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Opinions March 13, 2008 |
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Editorial
Local Police Department Did Not Violate 4th Amendment
In an editorial last week titled “How About a Favorable Interpretation Of The 4th Amendment,” Brian Addison stated that during the halftime of the girls’ final of the 7-1A District Boys and Girls Basketball tournament in Baker City, the Baker City Police Canine Drug Enforcement Unit visited the Baker High School gymnasium. Addison said, “It looked like just a nice random stroll, and fishing expedition, oh, and a violation of the 4th Amendment.”
Although Addison considers this type of act a violation of 4th Amendment rights, The Record-Courier would like to make it clear that the Baker City Police did nothing that could legally be regarded as a violation of the 4th Amendment. The Department was acting well within the scope of the law to bring the canine unit to the game. However, Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner said their intent for taking Turbo, the department’s drug dog, to the tournament was for the community to meet Turbo, and give him public exposure, not to search for drugs.
Lohner said the Police Department and its officers take the US Constitution Bill of Rights Amendments very seriously and are sworn to uphold them.
We apologize to the Baker City Police Department for not making it clearer that by running Addison’s editorial, we were in no way accusing the Police Department of any violation.
Addison’s editorial, just as letters to the editor and opinion pieces, do not necessarily reflect the newspaper’s position. We place our initials at the end of each editorial to let readers know that the editorial is the opinion of the writer only and not the collective opinion of the newspaper.
The newspaper (editor and publisher) feel the Baker City Police Department does a fine job and we continue to support their use of a dog as a viable tool to help rid the community of drugs. We also appreciate the work of our reporter Brian Addison and support his right to express his opinion as we encourage all of our readers to do as well. (DS)
Letters
Election Commentary
To The Record-Courier:
This week the bizarre news is that Bill and Hillary think that both Democrat presidential candidates should now run on the same ticket. This is a rather desperate measure, which is no doubt suggested by Hillary because she is so far behind in the election.
What really boggles the mind is that the Clintons both think Hillary should be #1 and Obama # 2 on a joint ticket. Illusions of grandeur have been a part of Hillary's personality for years, but just now these illusions appear to have become a full-blown delusion. Delusions are serious.
Carl R. Kostol
Baker City
Celebrate-Remember-Fight Back
To The Record-Courier:
Fifty years ago, at the age of 8, my oldest brother was diagnosed with leukemia and within a matter of weeks he was gone. There was no hope, there was no treatment, there was no cure. Today, after years of research, there is hope, and while the treatment is grueling and sometimes agonizing, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now, more times than not, a child diagnosed with leukemia survives, thanks to the work of dedicated researchers funded in large measure by the American Cancer Society.
American Cancer Society’s premier fund raiser, RELAY FOR LIFE, is underway in Baker City! Fifteen new teams were formed at Kick-Off last Tuesday evening. We look forward to a successful event, which is set for Aug. 1 and 2 at the Baker High School Track.
It’s about being a community that takes up the fight! I would like to thank Community Connections for offering the use of their facility for our Kick-Off and team captain meetings (team captain meetings begin in April). Tom Fisk at Baker City and Rod Rogers at OTEC for their help with hanging the banner on Main Street, Dave Davis at Davis Computers for his technical expertise, and the people and merchants at Baker City for their generous support. Let’s work hard to raise some money for the work done by the American Cancer Society to brighten that light at the end of the tunnel, giving us all HOPE and, sooner rather than later, FINDING A CURE.
For more information about joining an existing team or forming a new team call Jerri Wickert at 523-3447 or Jodi Tool at 523-2713. For more information about corporate sponsorship call Ronaele Mello at 523-4509 or Deb Bainter at 523-5855.
For more information about RELAY FOR LIFE, visit www.relayforlife.org, click on Find Relay Events and type in Baker City; or call Gloria Schott at 523-7125, Kelly Hardy at 523-2484 or June Bennett at 523-6119. Join us at Relay to CELEBRATE, REMEMBER and FIGHT BACK!
Kelly Hardy
Baker City
What’s In Your Coffee?
To The Record-Courier:
I received an email that challenged me to my way of signing off on my letters having to do with coffee anyone? Little did I realize that by studying our coffee can it create pleasure for one’s lifestyle.
I am more than happy to send it to those who would like to see this work of art having to do with our coffee. It is pretty awesome to look at. I sent it to Koin 6 News and they said they had done a report at one time on this subject, but had never seen anything like this art work before. What it is, there are coffee cups lined up and you see various faces and designs in them. Imagine what your cup would look like, with whatever was captured by the one taking pictures of his or her coffee. With all heads down looking at their cup there probably wouldn’t be much room for conversation because of what they are capturing with all the logistics and degrees of artistic ability what their coffee cup is showing them. It makes me wonder how he or she did it. It is pretty cool stuff to look at. Someone must be pretty serious about drinking their coffee, and observe what their coffee beholds. Here I just enjoy drinking my coffee without having to study the diversities of what coffee can look like whether it be before or after one has finished.
So now I guess I can challenge myself to see and study my coffee drinking a little more carefully and seriously see what is truly in the coffee itself. We might see something that would really surprise us or maybe set us back some and create a disturbance to passersby going to get their coffee and have their local chit chats, etc., before going to work and all. Ha. We might have to take a different approach into drinking our coffee these days being careful not to be caught off guard... smile.
Coffee anyone?
Brenda Dickison
Baker City
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