REGION
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
East Oregonian
Rough winter means fewer
hunting tags for deer, pronghorn
Elk fare better,
according to ODFW
Local hunters may face
longer odds this year drawing
a deer or pronghorn tag in
northeast Oregon after the
animals struggled through a
particularly harsh winter.
The Oregon Department
of Fish & Wildlife has
announced 2017 emergency
tag reductions for buck deer,
antlerless deer and pronghorn
primarily affecting hunting
units in Baker, Union and
northern Malheur counties.
Just half of the usual buck
and pronghorn tags will be
available in Baker County,
and two doe hunts scheduled
on agricultural lands — one
in the Sumpter Unit and one
in the Keating Unit — were
canceled entirely.
Tags were also reduced
by 35 percent across Union
County, along with 40 percent
in the Beulah Unit and 25
percent in the Owyhee Unit.
Brian Ratliff, ODFW
district wildlife biologist in
Baker City, said there are
still hunting opportunities
though it may be difficult for
hunters to draw a tag they are
used to drawing with fewer
preference points.
“As the populations grow
again, we can move our tags
back in an upward direction,”
Ratliff said.
The tag reductions are
based on early spring flight
surveys, which show how
winter took a toll on mule
deer. Fawn ratios are down
considerably, Ratliff said,
with some units as low as
eight fawns per 100 adults.
Spring surveys typically
show fawn counts in the
mid-30s per 100 adults, he
said.
What’s more, Ratliff said
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A herd of deer grazes in a field in the Umatilla National Wildlife Refuge outside of
Irrigon, in January 2015.
Baker County lost 32 percent
of adult radio-collared does.
The average for the Blue
Mountains is 8 percent.
“That’s really concerning,”
he said.
Wildlife officials feared
this kind of mortality earlier
in the winter, when tempera-
tures in Baker County dipped
as low as minus-28 degrees
and failed to rise above
freezing for 28 consecutive
days. Snow depth exceeded
18 inches in many areas,
including lower elevations
where deer and elk usually
migrate for winter forage.
Ratliff said it was the
worst winter for wildlife in
more than 20 years.
“The deer went as low
as they could possibly go,”
Ratliff said. “I saw them in
places I’d never seen them
before. But there was no
forage for them that wasn’t
covered by snow and it was
just really tough on fawns.”
Elk, however, seemed to
fare better due to their larger
size. Ratliff said elk are able to
generate more body heat with
less energy, and can break
through hard, crusty snow
easier than smaller ungulates
like deer and pronghorn.
Though Ratliff said they
did have some elk mortality,
it was not significant and
ODFW will not be reducing
elk tags come fall.
Brian Laughlin, acting
assistant district wildlife
biologist for ODFW in
Pendleton, said the Umatilla
District was not as severely
affected by winter and does
not anticipate any reductions
in big game tags.
“We definitely had a
hard winter,” Laughlin said.
“But we didn’t have 28 days
straight with below-freezing
temperatures.”
The
district,
which
includes the Walla Walla,
West Mount Emily, Ukiah
and Columbia Basin units,
should see deer and elk
numbers comparable to
previous years, Laughlin
said.
“Looking
at
those
numbers, we do not see a
drastic change in this year’s
spring
(survey)
flights
compared to last,” he said.
Across the Blue Moun-
tains, Ratliff said hunters
can expect to see fewer deer
on the landscape this fall,
especially yearling animals
such as spikes and 2-point
bucks. Those age classes
made up about 33 percent of
Baker County’s total harvest
last year.
By reducing tags now,
Ratliff said they can allow
those populations to recover
and get back ahead of the
game.
“This way, we can get
underneath it,” he said.
Hunters who applied for
one of the affected hunts have
until June 1 to change their
choice for free. A unit-by-unit
look at available tags can also
be found online at www.dfw.
state.or.us.
