BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, JuLY 23, 2022 A5
LOCAL, STATE & NATION
Poachers who left five elk dead sentenced in Harney County
The Observer
BURNS — A Hines couple
have been sentenced for their
involvement in killing at
least seven elk while shoot-
ing into the fleeing herd in
December 2021.
Chris Lardy was convicted
of taking a bull elk out of
season and exceeding the
bag limit of elk. Stephanie
Lardy pled guilty to aiding/
counseling in a game vio-
lation. The crime left two
calves, two cows and a spike
bull rotting in high-country
sagebrush.
“Each hunter is responsi-
ble for every round they fire,”
Oregon State Police Fish and
Wildlife Sgt. Erich Timko
said. “And hunters have a
responsibility to make a rea-
sonable effort to track and
retrieve potentially wounded
wildlife. This is a prime ex-
ample of when that is not
done. These are egregious
results. However, even more
so on antlerless hunts, it can
be difficult to pick one spe-
cific animal and stay on tar-
get. And at times, you must
make that decision not to
fire unless you are 100% pos-
itive you are shooting at that
animal. If you cannot be 100
percent positive of your tar-
get, then you have responsi-
bility not to take that shot.”
According to officials, wit-
Oregon State Police/Contributed Photo, File
Poachers shot into a herd of about 100 elk, leaving two cows, two calves and a spike bull to waste in De-
cember 2021 in Harney County.
nesses hunting in the Juniper
Unit in Harney County mid-
day on Dec. 11, 2021, called
the Turn In Poachers line
when they saw the driver of
a blue and white Suburban
leave a spur road east of Or-
egon Highway 395 to pur-
sue a herd of about 100 elk
through open ground and
sagebrush. Witnesses said
the driver stopped twice as
occupants fired at least 30-40
shots into the fleeing herd.
OSP Troopers solved the
case during a traffic stop the
following day.
The Lardy couple and two
passengers in the vehicle had
four tags for a late-season
antlerless (cow) elk hunt.
Stephanie Lardy and another
person in their hunt group
legally tagged two cow elk.
They left five elk to waste
and allegedly wounded an-
other elk which state troop-
ers did not find.
Evidence collected by
troopers indicated the driver
travelled about 300 yards
through sagebrush, stopped
to shoot into the herd, then
continued in pursuit. After
traveling about 400 addi-
tional yards through sage-
brush, they stopped again to
shoot into the herd, killing
two cow elk and a calf. They
gutted the two cows, loaded
them into their vehicle and
left the area.
“There are so many facets
of wrongdoing in this case,”
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife Big Game Pro-
gram Manager Brian Wolfer
said. “These people acted in
blatant disregard for the elk,
hunting laws and basic hunt-
ing ethics. To chase the elk
with a vehicle and then leave
five elk to waste because they
didn’t check to see what they
may have hit is almost unbe-
lievable.”
The following day, troop-
ers from the OSP Fish and
Wildlife Division followed
tracks left by the vehicle and
scouted the area for killed
and wounded animals.
Troopers located carcasses of
two cows, a calf and a spike
bull about 200 yards from
tire tracks marking the first
stop. They located a calf car-
cass about 60 yards from the
second stop. All five elk had
been left to waste and the
meat was not salvageable.
Troopers also found gut piles
from the two legal cow elk.
Troopers conducted a traf-
fic violation stop near the
site of the shootings on a ve-
hicle matching witness’ de-
scriptions. The driver, Chris
Lardy, told troopers he and
his passengers were on their
way back from hunting the
same area where their hunt-
ing group filled two antlerless
elk tags the previous day.
When Troopers ques-
tioned him about multi-
ple dead elk shot and left to
waste the previous day, Lardy
said he or one of his passen-
gers had wounded an elk in
the leg. No one in their hunt-
ing group had conducted a
search for dead or wounded
animals because they did not
have time. Lardy said he re-
turned to the area that day
hoping to fill their hunting
group’s two remaining tags.
