Opinion
A4
Saturday, July 23, 2022
OUR VIEW
Poaching
punishes those
who play by
the rules
S
tories from such faraway places as Harney
County often do not resonate locally, but
the recent sentencing of a Hines couple for
their involvement in killing at least seven elk last
year carries implications for everyone who hunts
across our great region.
The couple, Chris and Stephanie Lardy, both
face stiff penalties for the crime that police said
occurred in December. Chris Lardy was con-
victed of taking a bull elk out of season and
exceeding the bag limit while Stephanie Lardy
pled guilty to aiding/counseling in a game vio-
lation. In the wake of the crime, two calves, two
cows and a spike bull were left rotting.
The case is signifi cant because our region, to
a large extent, represents a vast and rich hunting
environment. Every year, hunters enter the woods
in hopes of bagging an elk or deer. To a lesser
extent, our economy prospers from the infl ux of
hunters.
Hunting, then, for many is a serious business.
Most hunters follow the rules. They take only
what they are allowed to by law. In that way, each
hunter is a steward of not only our game herds
but of the forests where they search for game.
We are all naturally proud of our traditions
of self-suffi ciency and resiliency along with the
knowledge that we can hunt during the desig-
nated season. Hunting for many is generational.
Fathers and mothers pass on the tradition to their
children.
Yet when anyone poaches or otherwise mars
the philosophy of hunting, it damages the entire
sport. Not only does it impact the judicial system,
but it also punishes those who play by the rules
every year. Poaching also sends a message that
the rules don’t matter. Those who poach conduct
their actions of aggression in a concealed manner.
Fortunately, there are laws that keep crimes
against our wildlife in check. However, no
number of legal statutes can erase what is often
the depravity of human nature.
That means all of us have a responsibility to
ensure that our great resource — the elk and deer
and other game that traverse Eastern Oregon —
remain viable for the future. Hunting, is indeed,
serious business. We are the ones who can keep
our herds of wildlife stable and safe so that when
we journey into the woods, lawfully, to enjoy
one of our region’s great pastimes we won’t be
disappointed.
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opinion of The Observer editorial
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opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of The Observer.
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New media fi lling Oregon news deserts
STEVE
FORRESTER
WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
G
eorge Custer is a new player
in the struggle to keep
Oregon news deserts from
happening.
Following closure of the Dead
Mountain Echo, an Oakridge news-
paper of some 50 years standing, a
group led by veteran newsman Doug
Bates started the Highway 58 Herald,
an online newspaper. A former
Marine Corps captain and a busi-
nessman, Custer is working on the
newspaper’s business side, and he has
fi lled in as an interim editor.
Custer and I met at the Eugene
City Club’s July 8 discussion of the
topic “Can local newspapers sur-
vive?” In response to that question, I
had the easier task, because I could
speak about our media company and
its survival.
The Highway 58 endeavor is much
like the Ashland News, which is pow-
ered by retired journalists and busi-
ness people such as Paul Steinle, who
resides in Ashland as well as on the
Long Beach Peninsula. Steinle is a
retired executive of King Broadcasting
of Seattle.
These two startups and another in
Yachats are emblematic of the drive to
fi ll community news voids.
EO Media Group, parent company
of The Observer, closed its books on
June 30, at the end of the fi scal year.
I am pleased to report that it was a
fi nancially healthy year. During that
cycle, our newspapers gained sub-
scribers, to both our print and digital
editions.
Talent is the key to our company’s
fi nancial health. Talent in the news-
rooms of our 15 newspapers, talent
among our designers and advertising
sales staff s, talent in our one printing
site in Astoria and in our call center.
News content is what drives readers
to our print and digital editions. In one
of our highest profi le news initiatives,
the Bulletin in Bend is in the midst of
a year-long series that profi les home-
less persons in Deschutes County.
Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court deci-
sion on Roe v. Wade, Katie Franko-
wicz of KMUN-FM and Nicole Bales
of The Astorian took an extensive
look at the lack of access to abortion
in rural areas of Oregon like the North
Coast. The East Oregonian covered a
170-car crash on Interstate 84 in late
February that stretched nearly 2 miles
long. Nearly 20 patients were trans-
ported to area hospitals and stranded
motorists were taken to the Pendleton
Convention Center, which served as a
reunifi cation hub for people involved
in the crash.
In the years ahead, our compa-
ny’s path and the paths of new Oregon
news outlets such as in Ashland and
Oakridge may intersect. During
the fi scal year, EO Media Group
launched the Fund for Oregon Rural
Journalism. This nonprofi t venture
is seeking philanthropic money that
is dedicated to helping newsrooms
thrive. FORJ aims to help rural news-
rooms around Oregon build sustain-
able operation. Also we hope to build
collaborations with other rural news-
papers in shared news initiatives on
topics such as water, housing and cli-
Steve Forrester is the president and chief
executive officer of EO Media Group.
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
STATE SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
STAFF
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mate change.
What I like about FORJ is that it
is a countervailing force against the
national narrative that news deserts
must be our future. What America
and Oregon need is a new gener-
ation of news entrepreneurs. In
other words, young people who are
equipped with reporting, editing and
business skills to start community
news organizations. These young tal-
ents can emerge from our journalism
schools. Our company leaders have
had that conversation with the leaders
of the University of Oregon School of
Journalism.
Journalism schools at the Univer-
sity of West Virginia and University of
Kentucky are focusing on developing
new generations of entrepreneurial
journalists. Our conversations with the
UO Journalism School are heartening.
By telling you that we’ve had a
good fi scal year, I do not mean to dis-
guise the challenges we’ve confronted
and will confront.
The newspaper business has never
been easy for papers our size in com-
munities such as we represent. If
you’ve read “Grit and Ink,” the history
of our company and family, you know
that from the late 19th century into
the 21st century, impediments such as
the Great Depression, a massive fi re
in Astoria, pandemics as well as shifts
in the advertising industry have come
our way regularly.
The key to rural and regional news-
papers’ survival is resilience and inno-
vation. And that is where you’ll fi nd
EO Media Group in the year ahead.
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
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COPYRIGHT © 2022
Phone:
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Regional publisher ....................... Karrine Brogoitti
Home delivery adviser.......... Amanda Turkington
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ..................... Kelli Craft
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Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter...........................................Isabella Crowley
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Reporter..........................................Shannon Golden
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