NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, January 2, 2021
Notable pioneer may have built unique fence near Cove
By DICK MASON
La Grande Observer
COVE — Northeast Ore-
gon pioneer Anderson C.
Smith was a man of short
stature whose life story gave
rise to tall tales.
It was said Smith once
killed a 900-pound griz-
zly with a single shot near
Minam and was such an
accurate marksman he could
knock an eye out of a grouse
with a round from his Henry
rifl e.
“He was the man of the
mountains and the Kit Car-
son of the Pacifi c Coast,” the
Mountain Sentinel, an old
Union County newspaper,
reported in its July 6, 1872,
edition.
On a less embellished
note, Smith reportedly built
many stone fences in North-
east Oregon that were used
to contain horses and cattle.
The total may include one
in Cove that still stands, but
Smith has been denied credit
for building it by histori-
ans because of geographic
confusion.
This is the belief of Jack
Johnson of Cove, a retired
National Guardsman who
studies local history, that
this fence is Smith’s handi-
work. The fence is on farm-
land 2 miles west of Cove
and is close to 100 yards
long.
“I believe it is possible
Dick Mason/La Grande Observer
A rock fence, which stands near Cove, may have been built by Oregon pioneer Anderson C. Smith. He reportedly built many
stone fences in Northeast Oregon that were used to contain horses and cattle in the 1800s.
cites an 1864 township map
that appears to indicate the
Cove area was on the edge
of what was then known as
the Imnaha Forest Reserve.
Johnson is searching
for verifi cation indicating
the Cove fence indeed was
made by Smith. His case is
strengthened by documented
ties Smith had to Cove.
that this fence was built by
A.C. Smith,” Johnson said.
The Cove resident thinks
that a number of historical
documents mistakenly list
the fence as being built in the
Imnaha area, understand-
able, Johnson said, because
early in Cove’s history it
may have been referred to by
some as the Imnaha area. He
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Cloudy
A shower; breezy
in the morning
52° 48°
51° 42°
54° 47°
54° 41°
TUESDAY
Cloudy with a
couple of showers
Times of clouds
and sun
Elgin man faces murder charges
Cloudy with spotty
showers
One man in custody
in an apparent
double homicide
outside Elgin
47° 33°
By KALEB LAY
La Grande Observer
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
53° 38°
49° 36°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
50° 41°
46° 34°
50° 36°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
50/42
Kennewick Walla Walla
50/47
Lewiston
51/43
54/49
Astoria
52/44
41/39
50/41
Longview
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Pullman
Yakima 47/42
50/42
49/44
Portland
Hermiston
51/45
The Dalles 54/47
Salem
Corvallis
50/46
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
42/38
Bend
52/47
48/44
41/38
Ontario
42/37
0.00"
0.00"
0.04"
0.00"
0.00"
0.04"
WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
42/38
39/32
Today
Sun.
SSW 7-14
S 8-16
Medford
Boardman
Pendleton
49/45
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
WSW 7-14
WSW 8-16
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
41/36
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
7:36 a.m.
4:23 p.m.
8:20 p.m.
10:19 a.m.
Last
New
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Jan 6
Jan 12
Jan 20
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NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 86° in Immokalee, Fla. Low -23° in Yellowstone N.P., Wyo.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
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E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
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Copyright © 2020, EO Media Group
Oregon will start issuing
driver’s licenses to
undocumented immigrants
SALEM — A law passed by the Oregon
Legislature in the summer of 2019 allowing
people without documentation of legal resi-
dence to obtain a driver’s license in the state
went into effect on Jan. 1.
Because the Oregon Driver and Motor
Vehicle Services is closed for the New
Year’s holiday, and then the weekend, the
fi rst licenses won’t be issued until Jan. 4 at
the earliest.
Those licenses will not trigger automatic
voter registration, unlike other Oregon driv-
er’s licenses.
While the new law gets rid of the require-
ment to prove U.S. citizenship or legal resi-
dency to receive an Oregon driver’s license,
those wishing to get their license must still
show proof they live in Oregon, and then
pay a fee and pass a driving test.
Proponents of the new law believe it will
benefi t more than just undocumented immi-
grants — they believe domestic violence sur-
vivors, the elderly and others may also have
trouble accessing citizenship paperwork.
This isn’t the fi rst time Oregon has
allowed those without documentation of cit-
izenship to get a driver’s license. Previously,
the state issued eight-year driver’s licenses
without requiring such documentation, but
the last of those licenses expired in 2016.
Currently, Oregonians applying for a
driver’s license must show proof of U.S. cit-
izenship or legal presence in the country.
The new law allows the licensee to submit
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responded
and
found
two bodies upon arrival.
