REGION
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Bighorns poached in Gilliam County :DOGHQFKDWVZLWK
sportsmen about
elephant ivory, guns
Two men arrested by OSP
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Oregon State Police arrested two
men on Sunday who are charged with
poaching two bighorn sheep along
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a tip at about 9:45
a.m. that someone
appeared to be
gutting a big game
animal along the
highway east of
Biggs
Junction.
The area is home
to a herd of about
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bighorns,
which Samora
have become a
popular viewing
attraction
for
drivers.
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arrived on scene,
they found Justin
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Layton,
Utah,
sitting in a vehicle.
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with Samora, the Plagmann
troopers also heard
from passing motorists that a second
man was off somewhere hiding in the
brush.
Troopers found Cody Plagmann,
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about 4 p.m. In the course of their search,
they also found the severed heads of
two bighorn sheep. An investigation
later determined Plagmann and Samora
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and remove their heads.
The carcasses were later recovered,
but could not be salvaged. Plagmann
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By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
Photo contributed by OSP
The heads of two bighorn sheep were removed by poachers Sunday east
of Biggs Junction in Gilliam County.
Regional Correctional Facility in The
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a bighorn, wasting a game animal and
hunting on closed land. Samora was also
charged with aiding in a game violation.
Bighorn sheep were wiped out in
Oregon in the mid-1940s, and were not
reintroduced until 1954. The Oregon
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there are now roughly 4,500 bighorns
statewide.
Drawing a bighorn tag is a once-
in-a-lifetime hunting opportunity for
Oregonians. Jeremy Thompson, district
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Dalles, said the department will offer
approximately 95 bighorn tags in 2016.
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herd are hunted due to their proximity to
the highway.
“It’s an outrage that someone would
poach a bighorn sheep, when hunters
can wait their whole life and still never
get the opportunity to hunt this iconic
species,” Thompson said in a statement.
OSP continues to investigate the
case, and anyone with information is
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at 541-296-9646.
———
Contact George Plaven at gplaven@
eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0825.
Umatilla Co. denies allegations of wrongdoing
Lawsuit brought by three former employees
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Umatilla County denied
accusations of retaliation
and other wrongdoing in its
answer to a federal lawsuit
from three former employees.
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county
human
services
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a lawsuit in federal court Feb.
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“unlawful activity and wasted
public funds,” but then lost
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blowing the whistle. The
lawsuit also alleges harass-
ment and discrimination.
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22 response denied the
allegations of misbehavior
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argued the lawsuit “sets forth
25 pages of evidence, opin-
ions, legal conclusions, false
facts, and pages of irrelevant
facts” that fail to meet Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure that
a “complaint must contain
a short and plain statement
showing the pleader is entitled
to relief.”
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defenses, facts or sets of
facts to undermine the
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employees and not entitled to
any due process and that at
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enough supporting facts.
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a dollar amount but wants the
county to pay for their mone-
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and damages for physical and
emotional injury. Attorney
Shemia Fagan is representing
the plaintiffs. She is currently
a Democratic state representa-
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Sullivan is presiding over the
case and the parties have until
June 22 to gather documents
and other information.
BRIEFLY
Fire chief says city
councilman saved
apartment
PENDLETON — A
Pendleton city councilor
and his wife are credited
with saving at least one
apartment — if not the
entire building where they
live — after they reacted
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afternoon.
Pendleton Fire Chief
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councilor John Brenne who
called 9-1-1 at about 2:12
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a neighbor’s second-level
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Avenue. Brenne’s wife, Pat,
then used a garden hose to
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The neighbor was not
home at the time, and the
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under investigation. If not
for the Brennes, Ciraulo said
the entire complex could
have burned.
“If they would not have
done what they did ... two or
three apartments would have
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got here,” Ciraulo said.
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within minutes to put the
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a sliding glass door leading
into the apartment, but
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not spread inside, Ciraulo
said.
John Brenne said he
appreciated the chief’s
praise, but declined to
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Oregonian about the
incident.
Power failure
causes late start at
high school
PENDLETON — Pend-
leton High School started an
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power failure.
Power went down for the
high school and some homes
on Pendleton’s North Hill.
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parents and guardians at
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problem and that classes
would start at 10 a.m.
Buses, though, ran
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schedule, so staff was ready
at the school for students
who arrived at normal times.
Power company
employees during the
morning repaired a power
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Street and Despain Avenue,
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high school.
