FROM PAGE ONE
A6 — THE OBSERVER
PEASLEY
Continued from Page A1
“Football-wise it is good.
Everyone was super welcoming,”
he said. “Coming from another
Mountain West school (made me)
a little nervous, (but) everyone (is)
taking care of me.”
The biggest adjustment to
Wyoming for Peasley has been
to its pro-style off ense, one that
diff ers from the spread that he
was in not only at Utah State, but
also at LHS. Part of acclimating
to the off ense has involved a lot
of studying, including, he said,
learning longer play calls and the
diff erent protection sets the off en-
sive line is supposed to be in.
“Obviously, there is always
room to improve in whatever
off ense you are in,” he said.
Peasley’s trademark at La
Grande, and where he also found
success when he was on the fi eld
in Logan, was largely in his
mobility. While with the Aggies,
he threw for 830 yards on 55%
passing with seven touch-
DOG
Continued from Page A1
being investigated by
Patricia Kelly, the animal
enforcement offi cer for
the Union County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce. Kelly said
she’s interviewed resi-
dents and people from
businesses around the
neighborhood. People
recalled seeing the dog at
large that day, but so far,
no one reported seeing or
hearing anything about
the incident. Additionally,
nobody reported hearing a
gunshot.
During her investi-
gation, Kelly said she’s
received mixed messages
about Waylon’s aggres-
sion. When the dog got out
of the yard, he would bark
at people and would hold
his ground before running
away. Some people con-
sidered this as aggressive,
while others thought it was
normal dog behavior.
“It depends on some-
one’s defi nition of aggres-
sive,” she said.
Under Oregon law, dogs
are considered personal
property. According to
downs and fi ve interceptions,
and also rushed for 515 yards
on 57 carries with three rushing
touchdowns.
With Wyoming, he said he
needs to improve his pocket pres-
ence, though he noted his ability
to scramble and make plays with
his feet will still be an option.
“There is a lot of variety. At the
end of the day, we still have plays
that allow me to make plays and
do what I need to do when things
aren’t perfect,” he said.
He answered in the affi rmative
when asked if that would mean
plays with a quarterback rollout
or a bootleg, but also said it would
mean, too, being privy to when a
play is breaking down.
“Just even drop back, pass,
(and) everything is covered up, so
gotta make something happen,”
he said.
So far, it seems he is adapting
well. He had a solid spring game
for the Cowboys, completing 12
of 21 passes for 201 yards with
two touchdowns and one intercep-
tion, helping the Gold team to a
26-22 win.
Troy Babbitt/Contributed Photo
Wyoming quarterback and La Grande
High School graduate Andrew Peasley
drops back to pass during warmups prior
to the start of the Cowboys’ spring football
game on April 30, 2022, in Laramie,
Wyoming, at War Memorial Stadium.
He is also adapting to the cul-
ture, one that he said is posi-
tive not only within the team, but
throughout Laramie and the state
of Wyoming.
“Really, just overall, the state is
all bought into one football team,”
he said. “That is really special.”
TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022
And, he is healthy. Peasley
missed the Aggies’ bowl game
with a sprained right AC joint and
has dealt with knee injuries in the
past, including during his senior
year at LHS. He said his knees are
in good shape and his arm was
cleared in February.
“I’ve gotten a lot of strength
back,” he said.
As he approaches fall camp,
which starts for Wyoming in a
little more than a month, he said
putting up consistent numbers and
helping make the team better are
his goals.
“My main goal is just to help
everyone around me improve so
we can win football games,” he
said. “If my main goal was to
be a starter, that could be a little
selfi sh. My main goal is to help
others and take the next step.”
The most important thing for
Peasley as the team moves toward
its season opener Aug. 27 at Illi-
nois is being prepared.
“I’m excited. We get to go play
a bigger school,” he said. “That is
just an opportunity for Wyoming
football to expose ourselves for
greatness for the season.”
One other game he is looking
forward to is on Oct. 22, when his
former team, Utah State, comes to
Laramie.
