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There has been a question asked, Why not RECALL Leah Watkins? Our answer, She's only been in her job for 1 year and we were hoping she might become an effective Commissioner. And the reason why we're still recalling The County Judge Farrar and Commissioner Shannon is they’ve been working on Radical changes to our County Court structure with little to no input from the public. They would still have the remainder of 2024 in the office to do more irreversible and costly damage to our County. There have been seventeen employee t...
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...
A short explanation of what's really been going on in Gilliam County. We, as a group, do not feel that what has been going on with our County Court is fair and just. We have asked the Court on several occasions to speak to the people before they make their motions to remove probate and our Judge position as we know it. We have written to them, gone to some their homes, and shown them other opinions. It’s been Public Comment material in many of their meetings. There are opinions from several attorneys that clarify how they h...
Message from the Mayor With the new year upon us the city council is looking forward to things we can do to enhance our community. With that in mind, we had a goal setting meeting earlier this month and discussed some exciting projects coming up and wishes for the future. Some things discussed were completing the downtown beautification projects, the ASR water conservation project, and bigger wishes such as updating our city park. You are invited and encouraged to attend council meetings and give us your thoughts for future...
What people are saying… Following Judge Elizabeth Farrar-Campbell, Commissioner Pat Shannon and Commissioner Leah Watkins, Gilliam County Court’s 1) illegal probate transfer, 2) restructuring of our county government, 3) abolishing County Judge position and, 4) sneaking off to Salem for a “fix” … here’s what’s being said: “the action of 3 people (Court members Liz, Leah, Pat) has created total chaos in Gilliam County” “not in the best interest of our County” “it is truly sad, disappointing, and to a certain extent genuinel...
I am writing today to make it clear to the public where I stand in the matter of the County Court’s recent order 2023-01 transferring probate cases to Circuit Court permanently. I am going to recommend to the County Court to remove transfer of probated cases from the order through an amendment of the order. While I firmly believe the order is sound based on legal counsel, I do not believe it is in the best interest of Gilliam County to spend valuable tax dollars to prove its constitutionality. I also believe we should 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...
1. Approximately 15 employees have quit/resigned, retired/retired early, had 40 hr. with benefits positions cut to 15 hr. no benefits, found new jobs, and/or are currently looking for new jobs. Per Commissioner Shannon, this is a Crisis. This is a Crisis of their own making. Why has it taken 5 years for them to address this? 2. Frontier Justice openly published the legal opinion of a highly respected Counsel. Why is the Court denying the public the same transparency? 3. Judge Campbell stated in open public meeting she would...
A great time held by all, during BINGO night at Isobel Edwards Hall. It’s always fun to hear people laughing and joking. We plan to do it again on the first Saturday of each month. $18 can get you 4 cards and play all games. Thank you all for participating, and the volunteers that keep it going. —Sandy Speer...
A short explanation of what's really been going on in Gilliam County. We, as a group, do not feel that what has been going on with our County Court is fair and just. We have asked the Court on several occasions to speak to the people before they make their motions to remove probate and our Judge position as we know it. We have written to them. It’s been Public Comment material in many of their meetings. There are opinions from several attorneys that clarify how they have not followed the law. We're not trying to be Vigilantes...
Ready, set… In football it’s the Quarterback sneak; it’s an offensive move intended to deflect attention and gain advantage. In Gilliam County it’s the Judge Elizabeth Farrar-Campbell sneak: equally offensive and played to divert public attention. Most recently the Judge Elizabeth Farrar-Campbell sneak was used when the judge announced she’d probably be in Salem during the Court’s first February meeting; working on early childhood education, she said. Ah, but the sneak; she was running (some say frantically) around Sale...
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...
The Gilliam Court members want to change to a Board of Commissioners. The first step is to eliminate the judicial duties of the Judge. The Court passed Order (or if you prefer Resolution) 2023-01 on December 6th 2023, in their minds the action eliminated all the Judge’s judicial duties. In Order 2023-01, there are seven “Whereas”, which provide information used to justify the Order, it’s one those “Whereas” I want to comment on. Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) are Oregon State laws. The Court used ORS 111.115 in a “Whereas” t...
The County Court is now operating like a cabal intent on a coup. This is a rare event in the history of any Democracy and the carnage that accompanies this type of perfect storm is Catastrophic and could be irreparable. It is time to speak up. Commissioner Shannon, you speak of wanting public input and even mention Town Hall meetings. This is after you have voted to approve an illegal Order 2023-01 that gives Probate to Circuit Court. You have stated privately and in public meetings you want to do away with the County Court...
As I write this today, my main concern is for Gilliam County residents and electorate who enjoy the opportunity to vote when major actions are being proposed that completely change the nature of our County government. The following actions happened without that opportunity to vote. Order 2023-01 dated December 6, 2023 transfers two duties of official responsibility assigned by state law to the county's elected Judge. They are: 1. Juvenile Court Jurisdiction 2. Probate Jurisdiction In this letter I want to solely address...
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...
It’s been brought to my attention that maybe some have no idea that there are two 6 bedroom homes in Condon that are set up for transient work forces. We have been housing workers for nearly 5 years. The average cost per person with just 5 people is 480$ a month. These rent for $2,400 for 5 persons to $3,000 for 6 persons a month with ALL utilities, fully furnished, linens, cookware and paper products. Garbage and wifi also. We were happy to host Jessica Lynch and family the first month they were here in a smaller unit u...
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 article on Bill Bowerman contained a number of errors, and I wanted to offer a correction of the ones pertaining to the waffle iron and the Condon High School track. I called Jon Bowerman to verify my recollection of the facts. There were several waffle irons over the years, because Bill’s running shoe sole experiments were a little tough on Barbara’s appliances. Years later, one of the waffle irons found on the Bowerman place along the McKenzie River fundamentally changed the local Condon-Wheeler track program. Jon and...
