Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current, January 10, 2020, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextA4 • Friday, January 10, 2020 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com SignalViewpoints R.J. Marx Bob Zimmerling, Rae Marie Zimmerling, Diane Williams and Lonnie Lear of Clatsop Animal Assistance with Mojo, at the cat show. Mojo is among cats and kittens at the show looking for a good home. Hello Kitty: A visit to the cat show Capital Press From left, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Payne, Jeanette Finicum, widow of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, Ryan Bundy, Angela Bundy, wife of Ryan Bundy and Jamie Bundy, daughter of Ryan Bundy, walk out of a federal courthouse in December 2017 in Las Vegas. Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial in the case against Cliven Bundy, his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and self-styled Montana militia leader Ryan Payne. UP IN ARMS SEEN FROM SEASIDE R.J. MARX ‘U p in Arms: How the Bundy Family Hijacked Public Lands, Outfoxed the Federal Gov- ernment, and Ignited America’s Patriot Militia Movement,” is a compelling account of the 41-day armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Rescue in e astern Oregon. Author and journalist John Temple links the story of the Bundy family of Orderville, Utah, and their ongoing dis- putes over federal lands as the catalyst for recent events. By the 1990s, “the relationship between western ranchers and the federal government was spiraling into outright rebellion,” Temple writes. Unlike other ranchers, who worked with the Bureau of Land Management or paid licensing fees, the Bundys chal- lenged the legitimacy of federal claims. When ofﬁ cers of the bureau began rounding up Bundy’s cattle, the call to arms began. Ammon Bundy deﬁ ed agents, resisting arrest and then surviv- ing three rounds of law enforcement tasers before being taken into custody. Heeding a call magniﬁ ed by social media and talk radio, a support move- ment began, inspired by videos of the arrest. The video of “the feds tasing the cow- boy” detonated on social media plat- forms “like a truck packed with ammo- nium nitrate,” Temple writes, from Alex Jones’ Infowars to Fox News, where Sean Hannity picked up the cause. The government’s attempts at closing in on the Bundys herd were poorly man- aged and even more poorly messaged. The standoff ended with a deﬁ - ant Bundy sending the federal govern- ment away as the herd of Bundy cattle returned to the open range. The Nevada case was “the beginning of a new journey,” wrote LaVoy Fin- icum, an Arizona rancher and Bundy supporter. After Harney, Finicum, like others in the Patriot movement, “couldn’t just resume his old life,” Temple writes. “He would ﬁ nd a way to continue making a stand.” The road to Oregon was underway. Harney County Dwight and Steven Hammond were father and son ranchers in Harney County, the largest county in Oregon but one of the least populated. Hammond Ranches Inc. owned about 12,000 acres of remote range and used an additional 26,420 acres of Bureau of Land Management grazing allotment. In 2001, the Hammonds set 139 acres of federal land ablaze, telling ofﬁ cials they started the ﬁ re to control destructive juniper. In 2006, Steven Hammond started another ﬁ re, this time to keep a wildﬁ re PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx from spreading to the ranch. After several years of legal proceed- ings the Hammonds pleaded guilty to federal arson charges in 2012. Manda- tory sentencing guidelines called for a ﬁ ve-year prison sentence for arson. After a local judge ignored the man- datory minimum and gave a three-month to one-year sentence, federal prosecu- tors appealed the sentences, won, and the Hammonds were re-sentenced to ﬁ nish the mandatory ﬁ ve-year terms. This decision, like the events of Zion County, Nevada, drew protesters locally and nationwide, especially hard-felt by the Bundys. “A compulsion overwhelmed him,” Temple writes of Ammon Bundy. “He had to know everything about the Hammonds and their ﬁ ght with the government.” “I feel like what happened to us is happening to them,” Cliven Bundy told the press. At the behest of the Bundys, Finicum, and an alliance of right-wing activists, the Patriot Movement joined an occu- pation of the Malheur National Wild- life Refuge , despite the reluctance of the Hammonds, who, locked up in a prison in s outhern California, felt largely left behind by the media circus. Despite sev- eral early meetings with Bundy and sym- pathizers, the Hammonds rejected their offers of assistance. The occupation lasted 41 days, gar- nering national headlines and becoming a ﬂ ashpoint in the country’s culture wars. Temple paints the picture inside and out of the reservation, including state and federal law enforcement attempts to minimize bloodshed and reopen the reservation. When some members of the group left the Malheur Refuge after 41 days, their plans went awry. A two-car convoy heading to neigh- boring John Day — believed to offer a more sympathetic sheriff and opportu- nity for gaining support for their resis- tance — was stopped by federal ofﬁ cers. While one car carrying the Bun- dys stopped and its occupants surren- dered, the truck carrying Finicum at ﬁ rst stopped, but then kept going. Finally blocked by federal law enforce- ment offers, Finicum emerged from his car. He was shot reaching for his gun. At the nearby res- ervation, the last holdouts remained a few more days before realizing their occupation was coming to an end. There is no satisfying ending to this “Up in Arms,” by John Temple retelling: nothing is neatly tied up in a bow. Evidence at the Finicum shooting scene was inconclusive and conspiracy theorists convinced themselves Finicum was murdered by federal agents. Occupiers