A2 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
Local
TURNING BACK THE PAGES
50 YEARS AGO
from the Democrat-Herald
March 21, 1972
Former Baker Bulldog Blair Sturgill will be returning to
the state tournament scene, only this time it will be as a
member of Roseburg’s Paul Jackson Wholesale basketball
team, an AAU powerhouse.
Sturgill led Paul Jackson to three state wins in the
District-5 AAU “town team” playoffs to gain state berth. He
pumped in 68 points, including a 32-point barrage in his
team’s opener.
25 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
March 21, 1997
An Oregon State Police captain will be on duty in Baker
City during an investigation of the city police department
to interview people who have information about alleged
misconduct by police offi cers.
10 YEARS AGO
from the Baker City Herald
March 21, 2012
The national surge in gasoline prices has swept into
Baker City.
The average local price for regular unleaded is $3.79 a
gallon.
That’s still one of the lower averages in Oregon, but it’s
up almost half a buck from a month ago.
ONE YEAR AGO
from the Baker City Herald
March 23, 2021
The organizer of the Baker City Bull and Bronc riding
competition, one of the signature local summer events,
has added the two-night contest to his list of rodeo events
for 2021.
The bull and bronc riding, which traditionally happen at
the Baker County Fairgrounds arena in Baker City during
the same July weekend as Miners Jubilee, were canceled
in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The virus spoiled what would have been the fi rst year of
the events as part of the Coastal Farm & Ranch Challenge
of Champions Tour.
That’s the series of rodeo competitions that Jason
Mattox, a former bull rider who lives in Roseburg, puts on.
Mattox was prepared to assume responsibility for
organizing the Baker City events from the group of
volunteers, led by Ken McPheron, who had overseen them
for the past 25 years under the nonprofi t Baker City Bronc
& Bull Riding Inc.
Mattox had announced in January 2020, less than two
months before Oregon began to impose restrictions on
events due to the pandemic, that the Baker City events
were not only part of the Challenge of Champions Tour, but
that they would be televised for the fi rst time.
In a Friday, March 19 post on the Baker City Bronc
and Bull Riding Facebook page, Mattox wrote that “we are
excited for 2021 and bringing Bulls & Broncs back to the
great community of Baker City.”
“We know life is so unpredictable but we are focused
and ready to bring the biggest Bulls & Bronc Riding back
to the Northwest after a one year delay. Both events will
have a total of $25,000 for the top contestants around to
compete for.”
Shelly Cutler, executive director of the Baker County
Chamber of Commerce, which organizes Miners Jubilee,
said she’s excited about the prospect of the bull and bronc
riding events returning.
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SENIOR MENUS
WEDNESDAY (March 23): Chicken fried steak, mashed
potatoes with gravy, carrots, rolls, carrot-raisin salad, pudding
THURSDAY (March 24): Baked ziti, garlic bread, peas, green
salad, cookies
FRIDAY (March 25): Baked cod, clam chowder, capri
vegetables, rolls, coleslaw, lemon squares
MONDAY (March 28): Chicken strips, mashed potatoes with
gravy, corn, rolls, green salad, sherbet
TUESDAY (March 29): Chicken cordon bleu, rice pilaf, mixed
vegetables, rolls, ambrosia, brownies
WEDNESDAY (March 30): Spaghetti with beef sauce, garlic
bread, broccoli, green salad, birthday cake
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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Telephone: 541-523-3673
ISSN-8756-6419
Serving Baker County since 1870
Publisher
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Copyright © 2022
Controversial animal rights measure
likely won’t make ballot in November
BY ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — A contro-
versial proposal on animal cru-
elty laws appears to be off the
table, for now, but proponents
of the initiative say their cam-
paign isn’t over yet.
“We just submitted the ini-
tiative for 2024 and are wait-
ing for confirmation from the
state,” an organizer with the
Yes on IP13 campaign said.
“At this point, it does not look
like we will gather enough for
2022. I believe the plan is to
shift gears to the newly num-
bered initiative as soon as we
have it.”
