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January 5, 2012 Front Page |
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Save A Tree, Ride With A Huston Saddle
By Debby Schoeningh
Saddle sores and severe back injuries are fairly easy to detect in a horse. But a slight pinch here and a little poke there might not be so obvious, at least not to the rider.
Custom saddle maker Bill Huston of Baker City, Ore., has noticed that most saddles have a “common flaw.” They are built for the rider’s comfort and not the horse’s. What feels like a Cadillac seat to the rider, may feel like a backpack full of sharp edged bricks to the horse.
“Having worked with horses most of my life, I began to notice problems with surface tissue injuries created by direct pressure from the saddle on the horse’s back,” says Bill. “In 1962, I took the saddle tree (the rigid base the saddle is formed around) out of a saddle and decided to try something different.”
As a result, for the past 40 years, Bill has been specializing in “Treeless Soft Saddles” with all of the features the western horseman has become accustomed to without bolts, nails, flocking, hinges or fiberglass to cause painful pressure points.
Judge Denies Murder Suspect’s Request For New Counsel
Baker County Circuit Court Judge Greg Baxter denied a request by Daniel Myers to replace his Ontario attorney, Mark Rader. Myers was charged with the murder of Travis Weems of Hermiston in Sumpter nearly a year ago.
Myers, 56, has been in custody at Baker County Jail since Jan. 27, 2011 on the murder charge and additional charges including unlawful use of a weapon, felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful delivery and possession of meth. Myers’s firearm restrictions stem from a 2006 drug conviction in another county.
Weems was found dead last January in a vehicle parked in downtown Sumpter in front of the Elkhorn Saloon. He died of an apparent gunshot wound.
At that time, Baker County District Attorney Matt Shirtcliff said the initial investigation indicated that Weems was allegedly shot outside of Myers’ home on Cracker Creek Road on the outskirts of Sumpter. Shirtcliff said Weems was driven by a friend into Sumpter in an attempt to get emergency assistance, but was dead when emergency medical providers arrived.
Myers’ trial is scheduled to take place in late February or early March.
BLM Releases Baker DRMP AND DEIS For Comment Local Meetings Planned
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Vale District has released its Baker Field Office Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP)/ Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The RMP is being revised for BLM-administered lands within Baker, Union, Wallowa, Umatilla, Morrow and Malheur Counties in Oregon and Asotin County in Washington.
The public lands that make up the "Decision Area" encompass approximately 428,425 surface acres in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington.
The purpose of the Baker RMP revision is to provide broad-scale guidance for the management of public lands and resources administered by the BLM's Baker Field Office. When completed, the RMP will guide the BLM in the implementation of all its subsequent management actions and site-specific activities in the Decision Area.
Recreation Improvements Planned At Brownlee And Other Snake River Sites
Brownlee To Receive Deep-Draft Boat Ramp
Providing public access for recreation is part of Idaho Power’s commitment to those who live, work and play on the Snake River at our reservoirs. As part of the renewal of their federal license to operate their three dams in Hells Canyon, they anticipate several additions and improvements to recreation facilities they already operate and maintain within the canyon.
“Once those licenses are issued, our work has just begun,” said Environmental Supervisor Dwayne Wood, who oversees Idaho Power’s recreational facilities. “Our staff is really looking forward to moving ahead with all of the projects we have planned in Hells Canyon.”
A deep-draft boat ramp is planned for the Oregon side of Brownlee Reservoir. As boaters familiar with Brownlee are aware, there are times when some or all of the existing boat ramps are above the waterline and unusable. Working with county and federal officials, they hope to begin construction on a ramp in Oregon to allow access even when the reservoir level is at 1,976 feet above sea level, or 101 feet below full. Currently, the level must be at 2,024 feet for the lowest ramp, at Woodhead Park, to be in the water.
OSP Seeks Information On Unlawful Killing Of Big Horn Sheep Ram In Baker County
The Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish & Wildlife Division is asking for the public's assistance in locating the person(s) responsible for the unlawful killing and waste of a Bighorn Sheep Ram approximately one week ago in the Lookout Mountain Wildlife Management Unit in Baker County.
On Dec. 28, OSP Senior Trooper Kris Davis responded to a report of a headless carcass, determined to be a Bighorn Sheep Ram, on Conner Creek Road approximately a quarter mile from the Snake River Road, between Huntington and Richland along Brownlee Reservoir. Based on statements and condition of the carcass, Davis believes the ram was killed on approximately Dec. 22, 2011. The ram's head was removed and the remains left to waste.
Bighorn Sheep hunting is lawful in the Lookout Mountain Unit with the proper tag; however, the season for Bighorn Sheep closed in that area on Sept. 25. Only two Bighorn Sheep tags are issued in this unit each year.
A reward of up to $500 is being offered by the Oregon Hunters Association Turn-in-Poachers (TIP) Reward Program for information leading to an arrest and conviction in this case. The reward was increased to $3,000 following an offer from The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call the Turn-in-Poacher TIP line at 1-800-452-7888 or Senior Trooper Davis at (541) 805-4757.
Renovations Coming To Pioneer Cemetery
The Hibbard Creek Pioneer Cemetery, located on the Oregon side of Brownlee Reservoir, provides a unique window into the pioneer history of the Snake River in Baker County. An estimated 30 graves are present at the cemetery, but only 15 are marked by surviving headstones. Several of the marked graves date back to the late 1800s, and represent family members of some of the earliest homesteaders in the area. Many visitors to the Brownlee area, and perhaps some locals, are unaware of the cemetery.
Unfortunately, some users of the area have turned the cemetery into an impromptu campground.
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