“Elk in Oregon’s high des-
ert are amazingly elusive
even in open country and a
challenge for hunters to pur-
sue, so it’s a terrible shame to
see them needlessly wasted
like this,” Duane Dungan-
non, state coordinator and
magazine editor for the Or-
egon Hunters Association,
said. “Any ethical and re-
sponsible hunter knows that
you only shoot at one ani-
mal, and then follow up on
that animal. It’s not a video
game.”
Chris Lardy must write
and publish an apology letter
in the Burns newspaper as
part of his sentence. In ad-
dition, the couple must take
hunter education courses to
regain hunting rights follow-
ing three-year suspensions
and they will pay a combined
$2,500 in fines and resti-
tution, according to Har-
ney County officials. Chris
Lardy’s sentence included
six days in jail, 18 months
of bench probation and he
is prohibited from partici-
pating in any hunting activi-
ties, including as an observer
or mentor, for three years.
Troopers confiscated three
rifles, which were later re-
turned.
I-84 drivers urged to be careful near Meacham
BY DICK MASON
The Observer
MEACHAM — People driving
between the Kamela and Meacham
exits on Interstate 84 this summer
are experiencing a little bit of what
it was like to make the journey
more than five decades ago.
The only roadway between La
Grande and Pendleton then was the
two-lane Highway 30, a far cry from
Interstate 84, which has at least
two eastbound and two westbound
lanes. Today, however, a portion of
Interstate 84 is virtually a two-lane
highway between Meacham and
Kamela due to restoration work by
the Oregon Department of Trans-
portation being conducted on the
freeway.
Currently, a portion of the free-
way between Meacham and Ka-
mela, which normally is only a
westbound section, is now a two-
lane roadway with vehicles going
opposite directions in each lane to
allow the adjacent two lanes of east-
bound freeway next to them to be
restored.
Cones have been installed to di-
vide the two lanes of traffic. The
speed limit is being reduced from
70 to 50 mph in the work zone of
the project to protect travelers and
those working at the site.
Motorists are being urged to
drive with extra caution while this
work, which is expected to continue
through early fall, is conducted.
ODOT spokesperson Tom
Strandberg is encouraging people
planning on going through this sec-
tion of the I-84 to leave earlier than
normal to allow for more time to
reach their destination so they are
not tempted to rush through the
construction zone, where extreme
caution is needed.
“People make bad decisions when
they are in a hurry,” Strandberg
said.
The Oregon State Police, working
in cooperation with ODOT, have an
increased presence in the work zone
to discourage people from speeding
through it.
The two-year, $39 million Mea-
cham-Kamela project started in
2021. Oregon Department of Trans-
portation crews restored roadway in
the westbound and eastbound lanes
of I-84 for 3-1/2 miles east of Mea-
cham before shutting down for the
winter. ODOT is on pace to restore
the remaining miles of freeway for
the project by early fall, Strandberg
said.
The repaving work is necessary
because severe winter weather and
heavy use of tire chains have rutted
the roadway’s asphalt surface.
“Puddles of water can form in the
ruts,” Strandberg said.
The puddles can cause vehicles to
lose control, he said, and when they
freeze they create even more haz-
ardous conditions. Preventing such
conditions from occurring is an ob-
jective of ODOT this summer.
“Ruts are dangerous,” Strandberg
said. “We want to keep the pave-
ment smooth.”
The westbound and eastbound
lanes for slow traffic, now made of
asphalt, are being rebuilt with con-
crete, and the fast lanes are receiv-
ing new asphalt.
Strandberg said concrete, which
is longer-lasting than asphalt, is
the best fit for the slow lanes be-
cause they have such heavy truck
traffic. Concrete is more expensive
than asphalt but the extra cost is
worth it.
“Asphalt lasts 10 to 15 years but
concrete can last at least 35 years,”
Strandberg said.
Some portions of concrete free-
way in Oregon, Strandberg said, are
believed to have been in place for
50 years.
Paving work for the Mea-
cham-Kamela project is being
funded primarily with federal gas
tax money.
President Biden tests positive for
COVID-19, has ‘mild symptoms’
BY ZEKE MILLER, CHRIS
MEGERIAN AND JOSH BOAK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Presi-
dent Joe Biden tested positive
for COVID-19 on Thursday,
July 21 and is isolating with
“very mild symptoms,” the
White House said, as new vari-
ants of the highly contagious vi-
rus challenge the nation’s efforts
to get back to normal after two
and a half years of pandemic.
