Continue to Stand in the Gap: Crook County

Crook County, Oregon

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

Crook County, the geographical heart of Oregon, is seeing a jump in population. While the western counties, like Multnomah and Washington, are losing people, Crook County, from 2020 to 2023, grew 9% in population. Some of this was due to the Pandemic as the central part of the state – Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties – was considered a haven for remote work in Oregon. There has also been an increase due to the newly built data centers. The downside is that this influx of people has brought a huge jump in real estate prices with the average home in Bend or Prineville increasing as much as $100,000.  

Prineville is the county seat of Crook County.

Read more about Crook County here, here, and here.

Crook County, Oregon

The Crook County government, like several in eastern Oregon, has been of the old County Judge type with one judge and two Commissioners. The County Judge, until recently, was Seth Crawford, and Susan Hemreck and Brian Barney are the Commissioners. However, the Court recently voted 2 – 1 in a special meeting to change from the court system to the more common form of a Board of Commissioners, effective immediately. The holdout, Judge Seth Crawford, has long resisted the change and supported sending the issue to the county voters. With the vote, Crawford was removed as Judge and is one of three commissioners, and is the chair, until newly elected commissioners take their seats in 2025. At that point, the commissioners will appoint a chair each year. Pray for this transition.

Crook County has been the largest county to continue under the old-fashioned system, next to Malheur County. The change from one form to the more common type of a Board of Commissioners is a difficult, and often contentious, decision to make.   

The Chief Election Official, the County Clerk, is Cheryl Seely.

The Crook County Sheriff is John Gautney, who oversees 55 full-time law 3ndorcement and support personnel. In 2023 the Search and Rescue Unit, mostly volunteers, had 40 calls, a record number as the typical number of SAR requests is 13-15.

While there is ongoing litigation concerning the nitrate contamination of private wells in Morrow and Umatilla Counties, Crook County has its own problems with well-water contamination. Local residents, who live downstream from the Knife River Mine, a gravel mine near Prineville, have reported major sediment and discoloration problems in their well water, as well as mysterious livestock deaths and plumbing issues.

A group of citizens in the Knife River area is planning to file a lawsuit claiming local and state officials failed to investigate the impact of the gravel mining on groundwater in the area. There are also possible permit violations by the mining company. The company maintains it is not responsible for the increased levels of manganese found in well samples of residents near the mine. Manganese in drinking water has been linked to memory, attention, and motor skills issues in children. It also makes the drinking water taste bad. There is currently a "plan to make a plan" to monitor the well water situation. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have taken an interest in this situation. 

There are numerous churches around Prineville, including Prineville Christian Church, Prineville Presbyterian Church, Eastside Church, Prineville Community Church, Calvary Chapel Crook County, Calvary Baptist Church, Bible Way Community Church, First Assembly of God, Missionary Baptist Church, New Life Bible Chapel, Our Savior Lutheran Church, Saint Joseph’s Parish Hall (Catholic) Seventh-Day Adventists Church, Living Water Church of God, Prineville Foursquare Church, St. Andrew’s Prineville (Episcopal), and the Apostolic Lighthouse.

Prineville has a population of 10,700, or nearly half the 24,000 in the entire county, with most major denominations represented. Pray for the churches of Prineville and Crook County.