LOCAL & STATE
BAKER CITY HERALD • TuEsDAY, AugusT 30, 2022 A3
3 dead, including gunman,
in Bend Safeway shooting
BY BRYCE DOLE
The Bulletin
BEND — Police identified the man who
killed two people at the Safeway grocery store
on U.S. Highway 20 in Bend Sunday night,
Aug. 28, as Ethan B. Miller, 20, of Bend.
Police say he killed a customer, Glenn Ed-
ward Bennett, 84, of Bend, and a Safeway em-
ployee, Donald Ray Surrett Jr., 66, of Bend.
Police spokesperson Sheila Miller said Sur-
rett attempted to disarm the shooter and may
have prevented additional deaths during the
attack.
Two other people were injured.
The shooter lived at the Fox Hollow Apart-
ments near the Forum shopping center where
the attack took place. Police searched the apart-
ment on Monday, Aug. 29. They also searched
his vehicle, where they found two Molotov
cocktails.
Sheila Miller said police entered the Safeway
while shots were still being fired. They discov-
ered the shooter dead from a self-inflicted gun-
shot wound. Near him was an AR-15-style rifle
and a shotgun.
Miller appeared to have left behind a series
of violent threats on the online social reading
platform Wattpad, but they have been removed.
One post said an attack was initially planned
at Mountain View High School on the first day
of school. He also wrote of needing to make
bombs.
Miller said the incident began about
7:04 p.m. Sunday near Costco. Miller fired
shots into the Big Lots store next door to Safe-
way.
Molly Taroli, 40, said she was shopping for
dinner with her husband in the frozen foods
aisle when the shooter came in through the
westernmost door of the grocery store and
went through every aisle “spraying shots,” she
said. Taroli removed her own handgun from
her purse and her husband ran out the front
door to get his own gun.
Taroli said she heard a child screaming. She
threw her shopping cart in front of her and
started running toward the back of the store.
Employees were yelling “go, go, go!” and getting
shoppers through the stock room and out the
back door.
Gov. Brown declares
statewide emergency
over wildfire danger
BY GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon is under a statewide
emergency declaration due
to wildfire danger, Gov. Kate
Brown announced Sunday,
Aug. 28.
The declaration came as the
Rum Creek Fire in a remote
portion of southwestern Ore-
gon grew to over 10,500 acres
as of 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug.
29. The fire is centered near
Galice in Josephine County.
“With wildfire behavior
increasing across the state,
and with the threat of fire not
likely to recede in the near fu-
ture, it is imperative that we
act now to prevent further loss
— of life, property, business,
and our natural resources,”
Brown said in a Sunday state-
ment announcing the emer-
gency declaration.
The Rum Creek Fire ac-
counts for nearly half of the
21,181 acres burned by the
28 active fires in Oregon, ac-
cording to the State of Ore-
gon Fires and Hotspots Dash-
board.
Brown said in a statement
that she issued the order due
to widespread drought and
other conditions in the state
that could ignite wildfires.
The declaration also comes
as Oregon approaches the
two-year anniversary of the
massive 2020 Labor Day fires
that burned over 1.1 million
acres, killed 11 people, and
destroyed more than 3,000
structures.
According to Brown’s an-
nouncement, “The Governor’s
declaration authorizes the Or-
Crockets Knob
Continued from A1
Dead trees killed in the
1996 fire have fallen, littering
the ground with logs that add
to the fuel load.
The fire is not threatening
any structures, and there have
been no evacuations.
The blaze grew from 1,285
acres on Saturday, Aug. 27 to
1,447 acres on Sunday.
Most of the burning on
Sunday was on the north and
east sides of the fire, where
flames spread into stringers
of timber, some including
mature trees that didn’t burn
in the 1996 fire, and other
areas with younger trees,
said Erick Hendrickson, a
public information officer at
Renovations
Continued from A1
Construction is expected
to be complete in 2023, but
Sherman said it will take
about four months to put the
center back together because
many exhibits were packed
away in storage, and boxes
were built around displays
that stayed, such as the oxen
and wagons.
Sherman estimates the cen-
ter could reopen in late 2023.