White House Press Secre-
tary Karine Jean-Pierre said
Biden had begun taking Pax-
lovid, an antiviral drug de-
signed to reduce the severity
of the disease. He was isolating
in the family quarters of the
White House and “continuing
to carry out all of his duties
fully,” she said.
Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin
O’Connor, said in a letter that
Biden had a runny nose and
“fatigue, with an occasional
dry cough, which started yes-
terday evening.”
Biden himself said in a video
posted on Twitter: “I really
appreciate your inquiries and
concerns. But I’m doing well,
getting a lot of work done.“
Biden, 79, is fully vacci-
nated, after getting two doses
of the Pfizer coronavirus vac-
cine shortly before taking
office, a first booster shot in
September 2021 and an addi-
tional dose March 30, 2022.
The president will isolate for
five days and can return to his
usual activities after a negative
test, White House COVID-19
coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha
told reporters at a briefing.
Jean-Pierre described the
president’s symptoms as “very
mild” and said Biden had
been in contact with members
of the White House staff by
phone and would participate
in his planned meetings “via
phone and Zoom from the res-
idence.”
Asked where Biden might
have contracted the virus,
Jean-Pierre said, “I don’t think
that matters.” She later clarified
that to say the White House
was focused on how Biden was
feeling and would engage in
contact tracing.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks to the nation from the White House, in
Washington, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, as first lady Jill Biden listens.
In the video that Biden re-
corded outdoors to tell the
world he was OK, the videog-
rapher stood six feet away and
wore an N95 mask, Jean-Pierre
said. The president will stop
taking his blood thinner and
cholesterol medications while
receiving Paxlovid.
The White House took steps
to show that the president was
busy working despite his diag-
nosis, with Biden tweeting out
a picture of himself making
calls from the treaty room of
the White House.
The president spoke by
phone to lawmakers in Penn-
sylvania to apologize for hav-
ing to cancel his planned trip
Thursday to the city of Wil-
kes-Barre to promote his crime
prevention plans. Biden also
called South Carolina Rep. Jim
Clyburn to wish him a happy
birthday and congratulate him
on receiving an award from
the NAACP.
Dr. O’Connor wrote in his
letter about the president’s
treatment plan: “I anticipate
that he will respond favorably”
to Paxlovid “as most maxi-
mally protected patients do.”
Jean-Pierre said Biden had
tested negative on Tuesday and
would stay isolated until he
tests negative again.
White House chief of staff
Ron Klain said in a letter to
White House staff obtained by
The Associated Press that “all
close contacts of the president”
will be informed of Biden’s
positive test “per standard pro-
tocol.”
First lady Jill Biden, speak-
ing to reporters as she arrived
for a school visit in Detroit,
said she’d just gotten off the
phone with her husband.
“He’s doing fine,” she said.
“He’s feeling good.”
The first lady, who was
wearing a mask, said she tested
negative earlier in the day. She
will keep her full schedule
in Michigan and Georgia on
Thursday, though she will be
following guidance from the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention on masking
and distancing, said Michael
LaRosa, her spokesperson.
The president spent much
of last week in Israel and Saudi
Arabia. White House officials
had told reporters that Biden
planned to minimize contact
during the trip, yet as soon as
he exited Air Force One on
July 13, he was fist-bumping,
handshaking and even was
seen in an occasional hug. The
CDC says symptoms can ap-
pear two to 14 days after expo-
sure to the virus.
Biden has had a minimal
public schedule after returning
from Saudi Arabia late on Sat-
urday night, attending church
the next day and helping to
welcome Ukraine’s first lady
Olena Zelenska to the White
House on Tuesday. The presi-
dent traveled to Massachusetts
on Wednesday to promote ef-
forts to combat climate change.
Local Cancer Care Is
Getting an Upgrade
We’re committed to investing in the Fruitland
community. St. Luke’s Cancer Institute is installing a
new linear accelerator in Fruitland this spring.
The upgrade will ensure local cancer patients who
need radiation treatment will receive the very best in
modern care.