BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The leader of an armed group occupying a national wildlife refuge in Oregon plans to have a ceremony Saturday for ranchers to renounce federal ownership of public land and tear up their federal grazing contracts.

On Friday, Ammon Bundy met briefly with a federal agent as authorities attempt to resolve the three-week-old standoff over federal land policies, but Bundy left because the agent wouldn’t talk with him in front of the media.

The short meeting occurred as Oregon officials are putting increased pressure on federal authorities to take action against Bundy’s group.

On Thursday, Bundy went to the airport in Burns, where the FBI has set up a staging area, and spoke to an FBI negotiator over the phone. They agreed to speak again Friday, but Bundy left the airport shortly after he arrived because the FBI agent he spoke with said federal authorities wanted any conversation to be private.

Bundy wants face-to-face conversations in front of reporters. “I really don’t think, at this point, even having another phone conversation here without him would be beneficial,” Bundy said before leaving Friday.

He also questioned the FBI’s authority. “If you haven’t got sanction from the sheriff, there’s no reason to be talking to you,” Bundy said.

A crowd of reporters watched the brief exchange, while state troopers and armed federal agents looked on.

Bundy’s group began occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon on Jan. 2. The group plans to open the 300-square-mile refuge for cattle this spring.

The FBI did not immediately comment on Friday’s meeting with Bundy, but the agency said in a statement Thursday that its response “has been deliberate and measured as we seek a peaceful resolution.”

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday that she was angry because federal authorities have not taken action against Bundy’s group. The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars.

Brown sent a letter Thursday to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and FBI Director James Comey, urging them “to end the unlawful occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as safely and as quickly as possible.”

Bundy, speaking to The Associated Press late Friday while sitting at a desk inside one of the refuge buildings, dismissed the governor’s request.

“It just again shows the ignorance of some of our elected officials,” he said. “It’s just amazing that she would just disregard the Constitution to the point where she would think it would be OK to give the federal government that authority to come in and take some dynamic action or something like that.”

Bundy said the governor’s comments might have been about politics.

“If they wanted to come get us they would have come got us already,” Bundy said.

The group has recently bolstered a front entrance blockade with timbers and set up another checkpoint at a back entrance. The AP was not allowed to enter the area Friday without an armed escort.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley said it was “long past time for this illegal occupation to end and for the people of Harney County to get their lives back.”

The Oregon Democrat said he hopes authorities could peacefully resolve the situation and hold Bundy’s group accountable.

At community meetings, some local residents have asked Bundy and his group to leave.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty said in a statement Friday that many locals “are incredulous about the federal government’s fear of taking action against the lawlessness that we are witnessing on a daily basis.”

Bundy has said he believes his group’s work is appreciated by locals. He said the armed men have been “helping ranchers,” doing maintenance on the refuge because “it’s in a bad shape,” and taking care of fire hazards in the refuge’s firehouse.

Bundy has also asked the FBI to let two ranchers sent to prison for arson go back home.

The Center for Biological Diversity environmentalist group says it plans to hold a rally Saturday afternoon in the refuge to call for Bundy and his supporters to leave.

———

Associated Press writer Gosia Wozniacka in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The leader of an armed group that is occupying a wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon has spoken with the FBI and there are plans to communicate again on Friday as the standoff over federal land policies nears the three-week mark.

Standing outside the municipal airport in Burns, Oregon, Ammon Bundy spoke by phone Thursday to an unnamed FBI negotiator. The federal agency has used the airport, about 30 miles from the refuge, as a staging ground during the occupation.

The conversation happened a day after Oregon’s governor sharply criticized federal authorities for not doing more to remove Bundy’s group from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the state’s high desert.

The FBI did not specifically comment on the Thursday conversation, though it was streamed live online by someone from his group.

Bundy said he went to the airport to meet with FBI officials face-to-face, but they declined to meet him. Bundy said the FBI had called him 14 times in a row earlier this week, but he couldn’t pick up the phone because he was in a meeting.

“We’re not going to escalate nothing, we’re there to work,” Bundy told the FBI official, with reporters and supporters watching. “You guys as the FBI ... you would be the ones to escalate. I’m here to shake your hands ... myself and those with me are not a threat.”

He also told the FBI the agency doesn’t have “the people’s authority” to station at the airport. Earlier this month, officials said the FBI has jurisdiction over the armed takeover of the federal buildings in the refuge, as well as any crimes committed there.

