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WOLF: The hunter said the wolf ran straight at him
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East Oregonian
Continued from 1A
the agency did not request a
necropsy because the cause
of death — gunshot — was
known.
Niemeyer
said
the
hunter’s account of taking a
“snap shot into a ball of fur”
is unlikely.
“I have to tell you I doubt
the story,” he said.
Niemeyer, 70, said he has
hunted predators for 52 years
as a government hunter and
a taxidermist, and has dealt
with fellow sportsmen and
shooters for decades. “I’ve
heard every story,” he said.
“This story is very suspect to
me.”
The elk hunter, Brian
Scott, 38, of Clackamas, told
Oregon State Police that the
wolf ran straight at him. Scott
told police he screamed, took
quick aim and fired his 30.06
rifle once. Scott said he saw
nothing but fur in the rifle’s
scope as the wolf ran at
him, according to published
reports.
In an interview with
outdoor writer Bill Monroe
of The Oregonian/Oregon
Live, Scott said he was
terrified.
“People envision this jerk
hunter out to kill anything,
but that’s not me,” he told
Monroe. “It frustrates me
they don’t understand. I’m
a meat hunter. I was looking
for a spike elk. This wasn’t
exciting. It ruined my hunt.”
Scott told Monroe he
didn’t think he had time to
fire a warning shot. He could
not explain the bullet’s path,
which entered the wolf’s
right shoulder and exited the
left, other than perhaps the
wolf turned at the last instant
or the bullet deflected.
Niemeyer, the retired
wildlife biologist, said
wolves will “turn around
and take off” when they
realize they’re near a human.
Niemeyer said he had “many,
many close encounters with
wolves” while doing trap-
ping, collaring and other field
work for USFWS in Idaho,
Oregon and elsewhere. He
said wolves sometimes ran at
him and approached within 6
to 8 feet before veering away.
Wolves are potentially
dangerous, he said, “but
all my experience tells me
it would be fearful of a
human.”
People in such situations
should stand up if they are
concealed, show themselves,
and yell or throw things,
Niemeyer said. Hunters
could fire a shot into the
ground or into a tree and
“scare the hell out of them,”
he said.
“That would have been
the first logical thing to do,”
he said. “The gunshot and a
yell from a human would turn
every wolf I’ve ever known
inside out trying to get away.”
He also suggested people
venturing into the woods
should carry bear repellent
spray, which certainly would
also deter wolves, cougars or
coyotes.
“If everyone shoots
everything they’re afraid
of, wow, that’s not a good
thing,” he said.
Niemeyer acknowledged
his reaction is based on years
of experience with wolves.
“People say, ‘That’s easy
for you to say, Carter, you
worked with wolves for 30
years and you’re familiar
with their behavior,’” he
said.
The shooting happened
Oct. 27 in ODFW’s Starkey
Wildlife Management Unit
west of La Grande.
Scott told police he was
hunting and had intermit-
tently seen what he thought
might be coyotes. At one
point, two of them circled off
to the side while a third ran
at him. Scott said he shot that
one and the others ran away.
Scott went back to his
hunting camp and told
companions
what
had
happened. They returned
to the shooting scene and
concluded the dead animal
was a wolf. The hunter then
notified state police and
ODFW, which investigated.
Police later found a shell
casing 27 yards from the
wolf carcass. The Union
County district attorney’s
office reviewed the case and
chose not to file charges.
The
Portland-based
conservation group Oregon
Wild raised questions about
the incident. Rob Klavins,
Oregon Wild’s field represen-
tative in Northeast Oregon,
said he’s seen wolves in
the wild several times and
backed away without trouble
or harm. Even the late OR-4,
the fearsome breeding male
of the infamous Imnaha Pack
in Wallowa County, retreated
and barked when it encoun-
tered Klavins and a hiking
party.
“This (hunter) may have
felt fear, but since wolves
returned to Oregon, no one
has so much as been licked
by a wolf, and that’s still true
today,” Klavins said.
“What has changed is
we now have wolves on the
landscape, 10 years ago we
didn’t,” Klavins said. “Espe-
cially in the fall (hunting
season), armed people are
going to be out encountering
wolves.”
Oregon Wild believes
poachers have killed several
Oregon wolves, and USFWS
on Monday offered a $5,000
reward for information about
a collared wolf designated
OR-25 that was found dead
Oct. 29 near Klamath Falls.
Klavins said wolf shooters
might now use a “self-de-
fense” claim as a “free pass
to poaching.”
ROBOT: Strong enough to pull a person across the gym floor
Continued from 1A
how to drive the machines,
which are operated by remote
control.
“Our motto is ‘start
remote, stay remote,’” said
Sgt. Karl Farber, explaining
to the students how robots
allow the team to explore
suspicious packages or
materials, while keeping
people away from potential
explosives.
Even if students don’t use
their robotics skills to enter a
law enforcement field, Super-
intendent Heidi Sipe said she
was excited for students to
see an example of the types
of jobs available to kids with
knowledge of the subject.
