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It has been a rocky 90 days in Gilliam County. The Gilliam County Court's decision to transfer juvenile and probate court on December 6th, its discussions of changing to a board of commissioners, and efforts to get a legislative fix on the probate issue in Salem created division and anger in the county. There was a resounding demand to bring such issues to the voters. There were accusations that the methods employed were underhanded. Much of this anger revolved around timing....
By Haley Rose Blagg, 4-H Student Reporter The Pans on Fire Outdoor Cooking 4-H Club met on Thursday March 14 at 3:30pm at the Extension Office. Attending were: Junior leaders Sara, Haley, Andrew and Sebastian; second year members Kynlie, Clyde, Olivia, Harley, Roper, Isaiah, Elizabeth, Ireland; first year members Cooper, Livy, Zan, Logan C., Landon, Aiden, Evan. Adults: Jessica W, Christian A, Cindy B, Cathy Musick. What we did during the meeting: we made s'mores today. We...
Last week, two more resignations were submitted from staff of Gilliam County, adding to a growing number of people who have left their jobs in the past few years. Rachel Boyer, who was hired a year ago to be the first Finance Director at Gilliam County, resigned from her position last week. Boyer, who attended middle school in Condon, had long hoped to return to Condon, the hometown of six generations before her. A certified management accountant (CMA), Boyer moved from...
By Elizabeth West, 4-H Student Reporter The 4-H Country Canines Dog Club met Sunday, March 10 at 2:00pm. Attending were Haley, Samantha, Harper, Natalie, Elizabeth and Logan. Excused absences were Chloe. Pledge of Allegiance was led by Natalie and 4H Pledge was led by Samantha. Treasurer's report was given, Leader Grace handed out folders full of vaccine information, we talked about getting an A frame build for the agility course and we made home-made dog treats out of oat...
Dear Editor, I have known Cris Patnode both personally and professionally since 2012. As a fellow Justice of the Peace, we have served in each other’s courts and together in leadership for Oregon Justice of the Peace Association. Judge Patnode is highly respected by local court judges statewide for her knowledge and dedication to her profession. Integrity and transparency are essential qualities that we should all demand from our government officials. Judge Patnode illustrates what ethics in government should look like. She h...
Commissioner Pat Shannon is now on Facebook and going to the homes of Gilliam County residents telling them he supports our voters’ right to have a vote on structural change to County Court and our County government. This, after he spent days lobbying the Eastern Oregon County Caucus members to support our County Court's illegal Order 2023-01. This illegal Order gave our County Judge the means to circumvent her duties as spelled out by law in Article VII Section 8 lines C and D of the Oregon Constitution. There is a legal a...
Who is Frontier Justice PAC? A group of people that includes past Gilliam County Court members, past District Attorney’s, past employees and concerned citizens that know there are proper procedures to change the county government structure. The current County Court chose not to use any of these op-tions. Instead, they tried to circumvent these steps by changing the words in a law. Our goal is to give the people a voice in changing their government! On December 6th, 2023, the County Court passed Order #2023-01 which e...
In the beginning, there was an interest in adjusting Gilliam County policy to meet Gilliam County needs, now, and into the future. People are elected, and think they see a need for change. This sounds simple to me. But then I am a farmer, I am used to changing. Every five or six years, I am given a new farm bill I need to factor. I used to mold board plow, now I direct seed. I used to steer my tractor, now I use a computer. You adjust to the needs of tomorrow or tomorrow leaves you in the dust. Change allows you to exceed...
As a Gilliam County resident for almost my whole life what unprecedented and pressing times that are occurring in our County Court Government. In my opinion some major and long lasting extremely poor decisions that the Court has made have failed to represent the voice of the voters of Gilliam County. Unfortunately the focus, division that is currently happening did not need to hap-pen. On December 6th of 2023 the County Court voted to transfer Juvenile and Probate statutory authority to the County Circuit Courts. Why didn’t t...
As many Gilliam County Citizens are aware, the Frontier Justice PAC distributed a flyer last week about the County Court’s recent actions. The one statement I agree with on the flyer is the last one. All of the Gilliam County Court Meeting information is available on the Gilliam County website- Agendas, Meeting Packets including briefings and supporting documents, and Links to County Court Meeting videos. Everyone should do their own research into these matters instead of taking the information on the flyer as factual. R...
On behalf of the Condon Booster Club, I have a few huge thank yous to extend. First, THANK YOU to the community of Condon and beyond for all the support over the last several months. For people who don’t know, simply put, the Booster Club is a small group of volunteers (mostly parents of school age children) who organize and implement fundraisers every year in order to support athletics in the Condon School District in creative ways. So far this school year, the booster club has contributed to the purchase of banners and g...
In last week’s column I introduced you to the so-called “Jefferson Bible,” to the “cut-and-paste” Bible, to The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, to Thomas Jefferson’s 86-pages-long filtering of what he took to be the most salutary, the most believable passages from the four Gospels of Luke, Mark, Matthew and John. Jefferson having revealed its existence virtually on his deathbed in 1826, how do we come to know this work? How do we come to know great books in the first p...