“This occupation has caused tremendous disruption and hardship for the people of Harney County, and our response has been deliberate and measured as we seek a peaceful resolution,” the FBI said Thursday in a statement.

On Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said she was angry because federal authorities have not taken action against Bundy’s group, which began occupying the refuge Jan 2. The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars.

“We’ll be asking federal officials to reimburse the state for these costs,” Brown said.

Bundy did not address concerns about how much the occupation is costing authorities. He did rail against federal land management policies and reiterated that his armed group would not leave the refuge until federal lands — including the refuge — are turned over to local control.

“We will leave there if those buildings are turned over to the proper authorities... and never used again by the federal government to control land and resources unconstitutionally in this county,” Bundy said.

Bundy said that despite some negative sentiments against his group expressed at recent community meetings, he believes his group’s work is appreciated by locals. He said the armed men have been “helping ranchers,” doing maintenance on the refuge because “it’s in a bad shape,” and taking care of fire hazards in the refuge’s fire house.

Bundy also asked the FBI to let two ranchers sent to prison for arson go back home. Bundy agreed to speak with authorities again on Friday. He said he would again come to the airport and hoped to speak with someone from the FBI face-to-face.

Earlier Bundy also said his group plans to have a ceremony Saturday for ranchers to renounce federal ownership of public land and tear up their federal grazing contracts. The armed group plans to open up the 300-square-mile refuge for cattle this spring.

———

Wozniacka reported from Portland, Oregon.

PORTLAND — In the South Waterfront district, where new high-rises mark the convergence of Oregon Health and Science University’s expanding presence and the $1.5 billion Tilikum Crossing bridge and new MAX train Orange Line, the only juniper in sight is a mobile food cart at the base of the aerial tram that whisks riders to the top of “Pill Hill,” as OHSU’s main location is known.

The food cart Juniper — “100% gluten free,” a sign promises — does a brisk business among the doctors, nurses, medical students, visitors and patients who converge here. With a name like Juniper, is there any connection to Eastern Oregon, where juniper trees rob the range and hillsides of scarce water, crowd out native grasses and bedevil ranchers?

The cart operator, a cheerful young woman with a nose ring, says no. The owners once had a drink flavored with juniper berries, and enjoyed it so much they chose that for the business name.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but that illustrates the casual disconnect between urban and rural. It’s a division on display as armed men occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Harney County and demand the federal government release area ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond and turn over all federally managed land to the states, counties or private ranchers.

Many people living in Portland and other urban centers mock the occupiers as “Y’all Qaeda” and ridicule their beliefs. They rail about “welfare cowboys” receiving “subsidized” grazing fees on federal land.

Meanwhile, rural residents, farming and ranching groups and elected officials have criticized the occupiers’ actions. But they say the underlying anger about lost economic opportunity in the rural West is very real.

U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, who represents Eastern Oregon in Congress, said the thread tying the Hammond family’s case with the occupiers’ demands is “decades of frustration, arrogance and betrayal that has contributed to the mistrust of the federal government.”

In Portland and other urban centers, that connection isn’t so clear.

“Because it’s not on their radar,” said John Morgan, an economic development, civic and leadership planner and consultant who works with rural communities.

Harney County, where federal and state agencies manage about 75 percent of the land, has 1,200 fewer people and 10 percent fewer jobs than it did in the late 1970s. The number of logging and mill jobs in the county went from 768 in 1978 to just 6 in 2014, according to state figures.

Meanwhile, the state’s urban areas, especially Portland and surrounding Multnomah County, have grown dramatically. With its 14,000 employees, OHSU alone has nearly twice as many people as Harney County. Intel, the computer chip manufacturing company based in Hillsboro, employs about 18,000 people.

Yet the wheat, timber, wine, livestock and other agricultural products pouring out of rural Oregon are crucial to cities, Morgan said. City shipping, trucking, processing, professional service and retail jobs depend on them.

“The resource economy is intrinsically tied to the prosperity of the rest of the state,” he said. “You couldn’t have urban prosperity without the fact that Oregon is still a resource economy. Intel can only take us so far.”

Getting that point across to city dwellers isn’t easy.

“They’re more than happy to try and regulate what happens to the Columbia River Gorge because they see it as their playground, without stopping to understand the (economic) impact,” Morgan said.

But the Hammond case — they were ordered to serve additional prison time for burning BLM land — and the wildlife refuge occupation may have opened the conversation. Walden made an impassioned speech in Congress about “federal overreach in the West” that was well-received and widely shared on social media.

