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Opinions
Editorial
City’s New Drug Dog, Another Tool For Fighting MethDuring a recent conversation I found myself defending the Baker City Police Department’s purchase and use of a drug-sniffing dog. I was told that using a dog to search residences and schools was in violation of our 4th Amendment rights that protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures.
There are only four ways that the Baker City Police can/will conduct a search and seizure of illegal drugs with or without the dog at a residence. 1. Plain view, for instance if the police are called to your home for a domestic disturbance and see evidence of drug use or have reasonable belief that drugs are being used; 2. with a warrant; 3. with consent (you always have the right to say “no”); and 4. exigent circumstances where the process of getting a valid search warrant could compromise public safety such as in a case where they have solid information that a meth lab is in process and cooking, which poses extreme danger from a chemical and fire standpoint. If conducted under these circumstances searches and seizures will hold up in a court of law.
Schools are treated differently. As public buildings, search warrants are not required. The Police can use the dog to search a school parking lot as well as the hallways and the outside of lockers. The Baker City Police always obtain permission from the school administration before conducting a search and if the dog alerts on a locker or an automobile, the administration is notified and the administration decides what course of action to take. I would think that parents would not want their children going to schools where drugs were being sold out of lockers any more than they would want them going to a school where students could easily smuggle in an assault rifle.
The use of a dog doesn’t change or add to the police’s ability to conduct searches and seizures, it only aids them in finding evidence. So why all of a sudden when a dog is thrown into the mix, do some think it becomes a violation of our 4th Amendment rights?
Lt. Harvey with the Baker City Police Department said they are not interested in catching medical marijuana users, they are not out to ruffle the feathers of the law-abiding citizen. He said they are very conscientious of maintaining citizen’s rights. Their goal with the help of the dog is to make an impact on drug trafficking, especially meth, in Baker County.
In some ways Harvey said using a drug dog is less intrusive than having officers search because when officers search, they have to go through everything piece by piece. The dog can detect illegal drugs just by sniffing the outside of a chest of drawers rather than going through it. The dog also saves the City costs in extra man power because it can do a search in 20 minutes compared to an officer who needs two or three hours.
Harvey said in his opinion, the dog has already paid for itself because of the deterrent factor. He said although the dog has made several drug discoveries for the local law enforcement agencies already, everyone wants to see a large seizure made. But visiting the local high schools where students know there is a possibility of a dog searching the premises and having a clean sweep is a huge success in itself.It’s tempting to say that we shouldn’t have to be subjected to the use of a dog in our community, in our schools, but we are already affected by the use of illegal drugs.
Meth not only has devastating physical and mental affects on the person who uses it, but there are residual effects on the user’s family and the public’s safety. Since meth is an illegal drug, getting it involves criminal activity (sometimes stealing to get the money to buy it), and using it impairs a person’s ability to operate machinery, work, drive a car and in some cases they are unable to care for their children.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse more than one-half of the economic impact of drug problems is borne by or transferred to the non-abusing population. In 1992, about the time meth started gaining popularity in the U.S., of the estimated $97.7 billion in drug abuse costs, (50 percent higher than the estimated cost in 1985) the non-abusing population bore an estimated $54.8 billion, or 56 percent, of the costs through increased insurance rates and health care costs, increased law enforcement (more than half of the estimated cost of drug abuse was associated with drug-related crimes), and increased social service systems (including welfare) and government entities needed to combat illegal drug use, resulting in increased taxes. By 2000, the estimated cost of drug abuse rose to $160.7 billion. I couldn’t find any current data, but the overall cost of drug abuse to society during the time frame of this study indicated a trend for an increase of 5.9 percent annually.
We have all had to, and continue to, share the burden of the effects of illegal drug use, and no one likes to feel that their privacy may be intruded upon. But if I have to go through a lengthy process to purchase cold medicines, which used to be available over the counter, pay more in insurance and taxes, or have a friendly dog sniff my purse, I can handle it as long as I know the law enforcement agencies are using every tool at their disposal to combat meth in our communities.
You can’t force a person with a meth addiction into getting help, but you can support efforts by the local police to make it difficult for people to obtain the drug.The Baker City Police Department’s new drug dog may seem like an intrusion to some, but I have high hopes that he will help preserve our right to live and work in a community where we don’t have to be concerned with drug-related acts of crime and violence. (DS)
Letters
Respect For Law ActTo The Record-Courier:In a few days Oregonians for Immigration Reform will start circulating an initiative petition, Respect for Law Act. It is designed to end the state of Oregon’s sanctuary for illegal aliens. It would end Oregon’s 181.850 law that prohibits law enforcement or any state agency from spending money to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and require proof of citizenship before registering to vote or obtain a driver’s license.
It’s about time. After years of foot dragging by the federal government and our own state of Oregon the Governor finally decided it is time to act and he issued an executive order requiring proof of citizenship before obtaining a driver’s license. The Governor supports Hillary Clinton and Hillary took a hit for supporting the Governor of New York’s decision to issue driver’s licenses to anyone who wanted one, no citizenship necessary. He backed off under pressure from the Clinton campaign when Hillary’s poll numbers began to drop and about that time our governor flip flopped and decided maybe Oregon should change the way it does business on illegal aliens. I suspect a call from the Clinton machine. We don’t need messy issues during a campaign. The Governor now says, “Oregon has become a magnet for non-citizens who want identification for nefarious purposes.”
We told you that a while back Governor. We’ve been telling George Bush similar things about the border too. The federal government has failed to act so now the states are stepping up to do the jobs American presidents and congressmen won’t do — end illegal immigration.
The Governor’s executive order didn’t go far enough and in fact he favored a two tier driver’s license plan, one for citizens and another for illegals. This initiative will end such nonsense. Sign the petition or better yet get some copies and circulate them yourself from Oregonians For Immigration Reform on their Web site or call 503-363-6095 or 503-435-0141.Steve CulleyBaker CityMore Pieces To The PuzzleTo The Record-Courier:Three cheers for Suzanne Fouty for recognizing that the trap neuter and release program is a piece of the puzzle for Baker City’s exploding feral cat problem. Ms. Fouty mentioned one part of the puzzle spaying/neutering domestic cats; there are many more pieces to this puzzle.
“All free-roaming abandoned and feral cats that are not in managed colonies should be removed from their environment and treated in the same manner as other abandoned and stray animals in accord with local and state ordinances. The AVMA opposes placement of managed cat colonies on public lands or in any area that could threaten at-risk wildlife or in areas that may pose a zoonotic risk to the public,” states the American Veterinary Medical Association, a 150 year old science-based organization.
In researching animal control policies and regulations, feral cats should not be fed and more importantly, removing their habitat of abandoned buildings and debris piles. Fortunately in Baker City we don’t have that problem here, right?I look forward to these pieces of the puzzle being implemented by Ms. Fouty and the Mollie Atwater group. Hip Hip Hooray!Darby DunkakBaker CityIs This A Free Nation?To The Record-Courier:How long can we sleep and still survive as a “free” nation? Do we understand, or care, where we are headed as a people and an example to the world? Why do we permit our government to station troops in nearly 30 nations around the globe while we become the greatest debtor nation in the world? Why do we permit public officials at the top level of government to openly violate the U.S. Constitution, still the Law of The Land, and say nothing? Why do we believe we will soon pull our troops out of Iraq when we have just built a very large and elaborate embassy there? Why is a quarter-mile wide toll roadway being built through the center of the United States, starting at the Texas-Mexican border, by foreign entities under the NAFTA authority without the consent of Congress or the people? Why have we permitted the State and Washington D.C. to take over the education and indoctrination of our children and dumb them down to where they can’t think independently? In other words, why have we turned everything, our very souls, over to government without a whimper?
Why do we let government agencies make laws that dictate what we can eat, drink, or smoke, and still call this a free nation? Why does this “free nation” have more people, per capita, in prison than any other nation on earth? Why don’t we reexamine laws that put roughly 50% of federal prisoners and 40% of those in state prisons there for violation of our drug laws that have created NO reduction in drug usage, but have required government to develop virtual armies of enforcers? Why do we allow our elected congressmen to insert into legitimate legislation billions of dollars worth of special ear-marked items to assure their re-election?
And why do we always, with only two exceptions since Eisenhower, elect presidents who belong to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) or the Trilateral Commission, both of which are committed to one-world government? And finally, why does our media not discuss these two subversive organizations so that their activities and objectives are known and voters can make intelligent choices? What do you think?Jasper CoombesRichland, Ore.Fight For Your RightsTo The Record-Courier:You better know who and what you are voting for this Presidential election. Hillary and Obama both want your guns. Both are rated “F” by the NRA. Gun control will be a priority. Hillary wants to restore the Bill Clinton ban, wants universal firearm registration and gun owner licensing. (Me thinka Billy is running for a 3rd term). Obama wants just about the same. Pelosi, Schumer, Conyers are all Democrats, all on the same team. One Republican who’s been in favor of NRA rating gun control also. All the time Giuliana was Mayor of New York, he was pro-abortion and anti-gun.
Here’s what could happen with a Democrat in office. Prosecution to bring down all lawful commerce in firearms, undo the protection of lawful commerce in arms act, pack the courts with anti-Second Amendment judges. Schumer, Pelosi want a federal judiciary that will declare OUR FREEDOM belongs to government NOT to the people. They want a federal judiciary that will subject the U.S. Constitution to FOREIGN LAW! Remember what happened in New Orleans during “Katrina” if you want a taste of gun control. Hillary voted in favor of disarming innocent Americans during times of disaster. Voting against the Personal Protection Act of 2006. If you think the attack is not real, check out what’s going on in California. A bill to expand the micro-stamping law to cover all new semi-automatic pistols and perhaps more!
