A2 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2022
Local
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
January 17, 1972
Trailing 38-35 in the last minute of play in Saturday
night’s Intermountain Conference game, the Pendleton
Buckaroos desperately looked around for a Bulldog to foul
to kill Baker’s stall. Three times they chose guard Rick
Scrivner, and each time they got burned as Baker pulled
out a 44-39 squeaker.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 17, 1997
The ice-skating rink near Sam-O Swim Center, 580
Baker St., is open.
The below-freezing weather the past week has created
a good skating surface, but hardly anyone has used the
rink, said Randy Jones, Baker City’s public works director.
He encourages residents to use the 104-foot by 60-foot
rink any time.
There is a light nearby, although Jones cautions skaters
that it’s not designed specifi cally to illuminate the ice.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 18, 2012
So about that snow shortage ...
As you perhaps noticed when you looked outside this
morning, the weather, as it is wont to do, has changed.
The snowiest storm of the season swaggered into
Northeastern Oregon Tuesday night.
Several inches fell in the valleys, but as usual the
especially impressive totals were recorded in the
mountains.
Anthony Lakes Ski Area has had more than a foot and
a half of snow since Saturday, and as much as two feet of
additional powder is forecast by Friday.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
January 19, 2021
Ten months after its bid to repeat as state
champions was stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Baker High School girls varsity basketball team was able
to practice again.
For nearly two weeks the Bulldog girls and boys
worked out on school grounds while following strict social
distancing and mask guidelines.
Practices ended last week when Baker County returned
to the extreme-risk level under state guidelines on Jan. 15.
Varsity girls coach Mat Sand said he was saddened
that his players weren’t able to compete for back-to-back
Class 4A state titles last March.
The Bulldogs’ fi nal game was a 53-31 playoff win over
Gladstone in the Baker gym on March 6, 2020.
The next week, while Baker was in Forest Grove,
preparing for its fi rst state tournament game, the Oregon
School Activities Association (OSAA), prompted by the
brand-new pandemic, canceled the tournament, a
moment Sand described in an interview as “surreal.”
“It was a real disappointment for the seniors, the
community has watched us grow as a program, it’s a
program that has gained a lot of traction, a lot of success,”
Sand, who is starting his sixth year as Baker coach, said
last week. “It’s been fun to be a part of, our support was
really really good from our community.”
Baker’s basketball teams were slated to have a one-
month mini-session starting in mid-November. But that too
was canceled due to a surge in virus cases.
After Baker County dropped into the high-risk category
on Jan. 1, the basketball teams were able to start
practicing on Jan. 4 at BHS.
OREGON LOTTERY
MEGABUCKS, JAN. 15
WIN FOR LIFE, JAN. 15
8 — 11 — 15 — 39 — 45 — 48
2 — 40 — 58 — 62
Next jackpot: $8.4 million
PICK 4, JAN. 16
POWERBALL, JAN. 15
• 1 p.m.: 7 — 1 — 8 — 1
• 4 p.m.: 0 — 3 — 9 — 5
• 7 p.m.: 7 — 5 — 1 — 9
• 10 p.m.: 7 — 0 — 5 — 3
3 — 18 — 37 — 51 — 59 PB 13
Next jackpot: $53 million
MEGA MILLIONS, JAN. 14
LUCKY LINES, JAN. 16
5 — 8 — 13 — 22 — 48 Mega 25
2-7-10-14-17-23-27-30
Next jackpot: $11,000
Next jackpot: $347 million
SENIOR MENUS
WEDNESDAY: Meatloaf, red potatoes, peas, rolls, pasta
salad, cinnamon rolls
THURSDAY: Lasagna, garlic bread, vegetables, green salad,
lemon squares
FRIDAY: Barbecued ribs, baked beans, corn, rolls, coleslaw,
brownie
MONDAY (Jan. 24): Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes
with gravy, corn, rolls, broccoli-and-bacon salad, apple crisp
TUESDAY (Jan. 25): Ground beef steak with onions,
scalloped potatoes, peas-and-carrots salad, rolls, green
salad, cookies
Public luncheon at the Senior Center, 2810 Cedar St., from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; $5 donation (60 and older), $7.50
for those under 60.
CONTACT THE HERALD
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Open Monday through Friday
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Telephone: 541-523-3673
Fax: 541-833-6414
Publisher
Karrine Brogoitti
kbrogoitti@lagrandeobserver.com
Jayson Jacoby, editor
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ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and
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Baker Publishing Co., a part of EO Media
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(P.O. Box 807), Baker City, OR 97814.
