NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Warnock out as manager North Powder schools move to distance learning
of Dean Oregon Ranches
By DICK MASON
The Observer
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
Oregon Ranches crew before
the snow. After the snow, 34
mother cows have been gath-
ered through the joint eff orts
of our crew and the commu-
nity. Of those, 26 were Dean
Oregon Ranches cattle; the
others were owned by neigh-
boring ranches.”
Fish said Jan. 14 he still
doesn’t know the number of
rescued or lost cattle involved
in the situation. He said the new
manager is Katie Romero, but
he hadn’t yet met her nor did he
know anything about her.
In a statement received by
email Jan. 17, Warnock said,
“We put in our two-week
notice on Jan. 12. The gath-
ering crew will be done the
end of the month, as well. We
wish the Deans and any future
employees the best of luck
going forward.”
He said he would have no
further statements on the issue.
Fish said in his investiga-
tion he has spoken with Karen
Dean, wife of Bob Dean, who
is ailing.
“The cattle are still under
Dean Oregon Ranches,” Fish
said.
Dean attorney Christopher
Gramiccioni, of South Caro-
lina, said Joseph Law Firm
in La Grande is representing
Dean locally. There was no
response to email and tele-
phone requests for comment
from the fi rm.
WALLOWA COUNTY
— A new ranch manager
for the Bob Dean Oregon
Ranches in the Upper Imnaha
area has arrived in the county,
as the outgoing manager B.J.
Warnock has submitted his
resignation notice, accord-
ing to Sheriff Joel Fish and
Warnock.
Fish said in an email Friday,
Jan. 14, that his department’s
criminal investigation into
possible animal neglect is
continuing.
“I am interviewing all
those involved and/or collect-
ing statements,” Fish said.
“This will take time as I have
many other duties and am short
staff ed.”
Warnock said in an email
earlier this month that “When
we began gathering (cattle) in
September, there were 1,613
mother cows on summer
range.”
He acknowledged bovine
casualties during the recovery
eff orts, even though he and his
crew were assisted by neigh-
boring ranchers.
“Despite the eff orts of our
crew and the community, 10
cows have been found unre-
coverable,” he said, adding
that “1,548 Dean Oregon
Ranches mother cows were
successfully gathered by Dean
NORTH POWDER —
An outbreak of COVID-19
in the North Powder School
District has forced the school
district to shut down in-per-
son instruction and provide
only online instruction.
The changes are for
Wednesday, Jan. 19, and
Thursday, Jan 20. The North
Powder School District has
four-day school weeks.
“This is what is best
for the health and safety of
everyone,” said North Power
School District Superinten-
dent Lance Dixon.
The move to online
instruction, formally known
as Comprehensive Distance
Learning, was made after
11 students tested positive
for COVID-19 during the
past week. The number of
students who were exposed
via close contact now is being
determined, but Dixon said
the number was large. He
said that doing contract
tracing was getting to be
extremely diffi cult because
there have been so many
close contacts.
“It was becoming an
organizational nightmare,”
he said.
School districts have the
option of operating a test-to-
stay program, where students
who are exposed to someone
COVID-19 positive can stay
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
The Observer, File
An outbreak of COVID-19 in the North Powder School District has forced the school district
to shut down in-person instruction and provide only online instruction for Wednesday, Jan.
19, and Thursday, Jan 20, 2022.
in school if they test negative
and have no symptoms of the
disease and then test negative
again fi ve to seven days later.
Dixon said the test-to-stay
program was not an option
for the North Powder School
District because it does not
have enough COVID-19 test
kits.
The good news for the
school district is that plans
are in place for students
to be back on campus Jan.
24. Dixon said by that time
North Powder students will
have been away from each
Partial sunshine
Mostly sunny
Partly sunny
Times of clouds
and sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
54° 36°
45° 31°
43° 27°
38° 26°
41° 27°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
56° 37°
48° 30°
44° 27°
39° 29°
40° 30°
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
50/40
45/32
49/27
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
52/36
Lewiston
51/44
55/36
Astoria
51/41
Pullman
Yakima 43/28
51/38
50/35
Portland
Hermiston
54/41
The Dalles 56/37
Salem
Corvallis
53/37
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
42/33
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
54/37
55/29
46/34
Ontario
37/27
Caldwell
Burns
39°
33°
44°
29°
61° (1977) -6° (1957)
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
54/38
0.00"
0.81"
0.72"
0.81"
0.34"
0.72"
WINDS (in mph)
40/30
44/23
Trace
1.36"
0.96"
1.36"
0.44"
0.96"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 41/28
55/39
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
54/36
52/39
42°
32°
42°
28°
67° (1968) -13° (1922)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
50/37
Aberdeen
41/29
41/30
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
51/41
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
59/36
Fri.