If Congress and other states follow California’s increasingly aggressive lead on banning guns and ammunition, and carry it to its extreme conclusion, most of all guns will eventually be illegal to sell, and most or ALL ammunition will be illegal to shoot. It’s already a fact that micro-stamping does not work! Just when you thought Canadian gun owners had suffered enough, a new class of “Weapons” has been identified for government prohibition by Quebec victim-activist Pierre-Hugues Bosvenu. The so-called “weapons” to be outlawed? KNIVES, in particular, “Rambo-style” combat knives. He was astonished to see that anyone could buy big knives at flea markets. Sound familiar to anyone? Giving an object an inflammatory name to make it out to be something different and more sinister is a trick that worked for gun banners here in the United States.
In closing, this letter to all Americans, not just gun owners and hunters, but to all who believe in their freedom right. Freedom only comes to those who are willing to fight for it.Richard FoxBaker CityEasy Come, Easy GoTo The Record-Courier:Well it seems like with all the weather issues, those wanting to be in the running seat for the Presidency so to speak, it is almost like an easy come and easy go.
Given the weather here lately and all with the wind it makes me wonder like with the birds a friend of mine was telling me about in the country they were having a hard time coming to rest on their perch without being bounced around and having a sense of direction, and when feeding time came seeds seemed to go where the wind was going in either direction.
I noticed on the MSN NBC News here not too long ago, that Obama did not salute the flag along with the others. I don’t know about some of you out there but I know I couldn’t rest easy or sleep and trust that I would get a good nights rest and all if we ever had to face abolishing our saluting the flag on his account. Let alone the National Anthem. I for one would like to see all the candidates salute the flag in unison and see whether or not they can say it word for word and truly mean it. You know a favorite saying goes around something like do birds fly, well we know they do, they sing, flutter their wings, and all a birds has to do. Other than for what he leaves behind. I don’t think one could singly separate themselves from the others and try to think that kind of change can take place.
Then there are those who like to think schemes of getting rich so to speak. Most people I know work hard for their living and I hope we don’t forget our heritage and all that they went through just to see how far a dollar can go.
So it seems to me it is all up in the air of an easy come and easy go, with nothing concrete to bank on. Can change truly be defined?Coffee anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City |
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Editorial
Baker City’s Feral Cats-Lots Of Complainers, Not Many Reasonable SolutionsThere have been quite a few complaints and comments from Baker citizens over the past several weeks about the feral cat capture/spay-neuter/ release program. Much of the sentiment centers on the expense associated with the project and on questions about the effectiveness of the trap/treat/ release method.
Thinking this would be good subject matter and fodder for the “For The Record” section, I hit the street making no mention of the trap/treat/release project, but rather just asking citizens how they would handle the feral cat problem in the city. After talking to four citizens and getting the same response, I stopped asking the question. There was a definite trend that developed with all four answers being nearly identical. Everyone I spoke with favored the ‘trap and kill’ or just the ‘kill’ method of controlling the feral cat population. The respondents mentioned nothing, but the price of bullets as the cost of controlling the feral cat population.
First of all, nobody is ever going to be allowed to ‘cowboy up’ and go around the city streets shooting cats and you’ll likely face problems with a trap and shoot method as well. There are rules that govern the disposal of dogs’ and cats’ lives. Baker City’s feral cats would most likely reach their ‘humane’ end in the implosion chamber at La Grande’s Blue Mt. Humane Association, should Baker City ever adopt a trap and kill procedure.
Which brings up another point, because Baker City has no animal shelter, using a trap and kill policy would place our burden on the facility in Union County.
One skeptic questions the number of kittens that would be born from about 90 female cats. The opinion questions the number 300 kittens being born to the 90 females. The skeptic extrapolates the number of offspring from the original 90 females and their offspring and quickly realizes an astronomical number of feral cats. A prior report in The Record-Courier may have been somewhat misleading by stating that the effectiveness of the trap/spay-neuter/release project could be assessed through “a little simple math.” Assessing the effectiveness of the project takes more than a little simple math.
It is possible that those 90 females could produce 300 kittens next spring and that is where the simple math stops. The feral cat population after that is not a direct exponential relationship because most of the kittens born feral, will not live past the first couple weeks. The real point to the trap/treat/release project is to spare most of the 300 from starvation, being eaten alive, being run over, or being gunned down by one of the ‘good Samaritans’ I spoke to today. (BA)
Letters
Citizens Rights DeprivedTo The Record-Courier:There are number of issues, within the issues, facing Baker County on the road and area closures within the Wallowa Whitman National Forest (WWNF). This will result in reducing more of our economic base, and reduce recreation, hunting, as well as mushroom and berry picking. It will also increase citations to those found on roads that have not been designated for public access on a map.
The WWNF is claiming to implement a new travel management plan for the forest. However this will bypass the current Forest Management Plan, which encourages motorized access unless there is resource damage. The WWNF claim that to amend the current travel management plan is “insignificant.” The problem with this claim is that the current Forest Plan states, “the transportation system, with 9,300 miles of roads (7,000 open roads) will be satisfactory for serving most future management scenarios.” Steve Ellis, Supervisor WWNF, has revealed 4,000 plus roads to close, including all areas, unless it is designated open.
This is a completely opposite direction in travel management, than the current travel management plan allows. The WWNF is proposing to close approximately 60 percent of the open roads and are now considering all areas as closed unless designated open instead of open unless designated close policy. I would not say that this was “insignificant.”
I’ll state it again, under the current Forest Pan, all areas are open unless designated closed by gate or sign. Under the new proposed travel management plan, all areas are closed to motorized travel unless designated open and they are proposing to close 60 percent of the noted 7,000 miles of roads now open. Although the public has not seen the (supposed publicly involved) decisions to close the 4,000 plus miles of roads, as claimed by the Forest personnel, this is baseline information. How can anyone call this reversal of direction in the current travel plan “insignificant”?
The next part of the problem is that the travel management plan must follow the direction of the current Forest Plan; it cannot follow the opposite direction of the Forest Plan. This is a requirement, not only in the Forest Plan, but also the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). The new proposed travel management must tier to the current Forest Plan, or the Forest Plan must be amended first, since it is the controlling plan that gives direction to any sub-plans.
The current Forest Management Plan was adopted by coordination with Baker County. It was designed to allow for efficient public access, as well as, environmental protection. Yet, the Forest Service is amending the sub travel management plan, which is far from the direction of the current Forest Plan; even though it is without the public's approval in Baker County.
There is another problem I must bring up. In the Oct. 4, 2007, edition of The Record Courier, Steve Ellis, WWNF Supervisor published that he wanted to, “correct...confusion from letters in the paper.” I want to correct the WWNF misunderstanding that it has “managerial authority” over RS 2477 roads. The right-of-way grant is a property right, therefore, it enjoys the same constitutional and legal protections as any other property. Legally, when the grant was made, the federal government’s interest in the land underlying the right-of-way became the “subservient estate.” The interest of the right of way Grantee (Baker County in our case) became the “dominant estate.” That means that while the federal government is protected against unnecessary or undue damage to the land underlying the right-of-way, it cannot interfere with the grantee’s exercise of its rights. Baker County as the grantee can assert an RS 2477 validity at any time.
Congress specifically bypassed the Executive Branch of the Federal Government in making RS 2477 grants. The Constitution gives Congress the exclusive power to manage and dispose of public lands and property, (Article IV, section 3: “The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulation respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States,”). In 1976, when Congress reaffirmed the RS 2477 right-of-way granting process, established 110 years earlier, it had the total power to do so. The federal land management agencies have no independent power or authority over RS 2477 roads.
I find it unbecoming of the Forest Service spokesman (October 4, 2007) to state that, “if the County asserted authority over an RS 2477 road that the Forest Service had made the decision to close, the issue would ultimately be decided in Federal court.” In other words, the WWNF would challenge the County’s authority if it went against the WWNF decision to close any RS 2477 roads.
What does this show about the WWNF? They are proposing a travel management plan that is in the opposite direction of the current Forest Management Plan and they are threatening the County, should it assert its legal right to any RS 2477 roads that the Forest Service closes. Perhaps the people should think about filing a civil rights lawsuit against named Forest Service officials, because with these two showings, there may be others, maybe there is a conspiracy to deprive citizens of their statutory rights, maybe WWNF involvement could be proved, it’s only a thought.Guy MichaelDurkee, Ore.Part Of The SolutionTo The Record-Courier:Solving a complex problem is like doing a puzzle. It has many pieces, each piece contributing to the bigger, more complete picture or goal. For some, the answer to something they don’t like is to kill it – be it wolves, coyotes, people in other cultures or countries or feral cats. However, successfully solving complex, often difficult problems requires a willingness to step beyond the status quo, beyond the boundaries that we have grown comfortable with. It involves treating others – human and wild — with respect. Trap-Neuter-Return was never presented as THE SOLUTION to the feral cat problem. Rather it is a piece of the solution, of the puzzle.
When the City Council agreed to contribute $5,000 to the TNR project if the community matched that amount in two months, the decision became the community’s as to whether the TNR approach was worth taxpayer dollars. The community chose. Did everyone agree with the choice? No, but do we ever? Yet rarely are we given such a direct opportunity to decide how City money is spent.
