"Many people in Grant County are angry about what they feel is the government's mismanagement of the Malheur National Forest. They're angry about the raging forest fire this summer that destroyed more than 25 homes. They say if they were given more freedom to log and graze, the forest would be better managed.

That's the view of Jim Sproul, a 63-year-old John Day native who was one of the early arrivals at the senior center on Tuesday. At 4:30 p.m., he was inside setting up chairs.

Sproul's family settled in John Day at the turn of the century, becoming ranchers. Growing up, Sproul remembers a vibrant community, with several sawmills. But the federal government stepped in, he said, curtailing logging and grazing rights.

Sproul supports the message but not the method of the occupiers.

"These folks are not terrorists," Sproul said. "This is way bigger than the Bundys. It's bigger than the citizens of Grant and Harney counties. This is a national problem."

Tad Houpt, the local logger who organized the meeting, called it off. But another man, an out-of-towner, said it should go forward.

A woman, wearing a red, white and blue shirt, went to the front, several kids in tow. She said she was a singer and had gone to the refuge to serenade the occupiers. She said God had sent her. She cried and broke into Gospel songs.

But then someone punctured the mood, questioning whether the sheriff had set Bundy up by calling him to the meeting.

The room exploded, with shouting for and against the sheriff. By then, Palmer had vanished, turning up later at the roadblock on along U.S. 395 north of Burns.

Read More: [link to www.oregonlive.com]

Thread: Is Sheriff Glenn Palmer guilty of conspiracy to commit murder? First post.