BAKER CITY HERALD • THuRsDAY, AugusT 25, 2022 A3
LOCAL & STATE
Insurance will cover Wallowa school’s hail damage
BY DICK MASON
The Observer
WALLOWA — The se-
vere hailstorm that battered
the Wallowa School District’s
campus earlier this month will
not shake the district’s finan-
cial stability.
“Insurance should take
care of everything we need.
We should be fine,” Wallowa
School District Superinten-
dent Tammy Jones said.
The superintendent said
representatives of the school
district’s insurance companies
have indicated that the Wal-
lowa School District will have
most of its losses covered. This
means the new roofs needed
for the school district’s major
buildings will be covered by
insurance, Jones said. She said
that as long as a building has a
foundation, most restoration
work will be covered.
The roof replacement will
be done starting with the
roofs most seriously damaged.
The roof of the high school’s
gym and of the building that
houses the school district’s vo-
cation-agriculture and mu-
sic programs will be replaced
first. Next the roof of Wallowa
Elementary School will be re-
placed and finally the roof of
Wallowa High School. The goal
is to have all of the roofs re-
placed before winter, Jones said.
Temporary repair measures
for the roofs have already been
taken. Tarps have been placed
over the roofs of the high
school gym and the building
housing the school district’s
vocation-agriculture and mu-
sic programs. Sealing work
has been done on the roofs of
the elementary school and the
high school.
Some water from the thun-
derstorm that brought the hail
seeped through the damaged
roofs. Computers and printers
in classrooms were seriously
damaged as a result but little
else. Jones said it has not been
determined if insurance will
cover the cost of replacing the
computers and printers.
Items lost to the hailstorm
include the school district’s
greenhouse, its Ford Expedi-
tion SUV, and the scoreboard
and field lights at the foot-
ball field. Jones said it is not
known if insurance will cover
these losses.
Another expense the Wal-
lowa School District will have
to pay for will be removing the
glass that fell from the football
field’s lights. About half of the
field will have to be vacuumed
before games can be played on
it, Jones said.
The Aug. 11 hailstorm that
caused damage on the Wal-
lowa School District campus
struck the Wallowa commu-
nity with equal force, leaving
a high percentage of its homes
with badly damaged roofs and
windows.
The school district will
reach out to storm victims in
Three cougars shot and killed
by police in Bend and Sisters
BY BRYCE DOLE
The Bulletin
Police shot and killed three
cougars in Deschutes County
last weekend after residents re-
ported the animals near their
homes in Bend and Sisters and
authorities deemed them dan-
gerous to the community.
One cougar was killed on a
property in southwest Bend
on Saturday, Aug. 20, Oregon
State Police reported. Two
more were killed after they ran
up a tree in Sisters on Sunday,
Aug. 21.
State police Sgt. Lowell Lea
said Monday it is uncommon
for three cougars to be killed
within city limits in broad
daylight on the same weekend
in Deschutes County.
“In 22 years, I can’t recall
another situation like that,”
Lea said.
Police responded around
11:30 a.m. on Saturday to re-
ports from Jean Houser, 77,
and Doug Putschler, 73, on
Hitching Post Lane in Bend
that a cougar was lying 10 feet
from their property.
The cougar was near the
porch when police arrived,
and they determined that it
was a “danger to the neigh-
borhood.” After they shot and
killed the cougar, police re-
ported that a neighbor’s cat
was found half eaten and bur-
ied beside it.
In Sisters, Jerry Davis, 57,
reported to police around
9:30 a.m. on Sunday that his
dog had startled three cou-
Brian Wolfer/Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, File
Cougar seen during a big game surveys in the mid-2000s in the Beu-
lah Wildlife Management Unit in Malheur County.
gars near his home on Foot-
hill Loop. One cougar ran off
while two others ran up a tree.
Davis reported to police that,
after taking his dog inside for
30 minutes, the cougars were
still in the tree. When police
arrived, the cougars were still
in the tree, and they shot and
killed the cougars.
Lea said that, because of
where the cats were found, po-
lice had no option but to shoot
and kill the cougars. He noted
that there is inherent risk that
comes with tranquilizing a
dangerous, agitated animal
within a community.
“If we were just to let that
cat go, you don’t know where
that cat is going to go and
jump a fence and land next
to a kid in someone’s yard or
something like that,” Lea said.