The TNR project helped address a problem in a humane and respectful way. We were able to help everyone who requested our assistance – thanks in part to a 2007 Leo Adler Grant. However, unfixed feral/abandoned and domestic cats remain. If there is anger at the cat situation, then let us focus that energy respectfully and encourage people to spay/ neuter their animals, to care for them and not abandoned them when it becomes inconvenient.
187 cats were trapped. The estimated 300 kittens prevented come spring is a low estimate. It does not consider the number prevented by neutering 76 male cats. While some kittens will not survive the season, Mr. Darby’s calculations show how quickly numbers can grow under the right conditions.
Mollie Atwater and Friends continues to work at building a community-supported spay/neuter fund that can help with surgery costs and allow more people to choose that step. Here is yet another piece of the solution, of the puzzle, yet another opportunity to help solve the complex problem of too many unwanted, uncared for animals.Suzanne FoutyTNR Project LeaderMollie Atwater and FriendsSupport Bentz For State RepresentativeTo The Record-Courier:I am writing today to strongly support the appointment and the election of Cliff Bentz for Oregon State House District 60. I have known Cliff Bentz for many years. I can attest to his professional integrity, his hard-work ethic, and his ability to get the job done in an exceptional manner.
Cliff knows the issues facing Eastern Oregon. Cliff has extensive personal and professional experience in agriculture and real property law. He served as Chairperson for Oregon Water Resources Commission. He is serving on the 8-C School Board, the Oregon Historical Society Board, and the Eastern Oregon University Foundation Board of Trustees. He is a past board member of Project Dove - a board dedicated to eliminating domestic violence.
Cliff was raised in a ranching family in Drewsey. He got his college degree at Eastern Oregon State College, and then his law degree from Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law.
Cliff chose to come back to Eastern Oregon to practice law. He and his wife, Lindsay, chose to stay here and raise their two children. They continue to be part of and to give back to the community each and every day.
We can count on Cliff to get the job done. The challenges Eastern Oregon faces are tough. I believe we need someone like Cliff. He will listen to our concerns, and then go to work on our behalf. His background and experience make him, by far, the best choice to represent all of us in Salem.
The Honorable Tom Butler has announced his resignation from the office, effective Jan. 4, 2008. This leaves the counties of District 60 - Baker, Grant, Harney, and Malheur - without representation for the upcoming legislative session in February, and the 2008 calendar year.
Over the next several weeks, Republican committee representatives, and then County Commissioners, will participate in the process to appoint Mr. Butler’s replacement.
The voters will make the final determination in May and in November.
I am giving my full support to Cliff Bentz for Oregon State Representative, District 60. I hope you will too, by contacting the County Commissioners and voicing your support for Cliff’s appointment, and by voting for Cliff in the May and November elections. Thank you. Randy C. Guyer, JrBake City
Time For New Year’s ResolutionsTo The Record-Courier:Well now that the year 2008 is in the makings, it makes me wonder what kind of resolutions were made. I’m sure there were many different kinds of them made and most, but not all, will be kept.
I do know that some will say 2008 will be a time for new beginnings in a lot of ways. I do wonder in the prophetic sense of the word what our world and the everyday issues we face will produce?
My compliments to a job well done to the Oregon Trail Restaurant owners/employees, who did a bang up job handling the County’s Christmas Dinner. We see those wonderful waitresses around here and there and like one of them said 24-7 days a week, never a break. With all they have to contend with, they do a great job.
It seems to me a good New Year’s Resolution would be, “to be kind to these wonderful waitresses.” Coffee anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City |
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Guest Opinion
Planning and Zoning Our Way to DisasterBy Steve Culley The Monday Dec. 10, 2007 edition of The Oregonian had a front page article “Contrarian Unabashedly Bashes Portland.” It was about a talk that Randal O’Toole gave about Portland’s land use system. More decades ago than I want to think about I heard O’Toole give a talk about forest economics and to be sure I can’t remember if I agreed or disagreed with his assessment. I do agree with the premise of his theme about land use planning in Portland and by extension Oregon. He called it a smart growth apocalypse. Portland, he says, and I say, that Oregon’s land use laws have made it impossible for the middle class, what’s left of it, to live in this state. O’Toole’s Power Point presentation features a big house in Houston Texas, 2,300 square feet with a large yard for $170,000. Then it goes to a skinny little Portland house, 1,200 square feet, with no yard for $260,000. The result of Oregon’s build up not out mantra of the planners and zoners.
The Oregonian is the number one cheerleader for land use planning in Oregon, serving as the mouth piece for Thousand Friends of Oregon while churning out tons of favorable copy for Oregon’s land use watch dogs, as the paper refers to them. But even the Oregonian acknowledged in the article that “Some of O’Tolle’s concerns are the same ones that keep city planners up at night: Portland is becoming too expensive for working class families.”
I hate to break the news to you, but Oregon is becoming too expensive for working class families and the blame can be laid at the feet of the planners and zoners. Restricting the supply of land drives up costs. Earl Blumenauer, the Portland liberal Congressman bragged in Congress that Oregon had “saved” 97 percent of its land from development. The Oregonian itself says 95 percent is zoned untouchable and Oregonians in Action says 98 percent. You arrive at figures like these by deducting the federal and State lands that are not open to private people to build on, then go to the zoning laws. Oregon requires almost all land outside of an urban growth boundary to be zoned into large blocks, say one house on 80 acres or in the case of Baker County 320 acres for forest and farm land. Where it might be possible to pay for a few acres most find it impossible to come up with the hundreds of thousands it takes to buy a large block.
Keeping in mind that Oregon’s land use laws only apply to private land, not federal or state, that means the large majority is unaffordable. We have a forced urbanization law in this state. All poor people who can’t afford a large block live in town, like it or not. But if you have the bucks and just blew in from say Portland or New York City, then build your ridge top castle on your spread, buy a horse or a cow and pretend you are a rancher. You can even be a terrorist from a foreign country and buy yourself a training ground, as the Bly, Ore., case shows. There are no laws that would stop communist China from spending that $1,000,000,000,000 they have from our trade imbalance on Oregon farm land.
The Oregonian, last year, did run an article about Wallowa County, “A Fat Wallet Runs Through It,” and in there you find that Wallowa County has much more federal land than Baker County and that 62 percent of the private land is owned by absentee land owners. Another article on the Bend area was much the same, except that it covered the fate of soldiers who went off to war in Iraq and came home to find that they couldn’t afford a home or even rent because land prices and the resulting home prices had squeezed them out. They were living in their cars. Deschutes and Wallowa Counties had more people vote for Measure 49 than 37, the reason being that as people move from Portland or California and escape those well planned urban utopias they bring their voting habits with them. It’s what I call the colonization of rural Oregon. Long established farmers and ranchers sometimes vote with the urban liberal because they are afraid that one might move in next door to them and complain about the smell or mistreatment of calves at branding time. Thousand Friends asserts it’s only greedy developers who want rural homesteads and forget that there are people who were country boys before Tom McCall civilized us all. Baker County has failed to do its required land use plan review and if they ever get around to it we should investigate just who it is that now own the land we saved from those greedy developers. It would complement the Big Look.
We just got done with another urban/rural land use fight, Measure 49 and as I predicted the “fix” that the democratic legislature sent us fixed nothing. The lawsuits have started and even the Farm Bureau is suffering defections because the leadership endorsed it. And as could be expected Thousand Friends are up to their old tricks. On their Web site they have a guide on how to make sure somebody is really “vested” under the old Measure 37, assuring us that the majority of people who filed 37 claims are not vested and go on about how to cause them all kinds of pain in stopping people from escaping the urban growth boundary. We have a land use Gestapo spying on each other now. When it becomes illegal to own land and a gun I guess our progressives will have created utopia, for a few.
The land use wars are not over. The fight will go on. The next step will be getting the Big Look refunded after the last legislature jerked the funds to help Measure 49 pass. It’s at that time when the real Oregon needs to be exposed. We have created a feudal state where only the well-to-do can ever hope to escape the city and all the extra expenses and permits it takes just to have an affordable house and maybe a little space between you and your neighbor and maybe an extra or two like a beef cow or even a horse or pony for the kids. It’s an old concept we used to call freedom. We now have a privileged royal class on their estates while the serfs struggle to pay for their overpriced serf houses.
After 30 odd years of this fight I no longer just want to escape the Metro iron hand on land use. I would like to see some eastern Oregon autonomy, even if that means a new state. It’s more than the weatherman standing in front of eastern Oregon when he shows the Doppler, or Portland deciding that elk are better off in the stomach of a cougar than our own bellies, or the constant gun control laws that seem to come from those who don’t own one. It’s more to do with those who make the urban dollar, like the governors, who spend most of their careers sticking it to us from their urban ivory castles, then move out here to enjoy the good life with their pensions we pay as a reward for gouging us. I might settle for land use laws being returned to the county level and a good Supreme Court decision in June on the second amendment, but maybe not. I’m still waiting for a government that doesn’t make “bipartisan decisions” that leave me feeling like I just bought a used car with a knocking sound. I want to elect people who will represent rural Oregon and stand their ground.
