NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Offi cials capture bear from tree in Baker City
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
BAKER CITY — It was
a perfectly ordinary summer
Sunday morning, July 3, on
Foothill Drive, until the bear
arrived.
The yearling male black
bear’s appearance around
8 a.m. gave residents in the
south Baker City neighbor-
hood an unusual bit of excite-
ment on the holiday weekend
— and one that didn’t involve
fi reworks.
Lasted longer, too — more
than two and a half hours
elapsed while a state wildlife
biologist, police and other
offi cials worked to bring the
bear down from its perch
about 25 feet up in a birch
tree, place the animal in a
cage and drive it out of town
to be released in the wild.
A crowd of about 20
people who had watched the
incident clapped and cheered,
with yells of “good job” and
“thank you.”
Brian Ratliff, district
wildlife biologist the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s Baker City offi ce,
who shot the bear with a
tranquilizer dart, said with
a chuckle that it was his fi rst
standing ovation.
Ratliff helped load the
bear into the cage on a trailer
connected to his ODFW
pickup.
He estimated the bear
weighed about 150 pounds.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
A yearling male black bear stands in a birch tree Sunday morn-
ing, July 3, 2022, on the east side of Foothill Drive in Baker City.
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
Brian Ratliff , center, with white hat, wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife, loads a black bear into a cage on Sunday morning, July 3, 2022.
and Lola’s daughter, Sammy.
Cloyd, who grew up in
Baker City and moved to
Moses Lake, Washington,
about four years ago, was
visiting for the Fourth of July
weekend with her children,
Nicholas Cloyd Jr., 10, and
Scarlett, 11.
Boucha rd said she
watched the bear rumble
through a fi eld near her home,
cross Foothill Drive and
climb the birch tree between
two apartment buildings
directly across the street.
“It was so cute while it
was running,” Bouchard said.
The episode started when
the bear was seen at Quail
Ridge Golf Course, on the
hill directly west of Foothill
Drive.
Julie Bouchard, who lives
at 235 Foothill, on the west
side of the street, said she had
just let out three dogs, one of
her own and two belonging to
her daughter-in-law, Megan
Cloyd, when she heard some-
one yelling, from the golf
course, about a bear.
Bouchard quickly brought
the dogs inside — Louie,
her boxer-bulldog mix, and
Cloyd’s black Labradors, Lola
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Partly sunny with a
brief shower
Mostly sunny and
nice
Mostly sunny and
nice
Nice with clouds
and sunshine
Pleasant with
plenty of sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
84° 60°
85° 60°
84° 60°
83° 57°
84° 56°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
90° 62°
92° 65°
90° 62°
89° 60°
OREGON FORECAST
89° 59°
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
70/57
78/56
83/62
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
83/62
Lewiston
74/60
90/63
Astoria
66/57
Pullman
Yakima 85/63
75/55
85/63
Portland
Hermiston
77/62
The Dalles 90/62
Salem
Corvallis
73/58
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
79/55
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
75/60
76/53
83/52
Ontario
92/63
Caldwell
Burns
83°
59°
89°
56°
106° (1942) 38° (2012)
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
73/59
0.02"
0.03"
0.02"
7.48"
2.46"
5.04"
WINDS (in mph)
91/62
83/49
0.09"
0.31"
0.06"
11.13"
4.32"
8.01"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 76/52
75/61
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
84/60
87/65
77°
57°
86°
56°
107° (1975) 40° (1918)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
76/56
Aberdeen
80/60
81/63
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
76/58
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
78/61
Wed.
NE 4-8
NNE 6-12
WSW 6-12
W 6-12
Bouchard, who has lived
on Foothill Drive for about a
decade, said she’s never seen
a bear in the neighborhood.
Two Baker City Police
D e p a r t m e n t of f i c e r s
responded, along with a
Baker County Sheriff’s
Offi ce truck and two Oregon
State Police troopers.
Baker County Sheriff
Travis Ash also drove to the
scene.
Baker City Police offi cer
Lance Woodward directed
traffi c along Foothill Drive.
A car rolled through every
few minutes, most driven by
curious residents wanting to
get a look at the bear.
Ratliff arrived about
9:45 a.m.
He prepared a tranquilizer
dart and, with his gun resting
on a barbecue near the base of
the tree, fi red a dart, hitting
the bear around 10 a.m.
The bear scrambled
several feet higher in the tree
but became stuck between
branches.
Jeff Smith of J2K Exca-
vating, who also lives on
Foothill Drive, off ered to let
offi cials use his bucket lift.
He drove the machine
down the street, arriving
about 10:25 a.m.