“Their robots are far more
sophisticated systems than
what we do,” she said. “We’ll
let the kids disassemble them
and learn, and apply the
knowledge to what they work
on.”
The newer robots are
radio-controlled, whereas the
old one is controlled by fiber
optics. Farber said that is a
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
A Umatilla High School student experiences the
strength of the Remotec F6A robot as it pulls him
across the floor.
little more cumbersome.
But students were happy
with the older model.
“We get to drive it, and
make improvements if we
want,” said Cheyenne Clark,
a seventh-grader at Clara
Brownell who works as a
programmer on the school’s
robotics team.
After
the
assembly,
officers let students test out
the robots. The Remote F6A
is strong enough to pull a
person across the gym floor
— a feature several Umatilla
students had to test out for
themselves.
Senior Trooper Jerrad
Little talked about the
training involved to be part
of OSP’s explosives team.
“The initial school is in
Alabama, and it’s a six-week
course,” he said. The trainees
learn about everything from
the robotics of the machines
to putting on bomb suits and
how circuits work.
“It’s a pretty intensive
course,” he said. On top of
that, there are specific train-
ings officers will attend to
hone their skills.
“Sgt. Farber just got back
from a homemade explosives
course,” Little said.
Turner said the explosives
section could get called to a
variety of situations.
“It could be a suspicious
package, or old military
ordnances people find in the
woods. Old farms will have
explosive-type stuff,” he said.
Turner said he looks
forward to checking back
in with the team in a few
months to see what they have
learned.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
SHOOTER: Investigators believe Kelley died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Continued from 1A
said. “I was standing behind a
pickup truck for cover. I know
I hit him. He got into his
vehicle, and he fired another
couple rounds through his side
window. When the window
dropped, I fired another round
at him again.”
As Kelley sped away, Will-
eford said he ran to a pickup
truck stopped an intersection
and told the driver, “That
guy just shot up the Baptist
church. We need to stop him.”
The
driver,
Johnnie
Langendorff, said he had been
driving to Sutherland Springs
on Sunday to pick up his
girlfriend when a man who’d
been exchanging gunfire with
Kelley suddenly landed inside
his truck.
“He jumped in my truck
and said, ‘He just shot up the
church, we need to go get
him.’ And I said, ‘Let’s go,’”
Langendorff, a 27-year-old
Seguin resident, told The
Associated Press on Monday,
adding that the ensuing pursuit
eventually clocked speeds
upwards of 90 mph.
Willeford said he and
Langendorrf kept a 911 oper-
ator advised as the high-speed
pursuit continued. He said
Kelley ultimately hit a road
sign and flipped his vehicle
into a roadside ditch.
Willeford said he then
exited Langendorrf’s pickup,
perched his rifle on the rooftop
and trained it on Kelley’s
vehicle. He then yelled: “Get
out of the truck! Get out of
the truck!” But Kelley did not
move.
Langendorff said police
arrived about five minutes
later. Based on evidence at the
scene, investigators believe
Kelley died of a self-inflicted
gunshot wound.
“There was no thinking
AP Photo/Eric Gay
A law enforcement official investigates the scene of
a shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland
Springs, Monday, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A man
opened fire inside the church in the small South Texas
community on Sunday, killing and wounding many.
about it,” Langendorff said.
“There was just doing. That
was the key to all this. Act
now. Ask questions later.”
Asked if he felt like a hero,
Langendorff said: “I don’t
really know how I feel. I just
hope that the families and
people affected by this can
sleep easier knowing that this
man is not breathing anymore
and not able to hurt anyone
else. I feel I just did what was
right.”
Though he did not identify
Willeford by name, Texas
Department of Public Safety
Regional Director Freeman
Martin said at a news confer-
ence Monday that the armed
resident who confronted
Kelley was toting an “AR
assault rifle and engaged” the
shooter.
Martin
later
praised
Willeford and Langendorff:
“The number one goal of law
enforcement is to neutralize
the shooter. In this situation,
we had two good Samaritans
who did that for law enforce-
ment.”
Julius Kepper, Willeford’s
next-door neighbor for the
past seven years, described
Willeford as a gun and
motorcycle enthusiast who
regularly takes target practice
at property out in the country,
and has as many as five Harley
Davidson motorcycles.
“Avid gun collector, a
good guy,” Kepper said.
Kepper and other neigh-
bors said Willeford’s family
has been in the Sutherland
Springs area for at least three
generations, including a father
and grandfather who were
in dairy farming. Stephen
Willeford is married with two
grown children and works as
a plumber who installs lines
on major projects such as
hospitals, Kepper said.
He called Willeford a “free
spirit” sort who loves motor-
cycles despite losing both
parents to a motorcycle crash
when he was a young adult.
“It was almost the same spot
where they ran (the shooter)
off the road,” Kepper said.
