Hi all,
A Corvallis-area birder and Audubon member shared with me a letter that
he and his partner sent to thank the Harney County "judges" (equivalent
of commissioners in other Oregon counties) and Sheriff Ward, for their
steadfast response to the militants who've taken over Malheur NWR.
You can read the text of that letter below. It was sent to the three
county judges and the sheriff, whose e-mail addresses are:
steve.grasty AT co.harney.or.us
pete.runnels AT co.harney.or.us
dannichols AT wildblue.net
dave.ward AT co.harney.or.us
I made the mistake of hitting "reply-all" when I responded with the
suggestion that this letter should be shared more widely including via
the BOO list. But I got a very positive response this morning when one
of the Harney County judges wrote back, and said he was happy to have
all of this shared.
As I mentioned in my reply to the judge, I think these guys have the
toughest job in Oregon right now. They're looking out for the interests
of their constituents, and also trying to hold their community together,
while dealing with an armed invasion by outright lunatics.
So please, if you can find the time, send them your own personal message
of support. I kind of blew the cover for any sort of "boilerplate"
response when I hit "reply-all." But maybe that's just as well.
These guys are human beings, dealing with a whole lot of stress right
now. I wouldn't wish their situation on anyone. So we should at least
take time to put some personal thought into commenting, in our own
words.
Also their plate is really full so there's no point in just snowing them
under with e-mails. But my impression is that honest messages of
support, sharing your personal connection with Harney County and
expressing your interest in helping the people of the county to recover
from this bizarre situation, will be appreciated.
Joel
--
Dear County Commissioners and Sheriff,
Thank you so much for standing up and resisting the demands of the
gangster-like occupiers of the Refuge headquarters. We really
appreciate the County not allowing the fairgrounds as a venue for them
too.
We have been coming to Harney County for decades regularly as visitors.
We love the Malheur Refuge, Burns, and all the beautiful lands,
mountains, and people of your County. We want to continue coming every
year.
Please stand strong and do everything you can to remove these illegal
occupiers from your beautiful County.
Thank you for all you are doing,
[names redacted]
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