NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
West Nile virus found in Baker County mosquitoes
By JAYSON JACOBY
Baker City Herald
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM MOSQUITOES
Matt Hutchinson, manager of the Baker Valley Vector Con-
trol District, and Dr. Emilio DeBess, of the Oregon Health Au-
thority, recommend the following steps to protect against
mosquito bites:
• Eliminate sources of standing water that are a breeding
ground for mosquitoes, including watering troughs, bird
baths, ornamental ponds, buckets, wading and swimming
pools not in use and old tires.
• When engaged in outdoor activities at dusk and dawn
when mosquitoes are most active, protect yourself by using
mosquito repellents containing DEET, oil of lemon eucalyp-
tus or Picardin, and follow the directions on the container.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants in mosquito-in-
fested areas.
• Make sure screen doors and windows are in good repair
and fi t tightly.
BAKER COUNTY —
West Nile virus has been
found in mosquitoes in Baker
County for the fi rst time this
year.
The mosquitoes were
trapped July 28 in the Keat-
ing Valley about 15 miles
east of Baker City, said Matt
Hutchinson, manager of the
Baker Valley Vector Control
District. It takes about a week
for test results to arrive, and
Hutchinson announced the
positive test on Thursday,
Aug. 4.
Hutchinson is responsi-
ble for controlling mosqui-
toes in a 200,000-acre area
that includes most of Baker,
Keating and Bowen valleys.
The virus, which mosqui-
toes can spread to people, has
been detected in mosquitoes
in Baker County in all but
two years (2018 and 2020)
over the past decade.
Typically the virus is
confi ned to insects and birds.
Baker County is the
second Oregon county to
have infected mosquitoes
in 2022. Two batches of
mosquitoes tested positive
earlier in Malheur County.
Hutchinson sends dozens
of “pools” of dead mosqui-
toes — each pool consists of
around 10 to 50 insects — to
USDA-Agricultural Research Service/Contributed Photo, File
Mosquitoes trapped July 28, 2022, in the Keating Valley about 15 miles east of Baker City were
positive for West Nile virus, the fi rst time the virus has been detected this year in Baker County.
a lab at Oregon State Univer-
sity where the bugs are tested
for West Nile virus and other
mosquito-borne diseases.
So far this summer,
Hutchinson said 160 pools
of mosquitoes from Baker
County have been tested,
with only the one positive for
West Nile virus.
He sent 38 more pools
for testing Aug. 4. Results
usually arrive within fi ve or
six days, he said.
Hutchinson said he has
sent about twice as many
mosquitoes pools for testing
as he did at this time a year
ago, a diff erence he attributes
to the severe 2021 drought.
With much less water
around, which mosquitoes
need for rearing their eggs,
populations were unusually
low in the county last year,
he said.
This year is more typical,
Hutchinson said.
The infected mosqui-
toes are the Culex tarsalis
species, a permanent water
mosquito that is by far the
most common carrier of West
Nile virus locally.
Forecast for Pendleton Area
WEDNESDAY
TODAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Hutchinson said Culex
tarsalis and a related species
that’s also a common vector
for the virus, Culex pipiens,
are more common in the
county later in the summer.
The fl oodwater mosqui-
toes that predominate during
spring and earlier summer
rarely are infected with the
virus, he said.
In 2021 the fi rst confi rmed
infection in Baker County
was in mosquitoes trapped
on July 19, also in the Keat-
ing Valley.
Overall in 2021 the virus
Partly to mostly
sunny
Plenty of sunshine
Plenty of sunshine
Plenty of sunshine
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
98° 70°
95° 62°
93° 64°
95° 65°
94° 62°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
100° 67°
98° 63°
95° 61°
97° 63°
OREGON FORECAST
95° 59°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. Mon.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
71/58
95/67
98/66
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
97/74
Lewiston
82/61
100/71
Astoria
70/59
Pullman
Yakima 98/72
84/58
101/76
Portland
Hermiston
87/63
The Dalles 100/67
Salem
Corvallis
82/57
Monday
Normals
Records
La Grande
96/66
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
86/58
92/58
95/64
Ontario
96/71
Caldwell
Burns
103°
55°
93°
59°
108° (1972) 40° (1934)
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
84/57
0.00"
0.00"
0.04"
7.48"
2.46"
5.18"
WINDS (in mph)
96/68
91/56
0.00"
0.00"
0.08"
11.13"
4.35"
8.39"
through 3 p.m. Mon.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 93/63
87/58
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
98/70
97/69
104°
62°
91°
60°
111° (1972) 40° (1893)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
81/60
Aberdeen
96/71
96/72
Tacoma
Monday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
79/60
Today
Medford
97/59
Wed.
W 4-8
W 6-12
Boardman
Pendleton
WSW 8-16
WNW 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
88/48
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
New
Aug 11
Aug 18
Aug 27
Sep 3
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Matt and Sarah decided
they wanted to focus on early
morning diners, setting their
hours from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.
every day.
“Even in the winters
there’s working crews that go
off to work before daylight,
by the time most restaurants
open they’re all at work,” said
Sarah, hoping their breakfast
availability will fi ll the niche
others haven’t. As well, the
easy distance from the inter-
state will have its benefits
among all-hours truckers.
