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NORTHEAST OREGON
OCTOBER 22, 2020
www.gonortheastoregon.com
GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
October 22, 2020
IN THIS EDITION:
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine $1.50
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Bill Lee of
Baker City.
BRIEFING
PINE CREEK ROAD
Three Sheep From Burnt River Canyon Herd Have Died
Bighorn Sheep Sick
Free drive-thru
event to drop
off prescription
drugs Saturday at
Sheriff’s Offi ce
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Baker City
looking for annual
community
Christmas tree
WEATHER
Today
49 / 21
Sunny
Friday
Kathy Orr/Baker City Herald, File Photo
Bighorn sheep grazing in the Burnt River Canyon in this photo from 2009. A state biologist says three of the
estimated 85 sheep in the Burnt River Canyon herd have died from pneumonia recently.
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
The debate continues
between Baker County com-
missioners and a property
owner about whether the
public has a legal right
to use a road that runs
through the landowner’s
property in the Elkhorn
Mountains northwest of
Baker City.
The controversy also
contributed to an altercation
Tuesday that involved the
alleged theft of a camera
and possible assault on the
property owner.
The road follows Pine
Creek from Baker Valley
into the mountains to Pine
Creek Reservoir, which is
on national forest land, and
beyond to near the crest of
Elkhorn Ridge.
See Road/Page 5A
By Jayson Jacoby
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Eight months after a bacterial
illness was confi rmed to be spreading
through one of Baker County’s two
herds of bighorn sheep, animals in the
other herd are also getting sick and, in
a few cases, dying.
The newest outbreak of pneumonia
is affecting sheep in the Burnt River
Canyon herd.
That’s the smaller of the county’s
two groups of bighorns, consisting of
about 85 sheep, said Brian Ratliff,
district wildlife biologist at the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife’s
(ODFW) Baker City offi ce.
The much larger Lookout Mountain
herd, in eastern Baker County, has
about 400 bighorns. ODFW biologists
have been monitoring pneumonia in
Lookout Mountain sheep since Febru-
ary.
The Burnt River Canyon sheep
range mainly in the deep, steep and
exceedingly rugged canyon between
Bridgeport and Durkee. The canyon
is about 20 miles southeast of Baker
City.
Bighorns were extirpated from the
area early in the 20th century, but
ODFW reintroduced the animals in
the canyon in 1987, releasing nine
ewes, four lambs, and two rams that
were caught from the Leslie Gulch
herd along Owyhee Reservoir in Mal-
heur County.
ODFW released more bighorns in
the canyon in 1997.
In the past 2 weeks, since a driver
on the Burnt River Canyon Road
reported seeing a sick bighorn near
the road, at least three sheep from the
canyon herd have died, Ratliff said.
An area resident found a dead ewe
on the road, one lamb was found dead,
and Ratliff said ODFW employees
euthanized another lamb that was ill.
He sent tissue samples from all
three sheep to a diagnostic lab at Pull-
man, Washington, to determine the
source of the pneumonia.
Ratliff said many infectious agents
can cause pneumonia in bighorn
sheep, including multiple types of
strains of viruses and bacteria — and
even dust if a sheep is already in poor
health.
As of today, Ratliff said he has
received results from one bighorn, but
those were inconclusive.
He’s awaiting results from the two
other sheep.
Ratliff said his most recent trip to
the Burnt River Canyon, on Tuesday,
yielded some reason for optimism
about the herd’s future.
His goal was to fi nd a ewe that
is fi tted with a GPS collar, allowing
biologists to track its movements.
Ratliff said he watched the ewe and
its lamb, born this spring, and both
were in “very poor” body condition.
See Bighorns/Page 3A
53 / 31
Rain showers
Road
debate
goes on
By Jayson Jacoby
Residents can drop
off expired, unused or
unwanted prescription
medications in a drive-
thru event this Saturday,
Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. at the Baker County
Sheriff’s Offi ce, 3410 K St.
There is no charge.
The city of Baker City
is seeking nominations
for the 2020 community
Christmas tree. Each year
a request is made to prop-
erty owners interested in
donating a tree that meets
the following minimum
requirements:
• Tree is located within 3
miles of Court Plaza
• Tree does not exceed
40 feet in height.
If you are interested
in nominating your tree
for this year’s festivities,
please contact Robin Nudd
at the city of Baker City,
541-524-2036 or via email
at rnudd@bakercity.com
Your guide to arts,
entertainment
and other events
happening around
Northeast Oregon
11 Animals Found On Property Near Richland
Neglected horses rescued
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
The Baker County Sher-
iff’s Department is inves-
tigating a report of animal
neglect involving 11 horses
on private property about
3 miles west of Richland.
Offi cers executed a
search warrant at 41577
Dry Gulch Road about 7
a.m. Tuesday and seized
the 11 horses, which were
moved to temporary place-
ments, a Sheriff’s Depart-
ment Facebook post stated.
The property is owned
by Charles Pickett, accord-
ing to county records.
No arrests have been
made. Ashley McClay,
Sheriff’s Department
spokeswoman, said
Wednesday that she
could not confi rm who
the horses belong to, who
was supposed to be caring
for them, or other details
because the investigation
is ongoing.
TODAY
Issue 70, 22 pages
SOUTH BAKER SCHOOL
Possible
cougar
spotted
By Chris Collins
ccollins@bakercityherald.com
Principal Geno Bates
alerted parents of children
attending South Baker In-
termediate School of a pos-
sible cougar sighting on the
playground before classes
started Tuesday morning.
Bates said the animal was
seen by a woman riding her
bicycle to her job at the Sin-
clair gas station on Highway
7 about 5:30 a.m.
See Search/Page 3A
Halloween
events this
weekend
at Sumpter
By Lisa Britton
For the Baker City Herald
Baker County Sheriff’s Offi ce / Contributed Photo
Eleven horses were seized Tuesday from a property near Richland.
The Sheriff’s Depart-
ment began seeking foster
placements for the horses
Tuesday and by Wednes-
day afternoon had found
temporary homes for all 11
Business .................... 1B
Classified ............. 2B-4B
Comics ....................... 5B
horses, McClay said.
She expressed apprecia-
tion to those who volun-
teered to help with the
animals.
“We would like to offer
Community News ....3A
Crossword ........2B & 4B
Dear Abby .................6A
special thanks to those
who assisted with gather-
ing, loading, and transport-
ing the horses as well as
the donation of hay,” she
stated.
Horoscope ........2B & 4B
Lottery Results ..........2A
News of Record ........2A
Obituaries ..................2A
Opinion ......................4A
Sports .............. 6A & 7A
Sumpter turns into a Hal-
loween town this weekend.
Friday is geared toward
adults as the historic town
turns a bit more haunted to
scare visitors.
“It’s going to be people
jumping out from between
buildings,” said Laramie
Shanks, owner of the
Sumpter Stockade.
Saturday is the family-
friendly “trunk-or-treat”
event. This year it will not
be at the Sumpter Dredge,
as in the past, but instead
downtown along the main
street.
See Sumpter/Page 3A
Sudoku ...................... 5B
Turning Backs ...........2A
Weather ..................... 6B
SATURDAY — SPECIAL SECTION LOOKS AT LOCAL FARMING, RANCHING