In the meantime, those in-
terested in Oregon Trail his-
tory can visit NHOTIC’s ex-
egon Department of Forestry
and the Office of the State Fire
Marshal, in coordination with
the Oregon Department of
Emergency Management, to
utilize personnel, equipment,
and facilities from other state
agencies in order to respond
to or mitigate the effects of the
wildfire emergency. The dec-
laration allows state agencies
to temporarily suspend any
rules that impair the response
to wildfires, if needed, and
also allows the state to request
assistance from other states
through the Emergency Man-
agement Assistance Compact
if necessary.”
Brown said the National
Guard would be used if other
resources are depleted.
The Rum Creek Fire was at
about 1,200 acres on Friday,
according to state fire offi-
cials. It grew to 4,700 acres on
Saturday and was reported at
8,400 acres by mid-day Sun-
day.
Logan Taylor, of Talent,
was killed Thursday by a fall-
ing tree while battling the fire.
Brown has ordered flags to be
flown at half-mast on Monday
to honor Taylor.
One house and two min-
ing structures have been de-
stroyed by the Rum Creek
Fire, according to the National
Interagency Fire Center.
Firefighters have reached
about 10% containment of
the state’s second largest blaze,
the Cedar Creek Fire west
of Waldo Lake, which has
burned about 7,300 acres, ac-
cording to the state wildfire
dashboard.
the fire camp.
On Sunday crews improved
control lines on the west side
of the fire, including using
masticators — machines that
grind up shrubs and other fuel
— to reduce fuel loads along
Forest Road 45.
Hendrickson said fire man-
agers are striving to limit the
width of containment lines
since the fire is burning in the
Vinegar Hill/Indian Rock Sce-
nic Area.
Fire officials are bracing for
more active burning this week
as temperatures rise and hu-
midity levels fall, Hendrickson
said.
Gusty winds are also possi-
ble, which could cause flames
to spread more rapidly, he
said.
hibit inside Baker Heritage
Museum.
This partnership will con-
tinue through 2023 — and
hopefully beyond, Sherman
said.
“Being part of the commu-
nity is what we want to do
more of,” she said. “We want
to continue that even after we
reopen.”
The museum is open Mon-
day through Saturday from
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday
from noon to 4 p.m.
Admission is $9 adults, $8
seniors, $5 for ages 6-12, and
free for ages 5 and younger.
The most valuable and
respected source of local news,
advertising and information for
our communities.
Eagle Cap
Continued from A1
Of the five fires burning
now in the Eagle Cap, four
are in the northwest part of
the wilderness, and one in
the southeast.
There are two pairs of
separate fires in the north-
west.
The Goat 1 and Goat 2
fires, on Goat Mountain
west of McCubbin Basin
south of Wallowa, are both
around a tenth of an acre,
and about a quarter mile
apart. Neither fire was very
active during the weekend.
The two other fires, by
contrast, produced a smoke
plume visible from Baker
City on Sunday, Aug. 28.
The Sturgill fire was esti-
mated at about 15 acres that
day, and the 324 fire is burn-
ing nearby.
The two blazes are in the
North Minam River area,
about 7 miles south of the
Goat fires.
More than 15 miles to
the southeast, the Nebo fire
was estimated at 20 acres on
Sunday. It’s burning in the
upper part of the Lick Creek
drainage, a tributary to the
Imnaha River.
Botello said that with
hot and dry weather fore-
cast through Labor Day, the
Sturgill/324 and Nebo fires
likely will continue to burn
actively during the after-
noons, generating smoke
plumes.
Todd Pederson, an assis-
tant fire management officer
for the Wallowa-Whitman,
said he expects those fires
will be especially active on
Wednesday, Aug. 31, when
high temperatures are fore-
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Emergency personnel respond to a shooting at the Forum shopping center in Bend on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022.
Molly Sanden, a Safeway employee, told The
Bulletin that a person walked into the grocery
store and opened fire with a gun, firing multi-
ple shots.
Jake Daniels, another Safeway employee,
said he heard three shots followed by another
six. He said he saw a person running out of the
cast to be approach or exceed
100 degrees at lower elevations.
“We could see large (smoke)
columns from both fires, Ped-
erson said.
Forest Service officials are
monitoring all the wilderness
fires during daily or twice-daily
flights, and a team of fire man-
agers is available to check on
the blazes from the ground, Bo-
tello said.