Rancher Keith Nantz, manager and partner of the Dillon Land and Cattle Co. south of The Dalles, Ore., wrote an opinion piece on the issue for the Washington Post that received more than 4,200 reader comments.

In his piece, Nantz said management decisions are being made by people “four to five generations removed from food production” and who “don’t quite understand our industry.”

“In every part of my business, I try to find a balance between economics, mother nature and our culture,” Nantz wrote. “I know that if we don’t treat our land properly, we will go out of business by our own hands.

“But all too often, I’m not given the autonomy to do so. I’m given rules, not a conversation about how ranchers and government officials and environmentalists might be able to work together. That’s an approach that fails everyone.”

Nantz said online comments ranged from “absolute opposite ends of the spectrum.” The issue now has the national stage, he said, and producers should not let the conversation die off. Farmers and ranchers are getting better at networking, he said, and must continue to engage the public and explain what they do without being combative.

“We need to utilize the momentum we have right now,” Nantz said. “We need to capitalize on this movement.”

Nantz said one of the tips in the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” is to “first understand before being understood.”

“We all have to live here in this great state and this great country,” he said. “We need some balance. Try to listen instead of forming a rebuttal. We can actually find answers to conflicting views.”

Portland attorney Tim Bernasek, who heads an agricultural practice group for the Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue law firm, said he’s seeing increased urban curiosity about rural life.

He said city dwellers should understand farmers and ranchers are intelligent people who are drawn to agriculture because it’s a calling, often a family legacy and a lifestyle preference.

He said their career choice is analogous to that of teachers, who are likewise drawn to their jobs.

“They could make more money doing something else,” he said.

Paul Schwennesen, a Harvard-educated Air Force veteran who raises grass-fed beef in Arizona, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post in which he described Western reaction to the Harney County situation as “deeply American.”

He said “urban elites” at both ends of the political spectrum have dismissed the standoff as ridiculous, and miss the point of it.

“Like good Tories haughtily renouncing tea dumping in Boston ‘Harbour,’ we may be shocked to find that the ragamuffins are not only saying something important, but that their message is striking a chord, Schwennesen wrote.

“What they are saying is that the federal government is too bloated, too heavy-handed, and too corrupt, and that it is most spectacularly evident on the rugged rangelands of the West.”

In a phone interview, Schwennesen said reaction to his piece “split along the urban-rural divide.”

He said the ground level issue is federal management of the overwhelming majority of the resource base in the West. Bureaucratic paralysis is the inevitable result when “one decision maker gets to make the decisions over a gigantic public resource,” he said.

“I think a lot of what’s going on here is that the free market and capitalism really aren’t thriving out West,” Schwennesen said.

“While not all rural blight is the result of federal oversight, it’s a big piece of the puzzle that goes unquestioned today,” he said.

If Cargill or Monsanto owned the majority of the land and people were denied opportunity to make a living, all hell would break loose, he said.

“I am an optimist at the end of the day,” Schwennesen said. “I do think logic prevails. The best I can hope to do is put out facts, and put them out in such a way that it’s not just ideological posturing.

“There’s more to the issue than meets the preconceived eye.”

Online

To see Rep. Greg Walden’s speech on the U.S. House floor, go to www.capitalpress.com.

To read rancher Keith Nantz’s opinion piece, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/01/08/im-an-oregon-rancher-heres-what-you-dont-understand-about-the-bundy-standoff/

To read rancher Paul Schwennesen’s opinion piece, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-schwennesen/the-stetson-rebellion-and_b_8949070.html

SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s governor said she’s frustrated with the way federal authorities are handling an armed group’s continued occupation of a national wildlife refuge and it’s time to end it.

Exasperated by a tense situation that has caused fear among some southeastern Oregon residents since it began Jan. 2, Gov. Kate Brown said at a news conference Wednesday that federal officials “must move quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable.”

“The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far. I have conveyed these very grave concerns directly to our leaders at the highest levels of our government: the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House,” Brown said.

The Democratic governor said the occupation has cost Oregon taxpayers nearly half a million dollars. “We’ll be asking federal officials to reimburse the state for these costs,” Brown said.

Brown spokeswoman Melissa Navas said in an email that number is coming from labor costs for an additional law enforcement presence in the area, including overtime, travel reimbursement, lodging and meals for officers.

Federal authorities did not return calls seeking comment.

