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Blue Mountain Eagle
SMITH
Continued from Page A1
Users would sign three-
year agreements, which
would terminate about one
year after the users learned
the legislature’s decision
about whether to increase the
phone tax that supports 911
dispatch centers across the
state, Green said.
Cost sharing for the
$200,000 remaining after
using 911 phone tax reve-
nue would be based on user
charges per call and the as-
sessed values of the nine par-
ticipating jurisdictions. Un-
der this model and average
call volume, the city would
pay $27,728 for police calls,
$1,064 for public works calls
and $15,596 based on as-
sessed property value, for a
total of $44,388.
In a related matter, Gov.
Kate Brown issued a proc-
lamation making April 8-14
Public Safety Telecommu-
nicators Week to honor 911
dispatchers across the state.
• The council approved
an amended ordinance and
adopted an intergovernmen-
tal agreement establishing
the Grant County Digital
Network Coalition. The or-
dinance was passed under
an emergency declaration so
the city could meet a dead-
line to apply for a 2018 U.S.
FINDLEY
Continued from Page A1
said he opposed one because
it offered property tax ex-
emptions, which he believes
should be a local decision,
and noted that a bill to pro-
vide tax breaks for solar
developers was tabled be-
cause supporting documents
lacked real numbers. Land-
owners need protection from
sophisticated solar develop-
ers, he said.
A cap-and-trade bill
aimed at reducing green-
house gas emissions failed to
pass. Findley called it “a bad
idea for Oregon.” He also
called the passage of Senate
Bill 1528, which disconnects
Oregon from the recent fed-
Department of Agriculture
Community Connect Grant.
Similar ordinances and
agreements have been ap-
proved by Grant County and
Seneca, the other two parties
in the coalition. John Day
will be the lead entity and
have overall responsibility
for the coalition’s operations.
The Oregon Legislature
approved a $1.8 million
grant in 2017, enough to
run a fiber optic cable from
Burns to John Day. The city
has signed contracts with
Commstructure Consulting
to plan the cable route and
Fiber Channels to review,
validate and update network
requirements.
The coalition’s board
planned to hold its first meet-
ing in April to adopt bylaws,
but Green later told the Ea-
gle scheduling conflicts post-
poned the meeting to May.
John Day, Grant County and
Seneca each will have one
voting board member, with
two at-large members ap-
pointed by the first three. In
addition to Smith from John
Day, Grant County appoint-
ed Dan Becker, and Green
said Seneca appointed Public
Works Director Josh Walker.
• The council approved a
resolution to authorize refi-
nancing through Washington
Federal to pay off $62,000
due on a promissory note
for the land used to build the
city fire hall and to borrow
$300,000 to complete con-
struction of the new fire hall.
Green said the city could
save $10,000 in origination
fees and a significant amount
of interest by paying off the
loan in five years instead of 20
years. A capital loan from the
city’s water department to the
general fund would be neces-
sary to complete the deal.
Green said he will meet
with representatives of Kirby
Nagelhout Construction Co.
in April to discuss plans to
finish the fire hall. The com-
pany built the fire hall and
will be making seismic up-
grades to Humbolt Elemen-
tary School this summer.
• The council discussed
the need to complete an
annual performance review
for Green’s work, which
Councilor Dave Holland
noted was overdue. Once
that is completed, the coun-
cil could discuss whether
to change the city manager
contract from one year to
multi-year.
Holland said a multi-year
contract would provide more
security for both the city and
Green. Anna Bass, of Os-
ter Professional Group, said
the budget could accommo-
date the proposed contract
change. Holland said he had
worked with Bass and talked
to other councilors about the
proposed change.
eral tax bill that provided
a 20 percent deduction for
small businesses, “a bad day
for small businesses in Ore-
gon.”
The first bill he ever nom-
inated, House Bill 4153,
which designates Eastern Or-
egon University as Oregon’s
Rural University, passed by
60-0, an unusual accom-
plishment for a beginning
legislator.
Findley is familiar with
strong local interest in seeing
911 phone taxes increased
to help fund emergency dis-
patch centers, and he supports
the idea of keeping a dispatch
center in Grant County, but
he wants to find out where the
money has been going before
seeing the tax raised. At the
same time, he recognized the
need to fix the funding short-
age before the phone tax sun-
sets in 2021.
While he supports ex-
panding broadband internet
service to rural areas, Find-
ley voted against a net neu-
trality bill. The legislation
was a “fluff bill,” he said,
limited to internet provid-
ers that served government
agencies in areas where real
competition existed.
