NEWS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
A15
The high cost of dissent in Grant County
OWRD’s own staff review
of irrigation on the prop-
erty states non-use wasn’t an
issue.
Larson’s hearing has
been delayed several times,
and in an unusual move,
OWRD has closed it to the
public “based on security
concerns.”
By Emily Cureton
Oregon Public Broadcasting
JOHN DAY — Gordon
Larson’s world burned in
2015.
His ranch lost timber,
livestock and infrastruc-
ture. His family’s house nar-
rowly escaped the Canyon
Creek Fire. Forty-three other
homes in his Eastern Oregon
community weren’t so lucky.
More than four years
later, Larson’s property
shows a resolve to stay: new
fences, a new water system
and charred stumps in every
direction.
“What we love about it
is a sense of solitude and a
sense of belonging to some-
thing bigger than you,” Lar-
son said.
But after all the effort to
recover, he and his wife have
talked about leaving their
home of more than 20 years.
And not because they’re
afraid of wildfi re.
“The only reason is
because we have a group of
extremists led by a sheriff,”
said the 55-year-old former
police offi cer.
In 2014, Larson retired as
an area commander for the
Oregon State Police after a
27-year career. He volun-
teered for 12 years on the
Grant County School Board.
Last year, he ran for a seat on
the county commission, “and
I’ve regretted it every day
since then because it began
this nightmare,” he said.
His opponent was Sam
Palmer, younger brother of
the most controversial law
enforcement offi cial in the
region, Grant County Sheriff
Glenn Palmer.
Larson lost the election
decisively. During the cam-
paign, the sheriff reported
Larson for a timber theft that
forest managers say never
happened, and the sheriff’s
supporters challenged his
water rights.
It’s not the fi rst time this
sheriff stands accused of
using the power of his offi ce,
and the zeal of his support-
ers, to target people who
criticize his activism. Lar-
son is the latest to have a bit-
ter feud with Palmer in an
isolated community, where
three out of four voters voted
for President Trump in 2016,
and many express disdain
for state regulations. Head-
ing into the next election,
the space for dissent in Grant
County has narrowed around
its own polarizing fi gure: a
sheriff elected by a few thou-
sand voters, but supported
by anti-government groups
across the West, known as
the Patriot Movement.
Larson said he clashed
with this broader political
shift to the right. Like Sheriff
Palmer, he registers to vote
as a Republican.
“But they want to portray
me as not a good enough
Republican … or a Demo-
crat,” Larson said.
Palmer denied targeting
his former law enforcement
colleague.
“I’ve always considered
Gordon a friend. When he
retired he did an about-face.
I don’t know what I did, or
whether it was the occupa-
tion tie-in,” the sheriff said.
‘You will all be
judged in time’
The rivals agree on one
thing: 2016 was a turning
point. The year opened with
anti-government
groups
‘You do not go after
someone’s water’
OPB Photo/Emily Cureton
Gordon Larson watches a stream go by on his Grant County ranch.
OPB Photo/Emily Cureton
Rancher Sharon Livingston said local
government meetings can be “somewhat
OPB File Photo/East Oregonian
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer
OPB Photo/Emily Cureton negative and contentious,” but that, “I’m
stands at a roadblock on Highway 395 A view of Grant County Sheriff Glenn not going to disengage from anything
because this is my county and I live here.”
near Seneca .
Palmer’s offi ce window.
taking over the Malheur
National Wildlife Refuge in
next-door Harney County.
In January, both Larson
and Palmer went to a meet-
ing in Grant County where
occupation leaders Ammon
and Ryan Bundy were
invited to speak. Confusion
and tension fi lled a packed
room at the John Day senior
center as people waited for
the Bundys to arrive.
Soon, information trick-
led in about a confrontation
with law enforcement on a
snow-covered Highway 60
miles away. Instead of the
invited speakers, there were
prayers, and an open mic for
people to state their griev-
ances, recorded by a reporter
with the Blue Mountain
Eagle.
Larson was the only per-
son to speak against the ref-
uge occupation.
“The Bundys and this
entire group need to go
home,” he said. “Maybe
some of us feel like we’ve
been mistreated by the For-
est Service, but by God, we
can stand up and do it as
neighbors. We don’t need
your help.”
That highway confronta-
tion resulted in Oregon State
Police offi cers fatally shoot-
ing a member of the Bun-
dys’ group. Robert “Lavoy”
Finicum became a martyr
within the Patriot Move-
ment. Finicum attempted to
break through a police road-
block, shouting “I’m going
to go meet the sheriff,” and
“You back down, or you kill
me now,” before police shot
him.
Special
deputies
appointed by Grant County
Sheriff Glenn Palmer later
accused Larson of having a
role in intercepting the occu-
pation leaders. The retired
Mountain View Medical Group
Please help us
welcome...
OSP commander with con-
nections to the FBI was sus-
picious in the eyes of the
Patriot Movement. Even
years later, Larson’s name
appeared on a list of peo-
ple accused “for the cold
blooded murder of Lavoy.”
“You will all be judged
in time and will pay the fi d-
dler,” reads the public Face-
book post by Jim Sproul,
directed at Larson, among
others. Sproul has a close
connection to Palmer: He’s
spoken on the sheriff’s
behalf in news stories, and
was appointed by Palmer
in 2014 as “public lands
patrol,” according to county
records.
