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Burns Residents "Stressed," Want Life Back to Normal

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As the events in Harney County continue to evolve, KLCC's Anni Katz spoke with several Burns residents, to get a sense of how the community is feeling.

Sheriff Dave Ward has said the standoff is stressful for the community – not just those directly involved.

Several Burns business owners were uncomfortable with being "on the record." This was due to fear of repercussions to themselves, their families or their businesses.

A hotel owner has been slammed since the beginning of January, when the standoff started. He said he's grown used to seeing packed parking lots, full of media, supporters and opponents.

The owner of a bakery says it's all anyone is talking about and this can be confusing – customers come to her with different versions of events and she never knows how to respond since it's such a volatile issue. She said the cameras are always there and that most people want the militia and media to leave so they can get back to life as normal.

But mostly, she doesn't want Burns to be another Waco.

Born and raised in Eugene, Anni started at KLCC in 2000 as a reporter and co-host of Northwest Passage. After graduating from the University of Oregon, Anni moved to New York City. She worked in education for several years before returning to her true love, journalism. Anni co-founded and co-hosted Dailysonic, a narrative-based news podcast. She interned at WNYC's On The Media, then becoming WNYC's assistant producer of Morning Edition.
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