A10
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
WOLF
Continued from Page A1
become overpopulated with
the predators, said Todd Nash,
wolf committee chairman of
the Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation.
“Nowhere does it address
a maximum number,” Nash
said.
Ranchers would like to see
the agency create manage-
ment units with caps on wolf
numbers, but these sugges-
tions have been largely disre-
garded, he said.
Currently, Oregon is esti-
mated to have more than 100
wolves.
Based on trends seen in
Idaho and Montana, howev-
er, that number can be ex-
pected to climb steeply in
the coming years, for which
the current draft plan fails to
account, said Jim Akenson,
conservation director for the
Oregon Hunters Association.
“I don’t know why in the
world we would not look to
our neighbors to see what
will happen here,” Akenson
said.
The Oregon Farm Bureau
would like to see the plan
provide a greater allowance
for lethal wolf control when
they’re near homes or if they
threaten livestock, pets and
people, said Kevin Johnson,
the organization’s represen-
tative.
The agency should also
increase its focus on collar-
ing wolves as their popula-
tion increases, so their move-
ments and potential livestock
interactions would continue
to be monitored, he said.
Ranchers feel the plan is
overly prescriptive in its wolf
management policies despite
expectations of a surging
population, Johnson said.
“They don’t feel like their
positions are being heard.”
Environmental groups, on
the other hand, claim the plan
is overly reliant on lethal
wolf control, which they say
is often ineffective.
“Lethal control has often
not stopped depredations,”
said Nick Cady, legal director
for Cascadia Wildlands.
The loss of a top pack
member can cause the re-
maining wolves to become
increasingly desperate and
more likely to attack domes-
ticated livestock, said Green-
wald of the Center for Bio-
logical Diversity.
“There’s increasing sci-
ence that it creates more
problems than it fixes,” he
said.
The current draft plan
doesn’t
benefit
anyone
“whether they’re wearing
cowboy hats or driving Prius-
es,” said Rob Klavins, North-
east Oregon field coordinator
for Oregon Wild.
“This irresponsible and
unscientific plan should be
shelved,” he said.
Scientists who the agency
found credible enough to cite
in the plan have objected to
how their research was ap-
plied, Klavins said. “Those
scientists deserve a direct re-
sponse.”
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Known Oregon wolf packs
Confirmed pack/individual range
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
82
Portland
Pendleton
197
Unnamed
Heppner
5
26
Minam
Meacham
97
101
Chesnimnus
Wenaha Shamrock
Snake
Walla Walla
River
N. Emily
395
84
Salem
(As of Dec. 31, 2016)
Estimated pack/individual range
OR30
Desolation
22
Mt.
Emily
Catherine
26
84
Harl
Butte
OR29/36
OR37
20
26
126
Bend
Eugene
OREGON
20
97
58
OR25
5
Silver
Lake
101
Rogue
N
Keno (status unknown)
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
395
Ontario
Wolf pack population
Pack/area
(cont.)
Total
Wenaha*
Walla Walla*
Snake River*
Minam*
12
11
9
11
Mt. Emily
Meacham*
Rogue
8
7
6
Desolation
Shamrock
Catherine*
1
4
5
Total
Keno
Heppner
Silver Lake
OR30 pair
Chesnimnus*
Harl Butte*
N. Emily
OR29/36
Lone/misc.
Minimum total
Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
1
3
1
2
9
10
3
2
7
112
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
STREP
Continued from Page A1
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Prairie City School sophomore Lucas McKinley, second from right, explains his FFA project cattle to his fellow ag science students.
GRANT
Continued from Page A1
Learning to do
Students learn anatomy, phys-
iology and animal husbandry in
their annual semester-long ag sci-
ence classes, Cruise said. The new
40-by-80-foot post and pole barn
will include an enclosed room for
veterinary science, where students
can learn how to administer shots
and perform artificial insemination,
she said.
“We want the students to manage
the livestock facility,” she said. “We
want them to graduate with more
employable skills.”
A 2005 graduate from Prairie
City School, Cruise has a bachelor’s
of science in ag education from the
University of Idaho. Her maiden
name is Black, and she grew up on
the J&M Coombs Ranch outside
Prairie City.
“It was homesteaded in the early
1900s,” she said. “I’m a fifth gener-
ation there. My children are sixth.”
Cruise taught ag science for
three years at Dayville School and
then took some time off to raise
her children on the family’s cattle
ranch. She started teaching at Prai-
rie City this year.
