|
|
|
July 24, 2008 Opinions |
|
|
—Editorial—
Miners’ Jubilee Volunteers Much Appreciated
Last weekend was another successful Miners’ Jubilee for Baker City thanks to the many who volunteered their time. Ann Mehaffy of Historic Baker City and Debi Banter of the Baker Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau both did an outstanding job of organizing the downtown and Geiser-Pollman Park area events.
As Eastern Oregon Mining Association gave greenhorns an opportunity to pan for gold, the Elkhorn Swingers entertained with old-fashioned square dancing.
Marilyn’s Music Plus lead the audience in voting for the Baker City Idol finalists as well as providing music along with several other bands including Blue Yesterdays, Salt Lick #39 and Three Legged Dog.
The rubber ducks bobbed down the Powder River and quilters displayed their stitched works of art at the Event Center.
The beer garden, street dance and the annual showing of Paint Your Wagon were part of the festivities as well as the Elks Bull and Bronc riding Blowouts.
People lined the sidewalks to watch the Miners’ Jubilee parade snake through downtown Main Street.
Golf, a petting zoo, carnival rides, an old fashioned worship service, Youth Revival, civil organization food booths, venders, downtown sidewalk sales, Fun Run, Belly Dancing, and the well attended Bounce House and other kid’s activities in the Park rounded out the activities.
It was a packed three-day weekend filled with fun, family, friends and out of town guests. And it was all orchestrated by local volunteers, many of whom have been instrumental in planning, organizing and holding other events in town.
We owe these volunteers a great deal of gratitude for the time and resources they donate to make these family-friendly activities available to us and to the visitors who flock to town to boost our local economy. There are too many to mention all of you who participated in orchestrating this event by name, but please accept our heartfelt appreciation for once again creating a wonderful Miners’ Jubilee that left us with fond memories and excited anticipation of more Jubilees in year’s to come. (DS)
—Letters—
Not Much Has Changed
To The Record-Courier:
A few years ago I wrote a letter called, “What’s wrong with Christianity today?,” which made some Pastors unhappy with me. An old saying, “If the shoe fits wear it, if not ignore it!” I’ve not seen too much of a change since then! Don’t misunderstand me, I love the body of Christ and support it with the highest regards, but much is missing locally. Where is the fire of God? There’s fire and revival going on around the world, but most seem to be untouched by it. Jesus is getting the church ready. It’s the churches job to get the unsaved ready! It’s time for the church, those who name Jesus as Lord and Savior to put away their deference and come together as one body in the Lord! It’s time to allow the Holy Spirit and FIRE to control the service and then take the fire to the streets of Baker.
My wife and I were blessed to be able to take a trip to Albany for three days emerged in the love and fire of God! It’s real folks! We were also blessed to be allowed to go with them into the streets to witness Jesus the Gospel. Are we as the local church missing the mark? Are we so unaware that Jesus is coming soon? Are we so unconcerned about the lost? Have we had such poor teaching that we believe we can just pray all sinners into salvation without leaving the church walls? I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I got saved!
Jesus told us to “GO” where the lost were, and they are not behind church walls! He said, “Heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead.” What are we waiting for? Jesus gave us ALL power over the enemy in every area. God showed me in a vision awhile back that He’s about to close some church doors if they will not start teaching the Great Commission, and obey it! Don’t let this be your church. Also there’s a need to teach more on fair and Bible finances. The two do go together. God wants us to be able to meet the church needs, our own and those of others. You can’t get tithes and offerings from them who don’t understand this principle. We are redeemed from the curse of poverty. But we need to be taught to over come this problem.
We seem to be afraid of teaching Bible finances even though it’s God’s word. One last thing, Pastor! God has sent you from time to time people who are called by God and you have overlooked them until they are sent elsewhere. If anyone is interested in what I’ve said here, come and go with us, you will be blessed.
Richard Fox
Baker City
Resource Management Plan Needs Public Input
To The Record-Courier:
I am writing seeking public comment to limit development on public lands that could impact the Baker Valley view shed. Currently BLM is revising their 1989 Resource Management Plan that provides for future management of public lands in Baker and adjoining counties. My concern is development on public lands that will impact the visual aesthetics of Baker Valley. This would include wind turbines, gravel pit development, cell towers, communication sites or other structures that would limit or obstruct our view. Public lands are available for these uses, as long as the applicant complies with BLM regulations and it is not within a protected area, e.g. wild and scenic rivers/wilderness areas.