Brown had scheduled the news conference to discuss her agenda for the upcoming legislative session, but she made it a point to deliver strong words about the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by Ammon Bundy and his armed group.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officers have been sent to the remote area but so far have avoided doing anything that might provoke a confrontation. One occupier was arrested for unauthorized use of a vehicle after driving a vehicle owned by the refuge into the town of Burns, and a Montana man who was stopped by Oregon State Police last week for a lighting violation was arrested on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

While many people in the region sympathize with Bundy’s complaints about federal management of public lands, they have expressed fear as the occupation continues, and there’s been a growing call for the occupiers to go home.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty has been at the forefront of efforts among locals to show Bundy and his followers they are not welcome. Grasty said Bundy — who is not from Oregon — should get the point that he and his followers need to go back to their home states and leave Harney County alone.

“It seems like he’s out of touch with reality,” Grasty told the AP from Burns.

Grasty said he would like law enforcement to turn up the heat on Bundy and his fellow occupiers — perhaps isolate them by closing off roads leading to the refuge.

“I hope they lock it down. People shouldn’t be coming and going. Maybe it’s time,” he said.

Bundy initially took over the refuge to protest prison terms for two local ranchers convicted of setting fires on federal lands. After the ranchers voluntarily reported to prison, Bundy has justified the occupation by saying he wants federal lands in Harney County turned over to local residents, among other demands. He has also said he is obeying a divine command.

The group’s spokesman — LaVoy Finicum — told Oregon Public Broadcasting on Wednesday they have “no plans to leave.”

“We are very strong, very firm. This facility will not go back to the federal government, ever,” Finicum told OPB.

———

Terrence Petty reported from Portland, Oregon.

BANDON — “A major accomplishment,” is how the Bandon Swimming Pool board describes the first hoop cleared for approval for developing the land purchased by the Bandon Community Pool Development Corporation for the Bandon Swimming Pool from grants and donations.

BANDON — “A major accomplishment,” is how the Bandon Swimming Pool board describes the first hoop cleared for approval for developing the land purchased by the Bandon Community Pool Developmen…

SALEM — Besides occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, armed protesters now occupy a place on Gov. Kate Brown’s list of 2016 policy priorities.

During Brown’s unveiling of her agenda Wednesday, the governor said that one of her priorities is to pass a funding package to offset expenses associated with responding to the occupation. The governor said her administration would “scour the budget to make sure that we have the resources at the state level to subsidize the cost for Harney County.”

The cost of responding to the occupation, which started Jan. 2, is running about $100,000 per week, Brown said.

The state would later ask the federal government to reimburse the state for those costs, she said.

Ammon Bundy and his armed followers seized the remote refuge Jan. 2 in a protest against federal public lands policies.

“The situation is absolutely intolerable,” Brown said. “The very fabric of this community is being ripped apart. The residents of Harney County have been overlooked and underserved by federal officials’ response thus far.”

Brown said she has expressed her concerns to federal officials “at the highest levels of our government, the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House.”

“Federal authorities must act quickly to end the occupation and hold all of the wrongdoers accountable,” she said. “The spectacle of lawlessness must end. Until Harney County is free of it I will not stop insisting federal officials enforce the law.”

Some of Brown’s other 2016 priorities were no surprise. She wants the Legislature to enact her plan to boost minimum wage to $15.52 in the Portland area and $13.50 in the rest of the state by 2022. The plan is intended to thwart two ballot measures that would raise minimum wage in three years instead of six.

She is championing House Speaker Tina Kotek’s omnibus housing bill to increase affordable housing options around the state.

Brown said she plans to use her executive power to create a Council on Educator Advancement. The council will be responsible for coordinating and promoting leadership development, mentorship and best practices.

The governor gave no timeline for establishing council and did not address how what relationship that council would have to the Department of Education and the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, which licenses teachers.

The governor also repeated her plan to hire an education innovation officer to improve the state’s high school graduation rate and a public records ombudsman to help agencies respond more efficiently and consistently to requests.

Her other priorities include:

• Expanding the Office of Small Business Advocate to help small businesses through the labyrinth of government red tape.

• Creating a small business advisory group to develop recommendations to support small businesses in accessing capital and streamlining agency processes.

• Issuing an executive order to force agencies to adopt a public records policy.

• Supporting legislation to tighten deadlines for lobbyists to disclose their clients to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission and to require that information be posted online within two days.

• Launching a college campus safety working group.

• Approving a request from Umqua Community College for funding to enhance safety on campus in the wake of the deadly shooting there Oct. 1.