Partners in the Prairie City ag
program include Strux Engineer-
ing of Prairie City, Shannon Voigt
Construction of Prairie City, Pape
The Eagle/Richard Hanners
Lucas McKinley, a sophomore at Prairie City School, leads his FFA
project cow to his ag science class Dec. 7.
Kenworth of Cottage Grove, John
Day River Veterinary Center, East-
ern Oregon Workforce Board in
La Grande, Confederated Tribes
of Warm Springs, Treasure Valley
Community College in Ontario,
Red’s Electric of Canyon City and
Oxarc of La Grande.
“These partners are key to sus-
taining the program with their pro-
gram knowledge,” Cruise said.
She said a Prairie City School
graduate at Strux Engineering will
help the school learn how to operate
the CNC machine.
Doing to learn
Many of the students in Cruise’s
ag science class raise livestock that
are brought to market about a year
later. For some students, that could
mean earnings for college tuition
and expenses, Cruise said.
Lucas McKinley, a sophomore at
Prairie City School, recently bought
two breeding cows, one breeding
heifer and one FFA steer, ranging
from 5 months to 1 1/2 years old.
He also rented two parcels of land
totaling about 40 acres to pasture
the cattle. He plans to sell the calves
born next spring in November and
to sell the steer at the Grant County
Fair in August.
Declan Zweygardt, a freshman,
lives on a large ranch outside of
town and has raised an FFA steer
for the county fair for a number of
years. Calves that were born last
month will grow to 1,250 pounds
by the time they go to market at the
fair. Ranchers have already start-
ed feeding cattle baled hay, as the
cold weather has reduced pasture
land.
Emily Ennis, a sophomore, has
raised pigs for the county fair for
the past two years. They typically
weigh about 80 pounds and are a
couple months old when she gets
them in April, and they grow to
about 280 pounds in time for the
fair. Ennis doesn’t live on a ranch,
so she keeps the pigs at the school.
Last year, her pig got strep throat,
and she had to give it antibiotics.
“We put antibiotics in the food
and gave him shots,” she said.
“Someone had to help hold him
down while I gave him a shot.”
Katie Hire, a freshman, said
she’s raised pigs since fourth grade.
She lives on a ranch and gets the
pigs when they’re young. Hire has
been a reserve champion at the fair
for showmanship.
Carson McKay, a sophomore,
and his sister Laken, a seventh-grad-
er, are raising steers in a pen on land
they rent in town — a kind of “ur-
ban ranch.” This is his second year
raising steers. They got the two
9-month-old steers in early Decem-
ber from a ranch in Homedale, Ida-
ho.
Other FFA activities include
public speaking and ag mechanics.
“Our students compete around
the state,” Cruise said.
541-523-6377
26565
541-963-6577
A test conducted in the office can
quickly determine if a person has
strep throat, she said.
“It really picked up in the last
few weeks,” she said. “We first
noticed an increase in mid-Novem-
ber.”
Strep throat is typically a sea-
sonal disease, Winegar said, but this
year was unusual with instances of
strep throat reported in Grant Coun-
ty during the summer. The health
department has also been seeing a
small cough accompanying strep
throat, which is not usual, and may-
be a little runny nose, she said.
Strep throat is relatively easy to
treat and prevent from spreading
if people take necessary steps, but
left untreated it could lead to scarlet
fever. Winegar noted that cases of
scarlet fever were reported in Grant
County about five years ago.
“If you’re sick, you should stay
home,” she said. “If symptoms
don’t improve, people should seek
medical attention from their lo-
cal providers, not the emergency
room.”
For more information about
strep throat symptoms and treat-
ment and about improved hygiene,
contact the Grant County Health
Department at 541-575-0429.
Strep throat
symptoms
About three out of every 10
children with a sore throat
actually have strep throat, ac-
cording to information provided
by the Grant County Health
Department. Symptoms include:
• Severe throat pain.
• Fever with temperatures
higher than 100.4 degrees.
• Swollen glands in the neck.
• The roof of the mouth turns
red, and the tonsils appear
white.
Symptoms warranting a trip
to the doctor include:
• Stiff neck or severe headache.
• Trouble breathing.
• Trouble swallowing because
of throat pain.
• Coughing up colored or
bloody mucus.
• If fever returns after a few
days.
• New symptoms appear, such
as rash, joint pain, earache,
vomiting or nausea.
• No improvements after two
days of antibiotics.
541-573-6377
541-576-2160
29573