FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local
Cougar
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
Immediately after ending
the call, Koontz removed
her gear, set her rifl e
against a tree, and an-
swered Nature’s call, while
still wearing her sidearm, a
Ruger 9mm.
Donning her gear once
again after her restroom
break, Koontz took a few
steps, and heard noise from
the cougar, up in a nearby
tree. Thinking the noise
might have been from a
deer, but quickly realizing
that deer don’t normally
climb trees, and that the
animal was a cougar, she
exclaimed, “Oh [exple-
tive],” and she took three
large steps back. She was
thinking something like,
“What is your plan?” or,
“What are you doing?”
about the cougar.
Most of the cougar’s
body was concealed by
the tree, and he was facing
and eyeing Koontz closely,
with his front shoulders
down, and his tail wag-
ging, side to side, as he
began to move forward.
She stepped to the left,
and at that point, she had
enough of a target to send
a 180-grain bullet through
his heart, killing him
instantly.
“He was coming. He
was not like, ‘Okay, I’ll
leave you alone.’ My mili-
tary training kicked in, I
was on guard, and I did the
right thing. Afterwards, I
thought, ‘Oh my God, he
was watching me pee,’ “
she said, as she was fl ood-
ed with emotions, thinking
about the period of time
during which the cougar
must have watched her,
without her knowledge.
She called Cannon, she
relayed the story to him (he
panicked at fi rst, she said,
because he misunderstood,
and he thought the cougar
had actually attacked her),
and she requested his help
in transporting the cougar
home. Cannon, and his
father, Larry, arrived to as-
sist Koontz with that task.
She realized later that her
truck had been parked less
than 100 yards away from
where she had shot the
cougar.
She said that the meat
from the cougar was fully
utilized, given to a family
friend, who planned on
making sausages. Koontz
said, “I wasn’t willing to
eat on it,” noting that pred-
ator meat isn’t something
that’s generally considered
a delicacy.
The skinning and butch-
ering task was handled by
Brody Turner’s Custom
Taxidermy, 62849 Buchan-
an, La Grande. Koontz
plans on having a full-body
mount, with the cougar in a
pre-attack pose, similar to
how he looked before she
shot him. “I feel that I’ve
earned it,” she said.
Koontz said, “It was just
really ironic for me, be-
cause I hunt every chance
I can, and I haven’t been
able to fi ll my elk tag (she
had gone bowhunting for
elk, right before the deer
hunt), or my deer tag, but
I’ve gotten two preda-
tors this year...” The other
predator was a black bear
Koontz harvested earlier
this year, in May, in the
Starkey Wildlife Manage-
ment Unit, with the same
rifl e--dropping it also with
one shot, through the heart,
another instant kill.
Koontz referenced her
military training again, to
explain the initial response
and kill shot, when she
was faced with the threats
from the predators. She’s
a disabled Navy combat
veteran, having served for
14 years, 8 months, and
medically retired, due to
fi bromyalgia, in January
2009, as a BU (Builder).
She could hunt from a
vehicle, but she prefers to
walk, she said, with peri-
odic rests necessary.
She entered the Navy in
February 1995, served four
years as an EN (Engine-
man,), and took a break.
She signed back up after
September 11, 2001. “That
pissed me off, and I’m very
patriotic, so, I jumped right
back in,” Koontz said. She
actually had three ratings
(jobs), she said, which had
included AW (Air Warfare
Specialist), fl ying aboard
Lockheed P-3 Orions, but
on November 2, 2004, near
a gate in Kuwait, she re-
ceived incoming fi re while
on a bus, part of which
hit her in the face, which
prompted her to change
ratings, to BU. “I don’t like
being shot at, and I don’t
like cougars jumping on
my head,” she said.
In speaking about the
issues with predators in
general, Koontz said, an
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife (ODFW) rep-
resentative stopped by to
visit with her and the rest
of the people in her hunt-
ing camp earlier this year,
and told Larry that ODFW
has removed over 100
cougars from the Ukiah
Unit in the last couple of
years, due to overpopula-
tion, and aggressiveness. “I
don’t think the bucks have
come back; they are saying
there are a whole lot less
deer, etc., because of it...”
she said.
According to ODFW
information provided in the
2016 hunting regulations,
regarding cougar manage-
ment, ODFW has removed
a total of 291 cougars in
the Heppner, Steens Moun-
tain, Ukiah, Warner, and
Wenaha units, to benefi t
deer or elk populations, the
most dramatic results seen
in the Heppner,and Ukiah
units; elk calf survival
doubled in both; the elk
population in Ukiah grew
by 500, since 2010; the
elk population in Heppner
grew by 2,200, since 2007;
on average, an adult cougar
kills one deer or elk per
week; and Oregon has an
estimated 4,000 adults, and
a total estimated cougar
population of 6,000. In
2015, ODFW raised the
cougar quotas statewide, to
970, an increase of 25%.
“I think I might stay
home, and watch some
chick fl icks, and get my
nails and hair done, for a
while...It’s important to
get this story out, and to
let people know—I felt
cornered,” Koontz said,
saying that, while she’ll
continue to hunt (she’s
a lifetime hunter), she
intends to pay even more
attention to the potential
dangers around her, and
potential predator hiding
spots—including trees.
Unity holds
Harvest Bazaar
Submitted Photos
The Unity Harvest Bazaar held Saturday, October
1. Organizers would like to thank all who stopped
by as well as all the talented vendors and skilled
artisans. The Burnt River Home Extension ladies
made all the home made pies, brownies and other
treats.. All the money made from the sale of the
pies and goodies go to the scholarships fund.The
Burnt River FFA kids supplies and served lunch and
goodies.The door prize a RYOBI miter saw was won
by Brenda Kezerle from Hereford, (top photo). The
other gift basket was won by Carol Purvis (below)
from Prairie City.
