A10
News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
LOVE
Continued from Page A1
Laurie recalls her friend
Cindy Kowing Davis made
the wedding cake. Kathy’s
dress was made by Bobbie
Officer, and Laurie had earli-
er driven with Charlie to On-
tario to buy her gown.
“We each had a bouquet
of red roses,” Laurie said. “It
was simple.”
Kathy added she and
her sister stood in as bride’s
maids, and the brothers were
best men for each other.
Pastor Milo Franke offici-
ated the wedding ceremony at
the Assembly of God Church
in John Day on what was the
last day of the elk hunt.
“We always say that last
half day of elk season is the
definition of love,” Kathy said.
Both pairs honeymooned
at the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort in
Warm Springs.
Years have passed.
Kathy is now the Grant
County justice of the peace,
and Laurie is secretary and
educational assistant at Sene-
ca School. Frank is a retired
plumber, and Charlie a re-
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
Frank and Kathy Stinnett, posing at Kathy’s office at the Grant County Courthouse
last week, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last November. Kathy’s sister
Laurie and Frank’s brother Charlie share the same anniversary.
tired contractor.
The couples’ 40th wed-
ding anniversary was three
months ago. No matter what
their anniversary date is, the
Stinnetts always celebrate on
the last day of the elk hunt.
When asked how they
made it this far, Laurie said
every circumstance is differ-
ent, but for her, marriage has
been “like sailing a ship.”
“You have rough times
and good times and in-be-
tween times,” she said.
Laurie said, while Charlie
was watching TV recently, he
said to their son, “Well, we
don’t fight that much” — and
Laurie added, “It’s not un-
healthy to disagree.”
Frank said staying togeth-
er is a series of compromises.
“You’ve got to listen
to what they say,” he said.
“You’re going to have mo-
ments — you’re two individ-
uals — but you have to think
of the other person.”
He added the marriage
vow isn’t just to each other.
“That vow is to God,” he
said.
They each added that it
helped to marry a good person.
Kathy and Frank have one
daughter and two sons, and
Laurie and Charlie have one
daughter and three sons.
“The first two were born a
month apart, and after that it
was a stair step,” Laurie said,
adding her last son was born a
few years later.
Kathy said the best result
of siblings marrying siblings
has been seeing their children
grow up together.
“They are as close as broth-
ers and sisters can be,” she
said, adding, “We camp to-
gether and celebrate holidays
together.”
Valentine’s Day traditions
in the close-knit family con-
tinue.
Although they didn’t have
a double wedding, Kathy and
Frank’s sons also married sis-
ters.
CONTROL
Continued from Page A1
maintains an airplane in La
Grande that Lulay will use
for aerial hunting in Grant
and neighboring counties.
Lulay said he’s been trap-
ping in Grant County all win-
ter. Most of his livestock dep-
redation work is focused on
coyotes, but he also handles
complaints about cougars
and bears. He also responds
to calls about skunks and rac-
coons.
“The state Fish and Wild-
life office will sometimes call
me for a mountain lion sight-
ing,” he said.
Rancher’s
request
Jim Dovenburg played a
key role in getting an animal
damage control officer as-
signed to Grant County.
“Grant County was one
of the few counties in Or-
egon without a Wildlife
Services agent,” he told the
Eagle.
Dovenburg, who owns the
Widows Creek Ranch east
of Dayville, said 2,000 deer
wintered on his ranch when
the county had a Wildlife
Services agent keeping pred-
ators under control, but the
deer population dropped to
about 100 after the program
ended.
He said the Wildlife Ser-
vices agent had removed
about 40 coyotes a year from
his 5-square-mile property.
With the agent gone, Doven-
burg hired a trapper for about
18 months and saw deer and
antelope populations on his
property triple.
“I manage my wildlife
like my livestock,” he said.
“Coyotes are a huge problem.
You need to be proactive and
keep wildlife in balance.”
Dovenburg said a Wildlife
Services agent not only deals
with ranches, he will respond
to residential complaints too.
He noted that ravens are a
major problem, preying on
newborn calves sleeping in a
pasture.
“Ravens are the single big-
gest predator for sage grouse
eggs,” he said. “They’re not a
good bird.”
After numerous attempts,
the animal damage control
program was brought back to
Grant County in 2017, but it
was too late in the fiscal year
to be fully funded for the first
year, Dovenburg said. He
said cooperator funding will
be complete in the second
year, and the program will
continue “as long as I remain
standing.”
Grant County Judge Scott
Myers said the county bud-
geted $35,000 for the pro-
gram in the current fiscal
year with the stipulation that
Contributed photo
Nick Lulay, the new Wildlife Services agent for Grant County, at the airport in La Grande after a day of aerial
predator control. notforsale
Contributed photo
A coyote attacks a sheep in this photo from the USDA National Wildlife Research
Center, the research arm of Wildlife Services. notforsale
other funding would become
available.
“I believe the program
will continue to be annually
funded,” he said.
Lulay said his position is
supported with county and
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife funding, but he
expects to see state and fed-
ARRESTS
Continued from Page A1
Oregon State Police received a re-
port of a suspicious vehicle leaving
Dayville at about 8:30 a.m., and Sgt.
Tom Hutchison stopped the vehicle
at about 8:51 a.m. on Highway 26 in
Prairie City.
eral funding available in the
next fiscal year.
