LADY PROS COMPETE AT STATE | PAGE A8
The
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Grant County’s newspaper since 1868
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
151st Year • No. 46 • 16 Pages • $1.50
MyEagleNews.com
Gabbard
new
John
Day fire
chief
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
OPB Photo/Emily Cureton
Gordon Larson watches a stream go by on his Grant County ranch.
The HIGH COST of DISSENT
in GRANT COUNTY
By Emily Cureton
Oregon Public Broadcasting
J
OHN DAY — Gordon Larson’s world
burned in 2015.
His ranch lost timber, livestock and
infrastructure. His family’s house nar-
rowly escaped the Canyon Creek Fire.
Forty-three other homes in his 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 something bigger
than you,” Larson 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 wildfire.
“The only reason is because we have a group
of extremists led by a sheriff,” said the 55-year-
old former police officer.
In 2014, Larson retired as an area commander
for the Oregon State Police after a 27-year career.
He volunteered 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 enforce-
ment official in the region, Grant County Sher-
iff Glenn Palmer.
Larson lost the election decisively. During
the campaign, the sheriff reported Larson for
a timber theft that forest managers say never
happened, and the sheriff’s supporters chal-
supported by anti-government groups across the
West, known as the Patriot Movement.
Larson said he clashed with this broader polit-
ical shift to the right. Like Sheriff Palmer, he reg-
isters to vote as a Republican.
“But they want to portray me as not a good
enough Republican … or a Democrat,” 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’
OPB File Photo
Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer stands at a
roadblock on Highway 395 near Seneca in a 2016
file photo.
lenged his water rights.
It’s not the first time this sheriff stands
accused of using the power of his office, and the
zeal of his supporters, to target people who crit-
icize his activism. Larson is the latest to have a
bitter feud with Palmer in an isolated commu-
nity, where three out of four voters voted for
President Trump in 2016, and many express dis-
dain for state regulations. Heading into the next
election, the space for dissent in Grant County
has narrowed around its own polarizing figure:
a sheriff elected by a few thousand voters, but
The rivals agree on one thing: 2016 was a
turning point. The year opened with anti-govern-
ment groups taking over the Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge in next-door Harney County.
In January, both Larson and Palmer went to
a meeting in Grant County where occupation
leaders Ammon and Ryan Bundy were invited
to speak. Confusion and tension filled a packed
room at the John Day Senior Center as people
waited for the Bundys to arrive.
Soon, information trickled in about a confron-
tation 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 grievances, recorded by a
reporter with the Blue Mountain Eagle.
Larson was the only person to speak against
See Dissent, Page A16
Don Gabbard is the new
John Day Fire Chief, replac-
ing Ron Smith.
Gabbard has more than
20 years of experience in
the field and has spent 13
years at the
John
Day
Fire Depart-
ment.
He
has
held
several posi-
tions in the
department,
i n c l u d i n g Don Gabbard
lieutenant
and assistant chief.
“I was first interested in
the fire service when I was
in the Navy,” Gabbard said.
“I was a member of the
shipboard firefighting squad
on the USS Enterprise and
then I worked on a reserve
in California for several
years after I got out of the
Navy.”
After his time in Califor-
nia, Gabbard joined Gray-
back Forestry and worked
for 18 years as a wildland
firefighter.
Many volunteer fire-
fighters in John Day have
not had much experience
with structure fires since
few happen each year, said
Smith, who retired from
the position as chief. But
Smith is excited Gabbard
has a background in fight-
ing structure fires as well.
“If I was walking away
with nobody to take my
place, I probably would
have stayed chief another
two or three years,” Smith
said. “I can’t walk away
from my community, leav-
ing the department without
the leadership that it needs.
But Don is great at all of it.”
One fire in the most test-
ing moments of Gabbard’s
career was the 2015 Can-
yon Creek Complex Fire.
That fire destroyed 43
homes, burned more than
110,000 acres and cost
about $31 million to sup-
press, according to the U.S.
Forest Service.
Smith prioritized fire-
fighter safety and Gabbard
said he plans to continue that
legacy.
“I am really honored to
be able to serve the commu-
nity,” Gabbard said.
Unemployment ticks up in Grant County
A change in direction
after years of decline
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
The seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate in Grant
County has increased for the
second straight year.
So far the average unem-
ployment rate in 2019 for the
months of January through
September is 7.6%. That’s
a significant increase when
compared to the average rate
of 6.9% for the first nine
months of 2018.
Unemployment rates every
month in 2019 have been
worse than their counterparts
a year prior — with the excep-
tion of September. That’s on
the heels of a period of growth
from 2013-2017 where nearly
every month saw gains from
the year prior.
“While unemployment is
on the on rise, this may or
may not point to the wors-
ening of the economy,” said
Chris Rich, the Regional
Economist. “It is too early to
tell what is going on. Grant
County is in a seasonal trend
where it could fit into past
trends.”
The monthly unemploy-
ment rate in Grant County can
be affected by several fac-
tors such as the time of year,
a government shutdown, the
timing of when an employer
hires or lets go of a seasonal
worker, an increase in retire-
ments or people entering the
work force. In a small county,
the small amount of people in
the workforce leads to rates
that can be easily swayed.
The number of employed
people in Grant County was
on a steady decline from
1992-2008, when the number
dipped from 3,951 to 2,900.
Over the last decade, those
losses have steadied.
But a rise in the unemploy-
ment rate isn’t always a bad
thing. There are several sil-
ver linings to consider, said
Rich.
“Historically, the Grant
County unemployment rate
is still low when compared
to the past,” Rich said. “The
numbers aren’t speaking to a
large upswing in unemployed
people. Higher unemploy-
ment rates also lead to more
employment opportunities.”
Grant County gained 70
jobs from August 2018 to
August 2019. The public sec-
tor added 10 jobs in federal
government while the private
sector added 60 jobs, led by
gains in mining and logging.
The monthly employment
numbers and unemployment
rates for 2019 are subject
for revision at the end of the
year.