to own
— Baker City Herald editor Jayson
Jacoby contributed to this report.
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of Transportation, during
which time she said she
was involved in much out-
reach involving the agency
and the community.
Anderes said he works
to communicate exten-
sively with the commu-
nity, making a point of
responding to as many
emails as possible.
Anderes also said that the
board of commissioners
is making an eff ort to
increase its community
outreach. For example,
The candidates were also
asked about Union Coun-
ty’s identity. Hill said that
Union County needs to be
become known from some-
thing the way Pendleton is
known for its Round-Up
rodeo.
“We need to identify
who we are, then it would
be easy to market our-
selves,” Hill said.
Anderes said Union
County does not need to
add a large new event to
become better known.
The incumbent noted that
the county already has a
strong lineup of annual
community events like the
Union County Fair, Eastern
Oregon Film Festival, the
Cove Cherry Festival and
the North Powder Huck-
leberry Festival. Anderes
said that from now through
September there are events
to attend in Union County
almost every weekend.
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