Kepper said he’s not
surprised Willeford would
exchange gunfire with the
church gunman. Others in
the neighborhood would have
done the same if they knew
what was happening, he said.
“Just like everybody else
around here. He was just the
first one there,” Kepper said.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz
on Monday praised Wille-
ford’s actions, after talking to
law enforcement officials and
visiting the church in Suther-
land Springs. He lauded
the “ordinary citizen” who
engaged the gunman.
“One individual demon-
strated bravery and courage.
We need to be celebrating that
bravery and courage,” Cruz
said.
Still, Willeford proved a
reluctant hero.
“I didn’t want this and I
want the focus to be on my
friends,” Willeford told The
Dallas Morning News for a
story published Monday that
also confirmed he was the first
person to confront Kelley. “I
have friends in that church. I
was terrified while this was
going on.”
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
BRIEFLY
Trump lands in South Korea
to pressure the North
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AP) — President
Donald Trump arrived in South Korea on Tuesday,
beginning a two-day visit centered on pressuring the
nation’s neighbor to the north to abandon its nuclear
weapons program.
Trump has repeatedly struck a hard line against
Pyongyang and South Korea will be warily watching
him as he is poised to deliver bellicose warnings in the
shadow of the North Korea. The president refused to rule
out eventual military action against the north and exhorted
dictator Kim Jong Un to stop weapons testing, calling
the recent launches of missiles over American allies like
Japan “a threat to the civilized world and international
peace and stability.”
“We will not stand for that,” Trump said at a Monday
news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo
Abe. “The era of strategic patience is over. Some people
say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened
with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years.”
Trump landed at an air force base where he was
greeted by dignitaries and a 21-cannon salute. He is then
poised to travel to visit Camp Humphreys, a military base
about 40 miles south of Seoul. U.S. and South Korean
officials have said the base visit is meant to underscore
the countries’ ties and South Korea’s commitment to
contributing to its own defense. Burden-sharing is a theme
Trump has stressed ever since his presidential campaign.
But he will forgo the customary trip to the
demilitarized zone separating north and south — a
pilgrimage made by every U.S. presidents except one
since Ronald Reagan as a demonstration of solidarity
with the South. A senior administration recently dubbed
the border trip as “a bit of a cliche” and several other
members of the administration, including Vice President
Mike Pence, have visited the DMZ this year. And the
White House believes that Trump has already made his
support of South Korea crystal clear.
House tax panel adopts GOP changes
after day of bickering
WASHINGTON (AP) — After a day of partisan
bickering over whether the Republicans’ sweeping tax
plan would truly help the middle class, a key House
panel on Monday approved late changes. Lawmakers
restored the tax exemption for employees receiving child
care benefits from their companies, but also put new
requirements on a tax credit used by working people of
modest means.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-16
along party lines to adopt the amendment from its
chairman, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. The changes were
made to the complex GOP tax legislation put forward last
Thursday.
The vote on the amendment capped a rancorous
marathon session in which Republicans and Democrats
argued heatedly over the nearly $6 trillion plan.
Democrats repeatedly lodged objections to the bill,
especially to its limits on prized deductions for
homeowners and its repeal of the child adoption credit
and the deduction for medical expenses.
It was the first of what are expected to be several
days of work on the bill, as Republicans drive to push
legislation through Congress and to President Donald
Trump’s desk by Christmas.
Republicans focused on findings by Congress’
nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation that the bill
would lower taxes across all income levels over the next
several years.
Report: Apple revamped overseas
operations to find new tax havens
(AP) — Apple revamped its overseas subsidiaries to
take advantage of tax loopholes on the European island
of Jersey after a crackdown on Ireland’s loose rules
began in 2013, according to The New York Times and the
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists .
The news outlet and the nonprofit investigative
organization cited confidential records that were obtained
by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and
shared. The cache of 13 million secret documents came
from Appleby, a Bermuda-based law firm that helps
businesses and wealthy individuals find tax shelters.
The moves came after a U.S. Senate subcommittee
found in 2013 that Apple had avoided tens of billions of
dollars in taxes by using overseas havens. The paper said
Apple has $128 billion in offshore profits not taxed by the
U.S.
By 2015, Apple had moved the tax home of two Irish
subsidiaries to Jersey, a self-governing island in the
English Channel, and also made Ireland the tax home of a
different European subsidiary.
Apple said in response that the reports contained
various “inaccuracies.” For instance, the company said
its 2015 corporate reorganization was “specially designed
to preserve its tax payments to the United States, not to
reduce its taxes anywhere else.”
The Cupertino, California-based company said it was
the largest taxpayer in the world, paying $35 billion in
corporate income tax over the last three years, including
$1.5 billion in Ireland. It said it pays an effective tax rate
of 21 percent on foreign earnings.
The Umatilla County
Democratic Party
Would like to thank Jeanne
Atkins, Chair of the Oregon
Democratic Party, and all
the Volunteers and Donors
for their time and generous
donations to make our
First Annual Dinner
and Auction an
Outstanding
success.