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June 24, 2010 Opinions |
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—Editorial—
This We think....
We think the Baker City Council made a wise decision in selecting Gail Duman to fill the council seat recently vacated by Andrew Bryan. She has the experience as a former city councilor, she had the votes (she missed getting re-elected in 2008 by a mere 105 votes) and she has indicated she wants the position.
With only six months to go to fulfill Bryan's term, there was no need to open this position to applicants, and possibly spend weeks debating over who the best
candidate is, voters will decide who will fill this position soon enough.
In the meantime Duman knows the job and can step in without hardly missing a beat or disrupting the flow of city business.
—Letters To The Editor—
Allegations Not True
To The Record-Courier:
At the last regular Baker City Council meeting--the same meeting at which Councilor Milo Pope pointing at the audience angrily said to Mayor Dennis Dorrah, "Would that gentleman be asked to shut the hell up?"--Pope lamented that, if city council appointed Gail Duman to the position recently vacated by Andrew Bryan, he and Councilor Sam Bass would be in a 2-5 minority.
But aren’t many City Council votes 7-0? Perhaps Pope’s 2-5 comment makes sense if Pope had hoped to some day increase, rather than decrease, the number of like-minded councilors from three to four, so they could rehire Steve Brocato as city manager. After all, that appeared to me to be the strategy behind the attempt to recall Mayor Dorrah and Councilor Beverly Calder that failed last October with a majority of citizens voting NO by over 2 to 1.
I'm referring to the same Steve Brocato--fired a year ago as Baker City manager--who last month filed a Federal lawsuit against Baker City, the four city councilors who voted to fire him, and me. Surprisingly Brocato's attorneys advertised the lawsuit in a "PRESS RELEASE" issued to Oregon news media announcing in all caps and bolded: "FORMER BAKER CITY MANAGER STEPHEN BROCATO FILES WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUIT AGAINST BAKER CITY, COUNCIL MEMBERS."
Here’s my opinion on the merits of Brocato’s case. The whistleblower allegation against the City will fail, because, 1. It is not true; 2. There were other legitimate reasons to fire Brocato; and 3. Under the City Charter and without a contract, City Council doesn’t need a reason to fire a city manager, just as a city manager without a contract may resign without reason and at a moment’s notice. Political pressures, not legal ones, keep City Councils and city managers from acting irresponsibly.
And I predict the allegations that four city councilors and I defamed Brocato will fail, because they are not true.
If any defamation has taken place, it comes from Brocato’s lawsuit, in which he has publicly essentially labeled all five of us liars. To me, that sounds like a winnable defamation suit.
Gary Dielman
Baker City, Ore.
Then And Now
To The Record-Courier:
Of all of the tragedies that have happened in our lifetime this oil well accident will no doubt go down in history as one of the worst ever. We can’t help but wish it had never happened but we also recognize the fact that all of the new technology that we develop there are risks involved and man’s ingenuity will no doubt help solve it.
This accident has brought about much anger, frustration and long term ecological problems to every segment of the economy of the entire Gulf Coast.
I can’t help but think about what happened in our own community without any big outcry from the general public. Just think what action by tree hugger environmental groups, government and spotted owl did for this community.
The local lumber industry probably had over 300 employees plus all the other businesses that supported these workers.
This was all a man made disaster, it didn’t have to happen. Remember I am from the government and am here to help you.
Eric Romtvedt
Baker City, Ore.
Traffic During Elkhorn Classic Bike Races Was A ‘Nightmare’
To The Record-Courier:
The traffic layout for the Elkhorn Classic was a nightmare. It took me 45 minutes to get to the other side of town. The signage on the barricades directing people to detours was unreadable unless you came to a complete stop, which many people did.
The traffic controllers were children. What do you do when a child is holding a stop sign in one hand and waving to you to drive across an intersection with the other?
The bicyclists chose to disregard the simplest traffic laws, such as stopping and yielding to the right.
The organizers of the Elkhorn Classic should be required to use electronic reader boards to alert car traffic to detours. These signs should also be posted on exit 304 and 306.
Children should not be used for directing traffic on any streets. Volunteers should take a flagger's course and wear a uniform so that they are safe and visible.
If the bicyclists and its organizers are unable to behave and follow the laws of Baker City, the city should drop all support for this event.
Paul Dunkak
Baker City
Federal Government Unprepared For Disasters
To The Record-Courier:
Our federal government under two administrations has dropped the ball with a major regional problem and unfortunately the Gulf oil spill debacle succeeded the hurricane Katrina debacle in the same region of the country. Where are FEMA and other government agencies when these problems occur?
The Gulf oil spill started on April 20, 2010. Louisiana asked for federal assistance within a few days, but the federal government did not start recognizing the seriousness of the problem until May 1, 2010. In late April, Louisiana asked the federal government (Army Corps of Engineers) for dredges to build protective sand berms on the coastline, but permission to build the berms was not provided until early June, which was too late to protect the coastline..
Approximately 150 boats equipped with oil skimmers are trying to siphon off the oil from the surface of the Gulf, but a thousand additional boats could be needed. Why isn’t the federal government demanding BP hire and outfit with skimmers additional boats that are available in the Gulf of Mexico? Why doesn’t the federal government make Navy and Coast Guard boats available? I believe they could be equipped with skimming equipment.
Someone mentioned the need to have large tankers on site to help suction up the surface oil. Why wasn’t BP required to provide the tankers? The U.S. merchant marine has ships on call for emergencies. The U.S. Navy has oilers (tankers).
Talks by President Obama,visits to the Gulf beaches by the administration, meetings with BP, restitution by BP, and the eventual cleanup of the ecological disaster will not stop the flow of oil from the leaking well. With all of our technology why haven’t we been able to figure out how to stop/contain the leak?
And why were oil companies allowed to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico without the installation of emergency remote control shut off systems? The systems are currently employed on foreign deep water oil wells.
The federal government, with all of its resources, continues to be unprepared to respond to and manage the resolution of major regional disasters.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
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