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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2020)
Opinion 4A Tuesday, June 30, 2020 The Observer MY VOICE City should better support La Grande Farmers Market am writing to express my appreciation to the city of La Grande for reinstating the farmers market permit and allowing the La Grande Farmers Market to be held in Max Square last Saturday. This permit suspension last week revealed the mar- ket’s tenuous position at Max Square and with the city — a situation that is not new. Although the market pays rent to use Max Square, its occupancy has been threat- ened before. A few years ago, the market also was evicted from Max Square with three weeks notice for recon- struction. The market was not NELLA MAE considered in PARKS the reconstruc- COVE tion schedule although it is the most frequent user of the space and has been for a decade. The La Grande Farmers Market draws hundreds of people downtown twice a week to shop. It is one of the only regular tourist attractions, and markets are becoming expected by tourists. The market has dozens of down- town sponsors because of the value it brings to downtown businesses. My questions are: How can we change this tenuous relationship with the city? When will the city see the value that the market brings to the community, citizens and downtown? What can the city do to start supporting the market in a real way? As a member of the Oregon Farmers Market Associ- ation, I know that many cities in the state either provide staff, funds or other support for their markets. To date, the market receives no money or resources from the city and our use of Max Square is not certain. I know many cities across Oregon would pay big bucks for a market as vibrant and established as ours. In short, I think City Hall takes our market for granted and assumes its permanence. This year, 2020, is the market’s 40th year of bootstrap- ping existence. The community’s support for the market is clear. The value the market brings to downtown is clear. This may be the toughest year in the last 40, so per- haps the city could provide some support in words and deeds. Here are a few ideas: • Establish a city fund supporting the market that could help pay for overhead market costs or the manager position. • Improve signage for the market. • Build a bathroom at Max Square to accommodate the market and other events. • Promote the market with local citizens to help us grow our customer base. • Develop a long-term agreement with the market to ensure our ongoing use of Max Square. • Waive the annual rental fee during this difficult year. • Establish a working group between the city and market to create a firm relationship and come up with other ideas to keep the market strong downtown. I’m sure the market staff, board members, vendors and shoppers have many more ideas. Let’s use this situation to create a better partnership so we can have a successful market for 40 more years. I About the Author Nella Mae Parks is the owner of Nella Mae’s Farm in Cove. MY VOICE Why we broke from Northern Blues Forest Collaborative ecently, our organizations made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Northern Blues Forest Collaborative. As founding members of Northeast Ore- gon’s forest collaboratives, our orga- nizations have spent countless hours working in good faith to guide U.S. Forest Service projects that support our local communities while pro- viding better ecological outcomes for the forests we care so much about. Unfortunately, like many other stakeholders before us, we have deter- mined the NBFC has devolved to a point where we can no longer lend it credibility with our continued participation. The premise of collaboration is one we still support. Strongly. As the Forest Service sees its funding con- tinue to dwindle and the public it serves becomes ever more polarized, we need functional collaboration now more than ever. Good collaboratives provide a plat- form for representatives from diverse interests to address problems in a landscape we all care about. Good collaborators speak to be understood and listen to understand. We recog- nize the legitimacy of all interests. We agree on lofty goals of trying to guide willing public agencies toward projects that lead to outcomes that benefit our communities economi- cally, socially and ecologically. We then seek consensus with give-and- take on all sides. Increasingly at the NBFC, when it comes to protecting R Your views Pastor Parker misses the mark I have contained myself as long as I can in regard to pastor James Parker of the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church in Island City. Most all of us are trying our best to follow the governor’s orders during this virus pan- demic. We happen to be one of the states with the lowest number of cases, but now Union County has its first COVID-19 related death. Parker, your large gather- ings could eventually bring more death to a lot of us older folks as well as younger ones. When you say, “It’s the right thing to do” and you