A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 1, 2015 Pot’s legal – but still not a good idea A s of Wednesday, marijuana is legal to possess in Oregon without DSUHVFULSWLRQ For years now, personal use amounts were nearly decriminalized in this state, a poorly-regulated medical program was put in place, and an omnipresent black market allowed recreational users DYHQXHVWRDFFHVVWKHGUXJ %XWWKLVLVUHDOGHDOOHJDOL]DWLRQ 1RPRUHIDNHPHGLFDOFRQGLWLRQV No more hiding grow rooms in moldy basements, or grow sites RQRXWRIWKHZD\ODQG1RPRUH buying from a shady dealer down WKHVWUHHW,I\RXDUH\HDUVRI age and on private property, you can possess four marijuana plants or eight ounces of the ready-to-use SRUWLRQ$QG\RXFDQWRNHXSLQ front of your mother, the mayor and the chief of police – just not in SXEOLF Hooray? :H¶UHLQIDYRURIUHGXFLQJWKH black market, increasing state tax dollars and ending the wasteful, hypocritical and often racist drug ZDU:HDOVRWKLQNWKLVLVDJRRG FKDQFHIRUIUHHGRP¿JKWHUVDQG personal liberty supporters to put their money where their mouth is, and maybe open the eyes to the EHQH¿WVRIVXFKIUHHGRPWRSHRSOH on the other side of the political VSHFWUXP %XWWKDWGRHVQ¶WPHDQZH¶UHLQ IDYRURIXVLQJPDULMXDQD The drug is helpful to some, harmless to most, and a real drag WRDIHZ%XWVRDUH%LJ0DFV whiskey, tobacco, video games and motorcycles, which can be MXVWDVDGGLFWLQJDQGGHELOLWDWLQJ Those too raise issues of personal choice and personal acceptance of GDQJHU -XVWEHFDXVHLW¶VOHJDOGRHVQ¶W mean a Big Mac-a-day habit is DJRRGRQH,W¶VWKHVDPHZLWK PDULMXDQD-XVWEHFDXVHSRWLV OHJDOQRZGRHVQ¶WPHDQ\RX should become a habitual or even DFDVXDOXVHU Where and if marijuana shops can open in our area remains up IRUGHEDWH7KHVWDWHOHJLVODWXUH which dragged its feet on making important decisions on this matter until well past the eleventh hour, LVVWLOOWU\LQJWRGHFLGH %XWWKDWGRHVQ¶WPHDQZH have to put off those decisions DERXWRXURZQKDELWV6SHQG\RXU PRQH\HOVHZKHUH3LFNXSDERRN go outside, bake an old-fashioned EURZQLH'RQ¶WXVHPDULMXDQD but be happy knowing we will no longer be wasting public money and energy cracking the skulls of WKRVHZKRGR Heedless people take EODPHLQVRPH¿UHV N early everyone who lives in Eastern Oregon knows that lightning starts most RIRXUZLOG¿UHV%XWWKDWGRHVQ¶W make the occasional human- FDXVHG¿UHDQLQFRQVHTXHQWLDO WKLQJ,QIDFWWKRVH¿UHVDUHWKH most regrettable – because we KDYHWKHSRZHUWRSUHYHQWWKHP )LUHRI¿FLDOVDODUPHGDWWKH continued drought and early heat wave, are calling attention to the unusually high number of early- VHDVRQKXPDQFDXVHG¿UHV:H have to put the causes of a bunch of those blazes into the just-plain- VWXSLGFDWHJRU\ Tom Fields, Oregon 'HSDUWPHQWRI)RUHVWU\¿UH prevention coordinator, last Thursday noted the trend, tallying VRPHKXPDQFDXVHG¿UHVVR IDUWKLVVHDVRQLQWKHVWDWH ³:HKDYHKDGWKUHH¿UHV related to target shooting just in WKHODVWZHHN´KHVDLG³2QHRI WKRVH¿UHVEXUQHGDFUHVDQG FRVWRYHUWRSXWRXW´ )LUHRI¿FLDOVDUHXUJLQJ people to think twice about any DFWLYLW\WKDWPLJKWVSDUND¿UH DQGWRKHHGWKHORFDOUHVWULFWLRQV $IWHUDOORQHSHUVRQ¶VVHO¿VKRU thoughtless behavior could put HYHU\RQH¶VWUHDVXUHGIRUHVWVDQG UDQJHODQGLQMHRSDUG\ If the need for caution puts DFULPSLQVRPHRQH¶VKROLGD\ weekend plans, we suggest they JURZXSDQGJHWRYHULW L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Killers running amok Kudos to committee To the Editor: In our society, we have animals ZKR DUH NLOOHUV 7KHVH NLOOHUV VLW down to a dinner table and eat a meal ZLWK D NQLIH DQG IRUN 1RZ ZKHQ one of those killers takes a life, our society will leave no stone unturned until that killer is taken out of our so- ciety and either meted a death penal- ty or incarcerated to where he or she FDQGRVRFLHW\QRIXUWKHUKDUP In our society, we also have kill- ers who sit down to a dinner table with tooth, claw and fang, and are allowed to keep killing on and on DQGRQ7KH\DUHQRWEHLQJWDNHQRXW RIWKHHTXDWLRQLQQHDUHQRXJKQXP- EHUV7KHVHNLOOHUVDUHGHVWUR\LQJWKH wildlife that has been a part of our society for years and years and are a huge economic factor in many of our FRPPXQLWLHV The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants and needs to sell KXQWLQJ OLFHQVHV DQG WDJV 7KHUH LV not much need to buy these tags if there is nothing to hunt, and our deer herd is to the point where it is almost VKDPHIXOWRNLOORQHRIWKHP Would it be too much to ask of the ODFW people to use some of the money they spend on helicopters to FRXQW WKH GHHU ZH GRQ¶W KDYH DQG instead spend it on helicopters to remove some of the tooth, claw and fang diners from their dinner tables? 