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at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Copyright © 2022
Investigation continues
into stranded cattle
BY BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA COUNTY —
Wallowa County Sheriff Joel
Fish said his office continues to
investigate possible animal ne-
glect by Dean Oregon Ranches
and others in the stranding of
cattle in the mountains during
recent snowstorms.
Fish said in an email Fri-
day, Jan. 14, that his depart-
ment’s criminal investigation
into possible animal neglect
is continuing.
“I do not have any specific
number of cows that have been
gathered or died,” Fish said.
“The staff for Dean Oregon
Ranches are collecting the cat-
tle. Most of the cattle belong to
Dean Oregon Ranches.”
The sheriff said he expects
the investigation to take time
as his office gathers statements
from those involved.
In another development in
the story, a new ranch man-
ager for the Bob Dean Oregon
Ranches in the Upper Imnaha
area has arrived in the county,
as the outgoing manager B.J.
Warnock has submitted his
resignation notice, according
to Fish and Warnock.
In a statement received by
email on Monday, Jan. 17,
Warnock said, “We put in our
two-week notice on Jan. 12.
The gathering crew will be
done the end of the month, as
well. We wish the Deans and
any future employees the best
of luck going forward.”
He said he would have no
further statements on the is-
sue.
Fish said the new manager
is Katie Romero, but he hadn’t
yet met her nor did he know
anything about her.
Wallowa County Commis-
sioner Todd Nash, who is a
rancher and often addresses
agricultural issues on the
board of commissioners, said
Fish’s statement of Dec. 31 that
the county was “moving to-
ward seizing the Dean Oregon
Ranch” was not exactly accu-
rate. Nash said it’s the cattle
— not the ranch itself — that
may be seized and it is un-
known if the small number of
cattle owned by other ranchers
would be included.
“We’re looking at seizing
the livestock,” Nash said.
“We’re in the process of con-
sidering that.”
He said there is no timeline
in sight, as the proper legal
measures — such as Fish’s in-
vestigation — must be taken.
“We need to have all our
ducks in a row,” the commis-
sioner said.
Anna Butterfield/Contributed Photo
Calves rescued from the deep snows in the Upper Imnaha get some refreshment Jan. 2, 2022, at the Joseph-
area ranch of Mark and Anna Butterfield. They are among many rescued since the end of December.
ing for the past few weeks, was
defensive of her ailing husband
during a telephone interview
from her Georgia home.
Dean said her 68-year-old
husband underwent surgery
in June when his oxygen was
cut off and left him with brain
damage. Dean placed the re-
sponsibility for the cattle’s wel-
fare squarely on the shoulders
of the ranch managers, B.J. and
Emily Warnock.
“He was supposed to bring
the cows down in October,”
Dean said. “They let the cows
go down on their own.”
The Deans also own ranches
in Colorado and New Mexico.
Dean said one of their wran-
glers from New Mexico visited
the Oregon ranch to see what
was happening. She said the
wrangler said ranchers nor-
mally round up their cattle,
take them to a pen and put
them aboard a truck to ship to
market.
“He said they don’t do that
(in Wallowa County),” Dean
said. “They let (the cattle) find
their own way down.”
Despite the Deans being the
owners of the land and live-
stock, Dean holds the War-
nocks responsible.
“They’re responsible,” she
said. “We called him every
other day to get him to bring
those cattle down.”
But B.J. Warnock disagreed
with Karen Dean on the nature
Wife speaks up
of their business relationship.
But Karen Dean, wife of Bob
“Mrs. Dean is not our
Dean, the owner of the ranch employer and she is misin-
in the Upper Imnaha area
formed,” Warnock said in an
where cattle have been freez-
email. “Typically, in a situation
like this, the owner blames the
manager, who blames the crew,
and so on. We are not going
to do that. Unfortunately, I
was never officially named or
authorized to act as manager,
which left me without deci-
sion-making authority to act
in critical situations. We did
have a main crew of seven peo-
ple gathering Dean Oregon
Ranches cattle. We are very
proud of all of their hard work
and the fact that they have
stuck with the job despite ex-
tenuating circumstances.”
Attorney involved
Chris Gramiccioni, a South
Carolina-based attorney for
the Deans in their ongoing
lawsuits over handling of nurs-
ing home evacuations last year
at the time of Hurricane Ida,
said the Deans and their attor-
neys were just learning of the
situation with the cattle.