• Securing funding to respond to drought and the 2015 wildfire season.

Harney County rancher Travis Williams says he’s “riding the fence” on a recent anti-government proposal to stop paying fees for grazing on public lands.

Armed protesters occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters in Southeast Oregon have urged local ranchers to tear up their grazing contracts with federal agencies to challenge the government’s control over the area.

Williams said he doesn’t support the protesters’ actions, such as removing fences at the refuge, but thinks the grazing fee proposal may be a legitimate form of protest.

“If there’s enough people involved, I think it would work,” he said.

On the other hand, Williams is concerned about how violating grazing contracts with the federal government would affect his two sons and daughter, who hope to run the family ranch someday.

“My actions right now are going to play over to their future,” he said.

The consequences of using federal grazing allotments without paying the required fees can be serious and long-lasting, said Scott Horngren, an attorney with the Western Resources Legal Center who has represented ranchers in grazing lawsuits.

While the penalties would not be criminal, serious breaches of grazing contracts may effectively end a rancher’s ability to release livestock onto public lands. It’s similar to a contractor who has previously defaulted on an agreement and is excluded from bidding on government projects, Horngren said.

“The real risk is they’ll be unable to graze on the allotment for which they’re not paying and it’s possible they could be disqualified from acquiring any allotments in the future,” he said.

Federal agencies may also come after ranchers to collect payments for unpaid grazing fees, he said.

Ranchers and federal agencies usually resolve minor contract disputes without actually voiding such deals, Horngren said. “Breaches happen on both sides.”

Federal officials may not treat one missed payment as a serious issue, but tearing up a contract and refusing to pay at all would probably be considered a material breach, he said.

Members of the armed protest group have cited examples of ranchers refusing to pay grazing fees without consequence, such as Cliven Bundy of Nevada, who continues to graze on public land even though the government claims he owes more than $1 million to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Federal officials backed off from seizing Bundy’s cattle in 2014 after an armed standoff, and his son, Ammon, is currently leading the occupation in Oregon.

Horngren said he’d advise ranchers against relying on that case in their decision-making and instead work through administrative and legal processes if they disagree with restrictions on grazing permits.

“Withholding payment is a risky strategy for a rancher to try to make the point the BLM is not managing the range appropriately,” he said.

Rancher Travis Williams said he’s considering the protesters’ proposal primarily because the money raised by the federal government from grazing fees doesn’t benefit Harney County tax revenues.

If he does withhold grazing fees, Williams said he doesn’t want to “freeload” and instead would make payments into an escrow account, with the money intended for the county.

Though he doesn’t want to jeopardize his ranch, Williams doesn’t believe that ranchers “collaborating” with federal agencies has produced needed changes in land management.

Refusing to pay grazing fees would likely be more effective, he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get anything done.”

Shawn Mace, president of the Harney County Stockgrowers Association, said his organization does not endorse illegal activity against the federal government, which reflects the view of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.

Some ranchers may feel a need to stand against the federal government to protect their way of life, but Mace said it’s unclear what purpose refusing to pay grazing fees would achieve.

Mace said he prefers to concentrate on his job of ranching.

“Public grazing is vital to the survival of Harney County ranchers,” he said. “I don’t see this as a real issue. Why would we bite the hand that feeds us?”

SOUTH COAST — The South Coast Education Service District Board of Directors announces an opening on its board for position No. 4, Zone 1A (Curry County and the portion of Port Orford/Langlois that lies in Coos County) for a term…

SOUTH COAST — The South Coast Education Service District Board of Directors announces an opening on its board for position No. 4, Zone 1A (Curry County and the portion of Port Orford/Langlois …

The leader of an armed group who took over a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon weeks ago joined hundreds of area residents at a tense community meeting — listening quietly as many loudly chanted at him to “go.”

Ammon Bundy, who has been trying to drum up support for his cause, didn’t speak at Tuesday night’s meeting in Burns where residents discussed the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge which began earlier this month.

Some of the several hundred community members spoke to Bundy directly. One woman thanked him for raising awareness around issues of public lands, but told him it’s time to go home to his family.

“Ammon, you need to go home to your family; thank you,” said local resident Jennifer Williams. “I’ve heard so many things I didn’t know before. Now I’m aware.”

Other speakers were less congenial and at times angry and emotional in comments directed at the armed group as well as at local government officials and federal government, in part for not doing more to end the occupation.