Let’s not forget that all environmental laws, from land use planning to restricting use of ATVs, to limiting the number of elk tags has to do with trying to mitigate the effect that numbers of people have on the environment. Then consider the fact that when we passed these draconian land use laws we had 200 million people. Since then we added a 100 million more, 90 percent immigration driven, and the population is headed straight up because of it. If we ended immigration now we will still grow to 450 million and all of those new comers compete for scarce land, water, gasoline. living space and open space. The only conclusion you can make is that more regulations will come and with regulation freedom is lost. The time to do it different was a long time ago. You can’t have a national policy of constant population growth because business wants cheap labor, customers and poor people joining the army to protect the empire and the environmental class believing you can mitigate the effects by controlling people. Like lemmings off a cliff we are headed for disaster.
Letters
Best Friends Of Baker Has A Wish ListTo The Record-Courier:As I drive around Baker City, I see many portable doghouses sitting in people’s yards. If these doghouses are not being used, Best Friends of Baker, Inc. would love to have them. Perhaps you would like to donate them so that we can provide shelter and protection for needy animals this winter.
Best Friends of Baker, Inc. also has a Wish List for this Christmas Season, cold winter weather and 2008: New and used portable dog houses – all sizes; New and used electric water dishes; New and used dog beds; Used sleeping bags and blankets; New and used dog kennels – all sizes; Sponsors for our weekly advertisements in the paper; Monthly or annual donations to provide for medical care for our animals; Spay/neuter, vaccinations, worming, medical care, etc.; Monthly or annual donations to provide food and litter for our animals; TEMPORARY FOSTER HOMES to provide a family atmosphere for our rescued animals; PERMANENT ADOPTIVE HOMES for our rescued animals; Pop cans and bottles – deliver to 2650 17th Street ; and Members and Volunteers.
Best Friends of Baker, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Please consider Best Friends of Baker, Inc. when making a decision about your end of the year tax deductions.
Your donations will make a difference in the care of rescued animals in Baker County and help Best Friends of Baker, Inc. continue with the same success in 2008 as they had this past year.
We invite you to attend our regular monthly meeting, which is held the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Learn more about Best Friends of Baker, Inc. Get involved and work with others to take care of the abandoned and unwanted animals of Baker County. Please call Best Friends of Baker, Inc. at 541-519-7387 (PETS) and volunteer.
“Volunteering for Best Friends of Baker, Inc. is not just a job. It is an adventure.” Cheryl Thayer President, Best Friends of Baker, Inc. Heap Of TroubleTo The Record-Courier:Baker City is heading for a heap or trouble.Dr. Fouty, of the Mollie Atwater and Friends feral cat project, has stated that the feral cats fixed this season will prevent 300 kittens from being born next spring. Fouty’s formula calculates three kittens per female.
Last year the feral cat population in Baker City was estimated to be 800. Using the Fouty formula, that means the feral cat population has increased to 2,000 this season.
According to the Fouty formula, Baker City’s feral cat population will grow to 100,000+ feral cats in five years.
In 2012 if each feral cat produces 4 oz. of waste, 12 tons of feral cat feces will be produced daily.
Baker City is heading for a heap of trouble.Darby DunkakBaker CityPlenty To Do In December In Baker CityTo The Record-Courier:December has been such a great time in Baker City, Vespers last Sunday was so impressive. We are so fortunate to have Tom Isaacson and Jeff Sizer as directors. The performance was beautifully organized — one of the most outstanding we have attended. The 2 p.m. performance was a full house and I understand that it was at 4 p.m. also.
The Historic Baker City Home tour was just wonderful. Eleven beautifully restored and livable homes built from 1881 to 1912. We are grateful to HBC manager, Ann Mehaffy, and all the home owners who made this 23rd annual tour possible.The Festival of Trees was also a great success. The parade and the lighting of the beautiful Christmas tree in the center of town opened the Christmas Season with good cheer.
The first grade music program at South Baker School was also a joyous occasion. Music teacher, Judy Trohkimoinen incorporated Hanukkah, Kwanza and other ethnic music in the performance.
Aren’t we fortunate to live in Historic Baker City where we have such a rich architectural and cultural history?Frances BurgessBaker City Thank You For Supporting Our TroopsTo The Record-Courier:This Holiday season saw a lot of activity for the Military Family Support Group. We were able to give out food boxes to military families and we were also able to add some extra gifts under their Christmas trees.
A big thank you to the local National Guard and Calvin Henshaw for the help we received. He saw that the boxes of food were distributed for Thanksgiving, and him and his wife also came to help make sure the gifts were wrapped and given to local military families in time for Christmas.
We were able to give the gifts because Baker Garage donated a vehicle and challenged locals to fill it up with toys for the families. Thank you Baker Garage for thinking of our military families and making their lives a little happier this Christmas. Thank you for supporting our troops — you did a great job and I know it means a lot to a lot of families.
Hoping you all have health and happiness in 2008, Laurel Olmsted Military Family Support GroupBaker CityBe Grateful For What God Gave YouTo The Record-Courier:Not too long ago, I had a customer while having coffee approach me if I had anything to say on worldwide events, wars, elections, etc. I had to think long and hard and serious on how I was going to approach this subject because I can think of better things to do than harbor on these issues. Most prefer not to talk about politics truth be known.
So I amused myself, with some humor on this subject. So many people think they’re right, and some like to think that the other is wrong...no in between, for a happy balance and so nothing really gets settled and new discoveries are made each and every day. It doesn’t seem to stop.
Growing up as a kid I know it seemed like there were the big bullies versus the little bullies, stomping out the little guys, and that brought on enough in itself...and of course nobody knew who did what they did to irritate the situation. A teacher once told me it was usually the first one who said I didn’t do it. He did it...so goes the course of history itself.
Various degrees of communication somehow get overplayed by what really happens to begin with...everybody wants to get ahead and oust the other guy. So it is with politics, etc., these days and all the issues our world faces, it will always be on-going and not much achievement made to bring peace about, we might see some but not as much as we should be seeing.
We can truly be thankful for the surroundings we have here, and that we are truly protected. I would hate to think what we would have to face here in retrospect of what our world faces. In the Bible it says that there will be wars and rumor of wars...so we may have crisis at times in our lives but this can be a season of truly grateful for what God has given us. Happy Holidays!Eggnog anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City
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Guest Opinion
Constitutional Elk HuntingBy Steve CulleySo you think you have a constitutional right to go elk hunting. Well you don’t. I’ve read the second amendment and I can’t see elk mentioned once. In fact, after reading through most of the historical documents and diaries of the settlement of the west I see that as late as the 1820’s Peter Skeen Ogden was referring to elk as “red deer” and big horn sheep as “Ibex.” It’s the same for Chukars, introduced in the 1950’s, ducks, geese, rabbits and squirrels. There is just no mention of a right to go hunting. It’s good to know, though, that Dianne Feinstein, the famous gun grabbing senator from San Francisco said her gun control bills wouldn’t interfere with our right to go hunting. She will leave that to PETA and other urban lefty groups.
What the second amendment says is “A well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms will not be infringed.” The founding fathers had an awful lot of lawyers among their ranks and one has to think that maybe they were looking out for their future security when they wrote that one sentence. They could have said, “All of the rest of the constitution recognizes the fact that the government is your worst potential enemy, that is why we divided it into three branches, reserved the rights not enumerated as powers delegated to the central government to the states and the people, and installed a civilian as commander in chief of the military. Therefore the people have the right and obligation to be well armed as a potential militia to remove a government that has become dictatorial. Government shall make no law restricting the right to keep and bare arms.”
The reason I mention this is that while you were chukar, deer or elk hunting, events moved on. A Washington, DC case is headed for the Supreme Court. At issue is that little clause, “a well regulated militia.” The urban left banning bunnies have tried for years to say that this means the National Guard, which incidentally didn’t exist at the time the Constitution was written. In fact some of the founders argued that if you were going to have a standing army it was essential that the populace be armed because they were very familiar with how armies tended to overthrow legally installed governments. Examples today might include Pakistan and possibly Venezuela. Arms have a way of being more powerful than government. I usually refer to the “ballots versus bullets” possibility. Thomas Jefferson referred to it in his “tree of liberty”writings. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants” and “no free man shall ever be debarred the use of firearms.” In other words, having a well regulated militia, composed of disgruntled patriots, was a way to reestablish freedom if it was lost.
But the founders screwed up and didn’t write a lawyer proof clause and left open the possibility that what King George and Hitler couldn’t do with firepower, can be done with a well paid shill for the lefties who think all bad things will go away if you make the right to be armed an exclusive right of the state. That is what the DC case is about. The Supreme Court will hear the case in March and decide by June. One thing to look out for is a decision that allows the government to make “reasonable restrictions.” That little clause in a decision will open the door to an eventual ban because as is quite obvious the lefts “reasonable restrictions” are just about anything they think it should be. Look to Australia and England for a preview of that thinking. George Soros, a billionaire gun hater, will finance the first “reasonable restrictions” movement. And if you don’t pay attention while they gear up for the final push, go elk hunting or deer hunting or chukar hunting the next year and you might find out that ODFW is writing new regs on how big of rocks you can throw at them.
It could be that America is going to be at a crossroads. We could be headed down a path to an all powerful government without the ultimate check on power that the founders clearly envisioned. If you are a hunter you should be watching closely. If you are in the military you should ask yourself, “Why can I use this gun in combat, but not own one when and if I go home?” If you are in law enforcement and have been used to fighting bad guys, “Will I still work for a state that calls its gun owners bad guys? If the state becomes the enemy can I still work for them?” If I am in the National Guard, the lefty idea of a “well regulated militia,” will I shoot at uncle Joe if the state’s “reasonable restrictions” say he has to turn in his old elk rifle and he refuses to do it and is with those guys over there flipping the bird and waving their guns and calling themselves the founder’s idea of a “well regulated militia?”
