NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Amateur ham radio operators set to help in an emergency
By DICK MASON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — A group
of Grande Ronde Valley ham
radio operators are helping
keep an iconic part of the past
alive while securing Union
County’s future.
The individuals are the
members of the Grande
Ronde Radio Amateur Asso-
ciation, many of who use
Morse code, a communica-
tion tool that was all the rage
for much of the 1800s when
the telegraph was the king of
long range communication.
Morse code is used far
less frequently today, but
many members of the Grande
Ronde Radio Association are
keeping their Morse code
skills sharp because in an
emergency sending radio
messages via Morse code can
be faster and more effective
than sending them via voice.
Less radio bandwidth is
needed to send messages
via Morse code and it can
be easier to understand the
because it is simpler.
“With Morse code you
don’t have to deal with the
complexity and nuance of
voice,” said Ted Ivester, of
the GRRAA.
Ivester and other members
of the club were hard at work
keeping their Morse code
skills sharp last month while
Dick Mason/The Observer
Joel Hinshaw of the Grande Ronde Radio Amateur Association listens for radio signals June
25, 2022, at Bird Track Springs Campground near La Grande.
participating in American
Radio Relay League Field
Day, an annual international
event, at Bird Track Springs
about 5 miles southwest of
Hilgard State Park near La
Grande.
The amateur radio enthu-
siasts had a single primary
objective — to prepare Union
County to have a link to the
outside world in the event of
a disaster, such as an earth-
quake, flood or windstorm
that could knock out all
internet, cellphone or land-
line communication in the
Grande Ronde Valley.
Such a disaster could leave
ham radios as the valley’s
only connection to the outside
world.
“We would be the last line
of communication,’’ GRRAA
member Joel Hinshaw said.
Off the grid
Bird Track Springs Camp-
ground was an ideal site for
the event because it forces
radio operators to function in
an environment where they
have no access to operational
electrical outlets, just as they
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Mostly sunny and
nice
Nice with clouds
and sunshine
Sunny, nice; breezy
in the p.m.
Sunny and
beautiful
Plenty of sun
86° 59°
86° 59°
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
87° 59°
87° 61°
92° 64°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
91° 62°
89° 58°
OREGON FORECAST
97° 64°
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
69/54
78/56
85/56
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
84/61
Lewiston
74/56
92/63
Astoria
68/55
Pullman
Yakima 86/58
73/52
87/64
Portland
Hermiston
78/60
The Dalles 91/61
Salem
Corvallis
75/54
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
82/56
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
77/55
78/52
87/53
Ontario
96/66
Caldwell
Burns
86°
62°
90°
57°
105° (1968) 44° (2010)
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
76/54
Trace
0.03"
0.02"
7.48"
2.46"
5.04"
WINDS (in mph)
95/64
88/49
Trace
0.31"
0.09"
11.13"
4.32"
8.04"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 80/54
78/58
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
86/59
85/61
84°
60°
87°
57°
108° (1968) 42° (1898)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
74/54
Aberdeen
80/59
82/60
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
74/57
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
85/58
Fri.
WSW 7-14
W 7-14
SW 7-14
W 6-12
81/47
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
5:14 a.m.
8:46 p.m.
2:01 p.m.
12:45 a.m.
Last
New
First
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 108° in Enid, Okla. Low 36° in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
July 13
July 20
July 28
Aug 5
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
By ISABELLA
CROWLEY
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Jacob
Moseley could not believe
what he found.
Moseley found his dog,
Waylon, bleeding out from a
bullet wound on the evening
of June 19 at Moseley’s home
by Bearco Loop and the
Rendezvous RV Park in La
Grande. After trying to get the
bleeding under control, Mose-
ley rushed Waylon to a veter-
inarian, where the dog died.
“Our family is devastated
at this loss, especially Jacob,
who just lost his best friend,”
said Carrie Hayes, Moseley’s
sister.
Moseley adopted Waylon
as a puppy and the pair would
have celebrated three years
together in August. Waylon
was a red heeler — a breed
of Australian cattle dog —
and Moseley got him from a
breeder in Wallowa.
He remembers picking out
Waylon as a puppy. Moseley
was surrounded by puppies
who all wanted attention, but,
he said, Waylon just came up
to say hello before going off
on his own to nap.
“He had this most gentle
nature. I never had a dog or
been around a dog so gentle
and calm,” Moseley said.
“He was really well behaved,
didn’t cause problems, but he
did have an issue of getting
out and exploring the neigh-
borhood.”
The dog was known to
escape the yard from time
to time. Hayes said that the
neighbors knew and loved
Moseley’s dog.
Patricia Kelly, the animal
enforcement officer for
the Union County Sher-
iff’s Office, is investigating
the shooting. Kelly said she
has interviewed residents
and people from businesses
around the neighborhood.
People recalled seeing the
dog at large that day, but so
far, no one reported seeing or
hearing anything about the
shooting.
During her investigation,
Kelly said she’s received
mixed messages about
Waylon’s aggression. When
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
-10s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals
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80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
Orcutt, who used a digi-
tal system to make contacts,
said there were times when it
seemed like everything was
happening at once.