Harney County Judge Steve Grasty took the microphone over to where Bundy sat in the bleachers and told Bundy he’d drive him wherever he wanted to go, as far as Utah. He also offered to meet with him anytime.

Bundy and his small posse left after the meeting without incident.

Rallies also were held in Portland and Eugene, Oregon and in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, with hundreds of people calling for Bundy to end the occupation and pointing out that federal management allows all kinds of people to enjoy public lands.

Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward reiterated in a statement before the Burns meeting that law enforcement wants the armed group to vacate the refuge.

He said police have arrested two men affiliated with the group and included a new report that Duane Kirkland of Hamilton, Montana, was stopped and arrested Thursday on a felon in possession of a firearm charge. Police arrested Kenneth Medenbach, of La Pine, in Burns Friday for unauthorized use of a vehicle authorities say was taken illegally from the refuge.

Bundy and his group are demanding that the refuge be turned over to local residents. Bundy is a son of rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in a 2014 Nevada standoff with the federal government over grazing rights.

Rallies also were held in Portland and in Boise, Idaho, Tuesday, with hundreds of people calling for Bundy to end the occupation and pointing out that federal management allows all kinds of people to enjoy public lands.

The group Bundy leads has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands. Bundy has told reporters the group would leave when there was a plan in place to turn over federal lands to locals — a common refrain in a decades-long fight over public lands in the West. At a Tuesday news conference, Bundy said “we’re not going anywhere” until his group gets its goals accomplished.

LANGLOIS – Ginger Pearson from Coast Community Health Center will be at the Langlois Public Library from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, to introduce individuals in Curry County to self-sufficiency programs.

LANGLOIS – Ginger Pearson from Coast Community Health Center will be at the Langlois Public Library from 1-3 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, and from 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 2, to introduce indivi…

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of two buildings on the former Evergreen International Aviation campus in McMinnville to Jackson Family Wines.

The California wine giant has been adding property in the Willamette Valley, and the company noted in a statement that the Evergreen site is convenient to its vineyards. The firm added that its long-term plan includes the development of a wine production facility.

Jackson Family Wines submitted the high bid of $4.6 million in October. The Yamhill Valley News-Register reports that approval was delayed because of a dispute about road and utility easements.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — With the armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon in its third week, Ammon Bundy and his group are still trying to muster up broad community support — so far without much luck.

Bundy has drawn a lot of attention to the dissatisfaction of ranchers and local townsfolk with federal land-use policies in the West. But the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has also begun to result in pushback from others who use public lands — birders, hunters and hikers, among others.

Here are some things to know about how conservation groups are trying to rally public pressure on Bundy to leave, and what Bundy is doing to try to win more sympathizers.

GROWING PUSHBACK AGAINST THE OCCUPATION

On Tuesday, several hundred people rallied in Portland — about 300 miles north of the remote refuge in southeastern Oregon — to demand Bundy end the occupation and to point out that federal management makes it possible for all kinds of people to enjoy public lands.

Protesters chanted “Birds, Not Bullies,” a reference to the Malheur refuge’s creation in 1908 as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. The rally was organized by Oregon Wild, Portland Audubon and the Center for Biological Diversity.

“This occupation represents a threat to public lands,” said Bob Sallinger with the Audubon Society. “These are not political statements. These are crimes.”

In Boise, more than 100 people attended a similar protest Tuesday in front of the Idaho Capitol. Ann Finley, a member of the Great Old Broads for Wilderness, said that the refuge is a special place.

“I love our free lands, and we’re out here today stepping out and saying those lands should remain public,” Finley said.

Conservation groups have also shown up at the refuge itself to demand that Bundy and his followers leave, and last weekend got into a shouting match with Bundy’s group.

BUNDY’S COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Bundy has had trouble winning many friends who aren’t militants, or even finding a place where he could spell out his views to people living near the refuge. His plans to hold a community meeting at the local fairground tanked when Harney County said he couldn’t hold it there.

Still, Bundy isn’t giving up. On Monday night, Bundy held a meeting at a hot springs resort near Crane, Oregon, where he tried to persuade 30 or so ranchers to stop paying the federal government to graze their cattle on public lands. It does not appear he persuaded many to follow his advice.

WILL PUSHBACK BY CONSERVATION GROUPS HAVE ANY IMPACT?

Bundy’s most fervent supporters — those holed up inside headquarters of the wildlife refuge — continue to be militants from outside Oregon. Bundy has demanded federal lands in Harney County be handed over to locals. While many local residents want Bundy and his group to leave, they also back his views on federal land policies. Bundy’s game plan may be to continue to try to win local support and to draw as much attention as possible to his complaints against the federal government.

