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Line: | Harney County, Ore. government "consumed" by armed occupiers in wildlife refuge |
The armed occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Ore. covered the refuge's welcome sign with one of their own (KOIN).
Harney County, Ore. Judge Steve Grasty says he plans to bill Ammon Bundy and his followers for costs the county has incurred during the group’s takeover of a federal wildlife refuge. The figure has been estimated as high as $75,000 per day.
Security at county facilities and law enforcement patrols have been Increased since the occupiers seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, located in the county.
“Administration and county government have been consumed by this,” Grasty said. “Law enforcement is consumed by this.”
County offices in Burns, the county seat, have been fortified with fencing and concrete barriers block streets. “It looks like a fortress, and I was nearly in tears walking up to the courthouse thinking what this has done to our community,” he said of an early encounter with the added security.
In addition, residents are “very worried about threats and intimidation” aimed at federal employees who reside in the county, population 7,500.
Harney County, Ore. Judge Steve Grasty
"They’re the spouses of the school teachers; we go to church together; we go to the movies together; they’re family members,” he explained. “I’ve got a brother that’s a [Bureau of Land Management] employee.”
In a statement, Sheriff Dave Ward said: “There are continual reports of law enforcement officers and community members being followed home; of people sitting in cars outside their homes, observing their movements and those of their families….”
“Almost all” of the federal employees from the refuge have been temporarily relocated from their homes as a precaution, Grasty said, noting that the occupiers have gained access to information about employees’ names, addresses and Social Security numbers.
Meanwhile, Bundy and his crew have scheduled a meeting with community members for Friday, Jan. 15, at which time, they say, they’ll announce when they plan to leave the refuge, according to KTVZ TV News.
Whatever the outcome, Grasty said it’s clear that counties and the federal government have their work cut out for them. He recently met with a “policy person” from the Association of Oregon Counties to work through ways to “drive this issue on up to the very secretaries of Interior and Ag.”
“I want to have a sit down with them, and I want to talk about the lessons learned,” he said. “If we don’t start listening to each other — counties listening to the feds, feds listening to counties — this is going to happen again (somewhere).”
