22
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Police say man arrested in US vehicle stolen from refuge Ucc:
By Keith ridler
Associated Press
BURNS
(AP)
—
Authorities arrested a man
they said was driving a gov-
ernment vehicle stolen from a
wildlife refuge being occupied
by an armed group protesting
federal land policies as the
standoff in Oregon’s high des-
ert hit the two-week mark.
Kenneth Medenbach, 62,
of Crescent was arrested by
Oregon State Police at a gro-
cery store in Burns for investi-
gation of unauthorized use of
a motor vehicle. It was unclear
if he has a lawyer. Medenbach
is already facing charges in
U.S. District Court in Medford
after authorities said he ille-
gally camped on federal land
between May and November
last year, according to federal
court records.
Authorities also say they
recovered a second stolen
vehicle from the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge but
provided no other details. U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service pre-
viously reported the vehicles
had been stolen.
So far, authorities have not
tried to remove the group from
the Malheur National Wildlife
Refuge. As the situation drags
on, people in the local area are
growing increasingly weary
and wary of the group.
Cement barriers have been
erected to block streets around
the county courthouse in the
small eastern Oregon town
of Burns, where police from
around the state have set up a
command center.
About 30 miles to the south
at the refuge, other protesters
carrying what appear to be
military-style rifles scan the
snow-covered rangeland from
atop an old fire lookout that
gives them a sweeping view
of roads leading into the area.
“If we all keep a calm
about us everything will be
OK,” Brenda Pointere said
Thursday as she exited a
Burns restaurant. “It started
out calm, but the longer it
goes on — you start to hear
rumors.”
It started out calm, but
the longer it goes on —
you start to hear rumors.
— Brenda Pointere
The occupation started
January 2 as a protest over
two area ranchers who had
been convicted of arson being
returned to prison to serve
longer sentences.
Afterward, a group led
by Ammon Bundy traveled
to occupy the refuge to pro-
test the ranchers’ return to
prison and demand that the
300-square-mile refuge be
turned over to local control.
Bundy said he understood
the frustration of Harney
County residents. “They have
been suppressed to the point
where they’re ready to act,”
he told The Associated Press
on Thursday inside a heated
wildlife refuge building while
his brother, Ryan, and two
women sat nearby.
Burns, nearby Hines and
the local area have been in an
economic tailspin for decades
after the loss of a lumber mill
that some blamed on federal
restrictions involving timber
harvests. Restrictions on other
federal lands are a common
theme of frustration.
The Bundys had planned
a meeting with community
members Friday night, but it
was in limbo after county offi-
cials said they couldn’t use the
fairgrounds.
Arizona rancher Robert
“LaVoy” Finicum, a spokes-
man for the group, told report-
ers Friday that protesters
were still hopeful the meeting
might occur next week, per-
haps Monday, if they can find
a location. He criticized local
officials for “making sure we
have no access to facilities to
talk to the residents.”
The group has said they
won’t leave until the ranchers
jailed for arson are freed and
the refuge is turned over to
local control.
Locals who agreed to be
interviewed were themselves
conflicted, expressing anger
toward federal land policies
but bothered by the armed
takeover. “I don’t agree with
anything they’re doing right
now,” Ben McCanna said
about the occupiers at the
refuge.
But McCanna, 54, also
said the ranchers’ return to
prison was wrong, and that he
was irked that the U.S. Forest
Service closed off access to
one of his favorite camp-
ing spots in nearby Malheur
National Forest.
Also Friday, the chair-
woman of the Burns Paiute
Tribe asked federal officials
to bring criminal charges if
any ancient artifacts are dam-
aged or missing from the ref-
uge currently occupied by the
group.
Thousands of ancient arti-
facts and maps to prehistoric
sites are kept at the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge.
Tribe Chairwoman Charlotte
Rodrique sent a letter to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
urging federal prosecution, if
warranted.
Ryan Bundy has said the
group isn’t interested in the
artifacts, but it wants the ref-
uge land opened to ranchers
and loggers.
memorial
planned for
students
WINCHESTER (AP)
— Officials at Umpqua
Community College, where
a gunman in October killed
nine before turning the gun
on himself, say a memo-
rial is being planned for the
victims.
UCC Interim President
Walter Nolte told the
UCC Board of Trustees on
Wednesday the memorial will
be built in front of the Pacific
Power office in Green, just
south of Roseburg. A huge
flag pole, which will be vis-
ible from Interstate 5, will
also be erected.
Officials said Pacific
Power has already cut down
the trees and the company is
waiting on one more permit
before it begins construction.
Other businesses located near
Pacific Power will also help
with the memorial.
The News-Review also
reports UCC Strong, a fund
created after the shooting,
has raised $1.3 million with
United Way. It distributed
over $400,000 so far to fami-
lies of the deceased and to
injured students.