Sproul protested Lar-
son’s use of irrigation
water in June 2018, on the
same day as David Traylor,
another special deputy once
appointed by Palmer.
In Oregon, affi davits
like this can trigger a rarely
invoked state regulation to
cancel water rights. Basi-
cally: use it or lose it. If
two people swear you aren’t
using the water, you can lose
your claim to it, unless you
prove them wrong.
“It’s just shy of $1,000 to
have a judge hear our case,”
Larson said.
He cut a check to the
Oregon Water Resources
Department, which will
make a decision based on
the recommendation of an
administrative law judge.
“These processes are
designed to provide due
process and an impartial
review,” according to an
email from OWRD spokes-
woman Stephanie Pry-
byl. The agency declined to
Holiday Bazaar
Fri, Nov. 22nd, 10am - 7pm
Sat., Nov. 23, 10am - 3pm
at The Place, 303 South Lake St.
Joseph
Cinnamon Rolls, Soup & Pie Served
Friday & Saturday 10am - 1:30pm
Lasagna Dinner Served Friday 3pm - 7pm
16 Artistically Recognized Vendors
Preserved Foods, Breads, Pies, Candies & Homemade Soup by
The United Methodist Women • Buskins Leggings & 31 Bags from Susie’s
Fashion Frenzy • Artistically Turned Bowls by The Love of Wood • Jewelry by
Annie’s Southfork Silverworks• Reversible Aprons by Hummingbird Designs
Metal Works by Elgin High School FFA • SeneGence Make-up by Enduring
Beauty • Handmade Goat Soap & Accessories by Sally B Farms • Handmade
Felted Wool Goods by Happy Earth Wool Co. • Speculations from the Wide
Open Spaces with author Joyce Reynolds-Ward • Yak Meat & Fiber
Creations by Amaranta Farms • Handmade Treasures In Curated
Gift & Subscription Boxes by Genuine Wallowa County • Pies, Baked Goods
& Tees Made by Mark & Denise • Fudge by Wallowa Lake Fudge Co.
Face Painting by Joseph FCCLA Students • Wallowa County History Vol. 2
from the Wallowa County Museum
LEARN
ABOUT THE
SIDEWALK
CURB RAMP
PROJECT IN
ENTERPRISE
ENTERPRISE
CITY HALL
108 NE 1ST ST.
Jennifer is a family
nurse practioner with
her masters from
Vanderbilt University
Call Jennifer to schedule your appointment
in Enterprise or Joseph today!
541-426-7900
We treat you like family
601 Medical Parkway, Enterprise, OR 97828 • 541-426-3111 • www.wchcd.org
Wallowa Memorial Hospital is a equal opportunity mployer and provider
See Dissent, Page A16
Methodist
Market & Friends
6:30 PM
NOV. 19
Jennifer
Little
FNP
comment on the specifi cs of
this case.
Larson pointed to sup-
portive testimony from his
neighbors and dated pho-
tos of lush green fi elds,
taken during the summers
he was allegedly not using
the irrigation water. In 2018,
Rancher Sharon Living-
ston believes the tactics used
against Larson crossed a
sacred line for local politics.
“You do not, in Grant
County, go after someone’s
water,” said Livingston, who
used to head the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association and
serves on the board of direc-
tors for the state’s Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
She voted for Larson for
county commission in 2018
because to her mind, he’s
“extremely well qualifi ed to
take our voice to Salem, and
that’s what we must do.”
At 80, she’s spent
decades advocating on var-
ious boards and commit-
tees, and at times her views
sound a lot like right-wing
talking points: “This state
is taxing us to death again.
Read the Declaration of
Independence.”
She distributes copies of
it at local schools. Her own
pocket version falls open to
a highlighted passage, one
of her favorites, about a king
sending “swarms of offi cers
to harass our people and eat
out their substance.”
Livingston sees the pres-
ent in grievances white
westerners had 250 years
ago before they revolted. “I
believe that our federal lands
have not been managed the
way they should be. They’re
overgrown, they’re full of
fuel and we are ripe for a
fi re,” she said.
During the meeting we will present and
discuss curb ramp concept design plans
and answer your questions.
The project will add or upgrade curb ramps along
North Street and River Street (OR Highway 82)
between West Walter Street and SE School Street;
and NW 1st Street (OR3) between North Street
and NW Logan Street.
“Your input is greatly appreciated as we work
to improve accessibility and safety for our
community members,” said ODOT Transportation
Project Manager Howard Postovit.
The pilot project is scheduled for construction in
2020. It will showcase options and techniques for
ADA curb ramp design and construction.
The meeting location is accessible to persons with
disabilities and is open to the public. Meeting
information can be made available in alternate
formats, such as braille upon request. If you
need a special accommodation, such as a sign
language interpreter or you would like more
information about this meeting, contact
Howard Postovit at 541-963-1343, email
Howard.Postovit@odot.state.or.us. Please make
alternate format or special accommodation
request 48 hours prior to meeting.
For more information about the state’s work
regarding ADA ramp upgrades, visit https://www.
oregon.gov/ODOT/About/Pages/ADA.aspx