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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2020)
2A — BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020 WEEDS Saving the sage grouse Continued from Page 1A T URNING B ACK THE P AGES 50 YEARS AGO from the Democrat-Herald October 24, 1970 UNION — The Union Bobcats put together a scoring drive in the fi rst period of play yesterday afternoon and then Gary Crisp got away on a 37-yard scoring jaunt through the Pine-Eagle defense late in the game as they upset Pine-Eagle and virtually eliminated the Spartans from any post season playoff hopes. 25 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald October 24, 1995 A six-person contingent from Baker County met with Gov. John Kitzhaber in Salem this morning to try to per- suade him to reject Burns as the city for a 50-bed juvenile prison. The group was scheduled to meet with the governor today at 10 a.m., Roger Lee, Baker City/County economic developer, said Monday afternoon. 10 YEARS AGO from the Baker City Herald October 25, 2010 Autumn’s fi rst major storm frosted the Elkhorn and Wal- lowa mountains with snow on Sunday, and spawned a wind gust that pushed a tree into a power line and closed Pocahontas Road northwest of Baker City. Pocahontas Road was closed between Pole Line Road and Sky Ranch, about three miles southwest of Haines, from around 4 p.m. until about 2 a.m., County Roadmas- ter Ken Helgerson said. ONE YEAR AGO from the Baker City Herald October 25, 2019 KEATING — Third-grader Christian Graham’s shirt sported a guitar-playing astronaut. Across the table sat a man who worked on space suits for all NASA fl ight programs. These two — separated by some 70 years in age — had a lot to talk about. James McBarron II visited Keating Elementary School on Tuesday as part of a year-long program to learn more about NASA’s space program. McBarron, 81, was a student test subject from 1958 to 1961 in trials designed to determine human endurance in extreme environmental conditions. His career at NASA began in 1961. He worked on Project Mercury, the Gemini Project, and the Apollo 9, Apollo 11, Apollo 13, and Apollo 15 missions. James Loftus coordinated McBarron’s visit, which also included a stop at Baker High School. Loftus is the founder of the JPL Museum in Stayton that honors the NASA ca- reer of his father, Joseph P. Loftus Jr., who worked at the Johnson Space Center. Part of the museum’s mission is to bring the experience of NASA to rural areas. This year Loftus, along with Oregon Connections Acad- emy, launched a new program called Remote and Distant Interactive Online Sessions (RADIOS) that brings live broadcasts from Space Center Houston into classrooms across Oregon. Space Center Houston is the offi cial visitors center for the Johnson Space Center and a nonprofi t education foundation that helped with the RADIOS program, along with support from the NASA Alumni League, and grants from Pacifi Corp Foundation, and Santiam Hospital. O REGON L OTTERY MEGABUCKS, Oct. 21 1 — 12 — 29 — 31 — 32 — 42 Next jackpot: $3.5 million POWERBALL, Oct. 21 1 — 3 — 13 — 44 — 56 PB 26 Next jackpot: $102 million MEGA MILLIONS, Oct. 20 46 — 54 — 57 — 58 — 66 Mega 10 Next jackpot: $97 million WIN FOR LIFE, Oct. 21 9 — 23 — 63 — 70 PICK 4, Oct. 22 • 1 p.m.: 9 — 1 — 9 — 1 • 4 p.m.: 1 — 0 — 1 — 9 • 7 p.m.: 7 — 8 — 7 — 6 • 10 p.m.: 5 — 2 — 0 — 9 LUCKY LINES, Oct. 22 3-6-12-15-18-24-27-29 Next jackpot: $22,000 S ENIOR M ENUS ■ MONDAY: Baked ham, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, biscuits, cottage cheese with fruit, lemon bars ■ TUESDAY: Swedish meatballs over fettuccine, broccoli- blend vegetables, bread, green salad, apple crisp ■ WEDNESDAY: Chicken-fried beef steak, potatoes and gravy, green beans, roll, pea-and-onion salad, birthday cake ■ THURSDAY: Breaded pork loin, parslied red potatoes, mixed vegetables, bread, carrot-raisin salad, ice cream ■ FRIDAY: “Ghoulash,” peas, cornbread, coleslaw, cookies Lunches at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $4.50 donation (60 and older), $6.75, under 60. Meals must be picked up; there is no dining on site. C ONTACT THE H ERALD 1668 Resort St. Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Telephone: 541-523-3673 Fax: 541-833-6414 Publisher Karrine Brogoitti kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver. com Jayson Jacoby, editor jjacoby@bakercityherald.com Advertising email ads@bakercityherald.com Classifi ed email classified@bakercityherald.com Circulation email circ@bakercityherald.com ISSN-8756-6419 Serving Baker County since 1870 Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays except Christmas Day by the Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media Group, at 1668 Resort St. (P.O. Box 807), Baker City, OR 97814. Subscription rates per month are: Baker City (97814), $10.80; all others, $12.50. