4A
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2019
The Observer
OUR VIEW
We’re going
fishing for
the big ones
If you have been reading Oregon news the last
couple of years, you probably noticed a trend: The
most interesting news stories are coming out of
rural Oregon, often Eastern Oregon.
Oregon Public Broadcasting in early November pub-
lished an expansive look at Grant County, where the
sheriff’s political views and official acts have split the
community in the wake of the Malheur occupation.
Baker County sheriff’s deputies in July ar-
rested Colby James Hedman, 23, on multiple
counts of vehicle theft. The ensuing investigation
connected Hedman to the murder of Kyle Jordan
Martz, 35, an adviser at Whitman College, Walla
Walla. According to court records, Hedman dis-
membered his victim and stole his car.
I began covering a court case back in Umatilla
County in 2018 that involved fraud and elder
abuse and led the district attorney’s office to file
motions prohibiting one circuit judge from presid-
ing over any criminal cases. Those circumstances
continue to produce waves there, including a Bar
complaint against the district attorney’s office.
Right here
FROM THE
in Union
EDITOR
County,
PHIL WRIGHT
Grande
Ronde Hospi-
tal and a former cardiac surgeon were defendants in a
federal whistler blower lawsuit. We have a three-way
race for sheriff, the first time in perhaps 30 years, and
one candidate, Bill Miller, used to work for the incum-
bent, Sheriff Boyd Rasmussen, who is seeking a fifth
term. With the filing deadline not until March 10, the
field could grow even more interesting.
Today’s Observer offers an overarching look at
the most pressing issue in La Grande: the delay in
opening the Union County Warming Station. And
The Observer itself has been a big story, from the
bankruptcy of its former owner, Western Commu-
nications, to the sale of The Observer and related
newspapers to the East Oregonian Media Group.
Let’s be frank — Western Communications did
The Observer, its employees and this community
no favors. The Observer crew has been through a
lot. They have moxie. That counts for something.
Then I jump in, my first go as an editor, a na-
tive of Pendleton who was an English major in
college and is something of a film snob. But I’m
keen to work with this small but hardy news
team, and I’m committed to capturing the stories
that matter to the community.
We’re already begun pushing out more hard
news coverage the last couple of weeks, a trend I
aim to continue. We also obtained public records
to find out what was happening at the Flying J
restaurant. Public records are a reporter’s bread
and butter, so expect more stories using them.
We’re also going to explore bringing on local
contributing columnists and letting our reporters
produce regular columns as well.
Other changes are going to be more subtle, and not
all of this will happen at once. No doubt I’m going
to stumble. Not every decision I make will be good.
But I’m a big fan of science. If your experiment only
proves what you know, you didn’t learn much.
For those readers who have endured the tumul-
tuous waters the paper has navigated this past
year or so, you have our thanks. For those who
are new, welcome aboard. The sailing remains
bumpy. Maybe that’s the only kind of sailing any-
more for newspapers.
That’s OK. We’ll get to where we can stand in
the fast water so we can fish for the big stories.
I don’t think you can catch the big ones if you’re
out of the mainstream.
— Phil Wright is the editor of The Observer.
MY VOICE
Animals have an ally in the
Trump administration
O
n Sept. 10, the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency issued a memoran-
dum calling for the agency to make the
reduction of animal testing a priority.
Tens of millions of animals are used
yearly to test drugs, cosmetics and
other household items. Dozens of spe-
cies are used in experiments with the
majority of them having been purpose-
bred. Most animals are killed at the
end of the experiments, if they live to
the end of the study. In 2019, we no
longer need to test toothpaste, shampoo
and eye shadow on animals. The Food
and Drug Administration does not
require the use of animals in cosmetic
testing.
When trying to combat human dis-
eases it is common to genetically ma-
nipulate mice, but human and mouse
genes obviously behave differently,
and 90% of drugs that test safe and
effective in animals later fail in human
clinical trials. And it’s not just mice
that are being used in experiments in
the United States and in other coun-
tries. Tens of thousands of dogs and
cats are still being used in experiments
in the United States today. Dozens of
dog breeds are used but beagles are
the breed of choice for most research-
ers as they tend not to bite when they
are being hurt. Using human cells and
computer models is clearly more com-
passionate and these methods are also
proving to be more effective.
