Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter out of March Muttness | REGION, A3
TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2022
146th Year, No. 64
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
INITIATIVE PETITION 13
Contoversial
Animal rights
proposal won’t
make ballot
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
LA GRANDE — A controver-
sial proposal on animal cruelty
laws appears to be off the table, for
now, but proponents of the initia-
tive say their campaign isn’t over
yet.
“We just submitted the initia-
tive for 2024 and are waiting for
confi rmation from the state,” an
organizer with the Yes on IP13
campaign said. “At this point, it
does not look like we will gather
enough for 2022. I believe the
plan is to shift gears to the newly
numbered initiative as soon as we
have it.”
Initiative Petition 13, other-
wise known as the Abuse, Neglect
and Assault Exemption Modifi ca-
tion and Improvement Act, would
remove exemptions to the Oregon
animal abuse laws that protect
hunters, farmers and anglers from
abuse violations. That means hunt-
ers could possibly be prosecuted
for killing and harvesting wild
animals, as could farmers who send
their livestock to slaughterhouses.
David Michelson, the author
of the initiative and the lead orga-
nizer for the campaign, acknowl-
edged the proposal’s long road, and
said that like other social justice
reforms throughout history, it will
take time.
“This is asking for quite a
shift from the norm, and I think,
like with any social change, it’s
controversial,” he said. “But
every social justice movement
in history has been met with
controversy, unfortunately.”
Michelson noted a petition to
allow women to vote in Oregon
faced similar political headwinds
in the early 20th century, but the
story of how women fought for
suff rage in Oregon has been inspi-
rational to the Portland-based
activist, who said he would “like
to see this (initiative) as being part
of that history of progressive ballot
measures that push us forward.”
But even if the initiative fails to
muster the signatures necessary
to reach the ballot this November,
Michelson has his eyes set on 2024.
“We are planning, as we have
always planned, to submit our
initiative for 2024 with the antic-
ipation that even if we qualify for
2022, it is unlikely that it’ll pass on
the fi rst attempt,” Michelson said.
“Speaking back to the initiative that
gave women the right to vote, it was
voted on in six consecutive elec-
tion cycles before it fi nally passed.
It was voted down fi ve times. If our
initiative does not pass this Novem-
ber, we want to make sure it’s on
the ballot again in 2024.”
Photos by Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Shooting enthusiast and Black Hammer Tacti-cool business owner Gentry Thorpe poses Wednesday, March 16, 2022, with service dog
Blu, and his wife, Dierdra, surrounded by the couple’s children: Jada, 21, Gemri, 9, Kyla, 12, and Dedrick, 16, on the porch of their home
in Milton-Freewater.
Shooting for his life
Brutally assaulted
Washington State
Penitentiary sergeant
uses ‘ballistic therapy’
to overcome trauma
By SHEILA HAGAR
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Gentry Thorpe documents the action at a February 2022 rimfi re shooting event at the
East End Rod & Gun Club range in Milton-Freewater.
See Ballot, Page A9
Brandon Cadwell works with his son, Jimmy, 6, at a shooting event in February 2022 at
the East End Rod & Gun Club in Milton-Freewater.
M
ILTON-FREEWATER —
In his younger life, Gentry
Thorpe easily could have
been on the other side of
the bars on the day he was
knocked senseless in 2019.
The Milton-Freewa-
ter man and Washington State Penitentiary
sergeant was one of two offi cers pummeled,
punched and rendered unconscious by a large,
angry and mentally ill inmate that August
day as they worked inside the prison’s mental
health unit.
Since then, Thorpe has lived with the phys-
ical and emotional results of the brutal attack.
He said the best medicine he’s found, after
his family’s support and love, is through his
joy of and involvement with precision target
shooting.
Such is his passion for the sport and for
sharing it with others, that last year, Thorpe
established a company, Black Hammer Tacti-
cool LLC, which hosts precision shooting
matches for others who enjoy the competi-
tive hobby.
Shooting a .22 rifle helps everything,
settling anxiety and restoring calm, Thorpe
said.
“I call it ballistic therapy,” he said.
Life preservers
At one time, fi rearms stood a good chance
of becoming a serious negative in Thorpe’s
life.
Thorpe said in his hometown of Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, he grew up running the
streets, despite his grandmother’s eff orts as
she raised him and his siblings for much of
their childhood.
“I’m from a Black neighborhood, I’m from
the inner city,” he said, adding his mom and
dad had their own challenges rising from the
environment around them.
Joining the military right after high school
meant rescue from the land mines ahead he
could clearly see, including gang affi liation,
Thorpe said.
After serving seven years in the U.S.
Army, he returned to Fort Lauderdale and, to
his own dismay, the street life.
There is every likelihood Thorpe would
Dozens participate at a Black Hammer rimfi re shooting event in February 2022 at the
East End Rod & Gun Club range in Milton-Freewater.
See Trauma, Page A9