Have you ever been to a county fair and seen the entries where bakers make the same exact baked good but the results are so varied you wonder if they were baked on different planets? Why does that happen? That question made me want to conduct an experiment. So I made the exact same bread recipe, baked it in the exact same pan and oven but used different flours. I used a simple four-ingredient recipe from the book “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day”. Using a recipe with jus...
Days of Yore March 14, 2024 10 years ago – Damascus Christian had been a thorn in the side of the Condon-Wheeler Lady Knights all year, since the State Class 1A basketball tournament in Baker City in 2013 when the Eagles defeated the Lady Knights by two points for the championship. All of their hard work through the year paid off when the Lady Knights mounted a well-calculated come-from-behind effort to defeat the Damascus Christian Eagles 57-52. The student council of Sherman Jr/Sr High School will present the ‘Mr. Hus...
While driving to Salem this afternoon to follow up on the Legislative Short Session results and start conversations for the 2025 Legislative Long Session, I couldn’t help but think about the events that have taken place regarding the County Court during the past several months and the conversations and actions that have happened since last week’s County Court meeting. There seems to be a continuing accusation that I have voted on and been part of approving an illegal Order. I felt a strong urge to respond by stating to the...
‘This isn't the land of or the county of Nirvana we live in. It is democracy at its best and worst. That is how democracy is designed and how it works. You have expressed both verbally and in print a desire for county tranquility. While largely ignoring the Court's (cabal) complete guilt in their desire to destroy the Court as it has existed for years by attempting to remove the Judge (6 yr. judicial) from its structure and install a Board of Commissioners (coup). When their illegal order was seen for what it was, they a...
When I joined the Gilliam County Court in 2023, one of our first tasks was to review the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan. The plan was updated to have an emphasis on Housing, Broadband, and Childcare. We have worked diligently to make strides in these areas in many ways including hiring a broadband consultant to guide us through the grant process, established an endowment fund to support childcare as part of the Waste Management Host Fee Ordinance, and provided funding for several housing projects through the Competitive Grant...
Letter to the Editor: I am a candidate for Gilliam County Judge. I bring 37 years public service and administrative experience, and 21 years judicial experience having adjudicated approximately 60,000 cases. I have been elected four times previously, so elections are nothing new to me. I consider an election the ultimate job interview before you the people, and if elected I will be working for and accountable to you. Like you, I care deeply for Gilliam County, its communities, and its people. We all want the best for Gilliam...
The current political changes unfolding in the United States are monumental. In many ways, the two parties are swapping long-standing platforms and altering their historic identities. Both parties are also embracing candidates and agendas that they once disdained or mocked in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential Election. Donald Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party is nearly complete. Although Trump was once a Democrat, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is highly l...
1 years ago— At the Condon Chamber meeting, members heard from Ellen Stump who plans to open Nana’s Kitchen April 7th. The location is the former Round-Up Café on Main Street. “I want to make this the town’s restaurant,” said Stump, who has restaurant experience. She is coming to Condon from Springfield, Massachusetts. Air Force Airman Shane Asher graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. Shane is the son of Frank Asher of Spray, and a 2010 graduate of Spray High School. Paradise R...
I recently came across a short film in the National Archives titled “A Step Saving Kitchen”. In 1949 the Department of Agriculture designed this innovative kitchen to make cooking and baking easier. The idea was to minimize the need to walk, stoop and stretch during kitchen tasks. The film mesmerized me and I watched it on pins and needles like it was some kind of thriller. I wondered why all the kitchens built since 1949 weren’t like this one because the design and funct...
"We cater to white trade only"; this was the frequent attitude of American hotels and restaurants during the Jim Crow era. Mark S. Foster quotes a Black motorist in the early 1940s about an early afternoon, emotional, psychological "small cloud" that, in the late afternoon, "casts a shadow of apprehension on our hearts and sours us a little. 'Where', it asks us, 'will you stay tonight?'" Is there room at the Inn for us Blacks? Enter The Green Book. Conceived in 1932 and...
SPRAY, OR - Tuesday, February 27th, saw the community of Spray along with many Wheeler County residents, local patients, and state dignitaries come together with clinic staff in celebration of the newest addition to Asher CHC's area services - the newly expanded Spray Clinic facility on Pine Street complete with medical and now including dental capacity. The event began at 11:00am at the Spray Community Grange across the street from the clinic where light refreshments were...
The Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce (OFCC) held its annual meeting at the Spray General Store last Thursday, February 22nd. The Oregon Frontier Chamber was previously the Condon Chamber of Commerce, but expanded in 2022 to serve communities in Gilliam, Wheeler, and Sherman County. With more than 470 members, the OFCC has served as a resource for businesses in the region, but has also done much more than a traditional chamber of commerce. In addition to membership, the...
1 years ago— It was quite serendipitous that rural Fossil resident Jan Schott would end up in a nearly front row position for the parade honoring the National Football Champion Seattle Seahawks after they defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. She had gone to Seattle for the annual Flower and Garden Show and had a little time to kill, so took in the festivities. Helen Olds, a life-long Grass Valley resident, joined the ranks of area centenarians when she celebrated her 100th birthday on February 23. Also with a 1...
