A disagreement between two campers resulted in the shooting of a 65-year old Fillmore man on Tuesday morning in an encampment off of Owens River Rd. in Mono County, five miles north of Mammoth near Highway 395. 

An arraignment for the suspected shooter, Deric Beach, 71, of Bishop, in Mono County Superior Court was postponed on Thursday because Mr. Beach was hospitalized following his arrest. 

The victim, Tom Brown of Fillmore, was transported by Mono County medics to Bridgeport and then life-flighted to Renown Hospital in Reno  

following the incident. Mono County Sherif Ingrid Braun said Brown was shot in the chest/shoulder area and “it didn’t look like he was going to make it.” But he’s made it thus far (as of Thursday morning). 

Braun said both parties have not been able to tell investigators what happened that led to the 3 a.m. shooting. “Our understanding is that the two men had been neighbors [in the woods] for a period of time.” 

Both men are single. 

Mr. Beach remained in the hospital as of Thursday suffering from the DTs [withdrawal] according to the Sheriff and his attorney, Sophie Bidet. He was initially treated for injuries sustained from being tackled by a police K9. 

The K9 is part of the Inyo/Mono/City of Bishop SED (Special Enforcement Detail) that was summoned on Thursday morning when Mr. Beach became uncooperative and at one point locked himself in his trailer. 

His arraignment has been postponed until Monday, September 12 at 1:30 p.m. 

As Phil Higerd says in his op/ed which appears on pages 18-19 this week, “While Democrats often believe and say things that aren’t true, I am much more concerned and distressed when people who share my political and/or religious identity believe and say things that aren’t true.”

If that’s the case, it’s gotta be particuarly exhausting being a dyed-in-the-wool Republican these days. 

As our young writer Mr. Pike hails from Georgia, I admit to being unduly entertained by the U.S. Senate candidacy of Herschel Walker. 

As The New Yorker reported in its “Talk of the Town” section of its July 25 issue, “During three seasons with the University of Georgia Bulldogs, Walker, who is now sixty, recorded more than five thousand rushing yards. In 1982, he won the Heisman Trophy. These are his primary qualifications for representing Georgia in the Senate. He has also cited his work in law enforcement, his graduation from UGA in the top percentile of his class, and his success in running businesses, including one of the largest minority-owned food-services companies in the country.” 

Unfortunately, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution fact-checked these claims,. Never graduated. Never worked in law enforcement. Exaggerated business acumen. But fact-checking is clearly representative of left-wing bias/support of a leftist agenda. 

The article goes on to point out that while Mr. Walker is vocal “on the perils of fatherless households … and has highlighted the role he has played in the life of his 22-year old son,” Mr. Walker was subsequently outed because he has fathered three other children he has no relationship with. 

Mr. Walker published an op-ed in the August 13-14 issue of the Wall Street Journal where he blasts Bill Kristol’s Republican Accountability Project for running attack ads which he says stigmatize his struggles with mental illness. 

Walker authored a book titled “Breaking Free: My Life With Dissociative Identity Disorder” published in 2008. 

I’m not sure you get a free pass as a political candidate from public scrutiny and bald-faced lies by claiming that one’s mental health and mental acuity are off-limits. 

If Republicans can jab Mr. Biden for cognitive decline, certainly Democrats can jab Mr. Walker for his problems with the truth. As one Walker aide was quoted as saying in the Daily Beast, Walker lies “like he’s breathing.” 

Much like a Jan. 6 denier. 

In regard to the resignation of NIH CEO Kelli Davis, Jody Veenker, NIH Board Chair, said, “As a board member, I’m saddened to see her leave and so grateful for the difficult years she led us through. She was a trustworthy and steadying influence and I’m sure staff are full of regret at this news as well.”

The NIH Board will give a public update at their next board meeting on Sept 21 about their efforts in finding Davis’s replacement, and how the process is unfolding.

Finally, old friend Charles James tells us not to throw away unused at-home COVID-19 Tests just because they’ve passed their expiration dates. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced two weeks ago that they have extended expiration dates on many rapid antigen home tests that were sold at pharmacies and clinics or were mailed free to homes by the federal government while funding was still available. 

The federal government stopped delivering free at-home Covid tests to Americans on Friday, August 2. The now-suspended program provided more than 600 million tests to U.S. households since it launched at the beginning of this year.

It is possible, depending on the brand, that you may use an “expired” test, but still get an accurate result. For example, on the iHealth Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test with a printed expiration date (use by) of “2022-07-13”, the approved extension is “2023-01-13.” 

To find out whether your “at-home” Covid-19 rapid test has a new expiration date and what it is, go to the FDA At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests website and scroll down to find your brand. It’s important to note that not all brands have been approved by the FDA.

According to the FDA, Covid-19 “at home” antigen rapid, test results are at least 80% accurate most of the time, meaning that positive test results are “typically accurate.”

You should not use an expired Covid test unless it has been extended by the FDA. Be sure to write the new extension date on the packaging.