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Blue Mountain Eagle
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enny Delano, Mt.
Vernon, offered
constructive advice
when he spoke at the vigil for
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John Day.
He urged attendees
to contact their elected
government representatives to
voice their concerns.
Even amid the anti-
government sentiment in the
crowd gathered to mourn the
loss of the Arizona rancher,
Delano remembered an
important point that seems to
be lost in most of the rhetoric:
Our government is of the
people, by the people and for
the people.
Those supportive of the
occupation of the Malheur
1DWLRQDO:LOGOLIH5HIXJH
remember the last part well.
They scream at the top of their
lungs that the government is
not working for them.
Yet, they often seem to
forget that those other things
ZLWKHDUVWKH\¶UH\HOOLQJDWDUH
people too.
They forget that, in our
representative democracy,
the government is not a static
entity that has no concern for
these things called “people.”
Our government is comprised
of people.
We are our government.
We make choices. We vote
on issues. We elect leaders to
represent us.
Our system of government
is not something that needs
WREHRYHUWKURZQ:H¶YH
already done that, and we
created a system that gave
everyone a voice. We created
a system in which we can
all work to change the status
quo.
But it takes work.
Protest is easy. Effecting
change is much more
difficult.
Screaming at the top of
our lungs may make us feel
better, but at the end of the
day, it accomplishes little.
Whipping like-minded
people into a frenzy with
popular platitudes may
make us feel like we are
accomplishing something, but
it changes little.
5HDOFKDQJHLQRXUV\VWHP
of government requires
winning the hearts and minds
of those who disagree with
you. Our system favors
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PLQRULW\MXVWEHFDXVHWKH\¶UH
screaming louder.
5HDOFKDQJHUHTXLUHV
listening to those who
disagree. It requires talking
with them, not at them. It
requires addressing their
FRQFHUQV²QRWUHSHDWLQJWKH
VDPHWKLQJXQWLO\RX¶YHZRQ
them over.
If people truly hope to
effect change in our system,
they cannot treat those who
disagree with them as an
enemy. They must remember
those opposed are people too.
And we are all in this
WRJHWKHU²ZKHWKHUZHOLNH
it or not.
United we stand. Divided
we fall. And that means
everyone, not just those with
whom we agree.
Wild ideas like taking
back the country one wildlife
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accomplish anything.
If people truly want
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lot more than that.
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disagree with you.
W HERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-
575-2248.
Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax:
541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu-
rylink.net.
Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day,
97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-
575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net.
/ong CreeN — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
(PDLOLQIR#FLW\RÀRQJ-
creek.com.
Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monu-
ment 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-
2025. Email: monument@oregontrail.net.
Mt 9ernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: cityseneca@centurytel.net.
SALEM
Gov .ate Brown D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www.
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
Oregon Legislature — State Capitol,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
State Rep CliII Bent] R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone:
503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state.
or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/
home.htm.
State Sen Ted )errioli R — (District
30) Room S-223, State Capitol, Salem
97310. Phone: 503-986-1950. Email: sen.
tedferrioli@state.or.us. Email: TFER2@aol.
com. Phone: 541-490-6528. Website: www.
leg.state.or.us/ferrioli.
Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
The :hite +ouse 1600 Pennsylva-
nia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500;
Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switch-
board: 202-456-1414.
US Sen Ron :yden D — 516 Hart
6HQDWH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ:DVKLQJWRQ'&
20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Email:
wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov Website:
http://wyden.senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717.
US Sen Jeff MerNley D — 313 Hart
6HQDWH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ:DVKLQJWRQ'&
20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
2UHJRQRI¿FHVLQFOXGH2QH
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St.,
Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and 310
S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pendleton, OR
97801. Phone: 503-326-3386; 541-278-
1129. Fax: 503-326-2990.
US Rep Greg :alden R — (Second
District) 1404 Longworth Building, Wash-
ington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730.
No direct email because of spam. Website:
www.walden.house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774.
0HGIRUGRI¿FH1RUWK&HQWUDO6XLWH
Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646.
Fax: 541-779-0204.
Opinion
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
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What does it take to get off “top
dead center”?
I still do not see any action being
taken that would indicate an investi-
gation is underway with regards to
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There seems to be an appearance
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powers that be from getting an in-
vestigation going. Is there a problem
with some of the county commis-
sioners and the Grant County public
forest commissioners and the U.S.
Forest Service and the Fish and Wild-
life Commission along with the Blue
Mountains Forest Partners? Is there a
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there that says, I “will faithfully and
honorably demean myself in the of-
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you know that you are not to allowed
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action that you take or do not take in
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The investigation should have
been called for by the county com-
missioners and the Grant County
public forest commissioners long
ago. The longer this goes without the
public seeing action taken is telling
WKHSXEOLFWKDWWKHUHPXVWEHDFRQÀLFW
of interest.
