Opinion
LABEL
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Saturday, May 23, 2020
The Observer
OTHER VIEWS
Memorial Day
carries an added
significance in 2020
W
e live in a new normal of strange days
and that is why the traditional elements
to our daily life — such as Memorial
Day — carry a little more meaning this year.
The day and the weekend where Memorial Day
falls has evolved since it became an official federal
holiday in 1971.
The weekend is synonymous with the beginning
of summer, the end of school, barbecues and family
gatherings.
Yet, the hol-
ANDREW
iday isn’t really
CUTLER
about trips to
EO MEDIA GROUP
fish or barbe-
cues. Originally
known as Decoration Day, it began after the Civil
War and is marked by Americans visiting cemeteries
to honor fallen members of the nation’s armed forces.
The day isn’t a celebration so much as it is a way
to highlight some of the key components — like
duty, commitment and sacrifice — that make up our
democracy.
The graves of our service members should serve as
a reminder that there is, indeed, a price for freedom
and most often that bill is paid by young Americans
serving in faraway places.
This year, though, the holiday, I think, carries a
bit more significance than at any other time in my
memory.
We are firmly ensconced in a pandemic that has
upturned all of our lives. The focus, justifiably,
shifted as we all faced a new paradigm connected to
the COVID-19 virus. And, not surprisingly, the one
item — a virus — that should have avoided being
politicized is now a bitter point of contention among
many, including some — inexplicably — who don’t
believe it even exists.
That is the condition of our country today. And it
is troubling. That’s because we do not advertise our-
selves across the globe as a disinterested, fractured
society intent on tearing itself apart. We still, despite
everything, represent to many places on the globe, a
shining example of what is possible with democracy,
how it can prosper and benefit millions.
Our system is, indeed, worthy of great sacrifice
and toil.
That is what Memorial Day represents. Not divi-
sion. Instead, the graves of the fallen, the final resting
place of those who gave so much for our nation, sym-
bolize we are not divided on our views of freedom.
Memorial Day is a time to remember that despite all
our flaws and missteps we still produce fine young
men and women who willingly decide to commit to
our greater good.
The hallowed ground where our honored fallen
rest represents the best of our nation and also sig-
nifies that we are, indeed, a united people. That in
times of crisis, we deliver our very best.
The sacrifices of our brave men and women are
forever logged on the pantheon of brave deeds.
Yet, their sacrifice, their commitment, also places
a solemn responsibility on those of us who live and
work and play in our great nation. That responsibility
is a simple one — not to let them down and discard
their commitment by division and discord.
We face another great test with the COVID-19
outbreak. Our institutions — and our patience —
face nearly overwhelming stresses. This weekend,
though, we should not focus on what separates us,
but remember those who died in the service of our
nation, who believed in what America stands for and
were willing to put their lives on the line to ensure its
continued success.
About the Author
Andrew Cutler is the editor of the East Oregonian, a
member of the EO Media Group, which also owns The
Observer. He also is an Army veteran.
Your views
Bentz needs to get
straight on counties
reopening
Thanks to The Observer for cov-
ering the forum for 2nd District
Congressional candidates. I’d like
to offer a correction to something
that Cliff Bentz, the candidate who
won the Republican primary, said
at that forum. To quote the paper,
“He described the state’s plan to
reopen businesses as one-size
fits all, an approach that doesn’t
account for the rural counties with
minimal cases of the virus.”
Nothing could be further from
the truth. Counties were asked
to submit their plans to reopen.
All of Eastern Oregon was per-
mitted to do just that. The counties
in and around Portland — Mult-
nomah, Clackamas, and Wash-
ington — didn’t even bother asking
since they are still dealing with
the pandemic. Polk and Marion —
around Salem where there have
been almost a thousand verified
cases, dozens of deaths, and with
the count still rising — were both
initially denied their request. So
Eastern Oregon got its due and Mr.
Bentz needs to acknowledge that
instead of turning a real health
emergency into one more political
wrestling match. If he can’t do that,
I’ll find someone else to vote for.
The pandemic is simple to
explain. It’s a forest fire. There was
a lightning strike off in the dis-
tance. Smoke and flames can be
seen rising high into the sky with
a few embers falling nearby. Some
of those embers are smoldering
in the duff underfoot. There’s the
possibility of fires starting from
those sparks. Some will be put out.
Others might explode into con-
flagrations if we’re not careful.
The dynamics of a pandemic are
exactly the same, and we are the
fuel. We should thank the fire crew
in the governor’s office for having
kept us safe so far.
Norm Cimon
La Grande
DA fails to make case
against judge
I have practiced law as an appel-
late and trial attorney since 1989,
so I read about Union County Dis-
trict Attorney Kelsie McDaniel’s
motion to disqualify Circuit Judge
Wes Williams from a criminal
case because she believes he favors
the defense and cannot be objec-
tive (“DA moves to sideline judge,”
April 25 edition of The Observer).
