STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
A8
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Plow driver works nights to keep roads clear
LA GRANDE — Tesmond
Hurd likens the view he sees
each night plowing the roads to
a scene from “Star Wars.”
Hurd is part of the mainte-
nance crew with the Oregon
Department of Transportation in
La Grande. In summer months,
he works on road improvement
and repair projects such as chip
seals.
In winter, he commands a
nearly 30-ton piece of machin-
ery rumbling down Interstate 84.
It’s not hard to understand
the comparisons between
spaceships and the industrial-
ized behemoths ODOT uses to
clear roadways.
At highway speeds, snow
resembles trailing stars after
the Millennium Falcon engages
hyperdrive. The plow even has
wings — blades attached to the
side of the vehicle that extend
just shy of 24 feet for clearing
snow. As it’s pushed away, the
snow forms wakes like those of
a naval ship pulling into port. A
pair of bright green laser point-
ers — which keep track of
where the wings are — pierce
the blanket of night.
Hurd said his job is to drive
in the worst weather conditions
every night.
On busy nights, when the
snow pours unrelentingly down,
Hurd will spend the entire eve-
ning behind the wheel. His only
communication once his shift
starts might be through the CB
radio, which has a local channel
for ODOT operators in the fi eld,
and a channel for relaying infor-
mation to dispatch about road
conditions.
The snow was falling fast
down the freeway and clearing
it all in one fell swoop.
“You can only plow so fast,
so you just keep making laps
and keep plowing and plow-
ing,” Hurd said of plowing
during heavy snowfall. “Hope-
fully you don’t have to close the
freeway down.”
When it’s snowing, the plow
operators lay down sand; in
drier conditions, salt. It’s to help
with traction, and improve the
roadways. Hurd said that he had
seen fi rsthand the immediate
impact sand can have on stuck
motorists.
ODOT keeps barns full of
both materials for plows to
refi ll. They also fulfi ll a sec-
ondary purpose of increasing
the weight of the snowplow,
increasing its individual trac-
tion capabilities. It is diffi cult to
extricate a snowplow that has
been disabled by the snow.
As well, the Observer pre-
viously reported on a possi-
ble shortage of ODOT snow-
plow operators. Craig Slipp, the
manager for ODOT Region 5
— the area encompassing most
of Eastern Oregon — told the
Observer that there were 12
open positions for road mainte-
nance positions. Hurd said that
his department in La Grande
was fully staff ed, however.
Hurd said there were a num-
ber of reasons why ODOT
makes the decision to close the
interstate. Recently, unchained
semis had closed down the free-
way, as did snow drifts formed
by heavy winds and fresh snow,
creating whiteout conditions on
the interstate.
“If we can’t see and we’re
running off the road,” Hurd
said, “we’ll make the call to
close it.”
be other costs for the motor car-
rier, according to a press release
from ODOT.
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
A Sisyphean task
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Tesmond Hurd drives through the thick snow on Interstate 84 at night in a snowplow on Wednes-
day, Jan. 5, 2022.
— though milder than previous
nights.
“When it’s snowing like this,
there will be lots of calls for
crashes or disabled vehicles,”
Hurd said.
Hurd drove past a semi that
appeared to be disabled along
I-84, and alerts dispatch.
Snowplows are sentries for
ODOT capable of calling in dis-
abled vehicles — or unchained
semis.
Unchained
According to the Ore-
gon State Police Capt. Stepha-
nie Bigman, 32 violations and
warnings were issued in Ore-
gon between Jan. 1 and Jan. 6
for commercial vehicles that
did not carry or use chains
when required. A number of
those violations occurred along
I-84 in Northeastern Oregon,
which had been closed on Jan.
5, at one point, due to unchained
semis blocking the route at Cab-
bage Hill near milepost 224.
The fi ne for unchained com-
mercial vehicles is $880 per
occurrence, up from $440. The
change occurred in September
2021.
“Commercial trucks not
chaining up when required is
a major contributing factor for
freeway closure that occur in the
mountain passes of Eastern Ore-
gon,” Tom Strandberg, public
information offi cer for ODOT,
said. “Once a truck starts slid-
ing or jackknifes it can quickly
block lanes and close down the
freeway. It can then take several
hours to get the proper tow ser-
vice providers to respond to the
scene and move the disabled
vehicle. Depending on the loca-
tion and duration of the closure,
it can impact hundreds or thou-
sands of motorists.”
According to an ODOT
press release, the estimated cost
of delays caused by trucks fail-
ing to follow Oregon chain laws
is more than $8 million a year
— to the motor carrier industry
and other highway users.
“When it comes to chaining,
I don’t chain — I don’t want to
hurt anybody — I park it,” said
Samuri Schaff er, a truck driver
of more than 15 years. “I don’t
deal with it until they take off
the chain laws. There’s so much
liability on us.”
Schaff er stated the liabilities
for truck drivers can be severe
if they are involved in any acci-
dent, so he avoids the issue
entirely by keeping off the road.
If a truck is involved in
a crash where failure to use
chains is a factor, there could
Inside, the cockpit of the
snowplow is kept blisteringly
warm. It isn’t for comfort —
Hurd admits that the temperatures
can be incredibly warm inside the
snowplow; enough that he sheds
jackets and layers, and opens the
window. It was below freezing
outside, and getting colder.