Mason was at the scene and
received aid from the Elgin
Ambulance and La Grande
Fire Department.
The Union County Major
Crime Team, which includes
members of the Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce, La
Grande Police Department,
Oregon State Police and
Union County Attorney’s
offi ce, then investigated
throughout the day.
The sheriff’s offi ce also
said it would not provide
further comments on the
case, which now is in the
hands of the district attor-
ney’s offi ce for prosecution.
Mason remains in the
county jail on no bail.
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In the App Store:
ELGIN — The Union
County Sheriff’s Offi ce is
investigating a double homi-
cide outside Elgin.
The sheriff’s offi ce in a
press release on Wednes-
day, Dec. 30, announced the
arrest of Gary Otis Mason,
54, of Elgin, for the deaths
of Candy K. Williams, 56,
and a juvenile. Williams
was Mason’s signifi cant
other, according to the sher-
iff’s offi ce, which did not
identify the juvenile.
The sheriff’s offi ce
detained Mason on Tuesday,
Dec. 29, following an initial
investigation at his residence
outside Elgin, where Wil-
liams also resided. The sher-
iff’s offi ce booked Mason
into the Union County Cor-
rection Faculty, La Grande,
at about 6 p.m. on Dec. 29.
He now faces two charges of
fi rst-degree murder.
According to the sher-
iff’s offi ce, Mason called
the Union County Dis-
patch Center via 911 from
his home on Chumos Road
at approximately 12:06 a.m.
on Dec. 29.
A deputy with the sher-
iff’s offi ce and an Ore-
gon State Police trooper
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
43°
37°
39°
27°
60° (1959) -13° (1979)
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
51/46
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 43/38
51/45
0.00"
0.00"
0.06"
0.00"
Trace
0.06"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
52/48
49/44
53°
39°
40°
26°
67° (1939) -12° (1979)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
51/41
Aberdeen
41/39
41/37
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
52/42
in 1887 became Wallowa
County.
A.C. Smith, a Civil War
veteran, took a big step
toward opening Wallowa
County to settlers in 1872
and 1873 when he built a
toll bridge over the Wal-
lowa River near Minam. The
bridge opened in February
1873, an event so signifi cant
WEDNESDAY
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
According to the book
“Gateway to the Wallowas”
by Irene Locke Barklow,
Smith and his wife, whose
maiden name was Sarah
A. Whittington, lived in
Cove from 1862 until 1872
before moving into what is
today Wallowa County. This
was when Union County
included all of the land that
it was reported in The Orego-
nian. John Harland Horner,
who documented much of
Wallowa County’s history
in what is known as the
Horner Papers, wrote about
Smith and the toll bridge,
according to Barklow: “The
way into the Wallowas was
practically opened by Cap-
tain A.C. Smith, the Daniel
Boone of Wallowa.”
Smith, who was born
in Franklin County, Illi-
nois, in 1831, studied law for
many years and in 1888 was
admitted to the Oregon Bar.
He then began practicing
law in Enterprise.
“This was remarkable
considering that he never
had any formal education,”
Johnson said.
Smith came to the West
during the gold rush in the
1850s before traveling to
Northeast Oregon in 1858,
where he lived in Cove
and what is today Wallowa
County. Smith later trav-
eled east and served in the
Union Army as an offi cer for
a short time during the Civil
War before he was slightly
wounded. He then returned
to the Northwest.
Johnson said Smith, who
died in Enterprise in 1911, is
a fascinating historical char-
acter, one he would have
enjoyed meeting.
“He was very colorful
and infl uential,” Johnson
said.
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Walla Walla police pin
potential porch pirates
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Two Walla
Walla men were arrested on Wednesday, Dec.
30, for allegedly stealing mail and packages
from more than 100 people in the area, accord-
ing to the Walla Walla Police Department.
Two news posts on the department’s
smartphone app described how police nabbed
the alleged thieves around 11 a.m. on Dec. 30.
Offi cers reportedly recognized John A.
Chlipala, 54, and his son, Daniel A. Rhoads,
30, from some surveillance footage from a
nearby home and went to their apartment.
While at the apartment, offi cers recog-
nized the vehicle parked outside as the one
in the security footage. The two suspects
allegedly admitted to theft during their con-
versation with police, according to the post.
Rhoads and Chlipala were both arrested
for investigation of second-degree theft, sec-
ond-degree identity theft, second-degree sto-
len property possession and stolen mail pos-
session, according to documents from Walla
Walla County Superior Court.
Chlipala was also charged with forg-
ery, and Rhoads had an additional charge
of third-degree stolen property possession,
according to the document.
They both appeared in court on Thursday,
Dec. 31. Prosecuting Attorney Jim Nagle did
not respond to a request for a status on their
case.
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