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Wednesday, May 23, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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By David A. Asson
Guest Columnist
Honoring those
who died defending our
FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY
LettersbtobthebEditor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writerʼs name, address and phone number. Let-
ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be
no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.
To the Editor:
On behalf of the Sisters Park & Recreation
District, I want to thank the voters for pass-
ing the local option tax levy in last week’s
election. With nearly 60 percent of the voters
supporting the levy, we are humbled by this
outpouring of support.
Passage of the levy is the result of years of
preparation. Ten years ago, SPRD was faced
with significant financial issues and lacked
strong community support. Thanks to the con-
certed efforts, over the past decade, of board
members, staff and a legion of volunteers,
SPRD is in position to put the new tax rev-
enues to good use.
The board understands that it is obliged to
use these new funds wisely and as outlined in
the levy. We also know that we must continue
to look for ways to leverage our tax revenues
with grants, fundraising events, partnerships,
and volunteers.
This week the board, working with a group
of citizen volunteers, will begin planning for
how to use the additional funds when they
become available. On our radar will be low-
ering costs for after-school programs, pro-
ducing outstanding special events and sports
tournaments, broadening the selection of adult
programs, better supporting our staff and
addressing the backlog of maintenance issues
at SPRD headquarters and the adjoining recre-
ation facilities.
See LETTERS on page 14
SistersbWeatherbForecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
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Thunderstorms
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Showers
Partly Cloudy
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Editor ʼs note: David
Asson is a Sisters City
Councilor. He notes that all
comments in this article are
solely his own.
Four years ago, in
November 2014, Sisters
voted narrowly to permit
marijuana dispensaries to
open for business, as did the
entire state of Oregon.
Based on unscientific
discussions it seems to me
that our populace is still
almost equally divided
on the issue. Marijuana is
illegal nationally, but City
Council has been informed
that Federal law is not
expected to be enforced
or changed any time soon.
We are advised to plan and
decide without regard to
national possibilities. An
initial stop-gap recommen-
dation is to adopt TPMs
(Time, Place, and Manner
regulations) which would
allow the City to control
hours of operation (Time),
permittable locations
(Place), and appearance
(Manner). Some Oregon
jurisdictions are even chal-
lenging the vote, i.e. trying
to legally disallow dispen-
saries. Early results sug-
gest that they will not be
successful.
There is some interest
in placing the measure on
the November ballot so that
the public can have a sec-
ond chance to express their
view. Although stated as
fact, a vote for referral has
not yet been taken. I oppose
doing so.
OLCC has adopted and
is enforcing a detailed set
of rules intended to track
and control the growth,
processing, transport, mar-
keting, employee training,
counter display, safekeeping
and assurance of marijuana
product quality. I have vis-
ited an established dispen-
sary and heard or read hours
of pro and con testimony.
Modern-day shops are not
what I visualized months
ago. Successful ones will
be run by well-informed
business people. Some
shop operators demonstrate
a willingness to assist in
establishing acceptable
TPMs. An example pro-
posed by an owner that I
spoke with is to locate shops
in a marijuana zone off main
street and minimize outside
advertising. This would
lessen glaring curbside
impressions.
And, there is evidence
that some products do
reduce pain and stress.
These arguments fail to
address the basic core val-
ues test that many, includ-
ing myself, wish society
could embrace. However, it
seems that little merit will
be given such concern. I
urge all to visit an existing
shop and ask questions. You
may find that stereotypes of
past behavior are not as neg-
ative under today’s condi-
tions as we came to believe.
I believe the best course
of action is for Council to
design appropriate TPMs
and vote directly to allow
dispensaries to operate in
Sisters.
My specific reluctance
to having a public re-vote
is based on unpredictable
consequences. To sponsor
a second vote fairly, the
City would have to edu-
cate voters on both sides
of the issue. Attempting to
inform all with so short a
timeline would be formi-
dable. I have spent hours
in training and am still not
solidly convinced of the
right thing to do. I sense
that permission to oper-
ate is the logical outcome,
but... Let’s assume the sec-
ond vote remains the same.
We will have raised some
people’s hopes, delayed
the process, and made little
headway.
On the other hand, if
the vote turns out negative,
i.e. to not allow dispensa-
ries, there will be a serious
quandary. Council could
not then look the public in
the eye, say thank you for
voting and then declare that
dispensaries will be allowed
anyway. How would that
play? Those opposed may
rejoice momentarily think-
ing that they succeeded in
banning marijuana, while
those favoring acceptance
engage attorneys to override
a dubious reversal. Given
results to date the propo-
nents would likely win.
I pray that Council and
Sisters agree to put this dif-
ficult issue to rest without
further delay.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.