———
Contact George Plaven at
gplaven@eastoregonian.com
or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON
Skate park to ramp up if Senate bill passes
Bill would give
cities recreational
immunity
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
A bill that could pave the
way for a new Hermiston
skate park passed unani-
mously in the state Senate
and has had its first reading
in the House of Representa-
tives.
Recreational immunity,
as Senate Bill 327 is known,
is a key piece of legislation
that Oregon cities have been
counting on to restore their
protection from lawsuits
arising from injuries in
public parks.
Previously, Oregon law
protected owners of private
and public lands from
being sued over injuries
that happened while they
were allowing members
the public to use their land
for free for recreational
purposes. If a child fell off
the monkey bars and broke
an arm at a city park, the
city was protected from a
lawsuit.
MILTON-FREEWATER
Settlement conference
set for former police
officer assault case
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Last year, however, the
Oregon Supreme Court
ruled that the protection only
applied to the government
entity itself, and not indi-
vidual employees, after a
jogger who was injured by
an open hole in a Portland
park sued the employee who
dug the hole to fix a sprin-
kler system and then left it
unattended.
Since cities are respon-
sible for defending their
employees in court, the
ruling essentially took away
the “recreational immunity”
they previously enjoyed. The
impact was felt throughout
the state in the form of closed
parks and delayed projects.
Hermiston parks and
recreation director Larry
Fetter said the ruling had
a chilling effect on cities’
desire to expand parks and
recreation offerings to their
residents.
“Some cities were talking
about doing some crazy
things,” he said. “They were
talking about charging to
get into city parks, because
there’s different law relating
to that.”
In Hermiston, Fetter said
his department felt they were
already acting in a safe and
responsible manner and that
they did not need to drasti-
cally change the way they
handled parks.
They did decide to put
the brakes on building a new
skate park across the street
from the police station,
however.
“We said, let’s just let the
dust settle,” Fetter said.
If the bill adding protec-
tions to city employees
and volunteers passes both
chambers and is signed by
the governor, Fetter said he
has got “money ready to go”
to move forward with the
skate park.
“As soon as we get a final
resolution, we’ll crank up,”
he said.
In Pendleton, after being
urged by its insurance
company to evaluate its
parks system for safety
risks, the city in June closed
decades-old playgrounds at
Aldrich Park, Vincent Park
and May Park that they felt
were no longer safe.
Parks and recreation
director Donnie Cook said
the court ruling has put a
strain on the department’s
employees, who worry if
they are doing their job and
look away from a hole or
equipment for just a second,
they could be facing a major
lawsuit.
Cook said that department
staff have taken on addi-
tional work, looking through
every park for a hole dug by
a gopher or dog that might
need filled in or marked by a
sign. Passing Senate Bill 327
would help things go back to
the way they used to be, with
an understanding that using
a public park comes with a
certain amount of inherent
risk.
“I think it will be a relief,”
he said. “We still want to
take out all the risks we can.
... We don’t want anyone to
get hurt. We try to really do
a good job. But when you
have 20 parks and seven
employees, there is only so
much you can do.”
The bill also applies to
employees of schools, farms,
counties and other entities
that allow free use of their
property for recreational
purposes.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Former
Milton-Free-
water police officer Brian
David Scott has a closed-
door conference Thursday
to work out a
deal in his assault
case.
He also is
looking to move
to Colorado.
Umatilla
County Circuit
Court
records
show Scott has
a
settlement
c o n f e r e n c e Scott
starting Thursday
morning in state court at the
Stafford Hansell Govern-
ment Center, Hermiston.
Scott, 38, has pleaded
not guilty to charges of
second-degree
assault,
unlawful use of a weapon
and first-degree official
misconduct stemming from
his Sept. 26, 2016, arrest of
Jeffery Allen Fields, 46, of
Milton-Freewater.
Milton-Freewater city
manager Linda Hall said
Scott resigned from city
police on Dec. 16.