He said he still has many good
friends on the Aggies, but that
four quarters will be diff erent.
“We won’t be friends for three
hours during that game. It’ll be
fun,” he said. “I’m sure there will
be some trash talking going on.
The fans will be into it. It’ll be a
good time.”
Peasley has two years of eli-
gibility remaining, and he feels
that in Wyoming he is in a good
spot to pursue the ultimate goal of
every college player — reaching
the NFL.
“One of the fi rst things they
told me was Wyoming has the
most players in the NFL in the
Mountain West,” he said. “You
look at Josh Allen, Logan Wilson,
Chad Muma — that is inspira-
tional. Obviously, that is my goal
in the end.”
Seeing those successes shows
the La Grande native that “it’s
been done, (and) I can do it, too.”
MORE
INFORMATION
Anyone who has information
on the case is asked to con-
tact animal enforcement at
the Union County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce by phone at 541-963-
1017 or by email at sheriff @
union-county.org.
Kelly, if a dog is not being
aggressive, it is against
state law to shoot the
animal. If a dog is acting
aggressive or actively
menacing, a person can
shoot the dog in self-de-
fense, but it is still against
the law to discharge a
fi rearm within city limits.
The shooter is also respon-
sible for proving the dog
was actively menacing. It
is not enough for the indi-
vidual to just say the dog
was aggressive.
Kelly said that if a per-
petrator were found, he or
she could be brought up
on a number of charges,
which would be decided
by the sheriff ’s offi ce. In
a situation like this, if the
dog was not acting aggres-
sively, the most likely
charge would be aggra-
vated animal abuse.
The Observer, File
Catherine Creek was nearly dry on Friday, Aug. 7, 2021, after a heat wave and extended dry conditions exacerbated the ongoing drought in
the Grande Ronde Valley. The Grande Ronde Basin is prone to fl ooding and low streamfl ow, and the Oregon Water Resources Commission is
enacting a plan to address both extremes.
WATER
Continued from Page A1
Renee Moseley/Contributed Photo
Jacob Moseley’s red heeler, Waylon, looks in a window in this
family photo. Moseley found his dog bleeding from a gunshot
wound on June 19, 2022. Waylon ended up dying from his injuries.
CROP
Continued from Page A1
Tim Melville, who owns and
operates Cornerstone Farms Joint
Venture with his wife, Audry and
sons Kevin and Kurt and their
wives, said their farm has about
300 acres in alfalfa and about 250
in timothy grass in various fi elds
around the county.
“It’s a little bit short and a
little bit later than usual,” Tim
Melville said. “It’s been colder
and it didn’t grow as much as
usual.”
But, he said, the slower growth
will make for good quality
because it won’t be too mature.
His son, Kurt, who is in
charge of the farm’s hay harvest,
got a bit more technical.
He said the alfalfa is “a little
bit lighter than usual because we
Bureau, Union County
Soil and Water Conser-
vation District, Union
County Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation, Grande Ronde
Model Watershed, Confed-
erated Tribes of the Uma-
tilla Indian Reservation
and cities, plus many local
farmers and ranchers.
The Upper Grande
Ronde Basin is one of four
in Oregon provided funding
by the state commission to
develop a plan for boosting
its water quality and quan-
tity as part of a pilot project.
The plan for the Upper
Grande Ronde Basin is the
fi rst to be completed. The
basin sites for which other
plans are being developed
are in Harney County, a site
on the Oregon coast and the
haven’t had as many heat units,
but it looks like a good window
to knock it down. The forecast
has about 10 days to take that
fi rst cutting.”
The timothy grass takes a bit
longer, he said, adding that it
should be another two or three
weeks before it’s ready to cut.
Butterfi eld said his two types
of hay were mixed.
“Alfalfa’s behind and timo-
thy’s is ahead, but everything
looks good,” he said.
Butterfi eld has about 1,900
acres east of Joseph evenly split
between the two types of hay.
Market price
Most growers are expecting
higher prices for their hay once
it’s baled.