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814. Periodicals Postage Paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801 Copyright © 2020 Sage grouse populations have declined over the past couple of decades in Baker County and in some other parts of its range in several western states. Environmen- tal groups have petitioned the federal government to list the chicken-size bird as threat- ened or endangered, but so far the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has declined to do so. Both cheatgrass, which is also known as downy brome, and medusahead can greatly reduce the value of rangeland both for cattle grazing and as habitat for sage grouse and other wildlife. Neither is very palatable for cattle. But Pettingill said medusa- head is the more malevolent of the duo. That’s due largely to its higher silica content com- pared with cheatgrass. This attribute means medusahead doesn’t break down as much over time, and in a few years it tends to form dense, thatch- like mats that, as Pettingill bluntly puts it, “will destroy the range.” Those layers of desiccated medusahead not only prevent native bunchgrasses such as Idaho fescue from thriving, but they also serve as fuel for range fi res. The sequence, Pettingill said, is insidious — fi re exposes the soil, and annual species such as cheatgrass and medusahead, which ger- minate and go to seed earlier than most native plants, are better suited to colonize the recently scorched ground. A lightning-sparked blaze burned about 12,500 acres in this area, including the saddle where Charvet set down the helicopter, in August 2012. The fl ames killed much of the sagebrush, Pettingill said. He gestures to a south- facing hillside nearby where a few clumps of sagebrush grow, dusky gray against the lighter, tawny brown Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald This pod attached to a Bell Jet Ranger 206 helicopter holds 400 pounds of granular herbicide. There’s an iden- tical pod on the other side of the aircraft. “It makes such a mat that stuff can’t grow through it. It chokes the (native) grasses completely out.” — Bob Harrell Jr., Baker County cattle rancher, talking about the effects of medusahead, an invasive grass The Bell Jet Ranger car- backdrop of medusahead and ries an herbicide storage cheatgrass. tank on each side, each with Improving the range a capacity of 400 pounds of Bob Harrell Jr. of Harrell herbicide. Hereford Ranch in Baker Val- Charvet, who has been ley is one of the four landown- fl ying helicopters since 2012, ers in this campaign. said the product, called Open He said medusahead has Range, is applied at a rate of been spreading gradually 13 pounds per acre. over the past several years, He said he fl ies about 20 particularly on south slopes feet above the ground when like the one Pettingill pointed dropping the herbicide. to. Pettingill said the granu- “It makes such a mat that lar product is more effective stuff can’t grow through it,” in this case than liquid herbi- Harrell said. “It chokes the cides because the granules (native) grass completely out.” are more likely to penetrate Harrell said he has tried to the mats of medusahead and thwart medusahead by spray- reach the soil. The product ing herbicide and by adjust- doesn’t work if it doesn’t ing cattle grazing schedules. reach the ground. But controlling invasive Rain actually helps push species from the ground is the granular herbicide a daunting task, he said — through the vegetation, he especially when that ground, said, whereas it only dilutes as is the case on his and the liquid herbicide that clings to adjacent properties, is a series grass and shrubs, reducing of ridges and draws. its effectiveness. “This isn’t a fl at fi eld in Charvet said he can’t the valley,” Harrell said. “To spread the herbicide if the drive a tank sprayer would wind speed exceeds about be dangerous. You can do big 7 mph. He covered about swathes with an aircraft.” 60 acres Thursday morning About a 60-foot wide path, before the breeze freshened. in fact, with each pass of the He wasn’t able to fl y the rest helicopter, Charvet said. of the day. Baker County is in the midst of a 6-year, $6.1-million project designed to improve habitat for the imperiled bird. In January 2019 the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board approved a $6.1-mil- lion grant, including an initial allocation of $1.7 million. The next steps Once the herbicide has been applied, the four land- owners will try to reseed the area with native grasses and forbs as soon as possible, Pet- tingill said. Ideally that seeding, which will also be done by helicopter, will happen before Thanks- giving, he said. The herbicide targets me- dusahead and cheatgrass but it won’t harm either existing desirable plants, including sagebrush and Idaho fescue, or the seeds, which won’t ger- minate until the soil warms next spring, Pettingill said. By then the herbicide will have dissipated from the soil, he said. Pettingill said there are no plans to seed sagebrush, because it should spread naturally once the medusa- head and cheatgrass have been thinned. Pettingill said he will apply for additional money from the Oregon Watershed Enhance- ment Board to continue the