Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2016)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2016 THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7 Outdoor Rec / Local My Thanksgiving encounter with the now-dead skunk near mine one night, when I halted him in his tracks. This was accom- plished with my standard boom stick, a Mossberg 500 Defend- er 12 gauge. Over the course of about a THE OUTDOOR COLUMN week, I no- ticed that my By Todd Arriola cats’ large wa- This Thanksgiving I ter bowl had enjoyed some great food been mysteriously drained and company again, with more than usual each numerous family mem- night, and the area around bers, and while none of the it was completely wet, as meat, as far as I know, was if something had upset the acquired the traditional bowl every time. way (shooting and cook- The several bowls I ing a wild turkey or deer, use to feed the cats with for example), I did manage seemed to be more out of to dispatch an uninvited order than usual, and there guess—a skunk. were odd, oil-like spots on First off, I need to nearby wood. explain that the skunk As I returned home was neither seated at the from work one evening, table, nor was he even in I noticed a very familiar the house, when his time black-and-white colored on this Earth had ended animal on the porch, acting abruptly. as if he owned the place, And secondly, I don’t scaring my cats into a near live within City limits. state of heart attack. The skunk wasn’t even He was eating the food, near the same house as and drinking the water, and where we had eaten fi rst, he didn’t appear to fear any my brother’s, but rather, of them (the largest and oldes cat, Harry, Jr., was coincidentally more likely to cuddle, than to attack). With the skunk between me and the door, I had zero chance of getting to my fi rearm, and accomplishing anything. So, I watched for him each day, and I noticed him outside, fi ddling with the food, the water, and the cats once again, while I was inside, with access to my shotgun. I quickly grabbed it, fl ung open the exterior door, chambered a shell, and killed him instantly. My copy of Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary And Thesaurus defi nes a skunk as “any of various black- and-white New World mammals related to the weasels that can forcibly eject an ill-smelling fl uid when startled.” Yes, I would have to agree with the ill-smelling fl uid part (the mysterious, oil-like spots), because that was the fi rst time I ever remember being able to smell one, and though my sense of smell leaves something to be desired, I picked up his scent without any issues whatsoever. He had sprayed some fl uid at the time of death, and luckily, I only smelled it elsewhere, rather than on me. My cats seem to have thanked me the only way they know how—by not running away, and by cud- dling and purring, which is plenty of gratitude. They appear to be more relaxed now, and they only have to worry about the 100 other animals running around, which could be threatening in some way or another to them. Some of the cats have disappeared mysteriously, and my possible suspect list includes dogs, coy- otes, other cats, and even humans (two were run over by vehicles not long ago— cats, not humans). Whatever the case, dispatching the skunk was nothing personal, and I don’t hate skunks, al- though he might have had a different interpretation of those thoughts, shortly before I pulled the trigger of my shotgun. He won’t be bothering us anymore, but he must have spoken with his fam- ily or buddies about the easily accessible food and water, because I see we have yet another uninivited gues—of the ill-smelling, black-and-white variety. Help needed to locate Nathan Crouch, suspected elk poacher On November 16, 2016, Oregon State Police asked for the public's help to locate individuals involved in the incident involving the unlawful killing and waste of two bull elk in Union County. As a result of the over- whelming support from the community, Nathan Crouch, age 26, Dylan Crouch, age 22, and Brianna Black, age 18, all from Elgin, were identifi ed as suspects in the incident. Dylan Crouch and Briana Black were charged with three misdemeanor charges of aiding in a game violation. At this time, Nathan Crouch has not been locat- ed and is believed to have fl ed the state. He is facing misdemeanor charges which include two counts of unlawful taking of a bull elk, casting a light within 500 feet of a vehicle, hunt- ing with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting prohib- ited hours, two counts for waste of a game animal, hunting on the enclosed lands of another and hunt- ing prohibited area-public roadway. During the course of the investigation, information was obtained that Nathan Crouch had also unlawful- Photo Courtesy of OSP.r One of the two elk left to waste. the unlawful possession ly taken a large bull elk in of the antlers. This will be Union County a few years an additional charge for prior to this incident. Nathan Crouch. The antlers from the bull Oregon State Police is elk were located and seized extending a special thanks by Troopers. to the public for their as- Due to the statute of limitations, Nathan Crouch sistance in this case and is further seeking the public's can only be charged with assistance regarding the whereabouts of Nathan Crouch. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact OSP Senior Trooper Marcus McDowell through the TIP hotline at 1-800-452-7888 or Email at marcus.mcdowell@ state.or.us). Information may be kept anonymous. Why advertise with us? David Conn david@thebakercountypress.com or call 541.523.5524 Baker City, Haines • Low rates per column inch & promotional deals • Color at no additional charge as space permits • Friendly, professional sales staff Wendee Morrissey wendee@thebakercountypress. com or call 541.805.1688. Sumpter, Bates, Richland, Halfway, Medical Springs, Keating Family owned and operated. Packed with local news! • All display ads are also posted to our Facebook page, which means thousands of individuals see your ad from that source alone. We’re the only local paper that offers this service! 2016 Turkey Trot results announced Photo Courtesy of Basecamp Baker The Logger Joggers won for best costumes. SUBMITTED BY BRIAN VEGTER The 9th Annual Baker City Turkey Trot presented by the Northeast Oregon Compassion Center had an incred- ible turnout with 560 people registered from around the county and as far away as London and again Venezu- ela. There were 17 teams this year and over six hun- dred pounds of food were donated to the food bank of NEOCC. Organizers, Corrine and Brian Vegter estimate over $6,500 was brought in this year from entry fees, donations and sponsorships. A new course record was set in the women’s fi eld by 21 year old, Rachel Roelle of Anchorage, Alaska in a time of 21:27 beating her previous record 21:44 by 17 seconds; second Anika Anderson 22:40; third Whitney Anderson 23:19. On the men’s side, Baker City local Nic Maszk, won for his fourth Turkey Trot in 17:52; second Jacob Dewalt 17:58; third Joshua Carpenter 20:1. The team category saw Run Like the Turkey’s Over- done take fi rst, The Giblets second and The Gravy Train team was third. Best costumes went to the Logger Joggers. Fastest runners with dogs were Michelle Boudreau in 24:54 and in Tom Price, Jr. 24:55. The fastest runner with a stroller was Logan Mitchell in 26:15. Organizers would like to thank the community, vol- unteers, participants and our sponsors for the continued support and to remind people that NEOCC accepts food donations all year long at 1250 Hughes Lane in Baker City. Great photos are available on the Base Camp Baker Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/basecamp- baker. Salmon, trout committee to meet in Salem The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Salmon and Trout Enhancement Program (STEP) Advisory Committee will meet in Salem on Thursday, Dec. 8 and Friday, Dec. 9. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting will occur at the ODFW Headquarters at 4034 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE in Salem. The agenda is available at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fi sh/STEP. From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Thursday the Board will be included in an informational discussion of volunteer and education programs. On Friday the Board will meet from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the agenda includes updates from ODFW man- agement, STEP program planning, review of mini-grant applications, and review of propagation proposals. The Oregon Legislature created Salmon and Trout Enhance- ment Program in 1981 to provide a way for volunteers to participate in the restoration of native stocks of salmon, steelhead and trout.