It’s the latest in a string of
incidents involving cougars,
including when police shot
and killed a cougar that was
acting aggressively toward
Walmart ordered to pay
Oregon man $4.4 million
in racial profiling lawsuit
PORTLAND (AP) — A
Multnomah County grand
jury has ordered Walmart to
pay $4.4 million in damages
to a man who sued the store,
saying he was racially profiled
and harassed by a Walmart
employee at a Portland, Ore-
gon, area store in 2020.
According to the lawsuit the
employee “spied” on Dovey-
Mangum while shopping, or-
dered him to leave and called
police when he refused, KGW
reported.
According to the lawsuit
and a news release from his
attorneys, Mangum, who
was 59 at the time, visited the
Walmart in Wood Village on
March 26, 2020, to buy a light
bulb for his refrigerator.
After Mangum arrived, he
noticed store employee Joe
Williams watching him as he
shopped.
Williams told Mangum to
leave the store, but Mangum
refused, saying he’d done
nothing wrong. Mangum’s
lawyers said Williams told
Mangum he was going to
call the police and tell them
Mangum had threatened to
“smash him in the face.”
Williams called the
non-emergency police dis-
patch line and told the opera-
tor he “had a person refusing
to leave,” the lawsuit states.
According to Mangum’s
lawyers, deputies from the
Multnomah County Sheriff’s
Office responded and “re-
fused to take action against
Mangum.” The lawyers said
deputies made that decision
based on Williams’ “shifting
explanations” for the reason
he called and because of his
“reputation for making false
reports to police.”
According to Mangum’s
lawyers, the next day, Sheriff’s
Sergeant Bryan White and
another deputy met with the
director of the Walmart and
the assistant manager and ex-
plained that deputies had no-
ticed a “pattern of behavior”
in which Williams would call
police to report “dangerous
active situations, such as cus-
tomers physically assaulting
him or other employees,” that
were not happening.
The store and Walmart
corporate officials kept him
on the job for several more
months, and fired him in July
2020 for “mishandling $35 of
Walmart property,” the law-
suit said.
Williams in a deposition
denied the allegations that he
wrongly called the police, say-
ing Mangum had threatened
to hit him.
Mangum filed the lawsuit
against Walmart for negligent
retention and action against
person who summons police
with improper intent.
“He lives the same message
of self-respect that he teaches
to young people, ‘stand up
for yourself when you know
you’re right,’” Mangum’s trial
lawyer, Greg Kafoury, said in
a statement. “Because of his
courage, we were able to show
the jury an unconscionable
failure of responsibility by the
world’s largest corporation.”
two people in Deschutes River
Woods in July.
An Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife spokesper-
son told The Bulletin at that
time that “(t)here is no way
to know for certain, but it was
likely the same cougar seen at
Deschutes River Woods in late
June,” which was the first time
a cougar had been spotted so
close to Bend in two years.
People who encounter cou-
gars should not run, accord-
ing to the Deschutes County
Sheriff’s Office. Instead, they
should make noises, pick up
their children, raise their arms
and prepare to fight back.
People who come face-to-face
with a cougar should call the
nearest ODFW office, Ore-
gon State Police office or land
manager if on public land.
a big way on Friday, Aug. 26,
when it will conduct an open
house from noon to 2 p.m.
Many items will be provided
to families at the event, in-
cluding shoes, clothing, bed-
ding and backpacks — items
that will help the community’s
children be ready for the new
school year. School will start
in the Wallowa School District
on Monday, Aug. 29, four days
later than originally scheduled
due to the storm.
Jones said the school dis-
trict’s staff wants to make sure
everything possible is done to
help families, especially their
children.
“We want to make sure that
the kids feel safe and cared
for,” Jones said.
Katy Nesbitt/For EO Media Group
The battered scoreboard at the football field in Wallowa on Monday,
Aug. 22, 2022, is a vivid reminder of the Aug. 11 hailstorm that caused
damage throughout the town.
Zona Kay (Irby) Hiatt
October 23, 1953 - August 5, 2022
Zona Kay (Irby) Hiatt, 68, was born on
October 23, 1953, to Truscott and Grace
(Anderson) Irby of Wingville. She joined
her older sister, Lenora, and brother, Rod,
and was followed by her
younger sister, Carolyn.
