In brief: Ex-library chief under scrutiny

SALEM – Oregon state police have launched an investigation into a library official who had been selected to be the state’s top librarian.

Questions about Robert Hulshof-Schmidt’s credentials arose shortly after he was chosen to replace Jim Scheppke, who retired Jan. 1 after 20 years as library chief, reported the Statesman Journal.

Through emails obtained through a public records request, the newspaper reported that Hulshof-Schmidt was placed on administrative leave in November after questions surfaced about his academic credentials. He abruptly resigned in December.

In the emails, Hulshof-Schmidt corresponds with Scheppke about obtaining a transcript showing he obtained a master’s degree in library science from the University of Washington in the early 1990s.

It’s unclear if Hulshof-Schmidt delivered the transcript.

Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings confirmed the agency is investigating Hulshof-Schmidt but declined to say why.

Hulshof-Schmidt could not be reached for comment.

Totem pole going to D.C. museum

KINGSTON, Wash. – A Kingston carver’s totem pole is heading to the nation’s capital.

The Smithsonian Institution has commissioned David Boxley to carve a 22-foot-tall totem pole that will be installed at the National Museum of the American Indian, the Kitsap Sun reported.

Boxley is finishing his 3,000-pound totem this week, and then it will be shipped.

Boxley is originally from Metlakatla, Alaska, where many of his 70 totems are installed. He says the installation at the museum is an honor for his kin, the Tsimshian people of southeast Alaska.

Oregon elk herd shuns free food

BAKER CITY, Ore. – A mild winter may be causing the Elkhorn Mountains elk to shun the state-provided hay they usually munch on.

Bales of protein rich alfalfa hay have gone untouched at the Elkhorn Wildlife Area, and locals think it’s because of the lack of snow in the region, the Baker City Herald reported Sunday.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Eddie Miguez says that with scarce snow cover, the elk can eat the grasses and forbs that constitute their normal diet – even with the hay sitting there.

“The elk just aren’t acting very hungry right now,” Miguez said.

The state agency set up the feed sites in 1971 to keep elk from marauding ranchers’ haystacks.

In December 2010, for instance, the crew from the Elkhorn Wildlife Area consumed 245 tons of hay, said Miguez, who has managed the Wildlife Area since 1998. That was slightly above average for the month.

Compare that to this past December, when Miguez’s staff doled out just 55 tons of alfalfa.

Typically, 50 to 150 elk gather at the Anthony Creek.