The smoke is a welcome
sign, Botello said, that the fires
are reducing the fuel loading
and creating a “mosaic” pat-
tern — a mixture of unburned,
lightly burned and more heav-
ily burned areas.
That’s a natural pattern for
historical fires in the Eagle
Cap, he said. The more heavily
burned areas can serve as fuel-
breaks during future blazes.
“We’re trying to break up the
fuels,” Pederson said.
Both the Sturgill/324 and
Nebo fires are burning in areas
with subalpine fir trees, a com-
mon tree at higher elevations in
the Eagle Cap, he said.
He hopes the fires, before
they’re doused by autumn rain
and snow, will thin some of
the subalpine fir stands, espe-
cially in areas where those trees
are encroaching on another
high-elevation tree, the white-
bark pine.
Whitebarks, which are a
candidate for federal protec-
tion under the Endangered
Species Act, are vulnerable to
fires spreading from nearby
subalpine firs, Pederson said.
Subalpine firs burn readily, as
their needs have a high concen-
tration of combustible oils, as
well as low-growing branches
that make it easy for flames to
spread from the ground to the
trees’ crowns.
Pederson said the Nebo fire,
Peggy Pittman
April 9, 1945 - July 27, 2022
Peggy Anna Pittman was born
April 9, 1945, in Gatesville, Tex-
as, where she lived briefly before
moving to Challis, Idaho, where
she lived with her younger sis-
ter Melanie, younger brother Jeff,
and parents Rollin William and
Margaret Leaton (Van Meeteren).
She graduated from Challis High
School in 1963 and then shortly af-
ter graduation, moved to Moscow,
Idaho, where she attended the University of Idaho.
Peggy worked a variety of different jobs in Idaho
and met and married Vernon Jaye Nickens, resulting
in the birth of their two children, Curtis Jaye Nickens,
who was born in Idaho, and Shannon Dawn Nickens,
who was born after their family moved to Oregon.Their
family lived in Western Oregon where Peggy eventual-
ly landed her career job at the United States Forest Ser-
vice. It was this position that ultimately brought Curtis,
Shannon, and Peggy to Eastern Oregon where they fi-
nally settled in Baker City in 1985.
She met the love of her life in Baker City and just
couldn’t help falling in love with John (Jack) Fredric
Pittman; they married on December 3, 1992. Marrying
Jack not only gave Peggy a loving partner and fishing
buddy, but also blessed her by adding his three children
to her life: Greg Pittman, Dee Staab, and Rhea Powell
made her a proud mother of five.
In 1994 Peggy retired from the United States Forest
Service which afforded her more time to spend with her
husband and family doing some of their favorite things
together; fishing, visiting the coast, and hunting mush-
rooms in the spring.
After Jack’s passing on June 25, 2012, Peggy spent
mre time with her children and grandchildren until her
passing on July 27, 2022, at her home in Baker City.
She is survived by all of her children: Curtis (Bil-
lie-Jo Nickens), Shannon (Louis Russell), Greg (Megan
Pittman), Dee, and Rhea (Jess Powell), her sister Mela-
nie (Pete Peterson), brother Jeff (Pam Leaton), 15 of her
16 grandchildren, and all 16 of her great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like to ask that
you consider donating to some of her favorite charities:
Operation Smile, Shriners Hospitals for Children, St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or Mercy Ships.
A graveside service has been planned at Mount Hope
Cemetery in Baker City on Saturday, September 10,
2022 at 10 a.m.
store, pursued by police.
Daniels said after the first shots, he started
grabbing people and running out the store
doors.
About a dozen Safeway workers huddled
outside a nearby business at the Forum shop-
ping center, clearly shaken.
which is burning primarily in
subalpine fir stands, could also
potentially spread into areas
burned by the 1989 Canal and
1994 Twin Lakes fires, poten-
tially reducing some of the fuel
loading, in the form of down
and dead trees, that resulted
from those blazes.
Deciding to monitor
rather than fight
Forest officials consider sev-
eral criteria in deciding whether
to allow a fire to burn in the Ea-
gle Cap, including its location
and the potential that it could
spread outside the wilderness
or threaten the few parcels of
private property surrounded by
wilderness, Botello said. Only
lightning-caused fires can be
monitored.
