Scraposaurus(and
pal) ring in New Year
1111111111111)11111111111 • I il 111
Bessie Wetzell Newspaper Library
University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403
HEPPNER
The North Lex Scrap-A-Saurus, right, (and his new unidentified pal left) apparently rang in
the new year with a little partying Saturday. When asked where they were New Year’s Eve,
neither would say; however, judging from the hats, party favors and beads, looks like they
both had a good time. -Photo by David Sykes
Army depot finishes disposal
of chemical weapons
VOL. 130
N 0. t 8 Pages
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Town & Country schedule
at a glance
January 12 Town and Country events are as follows:
10 a.m.: Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) annual meet
ing, St. Patrick’s parish hall in Heppner.
12:15 p.m.: Morrow SWCD and Morrow County Livestock Growers (MCLG)
lunch, St. Patrick’s parish hall in Heppner.
1 p.m.: Morrow SWCD and MCLG 24th annual joint program, St. Patrick’s
parish hall in Heppner.
3:30 p.m.: MCLG annual meeting scheduled to start following joint program,
St. Patrick’s parish hall in Heppner.
6 p.m.: Heppner Chamber of Commerce’s annual Town and Country awards be
gins with a no-host social hour served by Bucknum’s, Morrow County Fairgrounds.
6:30 p.m.: Dinner buffet catered by Pudding on the Ritz, with awards to follow,
Morrow County Fairgrounds.
Oregon wolf OR7 enters
California
A gray w olf that
started out in northeastern
Oregon is now, at least
temporarily, a California
resident.
According to the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife (ODFW), the
tw o-and-a-half-y ear-old
male wolf had been wan
dering in southern Oregon
for some time.
Since the animal
has been collared with a
GPS device that periodi
cally transmits its location,
biologists have been able to
document its travels since
it was collared in February
2011. Based on the GPS
data, he is now more than
300 miles from where his
journey began.
His journey, in to
tal, has been more than
twice that far, with many
changes in direction. Sev
eral times he has reversed
direction and returned to
previous locations. Last
week, the California De
partment of Fish and Game
(DFG) learned that the wolf,
designated OR7, crossed
the state line into northern
Siskiyou County. Tracking
data puts his most recent
location as a few miles
south of the Oregon border.
It is not possible to predict
his next movements, which
could include a return to
Oregon.
DFG continues to
collaborate with ODFW
and expects to receive daily
location data. This informa
tion is transmitted daily
when atmospheric condi
tions perm it. DFG will
be sharing only general
location information as this
wolf, while in California, is
protected as endangered un
der the Federal Endangered
Species Act.
“ W hether one is
for it or against it, the entry
of this lone wolf into Cali
fornia is an historic event
and result of much work by
the wildlife agencies in the
West,” said DFG director
Charlton H. Bonham. “If
the gray wolf does establish
a population in California,
there will be much more
work to do here.”
Any wild gray wolf
that returns to California is
protected as endangered un
der the Federal Endangered
Species Act, administered
by the U.S. Fish and Wild
life Service (USFWS).
DFG has been fol
lowing the recovery and
migration of gray wolves in
western states with the ex
pectation that at some point
they will likely reach Cali
fornia. The last confirmed
wild gray wolf in California
was killed in Lassen County
in 1924. The available his
toric information on wolves
in California suggests that
while they were widely
distributed, they were not
abundant. DFG has been
compiling historic records,
life history information,
reviewing studies on wolf
populations in other western
states, enhancing communi
cation with other agencies
and training biologists on
field techniques specific
to wolves. This effort is
to ensure that DFG has
all necessary information
available when needed; it
is not a wolf management
plan, and DFG does not in
tend to reintroduce wolves
into California.
T here are m ore
than 1,600 wolves in the
northern Rocky Mountains
following a federal réin
troduction effort which oc
curred in the mid-1990s. In
1999, a single wolf crossed
into Oregon from Idaho,
after nearly a 60-year ab
sence in that state. There
are now at least 24 wolves
in Oregon in four reproduc
ing packs. It has taken an
additional 12 years for the
first wolf to now reach the
California border. This par
ticular animal is exhibiting
normal dispersal behavior
for a young male and there
is no way to predict whether
he will stay in California,
return to Oregon, or travel
east into Nevada. Even
tually, DFG expects that
other wolves will reach
California. W hether this
will lead to the establish
ment of packs or simply
transient individual animals
is unknown.
Gray wolf recovery
in other western states has
been controversial, particu
larly regarding impacts on
prey populations, livestock
depredation and human
safety.
ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE:
MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M.
I
By Andrea Di Salvo
After decades of
work, the Army has inciner
ated the last of the deadly
chemical weapons stored in
the Umatilla depot, accord
ing to an Army release.
T he A rm y a n
nounced this fall that it had
incinerated the remainder
of the depot’s stockpile, the
last of Oregon’s chemical
weapons and about 12 per
cent of the nation’s supply.