The small, armed group Bundy leads has said repeatedly that local people should control federal lands. Bundy has repeatedly told reporters the group would leave when there was a plan in place to turn over federal lands to locals — a common refrain in a decades-long fight over public lands in the West.

At a Tuesday news conference, Bundy said “we’re not going anywhere” until his group gets its goals accomplished.

WHAT’S LAW ENFORCEMENT DOING ABOUT THIS?

The situation at the refuge is being carefully monitored by FBI agents sent to the area, by Oregon State Police and by the local sheriff. Last week, the first arrest related to the occupation came when a militant driving a vehicle belonging to the refuge drove 30 miles into Burns to buy groceries. He was arrested on probable cause for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Bundy’s group has been using federal vehicles on the refuge. If they drive them off the refuge, they can probably count on being arrested.

———

AP reporters Gosia Wozniacka in Portland and Kimberlee Kruesi in Boise contributed to this report.

An administrative law judge has found that Oregon’s farm regulators weren’t justified in yanking the license of an aerial pesticide applicator accused of endangering the public.

In September 2015, the Oregon Department of Agriculture suspended the pesticide applicator’s license of Applebee Aviation of Banks, Ore., and fined the company $1,100 for allegedly spraying chemicals in a negligent manner.

Over the following months, the agency revoked the company’s license for five years and increased the penalties to $160,000 — with another $20,000 in fines tacked on for its owner, Mike Applebee — as it learned the company repeatedly conducted spray operations even after its license was invalidated.

However, the “preponderance of the evidence” doesn’t substantiate ODA’s allegation that Applebee Aviation posed a “serious danger to the public health or safety,” as is required to suspend a license without a hearing, according to Senior Administrative Law Judge Monica Whitaker of Oregon’s Office of Administrative Hearings.

Emergency license suspensions are an “extreme remedy,” but ODA’s findings of misconduct — such as workers handling pesticides without proper protective equipment — were largely based on the allegations of only one former employee, Darryl Ivy, Whitaker said.

The administrative law judge said the agency’s heavy reliance on Ivy’s accusations was “inherently problematic.”

Ivy quit his job with Applebee Aviation in April 2015 and went public with claims that he was exposed to herbicide spraying overhead that caused mouth blisters and a swollen airway, triggering an investigation by ODA and the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division.

While an ODA investigator cited photos taken by Ivy to support the agency’s conclusions, “the photos were not authenticated” and Ivy wasn’t called as witness to the evidence, Whitaker said.

For example, photos of residue on a truck windshield, which ODA accepted to be a pesticide spray mixture, could have been “soap residue” because the substance was never tested, she said.

The former employee’s “mere assertions” aren’t sufficient to establish the allegations against Applebee Aviation without further verification, Whitaker said. “It is equally as likely the photos were staged and taken at a different date, time and location.”

Whitaker has issued an order proposing that the original license suspension and civil penalty against the company be reversed, though those sanctions remain in place until ODA makes a final decision.

At this point, the administrative law judge’s proposed order is a recommendation to the ODA. The agency’s director, Katy Coba, will issue the final order, which Applebee Aviation can legally challenge if the company disagrees with her conclusions.

“As we speak, we’re mulling over the options,” said Bruce Pokarney, communications director for ODA, noting that the agency can’t comment on the proposed order’s findings.

Robert Ireland, Applebee Aviation’s attorney, said the administrative law judge’s proposed order calls into question whether ODA can fine the company and its owner $180,000 for disobeying a license suspension that wasn’t warranted.

Mike Applebee, the owner, was away from the office when the original suspension was issued, which is why some operations continued, Ireland said.

The ODA is under pressure from environmental groups to step up its enforcement of pesticide rules, which is why the agency has made a “political” case against Applebee Aviation, he said.

LANGLOIS — The next Interesting Langlois talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Langlois Public Library with “Mud, Murder and Mystery.”

LANGLOIS – The next Interesting Langlois talk will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, at the Langlois Public Library with “Mud, Murder and Mystery.”

The militants occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge asked Harney County ranchers at a meeting Monday night to cancel their leases with the federal government.

The three-hour meeting took place just outside Crane, Ore., at a hot springs resort.

Ammon and Ryan Bundy, the leaders of the occupation, said they wanted to make Harney County an example of a place free from the federal government.