will con- tinue doing it, by whose stan- dards is that, and just what does that mean? Veronica Warnock About the Authors Veronica Warnock is the conservation director for Greater Hells Canyon Council. Rob Klavins is the northeast Oregon field coordinator for Oregon Wild. Both are based in Wallowa County. things like old growth, roadless for- ests, wildlife and salmon, there is no give. Respect for one another’s values is written into the NBFC’s oper- ating principles. Yet fellow collabo- rators have marginalized conserva- tion groups and others with whom they disagree. This and more egre- gious violations of collaborative prin- ciples makes legitimate collaboration impossible. The Forest Service is under increasing pressure to log our public lands more aggressively, rush sci- entific review and reduce public involvement. If it were functioning as intended, the NBFC would be an inclusive place where this pressure is balanced by a diversity of viewpoints rather than serving as a platform for advancing one-sided agendas. Forest management and collab- Write to us If you really want to do the right thing, Parker, have all your people stay home. God can hear their prayers from home very well. If it’s the absence of the col- lection plate you missed, brother Parker, I’m sure your congrega- tion will be happy to mail their contributions to you. Please show some consideration and compassion for the rest of us and do the really right thing. Etta Ruberg Union Don’t seek payback, seek to pay it forward Like many in our community, I am saddened and dismayed by the outbreak in Union County. Sometimes I, too, am angry that decisions by the leaders at Light- Rob Klavins Mail: The Observer, 911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850 Email: news@lagrandeobserver. com • The Observer welcomes letters house Church have led congre- gation members to make unsafe choices, and have thus put the wider community at risk. Yet, as a Christian, I cannot condone boycotting Lighthouse member businesses, nor the petition to shut the church permanently. As Christians, we are to love our neighbors, not vilify them. Lighthouse Church members need our compassion, not our desire for revenge. Those with COVID-19, and those who’ve been in contact with them, whether from Lighthouse oratives work best when there are agreed upon rules and sideboards. For 25 years, one such set of rules, commonly known as the “Eastside Screens,” have provided a safety net for old-growth forests, large trees and the wildlife that depend on them in Eastern Oregon. Now, over the objec- tions of independent scientists and the conservation community, the Trump administration is rushing through a process to undermine those pro- tections. Unfortunately, some inter- ests have pushed this divisive process into the collaborative arena, not only in Northeast Oregon, but around the state. We know collaboration can be suc- cessful and have found success in the past — even winning awards for our efforts. We know what good collabo- ration looks like. The NBFC has been devolving for years, which explains its dwin- dling participation. There aren’t many places in Northeast Oregon where conservation voices are given a fair shake. Sadly, the NBFC has become another such place. Therefore, as the last two conservation advocacy mem- bers, we felt our continued participa- tion was lending credibility to a dys- functional collaborative. While our groups have with- drawn from the NBFC, we remain ready and willing to work in good faith with stakeholders and agency staff to protect and restore the public lands and other places we care so deeply about. to the editor. We edit letters for brev- ity, grammar, taste and legal rea- sons. We will not publish consumer complaints against businesses or personal attacks against private individuals. Thank-you letters are discouraged. • Letters are limited to 400 words and must be signed and carry the Church or not, need our support so they can self-isolate to keep this virus from spreading further. This outbreak has made us all too aware that our community is not in a bubble of safety from the rest of the state. Yet we are a community, and we can choose to band together to help one another so we will emerge from this experience stronger and wiser, not splintered by our anger and differences. If you want to help others, first be on your own best behavior: wash your hands, author’s address and phone number (for verification only). • Letter writers are limited to one letter every two weeks, with excep- tions in certain circumstances. • Visit The Observer’s website, www.lagrandeobserver.com, for more news, opinion and other content. stay home except for essen- tial trips and, when you’re out, wear a mask and maintain social distancing. If you want to do more, con- tact your church, join #LaGrande- Strong Coronavirus Neighbor- hood Watch on Facebook, or reach out to Community Con- nection or Neighbors Together to learn how you can help those in need. Roberta Smythe Pastor of Zion Lutheran and St. Peter’s Episcopal churches La Grande