“Sometimes I would be
making a contact and I would
have three or four others wait-
ing,” Orcutt said, explaining
that he could see that radio
operators were in line via his
computer screen.
Contacts between opera-
tors were just long enough to
exchange bare bones infor-
mation including the call
signs of their club and their
location. After an exchange
was completed, operators
would record the strength of
the signal they received.
Brooks said people
communicating via ham
radio on field days do not tend
to get to know each other well
because exchanges are short.
He said, though, he has made
many friends he first met over
the air and knows of many
others who have become
radio buddies.
“ Some p e ople w i l l
meet over the radio and be
friends for the rest of their
lives even though they may
never meet each other in
real life,” Brooks said.
110s
high
low
Two Wallowa County
properties receive state
heritage grants
SALEM — A pair of Wallowa County
properties received grants from Oregon Heri-
tage, a division of Oregon Parks and Recre-
ation Department, according to a Friday,
July 1, press release.
The Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center
received a grant of $10,000 for a National
Register of Historic Places nomination for the
former Maxville site. The Wallowa History
Center received a $20,000 grant to repair the
exterior of the ranger’s office at the historical
Bear-Sleds Ranger Station in Wallowa.
In all, Oregon Heritage awarded 20 grants
totaling $293,900 for historic properties and
archaeology projects. Six of the grants were
awarded in the Diamonds in the Rough cate-
gory, which fund façade enhancements that
restore the historic character of a property.
The other 14 grants — including the two in
Wallowa County — were in the Preserving
Oregon category for properties listed on the
National Register of Historic Places and for
archaeology projects.
The grants are approved by the State Advi-
sory Committee on Historic Preservation, a
nine-member group that reviews nominations
to the National Register of Historic Places.
The members are professionally recognized
Local home
delivery
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$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
in the fields of history, architecture, archae-
ology and other related disciplines.
Wolves kill another calf in
Wallowa County
MINAM — Another confirmed case of a
wolf killing livestock in Wallowa County was
reported last week when a cattle producer in the
Minam area found a 4-month-old, 350-pound
calf dead, according to a report from the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The calf was found June 27, when the
rancher was distributing salt in a partially
timbered 6,000-acre private pasture. The calf
was believed to have died within 24 hours
before the investigation.
Examination of the carcass led ODFW
investigators to determine the wounds were
consistent with wolf attacks on calves.
The packs known to frequent the area where
the attack occurred include the Clark Creek
pack, the Bear Creek pack or the Minam pack.
ODFW stated it will monitor for continued
wolf activity in this area.
On June 17, the ODFW issued a permit to
take four more Chesnimnus pack wolves in the
Crow Creek area after repeated depredations
and the killing of two Chesnimnus wolves
under a previous kill permit. The permit is
good until July 17.
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the dog got out of the yard,
he would bark at people and
would hold his ground before
running away. Some people
considered this as aggressive,
while others thought it was
normal dog behavior.
“It depends on someone’s
definition of aggressive,” she
said.
Under Oregon law, dogs
are considered personal prop-
erty. According to Kelly, if a
dog is not being aggressive,
it is against state law to shoot
the animal. If a dog is acting
aggressive or actively menac-
ing, a person can shoot the dog
in self-defense, but it is still
against the law to discharge a
firearm within city limits. The
shooter is also responsible for
proving the dog was actively
menacing. It is not enough for
the individual to just say the
dog was aggressive.
Kelly said that if a perpe-
trator were found, he or she
could be brought up on a
number of charges. In a situ-
ation like this, if the dog was
not acting aggressively, the
most likely charge would be
aggravated animal abuse.
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TODAY
91° 62°
“They could triangulate
their position, which could
make them a target,” he said.
La Grande man’s dog shot while at large
Forecast for Pendleton Area
91° 61°
might during a natural disas-
ter.
“It is off the grid,” GRRAA
member Tyson Brooks said.
Brooks said field days
provide excellent learning
opportunity when they can be
in places such as Bird Track
Springs.
“It is a simulation of what
we need to do to run radios
away from civilization,”
Brooks said.
Radio operators had to
rely on batteries and elec-
tricity from solar panels
and gas fueled generators to
power their equipment.
Many of the operators
set up their antennas with
the help of fishing reels and
poles. Operators loaded reels
with fishing line and cast it
high into trees to help set up
antenna wire.The antenna
wire made it easier to reel
in signals from throughout
the United States and distant
countries during the contest
period that ran from 11 a.m.
June 25 to 11 a.m. June 26.
GRRAA members made
790 contacts during the
training. A total of 168 of
the contacts were via Morse
code, 451 were via voice and
171 digital connections, also
described as computer-as-
sisted radio.
A total of 446 contacts
were from the 48 contigu-
ous states, five were from
Alaska and five were from
radio operators in Hawaii.
Contacts were made with
radio operators in Canada
and other foreign countries,
including Japan, Indonesia
and Uruguay.
No contacts were made
with radio operators in
Ukraine. GRRAA member
Mike Orcutt said many ham
operators may be reluctant
now to operate their radios
because it would give away
their location to Russia’s
military, which invaded
Ukraine in February.
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