“The opportunity is now, and the place is Harney County,and you are the people,” said Ammon Bundy. “They’ll never be an opportunity like this again.”The start of the meeting was not unlike a pitch for a timeshare.

The lights dimmed and on came a short film with dramatic music. But rather than white sandy beaches, the projected images depicted dramatic landscapes of the American West.

In the nearly three hours that followed, the Bundys and a few of their core supporters lead a room of largely Harney County ranchers through a presentation.

At times it took on the tone of a civics lesson — one that included readings from pocket Constitutions distributed beforehand. At other times, speakers seemed to invoke the fiery passions of a preacher delivering a sermon from the pulpit.

Then came the hard sell. The militants occupying the Refuge asked Harney County ranchers to tear up their leases with the Bureau of Land Management and stop paying the federal government to graze cattle on public land.

“I’ve done it. Cliven Bundy’s done it,” said LaVoy Finicum, an Arizona rancher and the militants’ defacto spokesman. “Now is the day. Now is the time. Are you going to wait for tomorrow? For next week? Next month? Next year? When? When will you stand up if not now?”

Roughly 75 percent of Harney County is federal land. And just more than 10 percent of people who work in the county are employed by the federal government.

Finicum invited the ranchers to cancel their leases with the BLM at a ceremony before the media at the refuge on Saturday. He said two ranchers, one from New Mexico and another from Harney County, are scheduled to void their contracts publicly.

“I promise, that if you stand, others will stand with you,” Finicum said. “If you stand, God will stand with you. But God cannot stand with you if you do not stand.”

The leaders of the armed occupation described how 25 years ago Cliven Bundy stopped communicating with the BLM. Ryan Bundy went on to emphasize his view that breaking away from the federal government means ranchers wouldn’t have to follow federal laws, like the Endangered Species Act.

“You know how many endangered species we’re dealing with on our ranch right now?” Bundy asked. “Zero, because it doesn’t matter anymore.”

LaVoy and the Bundys also acknowledged their proposition is risky. They said any rancher who joined them would get protection from the armed militants led by Payne.”We are here temporarily to defend you,” Ammon Bundy said. “Eventually, you’ve got to get unified enough to started defending yourselves.”

As the militants announced the meeting was ending, local resident Scott Franklin, stood up and entered a tense exchange with the Bundys.

“I’m a fourth generation rancher,” he said. “I’m going to ask you a question. Are we a nation of laws?”

“No,” said Ryan Bundy.

“We’re not?” Franklin replied. “So, we just break laws all the time, and that’s OK?” “We are a nation of laws, and this law is the one being broken,” Ryan Bundy said, tapping his pocket-sized copy of the Constitution. “And this law is the supreme law of the land.

“In the end, who decides what the Constitution says? The Supreme Court,” Franklin said. That comment was met with a chorus of “Nos” from some audience members.

“I’m saying, I’m not going to fight an uphill battle that’s not going to be won,” Franklin said. “You’re asking us to give up everything for this rebel cause.”

Some ranchers were more receptive to the Bundys’ message. They spoke of their frustration with the environmental regulations on BLM land, and their belief that the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge wants to grow by acquiring ranches.

Buck Taylor runs cattle on about 200,000 acres of land, including private land, BLM allotments and land in the refuge. After listening to the presentation, Taylor said he was considering the Bundys’ proposition, but thought there should be more meetings to discuss it.

“I am drinking the Kool Aid,” he said. “I haven’t swallowed it yet. I am open to the idea.”

Dwane Schrock, who ranches on private land near Crane, Oregon, also walked away with a positive impression.”It was good; very informational,” he said. “People need to be educated. If they’re not educated, they’re not going to know what’s going on.”

After the meeting, Franklin, the rancher who’d spoken against the proposition, said he was ready for the Bundys to go. He said he has relatives who work for the BLM, and he was struggling to keep his family calm.

“I know that the refuge is never going to be in private hands,” he said. “Are they going to Yosemite? Are they going to Yellowstone? Where else are they going to do this?”

THE DALLES, Ore. (AP) — Drivers in some areas of central and eastern Oregon will be allowed to travel at higher speeds under a new bill set to take effect in March.

KGW-TV reports that the law sets speeds 5-10 mph faster in certain areas starting March 1.

The speed limit will increase from 65 mph to 70 mph on Interstate 84 between The Dalles and the Idaho border.

Speed limits will also go up on other highways in central and eastern Oregon, including portions of U.S. 20, U.S. 95 and OR 78.