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November 22, 2007 Opinions |
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Editorial
The Identity of the County On the Line
In the final timber production years, Baker County generated about $25 million per year in timber receipts, Wallowa County over $25 million and Union County right around $15 million. Some of the memories of Baker during the 1970s are of the wigwam burners at the mills around town glowing bright orange on the night skyline. The three-story high wigwams at Ellingson’s mill were especially prominent during night games at Wade Williams Field.
When Ellingson’s mill on Eccles was operational back in the ‘70s, lying in bed at night a couple blocks away, you could feel the mill operating. The low rhythmic hum felt like a living presence. In a way, the operation of that mill was a living presence with the many people it employed. There was also a human presence in the local forests with hundreds of people employed in the woods.
Many of the mill and forest workers were strictly ‘hard-scrabble’, a rough-and-tumble bunch, but they were employed, and well paid for the most part. This living presence no longer exists here. The timber industry, this region’s main industry vanished almost overnight, and with it went a piece of the local culture, identity and personality.
Eastern Oregon once again faces major changes in local forests as federal governmental policies shift. The Forest Service is proposing a blanket road closure of 4,261 mile of forest roads in the Wallowa-Whitman with a new policy emphasizing the enforcement of road closures and the ticketing of offenders. Road closures and an increase in enforcement efforts in the Wallowa-Whitman are scheduled for late 2009.
National environmental policy guides the Forest Service in making the road closure decisions and environmentalist groups such as Hells Canyon Preservation Council have vowed to see that the Forest Service sticks to the letter of environmental protection laws. And, Hells Canyon Preservation Council has had success in court against the Forest Service in the recent past after a US District Court decision upheld the claim that the Forest Service had failed to apply sections of the Clean Water Act in authorizing mining plans of operation.
USFS Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Travel Management Plan spokesperson Cindy Whitlock said she received 1,100 form letters via email last week from environmental groups across the US advocating for a stringent road closure policy in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
Just as in the early 1980s, the people of this region are facing the potential for great loss that will be felt economically and culturally. The national Travel Management Rule will change the identity of Baker County. Local people face the loss of access to some of their favorite places. Just as in the early 1980s, this change is happening in our backyard based on rules, regulations and decisions made by people who’ve never been here. (BA)Guest Opinion
Political Flip Flop
By Steve CulleyThe most amazing thing came out of the democratic debate in Las Vegas. When asked, “Do you favor driver’s licenses for illegal aliens?”, Hillary Clinton gave a very concise “no” answer.
A little background is in order to illuminate why this answer shows that even though you might think you are wasting your time being an activist you can change the world or at least the course of national history. As some who pay a little bit of attention might recall, we had a great big immigration fight last spring in Congress over open borders, George’s proposal to legalize the invasion of this country. I referred to it as “comprehensive amnesty” while GWB and the Democrats referred to it as “comprehensive immigration reform” so the illegal, undocumented, aliens could come out of the shadows and do jobs Americans won’t do, because they just want to feed their families, and no person is illegal, so they can go to the back of the line and apply for citizenship, before they petition the rest of their family to come too, while the Minute Men, Oregonians for Immigration Reform, Numbers USA and a host of others called it by the true name of invasion while Democrats assured us we need to celebrate diversity because we are a nation of immigrants and it is really Mexican territory anyway and yada yada yada to quote Seinfeld.
It was a dog and pony show with the corporate globalists using all the spin they could to convince the average Joe that what’s good for big business is good for him, even if it means outsourcing his job while importing someone who will compete for his new lower paying one. And some might have noticed that the Democrats formed a symbiotic relationship with open borders George. You couldn’t slide a piece of paper between them and GWB. Almost all of them were stuck like glue to George. Makes me wonder why people still think they actually don’t like George. GWB is the best president Mexico ever had and the Democrats in the senate are the best senators Mexico ever had. Chief among them was Hillary Clinton, all for a path to citizenship, no border fences, quit harassing illegals by raids, easy voter registration etc. Then two weeks ago she was asked about New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s attempt to give out the same driver’s licenses to illegal aliens as citizens and she was all for it. That was before Luo Dobbs led the charge against it and there was serious talk of recalling Spitzer. Hillary’s poll numbers started to drop like a rock and she flip flopped for a week before the Clinton machine turned up the heat on the poor governor and he pulled his proposal. Hillary is now a tough on illegal aliens gal.
Seems like the Democrats and Hillary got the message. Americans are fed up with the corporate sanctioned invasion of this country. Illegal immigration is an issue whether the mainstream media wants to acknowledge it or not. Oregon will hold a primary election too and our governor seems to have taken a call from party headquarters. It seems like the illegal alien question tends to hurt Democrats. After doing absolutely nothing about illegal immigration in Oregon, in fact actually aiding and abetting the invasion by handing out driver’s licenses to illegals and prohibiting the police from being involved in immigration, the governor signed an executive order requiring some kind of proof of citizenship to get a driver’s license. Your social security number should match. What a concept! The 175,000 illegal aliens we have now might be inconvenienced, but the Democratic party machine might be inconvenienced even more.