Zona was raised in Baker
City and attended Baker
schools. After graduating,
Zona traveled to Wyoming
for further education in
equine science.
Zona was an outdoor girl
and spent many hours riding
her horse with neighborhood
friends which, in her words,
was escaping doing the
dishes! Being raised on
Irby Farms, she also drove grain trucks to
Haines during harvest time.
Zona loved nature and horses. She
spent hours upon hours riding, training,
and loving her horses. Zona diligently
worked with horses in 4-H and earned
championship trophies in horsemanship.
While furthering her education, she also
worked with the Brownlee Arabian horses
and her own Arabian, Kira.
Zona’s career with the Forest Service
and the BLM was long and rewarding, for
her as she truly enjoyed being outdoors.
Zona revered nature and all animals early-
on in her childhood. Hers was a free spirit,
her favorite places were the headwaters of
the streams she surveyed as a Biological
Technician. Zona worked on numerous
fish habitat projects in both the Umatilla
and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests.
One of Zona’s greatest accomplishments
was building fish weirs at the Powder
River Recreation Area below Mason Dam.
She also worked for several years with the
Whitman Engineering Zone as an Engineer
Tech.
Zona met and married Mickey Hiatt
when they both worked for the Forest
Service. They enjoyed an outdoorsy
lifestyle together - loading up their horses
and going into the forests for camping,
recreation, and elk hunting in the high
country.
Zona was very kind and dedicated to
her mother and father as they
aged; she was supportive and
willing to help her family at
any time.
Survivors include Zona’s
husband, Mickey Hiatt of
Baker City; her sister, Lenora
Way of Albany; her niece, Lisa
Daugherty of Washington,
and nephew, John Way of
Albany; her brother, Rod Irby
and wife Susan; her niece,
Krystal Irby of Baker City, and
niece Heather Anderson and
her husband, Trevor, of The Dalles, OR;
her sister, Carolyn Irby and her husband,
Stuart Davis of Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada. Zona’s cousin, Glenabell Lewis
of Baker City, and aunt, Beverly Anderson
and cousins in Boise, ID. Zona has
numerous nieces and nephews and cousins
from The Baldock/Truscott families of
Nancy Johnson, Diane Spence Davis,
Rusty Truscott, and Suzanne Zimmerman.
Zona was preceded in death by her
parents, Grace and Truscott Irby, her
aunts, Edith Morin, Carleen (Truscott)
Hottendorf, and Sylva Zimmerman, and
her uncles, Kenneth Irby, Charles (Bink)
Lewis, and Elwin (Andy) Anderson.
Donations may be made to the “Acres
of Hope.” Acres of Hope is a horse therapy
facility in Independence, OR, with a
mission to work with adolescents who
need Healing, Opportunity, Purpose, and
Education (HOPE). Acres of Hope 6665
Rickreall Rd. Independence, OR 97351.
Donations may be made through the Coles
Tribute Center 1950 Place St., Baker City,
OR 97814.
A gathering of family and friends will
be held at the Irby home, 42580 Lindley
Rd., on Saturday, September 17, 2022,
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tom McCornack (Mac) Kerns
October 31, 1934 ~ July 5, 2022
Mac’s Story
Mac Kerns passed away, peacefully, at
his home outside of Haines, Oregon, July
5, 2022, with his loving family at his side.
Tom McCornack (Mac) Kerns was born in
Sheridan, Wyoming, on October 31, 1934,
to Tom and Janet (McCornack) Kerns. In
1936 the little family moved to Eugene and
then Lorane, Oregon. Soon, Mac’s father
researched a desirable location (out of the
Willamette Valley because of hay fever and
allergies) for the family to settle and farm.
The beautiful Baker Valley reminded Tom
of the Sheridan area he’d grown up in and
it had a railway which he knew was very
important for transporting crops and farm
animals. In 1939 Mac and his family moved
to a ranch in Haines. He and his older sister
Jean attended grade school at Rock Creek,
then Muddy Creek, riding horseback to and
from. His freshman year of high school
was in North Powder. Because his older
sister Jean was attending high school in
Baker, Mac’s folks determined it would be
best if he attended there also. Lucky thing
because it was there he met his future bride
Joyce (Cole).