Ratliff and Ash climbed
into the bucket along with
Noodle Perkins, Baker
County roadmaster, who
operated the lift.
Ratliff used a handsaw to
cut several branches, allow-
ing Perkins to maneuver the
bucket to just below the bear.
Ratliff secured the bear
with a rope before lowering
the animal into the bucket.
Perkins lowered the
bucket and drove the machine
to the cage, where Ratliff and
others transferred the still
unconscious animal into the
cage around 10:45 a.m.
Ratliff and Ash both
thanked Smith for donating
the use of the bucket lift.
But before Ratliff could
drive away, hauling the bear
to a location well away from
town, he had to fi eld congrat-
ulations from many in the
audience, who were happy
that the bear survived the
ordeal.
“Another day in Baker,”
Cloyd said with a laugh as
the crowd dispersed.
OBRC, Oregon BottleDrop
announce Hidden Bottle Hunt
East Oregonian
SALEM — The Oregon
Beverage Recycling Coop-
erative is hosting the 2022
Hidden Bottle Hunt from
Wednesday, July 6, to
Friday, July 10, by hiding six
commemorative bottles in
parks and trails throughout
the state. Clues for the state-
wide hunt will be available
daily on the Oregon Bottle-
Drop website, www.bottle-
dropcenters.com, leading
treasure hunters to the fi nal
hiding places.
“Last year’s Hidden
Bottle Hunt was the first
of its kind, hosted to cele-
brate the 50th anniversary
of the Oregon Bottle Bill,”
said Eric Chambers, exter-
nal relations director for
OBRC, the not-for-profit
cooperative that serves as
the operational steward of
the Bottle Bill and operates
the BottleDrop network. “It
was so much fun and was so
successful at raising aware-
ness about the legacy of
Oregon’s Bottle Bill that we
decided to do it again.”
Li ke last yea r, the
2022 Hidden Bottle Hunt
compr ises six sepa-
rate, simultaneous hunts,
geographically dispersed
in parks and trails across
Oregon. OBRC will release
one clue per bottle per day,
leading hunters to the fi nal
hiding spots. The lucky
winners will get to keep the
commemorative bottle and
select a BottleDrop Given
on profi t partner to receive
a $1,000 donation through
BottleDrop’s Containers
for Change program. More
than 5,000 nonprofi ts across
Oregon raise funds for their
orga n i zat ions t h roug h
BottleDrop’s Give program.
July marks the 51st
anniversary of the Oregon
Bottle Bill, which Gov. Tom
McCall signed into law
July 2, 1971. It established
the nation’s first bever-
age container redemption
system, and it has helped
keep Oregon clean and
litter free for more than fi ve
decades. Oregon’s Bottle
Bill also is among the most
successful in the nation.
In 2021, OBRC’s redemp-
tion rate was 83.9%, with
Oregonians returning nearly
two billion containers for
Grade-A domestic recy-
cling.
“Our Hidden Bottle Hunt
will be a fun opportunity
for individuals and families
to get outside and connect
closely with the Bottle Bill’s
mission of protecting public
spaces,” Chambers said.
“Best of all, the winners
get to ‘redeem’ their bottle
for a nice donation to one
of over 5,000 participating
nonprofi ts serving commu-
nities across Oregon.”
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
76/45
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:12 a.m.
8:47 p.m.
11:41 a.m.
12:09 a.m.
First
Full
Last
New
July 6
July 13
July 20
July 28
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 105° in Cotulla, Texas Low 32° in Boca Reservoir, Calif.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
IN BRIEF
Weiser, Idaho, woman dies in
crash in Hells Canyon
OXBOW — A Weiser, Idaho, woman
died Friday, July 1, after the car she was
driving crashed and went into Hells Canyon
Reservoir near Oxbow.
Jewel Kay Salley, 77, died at the scene.
She was alone in the vehicle.
Baker County Dispatch at about
9:31 p.m. July 1 received a report of the
crash. Several people also reported a vehi-
cle rolling on the Oregon side of the reser-
voir near Homestead Road, and traveling
down an embankment into the water.
Baker County Sheriff ’s Offi ce deputies
responded along with the Halfway/Oxbow
ambulance.
Deputies searched the area but didn’t
fi nd anyone. Witnesses told deputies they
didn’t see anyone get out of the vehicle,
which was submerged in about 20 feet of
water.
Divers from the Baker County Search
and Rescue team arrived early July 2. The
car was removed from the water, and depu-
ties found Salley’s body.
She was driving south on Homestead
Road when, for an unknown reason, the
car went off the road, according to a press
release from the sheriff ’s offi ce.
— EO Media Group
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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rain
20s
flurries
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40s
ice
50s
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