Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2023)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 8, 2023 DNA solves Sherman County man’s fate nearly 60 years after disappearance Sherman County Sheriff Gerald Lohrey at the re- covery site in 1989 The fate of a man who ination. disappeared along The An examination of the John Day River in 1964 body determined that the was finally settled in 2022, bones most likely belonged thanks to advances in DNA to a Caucasian male, be- technology. tween 40 and 50 years of According to a news age at the time of death, release by Oregon State Po- and around 5’6” to 5’9” lice, the remains of a human in living stature. Evidence skeleton were discovered of compressed lumbar by a rafting group on the vertebrae by the forensic Sherman County side of the anthropologist indicated John Day River on March possible arthritic changes 26, 1989. On March 27, in the bone. It was noted then-Sheriff Gerald Lohrey that several teeth in the and additional Sherman mandible exhibited resto- County Sheriff ’s Office rations. Additional searches (SCSO) deputies launched of the area were performed a jet boat at Cottonwood on March 28 and April 8, Bridge, approximately 13 1989; both searches yielded miles east of Wasco, and additional small bones and recovered the incomplete several teeth. skeletal remains. In addi- Leads on the possible tion to many long bones identification of this indi- that had been half-buried vidual were received by in silt on the riverbank, a the SCSO in the following skull was collected with days and weeks; numerous dental work. reporting parties indicated The discovery of the they believed the remains body made local headlines, to be that of David West, Jr., but nothing was imme- a man who had disappeared diately known about the from Sherman County try- deceased. The remains were ing to cross the John Day transported to the Oregon River during a large flood- State Medical Examiner’s ing event in 1964. West had Office (SMEO) for exam- lived on a ranch near Bridge Creek and was known to cross the John Day often. He normally went back and forth across the river to feed cattle. He and a friend had even built a makeshift cable car across the river to assist in quickly navigating the waters back and forth over the John Day. The day the John Day River flooded in 1964, West was thought to be feeding cattle near Ashwood. A friend went to check on him and saw that the cable car had been washed away, the large tree that had held the cable was uprooted, and West’s dog was injured and agitated on the bank of the river. West was never seen or heard from again. In 1989, West’s dentist was consulted, but no con- clusive identification was ever made. The remains were re- tained by the SMEO. In 2010, the SMEO submit- ted a bone sample to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identi- fication. The sample was processed and yielded a forensic DNA profile for comparison and upload into CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). Unfortu- nately, no genetic associa- tions to missing persons or family reference standards in the CODIS database were established. In April 2022, the SMEO recognized the ef- fectiveness of investigative genetic genealogy on cold Lexington council meeting Feb. 14 The Lexington Town Council will hold a regu- lar public council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Lexington Town Hall, 425 F Street, Lex- ington. The council will also A bill that would invite It was then read on the floor hold a public community Oregon to begin talks with of the House. A full hearing engagement work session Greater Idaho bill introduced in Idaho legislature the Idaho Legislature about relocating their state line was unanimously awarded a bill number, HJM 1, by the Idaho House of Representatives’ State Affairs Committee last week after a short discussion. January warmer, dryer than normal at the Ag Service Building conference room at 430 W Linden Way. Meetings of the Hep- pner Cemetery Mainte- nance District are open to the public. Contact Janet Greenup at 541-561-6768 with questions. Conservation and recreation fund grant cycle now open SALEM, Ore.—The ODFW’s Oregon Conser- vation and Recreation Fund request for grant proposals is now open and will close on March 27, 2023. Inter- ested applicants should visit the OCRF grants webpage at https://www.dfw.state. or.us/conservationstrategy/ OCRF/grants.asp. The maximum allow- able grant request per insti- tution and/or organization is $50,000 per project. Any public or private nonprofit may request funds and must have a tax-exempt status under the IRS Code Sec- tion 501(c)(3). Please note the newly required cap on institutional/organizational indirect overhead rates at 20 percent of the requested project budget as well as the updated project insurance for Goal 9 planning prior to the regular council meeting. Goal 9 planning is to make sure cities and counties have enough land avail- able to realize economic growth and development opportunities. The work session will begin at 5 p.m. at Lexington Town Hall. before the committee was scheduled for February 13 at 9 a.m. The bill mirrors a bill introduced into this session Temperatures around below normal during Jan- of the Oregon Legislature by Heppner averaged slightly uary, totaling 0.43 inches, Senator Dennis Linthicum. Cemetery district to meet The Heppner Cemetery Maintenance District will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 5:30 p.m. Agenda items include minutes of previous meetings, financial report and cemetery operations. The meeting will be held unidentified remains cases and submitted an additional bone sample to Othram, a private DNA lab special- izing in advanced forensic DNA testing. Othram uses an in-house whole genome sequencing technique that can provide genetic infor- mation and possible famil- ial associations even with a low-yield sample. The analysis revealed the name of two biological relatives of David West Jr. as being genetically associated with the remains. Both the Gilliam Coun- ty Sheriff Gary Bettencourt