Is what is happening in Harney
County with the wildlife refuge hap-
pening here in Grant County, just in
a different way? We are losing our
lands and our access to the public
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getting involved as they should. It is
pretty hard to see this happening and
not come to the conclusion that some
people have a vested interest in this
matter that is not in the best interest of
the Grant County residents, therefore,
it must be lining some pockets.
In my last letter, I listed four things
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I am repeating my statement: Hold
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You cannot expect a different result if
you keep putting the same people in
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Canyon City
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I must comment on something
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the folks against this occupation and
awakening seem to receive either a
government paycheck or a govern-
ment retirement of some sort. They
surely will not bite the hand that
feeds them, even if that hand is cur-
rently attempting to smother us and
our rights.
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public lands that are being affected
by overbearing rules and regula-
tions, but also private property, wa-
ter and irrigation issues, many other
rights including gun rights, free-
dom of speech (for some) and now
forced mandatory health insurance.
Wake up, folks, because sooner
or later these issues will affect all
of us one way or another. You may
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT ........ K RISTINA K REGER , KRISTINA @ BMEAGLE . COM
E DITORIAL A SSISTANT ................ C HERYL H OEFLER , CHERYL @ BMEAGLE . COM
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
want to consider protecting your
rights while you still have them and
are able to enjoy them.
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John Day
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After reading the many letters
to the editor in the Feb. 3 edition
of the Blue Mountain Eagle, I am
astounded and embarrassed by the
some of the language used to de-
scribe the peaceful protesters. I am
not embarrassed for myself, but for
the people who chose to use such
language.
The words that are probably the
most embarrassing to hear from fel-
low citizens are the terms “armed
militants” and “domestic terrorists”
used to describe men and women
whose sole intent is to see that the
Constitution of these United States
of America is protected from those
who wish to pervert it.
The Constitution is not a “living
document.” The Constitution is a
compact between the independent,
sovereign states, forged and signed
by those states to form a central
government to oversee matters of
war and foreign policy for the good
of all states. It is, in simple terms,
a contract between the states, that
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federal government.
The federal government is not all
powerful, all knowing and certain-
ly is not entitled to give or take any
powers or rights from the people.
The federal government was cre-
DWHGZLWKOLPLWHGSRZHUVVSHFL¿FDOO\
set forth in the aforementioned com-
pact. This was done to protect the
rights of freemen and to ensure that
those protections would continue as
long as the compact is adhered to.
A man lost his life in the moun-
tains south of here while performing
his duty as a citizen of these United
States of America. How many of
you, who called this man a militant,
a criminal, a domestic terrorist, are
willing to do the same for your fel-
low citizens to protect their rights?
I pray that those who have put
their lives second to their duty
have enough knowledge to mourn
the loss of a citizen at the hand of
government, and to stand united.
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there is only us. The federal govern-
ment is a product of us, so stand up
and put it back in its place.
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Mt. Vernon
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It is our belief that everyone
in Grant County wants the same
thing: That is to be able to enjoy
our lives without interference
from overzealous bureaucrats and
others outside of Grant County.
These people may try to con-
trol our lives, by force of law, con-
trary to the U.S. Constitution. We
need to stand united against this
abuse. One of the duties of county
government is to help us do this.
A county sheriff is the only
1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
Grant County .....................................$40
Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$51
Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60
Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery
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Having been elected by the citi-
zens of Grant County, the members
of the Grant County Public Forest
Commission cannot ignore the se-
vere and often absolute devastation
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DO)RUHVW&LWL]HQV¶OLYHVKDYHEHHQ
endangered, homes and private
property destroyed, communities at
risk, while our forests are ravaged
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not temporary and will be with us
for generations to come.
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trolled in their early stages show
evidence of questionable judgment.
The responsible authority must
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not controlled, but out.
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at Berry Creek and Mason Springs
Aug. 12-14 that became the Canyon
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provide answers necessary to effect
the changes that must be made in
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The Grant County Court must
authorize and fund an immediate
investigation by a licensed investi-
gative agency.
The Grant County Public Forest
Commission shall be responsible
for the investigation and provide to
FLWL]HQVWKH¿QGLQJVRIWKHLQYHVWL-
gative agency. With the information
derived from the investigation, co-
ordination with the Forest Service
can be achieved to more effective-
ly prevent catastrophic wildfire in
Grant County.
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Grant County Public Forest
Commission members
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Boy, this Bundy thing sure has
split the people in Grant and Har-
ney County.
I just want to say, the way I see
it, if you are one of those that can
only see one side of this debacle, I
might suggest you go get checked
out for tunnel vision.
3HWH:DONHU
Seneca
Periodicals Postage Paid at John
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POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
wwwMyEagleNewscoP
elected law enforcement officer
in the state of Oregon. Accord-
ing to Oregon state law, our sher-
iff is the chief executive officer
and conservator of the peace in
this county.
We believe that he and his of-
fice deserve our respect and sup-
port.
:H GRQ¶W WKLQN LW LV WKH ULJKW
thing to do to condemn Glenn
Palmer for something that hap-
pened in Harney County. That
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tion.
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John Day
See LETTERS, Page A5
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