“Also it gets way too hot
here during the summer,”
said Sarah, noting that they’ll
be saving on AC when other
restaurants will be baking
throughout their shift, “It’s a
metal box.”
The two say they’ve
considered selling the sour-
dough bread itself, but they
have limits to mixing equip-
ment and baking space.
“Three loaves at a time,
that’s all that’ll fit in my
oven,” Sarah said. “If we did
that we’d just run out.”
But don’t fret.
“We do sell starters”
she said.
IN BRIEF
First
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 107° in China Lake, Calif. Low 32° in Stanley, Idaho
BAKER CITY — The
history of the Oregon Trail
always was, in part, inter-
twined with the allure of
fi nding glittering treasure.
Inseparable from the mythos
of the Wild West, in fact.
So if you’re rolling down
Campbell Street in Baker
City toward the interstate and
see the newly opened Mother
Lode Cafe, you can expect
they’ll indeed have some-
thing golden to share.
791 Campbell St. has seen
more than a few owners in the
city’s history, and the dining
train cars themselves have
seen more than a few cities
in their traveling lifetime.
Since their retirement, parked
there some time in the 1960s,
the dining cars have been
the launchpad for so many
restaurateurs that for Baker
City it’s almost tradition to
see a new face in the window.
The faces you’ll see today
are Matt and Sarah Heiner,
and while the building itself
is nearing a century old,
Sarah brought history of her
own to match, and it’s deli-
cious. She maintains a sour-
dough starter, or “mother,”
that’s been in her family for
four generations, passed
down from her great-grand-
mother.
“We have Americana
diner food, fresh made sour-
dough bread, and we also
have sourdough pancakes,”
Matt said. “It’s our specialty.”
The sample pancake they
brought out was true to form,
crispy with a sour tang and
served with A-Grade maple
syrup, in itself all part of a
century old design.
Though was, though,
a singular stumble as the
couple prepared to open.
Hoping to keep the
pancake recipe safe as they
set up shop, Sarah had pulled
its card out intending to put it
somewhere secure.
Instead she accidentally
lost it.
“I had to call my grand-
mother,” said Sarah, laugh-
i ng. For t u nately, her
grandmother chuckled as
well and still had the original
recipe handy. Sarah re-copied
it and put it to good use.
5:48 a.m.
8:13 p.m.
7:10 p.m.
2:16 a.m.
NATIONAL EXTREMES
headache, body aches, joint
pains, vomiting, diarrhea or
rash. Most people with febrile
illness due to West Nile virus
recover completely, but fatigue
and weakness can last for
weeks or months. It is import-
ant that you contact your health
care provider if you experience
any of these symptoms.
The incubation period is
usually two to 14 days. Rarely,
infected individuals may
develop neuro-invasive disease
(infection of the brain or spinal
cord) that can be severe or
may cause death. This is espe-
cially of concern to people
50 and older, people with
immune-compromising condi-
tions and people with diabetes
or high blood pressure.
Baker City’s Mother Lode cafe is golden
By IAN CRAWFORD
Baker City Herald
A t-storm around
this afternoon
was detected in 19 mosquito
pools, one person and one
horse in Baker County,
according to the Oregon
Health Authority.
The person recovered, as
most people do who contract
the virus.
Over the past several
years, the Keating Valley
area, including where the
infected mosquitoes were
trapped in 2021 and 2022,
has been a “hot spot for our
West Nile activity,” Hutchin-
son said last year.
Most people infected with
West Nile virus will show
little or no signs of disease.
About one in fi ve people who
are infected develop a fever
with other symptoms such as
Ontario National Guard
tankers mobilize for
Kuwait deployment
ONTARIO — The Oregon Army National
Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment
held a mobilization ceremony Sunday, Aug. 7, at
the Ontario National Guard Armory for 16 citi-
zen soldiers deploying to the country of Kuwait.
The citizen soldiers will augment the 2nd
Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment from the
Idaho National Guard for a one-year deploy-
ment. The 16 are assigned to the same company
and will leave soon for Fort Bliss, Texas, located
near El Paso.
“The training is not complete,” Staff Sgt.
James Hawley said, “and there is still more to
do. We’ll be at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas, for two
months and then to Kuwait, where we will fall
in on our tanks.”
While in Kuwait, the deploying group will be
part of Operation Spartan Shield, a joint mission
under the U.S. Central Command, and part of
Operation Enduring Freedom. OSS focuses on
providing theater security, all while strengthen-
ing and building defense partner relationships
in Southwest Asia.
The deploying citizen soldiers are all tank
crew members, led by 1st Lt. Matthew Booher
and Hawley, have been in training to prepare for
this deployment.
“We’ve been assigned to Bravo Company,
2-116 and participated with their battalion drill-
ing and operating with them for the past three or
four months,” Booher said.
— EO Media Group
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
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
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
postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
ADVERTISING
Classifi ed & Legal Advertising
Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group:
Classifi ed advertising: 541-564-4538
• Karrine Brogoitti
541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Offi ce hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
In the App Store:
80s
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Multimedia Consultants:
• Angel Aguilar
541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com
• Melissa Barnes
541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Offi ce
Legal advertising: 541-966-0824
classifi eds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com,
call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/
announcements.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips,
email sports@eastoregonian.com.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
• Dayle Stinson
Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska
541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com