Could be the time for slogans like “from my cold dead hands” move from the political to the real life on the ground actuality. Make a mental note. The press will have a few stories sandwiched in between the race for the White House next spring. When you are reminded what is at stake go buy a few extra boxes of ammunition and start thinking about those guys back in 1775 who told the wife to feed the cows and plow the fields that there was something more important happening at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill.
Letters
Strommer For District 60Letter to the Editor:This letter supports the announcement that I am resigning from the Oregon House of Representatives to serve in other pursuits. For the past nine years it has been an honor to represent you in Oregon’s Legislature. With my sweetheart wife, Darlene, as my Legislative Assistant, I have worked to protect your rights, promote effective and efficient government, and keep Salem regulators off your backs and out of your wallets!
The next logical question is, “Who will be the Republican to represent House District 60? We need a replacement who understands the unique needs of all of Southeastern Oregon. We need a successor who recognizes the importance of family, farms and forests. We want our State Representative to reflect our conservative social and fiscal values – someone who is prepared to work full-time in promoting and protecting our property rights and personal liberties.
From the many qualified men and women who are willing to serve, Deon Strommer of Baker City is my top choice to be our State Representative. I have known Deon for years. He is a strong family man and a capable business owner. Deon has a background of civic service in his Rotary Club and with Boy Scouts of America. He currently serves on his school board, the ESD Board, and in the past has served on several other community boards. Deon understands our farm and ranch communities and worked for several years as a ranch manager. He currently operates restaurants and owns other small businesses in Eastern Oregon.
If selected, Deon Strommer will be a State Representative we can trust. I’m convinced that as he maintains offices in both Ontario and Baker City he will be better able to dedicate his full time to fight for eastern Oregon in a legislature controlled by liberals from Portland, Salem and Eugene.
Please join me in supporting Deon Strommer as District 60’s next State Legislator.R. Thomas ButlerState Representative
Governor Is Draining Oregon’s Checking AccountTo The Record-Courier:In the words of Yogi Berra, “It is déjà vu all over again.” Looking at Saturday’s Oregonian article announcing “Governor boosts pay for state workers” was like reading an article I could swear I had read several times already this year. And in fact, I had.
Last week’s bonus pay announced by Governor Kulongoski for union workers is the third he has handed out this year. One of Oregon’s top union leaders called it a “win for the governor’s office and a win for us,” but the losers are Oregon taxpayers.
This most recent pay raise comes with a price tag of $20 million that Oregonians will have to pay. That is $20 million on top of the $125 million already dolled out for pay raises and health care increases for unions this year along with an additional $12 million in raises for state managers. The Governor’s sudden generosity to his biggest campaign supporters could not come at a worse time for hardworking Oregon families.
Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve chairman have stated that the country’s economic warning signals are flashing a cautionary color. The housing market is heavy with a two and half year’s supply of foreclosed and unsold homes. The stock market adjusted downward by 12% last week. Washington Mutual Savings and Loan is closing more than 500 offices across the country. These are the signs of pending economic troubles.
Meanwhile, the Governor led the charge to increase government spending by 21% last legislative session. Now he has turned a blind eye to the economy’s clear danger signals in order to hand out three separate pay raises to state workers over the course of a year. He is draining Oregon’s checking account.
These constant pay raises don’t represent the type of government spending that puts more teachers in Oregon classrooms, more textbooks in the hands of students or fixes potholes in the road. The Governor’s blank check to unions will yield only one measurable result: big deficits in future years.
Oregon’s leaders should be reprioritizing the way we spend. Taxpayer dollars should only go where they will do the most good and produce the best results. For too long government has spent without concern for rising costs, forgetting that every dime spent today costs us dollars in future years. This coming special session, many of my colleagues and I will be pushing for an Office of Government Accountability that actually measures the product of government spending while working to control costs.
I believe Oregonians are ready for a government that spends money based on a clear set of priorities, not the whims and dictates of special interests. That means rewarding high quality teachers for results in the classroom, putting cops on the road 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and zeroing in on identity theft. And with the possibility of a rainy day on the horizon, it means less spending and more checkbook discipline.
Someone should tell the Governor. Senator Ted Ferrioli
Know Your CandidateTo The Record-Courier:I am sure many have noticed the attacks on Christianity today. It comes from people who believe they know more than God Himself, or in some cases do not understand or PURPOSELY MISQUOTE it. Some even think or teach He doesn’t exist! What a surprise you are in for one day!
Attacks come from elective people in power. From Hollywood with anti-Christ movies, their hellish ways and lies. The one that really upsets me is the one seen on news channels from time to time. This so called church, if you can call it a church, calls itself Baptist but preaches nothing, but hate. Also demonstrating against our men and women in uniform who protect this country. “Saying God hates them, God hates the homosexual.” Jesus said, “if he be lifted up, he would draw ALL men” to Him not push them away. As a born-again believer I would like to know just what Bible they read if any? Their gospel sounds more like the Koran then the Christian Bible. This is what happens when you are led away from the truth and don’t study for yourself. God hates NO-ONE! He is LOVE of the highest degree! God hates SIN, not people, and He’s made a way to overcome sin through Jesus. Any other teaching is FALSE, a LIE and God is not in it! God loved mankind enough to send Jesus to the cross for us all. When are Christians going to take a stand and attack ALL false teaching and Satanic lies and bring the truth of the REAL Gospel to a hurting world?
There is another fight coming up also. Gun owners and hunters you had better know who and what you are voting for this Presidential election! Hillary and Obama both want your guns. Both are NRA. Gun control will be a priority. Hillary wants to restore the Bill Clinton gun ban, wants universal firearm registration and gun owner licensing. (Me thinks Billy is also running for a 3rd term.) Obama wants just about the same thing. Pelosi, Schumer, John Conyers... All Democrats, ALL on same team. Being fair minded there’s one Republican who has been in favor of gun control also. All the time Giuliani was Mayor of New York, he was pro-abortion and anti-gun, which makes this writer think he may be a Liberal in Conservative cloth? If the Democrats win, here’s what could happen. Prosecution to bring down ALL lawful commerce in firearms, undo the protection of lawful commerce in arms act, to pack the court with anti-Second Amendment judges. Schumer, Pelosi want a federal judiciary that will declare our Freedom belongs to government not to the people. He wants a federal judiciary that will subject the U.S. Constitution to FOREIGN law.
In closing PLEASE use your knowledge of a candidate when voting, not like or dislike or their personality. Because we ALL count on YOU!Richard FoxBaker CityRemembering Christmas TraditionsTo The Record-Courier:With all the preparations for the holidays, it seems to give something special for us to reflect on. My father-in-law who barbered for many years, before his passing, had a favorite saying “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” I remembered the little wreath stickers he passed out at this time to his customers, etc.
It seems we all have a tradition of sorts during the holiday season so I decided to share a few to see what I could do to rouse those who like reading my letters. Our tradition in our home, probably more me if anything, is un-wrapping and re-wrapping. There is validity to all this. In the old way of doing things at Christmas time like the 12 days before or after, you had a special little gift for each of the children and it was supposed to be something different each day before Christmas for entertainment to be satisfied with anticipation. Then I had an e-mail that came to me and talked about the yule log and the representation of the 12 logs and how they were celebrated. In making reference to the above this was all fine, until they caught on and ousted me. So the few who do give us Christmas presents are very creative to make it more of a challenge for me. They make them so beautiful wrapping or lots of tape to see how perfected I can be at it. Even my husband has smartened up and waits till I can stand it no longer like the day of or until after all is said and one with the later being more so. So I’m sure, some of you are just as guilty as I am. We all have stories to tell when it comes to traditions.
Christmas is celebrated in different ways for every family as with all holidays, even His resurrection. For us and probably for most it is the celebration of Jesus’s birthday. My tradition in this case is coffee anyone, or eggnog? Happy Holidays.
Eggnog anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City |
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Letters
Prison Labor In Private Industry
To The Record-Courier:
So our Economic Development Council has endorsed a plan for U.S. Timber to hire workers at near the minimum wage.
You may remember a time, a decade or so ago, when the use of prison labor in private industry was frowned upon in America—when we bitterly complained about China’s practice of using prison labor to make products exported to the US. It none-the-less has a long American history, going back at least to the early 1800’s when private industry would get their greedy hands on prisoners and literally work them to death. Even though it may look bad to the semi-civilized, it does kind of fit in with the sort of parochial, pre-modern, company-town, muddling toward the medieval feel of Northeast Oregon, and the practice should be a sound addition as the eighth cornerstone of the development council’s economic development plan here in Baker County. And what better way to market Baker City than to be known as the town that provides prison labor to private industry? Even if there aren’t enough prisoners to go around, the practice should help keep prevailing wages and benefits at rock bottom, which may have the effect of attracting some really sharp (as in cut-throat), no-nonsense, and otherwise intriguing business people to our little part of paradise.
And what better firm to start the practice than U.S. Timber? What with illegals getting harder and harder to find, and more dangerous to keep, a captive pool of local laborers coerced into pulling the green chain is just what the doctor ordered. With the US leading the world in an ever-expanding number of the incarcerated, prisoners might just outnumber the undocumented in a decade or so. Plus, there are some real economic advantages to using captive labor, including no vacation or sick pay, and even more attractive, no health or unemployment insurance to worry about. It is a brilliant and strategic business decision that should position U.S. Timber to be in the forefront of the prison labor boom-times ahead.