Wildlife Services
Established in 1972 under
the U.S. Department of Ag-
riculture, Wildlife Services’
mission is to “resolve wildlife
conflicts to allow people and
wildlife to coexist,” according
“A consent search of the vehicle
was conducted, and about 5 pounds
of marijuana was discovered, along
with $3161.00 in cash,” Hutchison
said in his report.
Subsequent investigation re-
vealed Presley, Mack and a female
passenger,
Margaret
Elizabeth
Muir, acquired the marijuana in
Bend and planned to transport it to
to the USDA website.
According to a 1998 anal-
ysis of data from USDA’s
National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service, $3 worth of
livestock was saved for ev-
ery dollar spent on predation
management. The analysis
showed that $9 million in
federal funds combined with
Wyoming, Hutchison said.
Presley also faces one charge of
delivery of marijuana, according
to court documents, and Mack, the
driver, faces one charge of giving
false information to a police officer
as well as traffic infractions. The ex-
porting and conspiracy charges are
felonies.
Muir, 19, Cheyenne, Wyoming,
$11 million in cooperative
funds for predation manage-
ment generated $250 million
in economic activity.
Benefits from activities to
reduce coyote predation can
range as high as 1 to 27, the
USDA says. In 2010, Wild-
life Services killed 4,317
coyotes in Oregon, includ-
ing 1,621 by aircraft, 966 by
neck snare, 920 by foothold
trap, 351 by firearm and 336
by cyanide capsule. Wildlife
Services agents also killed 91
cougars in 2010, including 45
by firearms, 25 by neck snare
and 16 by foothold trap.
According to a report
about the impacts of preda-
tory animals on livestock in
the Rocky Mountain region
by the Utah State University
Extension Service, nonlethal
methods to deal with coyotes
include fencing, guard dogs
and llamas, good husbandry
practices, frightening devices
such as scarecrows and pro-
pane exploders and chemical
repellents.
Licensed resident and
nonresident hunters can hunt
for coyotes year-round. No
tag is required, and there is
no bag limit.
was issued a citation and released, ac-
cording to OSP records.
A third male passenger, a 21-year-
old Baker City resident, was released
with no action taken.
The vehicle was seized and towed.
A status check is set for Pres-
ley and Mack at 1:15 p.m. Feb.
15 in Grant County Circuit
Court.
TAX
Continued from Page A1
with minimum bids and pos-
sibly hiring a broker to handle
the sales.
According to state law,
“real property within this
state is subject to foreclosure
for delinquent taxes whenever
three years have elapsed from
the earliest date of delinquen-
cy of taxes levied and charged
thereon.”
“We have taken an oath to
uphold the federal and state
constitution and the laws of
the state, and property own-
ers are required to pay taxes,”
Myers said.
Grant County District At-
torney Jim Carpenter filed
for foreclosure on 42 proper-
ties in Grant County Circuit
Court. Judge William D. Cra-
mer Jr. issued a foreclosure
judgment on the properties on
April 8, 2016.
The owners then had two
years to redeem the prop-
erties by paying any taxes,
interest and fees owed to the
county. During that two-year
window, Grant County spent
$200 apiece on a title search
to see if any liens existed on
the properties.
The back taxes for the 42
properties totaled $171,460 at
the time of the judgment. With
interest accrued to that time,
the amount totaled $364,756
— more than double the taxes
owed.
As of Feb. 7, eight of the
42 properties have been re-
deemed, reducing the total
owed to $305,468. Ten prop-
erties had back taxes from
the 1980s, and six had back
taxes from the 1990s. Thir-
teen properties were owned
by people living in California,
Arizona or Washington. Own-
ership of four properties was
unknown.
The most taxes plus in-
terest owed for a property
on the list was $78,601 — a
0.41-acre property on Beech
Creek Road in Mt. Vernon.
Just next door is a 1.6-acre
property with $29,819 owed
in back taxes and interest
— the second highest on the
list. A short distance away is
a 0.03-acre sliver of land on
the shoulder of Highway 395
with $232 in back taxes and
interest owed.
The least amount owed
on the list was $91, but that
property has little value —
consisting of a 0.06-acre slice
of land in Canyon City where
Patterson Drive had been re-
located. A 19.87-acre proper-
ty with $8,077 in back taxes
and interest owed since 2000
is the Horace Worcester Mine
property.
While some properties
have little value because of
their size, shape and loca-
tion, others present liabili-
ties. Myers said the county
is reluctant about becoming
a landlord — particularly if
the tenants live in dilapidated
residences.
The most valuable prop-
erty on the list, according to
Grant County Assessor Da-
vid Thunell, is a 12.8-acre
undeveloped property on
Orchard View Road in Kim-
berly. The rectangular parcel
extends from orchard land on
the North Fork of the John
Day River to steep slopes
overlooking the valley. A
total of $3,411 in back taxes
and interest is owed on this
property. An adjacent parcel
that is similar has been listed
for $175,000.
Thunell said he will sug-
gest minimum bids for some
properties to the county
court. He also wants as many
of the properties as possible
sold before July 1 so they
can be put back on the tax
rolls.
“Otherwise they would
be exempt from taxes for the
next year,” he said.
Cramer issued a foreclo-
sure judgment on four more
properties on Oct. 17, 2016,
with back taxes and interest
totaling $9,516. A foreclo-
sure judgment on four more
properties was made on Dec.
20, with back taxes and inter-
est totaling $48,086.
Thunell said he expects
the county will continue to
pursue tax foreclosures every
year. Myers said the process
has helped clarify issues.
“It answers questions of
ownership,” he said. “Some
people who were called said
they didn’t know they owed
any taxes.”