Butterfi eld was hesitant to pre-
dict the price.
“It’s a bit of a jinx to predict
lower John Day River.
The Upper Grande
Ronde Basin plan was
developed with help from
a $250,000 grant from the
Oregon Water Resources
Department and a $100,000
grant received from
the Oregon Watershed
Enhancement Board.
The executive summary
of the plan states that it
will provide strategies for
meeting the water needs of
communities in the Upper
Grande Ronde Basin while
adhering to all existing laws
and policies.
Beverage said the intent
of the plan is to address a
long running problem in the
Upper Grande Ronde Basin.
“We have too much
water in the spring and not
enough in the summer,” she
said.
The excess spring water
frequently causes fl ooding
hay prices,” he said. “It should be
as high or better than last year.”
He said he sold his hay for
$190-$290 a ton last year on the
farm — where the buyer loads
and hauls it from the farm.
Kurt Melville agreed it
will likely be comparable to
last year, but he said he hasn’t
been keeping close track of the
market.
“It’ll be a little bit lighter than
normal,” he said. “Until we actu-
ally get some up, sometimes it’s a
bit deceiving, but I think it’ll be
about 20% less than usual, but I
could be completely wrong until
we start running balers through
fi elds.”
Tyler Coppin, on the other
hand, is quite optimistic as to the
price this year.
“I’m thinking this is going to
be highest prices we’ll get in any-
one’s lifetime,” he said. “It’ll be
and the lack of water in
the summer causes water
quality issues. Beverage
said low streamfl ow con-
tributes to raising tempera-
tures to unhealthy levels
for fi sh and causes water
to have higher concentra-
tions of naturally occurring
chemicals like nitrates.
Steps to improving water
quality and quantity sug-
gested in the plan include
looking into accessing abo-
veground storage opportu-
nities, such as expanding
portions of rivers and
streams to prevent the cre-
ation of ice jams in narrow
stretches that can lead to
fl ooding.
Options the plan calls
for studying also include
storage sites that would not
impact stream channels.
The plan sets the stage for
investigative work to be
done into the possibility of
knocking on the door of $350-
$400 a ton, maybe more.”
He attributes this to the fact
that competitors in the Ellens-
burg, Washington, and Columbia
Basin areas had trouble with their
crop getting rained on.
“If we can get our hay in, it’ll
be premium,” he said.
Premium quality is the
highest with the largest nutrient
percentage.
Coppin said his farm sells
mostly as an export crop to
Japan.
“I’m already selling hay from
last year for more than last year,”
he said.
Production cost
But it’s not all about the
quality of the crop. Growers have
to contend with the cost of pro-
duction as well.
Every one of the growers
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having reservoirs to which
water from streams could
be diverted. Storage of the
water would help prevent
fl ooding in the winter and
spring, and its release in the
summer would boost low
streamfl ow.
Another option could be
pumping water from Cath-
erine Creek into under-
ground caverns in the
spring when fl ows are high,
and then pumping it out in
the summer when fl ows are
lower.
Water storage options
will be discussed on
Thursday, July 7, at a public
meeting of those involved
with the Upper Grande
Ronde Watershed Partner-
ship Place-Based Integrated
Water Resources Plan. The
meeting will start at 4 p.m.
in the Misener Room of
the Chaplin Building, 1001
Fourth St., La Grande.
interviewed agreed the high cost
of petroleum is aff ecting nearly
everything.
“Fuel prices are terrible. Oil
prices are terrible,” Coppin said.
This not only aff ects fuel used
in farm machinery, but the cost
of transporting crops to market.
It also boosts the cost of fertil-
izer and other chemicals heavy in
petroleum.
Tim Melville said it also
aff ects the availability and cost of
parts for farm machines.
“Some of the parts have dou-
bled in price in the past 12
months,” he said. “Fertilizer’s
double what it was last year.”
Coppin said the production
costs are also seen in the avail-
ability of parts.
“Everything’s hard to get,”
he said, estimating costs are up
30%. “I don’t know anything’s
not hard to get.”
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