Man charged with
sodomy, rape of
14-year-old girl
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19-year-old Hermiston
man has been charged with
sexual contact with a minor.
The Umatilla County
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Kyle Naillon, 19, on charges
of third-degree sodomy,
third-degree rape and
contributing to the sexual
delinquency of a minor.
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Deputy James English
began investigating the
case on Feb. 29 after the
14-year-old victim’s mother
reported that she discovered
suspicious content on her
daughter’s cell phone, which
indicated alleged sexual
activity between Naillon
and the girl. Detective
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evidence from the victim
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unlawful sexual activity.
Deputy English interviewed
Naillon, who admitted that
he had sexual contact with
the girl.
Naillon was arrested
and lodged in the Umatilla
County Jail. The case will
be forwarded to the Umatilla
County District Attorney’s
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SAGE Saturday
offers glowing
activity
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and their parents are invited
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albus decorations during
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Saturday.
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Resources and will glow in
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is Saturday from 10 a.m.
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Center, 101 Olson Road,
Boardman.
For more information,
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visit www.visitsage.com.
FAMILY CLINIC
New Hours
8 AM - 7 PM • Mon. - Thu.
8 AM - 6 PM • Fri.
• Same day appointments
available
• Walk-Ins welcome
2801 St. Anthony Way
Pendleton, OR 97801
541-966-0535
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conversation with a group
of hunters and sportsmen on
Saturday at the Pendleton
Convention Center ranged
far and wide.
Topics included elephant
ivory, guns on public land,
polar bears and lead ammu-
nition. All are components
of the Sportsmen’s Heritage
and Recreational Enhance-
ment Act, or SHARE, which
passed the House in February
by a vote of 242-161.
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harshly about the bill.
A People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals
(PETA) news release calls
the act “an irresponsible
hodgepodge of pro-hunting
and
anti-environmental
regulations” and “a proposed
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to protect animals and the
environment — all for the
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of hunters.”
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a common sense preserva-
tion of American hunting
heritage. He said SHARE
combines several bills into
a single piece of legislation
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If the bill passes the
Senate and is signed by the
president, multiple provi-
sions would go into effect,
including the following:
• Lead ammunition and
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be exempted from the Toxic
Substances Control Act.
•
Some
of
the
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Funds, which come from
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ammunition, would fund the
acquiring of public land for
target ranges.
• The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers could not prohibit
people from possessing
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could establish hunter
access corridors and could
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transporting bows, if certain
requirements are met.
• Hunters could bring
certain legally harvested
Canadian polar bear parts
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The same goes for hunters
who want to bring home
African elephant ivory.
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Equal Access to Justice Act,
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$70IRUWKHOHIW´
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lands for an annual fee of
$200.
At the last item, one man
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owner of Steve’s Outdoor
Adventures, is a professional
hunting consultant and the
host of “Steve’s Outdoor
Adventures” on the Outdoor
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man said it currently costs
$176 per day for each
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public land.
“That’s very cost prohib-
itive for a small production
company to go spend 10, 20,
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would be game-changing for
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guides.”
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of protecting lead-based
ammunition.
“For many, lead is still the
best. The science is pretty
clear that it’s not a big issue,”
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excludes lead ammunition
from regulation by the EPA
under the Toxic Substances
Control Act and hinders the
ability of the Bureau of Land
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regulations.”
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effect of lead on wildlife
and humans who consume
animals shot with lead
ammunition. He told the
Congressman about Lynn
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rehab center called Blue
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regularly tests raptors blood
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said birds ingest lead from
fragments found in gut piles
left by hunters.
“The birds don’t need to
be shot — they only need to
ingest it,” he said. “The eat it
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The conversation roamed
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dismissed a proposal to
turning more than two
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County into a national
monument as nothing more
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land.
“The Oregon Natural
Desert Association and
Keen Shoes, out of Portland,
teamed up to promote a
2.2 million acre national
monument in the Owyhee
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area “beautiful, rugged,
gorgeous” but said there are
already layers of existing
management over the land.
The Antiquities Act allows
the president to create a
national monument with
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there’s no evidence to show
Obama is inclined to go that
way at the moment.
“In my view, it’s another
effort to shut down ranching
in Eastern Oregon, that’s
what it is,” he said. “This is
all about stopping ranching
in Eastern Oregon and
selling shoes.”