Joyce and Mac were married June 21, 1953 and began 57 years
of marriage and adventure. The newlyweds resided on the ranch
in Haines until that fall when Mac resumed his studies at Oregon
State University in Corvallis. Mac completed his college career with
a degree in Agricultural Engineering which he used thoroughly
throughout the rest of his life. In 1959 the ranch had a rough year
and Mac’s brother-in-law Tom suggested he seek employment with
the U.S. Forest Service. Mac signed on for what was going to be
a temporary job but the Forest Service offered him many ways to
use and expand his knowledge so he stayed with them until 1984.
He obtained his professional license as a Civil Engineer in 1962.
In 1978 he became a licensed land surveyor and in 1991 he add-
ed Certified Water Rights Examiner to his resumé. The family had
expanded with the birth of Lorance Brent in 1954, Wesley Allen in
1958 and Janet Irene in 1960. Mac’s career with the Forest Service
took them to many postings throughout the Northwest, then Mis-
souri and finally Washington, D.C. They often purchased a home
that benefited from remodeling or later on constructed their homes.
Mac included the children in all aspects of the building projects and
they learned many valuable skills in the process.
Each move was considered an adventure by Mac and Joyce and
he not only made a difference with his engineering skills in building
roads and reservoirs, but became active in community affairs and
their church. Locally, while working in the Malheur Forest out of
John Day, Oregon, Mac was the chief engineer in the project cre-
ating the Tipton Cutoff highway. He was awarded “Best Road Job
In the Nation” for that project. He also served on the John Day city
council while living there.
Upon retirement in 1984, Mac and Joyce moved back to Haines
to ranch with their family. There, Mac was active in several aspects
of agriculture, especially as a Water Rights
Examiner, and he even served as chairman
of the Oregon Wheat Growers Commission.
In that position he was able to visit China on
a marketing trip. Mac remained active and
positive all through his life, by participat-
ing in community activities. The 4th of July
Haines Fun Run was rarely missed by him
and as a member of the Haines Methodist
Church, he assisted with the construction
of that Community Hall.
Mac was a proponent of water and
stream enhancement and use, while also
especially a champion in advocating for
better forest management to prevent fires.
The children of Haines Elementary School
(many of whom were great-grandchildren
and great-nieces and nephews, he loved to
point out) benefited from his volunteering
in the classroom. He served on a board for
the rural fire district as an activist for get-
ting support through tax rolls for better fire
protection. His interest in local history led
him to involvement with the Baker County
Historical Society and Eastern Oregon Mu-
seum at Haines, OR, where he helped inspire people with his own
memories of early years. Mac had a way of linking the past to the
present, learning from experiences not only of his own, but also
of others, to aptly apply them in solving problems. In his last days
he still displayed an interest in what each of his children, grand-
children and great-grandchildren were working on, learning or
simply interested in. In 2021 Mac, with assistance of his young-
est brother James, penned a “Christmas letter” that eventually
grew into a book entitled “Our Oregon Heritage.” These writings
document and celebrate the lives of Thomas and Cornelia Condon
(Mac’s great-great-grandparents) and Herbert McCornack’s family.
(Herbert being Ellen Condon’s husband and grandfather and Mac’s
great-grandparents).
Mac was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Joyce Avon
(Cole), daughter Diane, parents Tom and Janet, and sister Jean
(Tom) Griffith.
Mac is survived by his children Brent (Mary), Wes (Mary Da-
vies), Janni (John) Eggers, grandchildren Jacque (Josh) Cobb,
Logan (Holly) Kerns, John (Catie) Kerns, Jeff (Kim) Kerns, Mark
(Savannah) Kerns, Zach (Savannah) Eggers, 1st Class Petty Officer
Eli Eggers, and Andy (Chelsey) Johnson, great-grandchildren Colt
and Orin Cobb, Weston Kerns, Lance and Joy Kerns, and Bridger
and Briar Johnson. Brothers Tim (Jan) Kerns, James (Margery),
sister Ellen (Philip) Stevenson and brother-in-law Tom (Jean) Grif-
fith plus numerous nieces and nephews. Also Mac’s special friend,
Mary Boyer. Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday,
September 3, 2022 at the Haines United Methodist Church. Me-
morial contributions in Mac’s memory may be sent to the Eastern
Oregon Museum or the Haines United Methodist Church via Cole’s
Tribute Center.
Paid for by the family of Mac Kerns.