REGION
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
East Oregonian
A3
Father, son take plea deals in elk poaching case Pendleton on OLCC
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — A
La Grande father and son
pleaded guilty last month to
poaching a six-point trophy
bull elk in the Mount Emily
unit.
According to state court
records, Kyle Bowen, 26,
and his father, Richard
“Rick” Bowen, 60, will
lose their hunting licenses
for three years and serve 18
months probation.
Oregon State Police
reported its Fish and Wild-
life Division in La Grande
investigated the pair and
found Kyle Bowen during
the 2018 archery elk season
killed a trophy class bull elk
in the Mount Emily wildlife
unit.
The state provides a min-
imum number of tags for the
unit each year for the hunt-
ing of branch antlered bull
elk. A hunter will need to
wait at least 18 years to draw
a tag to hunt branch antlered
bull elk in the unit, accord-
ing to state police, and Kyle
Bowen only possessed a
general season archery elk
tag in 2018. The investiga-
tion found Richard Bowen
Oregon State Police Photo
A La Grande father and son pleaded guilty last month to
poaching a six-point trophy bull elk in the Mount Emily unit.
assisted Kyle Bowen with
the poaching.
The Bowens took plea
deals on June 10 in Union
County Circuit Court. Kyle
Bowen pleaded guilty to
hunting in violation of the
wildlife laws, a class C mis-
demeanor. In addition to the
probation and suspension
of hunting license, Circuit
Judge Thomas B. Powers
sentenced Kyle Bowen to
the following:
• 10 days in jail with work
crew eligibility.
• $7,500 restitution to the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife
• $100 bench probation
fee.
• Forfeiture of equipment
he used to poach the elk,
including a Mathews bow,
Zeiss binoculars and trail
cameras.
• Forfeiture of the six-
point bull elk antlers and
associated elk meat.
• And the forfeiture of
seven-point bull elk ant-
lers that he unlawfully
possessed.
State police also reported
prosecutors
dismissed
charges for criminal tres-
pass and unlawful posses-
sion of wildlife (the sev-
en-point elk antlers), along
with a charge of tampering
with evidence as part of the
deal.
Richard Bowen pleaded
guilty to a charge of aid,
assist, counsel or share in
the proceeds of a wildlife
violation, a class A misde-
meanor. Along with the pro-
bation and hunting license
suspension, his sentence
included eight days in jail
with work crew eligibility,
$7,500 in restitution, and
forfeiture of hunting equip-
ment. The state dismissed
charges for criminal tres-
pass and unlawful posses-
sion of marijuana, which he
also had to forfeit.
Itchy, runny nose, sneezing? It could always be worse
A number of
plants with high
allergenic potential
call Eastern
Oregon home
By JESSICA POLLARD
East Oregonian
EASTERN OREGON
— The region may have
around 30 different plants
every summer with high
allergenic potential, accord-
ing to pollenlibrary.com,
but things could be itchier.
In the Willamette Val-
ley, where — according
to the Oregon Seed Coun-
cil — 1,500 grass seed
farmers employ upward of
10,000 Oregonians, sneezes
abound. So maybe it makes
sense that the only certi-
fi ed pollen count system
is monitored by the Ore-
gon Allergy Associates in
Eugene.
Some people in that area,
Dr. Kraig Jacobson of OAA
said, see Fourth of July as a
day of independence from
grass allergies, because
that’s when the pollen count
begins to die down.
Eastern Oregon does
have some grass pollen as
well.
“There’s a lot less (here)
than there is on the west
side,” Jacobson said.
That being said, some
plants like sagebrush, juni-
per, ragweed and wheat
can cause allergies in the
region. Nearby the Colum-
bia River, Jacobson noted,
pollen from birch, alder and
cottonwood trees can also
provoke allergies.
For those who are sen-
sitive to pollen in Eastern
Oregon, it might be hard
to fi nd an accurate pollen
count. The OAA’s count
is only representative of
Eugene’s
warm-summer
Mediterranean climate, and
not the semi-arid climate
that makes Eastern Oregon
BRIEFLY
Organizers will close street for Fourth
of July fi reworks show in Pendleton
PENDLETON — In anticipation of the Fourth of July
fi reworks show, organizers are taking some precautions.
As it has in past years, the fi reworks will be launched
from an empty lot west of Walmart.
To keep people a safe distance, Jerry Imsland of the
Pendleton Rotary Club said organizers will be clearing
people from the property and police will be closing South-
west Court Avenue from Oxford Suites to the overpass at
9 p.m.
