VIRTUAL MAXVILLE GALA: UNIQUE HERITAGE CELEBRATED WITH THURSDAY OREGON’S COVID-19 VACCINE PLAN PRIORITIZES HEALTH WORKERS: PG. 3A UNIQUE ENTERTAINMENT PLUS : Lockdown exhibit & Brown Bag, wild horses and haunted happenings 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