To the Editor:

In response to Jan Mead’s letter to the editor published in the Jan. 20 edition of the Blue Mountain Eagle, the editor posted a clarification saying that our sheriff had responded, “I don’t know” when asked whether he approved of the occupiers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, who are using public buildings and vehicles, destroying fence that is not theirs, endangering or destroying artifacts with their road-building, illegally using computers and preventing public access to public lands.

Sheriff Palmer praised the armed occupiers as “patriots” and indicated he didn’t go down to visit them only because Harney County Sheriff David Ward asked him not to. It’s hard not to see that as approval of their illegal actions without a clear statement from him to the contrary.

It is always difficult to separate the professional and the personal, and it’s even more difficult in a small community. It is not clear to me at this point whether the sheriff was expressing himself as a private citizen or a public official, and whether the meetings took place on work time or when the sheriff was off work. I hope Sheriff Palmer and the Eagle will clarify these important points as soon as possible.

If the support is purely personal, I hope the occupiers do not mistake it for an invitation from a public figure to come here and disrupt the life and economy of Grant County as they have already done to Harney County. If it was offered as a public figure, many of us will question the ability of our public servants to represent all their constituents fairly and to stick to their job descriptions, which are available from the county.

Janine Goodwin

Prairie City