Initiative Petition 13, oth-
erwise known as the Abuse,
Neglect and Assault Exemp-
tion Modification and Im-
provement Act, would remove
exemptions to the Oregon an-
imal abuse laws that protect
hunters, farmers and anglers
from abuse violations. That
means hunters could possibly
be prosecuted for killing and
harvesting wild animals, as
could farmers who send their
livestock to slaughterhouses.
David Michelson, the au-
thor of the initiative and the
lead organizer for the cam-
paign, acknowledged the pro-
posal’s long road, and said
that like other social justice
reforms throughout history,
it will take time.
“This is asking for quite
a shift from the norm, and
I think, like with any social
change, it’s controversial,” he
said. “But every social justice
movement in history has been
met with controversy, unfor-
tunately.”
Michelson noted a petition
to allow women to vote in
Oregon faced similar political
headwinds in the early 20th
century, but the story of how
women fought for suffrage
in Oregon has been inspira-
tional to the Portland-based
activist, who said he would
“like to see this (initiative) as
being part of that history of
progressive ballot measures
that push us forward.”
But even if the initiative fails
to muster the signatures nec-
essary to reach the ballot this
November, Michelson has his
eyes set on 2024.
“We are planning, as we
have always planned, to sub-
mit our initiative for 2024 with
the anticipation that even if
we qualify for 2022, it is un-
likely that it’ll pass on the
first attempt,” Michelson said.
“Speaking back to the initiative
that gave women the right to
vote, it was voted on in six con-
secutive election cycles before
it finally passed. It was voted
down five times. If our initia-
tive does not pass this Novem-
ber, we want to make sure it’s
on the ballot again in 2024.”
News of
Record
DEATHS
Clarene Rohner: 97, of Baker City, died
March 18, 2022, at her home. The date
and time for her graveside service will
be announced soon. To leave an online
condolence for Clarene’s family, to go
www.colestributecenter.com.
FUNERAL PENDING
Agnes Bird: A celebration of Agnes’
life and graveside service will take
place Saturday, May 21, at 1 p.m. at
Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. A
reception will follow immediately at the
Halfway Lions Hall. Those who would
like to make a donation in memory of
Agnes can do so to the Hells Canyon
Junior Rodeo through Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Cremation Services,
P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online
condolences can be made at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
POLICE LOG
Baker City Police
Arrests, citations
FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX
OFFENDER (Baker County Circuit Court
warrant): Juan Pablo Burgos, 60, Baker
City, 7:27 p.m. Saturday, March 19, in the
1200 block of Campbell Street; cited and
released.
MALHEUR COUNTY WARRANT: Tyler
Joseph Anders, 32, Baker City, 2:36 p.m.
Friday, March 18, at the Bker County
Jail, where he was in custody on other
charges.
Baker County Sheriff’s Office
Arrests, citations
FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM,
UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM
(Baker County Circuit Court warrant):
Riky Lee Carter, 38, Haines, 10:07 p.m.
Sunday, March 20, in Haines; cited and
released.
PAROLE VIOLATION, CONTEMPT OF
COURT (Baker County Justice Court
warrant): Brandy Dawn Arthur, 29, Baker
City, 12:44 a.m. Sunday, March 20, in the
2600 block of 17th Street; jailed.
Baker City Herald, File
An initiative that could potentially limit when ranchers can slaughter
cattle won’t make the November 2022 ballot, but proponents say they
plan to keep the effort going.
‘Their hearts are in the
right  place’
Farmers balked at the pro-
posal, stating it wouldn’t be
worth the effort or the ink to
do a story about the initiative.
Prominent La Grande hunter
Steve West, of the TV show
“Steve’s Outdoor Adventures,”
said the proposition likely
would fail to gather enough sig-
natures to make it on the ballot.
“The people who come up
with this, their hearts are in
the right place because they’re
so attached to animals,” he
said. “The reality is they will
never get enough votes to
pass something like this. I just
don’t see any chance in hell
that they even get 100,000 sig-
natures to even get it to a bal-
lot. It’s just so out there.”
West said proposals like these
have an unintended side effect
of uniting groups that are op-
posed to similar initiatives.
