T ile H e p p n e r I . « le t t e - T im e ,
H eppner
O re g o n
W e d n e .d a v . M a re k l ì . I* » * M M
Sheep business good last 10 years, says rancher
O ie of Rill's sheep
her lomb
The last 10 years, the sheep
business has been as kink ) as it has
ever been, says William K ill, area
sheep rancher The Oregon Sheep
Growers Auxiliary has been promot
mg sheep and the use of more wool
blends in clothing should continue to
increase the demand for wool
Some problems do remain, he
says The cost of labor is high, and
finding the right people who know
how to handle sheep can be a
problem because not many people
especially younger people know
much about caring for sheep It is
necessary to have somebody with
the sheep 24 hours a day. a kind of
work not many find attractive
Fuel costs are a problem because
it is more convenient to load sheep
on a truck and haul them to a
different location than it is to tra il
them as many early growers did
The result is higher fuel costs
Additionally, he says, the sheep
business has become so specialized
that farmers need a certain setup to
handle them He has been in the
sheep business for the last five
years, a move which occurred large
ly because his wife's fam ily had
sheep and he became interested
from association with her "bum
m er" lambs, he says
lim b in g time requires extra help,
she says, because the ewes must be
vaccinated before they lamb and the
lambs need vaccinations after they
are born Ewes and lambs are then
kept in the same pen for two to three
days until the ewe becomes accus
tomed to the lamb and then they are
moved to larger pens to accustom
the ewe to finding her lamb among
others the same age Early on. the
lambs have to be checked often, he
says to insure that they are sucking
properly and that the ewe has
adequate m ilk, he continues A lot of
hand labor is involved and the
person watching the sheep must
know when to take the lamb off a
ewe or to put another one with her
“ Scooter'' and "Bear" have been
a big help, he says in protecting the
sheep from predators after they are
turned out into the field Scooter and
Bear are guarding dogs, a new tool
available to sheep growers through
the Extension Service Although the
dogs are not the total answer, he has
had great success with these two
dogs and recommends them to other
growers
As with any piece of
machinery, he continues, the dogs
are not foolproof and success can
depend on the blood lines of the dog
as well as how much time is spent
working with them
Generally. September when the
sheep were brought into the stubble
field was a good time to lose sheep
he says But since he acquired Bear
in December 1984 and since govern
men! trapper Ken Mitchell has been
on the job. he has not lost any sheep
to coyotes He is not in favor of
getting rid of coyotes, he goes on, but
thinks that they need to be kept in
balance and not allowed to eat
every thing in sight He has more
than made up the cost for renting the
guarding dogs from Hampshire Col
lege in Amherst. Massachusetts, in
what he has saved by not losing the
sheep
Bear and Scooter worked well
together because the sheep loved
Bear and follow ed him e v e ry
where " The herder sometimes had
problems because Bear would lead
the sheep of ( w here the herder didn't
want them to go
Bear would
generally work around the outside of
the herd and Scooter would stay IP
closer with the sheep
Scooter has been alone with the
sheep since Bear died last winter
except for a brief time w hen K ill had
another dog which did not work out
well at all. he says, but he still has
nothing but good' to say about the
dogs
He is expecting another dog. an
eight week old pup in mid March
which he says is a good time to gel a
dog so that it can be put in the pens
with the sheep from an early age and
grow up with the lambs then go out
to the field with them
The dog is hardly ever handled
because the idea is for it not to
associate with people The dog is
treated as a sheep Scooter is loaded
in trucks with the sheep and hauled
to where they will tie
They're a tough dog, continues
K ill, they bounce right back if a
sheep pushes them aside and yet
they never offer to bite sheep "It's
difficult to get one of these dogs to
come to you.'' he says because they
jiay no attention to voice commands
The dogs work by forming an
attachment to the sheep
They
either think "They're a sheep or that
the sheep is another dog and they 're
protecting their own kind '* * flie y 're
a different type of dog and you have
to be careful with them You can't
just turn them loose anywhere
Jr. Bowlers to provide babysitting
The Heppner Junior Bowling Lea
gue w ill provide a babysitting ser
vice for parents who wish to leave
children at All Saints Episcopal
parish hall between 2 and 6 p m
Saturday. March 15 They ask a $5
donation per child if they remain the
entire four hours
The babysitters w ill have adult
supervision, says spokesperson Sam
Worley The money that the league
raises w ill help tu pay for their trip
to the state bowling championship
tournament at Grants I ’ass April
2fr27 The 24 6 14 year olds have
already held can and bottle drives,
bake sales, and will sweep sidewalks
for merchants before the St I ’at
rick's Day celebration us well as
help clean up afterwards by sweep
mg sidewalks and washing windows
They are trying to raise 11,200 for
the trip and are now at the Moo
mark, says Worley
"They have
worked hard and are excited about
the championship tournament “
The junior league program started
just this year Eor more information
about the babysitting service call
Worley 676 0208
Skate Sat. at fair pavilion
If you enjoy roller skating you w ill
have your chance this Saturday
during St Patrick's Day weekend
The Morrow County Fair pavilion
w ill be open for skating on Saturday
from 2 4 p m and from 68 p m
Enjoy lamb BBQ Sunday
After a days activities during St
Patrick's Day. you and your fam ily
can build up quite an appetite
Mario Zubirri has just the thing
for you on Sunday
A genuine Basque lamb Barbecue
at the Morrow County Fair Grounds
in Heppner starting at 12 noon to 2
p m
The Morrow County Creative Arts
id Crafts Club w ill sponsor an art
low and sale from 10 a m to 4 p rn
sturday, March 15 at the la**
i hwah show riami on Main Street in
leppner
l tub i n c i i i l jr r s will k e e p th e i o l l e e
io» alni |ri'ilhiM- l o h a v e a v a r i e ty of
»'tiei r e l r e s l i l n e l i l s a v a l l a t i l e lor
l.iu
w lio s h ip
.1 ' l * l fc * I . a ' IO t.-
ft
hv
*•» View
I* m a l
Help Us with our Spring Cleaning: <j
Assorted
Odds
,o<°
'n
Ends
Reduced 10 to 50%
Saturday, March 15 Only
Total H ardw are Sale
Continues Thru March 15
We’re here to help you.
