8
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Merkley talks ‘soul of nation’ at town hall meeting in Sisters
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley presented J. W. Terry of Central Oregon Veterans Outreach with a flag flown over the U.
S. Capitol in recognition of services provided by COVO to the veterans of Central Oregon at last week’s town hall.
Merkley was one of the
first Senators to call for a
special investigation into pos-
sible ties between Russia and
the Trump campaign..
“We need to shut down the
Senate if Mueller is fired,”
Merkley said when discuss-
ing the Russia investigation.
There is a bill being con-
sidered that would take away
the ability of the President to
fire a special investigator.
When asked, “How can
we stop Trump from selling
off our birth right (national
monuments)?” Merkley
pointed out that it isn’t clear
if the President has the legal
ability to shrink the size of
national monuments. He
reported that Secretary of the
Interior Ryan Zinke appears
“to be looking for excuses to
shrink the Cascade-Siskiyou
National Monument.” In a
memo to the President, Zinke
recommended shrinking the
monument to “reduce impact
on private land and allow
for more logging on Federal
property.”
BUY OR
SELL YOUR CAR
with locally owned ...
(Low miles • newer than 2005)
Best
B
Bes
Be
es s t P
Price!
ric ce!
e N
No Has
Hassles!
assle
s s! CAR
sle
CARFAX
FAX Certifi
Ce erti
rt fie
fi ed!
d!
Sisters Car Connection
541-815-7397
102 W. Barclay Dr., Sisters
See TOWN HALL on page 22
The Sweetest
Gift of All…A
Beautiful Smile!
Call now to schedule your
complimentary consultation
2015 AUDI Q5
QUATTRO AWD
$
33,400
30k, Premium Plus with
warranty, panoramic roof,
all-weather package,
tech package. Super nice!
Merkley sponsored the
bill enlarging the Cascade-
Siskiyou National Monument
that protects 113,000 acres
of forest and grasslands in
southwestern Oregon and
northwestern California.
“We have to fight back,”
he urged the audience.
Merkley cited the
Supreme Court’s Citizens
U. S. Senator Jeff Merkley
(D-OR) told a town hall
meeting in Sisters last week,
“We are in a battle for the
soul of our nation. This coun-
try was founded as a govern-
ment that reflects the will of
the people.”
Merkley highlighted a
number of issues that repre-
sent the battleground as he
answered audience questions.
As a self-proclaimed advo-
cate of working Americans,
Merkley says his four core
issues are creating living-
wage jobs, housing, health-
care, and education.
A Sisters High School stu-
dent asked Merkley, “What
is your stance on gun con-
trol and what will you do to
change the system?”
His response included
some statistics from the
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention for 2016,
which showed there were
37,461 traffic deaths, but
even more gun-related deaths
at 38,658.
He polled the audience by
a show of hands regarding:
how many favored closing
the loopholes on a national
level in background checks
at gun shows and on Craig’s
List; how many favored
removal of the block to con-
ducting research into gun
safety and gun violence; and
how many support a ban on
assault rifles and high-capac-
ity magazines. A majority of
the audience was in favor of
all three. Merkley pointed out
that those results were very
different from his two town
halls held the day before in
Lakeview and Klamath Falls.
According to the CDC, in
mass shootings over the past
20 years where six or more
have died, virtually every one
involved large-capacity mag-
azines. Merkley would like
to see a national approach to
providing guidance counsel-
ors in all schools and a broad-
ened ability of the mental-
health system.
Merkley views the current
atmosphere of extreme parti-
sanship in Washington D.C.
as a huge hurdle to doing the
work of the people. He lik-
ened it to a “dysfunctional
marriage where you continue
to reach out” but nothing ever
changes.
He recalled that in 1976
when he was an intern for
then-Senator Mark Hatfield,
politicians on both sides of
the aisle spent time together
outside of chambers and were
in Washington D.C. most
weekends. Now, lunches and
social events are all along par-
tisan lines, everyone leaves
town on the weekends, and
the bases are farther apart.
“On the small issues,
it’s pretty easy to find part-
ners for support of a bill,
but on the bigger issues it’s
lots harder. We need to cre-
ate relationships across the
aisle,” Merkley observed.
Carpet &
Upholstery
Winter is past...fl owers are coming.
The turtledoves are singing in the land.
541-549-6471
35 yrs. exp. • Peter Herman, Owner
$300 discount for the month of
April when you start a comprehensive
treatment program. New patients only.
Flexible fi nancing.
Smile by Eryn
& The Brace Place!
541-382-0410
410 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters
CentralOregonBracePlace.com
Sisters Nails
& Spa
The Royal Experience
Celebrating Our First Anniversary!
Wednesday
Boone Dog Pizza Cart will
be closed for the month of
April and will re-open
May 1st.
Thank you to the community for supporting us
through the winter months, we will see you soon!
Corner of Hood & Fir
Eurosports Food Cart Garden
April 25
Free Food
& Drinks
Live Music
with
Jeff Ibach
541-904-0979 | Next to Bi-Mart | Open Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nails • M
N
Manicures/Pedicures
/P
• Shellac
S
• D
Dip P
Powder • Waxing
W
• F
Foot M
Massage