Scott’s attorney, Sean
Riddell of Portland, in
early January presented the
state with a mitigation and
settlement letter. Riddell
in court documents stated
the letter “was 10 pages
in length and contained
HERMISTON BREAKFAST
KIWANIS CLUB, 6:30 a.m., Uma-
tilla-Morrow Head Start, 110 N.E.
Fourth St., Hermiston.
M I LT O N - F R E E WAT E R
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, 7
a.m., Milton-Freewater Chamber
of Commerce, 157 S Columbia St.,
Milton-Freewater. (541-938-5563)
WILLOW RUN LADIES GOLF
CLUB, 8 a.m., Willow Run Golf
Course, 78873 Toms Camp Road,
Boardman. Rain or shine. Need
not be a member to play. (541-481-
4381)
PENDLETON CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.,
location varies, location varies,
Pendleton. December meeting:
Wildhorse Resort & Casino. Cost
is $13 for members if paid in ad-
vance, $16 for all others, RSVP
required. (541-276-7411)
BOARDMAN CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 12 p.m., Port of
Morrow, 2 Marine Drive, Board-
man. (541-481-3014)
CAY-UMA-WA TOASTMAS-
TERS, 12-1 p.m., Wildhorse Re-
sort & Casino, 46510 Wildhorse
Blvd, Pendleton. Everyone wel-
come. (Jeannette Taylor 541-276-
9492)
HERMISTON LIONS CLUB,
12 p.m., Desert Lanes Bowling
Alley, 1545 N. First St., Hermiston.
MILTON-FREEWATER GAR-
DEN CLUB, 12 p.m., Milton-Free-
water Community Building, 109
N.E. Fifth Ave., Milton-Freewater.
Luncheon followed by general
business meeting.
ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL
OF PENDLETON, 12 p.m., Red
Lion Inn, 304 S.E. Nye Ave., Pend-
leton.
HERMISTON ELKS DIN-
NER, 5:30-8 p.m., Hermiston Elks
Lodge, 480 E. Main St., Hermiston.
(541-567-6923)
WW.FRIENDS, 5:30 p.m.,
private home, 511 N.W. Despain
Ave., Pendleton. Tostada feed.
Open to all widows and widowers.
(541-276-4708 or 541-969-2450)
FRIENDS
OF
HERMIS-
TON PUBLIC LIBRARY, 6 p.m.,
Hermiston Public Library Lanham
Room, 235 E. Gladys Ave, Herm-
iston. (541-567-2882)
OREGON GRASS ROOTS
CRIBBAGE CLUB NO. 2, 6:30
p.m., Desert Lanes Bowling Alley,
1545 N. First St., Hermiston. All
levels of players welcome. (541-
567-6594)
THURSDAY, APRIL 20
BOARDMAN KIWANIS, 6:30
a.m., Riverfront Lodge, 6 Marine
Drive, Boardman.
TUMBLEWEED TOASTMAS-
TERS, 6:30 a.m., Eastern Oregon
Higher Education Center, 980 S.E.
Columbia Drive, Hermiston. Visi-
tors welcome. (541-567-3360)
ARTS AND CRAFTS FROM
THE DRY SIDE, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Hermiston Assembly of God
Church, 730 E. Hurlburt Ave.,
Hermiston. Use Seventh Street en-
trance. Monthly business meeting
at noon. (541-567-4446)
HERMISTON TRAVEL CLUB,
10 a.m., First Christian Church,
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston.
(Margaret 541-567-7234)
PENDLETON
KIWANIS
177 pages of attachments
including an expert opinion
letter and several audio
files.”
Soon after, records
show, Riddell and Umatilla
County District Attorney
Dan
Primus
agreed a “judi-
cial settlement
conference was in
the best interest of
all parties” due to
the “complicated
legal matters and
unique nature of
the case.”
Oregon State
Police reported
Scott
pushed
a handcuffed Fields in
the back while in the
Milton-Freewater Police
Department, and Fields
fell forward and struck his
head on a concrete wall,
suffering injuries to his
scalp and vertebrae.
