4A
FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2020
The Observer
OUR VIEW
Legislators,
don’t hide
your bills
Almost any Oregon legislator can launch into a
passionate speech about how much they believe
in accountability and transparency. But they don’t
always deliver. Nowhere is that more glaring than
in bills in the Legislature. Legislators conceal who
introduced bills and who is behind them.
Not every bill is like that. But no bill should be like
that. And yet year after year, there are bills in the
Legislature that don’t clearly declare which legisla-
tor or legislators brought them forward.
Go through the list of legislative concepts that
lawmakers are talking about this week and it’s hard
to fi nd any that say who is behind them. They are
often what are called committee bills, meaning they
are going to be introduced on behalf of a committee.
That means no legislator takes direct responsibility.
It means voters can’t hold legislators accountable.
Why should that be allowed? We have never heard a
satisfactory answer.
Legislators do sometimes introduce bills on behalf
of constituents. They may not agree completely with
what a constituent wants in the bill. They should
still have to put their name on the bill.
Legislators also sometimes introduce bills on
behalf of the governor or a state agency. They should
still have to put their name on the bill.
Legislators do work together on legislation, as well.
Then put all their names on it.
If you have the spare time to follow a bill as it
moves through the Legislature, it usually becomes
apparent who is supporting it and who is not. And in
our experience, particularly with the Eastern Oregon
delegation, individual legislators will be forthcoming
about their legislative agenda. They don’t hide it.
But there should be no mystery in any bills or draft
bills in the Legislature. Voters should not have to
play detective. When a bill or draft bill is discussed, it
shouldn’t be a whodunit.
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My Voice
Grande Ronde
Hospital on
right road for
2020
Refl ecting on the past and look-
ing forward to the future is a time-
honored New Year tradition for many
of us, but even more so in 2020 as
we leave the teens behind for a new
decade.
For me and my family, 2019
brought many changes. Settling
into a new job, new community, new
schools and more. I look back on all
2019 held for us and one thing I can
say for certain: This community and
this hospital has welcomed the Davis
family with open arms. We’ve come
home.
I tried to spend as much time as
I could my fi rst year as president
and CEO of Grande Ronde Hospital
reaching out and meeting as many
of you as possible to thank you for
the warm welcome to Union County.
All the places I’ve gone, and all the
people I’ve talked to this past year,
have convinced me the best ambassa-
dors for Union County, and what we
JEREMY DAVIS
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF
GRANDE RONDE HOSPITAL
have to offer new providers, are the
people who live here.
More than 700 of these ambas-
sadors work with me at Grande
Ronde Hospital. We have been busy
this past year making our newest
employees feel welcomed and valued.
Change always brings some chaos,
but the integration of so many new
faces — including mine — has gone
well. My conversations and meetings
with our staff here have shown me
that as a team we are happy, ener-
gized and ready to take on the new
decade with passion and purpose.
We welcomed an unprecedented
number of new providers in 2019.
Eight of these new providers are
already on board and seeing patients,
with a ninth starting this month.
An additional three providers have
recently committed to joining our
community. Four new providers are
family physicians who will offer
much-needed primary care for our
community. We continue to recruit as
our patient needs dictate.
For those of you who have heard
me speak, you know of my watchful
Your views
Workers who are not
respected or paid a living
wage will not stay on the job
The Imbler classifi ed union and
the Imbler School District have been
negotiating since last spring for a new
contract.
While we have found common ground
on issues, the district has been unwilling
to compensate experienced staff with
longevity.
These dedicated employees work
hard to give students the best education
and deserve fair compensation for their
loyalty and experience. Like those in
our community, we face rising costs for
housing, groceries and necessities. We
have asked the district for an increase
of four steps to our salary schedule or
compensation for longevity, which would
encourage long-term employees to con-
tinue working to better our schools.
The district is not willing to provide
these steps or longevity pay.
The classifi ed staff are the lowest
paid employees in the district with an
average annual salary of $18,113. The
district knows that funds are available.
The local tax and state aid revenues
have increased in recent years, and the
district provided fi gures showing a gen-
eral fund balance of 30.7% of its revenue
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Wendy Crow
Imbler School District Classifi ed Union
Bargaining Team
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eye on the state of rural and small
hospital closures around the coun-
try. We are strong and independent,
and have every intention of remain-
ing so, but we can never take our
successes for granted. We know we
cannot remain successful without the
support of each and every one of you.
Our community’s support will help
us remain strong and independent,
so we can continue to deliver on our
mission to provide access to high-
quality, cost-effective care for every
person in need of our services.
Over the past year, we developed a
business plan that puts that time-
honored mission statement front and
center with a new vision statement
that says: Quality health care is our
mission. Patients are our passion.
Our new core values statement is
simple: The Four Cs of Creativity,
Compassion, Collaboration and Cred-
ibility. These new vision and value
statements, along with our mission,
were developed with input from
many of our employees. I am proud
to say this road we are on for 2020 is
the result of teamwork from a group
of people I am honored to work with
every day.
So, here’s to a new decade, Union
County. I’m excited we are on this
journey together.
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