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TUESDAY EDITION
June 14, 2022
ODFW
takes second
Chesnimnus
wolf in pack
EOU GRADUATION
A 65-year
journey
Bob Stubbs, who made
sure family members
earned college degrees,
finally makes his
commencement walk
Kill permit originally issued
by state April 29
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
CROW CREEK — A second Chesnimnus
Pack wolf was killed by biologists from the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife,
according to the Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife website Monday, June 13.
The website stated that the kill was
accomplished from the ground. ODFW also
considered doing it from the air.
State offi cials agreed to help with the
lethal removal of one Chesnimnus Pack wolf
after repeated
“When there’s
attacks on live-
stock in Wallowa
County, a spokes- a time to kill
person for ODFW wolves, (ODFW)
said June 9.
... should be
Michelle Den-
nehy, a commu-
doing it.”
nications coordi-
nator with ODFW, — John Williams, Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association
said the permit
wolf committee co-chair
was issued April
29 and extended
to June 14. That permit was for two wolves
and an agent of Crow Creek rancher Tom
Birkmaier shot one wolf May 3.
The permit allowed Birkmaier or his
agent to kill two wolves in Dorrance Pasture
or Trap Canyon Pasture, where recent dep-
redations on cattle occurred, Birkmaier said
when the permit was issued. Dennehy said
June 13 that since the two wolves allowed to
be taken under the permit are now dead, the
permit is no longer active.
ODFW will continue to assess the situa-
tion for possible further actions and another
update will be made if another wolf is killed
or the permit is reissued, according to the
website.
Before the permit was issued, Birkmaier
asked ODFW to “remove” — or completely
kill — the Chesnimnus pack given its pro-
pensity toward predatory behavior, but the
agency just issued the kill permits.
John Williams, a co-chair of the wolf
committee for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation, said ranchers are busy enough and
shouldn’t have to do what he considered the
ODFW’s job of managing the wolves.
“When there’s a time to kill wolves,
they’re the ones who should be doing it,”
Williams said last month of ODFW.
The minimum known count of wolves in
Oregon at the end of 2021 was 175 wolves,
an increase of two wolves over the 2020
number, according to the Oregon Wolf Con-
servation and Management 2021 Annual
Report released April 19.
According to a May 24 report in The Ore-
gonian, one wolf that had been part of the
EOU class
of 2022
urged to
serve as
mentors
By DICK MASON
The Observer
cation, enrolling at Miami University in
Oxford, Ohio. The credits Stubbs earned then
proved timeless last weekend.
Stubbs, 83, was formally conferred a
bachelor of science degree in interdisci-
plinary studies with an emphasis on infor-
mation systems and business administra-
tion from Eastern Oregon University at its
graduation ceremony at Quinn Coliseum,
La Grande, on Saturday, June 11. Credits he
earned at Miami University and many other
educational institutions over the course of
fi ve decades, including those granted via
LA GRANDE —
Members of Eastern
Oregon University’s
graduating class were
urged to extend hands
of mentorship at the
commencement cer-
emony on Saturday,
June 11, at Quinn
Coliseum.
Brady Layman, the
President’s Scholar
of the class of 2022,
made this request
after fi rst encouraging
the graduates to fi nd
their own commu-
nity, one fi lled with
people who will sup-
port them, and then to
support the younger
members within that
community,
Layman said that
when he looks back
upon his time with the
EOU Chemistry Club
he is not proudest
of the trophies and
awards the club
received but the stu-
dents he mentored.
He said those being
mentored are the next
series of stars des-
tined for greatness.
“Be the catalyst in
your community to
lower the activation
energy barrier needed
for other people to
succeed,” Layman
said.
He also spoke of
the importance of
being sure of one’s
self.
“Flip that voice
inside your brain
telling you that ‘you
can’t’ to ‘you can.’
Other people do not
know the doubt you
may have inside you,
so don’t show it to
them,” Layman said.
Near the conclu-
sion of his presenta-
tion, the President’s
Scholar encouraged
the class of 2022 to
See, Stubbs/Page A6
See, 2022/Page A6
Amy Stubbs adjusts the graduation cap of her
father, Bob Stubbs, prior to Eastern Oregon
University’s commencement on Saturday, June
11, 2022, in La Grande.
Dick Mason/The Observer
By DICK MASON
The Observer
L
A GRANDE — The fall of
1957 is best remembered by
many as the time the Russians
launched Sputnik I, the fi rst Earth
satellite, a step that ignited the space
race between the United States and
the former Soviet Union.
That autumn of 1957 also has personal
meaning for Robert “Bob” Stubbs. It was
when he started his post-secondary edu-
See, Wolf/Page A6
Pierce displays passion for prayer, horses
Cowboy pastor spreads message as he trains an
unbroken horse at EOL Sunday service
By ISABELLA CROWLEY
The Observer
UNION — Champion bare-
back rider Todd Pierce almost met
his match Sunday, June 12, during
a rodeo church service on the fi nal
day of the Eastern Oregon Live-
stock Show in Union.
Pierce, a pastor, trains unbroken
horses while delivering a sermon.
The standing-room-only crowd
packed into Dennis Clark Future
Farmers of America Barn quickly
took to Pierce’s calm and peaceful
presence. The fi lly, however,
seemed to have her doubts.
“If I can get my hand on her,
then she’ll feel my peace,” Pierce
said.
Before the event started, the
2-year-old fi lly seemed far from
wild, calmly trusting children to pet
her nose through the gate. Pierce
explained that she already had been
trained to be led on a halter and was
See, Pierce/Page A6
Isabella Crowley/The Observer
WEATHER
INDEX
Classified ......B3
Comics ...........B7
Crossword ....B4
Dear Abby ....B6
Todd Pierce
places his hand
on the horse he
trained at Born
Wild during the
Eastern Oregon
Livestock Show
on Sunday, June
12, 2022. The
event was put
on by Riding
High Ministries
in collaboration
with 13 local
churches from
Eastern Oregon.
Home .............B1
Horoscope ....B4
Local...............A2
Lottery ...........A2
Obituaries .....A5
Opinion .........A4
Sports ............A7
Sudoku ..........B7
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