Elsie the Elk Is Slain Among the Friends She Trusted

--Elsie, a tame elk that lived more than 10 years as a community pet and was fed hay by residents, was shot by a hunter who thought he was having a run of luck. She was shot in a field of winter wheat near the home of Craig and Karen Mills, who said Elsie often played with their two dogs. Angry residents of Battle Ground, Wash., (pop. 1,438), refused to let the hunter dress the elk. They erected a cross on the spot where she fell. “It’s a damn shame, but I think everyone knew it would happen someday,” said Lynn Murray, co-owner of the Double J Western Tack, who kept a hay trough for Elsie near the country store. “She trusted us, and that’s what makes me angry,” said Kenny Cochran, a neighbor. “To me, it was cold-blooded murder.” The hunter, Paul Parker, 38, at first was puzzled at the people’s hostility. He left and reported to sheriff’s deputies that he had been prevented from gutting his kill. But when he learned about Elsie, “The man was sick to his stomach,” said Bob Powell, a state game agent. Powell said Parker had an elk tag--but the season was only open to bow and arrow hunting. “He misinterpreted the pamphlet,” Powell said, adding that he would charge Parker with hunting with an illegal weapon, a shotgun. An obit and a picture of Elsie were posted over the Double J’s door.

--A famous ex-husband and a nice financial settlement don’t necessarily make divorce any easier, say the former wives of four celebrities. “We fall. We cry,” said Patti Lewis, who was married to Jerry Lewis for 36 years. “We still hurt many times, but I would say we’re on the way to full recovery.” Lewis was in Washington for the conference of the Displaced Homemakers Network and was joined by Lynn Landon (Michael Landon’s wife for 19 years), Billie Jean Campbell (married to Glen Campbell for 17 years) and Jackie Joseph (17 years with actor Ken Berry). Landon, 52, said she had no way to make a living when her marriage broke up, but she now is a spokeswoman for LADIES--Life After Divorce Is Eventually Sane.

--The Harvard Lampoon has chosen Pee-Wee Herman for its third annual Elmer award. The star of “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” will be honored with a parade around the Harvard campus. “We think he is one of the best comedians around right now,” said Ned Hodgman, a Lampoon editor. The award is named for the Lampoon’s longtime janitor and “grand curator.”