of the Malheur Refuge were brought to trial in Portland, for blocking federal employees from their jobs. Aftermath Ultimately, prosecutors failed. The jury believed the federal gov- ernment had overreached and failed to prove felony conspiracy that would show the Bundys had conspired to keep fed- eral workers from their jobs. The “not guilty” plea was exonera- tion for the Bundys and other occupiers, although some defendants immediately returned to Nevada for charges from pre- vious incidents. The 2014 Nevada grazing case ended in a mistrial in federal court in 2017 after two earlier hung juries. In 2018, President Donald Trump pardoned the Oregon ranch family, the Hammonds. Heroes are few: perhaps the most sympathetic character is Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, who exercised restraint in the face of intimidation and managed to balance competing narra- tives in Eastern Oregon. This story is far from over — his- tory is being written as the fed- eral government considers to appeal the Nevada verdicts. And in Washington state, the Bundys are linked with state Rep. Matt Shea, who allegedly tipped off occupiers to law enforcement’s planned reports. Shea has been suspended from the Republican cau- cus and his committees. Capital Press Ammon Bundy after his acquittal in 2016. CIRCULATION MANAGER Jeremy Feldman ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Sarah Silver- Tecza MULTIMEDIA ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Kim McCaw PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John D. Bruijn Skyler Archibald Darren Gooch Joshua Heineman Rain Jordan Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Esther Moberg SYSTEMS MANAGER Carl Earl VIEW FROM THE PORCH EVE MARX T he most important thing for me at the Cat Fanciers’ Association Allbreed Cat Show at the Seaside Convention Center this past weekend is that a nice lady let me pet her cat. Actually, she let me pet all three of her cats. I must have looked desperate to pet a cat, any cat. The show, which was sponsored by the Emer- ald Cat Club out of Vancouver, Washington, showcased breeds rare and common, including American Curls, Maine Coons, Turkish Angoras, Persians, Siamese, Himalayans, Russian blues, and American shorthairs among others. The show drew dozens of exhibitors to Seaside, and literally hundreds of cat lovers. One exhibitor, Jim Thompson, came from Washington (“We’ll be sleeping in our own beds tonight,” he said) to exhibit two show cats, Hoku, a Turkish Angora, whose name means “star” in Hawaiian, and Opi, a Siamese; he had with him a gorgeous third cat, another Turkish Angora, very shy, whose role was to be the exhibiting cats’ travel companion. Sounds like a great gig to me. For 45 minutes I wandered up and down the aisles, taking in the cats waiting their turn to exhibit. Some of them were eager to make eye contact with me, but mostly not. The majority of cats were chilling in their elaborate travel crates while others were being combed and ﬂ uffed by their handlers awaiting their turn in the judging ring. Well, it’s not really a ring. More like a series of curtained tables. In one aisle I came upon a gorgeous cinna- mon colored Abyssinian teenager I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. His owner/handler, Cindy Walker, who came out from Portland, said the cat’s name is El Primo and he comes from an exceptional line. Abyssinians, in case you are unfamiliar with the breed, are exceptionally bright and social cats that enjoy the company of humans and other animals. They’re popular pets. Abyssinians have unique facial features that some say make them look like tiny cougars. Their rather large ears tilt forward on their heads, giv- ing them the appearance of always being alert. El Primo, even at his tender age, appeared aware he’s destined to be a superstar. He seemed to be enjoying the show, but then again, he’d probably been attending them since kittenhood. The kind lady who offered to let me pet her cats was exhibiting American shorthairs. She had three cats with her, a black and white tux- edo tabby, and two “red” tabby kittens, one with a naturally bobbed tail. I told her in the past I’d had cats that looked just like hers. I said when I ﬁ rst met my husband, he had an older black and white tuxedo tabby named Tippy; a few years later, when our son was very young, a car sped through the parking lot of the health club where I belonged; someone threw out the car window a young orange cat. Which miraculously was unharmed and came right to me when I called it. We named him Duke and had him 15 years. There have been a few other cats — Leo, Tyrone, Jesus, and Owl — but we’re cat-less for now. It’s hard to describe the warm and fuzzy feel- ing I got stroking this lady’s tuxedo cat. She said his name is Doc Holladay and he’s in training to be a therapy cat. He was already achieving success, ﬂ ooding my system with endorphins and oxytocin just from petting him. Clatsop Animal Assistance was on scene with a half-dozen kitties looking for their forever homes. Ronnie Lear, a volunteer at the shelter, was holding on his lap, Mojo, a large, exceptionally mellow cat who despite the hubbub, remained calm and unperturbed. I have to say if I were looking to adopt a cat, Mojo is my kinda guy. For more information about meeting Mojo or any other cat currently in residence at the shelter, visit them at 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton. Or just attend a cat show and hope somebody invites you to pet theirs. Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright © 2020 Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for veriﬁ cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them oﬀ at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing oﬃ ces. Copyright © 2020 by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.