The EPA’s memorandum calls for the
agency to reduce funding of mammal
studies by 30% by 2025 and eliminate
all mammal study funding by 2035.
The memorandum also “directs the
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution
Prevention and the Office of Research
and Development to prioritize ongoing
efforts, and to direct existing resources,
toward additional activities that will
demonstrate measurable impacts in
the reduction of animal testing while
ensuring protection of human health
and the environment.” The EPA further
announced $4.25 million in funding for
the development and use of alternative
test methods to reduce, refine and/or
replace vertebrate animal testing. And
it’s about time. Animal testing is need-
lessly cruel and obsolete.
The Trump administration should
receive full credit for leading this ongo-
ing campaign against animal cruelty.
Trump and his administration are
pushing common sense changes that
benefit animals, and the president is
getting virtually no praise for it. To
the president and his supporters, it’s a
common refrain.
The president’s daughter-in-law
Lara Trump is a longtime, outspoken
and hardworking advocate for animals.
This spring, Lara Trump along with
former Republican Florida Attorney
General Pam Bondi and Florida Re-
publican Reps. Brian Mast and Matt
Gaetz backed a federal crackdown
on inhumane puppy mill practices,
including commercial puppy breeding
operations.
In December 2018 President Presi-
dent Trump signed the “Dog and Cat
Meat Prohibition Act” into law in a
groundbreaking victory for animals
in the United States and the world.
Before this was signed into law, it was
still actually legal in 44 states to eat
dogs and cats. The law prohibits the
shipping, sale and transportation of
animals for the “purpose of slaughter
for human consumption.”
On Nov. 25, Trump signed the Pre-
venting Animal Cruelty and Torture
Act, which criminalizes certain acts of
animal cruelty into federal law. Trump
and fellow Republicans have also
backed other animal welfare initiatives
including a move to reverse euthanasia
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A division of
Ryan Moore is a writer, songwriter
and social media
strategist. Ryan has
adopted a cat and
rabbits that were
victims of animal
testing from Beagle
Freedom Project and a dog from a
puppy mill that was shut down.
My Voice columns should be
500-700 words. Submissions
should include a portrait-type
photograph of the author. Authors
also should include their full name,
age, occupation and relevant
organizational memberships.
We edit submissions for brevity,
grammar, taste and legal reasons.
We reject those published
elsewhere. Send columns to
La Grande Observer, 1406 5th St.,
La Grande 97850, fax them to 541-
963-7804 or email them to news@
lagrandeobserver.com.
plans for horses on federal lands and
“pets for vets,” which is a program to
help our veterans who are suffering
from PTSD and other ailments by
teaming them up with shelter animals.
The program is a big win-win to save
and help veterans and shelter animals.
Helping animals is a nonpartisan
issue with bipartisan support. Neither
Republicans nor Democrats want
animals to suffer needlessly, and we
need to work together where we agree
instead of just blaming the opposing
party and wanting them to fail. A lot
more needs to be done to reduce and
end animal suffering in the United
States, but it is abundantly clear that
animals now have a strong and sincere
advocate in the White House.
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La Grande, Oregon 97850
Publisher........................................Karrine Brogoitti
Classifieds ........................................ Devi Mathson
Regional circulation director ....................Kelli Craft
Home delivery advisor.................Amanda Fredrick
Editor .....................................................Phil Wright
Customer service rep ......................... Mollie Lynch
News clerk....................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative...............Juli Bloodgood
Sports editor .......................................Ronald Bond
Advertising representative...................... Amy Horn
Reporter................................................Dick Mason
Graphic design supervisor................Dorothy Kautz
Reporter....................................Sabrina Thompson
Graphic design ..............................Cheryl Christian
Chris Rush, Regional Publisher