“If anything, my bet is this is
something that would solidify
and unite the ranchers, farmers
and hunters,” he said. “It’s prob-
ably going to unite the other
side just to stamp it out once
and for all.”
Officials from the Confeder-
ated Tribes of Umatilla Indian
Reservation said they’re not
worried about the initiative, cit-
ing treaties that would super-
sede the law. They are, however,
watching closely in the event the
tribes need to take a reactionary
approach to the proposal.
“We’re continuing to watch
and see how far it goes, and
see what happens in July
to see if they get their ini-
tiative fulfilled with the re-
quired signatures,” said Jiselle
Halfmoon, interim commu-
nications director for CTUIR.
“Then, of course, we’ll read-
dress it, but at this time we’re
pretty secure in our situation.”
Law experts say proposal is
misunderstood
Russ Mead, a professor of law
at Lewis & Clark Law School
in Portland, said what the pro-
posal says it will do and what
the two opposing factions for
the proposition say it will do
differ greatly.
“Oregon’s animal cruelty
laws have a long list of excep-
tions,” he said. “For example,
hunting and killing livestock
is exempt from Oregon’s ani-
mal cruelty laws. IP13 removes
these exemptions. The result
is not that hunting and killing
livestock will be illegal if IP13
passes, it is just that when you
hunt, you need to be humane.
When you kill livestock, you
need to be humane.”
The website for IP13 states
its goal is to enact legislation
that would make it so that “an-
imals on farms, research labs,
exhibitions and in the wild
would no longer be allowed
to be intentionally injured or
killed.” However, Mead dis-
agrees with the drafters of IP13
and their proposed mission
statement on the IP13 web-
page. The law as it is proposed,
he said, would need to be
considered in courtrooms to
find the exact limitations and
framework.
“Anyone who says any ac-
tivity will become illegal with
the passage of IP13 is just flat
wrong,” he said. “With the an-
imal cruelty exemptions re-
moved, the Oregon courts will
need to decide what animal
cruelty is.”
How animal cruelty is de-
fined in the law, Mead said, is
open-ended.
“Animal cruelty statutes sel-
dom define what is cruel and
what is humane,” Mead said.
“For example, statutes do not
specify that beating a dog to
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death with a baseball bat is
cruel. Or that killing a dog by
lethal injection is humane.”
Mead stated if the proposal
did muster up the signatures,
and passed in the November
ballot, the proposal wouldn’t
turn hunters into criminals
overnight.
“The Oregon courts will
need to decide what, if any,
hunting and fishing practices
violate Oregon animal cru-
elty laws,” he said. “I could
well see the courts finding
leg-hold traps are cruel. But,
I would be shocked if the
courts found a father and
daughter fishing with a cane
pole animal cruelty.”
Michelson said one of the
secondary goals of the pro-
posal is to help draw attention
to exemptions in Oregon stat-
utes regarding animal abuse,
and how the animal abuse
laws give protections to pets
but not to livestock.
“We’re one of the few states
that acknowledges that ani-
mals are sentient in our state
statutes,” Michelson said. “Yet
our animal cruelty laws largely
only protect our companion
animals. All the other animals,
whether they’re in farms or in
research labs or in the wild,
or in rodeos and exhibitions,
they’re exempt from those
same protections.”
Michelson noted the ulti-
mate goal of the campaign
would be to ensure all animals
in Oregon have the same rights
and protections that compan-
ion animals enjoy.
As of Tuesday, March 15,
the IP13 Facebook page had
344 followers, and its post-
ings attract more negative
comments than supportive
ones. If the proposal passes
— either now or in 2024 — it
likely would face lengthy le-
gal scrutiny, according to Ja-
cob Mannis, the deputy dis-
trict attorney for Oregon who
handles animal cruelty cases.
“It would require a lot of
things to happen before it
would become the law,” he said.
“I assume that there would be
a round of lawsuits before any-
thing gets enforced, and then
there would have to be a law
enforcement agency that would
investigate, a prosecutor that
would prosecute and ultimately
a jury that would convict, be-
cause anybody in Oregon who’s
been accused of a crime has a
right to a trial by jury.”
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