I obtained a copy of McDan-
iel’s memorandum from the court.
McDaniel cites numerous examples
of what she considers to be Wil-
liams’ bias. However, her memo-
randum includes only about a third
of the records to support her alle-
gations. Some cases McDaniel
relies on are juvenile or civil com-
mitment cases — conveniently, no
one can double-check the truthful-
ness of those claims because those
records are sealed.
Other claims are untrue.
McDaniel discusses a ruling
Williams purportedly made on Jan.
1, 2019 — but Jan. 1 is a court hol-
iday, when hearings are not usually
held, and Williams was not even
a judge (he took office later that
month). McDaniel included a tran-
script to support her claim — but
it was a transcript from a hearing
on Oct. 8, 2019, and of a dif-
ferent issue. McDaniel frequently
fails to cite any legal authority to
show Williams’ rulings are actu-
ally wrong. McDaniel’s failure
to include all of the supporting
records, combined with her sloppy
and inaccurate legal work, makes it
difficult to guess whether her com-
plaints about Williams are valid.
The way the court has handled
McDaniel’s motion raises more
serious issues about our county’s
criminal justice system.
Oregon law provides no way
for an attorney to file a “blanket
motion” that covers all of her or
his cases. Instead, an attorney who
wants to raise an issue must file a
motion in the specific case. Addi-
tionally, Oregon law prevents an
attorney from disqualifying any
judge after that judge has made a
substantive ruling in a case. How-
ever, I understand from court staff
that following McDaniel’s motion,
Presiding Judge Tom Powers
removed Williams from the crim-
inal cases he was handling when
McDaniel’s filed the motion and is
no longer assigning Williams new
criminal cases.
Powers allowed McDaniel to
remove Williams from all criminal
cases without filing a motion in
each case — work required of any
other attorney in this state. Addi-
tionally, Powers allowed McDaniel
to remove Williams from cases
Williams already made substan-
tive decisions on — something
McDaniel has no legal way to do.
If I were still practicing law, I
would be alarmed by Powers’ will-
ingness to bend the rules to accom-
modate the district attorney. If I
were a criminal defendant, I would
insist on disqualifying Powers
from hearing my case, based upon
his clear showing of favoritism and
bias for McDaniel and her office.
Anne Morrison
La Grande
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254
State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-
378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F.
Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem,
OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
State Sen. William S. Hansell (29th
District/Pendleton): Salem office: 900
Court St. NE., S-423, Salem, OR 97301;
503-986-1729. Website: www.oregonleg-
islature.gov/ hansell. Email: sen.billhan-
sell@oregonlegislature. gov.
State Rep. Greg Barreto (58th
District/ Cove): Salem office: 900 Court
St. NE., H-384, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-
1458. Website: www.oregonlegislature.
gov/barreto. Email: rep.gregbarreto@
oregonlegislature.gov.
State Rep. Greg Smith (57th
District): Salem office: 900 Court St. NE.,
H-482, Salem, OR, 97301; 503-986-1457.
Heppner office: P.O. Box 219, Heppner,
OR 97836; 541-676-5154; Website: www.
oregonlegislature.gov/smithg. Email: rep.
gregsmith@oregonlegislature.gov.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative
documents and information are available
online at www.leg.state.or.us.
City of La Grande: Mayor Steve Cle-
ments, City Manager Robert Strope; P.O.
Box 670, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-
1309; fax 541-963-3333.
Union County Commissioners:
Donna Beverage, Matt Scarfo and Paul An-
deres; 1106 K Ave., La Grande, OR 97850;
541-963-1001; fax 541-963-1079.
Wallowa County Commissioners:
John Hillock,Todd Nash and Susan Rob-
erts; 101 S. River St., Enterprise, OR 97828;
541-426-4543, ext. 11; fax 541-426-0582.
Elgin City Councilors: Mayor
Allan Duffy, 501 N 11th St., 541-437-1016,
mayor@cityofelginor.org; Mary West, 260
N 5th Ave., 541-805-0443, councilor3@city-
ofelginor.org; Kathy Warren, PO Box 697,
541-786-9611, councilor6@cityofelginor.
org; Risa Hallgarth, PO Box 525, 541-437-
9462, councilor2@cityofelginor.org; Rocky
Burgess, 800 N 14th St., P.O. Box 854, 541-
786-2417, councilor1@cityofelginor.org;
David Reed, 1011 Detroit St., PO Box 368;
541-975-3306, councilor4@cityofelginor.
org; Ryan Martin, councilor5@cityofelgi-
nor.org.