and the Sherman Coun- ty Sheriff Brad Lohrey (the son of Sheriff Gerald Lohrey) worked to contact family members; Sheriff Bettencourt collected oral swab standards from one relative, and these were submitted and tested by Othram. The genetic association was confirmed through DNA comparison by Oth- ram in September 2022, and the family was notified of the positive identification. “We are very excit- ed that such an old case was able to be solved. It is amazing what our forensic teams can accomplish with modern technology. This was a case that was a mys- tery for generations here at the Sherman County Sher- iff’s Office. I’m happy that the family of the deceased finally has closure,” said Sheriff Brad Lohrey. guidelines. OCRF has supported more than 90 projects since forming in early 2020 and is a way for Oregonians to support projects that protect and enhance the species and habitats identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy and to create new opportunities for wildlife watching, urban conserva- tion, community science and other wildlife-associ- ated recreation. The OCRF Advisory Committee reviews pro- posals and provides rec- ommendations on expendi- tures from the Fund to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. More information on the OCRF can be found at OregonIsAlive.org. warmer than normal during January, according to pre- liminary data received by NOAA’s National Weather Service in Pendleton. The average tempera- ture for the month was 37.3 degrees, which was 1.7 degrees warmer than the normal average tem- perature for January. High temperatures averaged 45.7 degrees, with a high of 60 degrees being recorded on the 14 th . Low temperatures averaged 28.8 degrees, with the low of eight degrees being recorded on the 30 th . There were 23 days when the low temperature was below 32 degrees, and two days when the high temperature was less than 32 degrees. Precipitation was much Wolf committee to meet The Morrow County Wolf Depredation Advi- sory Committee will meet Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Bartholomew Building Upper Conference Room in Heppner. The committee is an advisory committee to the Morrow County Board of Commis- sioners. The primary agenda item will be determining total amounts of 2023 grant funds for which to apply and in what categories. Categories include compen- sation for missing, which was 0.89 inches be- low normal. Precipitation of at least .01 inch was reported on one day. That was 0.26 inches, which was reported on the third. Snowfall for the month totaled one inch, which was reported on Jan. 3. The highest snow depth was one inch, on the third. A View from the Hill By Doris Brosnan A new administrator has been chosen for Wil- low Creek Terrace, and everyone views that as a big positive. Leann Lankford has had over 20 years’ expe- rience in hospital and clinic supervision, so is prepared to add assisted-living to her resume. Lankford has joined the staff in time to enjoy the Valentine’s Day special lun- cheon, this year surf-and- turf with tri-tip and shrimp. And she will surely enjoy the apartment decorations the residents have made. Tw o m o r e s p e c i a l lunches this month will be for the birthday celebrants. Sharing their menu requests with neighbors and family will be Rita Bowman, who turns 95 on the eighth, and Alex Camarillo, who will be a youthful 98 on the 11 th . February features, as usual, the Bingo game on Mondays, which has been well-attended. Enjoyed on Fridays are the craft ses- sions that Jackie Alleman leads. The second Sundays of each month are now offering a non-denomina- tional service led by Jerry Conklin, the chaplain of the Morrow County Home Health and Hospice service. Last Wednesday after- noon, Conklin and Alleman also offered the first of 13 grief sharing support meet- ings that will be held at the Terrace. Persons with ques- tions about the Wednesday meetings can call Morrow County Home Health and Hospice. On the seventh, Res- idents will be offered as- sistance if they want it for reaching out to a friend with a greeting card. On the 12 th , a Super Bowl lunch will precede the big game. On the 28 th , Cynthia Wenberg will come to the Terrace to instruct and assist Residents with creating floral designs. As Residents view the days passing so seemingly fast, they can also view the variety of activities offered at the Terrace as an opportu- nity to enjoy some of those days in uncommon ways. Heppner chamber switches to quarterly lunches Due to member feed- back, the Heppner Chamber of Commerce is switching from monthly to quarterly chamber lunch meetings. Lunches will take place from noon to 1:20 p.m. at the Gilliam and Bisbee Event Center. Each lunch will feature a guest speaker followed by reports and networking. Meeting dates for the year are April 13, July 13 and Oct. 12. Contact the chamber of commerce at 541-676-5536 or heppner- chamber@gmail.com for more information. What is Cursillo? Make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ. Come and join us Sunday, February 19th for an evening of fellowship with your brothers & Sisters in Christ. A Spaghetti dinner will be provided. Our evening will begin at 5:00pm as we gather for dinner at Hopeful Saints Church. If you know of someone that is interested or curi- ous about The Cursillo Movement invite them to join us. We will be sharing information about Cursillo & this year’s upcoming weekend. We will also have applications available to work on the team. If you are reading this and you are curious about Cursillo please do come and share a meal with us, there will be plenty for everyone. We do hope you will join us: February 19th @ Hopeful Saints Church, (140 Church Street Heppner, OR) beginning at 5:00PM. Dinner is provided by the Heppner area 4th Day Group. For further infor- mation please contact: Diana Sharp 509-781-1028 or George Nairns 541-571-6519 Eastern Oregon Cursillo Community Mission Statement: Cursillo is an ecumenical community of faith, love and hope that supports individuals in our search for discovery and renewal in Christ.