The aspect slow-growth advocates might like is that it should retard economic growth because these workers already have housing at the correctional facility, they don’t drive cars to go shopping, and traffic won’t be an issue. Growth might also be slowed significantly when the word gets out that we are becoming a prison labor center — it just might keep the namby-pamby, progressive riff-raff out, who knows.
Now I know there are those of you who object to the whole sordid prison labor thing, but look at the alternative. As hinted at by Commissioner Warner, if U.S Timber wants to attract a steady, loyal work force, they’d have to offer a living wage and benefits package that would motivate workers to pull the green chain, and what kind of American employer would want to do that?
Christopher Christie
Baker City
Haines School Is Open And Has Plenty Of Community Spirit
To The Record-Courier:
On behalf of the Haines Elementary PTCO (Parent, Teachers & Community Organization) I am writing to you regarding the Nov. 29 front page article titled “New Middle School Option Shelved‚ By 5J School Board; Emotional Exchange with Citizen Ensues,” written by Brian Addison. Particularly, we would like to address the comments quoted by Baker School District Board Member, and Haines Community Member, John Boyer. I hope the comments made by Mr. Boyer were taken out of context, and not a direct quote. Yet, due to the comments printed and the way they could be interpreted by your readership, I have been asked by our organization to submit the following:
The article quoted Mr. Boyer as saying, “The Haines community has lost the sense of community and I think this happened when Haines School closed. Since then we’ve had trouble getting people back to support us.” For your readership’s clarification, the Haines School is not closed, and has been open for the past several years. The Haines School is currently a successful and viable component of the Haines community, and is the shining star for the Baker School District. Those of us who have our children educated at the Haines School do so for several reasons: quality of education (our school was rated by the state a “exceptional” and ranked the highest in the Baker School District twice for student assessment scores, 2004-2005 and 2006-2007), the student/teacher ratio (we are a small rural school, K-6, with a total of 80 students), a student body where all kids know each other and make each other accountable for their actions, and our working partnership as parents, teachers and members of the Haines community.
As an aside, this magic happens to occur in a historic building, which has its benefits as well as its shortcomings. At one time our school housed 100 students. Today it serves the needs of approximately 80 students, yet the educational needs of today’s children take more room than in prior years. We are busting at the seams and do the best we can with the resources we have. We are proud of our little school, our excellent teaching staff, and our students. Each year we set a fundraising budget for line items not funded by the district. Our budget items include an Artist in Residence program, classroom supplies for students and teachers, one new computer a year, accelerated reader books for our school library, PE equipment, field trips, in-house presentations by traveling authors and theater performances, AV equipment for performances and assemblies, tables, chairs, and when needed coats and mittens for students. These are not luxury items. They are things we would hope all students who attend public schools have access to. Please be assured we are very active in our children’s education and we have ownership of what occurs in our school.
There are two upcoming opportunities where you can experience first hand the Haines Community in action. On Friday, Dec. 7, there will be a dinner fundraiser for the Wendt Family at the Haines Methodist Hall to offset medical costs. And, on Friday, Feb. 1, the Haines Elementary School will be hosting its annual Chili Feed, Auction & Live Auction — this is our #1 fundraiser of the year, with the goal of raising $5,000 to pay for items identified in our budget. At both events you can eat a great meal, see the spirit of our little community in action, and contribute real dollars that will go directly to real areas of need — not a study that will sit on a shelf, not administrative overhead, and certainly not a school that is closed or lacking community spirit.
Andi Sexton
President, Haines Elementary PTCO
Local Businesses Thanked For Generosity
To The Record-Courier:
It has been my great pleasure to volunteer with Historic Baker City over the past years. Businesses have been so responsive to make donations and help with special events. This year is no exception. As I collected donations for the Twilight Parade, they were very generous again.
My congratulations to Banner Bank, Blue Mountain Baptist Church, Clarke & Clarke Insurance, Coughlin, Leuenberger, & Moon PC, LaDonna’s Fiber Arts, Ma Bell’s, The Open Door, Yervasi & Pope PC, Edward Jones Investments, El Erradero, Lew Bros. - Les Schwab Tire Center, AmeriTitle, Allstate Insurance - Josie Mack Agency, Baker City Cafe, Barb & Betty’s Hallmark, Turn the Page Used Books, Mad Matilda’s Coffee House, Purple Bear Ceramics, Prospectors Chocolate Co. & Bristro, Ryder Brothers Stationary, Vision Wealth Management, Start to Finish Builders, and Sears for being such strong supporters of the community.
We are so fortunate to live in Baker City, and have so many dedicated, supportive businesses and volunteers.
Matthew L.G. Koppenhaver
2007 Holiday Twilight Parade Chair
Sumpter Valley Railroad A World Class Tourist Railroad
To The Record-Courier:
I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank the scores of volunteers who put on the Sumpter Valley Railroad's Christmas Trains.
Sitting in a 19th Century heated business car watching the white rails disappear behind us in the winter wonderland outside was an experience our two little boys will long remember (and Daddy thought it was pretty neat too!). And meeting Santa was an extra bonus.
So thanks to the SVRR, and to all the dedicated workers who toil year-round to give Baker County a world-class tourist railroad!
Mark Henderson
Haines
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Editorial
Now Started, The Feral Cat Project Needs To ContinueThis community owes Suzanne Fouty and Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner a huge debt of gratitude. Chief Lohner was looking for a humane solution to the feral cat problem and Suzanne Fouty volunteered to be Baker City’s feral cat social engineer in charge of population control working with the trap/spay-neuter/release approach.
Because of the actions and work of Fouty, her trusty assistant Ida Scott and a small group of volunteers, Baker City’s feral cat population is healthier and less productive today. Since the first of June, 187 feral cats were trapped and taken to the veterinarian for a health screening and to be spayed/neutered. Of that number, 165 healthy cats were spayed/neutered and only 11 were found to be ill and were subject to euthanasia.
Neutering 76 feral male cats is like putting a cap on a dandelion gone to seed and the spaying of 89 feral females prevents about 300 kittens from being born next breeding season; this is 300 cats immediately eliminated from the feral cat population, and nobody got hurt.
The project was working with $10,000 so, 165 were fixed at a cost of $60 per cat. And, since City of Baker City only funded half of that $10,000, the City’s bill comes to $30 per feral cat fixed. This initial stage of the feral cat project has been tremendously successful as a start in controlling Baker City’s booming homeless and feral cat population. Chief Lohner’s humane approach to solving the problem is appreciated by many citizens and the trap/spay-neuter/release program shows a great deal of promise in controlling the feral cat overpopulation. The problems are, the trap/spay-neuter/release solution is not inexpensive and, it will take time to see results.
One additional problem is Baker City Council’s stance upon providing the original $5,000, that they were not interested in continuing to fund the project. It is hopeful that the council will reconsider their stance upon seeing the initial results of the project. It is important for the city to continue this project and to continue it as quickly as possible. Fouty understands the importance of continuing the project and has plans to organize continued funding efforts.
Funding to controlling the feral cat problem should not be a one-woman show; the city should step-up to help solve this citywide problem. It is a quality of life issue affecting the citizens of Baker City.
In Baker City, the homeless/feral cat problem has traditionally been dealt with by a very few individuals who care for large populations of cats, and many times these are members of society who can’t afford it. Some of these people will even sacrifice at their own dinner table to provide for these cats. Fouty calls these the “invisible people of Baker City.”
The city spends so much money on things like infrastructure expansion, consulting and economic development, maybe it’s time to help these compassionate, invisible people of Baker City by spending some money to continue efforts to control the homeless/feral cat population.
Then, after setting up a funding structure for the trap/spay-neuter/release program, the City should organize a Suzanne Fouty Day to thank her and to help encourage others to seek solutions to problems and to contribute to the feral cat trap/spay-neuter/release project. (BA)
Letters
It’s Time To Say ‘No’To The Record-Courier:Our country is on the brink of economic breakdown and we are facing more trouble and suffering than our nation has ever known.
The value of monies from your job, your business, bank accounts, person’s insurance, investments and all other sources will be so diminished that everyone will have to fight to provide the necessities of life for themselves and family.
This didn’t just happen, it is the direct result of government action over the last 30 years. Misguided and uninformed government officials have been brainwashed and prodded to enact laws and regulations to protect the environment that in many cases have been so excessive that they have seriously damaged the basic industries that are the foundation of our economy.
Environmental extremists supported by big money with other power agendas set out to control all access and uses of the land.
This proceeded slowly until the Clinton administration appointed top officials to the Department of Interior (BLM), Department of Agriculture (Forest Service) E.P.A., Department of Fish & Game, etc., to pursue this agenda. A major portion of the governmentally controlled lands have been taken out of production and the remainder is swamped with so much paperwork and restrictions and regulations that many industries have shut down or moved overseas.
They have succeeded to the point where our country is forced to buy overseas more than $80 billion a month of products that we won’t let ourselves produce.
Why have we let this happen to us? Far too many of our people have forgotten or don’t know that our continued survival depends on the harvest of the earth’s produce and resources. The miners, oil men, loggers, farmers and ranchers must use the land to recover these products.
If we can’t produce these vital necessities we must buy them. Where will the money come from? We must know that all original wealth comes from the earth. There is no other source. This wealth can be expanded by processing and manufacturing useful products from resources.
All other monies are earned by distributing these products and providing a service for others. They create no wealth.