“It will get way too hot in
here,” Hurd said. “I usually
crack them about six inches.
You can see the snow on the
windshield — it will just freeze
there, and it will keep building
and building until you have to
get out and clear the windshield
every few miles.”
Already an hour into his
shift, the windshield had begun
to amass ice on its corners. The
windshield wipers squeaked
incessantly as they battle the
accumulating snow. If not
addressed, the windshield will
freeze over until just a small cir-
cle of visibility remains. At least
one secondary headlight was
completely encased in ice; the
other was encased in snow.
Hurd resigned to leaving the
wipers on despite the noise — a
chirping metronome for a long
night.
It’s a Sisyphean task to keep
the roads clear during heavy
snowfall. It is only the begin-
ning of winter.
Plow operators are assigned
sections of the interstate and
state roads to keep clear. Mostly,
they handle I-84, but they also
are responsible for keeping
Island Avenue clear. Some-
times, they pair up when condi-
tions are poor, running tandem
Cattle may be seized as investigation continues
By BILL BRADSHAW
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA
COUNTY
— Wallowa County Sheriff
Joel Fish said his offi ce con-
tinues to investigate possi-
ble animal neglect by Dean
Oregon Ranches and others
in the stranding of cattle in
the mountains during recent
snowstorms.
“I do not have any specifi c
number of cows that have been
gathered or died,” Fish said.
“The staff for Dean Oregon
Ranches are collecting the cat-
tle. Most of the cattle belong to
Dean Oregon Ranches.”
The sheriff said he expects
the investigation to take time
as his offi ce gathers statements
from those involved.
County
Commissioner
Todd Nash, who is a rancher
and often addresses agricul-
tural issues on the board of
commissioners, said Fish’s
statement of Dec. 31 that the
county was “moving toward
seizing the Dean Oregon
Ranch” was not exactly accu-
rate. Nash said it’s the cat-
tle — not the ranch itself —
that may be seized and it is
unknown if the small num-
ber of cattle owned by other
ranchers would be included.
“We’re looking at seiz-
ing the livestock,” Nash said.
“We’re in the process of con-
sidering that.”
He said there is no time-
line in sight, as the proper legal
measures — such as Fish’s
investigation — must be taken.
“We need to have all our
ducks in a row,” the commis-
sioner said.
Wife speaks up
But Karen Dean, wife of
Bob Dean, the owner of the
ranch in the Upper Imnaha area
where cattle have been freez-
ing for the past few weeks, was
defensive of her ailing husband
during a telephone interview
from her Georgia home.
Dean said her 68-year-
old husband underwent sur-
gery in June when his oxygen
was cut off and left him with
brain damage. Dean placed the
responsibility for the cattle’s
welfare squarely on the shoul-
ders of the ranch managers,
B.J. and Emily Warnock.
Careers that make a difference
Work with people with disabilities!
Anna Butterfi eld/Contributed Photo
Calves rescued from the deep snows in the Upper Imnaha get
some refreshment Jan. 2, 2022, at the Joseph-area ranch of Mark
and Anna Butterfi eld. They are among many rescued since the
end of December.
“He was supposed to bring
the cows down in October,”
Dean said. “They let the cows
go down on their own.”
The Deans also own
ranches in Colorado and New
Mexico. Dean said one of their
wranglers from New Mexico
visited the Oregon ranch to
see what was happening. She
said the wrangler said ranchers
normally round up their cat-
tle, take them to a pen and put
them aboard a truck to ship to
market.
“He said they don’t do that
(in Wallowa County),” Dean
said. “They let (the cattle) fi nd
their own way down.”
Dean emphasized that was
why they hire local wranglers
to do the job.
authority to act in critical sit-
uations. We did have a main
crew of seven people gath-
ering Dean Oregon Ranches
cattle. We are very proud of
all of their hard work and the
fact that they have stuck with
the job despite extenuating
circumstances.”
“My husband doesn’t phys-
ically do the cattle work,” she
said. “He pays B.J. to wran-
gle the cows. We’re relying on
people who live there that they
would do the job.”
Despite the Deans being the
owners of the land and live-
stock, Dean holds the War-
nocks responsible.
“They’re responsible,” she
said. “We called him every
other day to get him to bring
those cattle down.”
Dean added that the War-
nocks signed releases as prop-
erty managers for the Deans.
“Those cows were his
responsibility,” she said.
But B.J. Warnock disagreed
with Karen Dean on the nature
of their business relationship.
“Mrs. Dean is not our
employer and she is misin-
formed,” Warnock said in an
email. “Typically, in a sit-
uation like this, the owner
blames the manager, who
blames the crew, and so on.
We are not going to do that.
Unfortunately, I was never
offi cially named or authorized
to act as manager, which left
me without decision-making
Attorney involved
Chris Gramiccioni, a South
Carolina-based attorney for the
Deans in their ongoing law-
suits over handling of nursing
home evacuations last year at
the time of Hurricane Ida, said
the Deans and their attorneys
were just learning of the situa-
tion with the cattle.
“My client is not happy with
what happened to those cattle,”
he said. “My client had a team
of people who were supposed
to bring the cattle down from
the mountains.”
Gramiccioni, who said the
Deans have paid the cost to
fl y in hay and help rescue the
cattle, declined to comment
specifi cally on whether the
Deans shared responsibility for
the fate of the cows and their
calves.
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CHRISTENSEN
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