The concrete bunkers, or
“igloos,” on the base once
stored 3,717 tons of chemi
cal weapons, including VX,
sarin and mustard gas. The
process of safely destroying
the weapons cost roughly
$2.5 billion over the years
according to the Seattle
Times. Last month, a team
of international inspectors
left after satisfying them
selves that the weapons
stores were, at last, gone.
“The results o f a
December 5-6 inspection
by the Organization for the
Prohibition o f Chemical
Weapons and completion
o f all Treaty verification
activities confirmed that no
chemical weapons remain
in storage at the Umatilla
Chemical Depot and that
the stockpile has been de
stroyed,” said a statement
by Army depot spokesman
Michael Fletcher.
The bunkers have
been sterilized, and will
remain on site.
T he in s p e c tio n
and preliminary findings
report closes the facility
as a Chemical Weapons
Convention storage and
demilitarization site well
in advance o f the April,
2012 International Treaty
deadline.
“This is another sig
nificant milestone achieved
assuring the safety of future
generations,” Lieutenant
Colonel Kris N. Perkins,
U.S. Army Commander of
the installation, said. “This
achievem ent is a direct
result of dedication to the
safe com pletion o f this
project by Team Umatilla
Government and Contract
employees and UMCD’s
community partners.”
The close-out in
spection report also signals
the departure of the inter
national body o f inspec
tors that has watched and
verified the operations and
incineration o f chemical
agents since May 2004.
“ T he U m a tilla
Chemical Agent Disposal
Facility has hosted hundreds
of OPC W inspectors repre
senting the 188 member na
tions since onsite destruc
tion verification activities
began in May 2004,” said
Gary Anderson, UMCDF
Site Project Manager. “It is
an honor to have been able
to assist these individuals in
their mission to verify the
global reduction of chemi
cal weapons.”
W hile the s u r
rounding communities can
now breathe more eas
ily with the destruction of
the chemical threat, the
completion of the job car
ries a different kind of toll.
According to the Hermiston
Chamber o f Commerce,
about 600 workers will lose
their jobs in coming years
as the Army wraps up op
erations at the depot.
As the Army fin
ishes tearing down the in
cinerator and doing envi
ronmental restoration, the
cities around the depot are
also trying to make plans
for the newly-freed land.
Plans include the Oregon
National Guard taking over
about 7,400 acres for a
training complex. Two oth
er areas would be set aside
for industrial and commer
cial development, one of
which is located in Morrow
County. The possibilities
give hope to towns that will
see added unemployment
increases in the midst of a
recession.
Because the land
is near the intersection of
1-84 and 1-82—and about
equidistant from Boise,
Spokane, Seattle and Port
land—many say the loca
tion makes perfect sense as
a distribution hub, complete
with storage bunkers.
The Morrow Coun
ty committee on the former
depot land usage has not
reached any firm decisions
about the property. Accord
ing to U m atilla County
Commissioner Bill Hansel,
inquiries have been fielded
from Amazon and The Red
Cross.
Town & Country awards
celebrate community stars
“People, the Shin
ing Light of Our Commu
nities” will be the theme
for the Heppner Cham
ber of Commerce’s Town
and Country Community
Awards on Thursday, Jan
uary 12 at the M orrow
County Fairgrounds. Tick
ets are $20 each and can be
purchased at the Heppner
Chamber, Bank of Eastern
Oregon, M urray’s Drugs
and Community Bank.
The evening pro
gram will begin at 6 p.m.
with a no-host social hour
served by Bucknum’s. The
dinner buffet will be served
at 6:30 p.m. with program
activities to follow. JoAnn
Lear of Pudding on the Ritz
will be serving up prime rib.
stuffed chicken bundles,
baked potatoes, winter veg
etable blend, cranberry
romaine salad, assorted
breads and rolls, and blue
berry cheesecake. The meal
will be offered buffet-style
but can be served by Hep
pner High School seniors if
preferred.
The evening pro
gram includes a formal
introduction of the Morrow
County Fair and Oregon
Trail Pro Rodeo Queen
Maggie Collins and ambas
sadors Rachel Newport and
Tim Nelson. A winner also
will be drawn for jewelry
donated by Peterson’s Jew
elers and a print of Zecha-
riah Hintz photograph of
the lighting storm over
PARDON W e
Heppner. Sandy Matthews
and Dale Bates are work
ing on “Your Community
on a Big Screen” for the
enjoyment of participants.
Finally, winners will be
announced for the award
categories o f Youth Rec
ognition, Business of Year,
Woman of the Year, Man of
the Year, Lifetime Achieve
ment and Citizen-Educator
of the Year.
Those who haven’t
attended before will want
to put this event on their
annual calendars, as the
community recognizes its
members for the contribu
tions they make. Everyone
is encouraged to get tickets
early to ensure enough food
and seating.
will be remodeling
O U R i 7We still have great buys
MESS l on parts & hardware y
M o rrow
Lexington 989-8221 » 1 -800^452-73 i
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