So what are we doing about the problem, some people including government officials are sill working hard to take even more land out of production by restricting even more land access and use and pushing even more regulations on productive use, which makes the problem worse.
Our Federal Government goes blithely along printing money as fast as it can and plays games with money management. Well it isn’t working. The dollar is losing value every day and many countries will no longer accept them as payment for goods we need to buy.
We have purchased so much from China that they hold enough Treasury Notes and Bonds plus dollars that they are trying to convert to something more stable that they can start the run that will break our financial system if they push it.
If we’re going to have any chance to avoid complete breakdown and ease the pain of depression we must turn the policies around. We must have access to more land and change or modify regulations so productive projects can start promptly.
We must make sure that every legislator knows the extent of the problem and is willing to work to mitigate it or make sure his political career is short.Kenneth E. AndersonBaker CityPearl Harbor DayTo The Record-Courier:Sixty-six years ago, Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, an event occurred that galvanized the United States into a solidarity that, in my view, has not happened before or since. Although another one on Sep. 11, 2001 did it briefly, in no way did it resemble the previous one.
Wars had been raging in Europe and Africa since 1937 and in Asia since 1931 while our country, plagued for a decade by the depression and the dust-bowl, tried to remain neutral.
Americans made attempts to support other conflicts by individually joining forces with Spain, Finland, Britain and Canada, but major factions in America continued to protect that neutrality by limiting any increase in defense spending, improvement of defense facilities at our perimeters or remote areas in the Pacific. They also limited providing material aid to countries affected by the aggressors.
After Pearl Harbor all factions in America banded together in a united front that lasted for several years after termination of those conflicts. Regardless of political persuasion or personal philosophy America was joined together as never before. Nor did that solidarity end at America’s shores. While a few countries, notably Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, and Ireland maintained neutrality, over 50 others aligned with the Allied cause.
While I don’t advocate that we experience another Pearl Harbor, or 9/11, I sincerely hope that Americans will stop expressing emotional rhetoric and allow facts to govern their philosophy.
Having served this country in the military from World War II through Vietnam, I find that experience to have been an invaluable lesson. Not to make me a sword-rattling, war-monger, but as one who has an undying love of the United States and, as my military oath proclaimed, a desire to protect the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic.
As Laura Ingraham writes in her book Power to the People, “It is not enough for us to defend American soil or to maintain a thriving economy. It will all be in vain if we fail to nurture and refresh America’s soul. And it is only possible through individual belief demonstrated through action.”
I interpret Ingraham’s meaning to include maintaining our culture and language; defending our founding history, sovereignty, and constitution; and preserving liberty, justice and true freedom for ourselves and our posterity just as the Preamble to the Constitution promises. I hope other Americans who share my love of country will use Pearl Harbor Day to reaffirm their love and loyalty to America also. Val Don Hickerson Bandon, Ore.
Pets Need Extra Care With Cold TemperaturesTo The Record-Courier:In case you have not noticed, the weather is turning very cold and the temperatures are dropping below zero. Take a look around, you might see how many animals are living outside in the cold without access to warm dog houses, sheds or buildings to sleep in. Instead they are sleeping on the cold hard ground and without protection from the elements.
Oregon State Cruelty to Animal Statutes states that "minimum care means care sufficient to preserve the health and well-being of an animal."
"Food of sufficient quantity and quality for normal growth and body weight." An animal cannot keep warm when it does not have any body fat. Animals need more than a bone and a small serving of food or table scraps. For many dogs, no matter how much you feed them, their coat will never be thick enough to keep them warm, i.e. German Shorthairs, Bassetts, Labrador Retrievers, Hounds, and other shorthair dogs.
"Open or access to potable (clean) drinking water." (Not a rusty can or bucket). "Snow and ice do not count as a water source." An electric water dish can be used to provide clean drinking water, or provide fresh water daily.
"Domestic animals need access to a barn, dog house or other enclosed structure to protect from wind, rain, snow or sun and need adequate bedding" (straw, blankets) "to protect against cold and dampness." A cardboard box, hole in the ground with a blanket under the steps, deck, cars or trucks or plastic tarps around a kennel will not keep an animal warm. Dog houses filled with straw protected by other buildings are needed. Allow your pet inside the house or a garage with a heat source during the extreme cold. Buy a warm coat for your dog.
"Veterinary care when necessary. All injuries, disease and neglect should be treated by a veterinarian."
"Animals shall not be confined (chained or penned) in an area without adequate space for exercise. The air temperature (hot or cold) must be suitable for the animal. Areas of confinement must be kept clean and free from feces (dog poop) or other contanimants." Dogs need exercise just like humans. Dogs are pack animals and living at the end of a three-foot chain or in a small kennel frustrates the animal and causes undue stress that leads to other physical and mental problems. Dogs jump up and down and from wall to wall in their kennels because they have no other place to go. This also leads to continual barking, which often leads to additional physical abuse of the dog.
If you see animals suffering this winter, don't close your eyes and pretend they aren't there. They are there and they are suffering. As a responsible citizen, please stand up for those that cannot speak for themselves. Call the Baker City Police or Baker County Sheriff's and report the neglect and abuse. Don't be afraid to get involved. After all, they are living breathing animals, not disposable objects to be tossed out and ignored. The law is there to protect the animals. Let us all endeavor to bring our community up these minimum standards.
As I drive around Baker City, I see unused dog houses of all shapes, sizes, big and little. Best Friends of Baker, Inc. would gladly accept unused portable dog houses so that we can provide them to families who do not have houses for their pets. Our wish list also includes electric water dishes, old sleeping bags and dog beds (or new), pop cans and bottles, sponsors to help pay for our weekly newspaper ads, monetary donations to help care for our animals, foster homes to provide a family atmosphere for our rescued animals and monthly or annual monetary donations to support and help Best Friends continue with the same successes in 2008 as it has experienced this past year. Give us a call at 541-519-PETS (7387) and find out how you can help.
Best Friends of Baker invites you to a regular meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. upstairs at Basche Sage Place. Come meet the members, get involved and learn more about the goal to build a shelter in Baker County and how to take care of the many neglected, abused and unwanted animals in Baker County.
"Volunteering for Best Friends of Baker, Inc. is not a job, it is an adventure!"Carmen OttAdoption CoordinatorBest Friends of Baker, Inc.Record-Courier Doing A Great JobTo The Record-Courier:Having just read last week’s edition, I felt compelled to say what a joy it is that The Record-Courier has endured and continues to serve the people of Baker County, and many, many people out of the area with ties to Baker County after the sad and untimely death of Rondy (Ron) Brinton last year and the passing of its long-time and very distinguished editor, By Brinton, the year before.
Thanks and congratulations to all the staff and especially your new publisher, Greg Brinton, who has demonstrated without doubt that he too has ink in his veins! Although Greg grew up with the paper being a huge part of his life, he never had an expectation that he would run the paper. Under his leadership this past year the paper has improved greatly in terms of its reporting and in terms of its technical quality — it is looking just great.
Thanks and best wishes for the continued success of this important asset for the people of eastern Oregon. Pamela Van DuynBaker CityAnother Story On The 1917 Sumpter FireTo The Record-Courier:About the 1917 Sumpter Fire. The long-time story about how it started, was a little different than the one in Gary Dielman’s recent article. The story I have heard many times was that the cook at the hotel where the fire started was a German man. This is when World War I was starting.
The fire started in the kitchen of the Columbia Hotel while the German was working. He was never seen or heard of again. My grandparents and family lived in Sumpter at this time. My father who was 9 or 10 years old at the time, thought the fire would get to their home but it didn’t. But he buried a sack of flour and the wall clock in the garden. I have the clock and it runs good most of the time, it needs lots of TLC.Leonard BaconBaker City |
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Guest Opinion
Suribachi to Fallujah By Steve Culley One of the icons of World War II was the raising of the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Even the most oblivious among us has seen the picture or the statue of the Marines raising the flag after a hard fought battle to take the hill from Japanese defenders. The photographer who snapped the picture of the actual second flag raising had no idea that it would be on the front page of almost every American newspaper. This second flag was larger than the first one and the Marines who raised the first one moved on and some of them were killed. Some of the Marines who raised the second flag were killed also.
As luck would have it a Pima Indian named Ira Hayes was there and helped raise the second flag. The war department knew a good public relations opportunity when they saw one and called Hayes and two other surviving marines back to the states for a war bond tour. Hayes didn’t adjust well to the limelight and eventually died drunk. HBO recently ran “Flags of Our Fathers” and told Hayes’ story. Johnny Cash wrote a song about him “Drunkin Ira Hayes.” It is obvious Hayes suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
On Nov. 8, 2004, the Marines were engaged in heavy combat in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. The next morning after a harrowing night of combat, photographer Louis Sinco snapped a picture of a weary young Marine smoking a cigarette. It was one of many that he sent back by satellite phone. But it was the picture of Lance Corporal James Blake Miller that caught the attention of newspaper editors nationwide. Miller’s picture appeared on the front page of over 150 major newspapers. Instantly he was the icon for the war in Iraq. He became the Marlboro Marine. Things should have gone well for Blake.
The reality is different. He isn’t doing so well. The Oregonian, and other larger newspapers, carried a three part series on Blake’s life after Iraq. ( Nov. 22-24). A small percentage of the population read it, but most didn’t, there was Thanksgiving turkey and Black Friday shopping and football to compete with his story. The Marines discharged him for a personality disorder after a fight with a sailor aboard ship because the sailor made a whistling noise that sounded like an incoming RPG. He went home and married a local girl, but is headed for divorce, he drinks and drives his motorcycle fast, is depressed and has flashbacks. He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I fear that he is on the same road as Ira Hayes.