Another key factor is the
time of year, he said.
All five fires started in late
August — they were sparked
by lightning around Aug. 22 —
which is toward the end of the
fire season.
Burning conditions tend to
be less extreme in late August
and early September, due in
part to longer nights that typi-
cally result in lower nighttime
temperatures and higher hu-
midity levels, Pederson said.
In previous summers the
Forest Service has allowed sev-
eral fires to grow much larger
than any of the current blazes
in the Eagle Cap.
The Granite Gulch fire, for
instance, burned about 1,750
acres in the Minam River can-
yon in 2019, although that blaze
passed over some of that area,
creating the mosaic pattern Bo-
tello mentioned.
In some cases, though, For-
est Service officials choose to
fight rather than monitor light-
ning-sparked fires in the Eagle
Cap.
In 2019, while the Granite
Gulch fire was burning, officials
decided to douse another fire.
That blaze was within 1 mile of
the wilderness boundary and
even closer to a parcel of private
land along North Catherine
Creek.
Officials also chose to fight
the Dennis Creek fire, near
the Minam River, in July 2015
because that fire started early
in the fire season. With a se-
vere drought under way, fire
managers were concerned
that the blaze, with a long, hot
summer ahead, could grow
too rapidly.
Walter Rosslyn “Ross” Shumway
May 19, 1941 - August 5, 2022
Ross passed from this life into the
arms of Jesus on August 5, 2022, at
a care facility in La Grande, Oregon.
He was born in Baker, Oregon, on
May 19, 1941, the fifth son of Walter
William and Iva Bernice (Walters)
Shumway.
His parents owned a cattle ranch
on Burnt River at the end of the road
in the Bridgeport Valley. Ross grew
up knowing how to work hard and loved ranch life. He
graduated from Hereford High School and earned his
associate’s degree from Yakima Junior College. Shortly
thereafter he was drafted into the Army. His posting
proved to be a blessing from God in three ways. He was
sent to Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, where he was
trained as a Vet Animal Specialist to care for the Caisson
horses, among other duties. The skills he learned during
this period proved to be invaluable in caring for the
livestock on the ranch.
Ross used his free time to take correspondence
courses in forestry, thinking the then poor timberlands
on the ranch could be turned into a renewable income-
producing crop. Ross and his brother Bill both took great
interest in this. Eventually a model was created that won
a state award for best private forestry practices.
The third blessing was a chaplain who befriended Ross
- later their lives would intertwine in a most interesting
way. The chaplain’s name was William “Bill” Jacobson.
Our dad believed he had been entrusted to steward
“our” land to the best of his ability during his time on
earth, and passed that belief on to his children. He had
been praying, asking God how he could honor Him with
this precious resource.
Sometime after Ross returned home, Bill Jacobson
was directed by God to leave the military in order to
join a mission that sent people to minister to remote
tribal peoples. The training school “just happened” to be
recently established in Baker City, Oregon. Bill moved his
wife and family there to the New Tribe Mission school.
The Jacobsons soon visited Ross and the rest of the family
at the ranch, where their friendship continued. Eventually
the Shumways joyfully allowed their ranch, including the
haven of the forest, to be used for “Jungle Camp.” It was
there the mission’s students learned important survival
skills for beginning to work and remote places. Dad’s
prayer was answered!
Ross was a kind, gentle soul, who never put himself
forward. He married Patricia Ann Myers May 17, 1969.
They were active members of the Unity Community
Church during their years in Bridgeport, and later
attended Elgin Christian Church.
He spent his life working on the ranch with three of his
brothers until it sold in the spring of 2014. He and Patty
moved to Summerville, Oregon, for the next few years,
then to La Grande last year.
Ross is survived by his wife, Patty of La Grande,
Oregon; brothers, Bill (Sally) of Surprise, Arizona; Duane
(Beulah) of Meridian, Idaho; and Steve, of Council,
Idaho; sisters, Marjorie (David) Pidcock of La Grande,
Oregon; Esther (George) Smith of La Grande, Oregon;
and several nieces and nephews.
There will be no memorial service. Online condolences
may be made to the family at www.lovelandfuneralchapel.
com.