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
WSW 4-8
W 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
51/24
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
7:29 a.m.
4:44 p.m.
7:40 p.m.
9:23 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Jan 25
Jan 31
Feb 8
Feb 16
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 89° in Zapata, Texas Low -22° in Willow City, N.D.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
portion of the 2020-21 school
year and remaining ready to
make a quick transition to it.
The superintendent said
he believes shutting down
in-person instruction this
week will pay dividends over
the long term because it will
allow the school district to be
in a better position to control
the COVID-19 outbreak
when in-person instruction
begins again on Jan. 24.
“It is the best solution,”
Dixon said, “and will keep
students out of school for the
shortest time possible.”
Search and rescue locates two teens
stuck en route to Magone Lake
By STEVEN MITCHELL
Blue Mountain Eagle
A couple of
showers
other in school for 10 days,
more than the state’s required
quarantine time after a close
contact or a positive test. The
span was lengthened by the
fact there was no school Jan.
17 due to the Martin Luther
King Jr. holiday.
“Thank God (Jan. 17) was
a holiday,” he said.
No online instruction was
given Jan. 18 to give teachers
a day to prepare to provide
online instruction.
Dixon said teachers are
ready to provide distance
learning after giving it for a
PRAIRIE CITY — The
Grant County Sheriff’s
Offi ce Search and Rescue
Team located two teenage
boys from Mt. Vernon whose
lifted pickup got stuck in the
snow near Magone Lake and
returned them safely to their
families.
The teens, ages 16 and
17, decided to take a spur-
of-the-moment drive to
Magone Lake in the moun-
tains north of Prairie City
on the evening of Sunday,
Jan. 16, via the less-traveled
Beech Creek Road route
and got stuck in deep snow,
according to information
from the sheriff ’s offi ce.
Fa m i ly
members
attempted to reach the teens
but turned back to avoid
getting stuck themselves
and called the Grant County
Emergency Com mu n i-
cations Center at around
2:30 a.m. on Jan. 17.
The search team used
cell phone pings to fi nd the
general area of the teenag-
ers’ last known location.
Using a Sno-Cat recently
acquired by the sheriff’s
offi ce, Sgt. Dan Komning
and deputy Savannah Wyllie
reached the missing youth
shortly before 6 a.m. Jan. 17.
The teenagers were
OK when the search team
reached them, but their
pickup had become stuck
and mechanically disabled.
“ Neither youth was
prepared to spend a night
out in the cold,” the sheriff ’s
offi ce said in a press release.
The agency reminded the
traveling and adventuring
public that preparation is key
to survival in the beautiful
vastness of Grant County.
“We hope you explore
safely and responsibly,” the
press release said, noting
that short-notice, spur-of-
the-moment trips usually
cause the most problems.
“Always let someone
know where you are going,
and don’t deviate from
that plan,” Sheriff Todd
McKinley said in the press
release. “Should you become
stuck or stranded, please
contact the sheriff ’s offi ce
at 541-575-1131 or call 911,
and we will assist in getting
you help.”
IN BRIEF
EOFF off ers short fi lm encore Films may be submitted at www.fi lmfreeway.
com/eofi lmfest.
screenings, begins planning
for fall event
Washington man hit,
LA GRANDE — The Eastern Oregon killed on I-84
Film Festival announced the 2022 event will
take place over the weekend of Oct. 20-22.
The annual festival, held in La Grande,
is working toward holding screenings in the
Liberty Theatre, which is under renovation,
according to a press release. The Filmmakers
Residency Program has been postponed to
2023 while the organization focuses on oper-
ations at the theater.
The organization also is advancing its
virtual catalog off erings. In 2022, EOFF will
be posting encore screenings of the 2021 festi-
val’s short fi lm selections. These monthly
screenings will be held in person but may also
be viewed online. January’s encore presenta-
tions have begun. For access and full details,
go to www.eofi lmfest.com.
Call for entries for the 2022 Eastern
Oregon Film Festival begins Tuesday, Feb. 1.
BAKER CITY — A Washington man was
hit and killed on Interstate 84 near Baker City
early Sunday, Jan. 16.
Oregon State Police troopers responded
about 12:12 a.m. to the scene near the Baker
Valley Rest Area, at milepost 295.
Their preliminary investigation found that
a westbound Volkswagen Passat, driven by
Karli McKim, 21, of La Grande, struck Luis
Manuel Torres Rivera, 44, of Lynnwood,
Washington, who was standing in the freeway.
Rivera died at the scene.
According to OSP, it’s not clear why Rivera
was on the freeway.
The Baker County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, Baker
City Fire Department and Oregon Department
of Transportation assisted state police at the
scene.
— EO Media Group
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
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snow
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ice
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cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
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