News brief from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
In October 2022, Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley arrested Ricky Snodgrass, a U.S. Forest Service employee who was leading a prescribed burn that jumped to private land and burned roughly 20 acres. In February of this year, a grand jury indicted Snodgrass on a misdemeanor count of reckless burning.
His case was then moved to federal court, where it was dismissed last week. The case was a particularly striking example of longstanding tensions between federal agencies and local communities in rural Oregon.
Yep, and for good reason. Central government dictates are always unpopular with local people who personally care for the resources and depend upon them to feed, house, and clothe their families — not to mention paying taxes to cover the costs of government bureaucrats with rulebooks and little practical experience that tell them what they can and can’t do. 100 years ago, and until about 40 years ago, government officials were typically from the local community, had far, far fewer regulations to enforce, and were generally seen in a positive light. Mostly.