— Obituaries —
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PAGE 2
Shirley Sorrels
Richland, 1924-2016
Shirley Sor-
rels, devoted
wife, mother,
grandmother,
and great
grandmother
to many died
peacefully on Shirley
Sorrels
October 5,
2016 at age
92. A memorial service
will be held at the Method-
ist Church in Haines, Or-
egon on October 22, 2016
at 1:00 p.m. A celebration
will follow at Shirley’s
home at Radium.
Shirley was born on
September 13, 1924 in
Stockton, California and
adopted in infancy by the
parents who raised her,
Edna and Harold Edgar.
She grew up in Berkeley,
California, graduated from
Berkeley High School in
1942, studied music at
Mills College and attended
San Francisco State for a
short time before marrying
Donald W. Sorrels, in a
loving marriage that was to
last 68 years.
While growing up,
Shirley loved to ice skate,
spending most of her free
time at the ice rink. She
also had a beautiful voice
and sang in many high
school productions, as
well as for the USO during
World War II.
After marrying her
handsome Air Force Lieu-
tenant during the start of
America’s involvement in
the war, the young couple
moved to North Carolina
where Don attended fl ight
school and prepared to be
sent overseas.
When the war was over
and Don was safely home,
they lived for a while in
Berkeley and then moved
to Bothell, Washington
shortly after their fi rst
child Sandra was born. In
Bothell they lived on a
farm where Shirley learned
how to garden, cook, raise
chickens, and make butter.
In 1949 the family,
which now included son
John, moved to Kenne-
wick, Washington. The
next year daughter Cynthia
was born. Don and Shirley
lived for the next 60 years
in Kennewick, until Don’s
death in 2011. Then Shir-
ley moved to La Grande
to be with her daughter
Sandra.
For the last three years
of her life she lived in
Haines at her beloved
Radium Hot Springs, cared
for by her two daughters.
Shirley was a life-long
homemaker, choosing to
stay at home to raise her
children. But she did not
really stay at home because
she made a career of
volunteering for every-
thing from the PTA to
Girl Scouts to League of
Women Voters.
After her son John’s
car accident in 1969 when
he suffered a traumatic
brain injury, she became
a passionate advocate for
mental health, serving
on the board of the Mid
Columbia Mental Health
Center for 14 years and
board chairman for two.
She was also a founder of
the Residential Services
for the mentally disabled in
the Tri-Cities.
As a Girl Scout volun-
teer, she was leader of two
troops from Brownies to
Senior Scouts, senior advi-
sor, day camp director, fi rst
aid instructor and president
of the council for three
years.
In 1983 she was the
recipient of the Distin-
guished Volunteer of the
Year Award given by the
United Way of Benton and
Franklin Counties.
She also was a founding
member of the First Pres-
byterian Church in Ken-
newick, where she sang in
the choir for years.
Never afraid of new
challenges, Shirley learned
to ski as an adult with the
rest of the family. The
love of skiing brought the
family to Anthony Lakes
Ski Area where they soon
purchased a cabin.
All of the winter holi-
days were spent together
at that cabin where Shirley
learned to be an expert at
cooking on a wood stove
and friends were welcome
to drop in.
In 1966 when her
husband Don joined the
Anthony Lakes Ski Patrol,
she became a fi rst aider for
the patrol. Together they
served on the patrol for 35
years.
And when Don took
up fl ying again and they
bought a plane, she was his
devoted co-pilot.
He and Shirley took
many trips in their plane,
fl ying to Baja with the
Flying Farmers, to Kelso
to pick-up their grandchil-
dren, to WWII reunions
on the East coast, making
their last cross country
fl ight when he was 85 and
she was 81.
Shirley’s life was one of
devotion to family, friends,
civic duty, and church.
She will be remembered
for her beautiful laugh and
love of people.
Shirley is survived by
her daughter Sandra and
son John Sorrels of La
Grande, daughter Cindy
and husband Jack Wardlow
of Kelso, Washington, two
grandchildren and six great
grandchildren.
She was preceded in
death by her husband
Don and grandson Corey
Wardlow.
For those who would like
to make memorial dona-
tion in memory of Shirley,
the family suggests that
donations be directed to
the Haines Methodist
Church through Tami’s
Pine Valley Funeral Home
and Cremation Services
PO BOX 543, Halfway
Oregon 97834. Online
condolences may be shared
at www.tamispinevalleyfu-
neralhome.com
Fugitive’s twin
brother arrested
On October 12, 2016 at 12:08 p.m., Baker City Police
were watching a house at 2291 Orchard Street where Jo-
seph Dial was believed to be. Joseph was known to have
a State-Wide Felony Warrant.
A male, thought to be Joseph, crawled out a window of
the Orchard Street residence and ran from the residence.
Offi cers searched the area and were unable to locate the
Offi cer’s learned Joseph’s identical twin brother, Danny
Dial, was the person seen crawling out the window.
Danny Dial also had a State-Wide Felony Warrant.
Offi cers in contact with acquaintances of Danny Dial
worked to encourage Danny to turn himself in at the
Baker County Jail. During this time Danny was contacted
at 3215 14th Street where he was taken into custody
without incident.
Arrested at 3215 14th Street:- Danny R. Dial (arrest
date/time: 10/13/16 at 12:39 PM)-Out of County Warrant
( Parole Violation Lake County, Oregon)