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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2019)
For more rodeo coverage see Sports, A8 | for more photos from the fair visit eastoregonian.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 143rd Year, No. 210 County tables manager measure Proposal would have established language in the charter requiring commissioners to hire county manager By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian HERMISTON — Two out of three Umatilla County commissioners support the county having a professional manager, but only one voted to put the proposal on the ballot. Commissioners, however, approved two other charter changes for residents to con- sider at the November elec- tion. One ballot measure would simplify elections of commissioners and the other would update language and duties regarding the sheriff’s offi ce. The trio of proposals came from the Umatilla County Charter Review Commit- tee, which over the course of 19 months studied the char- ter and considered how to improve the county’s found- ing document. The commit- tee’s most controversial rec- ommendation would have established language in the charter requiring the board of commissioners to hire a man- ager. Commissioner Bill Elf- ering seemed to agree with the notion. “The time has come that Umatilla County needs an offi cer to manage the administrate functions of our county,” Elfering said, reading from a statement he prepared. Yet, he continued, the board of commissioners already has the power to hire a manager, just as it can hire a county counsel. Making this a requirement of the board, he said, is the concern, and the proposal lacks the prepa- ration to go before the voters. “While the concept truly has value, the position of a county manager needs to be fully developed as to func- tion, cost and benefi t,” he said, “and fully vetted to the public.” Without that preparation, he stated, the measure likely would fail in the election. Commissioner John Sha- fer also spoke against the pro- posal. He expressed concerns $1.50 WINNER OF THE 2019 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Wild Ride GUN CONTROL Debate over guns continues Oregon not likely to see gun reform talks ahead of next year’s legislative session By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE AND AUBREY WIEBER Oregon Capital Bureau Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Caleb Bennett of Corvallis, Mont., hangs on to Uptown Flash during bareback riding on the opening day of the Farm- City Pro Rodeo. The Farm-City Pro Rodeo kicks off nightly at 7:45 p.m. at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo arena in Hermiston. See Charter, Page A7 SALEM — Stalled gun reforms in Oregon aren’t likely to move ahead until next year’s legislative session despite a resurgent national debate following the shooting deaths over the weekend of 31 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. One of the Oregon Legis- lature’s leading advocates of gun control, Sen. Ginny Bur- dick, D-Portland, said legisla- tors were still getting over the just-completed session. “We haven’t started seri- ous work on it yet,” Burdick, who leads Democrats in the Oregon Senate, said. “But I certainly intend to make it a priority.” Advocates, for their part, say they’re continuing their quest to cut down on gun violence, which claimed 528 lives in Oregon in 2017, according to the federal Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention. Gun violence hit Oregon this past weekend as well. A former Portland State University student athlete, Deante Strickland, 22, was killed in a shooting in north- east Portland on Friday that also injured two others. In Salem, police are investi- gating two fatal shootings over the weekend and a third shooting Monday that hospi- talized three people. “I think we are all heart- broken every time we hear of a mass shooting,” said Hilary Uhlig, who leads the Oregon chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a nonpartisan group that aims to reduce gun vio- lence. “It’s always traumatic for communities to expe- rience. But one thing that Moms Demand Action volun- teers remember is that there are 100 people in our country who die of gun violence every single day.” Still, the El Paso and Day- ton shootings have spurred interest from new volunteers and new local chapters of the Moms Demand Action group, Uhlig said. Legislators this year closed See Guns, Page A7 Investigation continues in death, mutilation of bulls Investigators suspect one or more people are responsible for deaths By SIERRA MCCLAIN Capital Press JOHN DAY — Authorities are continuing to investigate the death and mutilation of fi ve bulls on a remote Eastern Oregon ranch. The bulls, worth about $7,000 each, were found dead and muti- lated — with genitals and tongues cut out — on Silvies Valley Ranch in Harney County. Two carcasses were discovered July 30. On July 31, three more car- casses were found. The cause of death is unknown, but investigators suspect one or more people are responsible. Harney County Sheriff’s Offi ce Deputy Dan Jenkins is the primary investigator. The Oregon State Police and the Malheur National Forest Emigrant Creek Ranger Dis- trict are also on the case. As of Aug. 7, according to Joshua Giles, a forest ranger for the Emigrant Creek Ranger District, the investigation continues with no clear leads. As an isolated incident, the case might appear a strange fl uke. But according to the FBI, thousands of killings and mutilations of cows have happened since the 1970s. The animals typically die in the same way with the same body parts removed. Jenkins said it’s hard to tell how these fi ve bulls died. There are no entry wounds. A metal detector scan revealed no bullets. According to National Weather Service data, the past month has had no major lightning storms in the area that could have killed cattle. Based on the lunar calendar from the 2019 Farmer’s Almanac, the deaths could not have happened during a full moon. Colby Marshall, vice president of Silvies Valley Ranch, said there were no outward signs of a strug- gle — no rope burns on trees, no scattered hoof prints, no strangula- tion marks, no blood. The bulls, he said, look like they simply fell over and died. “Maybe they were poisoned,” said Jenkins. But if they were, it could not have happened by natural causes. Jenkins said Ty Campbell, the property owner’s son, along with Clint Weaver, the cow boss, scoured the property looking for poisonous plants but found none. Jenkins said a necropsy to deter- mine the cause of death was not possible because when the bulls were found, they were already past the 24-hour window when a veter- inary inspection would have been effective. Marshall, the ranch’s vice pres- ident, said the bulls had probably been dead for two to three days when they were found. The 4- and 5-year-old registered Hereford bulls were on the 140,000- acre ranch and resort in Seneca, south of John Day. Dr. Scott Camp- bell, a veterinarian, owns the ranch. See Cattle, Page A7