Scott has been free on
bail since Sept. 29. Court
documents also show he
received a judge’s approval
for trips to Colorado in
late March and mid April.
According to Riddell’s
requests from the visits,
Scott is moving his family
there and needed to check
out housing and attend job
interviews.
———
Contact Phil Wright at
pwright@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0833.
BRIEFLY
Senior center groundbreaking April 26
HERMISTON — The community is invited to a
groundbreaking ceremony for the Harkenrider Center
on April 26.
Once completed, the building will serve as the city’s
senior center and after five years of use will also be
opened up to recreational classes and other community
uses in the evenings.
The Harkenrider Center will be located downtown
at 255 N.E. Second Street, behind the Hermiston First
United Methodist Church, with a parking lot stretching
behind the Hermiston Public Library. It is being paid for
by a $2 million federal Community Development Block
Grant and funds from the city of Hermiston.
G2 Construction of Kennewick will complete the
work on the center, which is scheduled to be finished
in the fall. Demolition of the former Umatilla County
Fairgrounds, including the current Hermiston Senior
Center, is scheduled to begin June 12.
The groundbreaking ceremony will be at 12:30 p.m.
on Wednesday, April 26 and will include free shaved
ice.
Fire destroys building, displaces six
UMATILLA — A building was destroyed by fire,
displacing six adults in Umatilla on Tuesday morning.
Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District, aided by
Umatilla County Fire District 1, responded to the 623 E
Street at about 7:06 a.m. for a fully involved structure
fire involving a triplex.
According to senior firefighter and incident
commander Marc Matlack of Umatilla Fire Protection
District, crews found one of the apartments totally
involved, and knocked down the fire before it spread to
the other two. Damage from the fire, smoke and water
rendered the other two units uninhabitable, however.
No one was injured.
The cause is under investigation. Matlack said a
preliminary investigation concluded that the cause of
the fire was accidental and started in the unit that was a
total loss.
The American Red Cross reported that it assisted six
adults displaced by the fire with temporary housing,
food and clothing needs and information about recovery
services and mental health resources.
———
Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports,
and press releases. Email press releases to news@
eastoregonian.com
STUDENT
OF THE
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19
Page 3A
CLUB, 12 p.m., Roosters Restau-
rant, 1515 Southgate, Pendleton.
Guests welcome. (541-278-5785)
HEPPNER CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE, 12-1 p.m., Heppner
City Hall conference room, 111 N.
Main St., Heppner. (Sheryll Bates
541-676-5536)
ALTRUSA INTERNATIONAL
OF HERMISTON, 12 p.m., ARC
Umatilla County, 215 W. Orchard
Ave., Hermiston.
PENDLETON TRAVEL CLUB,
2 p.m., Free Methodist Church,
1711 SW. 44th St., Pendleton.
(Kathy or Karen 541-276-2244 or
541-276-0923)
Retired Employees Picnic
GenFoods • Ingleheart • Pendleton Four Mill
Employees 1961 - 1988
When: April 22nd 4pm
Where: Stillman Park behind the Elks Lodge
Bring your own food and drinks
Let’s Get Together to share a Memory and a Laugh or Two!
Hope To See You There!
WEEK
Laci Wiggins
SENIOR
E CHO H IGH S CHOOL
Laci is involved in student leadership.
She is a positive role model for the
younger students and her peers. Laci
is kind and caring. Laci is a FFA officer
and very involved in teaching the
younger students about animals and
agriculture. Laci plays basketball and
runs cross country. With all her
involvement
in
school
and
extracurricular activities Laci also holds
down a job.
Sponsored by:
ELMER’S
IRRIGATION, INC.
“Proudly serving and investing in the future of our communities”
Hwy 395 • Hermiston
541-567-5572 • Fax: 541-567-8721
Emergency service also available