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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2019)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Friday, June 21, 2019 Ranchers: Call sheriff, not WDFW, about wolves, cougars By DON JENKINS Capital Press KENNEWICK, Wash. — A cattlemen’s group is urging Eastern Wash- ington residents to report predator problems to their county sheriff rather than the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, a sign of rancher distrust in the state’s response to wolves and cougars. The Stevens County Cat- tlemen’s Association accuses Fish and Wildlife of down- playing the threat of pred- ators. Involving the sheriff will hold state wildlife inves- tigators accountable, the association’s president, Scott Nielsen, said Wednesday. “It matters who you notify,” he said. “If the sher- iff isn’t there, WDFW gets to control the message.” Cattlemen in northeast Washington have long com- plained that the department values managing wildlife over protecting property and public safety. The perspec- tive leads Fish and Wild- life to blame landowners for conflicts with predators and colors its probes into suspected wolf attacks on livestock, according to the cattlemen. Fish and Wildlife said in a written statement Wednes- day evening that public safety is its highest priority. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife/Rich Beausoleil, File A cattlemen’s group in northeast Washington is reminding the public to contact the local sheriff’s departments in the event of problems with predators such as cougars. enforcement, which benefits everyone,” according to the statement. Stevens and Ferry coun- ties share a deputy assigned to work with Fish and Wild- life investigators. The cattle- men’s group may campaign this summer to persuade res- ”Each incident is taken very seriously with a com- mitment to assist the land- owner and resolve the issue. WDFW will continue to work cooperatively with the sheriff’s office on a daily basis, and is committed to working with local law Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY Pleasant with clouds and sun Beautiful with clouds and sun Partly sunny, breezy and nice Increasing cloudiness Partly sunny and nice 71° 50° 81° 53° PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 76° 50° 76° 48° 77° 51° idents to call the sheriff’s deputy first. “I want him in on every wolf and cougar investiga- tion,” Nielsen said. “We’re not going to slam the depart- ment. We’re going to pro- mote the sheriff.” The cattlemen’s call to Baker County ends contract with Greg Smith’s company Drop in revenue from county lodging tax cited as reason HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 78° 54° 86° 57° 81° 54° 81° 51° OREGON FORECAST 82° 56° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 63/53 61/47 78/52 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 71/54 Lewiston 69/52 78/55 Astoria 64/54 Pullman Yakima 78/53 71/49 67/51 Portland Hermiston 74/55 The Dalles 78/54 Salem Corvallis 70/48 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 64/42 Bend 73/47 68/41 64/44 Ontario 73/48 Caldwell Burns Trace Trace 0.45" 4.42" 5.10" 5.56" WINDS (in mph) 70/46 64/38 BAKER CITY — Baker County’s three-member board of commissioners voted unan- imously Wednesday morning to terminate the county’s con- tract with Greg Smith & Com- pany LLC for economic devel- opment services one year after the four-year pact took effect. Commissioners cited as a reason a significant drop in revenue from the county’s lodging tax, 25% of which goes to economic develop- ment, as required by a county ordinance. Baker County’s lodging tax reve- nue dropped f r o m $625,000 in the 2016-17 fiscal year to $538,129 in 2017-18. The Smith majority of that money is paid by guests at lodging establishments in Baker City. The county is projecting a further drop in the lodging tax revenue, to $420,000, for the fiscal year that starts July 1. County Commission Chairman Bill Harvey last Today Boardman Pendleton Medford 78/50 Sat. WSW 6-12 W 6-12 WSW 8-16 W 7-14 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 71/38 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Last 5:06 a.m. 8:48 p.m. none 9:10 a.m. New First Full NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 108° in Carrizo Springs, Texas Low 25° in Sunrise Mountain, Ariz. June 25 July 2 July 9 July 16 NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY BRIEFLY Washington state man arrested in 2016 killing of ex-wife KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — A Wash- ington state man has been accused of helping to plan the killing of his ex-wife in Oregon. The Tri-City Herald reports 38-year-old Matthew Hester was arrested Wednesday in Kennewick, Washington, on charges of criminal conspiracy to commit murder, solic- itation of murder and hindering prosecution. His wife, 37-year-old Angela McCraw-Hester, is accused of stab- bing 34-year-old Annastasia Hester at her Gresham, Oregon, home in June 2016. She is awaiting trial in Oregon on an aggravated murder charge. She was arrested at her home in Pocatello, Idaho, in October 2017. Matthew Hester is expected to be extra- dited to Oregon. Gee whiz: Testing of sewage confirms rise in marijuana use SEATTLE (AP) — The proof is in the pee. A new federally funded study has con- firmed, not surprisingly, that marijuana use went up in Washington state after its first legal pot stores opened in 2014. In fact, con- sumption doubled over three years — a con- clusion scientists reached after performing the decidedly unglamorous work of analyzing Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -10s -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published daily except Sunday, Monday and postal holidays, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2019, EO Media Group week described this as a “dras- tic reduction that has severely crippled our economic devel- opment abilities.” The county has contracted with Smith, a Republican state legislator from Heppner, since 2011. The current contract, which took effect July 1, 2018, was slated to continue through June 30, 2022. The contract includes a clause allowing the county to terminate the pact, with writ- ten notice to Smith, “if County funding from federal, state or other sources is not obtained and continued at levels suf- ficient to allow for the pur- chase of the indicated quantity of services.” PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene 74° 53° 81° 54° 101° (1958) 42° (2012) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 72/49 Trace 0.05" 0.91" 9.33" 6.40" 7.42" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 59/40 73/50 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 71/50 74/55 68° 48° 80° 53° 103° (1900) 38° (1893) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 72/52 Aberdeen 68/50 78/57 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 73/54 By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. report predator problems to the sheriff was triggered in part by an incident May 26 in Stevens County. A man hiking with his daughter shot a wolf and called Fish and Wildlife immediately. The sheriff’s office didn’t learn about the incident until several days later. Fish and Wildlife said the killing was lawful because the man felt threatened, but did not say the man and his daughter were in danger. The cattlemen’s group says the department minimized the threat posed by the wolf. Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke said Wednes- day he has talked to Fish and Wildlife about the delay in telling his office about the shooting and anticipates swifter communication in the future. “I would expect we would be notified immediately,” he said. “We, as the sheriff office, are not urging citizens to call us first, but we want and need the information.” Stevens County sheriff’s emergency dispatchers relay reports of dangerous wildlife to Fish and Wildlife officers. When Fish and Wildlife gets called, the department has not been as quick in noti- fying the sheriff’s office or sharing information, Manke said. “In the past, it’s been one way,” he said. “I think the situation is improving.” The Fish and Wildlife Commission, which usu- ally meets in Olympia, held a meeting in Spokane in March and heard complaints about the department’s response to cougars threat- ening people or property. 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front high low PORTLAND (AP) — A registered sex offender has been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and killing an 89-year-old Portland woman and hiding her body in the trunk of his car. The Multnomah County District Attor- ney’s Office says Timothy Mackley on Thursday was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 35 years behind bars for the slaying of Marcine Herinck. Mackley pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping, burglary and abuse of a corpse. The elderly woman’s disappearance prompted a frantic search last September. Prosecutors say Mackley kidnapped Herinck from her Northeast Portland home after they met at a thrift shop where she vol- unteered. Police arrested him Sept. 24 after pulling over his car and finding her decom- posing body wrapped in a tarp. The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office says Herinck died of multiple blunt force trauma. CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 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