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March 20, 2008 Opinions |
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Letters
We Are Being Told... Let’s Demand A Chance To Say What We WantTo The Record Courier:We are being TOLD that we will be paying for a new police headquarters.
We are being TOLD that we will be paying for other people’s sidewalks. We paid for our own years ago with no help from the City.
We are being TOLD that we will be paying for sewer repair, which we have paid a dozen times over the years. Why not charge the developer? We are being bled out to pay for their profit.
We are TOLD that they hired an economic developer at $60/hour. The average wage around here is more like $12/hour. Can we afford it?
We are TOLD that the proposed new school will be put on the outskirts of town.When are we going to stop being TOLD and demand a chance to say what we want by voting?
Read The Oregonian, March 13, first page in the Metro section. Damascus, Ore., March 11, 2008, voted by a 70-percent majority to reduce the City Council’s power. The residents will now vote on all fees and taxes including those the City passed after Jan. 1, 2006.
Are you fed up? We should have a chance to vote our say, or vote for a new form of City government. Think it over.
As an 86-year resident of Baker City, this is my complaint. Have you ever tried to talk to a City Council member? What did it get you?Gilbert C. JonesBaker CityCompetent Court Is Only Answer to Closures of Public DomainTo The Record-Courier:Additional note; Abandonment and statute of limitations; The March 1993 “Draft” report to Congress “The history and management of RS2477 Rights-of-Ways (claims on federal lands)(page 15) DOI-BLM-Lead Agent:
Current Policy (BLM) and case law do not recognize any form of Federal provision for abandonment of the RS2477 Rights-of-Ways. In the absence of a waiver of sovereign immunity, no one, including state and local government, may challenge the title of the United States to federal property. In recognition of this, congress passed a quiet-title statute that now appears as 43 U.S.C. 2409a. It allows those who have been put on notice, that the U.S. has a “claim” adverse to their “property” interest to file a lawsuit to quiet-title.
However, that statute also provides that quiet-title action must be filed within 12 years of the date that affected party discovers the adverse Federal “claim”. RS2477 Rights-of-Way are easements and, therefore interest in land subject to the quiet-title statutes. If they are not acted upon within 12 years of date the federal government takes action that is inconsistent with their existence, then arguably, they are gone whether they existed in the first place or not. This would be true where congress established a “Wilderness Area,” (note this) where BLM designated an area as a Wilderness Area or where the USFS blocked off a former “way” and no one had acted on it for over 12 years.
The key point to this legal issue is, what action by the federal government is required to put “others” on notice that the government claims an “interest”? (that way defeat the potential RS2477 Ways “claim” sufficient to begin the 12 years period).
A conspiracy to make Baker Co. a Wilderness-National Park would conflict with P.L. 167-Multi-Use Act of 1955.
In reading “Proclamation by BLM” it’s not clear if the statute is directed to Federal lands that have been withdrawn as “Reserved lands” from the Public Domain lands “open” to the Public land laws such as homestead and mining “claims”, or claims to access Reserved lands (system lands) such as Wilderness areas, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges and the like. The RS2477 “grants” are more at question to these “reserved” lands. Also the inclusions of Forest lands, as “reserved” also, is not clear that defines “System lands” not open to public land laws as a leaseable-contracted only Right to the VER’s of the RS2477 “way” grants. There are two different categories of FS lands open to Public land laws and “restricted” lands as “Public Domain” lands, currently Public Trust via congress and System lands “Acquired lands” are both within the “national forest” and the mineral interest, either way is promulagated by BLM and vested by Congress as the “lead” agency to subsurface minerals dual management on same lands that fall within National Forest.
This is a “Pandora’s Box” that only the courts (liberal court vs. conservative court) point of view, like the 2nd Amendment VER to guns and the IRS agency views are very arbitrary. These are very complex issues that the county can’t negotiate to the FS and BLM Mining Minerals Policy Acts, conflicts and “riparian” and trails as access-issues?
A competent court is the only answer to the closures of the Public Domain.Bruce ParkeSumpter, Ore.TV Commercials are Good and Puppies Should be Taken Care ofTo The Record-Courier:This letter will be a variety of sorts having to do with TV commercials. My favorite ones are the Geico ads - the little lizard stating his cases here and there. Especially the one with biscuits and gravy. Then he tells the car in observation not to park there. He does have some new ones, too. They are all fun to watch. I happen to like the biscuits and gravy myself.
Another one is where the black birds see this as an opportunity to confuse him with this commercial representing Windex. The one where they clean the sliding glass doors and then they go back up on their perch chuckling, waiting for him to walk into doors to see how stupid he looks. Of course, the birds chuckle once again as if they had nothing to do with it. They have a couple others that are funny, too.
Then there are the commercials with the animals. Especially the lab puppies representing the paper issues of life. You know, one thing I have noticed around here is that if you have a pet, take care of it to make sure it doesn’t leave the yard.
With all the snow, etc., that we are getting, it can be hazardous even down H street for accidents to happen. I do know that animals are to be kept in their yards. It would be nice to have a sense of dignity and respect for other people’s yards rather than dogs running at random. It is sad to think in bigger cities we hear of people that don’t take care of animals and they live in the conditions that they do. They shouldn’t have animals to begin with. I do hope in our neighborhood and others, enough respect can be given to those who are upkeeping their yards, etc. Why deprive an animal of being cared for when you can’t take care of it? It takes a lot of love to care for these wonderful creatures of life.Coffee anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City |
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