When asked about the
high cost of hunting tags,
Findley said the problem was
that the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife relied
too heavily on hunting tags
for habitat protection and
other purposes. Money for
those purposes should come
from the general fund, he
said.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Known Oregon wolf packs (As of Dec. 2017)
Confirmed pack/individual range
Estimated pack/individual range
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
Portland
97
101
197
5
1
Salem
9 10
11 14 15
84
Pendleton
16
7
395
6
12
3
17
5
18
13
OREGON
2
19
82
4 8
26
22
84
26
20
126
20
97
58
5
21
101
N
22
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
Pack/area
Total
1. White River
2
2. Desolation
2
3. OR30
3
4. Meacham*
3
5. OR52
3
6. Mt. Emily*
5
7. Ruckel Ridge 7
8. N. Emily
2
9. Walla Walla* 7
10. Wenaha*
10
11. Noregaard* 9
12. Minam*
11
(cont.)
Total
13. Catherine*
4
14. Shamrock
3
15. Chesnimnus* 3
16. Snake River* 10
17. Harl Butte*
4
18. Middle Fork* 6
19. Pine Creek* 8
20. OR37
1
21. Silver Lake
1
22. Rogue*
7
Lone/misc.
13
Minimum total 124
Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
WOLF
Continued from Page A1
Gov. Kate Brown said she
is encouraged by the continued
recovery of Oregon wolves,
though ongoing conflicts with
poachers and livestock remain
troublesome.
“Despite this good news,
ongoing issues of poaching and
livestock depredation must be
carefully considered as we ex-
plore more effective manage-
ment and conservation practic-
es,” she said.
Though ODFW removed
wolves from the state endan-
gered species list in 2015, it
remains illegal to shoot a wolf
except in limited circumstanc-
es, such as in defense of human
life or those caught in the act of
chasing livestock. Wolves re-
main federally protected west
of highways 395, 78 and 95.
ODFW reported four cas-
es of wolves killed illegally in
2017. Three cases are still un-
der investigation. The fourth, in
Union County, involved a wild-
life trapper who shot a wolf he
found in one of his traps. David
Sanders Jr., 58, pleaded guilty
to one count of using unbrand-
ed traps, and was sentenced to
24 months bench probation,
100 hours of community ser-
vice and a $7,500 fine.
The Union County District
Attorney’s Office agreed to
dismiss one count of illegally
shooting a special status game
mammal, though Sanders did
20
26
395
Wolf pack population
Bend
Eugene
John Day
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
have his hunting and trap-
ping license suspended for 36
months and agreed to pay an
additional $1,000 penalty to
ODFW.
In all, 13 wolf deaths were
recorded in 2017 — 12 of
which were caused by humans.
ODFW issued lethal take per-
mits that resulted in four wolves
being shot from the Harl Butte
pack in Wallowa County, and
one from the Meacham pack
in Umatilla County, to try and
curb livestock depredations.
Lethal take is allowed under
Phase III of the Wolf Manage-
ment and Conservation Plan in
Eastern Oregon.
Meanwhile, OR-48 from
the Shamrock pack was unin-
tentionally killed by an M-44
cyanide trap that had been set
by USDA Wildlife Services
on private land; a pup from
the Ruckel Ridge pack was
killed by a livestock protection
dog; and OR-30 was shot by
an elk hunter in Union Coun-
ty who claimed he was acting
in self-defense. The hunter,
38-year-old Brian Scott, was
not charged with a crime.
Sean Stevens, executive
director of the Portland-based
environmental group Oregon
Wild, was sharply critical of
poachers and ODFW killing
wolves. Most recently, the
agency approved killing two
more animals from the Pine
Creek pack in Baker County for
preying on cattle. ODFW killed
one April 10.
“The wolf population is
stagnant because poachers and
ODFW agents are killing more
wolves — this despite the fact
that ODFW admits livestock
depredations are down from
last year,” Stevens said. “It de-
mands accountability from an
agency that insists on killing
more wolves every year.”
The annual wolf report
shows confirmed livestock dep-
redations decreased from 24 in
2016 to 17 in 2017. Those cases
involved 11 calves, one llama,
one alpaca and 23 domestic
fowl.
Ranchers, however, say
they will need more support
from the state to ensure they
can protect their businesses and
their livelihood.
George Rollins, a Baker
County rancher and co-chair-
man of the wolf committee for
the Oregon Cattlemen’s Asso-
ciation, said the latest depreda-
tions by the Pine Creek pack re-
sulted in three dead calves, four
wounded and another three
missing.
“The people taking the eco-
nomic loss and the emotional
stresses are the producers,”
Rollins said. “It gets very tire-
some. They feel like they’re not
being supported. Nobody’s lis-
tening to them.”
ODFW is still working to
pass an overdue five-year up-
date of its wolf management
and conservation plan. The
Fish and Wildlife Commission
decided in January to do more
stakeholder outreach and try to
reach a greater consensus.
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