7KHUHLVQRGRXEWWKDWZHZRXOG¿QG an increase in the number of animals that are necessary to sustain our deer and elk numbers for viewing, as well as making hunting seasons worth- ZKLOH There is absolutely no reason to allow these killers to run amok DV WKH\ DUH FXUUHQWO\ GRLQJ ,W LV way past time to do something DERXWLW Dean Elliott Canyon City To the Editor: 7KHFLW\FRXQFLORIWKHFLW\RI0W Vernon extends its hearty apprecia- WLRQWRWKHPHPEHUVRIWKH0W9HU- non Cinnabar Mountain Rendezvous &RPPLWWHH They have painted and bright- ened up the “MV” on the hillside DERYH 0W 9HUQRQ :H GRQ¶W KDYH the names of the individuals who worked so hard to do this, but the “MV” looks better than it has in \HDUVDQGLVJUHDWO\DSSUHFLDWHG The Rendezvous Committee has GRQHPRUHIRUWKHFLW\RI0W9HUQRQ than most people hear about and re- DOL]HLQPRUHZD\VWKDQRQH These people take to heart how much our little town means to all of XV 6R DJDLQ NXGRV WR RQH DQG DOO You are appreciated more than you UHDOL]H Mayor Andy Anderson, Coun- cilors Eva Dougharity, Jan Lowry, Wayne Saul and Mike Cearns Mt. Vernon Stand together against tyranny To the Editor: Why should a ranch family which has been a crucial part of Grant County history for over 100 years have to be a supplicant to an agency whose presence has only been here for half that time? Why would local political subordinates, who believe they are omnipotent in their elected positions, obviously support that agency against the lo- cal citizens? 7KH-&2OLYHU5DQFKLVOHJHQG- ary in our area and they are now being forced to justify an objection to massive road closures instigated by the Forest Service on the Wolf Project in southern Grant County C ORRECTION 'HDQ(OOLRWWZDVPLVLGHQWL¿HGLQ of the Eagle with our coverage of the DSKRWRFDSWLRQLQWKH-XQHLVVXH June 11 meeting on the fumes situa- Blue Mountain 195 N. Canyon Blvd. • John Day, OR 97845 541-575-0710 • Fax 541-575-1244 USPS 226-340 John Day, Oregon MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT E DITORIAL A SSISTANT C OMMUNITY N EWS S PORTS M ARKETING R EP C USTOMER S ERVICE R EP Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com editor@bmeagle.com Kristina Kreger, kristina@bmeagle.com Cheryl Hoefler, cheryl@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Lindsay Bullock office@bmeagle.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY: EO Media Group 3HULRGLFDOV3RVWDJH3DLGDW-RKQ'D\DQGDGGLWLRQDOPDLOLQJRI¿FHV SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County Elsewhere in Oregon Continental U.S., Outside Oregon Outside Continental U.S. WLRQLQVRXWKZHVW-RKQ'D\:HDSRO- RJL]HIRUWKHHUURU W HERE TO WRITE EAGLE Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper which will affect access to an allot- ment they have utilized for many \HDUV&ORVXUHVZKLFKKDYHWKHDS- pearance of being supported by the lower levels of the County Court whose loyalties have been severe- O\ LQ TXHVWLRQ IRU D FRQVLGHUDEOH DPRXQWRIWLPH The Forest Service has blatantly ignored the disabilities of two mem- bers of the Oliver family which ne- cessitate motorized access to their allotment, and has deliberately proposed road closures that will ne- gate a long established tradition in OLYHVWRFN PDQDJHPHQW :K\ ZHUH the access issues collaborated in Burns by the Harney County Col- laborative and why did the Harney County Open Roads Coalition – a Harney County Collaborative mem- ber – give its approval of roads and access issues in Grant County? Why ZDVWKH*UDQW&RXQW\VKHULII¶VRE- jection removed from this process when he clearly informed Steve Beverlin of the Grant County Or- dinance 2013-01 on Jan 20, which affects all road and access issues in Grant County? The Forest Service references UHGXQGDQW DQG VFLHQWL¿FDOO\ XQ- substantiated reasons for road clo- VXUHV7KH\UHIXVHRUDUHXQDEOHWR offer any of their referenced envi- ronmental documents which they FODLP VXSSRUW SDVW URDG FORVXUHV With arrogant narrow-minded de- termination, the Forest Service is attempting to destroy our lifestyle, WUDGLWLRQ DQG OLYHOLKRRG ,W LV RXU land and it is time we stood together against tyranny that our government has foisted on us in the form of a dictatorial land management agency that has over stepped its authority granted by the Constitution of the 8QLWHG6WDWHV Jim Sproul Canyon City 1 year $40.00 $48.00 $55.00 $60.00 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery See the Blue Mountain Eagle on the Internet www.MyEagleNews.com POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2015 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. 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Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.