Coast to Coast
%
.
TOTAL
HARDWARE
'
106 E May Ave.
676-Wbl
'm
COMES TO
HEPPNER
Boarder collie Petey (front) and guard dog Scooter at
the ranch
Parade entries line up
Saturday at I 15. the grand Irish
parade will start on its way up Mam
Street in Heppner A number of
entries from throughout nor the a
stern Oregon have already regis
lered to follow grand marshal Sue
Castle ruins
highlight slide
presentation
Each year on SI Patrick's Day.
Irish and those who would like to lie
Irish gather upstairs at the Elks
1/odge to view a slide presentation of
Ireland by and Irish descendant who
made the journey back to the
Emerald Isle
This year at 2 30 S aturday.
Martha Doherty w ill show slides of a
trip during May and June of 1985
which included the first week of the
Doherty international reunion in
County Donegal, the homeland of the
Dohertys
The Irish countryside is very
different from that of Morrow
County. Martha says, an average
farm there is about 20 acres and that
usually serves as home lor two
generations
She says there are a lot of ruined
castles in Ireland, and many are
included in her slides
Come see and hear a bit of
Doherty fam ily and Irish county
Donegal history
Wranglers sell
rummage-baked
goods
If you find a few extra minutes
between events St Patrick's week
end. you might want to stop by the
old Hutch's Printing Co building
and see what Wranglers' Hiding
Club members have for sale
From 10 a m to 5 p m both
Saturday and Sunday, Wranglers
will have a variety of baked goods
and odds n ends collected for a
baked goods and rummage sale
Those wishing to donate Items for
the sale may call 676 5820 or 676-5288
and they w ill be picked up
Any Necklace, Earrings or Pin
Which contain» u Green
0
ooo&oaoooo
!.. i
Imitation, Synthetic or Genuine Stone.
Art show slated
sheep in a crouched position Sheep
react by moving away from this
predatory twhavior
The guarding dogs are ' docile and
inquisitive when approaching live
stock." continues the OSU circular
"They react to changes in routine,
alternately rushing out with threat
emng barks and then retreating to
the flock
Only rarely dues a
protecting dog fight with a predator
The two kinds of dogs work well
together, though, he says Each has
a job to do Bear would grab a new
trail dog and pin him for a few
seconds and then leave him alone, as
if to say You can w ork here and do
what you need to. but I'm boss don't
fool with me or my sheep " Scooter
has a different disposition and does
n't take the attitude Bear had with
the trail dogs, but gets along with
them
Kill may not be an Irish name, but
just as some of the methods of sheep
raising have changed, some of the
names have also West. Ashbeck.
Krebs, (.'unha. Thompson. Palmer
and Wright are non Irish names
among the Md-aughlms and Doh
ertys iPilot Hack area' that con
linuc to grow the wools animal in
Morrow County
1 ..T T I
40 %
OFF
Coin hunt set
for presch(X)lers
Following the grand Irish parade.
Kin/ua Corp w ill sponsor a coin
hunt for preschoolers in the lot next
to the post office on lleppner's Main
Street
When the last entry had made its
v ay up Main Street, the parade
announcer w ill call all children
under six years old to the event
designed 'just for them "
Although Scooter has a gentle nature
he keeps an eye on him all the time
and never really trusts him around
people although Scooter has never
caused any problems
Scooter is a mixture of Mareena
and Anatolian, both large dogs bred
mainly in Europe
Other breeds
commonly used a guarding dogs
include
Castro Laboreiro from
Portugal, Great Pyrenees from
Spain. Komondor and Kuvasz from
Hungary . Shar Planmeti from Yu
goslavia and Tibetan Mastiff from
Tibet
A dog can handle from Juu to 2.uuo
sheep depending on the area they
are running More dogs are needed
in a rougher area because one dog
obviously cannot be everywhere at
the samr lime The idea says K ill,
is not to replace a herder with a dog.
but to use the dug an additional tool
They are not of any use in driving
sheep as the traditional border collie
type herding dogs Both types of
dogs are useful
The herding type dog has a differ
ent jog. to keep the sheep together
and get them to follow the herder to
a particular place "Herding dogs
say* an Oregon Slate I'niversity
Extension Service circular, “ stalk
*0 * *0 « * 0 O «1
Doherty along Main Street A Shrine
entry, the Main St Cowboys, a draft
horse team from the Pendleton
Diesel Service, antique cars, the
Weston McEwen hagpqM- and drum
marvhinip band the lone School
band and d rill team, stale of East
ern Oregon officers, and family
groups have entered so far
Those who would like to partici
p ile but haven’t entered yet are
invited to get an ollicial entry blank
from parade chairman Hob Kohl
676 9111 or from Jim Farley at
Farley Motor Co Those who haven't
l»re registered can still be in the
pirade if they arrive at the Green
Feed parking lot by noon Saturday
Kibbons w ill tie awarded first
second, and third place entries in
each of the five categories
For the
5th Annual
ST. PATRICKS DAY
IN HEPPNER
Listen to Led Smith and his
Irish guests from Heppner -
broadmat live from the
Heppner Elks.
.Starting at 10 a.m.
Look For Our Entry Boxes
Around Town and Enter
to Win Many Prizes!
•v?i
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