“My client is not happy with
what happened to those cattle,”
he said. “My client had a team
of people who were supposed
to bring the cattle down from
the mountains.”
Gramiccioni, who said the
Deans have paid the cost to
fly in hay and help rescue the
cattle, declined to comment
specifically on whether the
Deans shared responsibility
for the fate of the cows and
their calves.
“I have to be cautious on an-
swering that because it could
be the subject of litigation,” he
said. “Our client is taking it
very seriously. It’s not some-
thing he’s taking lightly.”
In an emailed statement,
Gramiccioni said the Dean
Oregon Ranches have histori-
cally entrusted livestock man-
agement to a local onsite ex-
pert familiar with the land in
Wallowa County.
“Thankfully, most live-
stock were recovered before
the snows made routes im-
passable. Dean crews have
worked tirelessly to ensure
the care and feeding of the re-
maining animals while ongo-
ing efforts are undertaken to
bring them back down to the
ranch,” he said. “The Dean
family is truly grateful for the
continued recovery efforts
by local ranchers, state and
county government officials,
and volunteers. It is hoped
and prayed that the contin-
ued search for the remaining
cows will be successful, and
we wish to ensure the com-
munity that rescue efforts will
remain unwavering.”
B.J. Warnock said on Jan.
2 that when they began gath-
ering the cattle in September,
there were 1,613 Dean Ore-
gon Ranches mother cows on
summer range. Of those, 10
were found unrecoverable and
1,548 Dean Oregon Ranches
mother cows were success-
fully gathered before the
snows of late December. Since
then, another 34 mother cows
were gathered in joint efforts
between the ranch crew and
the community. Warnock said
26 of those were Dean Oregon
Ranches cattle and the others
were owned by neighboring
ranches.
News of Record
DEATHS
Allan Maxey: 81, of Baker City, died
Jan. 16, 2022, with his family at his
side. Arrangements are under the
direction of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services. Online
condolences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Melvin Luther Raffety: 82, died Jan. 11,
2022, in Baker City. His memorial service
will take place this spring, with the date
to be announced soon. To leave an online
condolence Melvin’s family, go to www.
grayswestco.com.
Karen Jean Wilson: 79, of Halfway, died
on Jan. 13, 2022. Her family will have a
private celebration of her life, followed
by a community graveside service this
spring. Karen will be greatly missed by
her family and many friends. Online
condolences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Margie Harris: 95, of Halfway, died on
Jan. 14, 2022, at her home in Richland,
Washington. A celebration of her life will
take place the Saturday of Memorial Day
weekend, with the time and place to be
announced. Arrangements are under
the direction of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services. Online
condolences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Jacquelin ‘Jackie’ Emele: 79, of Baker
City, died on Jan. 14, 2022, at her
home. Arrangements are under the
direction of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services. Online
condolences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
FUNERAL PENDING
Janice Gyllenberg: A celebration of
Janice’s life will take place Saturday, Jan.
22, at 1 p.m. at the Baker City Church of
the Nazarene, 1250 Hughes Lane. Friends
are invited to join the family for a dinner
reception immediately following the
service at the Family Life Center adjacent
to the Nazarene Church. For those
who would like to make a donation in
Janice’s memory, the family suggests the
Nazarene Compassion Center either online
at http://neoregoncompassioncenter.
org or through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Online condolences can be shared at
www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO APPEAR (Umatilla County
warrant): Paul Adam Heller, 50, Baker
City, 8:52 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, in the
1200 block of Campbell Street; cited
and released.
FOURTH-DEGREE ASSAULT IN THE
PRESENCE OF MINORS: Chris David
Goodnature, 46, Baker City, 1:52 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 15, in the 2900 block of
Myrtle Street; jailed.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT, DRIVING WHILE
SUSPENDED: Chris David Goodnature,
46, Baker City, 11:13 p.m. Friday, Jan.
14, in the 2100 block of Second Street;
cited and released.
MENACING: Joseph Allen
Charbonneau, 41, Baker City, 8:09 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 14, in the 2400 block of
Clark Street; jailed.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
CONTEMPT OF COURT (Baker County
Circuit Court warrant): Joseph Forrest
Highley, 57, Baker City, 8:21 a.m. Friday, Jan.
14, at the Courthouse; cited and released.
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