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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, May 20, 2010 Reward offered in eagle shooting With the help of The Hu- mane Society of the United States and The Humane Soci- ety Wildlife Land Trust, a re- ward of up to $2500 is offered for information leading to an ar- rest and conviction of the per- son or persons responsible for the late April shooting and injur- ing of a bald eagle near Dib- blee Point Beach. Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division troopers are continuing the investigation and have followed up on tips that came in following the initial appeal earlier this week. On April 30, two horseback riders found the injured eagle near the western portion of Dib- blee Point Beach, on the Co- lumbia River near Rainier. Two OSP troopers responded to the scene, found the eagle and used a blanket to contain and capture it. The troopers took the eagle to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast (WCNC) for a physical evaluation. WCNC Di- rector Sharnelle Fee said digi- tal radiographs conducted at Bayshore Animal Hospital re- vealed the eagle was shot and that nearly three dozen shot- gun BBs were found through- out its body, including about seven in its head. One of the BBs was near the eagle’s eye and may cause vision prob- lems. Fee believes the eagle prob- ably would not have been able to travel very far with the in- juries it sustained. On Wednes- day, the eagle was flying and perching on the highest perch of a big outside conditioning flight pen. On Thursday, the ea- gle was taken to a veterinary eye specialist in Portland, where it was determined the trauma from the shotgun BBs caused loss of vision in the ea- gle’s left eye. Fee said the damage cannot be surgically repaired and it most likely will not improve. Otherwise, Fee said the ma- ture female bald eagle is healthy and will be given addi- tional time in the flight cage to see how she adjusts to her vi- sion impairment. Questions for WCNC can be directed to Fee at 503-338-0331 or director@ coastwildlife.org. Anyone with information to help in this investigation is asked to contact Trooper Schwartz at 503-397-0325 ext. 42. Page 15 Power of the People By W. Marc Farmer, General Manager, West Oregon Electric Cooperative New Headquarters Update We have been getting a lot of questions and inter- est in the progress of our new Headquarters Facility, especially since there are no visible signs of anything happening yet. Let me take a few moments to bring you up to date. Other than some test holes, some flags and survey stakes, nothing physically is taking place yet. When we signed a purchase contract for the property, there were three key contingencies that had to be met before WOEC could take full own- ership. These contingencies are being worked on and the first two should be completed by the end of this month. The third will hopefully be completed in June so that we can begin con- struction in July. The time spent the last few months has been concentrated on obtaining all of the information needed for the contingencies and for the design work and permits we will need next. The first task has been making sure we receive a clear ti- tle to all of the land within the building site. Over the years there have been several changes in ownerships and there are a lot of little pieces that needed to be accounted for and properly record- ed. The final pieces are being completed this week. Second task has been to conduct Phase 1 and Phase 2 Environmental Reviews of the property in order to make sure the Co-op is not inheriting any potential liabilities and problems. We even conducted a scan of the property to identify any hidden objects like underground tanks. The scan showed no such problems exist- ing on the site. The results of the environmental reviews have been received and are being eval- uated by an environmental attorney at this time. Third tasks were to have a traffic study and a storm drainage study done for our site and the Rose Avenue Site beside us. The traffic study has been completed and received with the storm drainage study to be completed this week. These will help us design our site, do the civil en- gineering for permitting, and allow us to work better with ODOT and the City of Vernonia to come up with the best design to meet all our needs for the present and the future. ODOT and COLPAC (Columbia Pacific Economic Develop- ment District) are contributing to the cost of the studies. We have signed a contract with Five Star Builders in Banks to be our contractor and they have gone to work on building designs and preparations for permitting. We are pleased to have them on board and feel we have kept to our commitment thus far of hiring as local as possi- ble. Many of their employees are actually mem- bers of WOEC. As with any project of this size, there have been and will continue to be hurdles and bumps along the way to get over, but we are working diligently to overcome them as we continue to move forward. We are eagerly looking forward to the day that actual construction begins, and we can all watch the progress together of this excit- ing new Headquarters Facility project. Four juveniles charged with elk deaths A month-long investigation by the Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division into the unlawful killing of four elk in rural Clatsop County led to four juvenile males who are now facing multiple wildlife crime charges. OSP troopers were assisted in the case by Astoria Police Department and Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife. An investigation by OSP fish and wildlife troopers from the Astoria Area Command office revealed that on or about April 9, four Astoria High School stu- dents with two firearms were camping on State Forestry property in rural Clatsop Coun- ty. During their camping trip, one of them fired a rifle at a large herd of elk, and another fired a shotgun at an injured elk from a close distance. A total of four elk were killed, including one pregnant cow. A small portion of the elk meat was taken, leaving the remain- der to waste. The four juveniles, whose names have not been released, were cited as follows: Two Mariolino’s were charged with Unlawful Take of Elk – Closed Season (4 counts), Wasting Wildlife (4 counts). The other two were charged with Aiding In a Wildlife Offense of Unlawful Take of Elk – Closed Season. Featuring Ice Cream Banana Splits, Sundaes, Root Beer Floats Left, this is the eagle that was shot. Photo courtesy of Wildlife Center of the North Coast. Thick Milk Shakes, Hot Fudge Sundaes 721 Madison Ave.,Vernonia • 503-429-5018