A8
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Cattle:
Continued from Page A1
Wife speaks up
But Karen Dean, wife of
Bob Dean, the owner of the
ranch in the Upper Imnaha
area where cattle have been
freezing for the past few
weeks, was defensive of her
ailing husband during a tele-
phone interview from her
Georgia home.
Dean said her 68-year-old
husband underwent surgery
in June when his oxygen was
cut off and left him with brain
damage. Dean placed the
responsibility for the cattle’s
welfare squarely on the shoul-
ders of the ranch managers,
B.J. and Emily Warnock.
“He was supposed to bring
the cows down in October,”
Dean said. “They let the cows
go down on their own.”
The Deans also own
ranches in Colorado and New
Mexico. Dean said one of their
wranglers from New Mexico
visited the Oregon ranch to
see what was happening. She
said the wrangler said ranch-
ers normally round up their
cattle, take them to a pen and
put them aboard a truck to
ship to market.
“He said they don’t do that
(in Wallowa County),” Dean
said. “They let (the cattle) fi nd
their own way down.”
Dean emphasized that was
why they hire local wranglers
to do the job.
“My husband doesn’t
physically do the cattle
work,” she said. “He pays
B.J. to wrangle the cows.
We’re relying on people who
live there that they would do
the job.”
Despite the Deans being
the owners of the land and
livestock, Dean holds the
Warnocks responsible.
impassable. Dean crews
have worked tirelessly to
ensure the care and feeding
of the remaining animals
while ongoing efforts are
undertaken to bring them
back down to the ranch,”
he said. “The Dean family
is truly grateful for the
continued recovery eff orts
by local ranchers, state and
county government offi cials,
and volunteers. It is hoped
and prayed that the contin-
ued search for the remain-
ing cows will be successful,
and we wish to ensure the
community that rescue
eff orts will remain unwav-
ering.”
B.J. Warnock said on Jan.
2 that when they began gath-
ering the cattle in Septem-
ber, there were 1,613 Dean
Oregon Ranches mother
cows on summer range. Of
those, 10 were found unre-
coverable and 1,548 Dean
Oregon Ranches mother
cows were successfully
gathered before the snows of
late December. Since then,
another 34 mother cows
were gathered in joint eff orts
Anna Butterfi eld/Contributed Photo between the ranch crew and
Calves rescued from the deep snows in the Upper Imnaha get some refreshment Jan. 2, 2022, at the Joseph-area ranch of the community. Warnock
Mark and Anna Butterfi eld. They are among many rescued since the end of December.
said 26 of those were Dean
Oregon Ranches cattle and
“They’re responsible,” she blames the crew, and so on. ney for the Deans in their Deans shared responsibility the others were owned by
said. “We called him every We are not going to do that. ongoing lawsuits over for the fate of the cows and neighboring ranches.
other day to get him to bring Unfortunately, I was never handling of nursing home their calves.
As of Monday, Jan. 10,
“I have to be cautious on no updated figures on the
those cattle down.”
officially named or autho- evacuations last year at the
Dean added that the rized to act as manager, time of Hurricane Ida, said answering that because it number of cattle lost or saved
Warnocks signed releases which left me without deci- the Deans and their attorneys could be the subject of litiga- were available.
as property managers for the sion-making authority to were just learning of the situ- tion,” he said. “Our client is
As for the Deans’ troubles
taking it very seriously. It’s over the nursing homes, the
act in critical situations. ation with the cattle.
Deans.
“Those cows were his We did have a main crew of
“My client is not happy not something he’s taking Advocate of Baton Rouge
responsibility,” she said.
seven people gathering Dean with what happened to those lightly.”
reported that the Louisiana
But B. J. Wa r no ck Oregon Ranches cattle. We cattle,” he said. “My client
In an emailed statement, Department of Health pulled
disagreed with Karen Dean are very proud of all of their had a team of people who Gramiccioni said the Dean the licenses of seven of Bob
on the nature of their business hard work and the fact that were supposed to bring the Oregon Ranches have histor- Dean’s nursing homes in the
relationship.
they have stuck with the job cattle down from the moun- ically entrusted livestock wake of Hurricane Ida, which
“Mrs. Dean is not our despite extenuating circum- tains.”
management to a local onsite ravaged Louisiana from Aug.
Gramiccioni, who said the expert familiar with the land 26 to Sept. 4. It was alleged
employer and she is misin- stances.”
Deans have paid the cost to in Wallowa County.
that seven people died of
formed,” Warnock said in
Attorney involved
fl y in hay and help rescue the
“Thankfully, most live- the 843 residents he ordered
an email. “Typically, in a
situation like this, the owner
Chris Gramiccioni, a cattle, declined to comment stock were recovered before evacuated and warehoused in
blames the manager, who South Carolina-based attor- specifi cally on whether the the snows made routes the lead-up to the hurricane.
Phil Wright/East Oregonian, File
Pilot Rock Mayor Virginia Carnes, right, gets ready to enjoy
a piece of cake on June 6, 2019, in celebration of breaking
ground on the town’s new sewer lagoon project. Carnes,
who was mayor of the small town since 2004, died Saturday,
Jan. 8, 2022. She was 77.
Mayor:
Continued from Page A1
nity brought to the table. If
she thought a subject might
impact her community, she
was in the front row. In the
days to come, we will see a
long list of her accomplish-
ments as we pause to honor
her memory and pay tribute
for her service.”
Murdock said when the
east side mayors and manag-
ers met to discuss issues of
mutual concern, Carnes was
the first to arrive and her
friendly greeting and enthu-
siasm for the task always put
a positive spin on the meet-
ings.
Public service is too often
a thankless task, according
to Murdock, and it seems to
be getting more and more
diffi cult to fi nd individuals
who are willing to serve. But
Carnes was “the epitome of
Thursday, January 13, 2022
dedication and service, and
I’m confi dent the citizens of
Pilot Rock are both mourn-
ing her loss and very likely
wondering who is going to
be willing to fi ll her shoes,”
Murdock stated.
In addition to her work on
the council, Carnes was on
the Pilot Rock Fire District
Board, involved in the local
chamber of commerce and
the nonprofi t group The Pilot
Rock Downtown Associa-
tion.
Bacus said the Pilot Rock
City Council holds its fi rst
meeting of the new year
Tuesday, Jan. 18. The coun-
cil then will elect a president
and decide what to do to fi ll
the position of mayor. Carnes
was in the last year of her
current term and planning
on running again.
The council could appoint
someone at the meeting to
fi nish out the term, Bacus
said, but is more likely to
open it to applicants.
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