Things are different for Blake’s generation. Veterans of past wars with psychological troubles were largely ignored and left to work it out. After Viet Nam a movement started to get vets some help. It was slow in coming, but in the early 80s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was officially recognized. Actually getting help and some kind of financial help was a different story. There were plenty of hoops to jump through and there still are, but at least part of the general public has heard of the condition and politicians mention it when they want votes.
Reading Blake’s story stirred a lot of things in me. A lot of anger and sadness and some fear. I’ve come to realize that PTSD is always going to be there. I see it when watching the history channel and see World War II veterans who are close to tears remembering lost comrades. Viet Nam vets are starting to recycle into the VA because of Iraq and a tidal wave of Iraqi and Afghanistan vets will be needing some support soon. War is hell some say, and some know, but vets many times are surprised by a worse experience. They encounter the enemy within. One that they can’t shoot. One that sleeps with them and walks with them in the daylight. The nightmares at night and the flashbacks during the day, the intrusive memories and constant anxiety have to be dealt with by explorations and encounters with VA headshrinkers who ask questions like, “how did you feel about that?”
That’s counter to the numbness that a lot of vets try to feel, often with alcohol or drugs. But PTSD won’t be denied. Sooner or later the booze doesn’t work and you have to go inside after the monster. A lot of vets at this point would rather go back to the simplicity of combat and deal with a physical thing that can be wiped out by a full clip and anger. But all that is past and you are here, right now with a monkey on your back.
It is true. Some go to war. Some go to the mall. Veterans have had a different experience than the large percentage of the population. A part of them live different than others. While in a veterans group in the 80s a VA headshrinker said something that always stuck with me. He said, “Most people view the world as a safe place, you guys know better and that is a problem.” A lot of veterans bring the habit of being constantly aware of their surroundings home with them. They call it hyper vigilance. “Triggers,” sights, sounds, smells or events that remind them of combat can pump up adrenaline levels or cause flashbacks. Depression and anxiety can become a way of life.
Some decades after Blake scares me. Veterans are used to firearms and use them at twice the rate of the general population to end their lives. I’ve been there with my finger on the trigger, but I had some real good kids and I loved them dearly. I got grand brats now, they call me Papa. That’s the trouble with forming bonds. No man is an island. You can’t just say, “enough, I’m leaving this damned world, getting my discharge” without affecting others. I hope Blake finds the strength to beat the enemy within because he is an icon now, like it or not. Whichever way it goes for him there will be some vets who say, “If Blake can do it so can I.”
It might be that Blake makes it or that he dies. The question is will they follow him to some kind of peace or to and early end. It must suck, being an icon, having all those people watching when you just want to be left alone. After all the real heroes are dead, or so the survivors think, discounting the fact that they too could have been among the wounded and dead. They survived and feel guilty for doing so. There is something wrong when a 19 year old kid can be made to feel bad because he lived and wasn’t physically wounded. Invisible wounds can be just as bad.
I think it would be a tragedy if some country singer writes a song about the Marlboro Marine.
Letters
County Commissioners Should Seek Advice From BLMTo The Record-Courier:In reading the article about the 18-page document Alternative to the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest Travel Management Plan:
The part of the document that states that the Forest Service (USDA) believes that designations of roads, trails, and areas for motor vehicle use should be made locally. With the words “believes” and “locally,” it doesn’t appear that the Forest Service has (legally?) made any real commitment (double speak?) in the language used in article-deceptive? (no delegation).
I did attend the meeting so described in paper as to public input “desired” by county commissioners at 4 pm, Nov. 16.
I submitted a letter to the chairman in regard to “Rights-of-Way” that I received back in June of 1999 from the BLM-DOI as they are the legal authority (adjudicator) as to the “Pubic Domain” lands that fall within the National Forest and the 30 US Code, Section 22, of the 1872 acts of U.S. Congress, as Congress has delegated the land, “states” and master title plats only (adjudicate) to the BLM.
The letter states: “Rights-of-Ways” (RS 2477) are generally open to mining and locations, but mining rights are subject to use of the land for purposes of right-of-way (not to obstruct traffic in any way). However, there are some “rights-of-ways” such as “material site” which segregates the land from mining and entry (i.e., gravel pits for roads). Nearly all road rights-of-way, including Federal, State and County, have no effect on mining and claim entry since the “surface” and “mineral” estate (resources) remain in “Federal” ownership. The BLM also did imply that the master title plats only show rights-of-way “granted” to the Forest Service as only recent “grants” are shown in plats.
This letter, as submitted, to the “Chair” of the Baker County Commissioners would show that the Dept. Of Agriculture-USFS doesn’t own any of the roads they and the county and others are in “jurisdictional” territory and only acting under “color of law” and the Bull trout, 303 (d), etc. have absolutely nothing to do about any roads. The issues of 303 (d), Bull trout, and elk habitat are more “Red herrings” to the Forest Service shell game. Who’s bluffing whom? Charades?
I told them at the meeting, the bottom line is it’s not over, till it’s over by the U.S. Federal courts, and not local or state’s courts can settle the issue, as like the “adjudicator” (BLM) states “surface” and “mineral” remain in federal ownership, i.e., congressional acts such as the RS 2477 rights-of-way on the public domain that is “open” and “free” by USC 30 Code, Sec. 22 and 26 as to Federal US Code prevail as to the US of Constitutional law, Art. IV, Sec. 3, 2nd paragraph called the “Property Clause” and pre-1976 RS 2477 “ways.”
I told the Chair, regarding the Travel Management Plan “Scoping,” that shows only the protection of “flora and fauna,” as “resources,” extends beyond that (as biased). An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a major Federal action that requires a more extensive review to resource impacts (as “resources” does not require the use of “blinders”).
Are the Forest Service officials violating the Hatch Act in that any government employee(s) are not supposed to engage in politics?; that’s the law. Especially while on duty and acting under “color of law.”
I quote from Terry Maley’s mineral law book, in which the BLM-DOI uses in determinations of “legalese” as to adjudicate matters in which the county officials should refer to in this “charade” of “Travel Management Plans” and future litigations “to wear out the people’s substance” as quoted in the Declaration of Independence of 1776, as a grievance? (King George did this to the Colonists).
On page 383 in Maley’s book of case laws, the US Supreme Court in California Coastal Commission vs. Granite Rock Co., the court has ruled the decision distinguished “use” planning laws of Federal land uses vs. “environmental” laws to environment, as separate issues.
The ruling with assumption that Federal land use planning pre-empts (trumps) State’s land use planning requirements from applying to Federal lands. The decision also indicated that States (Counties) may not ‘use’ planning uses to control Federal land uses and/or by denying environmental permits.”
Here we have the county, with the Forest Service officials, to use environmental standards and “roads” or ways as two separate issues, as conflicts, in which the US Supreme Courts’ rulings made clear that “States may not control use(s) of Federal lands by land use planning (by county) or by denying environmental permits.”
The 303 (d), Species Act, and elk habitat are being used (as issues) to control Federal land use(s) that precludes “multi use” to access the Public Domain to Federal land “uses” and the environmental (permits) as a “device” to counter what the US Supreme Court says not to do.
The county commissioners should seek advice from the BLM, it would appear rather than Forest Service, as the Forest Service seems not to make any commitments by their language and implications to county officials.
The county can’t give land uses (permits) on Federal lands of “exclusive uses” to any private (or public) entity on lands and minerals that fall within Federal lands by the letter I gave the “Chair of the Committee.”
The bottom-line is why the county doesn’t approach the BLM-DOI in this “resolution” to county rules and the Granite Rock case, and US Supreme Court rulings? If they don’t, it’s because they don’t want to get to basics of an issue. I’m sure the BLM folks are taking this all in.Bruce Parke,Sumpter, Ore. More On Road ClosuresTo The Record-Courier:A recent Baker City Herald editorial asserted it, “bad advice,” to refrain from listing specific public forest roads that we, the public, prefer to have left open. Given that no rider “regularly travels” all 4,200 miles of roads that are slated for potential closure the editorial further suggests that we provide the Forest Service with written justification specific to each road that we want left open.
I disagree!
While I commend and thank those who have take the time to prepare written comments throughout this debacle, I also recognize the value in choosing to refrain from submitting written comments, and view such a stance as being much more than a “symbolic protest.” To declare in writing one road more important than another is to indirectly imply other roads are of less importance. To get what I want at the expense of someone else losing a cherished road or area simply because that area lacked specific written comments or support is a divisive game that pits one outdoor enthusiast against another. For better or worse, it’s a game that I’m not willing to play.
At the heart of this debate lies freedom of choice. The freedom of choice to travel roads and recreate in areas we have enjoyed for decades, as well as the opportunity to discover and explore some of the few remaining places void of ridiculous rules, regulations, and restrictions.
Mr. Ellis needs specific written comments? Over 6,000 residents of Eastern Oregon have signed a petition in opposition to all further road closures on the Wallowa Whitman National Forest (Try garnering that kind of consensus on any other issue in eastern Oregon!) Over 6,000 people feel that enough is enough. Most importantly, over 6,000 people would like the Forest Service to recognize that the forest roads we don’t travel today are the adventures we’d like to take tomorrow.I hope that was specific enough.
Andy Ballard, Baker City |
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