As an example, I live in Western Heights and the existing wind turbines near North Powder are visible day and night. In identifying the public land boundaries on the Baker Resource map, it is feasible that from the existing North turbines, the entire eastern horizon headed south, past the Interpretive Center, to the cell towers on the peak (and beyond) could be dotted with turbines or other structures. I am not advocating that development on public lands should be prohibited. My only plea is for the BLM to assess and direct placement of such obstructions so that they are not visible from the valley floor. Obviously, we can’t control what private landowners do with their property, but we do have a voice with BLM, who manages over 5.1 million acres in Eastern Oregon — plenty of room for out-of-sight development.
The BLM is currently revising their Resource Management Plan and asking for public input. If you are a concerned citizen like myself, please express your opinion by attending the public meeting on Thursday, July 24, at anytime between 4 and 7 p.m. at Baker Field Office on 11th Street (behind Cashway Lumber). If you can’t make the public meeting, you can mail your comments to the Baker Office, or e-mail them to blm.gov/or/districts/vale. If public comments are received they will be considered in the development of the draft plan. Opportunities for future comments on the draft plan will be possible, steering BLM to develop a final plan that will be in place for the next 15 to 20 years.
If we don’t speak up now, our valley could be dotted with permanent obstructions. Wind turbines and the like can and will be built but if we want to preserve the uniqueness and scenic surroundings of Baker Valley, we need to direct that they be placed in seldom seen areas. This is your opportunity, as a resident and a citizen, to help direct what you want to see from your front window. Please make your comments and concerns known.
Jane Bohn
Baker City
It’s A Perfect Storm...
To The Record-Courier:
This month the Baker City Herald carried an article about the county court upholding the planning commission’s decision to disallow a land partition in the Auburn area because the petitioner couldn’t get 320 acres in one block.
Commissioners Warner and Kerns voted to deny and Commissioner Stiff abstained. I had to be out of town for the last few weeks and have lost track of where we are at on Baker County’s land use plan, but it is up for review. In the past I’ve asked the county to take another look at it.
What we have now is pure insanity. The marginal lands are classified as timber grazing and you must have 320 acres to build. This is exactly backwards of what it should be. Those lands should be zoned as small parcels. In effect the current zoning confines almost all of the native born behind an urban growth boundary because they simply can’t afford that much land. It is open to those who lived their lives in a big city and made a lot of money and can now afford to move to God’s country and build their mansions and play rancher. An article in The Oregonian a year or so ago, “A Fat Wallet Runs Through It,” pointed out that Wallow County is 67 percent absentee landowner owned. I say it’s because of Oregon’s dictatorial land use laws. I suspect that Baker County has a problem too and any review of county land use law should contain information on just who owns the county. There is a connection between housing costs and land supply. What our land use Gestapo in this state has done since the days of Tom McCall is destroyed the hopes and dreams of those who would like to own a few acres and be somewhat independent by raising a beef or two for their own use and maybe even a large garden. This will become very important as fuel prices and cost of living rises in the future.
There will be howls of protest by the planners and zoners and utopia builders if there is a backlash against their ideas of a well-planned society because we have too many people screwing up farm land, open space and wildlife habitat, but they are usually the left wing urban environmentalists of the democratic persuasion, the same people who howl if you say that immigration has to be stopped because it is the driving force behind our population boom.
Then the right wing republican needs that cheap labor from the illegal alien and he will want to keep the restrictions on land use because one of those lefties might move in next door to him and complain about the smell of cow chips. It’s a perfect storm — the left wing and right wing who can’t stand each other all conspiring to flood the country with people and stick it to everyone else who would like a small piece of the pie.
Baker County could start a revolution and roll back the overly restrictive land use laws imposed by the state. If we did I’m convinced that other eastern counties would follow suit, but from the looks of things by the July 4 decision I don’t see much hope with this commission. Standing up to Salem requires some kind of guts and I don’t see much in our county government. It might be time for a new one.
Steve Culley
Baker City
|
|
|
