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THE SERVING UNION ANO WALLOWA COUNTIES SINCE 1896 I I I
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WALLOWA COUNTY
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By Katy Nesbitt, The Observer
The relationship between humans and dogs dates back centuries One o. f the first uses ofdogs in civilization was for the protection oflivestock Guard dogs remain an integral part of raising goats and sheep in Wallowa County Skye Krebs and his son, Cale, graze their sheep in Ione in the Columbia River Valley in the late winter and early spring and move them to Wallowa County in June for approximately six months. The Krebs have raised sheep for several generationsand rely on guard dogs to protect theirbands trom predators. Skye Krebs said he uses a variety of different breeds, including Pyrenees, originally trom Spain and France, and Kangals, a breed of dog from Turkey. Of awide variety ofguard or"sheep" dogsused to protectlivestock throughout Europe and into Turkey, there are a lot of similarities. Most are white, which can be easily detected trom wolves. In the last century in Eastern Oregon, guard dogs have beenused toprotectagainstbears, cougars and coyotes, but, historically, in Europe, they were also used to keep
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wolves away from livestock. Krebs said he uses between two and four dogs per band of sheep, as they are available. "Dogs come and go. When I need a new dog,Icallaneighborfor another pup," Krebssaid."It'slike atree-trade agreement. They patrol all the time. When they see a predator they bark. They are more of a deterrent than lethal control. When a cougar hears a bark, the dog/cat thing runs deep." Krebs' shepherds haven't encountered wolves in the sheep yet but graze in areas where they are known to travel. He said when wolves have a den near a band the wolves tend to defend their territory and attack the dogs. "The dogs generally lose," Krebs said. With wolves establishing territory throughout Wallowa, Union, Baker and
Umatilla counties, guard dogs' effectiveness against the wolves remains to be seen. As far as bears go, guard dogs are effective, Krebs said. Krebs said the dogs' natural instinct is long bred into them to protect and they need little training. Websites describing the various breeds say they can be difficult to train as pets. "They bond with sheep, but aren't superfriendly to people,"Krebs said. "They don't like other guard dogs or working dogs, but when they are with sheep, a light goes on. They are like fanged sheep and act more like sheep than dog." Larry Davis and Nicole Bellows got into the goat business a few years ago to rent them out for weed control and in the See Dogs / Page 5A
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• Wallowa County agrees to discount fees for Rahn Sanitary Service By Katy Nesbitt The Observer
ENTERPRISE — Wallowa County Commissioners voted unanimously to reduce Rahn Sanitary Service's rates at the county
landfill. At the county's meeting earlier this week, Commissioner Paul Castilleja said the county's only garbage disposal company approached him to have a contract agreement with county protections. "I have been working on that and thought we had that settled," Castilleja said."I assumed we were going into a graduated process." However, such a matter must be raised in a public meeting and brought up for a vote. Castilleja said he spoke with both Board Chairman Mike Hayward and Commissioner Susan Roberts separately about the issue on several occasions.By doing so,heavoided See Fees /Page 5A
OREGON
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Submitted photo
Goats owned by Larry Davis and Nicole Bellows graze for noxious weed control in Wallowa County. This summer the goats are battling leafy spurge along Parsnip Creek and Leap Road north of Lostine. Their guard dogs protect them at night when they are bedded down from predators — primarily cougars and coyotes. Guard dogs are effective against bears as well. Time will tell if they are a good deterrent against wolves.
A report released by the state says that Union Pacific is moving less than a million gallons of crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota on the state's railways.
UP trains don't
meet threshold Sarrnan will focus on accessibility as student president for Bakken crude OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
• Union High School grad also on OSU trustee board By Dick Mason The Observer
The words of Taylor Sarman carry a lot more weight now than they did six weeks
ago. Sarman, a 2012 Union High
By Kelly Ducote School graduate, is now representing more than 22,000 students as Oregon State Sarman U n iversity's newly electedstudent body president. "It is nice to get the opportunityto serve astheirvoice,"said the junior, who has been OSU's student body president since
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June 1 and is spending his summer in Corvallis. His goals as president include making college as accessible as possible forthe greatestnumber of students. Sarman is striving to work hard to keep tuition as low as possible. "I want to help make tuition as aff ordable aspossible so everyone can have access to collegeregardlessoftheirfinancial
class," Sarman said. The new student body presidentalso wants totake stepsto ensure that students with physical challenges have access to all buildings on campus. ewe want to help anyone with mobility issues overcome barriers," Sarman said. Boosting student safety is another of Sarman's objectives. SeeSarman / Page 5A
Union Pacific is moving less than a million gallons of crude oil from the Bakken region of North Dakota on its Oregon railways, according toa reportreleased by the statethisweek. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued an order May 7 requiring railroads to notify State Emergency Response Commissions for each state in which it operates trains transporting a million gallons or more of Bakken crude oil at a time. SeeOil / Page 5A
CONTACT US
Fu l l forecast on the back of B section
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
57 iow
92/57
96/63
Partly cloudy
Mostly sunny
Very hot
OYOU HAVE SOME EXTRA ZUCCHINI ...? •000
The Observer
541-963-3161 Issue 83 3 sections, 26 pages La Grande, Oregon
Email story ideas to newsC~lagrande observer.com. More contact info on Page 4A.
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