Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2018)
2 Wednesday, December 19, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon O P I N I O EARLY HOLIDAY DEADLINES FOR THE NUGGET The Nugget will be closed on Tuesday, December 25 and Tuesday, January 1. Early deadline for display advertising and the events calendar for the issue of December 26 is Thursday, December 20 at 5 p.m. Deadline for classified advertising, announcements, letters to the editor and press releases for the issue of December 26 is Friday, December 21 at 12 p.m. Early deadline for display advertising and the events calendar for the issue of January 2 is Thursday, December 27 at 5 p.m. Deadline for classified advertising, announcements, letters to the editor and press releases for the issue of January 2 is Friday, December 28 at 12 p.m. Happy Holidays! Letters to the Editor… 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 Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned.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: Mark Floyd’s story last week (The Nugget, December 12, page 17) drives home the con- sequences of global warming on everyone, not just those that live on the edge of the ocean. The impacts are being felt everywhere now, including Central Oregon. We all had to breath toxic smoke from California for months this year, which may raise the cancer rates for all affected. There are weather disasters in the U.S. reported on the news every two or three days now, including hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, droughts, or deep snow. These are not normal, and are causing gov- ernors to declare “emergency” status so the federal government will contribute recovery money. This is a global crisis that will only get a lot worse if every one of us does not do our part. Mitigation is necessary, but this is only a band- aid. The trends MUST be reversed. Doing our part does not mean just supporting transition from coal-fired power plants to green energy, although this is important. CO2 emissions from cars and trucks are equal to emissions from power plants, likely even bigger in Oregon because we rely so much on hydro-power. Therefore, doing our part means buying electric vehicles, fuel-efficient vehicles and hybrids. It means limiting unnecessary travel in gas vehicles. It means turning the engine off when parked. The emissions from your car don’t just dissipate on the ground locally, they migrate to the upper atmosphere where they contribute to global warming. Every household and business should be replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs, so that other polluting power plants are not used for our power and California and Washington get clean power from us when we have excess. Every household should be buy- ing efficient heat-pumps and avoiding burning See LETTERS on page 20 Sisters Weather Forecast Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Mostly Cloudy Showers AM Snow Showers Rain/Snow Rain/Snow Rain/Snow 47/33 51/31 40/25 43/32 42/34 40/31 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC Website: www.nuggetnews.com 442 E. Main Ave., P.O. Box 698, Sisters, Oregon 97759 Tel: 541-549-9941 | Fax: 541-549-9940 | editor@nuggetnews.com Postmaster: Send address changes to The Nugget Newspaper, P.O. Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759. Third Class Postage Paid at Sisters, Oregon. Editor in Chief: Jim Cornelius Production Manager: Leith Easterling Graphic Design: Jess Draper Community Marketing Partners: Patti Jo Beal & Vicki Curlett Classifieds & Circulation: Lisa May Proofreader: Pete Rathbun Owner: J. Louis Mullen The Nugget is mailed to residents within the Sisters School District; subscriptions are available outside delivery area. Third-class postage: one year, $45; six months (or less), $25. First-class postage: one year, $85; six months, $55. Published Weekly. ©2018 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. All advertising which appears in The Nugget is the property of The Nugget and may not be used without explicit permission. The Nugget Newspaper, Inc. assumes no liability or responsibility for information contained in advertisements, articles, stories, lists, calendar etc. within this publication. All submissions to The Nugget Newspaper will be treated as uncondition- ally assigned for publication and copyrighting purposes and subject to The Nugget Newspaper’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially, that all rights are currently available, and that the material in no way infringes upon the rights of any person. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return or safety of artwork, photos, or manuscripts. N Slow down on wilderness restriction By Barry Clock Guest Columnist I’ll have to admit that I’m shocked at the lack of response in the let- ters to the editor section, to the commentary (“FS wilderness restrictions are too severe,” by Craig Eisenbeis, The Nugget, December 4, page 5). I can appreciate the issue of overuse of cer- tain areas. It does appear something should be done in regards to those areas and the trails that access them. But I oppose the favored paid/reservations required/quota system to hike numerous area trails, proposed by the Forest Service. It will last until October. It’s excessive and drastic for a begin- ning approach to overuse, instead of starting slowly and carefully. Why is the USFS using such a wide brush on this issue? Instead of restrict- ing only the trails and areas of the very highest need. Those trails where it is overwhelmingly obvious to all that some controls must be put in place before those select areas are “destroyed” by overuse. Then, annually, see how those new restrictions actually worked. And if they are shown to be not enough, in a measurable way, and beyond all doubt — then implement addi- tional restrictions. With public input of course. And if it’s found that cer- tain trails and areas need fewer restrictions, or none at all, then implement that as well, with removal of restrictions. I disagree completely with charging money for the trail hiking permits. It provides every incen- tive for the USFS to do the wrong thing, to increase its cash income and restrict trails to the maximum. And also every incentive for the USFS to require per- mits and reservations on more and more trails. The more trails with required permits, the more money for the USFS. The higher and higher the fees per hiker, the more money for the USFS. The fewer the number of permits, the more money the USFS can charge per permit, because of the scarcity of desired permits. The USFS is trying to “sell” back to us, the use of the lands that we all own. That bothers me. I would maybe agree, if the USFS budget clearly requires small fees to maintain those restricted trails. But only as a last resort! To keep the severe trail permit restrictions in place until October each year is ridiculous — clearly over- kill. What is the goal? To only allow “free” hiking when the weather makes it impossible to do so? Come on! Rigid restrictions that cost money to just hike a trail are the exact oppo- site of what is needed in a clearly troubled America. Nature offers us all a retreat from the “insanity” of parts of life in America today. Offers us a real world, where the artifi- cial tech world fades into the background for a few hours or days. That’s ter- ribly important to provide to all of us but especially the young. We are lucky enough in Central Oregon to live next door to that “real” world of nature. And we’re going to surrender our ability to use it? Please, please start slow, and then proceed care- fully and methodically. As uncomfortable and messy as the process is, include the maximum general pub- lic in the process at every possible opportunity. I had hoped I wouldn’t be around to see this day come. I’d much rather lose my right to vote or my right to free speech than to lose my “right” to sometimes just get away to beauty and nature on a moment’s notice. Rather than to lose my ability to totally forget about money, problems and all that, for a few dozen hours or a few days every year. Even if I don’t use it, just knowing I can ... is worth the world to me. I’m completely seri- ous. I know that is true for many others that live here. Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.
