Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Whitehorse Ranch, Harney County, Oregon But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.  Micah 5:2 Harney County is our largest county by land size but with less than one person per square mile. We’ve explored some of the history and unusual geographical features here, here , and here . Burns is the county seat, the Burns-Hines area has 60% of the population with the rest scattered over the 10,000 square mile range and ranchland. Harney County is one of the six Oregon counties still operating under the County Court system with a judge and two commissioners. Harney County, Oregon Bill Hart , the Harney County Judge, was born in Burns and spent 34 years in law enforcement as well as being in the military and working overseas, before retiring and being elected County Judge in 2022 . Patty Dorroh has been a commissioner the longest, first...

Lake County, Oregon Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31: 8-9 With Lake County we reach the second of the two counties in the South Central Region of Oregon. We are in one of the largest counties by land area and one of the smallest by population in the state. The county has about one person per square mile. By crossing the border from Klamath County, we are fully into the region referred to as the Oregon Outback, the high desert region of Oregon. Lakeview, the county seat, bills itself as the “tallest” city in Oregon due to its over 4,000 foot elevation. Read previous posts here , here , and here. Lake County, Oregon There are three elected County Commissioners, elected to four-year terms. The present Board is made up of Barry Shullanberger, James Williams, and Mark Albertson. The County Sheriff is Michael Taylor . Recently the Oregon State Sher...

The Pinnacles, Klamath County, OR You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly. You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. Psalm 65:9-10 We are moving into the South Central Region of Oregon which includes Klamath and Lake Counties. Klamath is bordered by Jackson, Douglas, and Lane to the west, Deschutes to the north, Lake to the east, and California to the south. The County seat is Klamath Falls. The County is governed by a Board of three elected commissioners. Currently, those on the Board are Dave Henslee, Kelley Minty , and Derrick DeGroot . Chris Kaber is the County Sheriff, overseeing the 90 sworn personnel and the roughly 100 volunteers that make up the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office. The County has about 70,000 residents or about 11 per square mile, so it isn’t thickly populated. While we have explored ...

OR 230 at Jackson County line Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3 Jackson County, just to the east of Josephine County and also bordered by California to the south, is the last county in the South West Region before we move on to the South Central counties. We have mentioned some of the early history here . Jackson County was established in 1852 and has a Board of Commissioners with three positions. The Board comprises Dave Dotterrer, Colleen Roberts, and Rick Dyer . Currently, there is a campaign in effect to change the Board of Commissioners since there have been no changes since the Board was implemented in 1853. Three petitions are being circulated that need 10,500 signatures each to be put on the ballot in 2024. So far, the three each have about 7,000 signatures. One petition is to make the commissioners non-partisan; the second is to increase the number of commissioners; the third is to decrease their pay. The citizens group beh...

Oregon Caves Cascades, Josephine Co. Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your border; But you shall call your walls Salvation, And your gates Praise. Isaiah 60:18 The population of Josephine County is 88,000. Grants Pass is the county seat with Cave Junction the other incorporated town. The county borders California to the south, Curry to the west, and Jackson to the east. It is a beautiful area with the Rogue, Applegate, and Illinois rivers providing recreation opportunities. Other beautiful and interesting areas to explore include Kalmiopsis Wilderness and the Oregon Caves National Monument. We’ve written about some of the history here , here , and here, including the story of Josephine Rollins, for whom the county was named. The county has a home-rule charter where the voters adopt and amend the type of county government they have. The three commissioners are elected for four-year terms and are responsible for adopting ordinanc...