Imsland said the fi reworks show will start at 10 p.m.,
and run for 30-40 minutes. Court will reopen after the fi re-
works conclude.
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Saager’s Shoe Shop
Milton Freewater, OR
July 12th-14th
Athena Caledonian Games
Featuring Celtic Band: Skweez the Weezle
Friday July 12
Saturday July 13
9:00am - 8:00pm
Parade starts at 9am
Vendors,
7:00pm
Entertainment,
Candle lighting
Dancing,
ceremony and the
Piping & Scottish
Blessing of the Clans
Athletic
Competitions,
Performing:
Unforgettable Celtic Pipe Bands, Kids’ Games,
Story Tellers,
Fiddler, Anna Burgess
Tattoo
5:30pm-7:00pm
Dinner in City Park
Sunday July 14
9:30am
Church Service in the Park
Blue Mountain Wildlife and Birds
Ceud Mile Failte • 100,000 Welcomes
A Family FREE Event with
Scottish Music, Dancing & Sport
www.athenacaledoniangames.org
look like a desert.
Pollen.com provides pol-
len information, but in the
form of predictive models
based off of meteorological
algorithms. A pollen count,
alternatively, reveals how
much pollen has been in the
air in recent days.
“When we look at pol-
len.com data with our data
side by side, they often don’t
agree,” said registered nurse
Judy Moran, who does the
pollen count at OAA.
In 2010, the Asthma
and Allergy Foundation of
America released a report
that warned that rising tem-
peratures and carbon diox-
ide levels are increasing
the amount of high-aller-
genicity plants like rag-
weed, which is prevalent in
the area. It’s possible that
a changing climate could
exacerbate the amount of
pollen plants generate as
well.
The American Acad-
emy of Asthma, Allergy &
Immunology said as climate
change progresses, pollen
season could become longer
and more intense.
“In the Willamette Val-
ley we probably don’t have
a statistical difference that
we can see in the time that
we’ve been doing our pollen
counts,” Jacobson said.
He did note that some
places, such as the Midwest,
are reporting odd weather
events and untimely spikes
in pollen.
“A lot of people say we’re
the worst area for pollen,
but it depends what for,”
Jacobson said. “It’s highly
variable and it’s sometimes
hard to escape.”
list for listening tours
PORTLAND — The
Oregon Liquor Control Com-
mission and staff embark in
July on tours to gain a better
understanding of the issues
and concerns facing the mar-
ijuana and wine industries.
One of the wine sessions
takes place in Pendleton.
The commission, which
regulates alcohol and mari-
juana in Oregon, announced
the tours on Friday in a writ-
ten statement.
The commission wants
to hear from the marijuana
industry on the moratorium
on producer licenses (Sen-
ate Bill 218), exporting mar-
ijuana products, social con-
sumption and changes to the
marijuana program. When it
comes to the wine industry,
the commission wants infor-
mation on tonnage tax, label-
ing standards and content
and appointing a rules advi-
sory committee.
Paul Rosenbaum, OLCC
chair, said the goal of the ses-
sions is to give people in the
marijuana and wine indus-
tries the opportunity to meet
face to face with commis-
sioners, some of who are new
to the role.
The OLCC will hold fi ve
listening sessions for the
marijuana industry: July 9
in Bend; July 17 in Ashland;
July 30 in Eugene: Aug. 6
in Ontario: and Aug. 12 in
Portland. The commission
will hold four sessions for
the wine industry: July 18
in Ashland; July 29 in Rose-
burg; Aug. 1 in McMinn-
ville. The last wine session
is Aug. 6, 10 a.m. to noon
at the Pendleton Conven-
tion Center, 1601 Westgate,
Pendleton.
While Pendleton has
three marijuana stores and
no commercial vineyards,
the town is between Echo
and Milton-Freewater, com-
munities that have commer-
cial vineyards.
In conjunction with the
listening tours, the announce-
ment stated the commis-
sion will hold its regularly
scheduled July 18 meeting at
Southern Oregon University.
The 2017 Oregon Leg-
islature expanded the com-
mission from fi ve to seven
members but only recently
has the commission had full
membership, thus the listen-
ing tours provide an oppor-
tunity for the commissioners
to interact with licensees and
stakeholders.
Licensees and stakehold-
ers can register to attend
the tours on the OLCC
Eventbrite page at: www.bit.
ly/2AGaYUS