So Hillary gave a straight forward answer to the question. She said “no.” She is against giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens. At least until she is in the White House, at which time I suspect we will again have a comprehensive immigration amnesty plan. Actually if the Republicans nominate the male version of Hillary, Rudolph Giuliani, we will still have a comprehensive amnesty invasion. They both have more immigration positions than a fresh caught trout. If the press would ask Hillary and Rudy more questions about NAFTA and their positions on gun rights it ought to get real interesting. You could see some synchronized flip flopping. It might become an Olympic event.
I would rather have a rattlesnake as a room mate in my house than either one of them as president in the White House.
I always say ballots before bullets, but Tom Jefferson kept his options open.
Letters
School Bond Not FairTo The Record-Courier:I just heard on the radio that our School Bond did not pass again. Sorry kids, I know that your school is unsafe and antiquated, the disabled student facilities are almost nonexistent, and we are told that you still have asbestos in some of your walls. I know that none of the negative votes and factors were aimed at you, but with all the GREED being shown and the untimely actions that were being forced on the taxpayers, it was time to say NO one more time.
In a town that has grown very little since 1960 (less than 300) these are some of the questions that have surfaced during these discussions of a new or remodeled school.
The student population has decreased as the young have had to leave due to lack of employment opportunities and/or industry - Why do we need a school with FIVE Gymnasiums? Why are we buying more land when we bought land where the Sports Complex is to originally build a MIDDLE SCHOOL? Why are we again moving our students to the far edge of town when there is no transportation to transport them? The only students who will benefit from this are the ones in the North end of town.
We closed a theatre because it had inadequate fire alarm systems, has anyone checked the ones at the middle school? The theatre only affected 150 people at the most on a random basis where the school has 330 daily. Has someone got the priorities turned around?
No, I don’t have children going to our schools currently, but if I did have, I would be stomping on someone’s desk and wanting answers to a lot of questions. I attended Baker Middle School in the 50’s and it needed much repair then. A lot of us went to Central or better known as the Old High School when 6th grade was on the top floor. There was no disabilities act in place at that time or I am sure that other arrangements would have been put in place. I can remember leaky roofs, slick stairs (often generating falls) cold classrooms as OOPs the boiler is not working correctly again. The third floor has been closed for years due to the deplorable conditions. Why closed and not repaired? I do not think that in this day and age our future should be subjected to the continuing conditions.
Am I against a New School? No, not if they relocate to either the current location or a centralized location where attendance is not IF they can get to school in the winter months.
No, not if they get a livable design and not someone’s pipe dreams. Remember, this is being funded mainly on retirement incomes.
No, not if they improve the bus systems so that young people can make use of the school busses no matter where they live. I know that it would mean more drivers and busses (maybe generate a few more jobs, duh), but come on these young people are our future.
Personally, I do not think that it is a wise decision to have 11-14 year olds intermingle with high school students as their interests are just being formed and can be easily influenced by older peers. Heaven knows, there are enough problems now without adding more.
How dare they try and shove this down our throats one more time? Bids have already been let on the existing Baker Middle School as well as a promise to buy more farm land. Let’s use what land we have as well as renegotiating the price of the purchase of four blocks of prime land. Why was this even discussed before the bond was passed? Sometimes when you count your chickens before they hatch all you get is chicken poop.
I was told the building permits alone were over $90,000. That is a nice chunk paid to the city.
Why was an outside architect brought in? Not only outside, but out of state. Why are we not either using local architects or at least ones which are in our state, familiar with our funding requirements and things conducive to our location? Does not the term “Shop Local” apply here?
Can this pass down the road? YES. Will more work need to be done? Yes, sure costs will go up, but so will the prices of land and assets. We need to work together taking one step at a time. Greasing no one’s pockets. Be fair to all sides not just a few.
Sorry to be wishy-washy, but I do not think this bond was fair to the taxpayers, the students or anyone else involved.See you at the polls.
Carol C. ToneBaker CityRemember When?To The Record-Courier:Awhile back while I was out having my morning coffee, I wondered what I could write for the readers of my letters to entertain them with humor. Then it was like a light bulb coming on in a flash and I thought that is it, with my head nodding up and down.
So here goes. Remember back when all the toys were handmade? Such things as rocking horses, dolls, wooden toy sets, with all the logs that could be built just like grandma’s house? Well, whatever happened to those years to remembering when... Now with all the issues of lead paint, etc., and toys being shipped from over seas, having health effects on the kids of this generation and generations to come, they are not like it used to be even if we could only remember when.
It is interesting to note, when the paper’s print history in the makings of whatever might be in the attic, it makes me wonder what kind of toys would be in the attic of your ancestors... We have a couple of items that are historic as well. You know it makes me wonder what Santa Claus is going to have left to distribute after all the recalls on toys here lately, what his bag will hold next in the way of toys? He just might make it down that old chimney without all the extra. Now I am not knocking it so to speak, I do like all the old songs that we sang as kids, and still do when it is related to Christmas, birthdays, etc. So remember all the old lyrics, that our ancestors came up with to make fun for all of us who remember when?
So, I would like to challenge the readers of this paper to come up with anything that might ‘remember when’ in the above mentioned. I’m sure we could all be well entertained for humor at its best.
Coffee anyone?Brenda DickisonBaker City
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