campaign against medusa- head and cheatgrass in the Keating area and along the Powder River between Thief Valley Reservoir downriver to the Medical Springs Highway. He hopes to start that project next year. The three other property owners involved in this fall’s project are Larry Wogman, Gary Bloomer and Tim Heater. O BITUARY Howard Payton of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral and the Knights of Columbus. He was also Howard John Payton, 83, of Baker very active with the Baker Rural Fire City, died on Oct. 18, 2020, at Boise. Department for 35 years, 14 of which Recitation of the rosary will take place he served as fi re chief. He served as a Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. board member on Baker Valley Water at St. Francis de Sales and Soil Conservation and was a mem- Cathedral in Baker City, ber of the Wingville Grange. He also and a graveside memorial served on the budget board of Vector service will take place on Control and was a lifetime member of Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 1 the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. Howard p.m. at Mount Hope Cem- Howard enjoyed being a square Payton etery in Baker City. Father dance caller and was a member of the Suresh Kumar Telegani Crazy Eight Square Dance Club and and Pastor Tim Fisher will offi ciate. later The Elkhorn Swingers. He had Friends and family will be invited to a love for classic cars and was very in- gather at the Payton Ranch in Wingville volved with the Baker Memory Cruise for a reception following the graveside since it started in Baker City. He was ceremony. a member of the Charlies Angels Car Howard was born on Sept. 23, 1937, Club and then the Shifters Car Club. at Baker to John and Florence (Mills) He also loved hunting, but best of all, he Payton. He attended Baker schools, was the legendary “Mayor of Wingville.” graduating from Baker High School Howard is survived by his wife in 1955. On Dec. 30, 1956, he married of 63 years, Sandra Colton Payton; Sandra Colton. After attending Eugene his son,Vincent Payton and his wife, Technical School in Eugene, he returned Sheryl, of Baker City; his daughter, Val- to his parents’ ranch and has operated erie Payton Donicht and her husband, the ranch ever since. Mark, of Weiser, Idaho; his son, Bob Howard was a very active member Payton and his wife, Kelly, of North- Baker City, 1937-2020 glenn, Colorado; his sister, Kathleen Payton Wright of Ridgefi eld, Washing- ton; his grandchildren, Kristie Payton and Josephine Payton Choate and her husband, Alex, of Reno, Nevada, Colby Donicht and his wife, Janet, of Boise, Calli Donicht Haun and her husband, Brent, of Weiser, Idaho, and Jonathon Payton de Courcy of Norwich, Connecti- cut; his great-grandchildren, Aubrey Bacher and Jasmine Bacher of Reno, Nevada; Aiden Choate and Vanessa Choate of Reno, Nevada, Gianna, Gen- evieve and Craeton Donicht of Boise, Taven and Brexon Haun (and number 10 great-grandson to arrive in Decem- ber) of Weiser, Idaho. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Florence Payton; and his son, Bill Payton. Memorial contributions can be made to the Billy Payton Memorial Fund, The Baker Rural Fire Protection Fund or to the charity of one’s choice through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. To light a candle in Howard’s memory or to offer online condolences for his fam- ily, go to www.colestributecenter.com N EWS OF R ECORD POLICE LOG Baker City Police Arrests, citations CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County Justice Court warrant): Kristi Moudy-Koos, 44, transient, 10:29 a.m. Tuesday, at Washing- ton Avenue and Birch Street; cited and released. POSSESSION OF METHAM- PHETAMINE: Robert Stanley Olp, 36, of 2920 Elm St., No. 3, 9 a.m. Thursday, at his home; cited and released. FAILURE TO APPEAR (Four Baker County Circuit Court war- rants): Austen Mikel Coble, 24, transient, 5:32 p.m. Thursday, in the 200 block of Bridge Street; jailed. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DUII DIVERSION AGREEMENT (Baker County Circuit Court war- rant): Logan Vaughn Hug, 26, of 3180 River Park Drive; cited and released. Oregon State Police Arrests, citations DRIVING UNDER THE IN- FLUENCE OF INTOXICANTS: Peter William Vaughan, 38, of Hereford, 2:54 p.m. Tuesday, at Burnt River Canyon Lane and Old Highway 30 in Durkee; cited at the Baker County Jail and released; vehicle secured at the scene of arrest at the driver’s request. FAILURE TO APPEAR ON CRIMINAL CITATION (Union County warrant): Cody J. Steenhard, 40, of Richland, 7:56 p.m. Wednesday, on High- way 7 at Beaver Creek Loop; cited and released; Trooper Timothy Schuette wrote in his daily media log that he stopped Steenhard after a large piece of timber fell off the back of Steen- hard’s Dodge Ram truck into the travel lane in front of Schuette’s vehicle nearly causing the offi cer to crash. Steenhard stated that he had strapped the wood down, but the strap must have fallen off, Schuette wrote. 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