FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 7
Local & Entertainment
Man gets 60 days in
elder abuse case
On August 22, 2017,
in Baker County Circuit
Court Judge Greg Baxter
sentenced Kevin Bernardy
(dob 08-17-1953) of 1681
10th St. Baker City, Or-
egon to 60 days in jail and
fi ve years of probation for
felony Criminal Mistreat-
ment.
This Criminal Mistreat-
ment charge stemmed from
Bernardy fraudulently
using his elderly mother’s
bank card. A restitution
hearing is set for Novem-
ber to determine how
much restitution Bernardy
owes his mother.
The investigation began
in January of 2016 when
the Baker City Police De-
partment discovered that
Bernardy used a power
of attorney granted by his
elderly mother to refi nance
her house.
Bernardy used the funds
from the refi nance exclu-
sively for his benefi t.
He also drained most of
his mother’s money from
her bank accounts, again
using it exclusively for his
own benefi t.
According to District
Attorney, Matt Shirtcliff,
“A person holding a power
of attorney for another is
a fi duciary. The person
with the power of attorney
must use the funds for the
benefi t of the person grant-
ing the power of attorney.
By diverting his mother’s
money to himself Bernardy
committed Criminal Mis-
treatment as well as other
felonies.”
Shirtcliff utilized the
new Elder Abuse Unit cre-
ated by Oregon Attorney
General Ellen Rosenblum
in this case. The unit was
created by the Attorney
General in 2016 to combat
the epidemic of elder abuse
in Oregon. Dan Norris,
former Malheur County
District Attorney, is now
the lead Assistant Attorney
General in charge of this
unit.
Norris prosecuted the
case as a Special Deputy
District Attorney for Baker
County.
The elder abuse united
supplemented the work
of the Baker City Police
Department by providing
forensic investigators to
take an in depth look at
Bernardy’s accounts and
the victim’s accounts and
to trace fund transfers.
This crime is not a Ballot
Measure 11 crime carrying
prison time but is governed
by the sentencing guide-
lines.
Nonlethal methods
didn’t work on wolves
ODFW has confi rmed
four livestock depredations
by the Meacham Wolf
Pack of Umatilla County
this month, all to the same
livestock producer in the
same privately-owned
pasture. This is despite
substantial proactive non-
lethal efforts to stop wolf-
livestock confl ict.
The producer has
removed dead livestock
carcasses from the prop-
erty the same day they
were discovered; moni-
tored and removed animals
that were weak or could be
a target of wolves; em-
ployed a range rider fi ve
days per week to monitor
the location of wolves in
the pasture and maintain
human presence; modifi ed
their normal husbandry
practices by putting larger,
more mature calves in the
pasture; and delayed pas-
ture turnout for 30 days so
calves were larger and to
give wolves more time to
move out of the area.
Additionally, the produc-
er has undertaken a speedy
and expensive relocation
of many of the cattle from
The
the pasture where wolves
are depredating. ODFW
received a lethal control
request from the producer
on Aug. 21, after the fourth
confi rmed depredation this
month. (An additional two
depredations occurred in
August 2016 and Septem-
ber 2014.) The producer
requested that the entire
pack be killed but ODFW
has decided to take an
incremental approach
instead.
At the request of a pro-
ducer or permittee, ODFW
can consider lethal control
of wolves under these
circumstances: if ODFW
confi rms at least two
depredations of livestock;
if the requester documents
unsuccessful attempts to
solve the situation thru
non-lethal means; if no
identifi ed circumstance
exists that attracts wolf-
livestock confl ict; and if
the requester has complied
with applicable laws and
the conditions of any ha-
rassment or take permit.
ODFW may kill the two
wolves but the depart-
ment will also provide the
producer with a limited
duration Wolf Kill Permit.
After the initial lethal take
of two wolves, the situa-
tion will be monitored to
determine if further dep-
redations or testing/chas-
ing of livestock occur and
additional lethal control is
needed.
“Oregon’s wolf popula-
tion continues to expand in
both number and range,”
said Curt Melcher, ODFW
Director. “While it’s
disheartening for some
people to see ODFW kill-
ing wolves, our agency is
called to manage wildlife
in a manner consistent with
other land uses, and to pro-
tect the social and econom-
ic interests of all Orego-
nians while it conserves
gray wolves,” Melcher
added. “It’s important that
we address and limit wolf-
livestock problems while
also ensuring a healthy
wolf population.”
“I am authorizing only
incremental take in an ef-
fort to take as few wolves
as possible while still
addressing wolf-livestock
confl ict,” Melcher added.
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