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Wednesday, November 29, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
O
P
I
N I
O
N
Jim
Anderson
Save ghe pine grees!
Leggers go ghe Edigor…
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ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
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To the Editor:
Knowing we have a special election in
January but not sure of exactly why we
are being asked to vote on this measure, I
searched the Internet for some answers. I
wish to share and encourage others to find
the information as I did. We might be receiv-
ing a voter’s pamphlet but it is also available
on line at the Secretary of State’s office for
Oregon.
Current law, passed by the Oregon legisla-
ture this past session, which goes into effect
this coming year, provides an extension of an
already existing tax on hospitals, an increase
of 0.07 from previous level, and a new 1.5
percent tax on managed health care, some
healthcare insurance plans, and the PEBB.
Because of the budget shortfall, this two-
year tax was passed by the legislature and
signed into law, to ensure that all Oregon
children would continue to have healthcare,
that 95 percent of Oregonians will continue to
have healthcare, and that 210,000 Oregonians
will see lower premiums. There is a 1.5 per-
cent limit on how much health insurance pre-
miums can be raised in Oregon.
If it fails, the state would lose an estimated
$630,000-$960,000 in matching federal funds.
If we vote no, the measure would remove
this temporary tax. From what I read, it
appears that nearly 25 percent of Oregonians
have a disability, and veterans are approxi-
mately 17 percent of that group, and would
stand to lose medical care under the OHP.
Until recently women were charged higher
healthcare premiums for having pre-existing
See LETTERS on page 30
Sisgers Weagher Forecasg
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Mostly Sunny
Chance Showers
Mostly Cloudy
Chance Showers
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43/24
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Sisters is one of the Tree
Cities of the USA; there are
signs around town saying
so. That means you, me, the
city and school movers-and-
shakers should have a better-
than-casual understanding of
what trees mean in our lives.
It was the off-hand
remark in the bus barn story
“Citizens question new bus
barn facility,” The Nugget,
November 22, page 1) about
the “removal” of 23 pines
and unspoken number of
junipers, and to replace them
with a chain-link fence that
really put a burr under my
saddle.
To begin with, I wonder
if the new bus barn is really
necessary. My old pal Bob
Couch, with whom I logged
back in the late ’50s, had an
expression I love: “If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.”
As near as I can see, the
only reason this great plan
for a new bus barn is in the
works is because of the so-
called $4 million windfall.
If my memory serves
me correctly, there was a
piece in The Nugget a while
back saying there aren’t as
many students attending the
Sisters schools this term as
in the past, and income from
the state represented by stu-
dent numbers is down. That
(to me) means there aren’t
as many students riding the
busses as in the past, and
our current society’s young
couples are probably rais-
ing pets rather then kids. So,
why the big crush for get-
ting a new bus barn — just
to spend the money?
But it’s really the
removal of those 23 pines
and assorted junipers that’s
got my dander up. Every
tree we have around Sisters
has a role to play in our
current and future welfare.
There should be a Tree
Commissioner who says yay
or nay to cutting any tree
growing in Sisters Country.
Remember photosynthe-
sis? It is a process by which
plants, algae, and certain
microorganisms transform
light energy from the sun
into the chemical energy
of food. Sound familiar?
During photosynthesis,
energy from sunlight is har-
nessed and used to convert
carbon dioxide and water
into organic compounds,
namely sugar molecules —
and OXYGEN. Humans
— you and me — require
oxygen to sustain life.
“Removing” another 23
healthy pines — along with
an assorted bunch of juni-
pers — is, in my opinion,
stupid.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it” is the code I believe
we should all live by. I never
heard a word about replac-
ing our old, well-used bus
barn until someone heard
about four million bucks for
the taking. The way things
are going, 20 years from
now — long after I’ve gone
out among the stars, and the
old Patterson Ranch is wall-
to-wall houses — someone
will ask, “Hey, why did
we build that crummy bus
barn?”
Twenty years from now
there may not even be a
Sisters school system as
we know it today. I’ll bet
it’ll be something you and I
can’t even dream of. Maybe
students will all stay home
and do their schooling on
their computers, or some
other fancy gizmo that will
replace human teachers.
Whatever way things go,
however, I’ll give you two
dollars to a donut those
huge, yellow, gas-guzzling
school buses won’t be in the
picture, and someone may
ask, “Why did we remove
those 23 trees, and when are
we going to replace them?”
The plan hasn’t even got
off to a start and the planners
are talking about messing
with school traffic, remov-
ing parking spaces, redoing
student parking and con-
sidering tampering with the
school campus.
The bus barn planners
say they may even consider
a new location. Well, I hope
that’ll save the 23 trees! But
wouldn’t it be better to put
the money into creating new
playgrounds, or purchasing
new electronic gadgets.
Forget the bus barn
that’ll be ancient history in
20 years. Put the money into
creating a research forest for
science teacher Rima Givot
and the crew to use as part
of the IEE program. A week-
long camping activity for
all ages of students would
be a winner for the Sisters
schools, and forget “remov-
ing” those beautiful trees.
We could also consider
just saving the money for a
rainy day.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.