Opinion
4A
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Our View
Dick Mason/The Observer, File
John Appleton fine tunes a bow in December 2019 at
Alpine Archery and Fly, La Grande. Local merchants can
provide the kind of one-on-one help and interactions
that set them apart from online retailers.
Don’t forget
our local
merchants
This year it is more important than ever to shop
local.
The push by chambers of commerce and others
to get people to spend their money locally is not a
new concept, but the fact COVID-19 has wreaked
havoc on many small merchants across the state
means a plan to spend money on Main Street this
year is crucial.
Many small businesses in Oregon faced a
bewildering array of challenges as the pandemic
rolled across the state. From temporary closures to
new social distancing standards, small businesses
were pushed into a tough situation.
Government bailout funds helped. Programs,
such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic
Security Act gave millions of small business
owners the opportunity to offset some of their
losses, but the federal and state programs designed
to help sometimes proved to be difficult to access.
Most small business are on terribly thin mar-
gins to begin with. That is the nature of small
businesses, at least early on in their lives. That
means they can’t weather a long-term financial
blow as easily as a major corporation.
That’s where residents come in. There is no
doubt that online shopping is easy and popular,
but there is something to be said for the kind of
one-on-one contact a person can receive when
they visit a small local business.
Even if the small merchant does not have the
item a person might want in stock, they can order
it. In the end, the cash you place down for that
product stays local, helps the town merchant and
rolls back into the local economy.
A small business that succeeds is more likely
to hire residents. Those residents then spend more
money in the community. Those local merchants
also pay taxes, and those taxes are funneled into
local projects and spending.
The truth is, this year our small-town mer-
chants need our help more than ever. There is
hope on the horizon in the form of a vaccine to
curb COVID-19. Best estimates, though, push the
vaccine out to months before it is readily available.
In the meantime, our local merchants, the
people you may know and care about, must
weather months of challenges.
We can help those small business in town. And
the solution isn’t a complicated one. It is simple —
shop local.
As the holiday season rolls around and you are
looking for that important gift, don’t forget your
local merchants.
Our View
Measure 11 proposal deserve debate
ver since Oregon voters
passed Measure 11 to
try to get sentencing for
crimes right, people have been
looking at the ways Measure 11
can get things wrong.
Measure 11 is Oregon’s ver-
sion of mandatory minimum
sentencing. It applies generally
to what are considered serious
crimes, such as rape, robbery
and murder. It was an under-
standable attempt to provide sen-
tencing guidelines so judges don’t
set wildly different sentences for
similar crimes.
But mandatory minimums
have a way of being too rigid.
One size does not fit all. Manda-
tory minimums also shifts power
to prosecutors away from judges.
Prosecutors can use the min-
imum sentencing in bargaining
with suspects, persuading them
to plead guilty to lesser charges.
Oregon Sen. Floyd Prozanski,
D-Eugene, has a bill in mind for
the 2021 session to improve how
Measure 11 works. We have not
E
The Bulletin/File Photo
Oregon Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, has a bill in mind for the 2021 session
to improve Measure 11, Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing law.
seen a draft. The concept as
explained in Willamette Week
is that the bill “would create a
‘presumptive sentencing’ struc-
ture in which the mandatory
minimum would be only a sug-
gested sentence and the judge
would be given back discretion.
It would only apply to crimes
committed on or after the date
Letter to the editor
Thank you, veterans, Dick Mason and more
To those who may have missed the article in The Observer, Tuesday,
Nov. 10, about Mike Benge, a veteran, please read it. It will be life
changing. I am grateful I took the time on Veterans Day 2020 to do so.
This man is remarkable and deserves more than words can say.
Thank you, Mr. Dick Mason, for writing this amazing story of her-
oism, bravery, courage and humility. In this day and age, we could use
more of these character traits.
On a personal note, I would like to also acknowledge a man I knew
who was an amazing World War II veteran who left to fight at age 18,
promoted immediately to private first class, saw plenty of combat and
worked as a medic. He was my father, who I lost way too young, who
rarely spoke of his experiences. Luckily, we have a treasured, detailed
war journal he wrote for us.
I feel proud, also, to work for La Grande School District, especially
after witnessing the time our amazing teachers took to teach their stu-
dents the importance of honoring our veterans. One of the district’s
music teachers, Kate Dunlap, created in my opinion the most beautiful
video for Veterans Day this year I have ever seen, featuring activities
our elementary school students performed. Thank you, Kate, for cap-
turing our student’s efforts.
Thank you for your service, Dad, Mr. Benge and for the thou-
sands of other servicemen and women who fought for our country’s
freedom. We owe you all a debt of gratitude.
Annette Howell
La Grande
of the bill’s passage.”
It’s not clear to us if judges
would be required to justify if
they deviated from the presump-
tive sentence or if that would
even be appropriate.
And we don’t know if Prozans-
ki’s idea would be better than
what Oregon has, but it does
deserve consideration and debate.
Write to us
Mail: The Observer, 911 Jeffer-
son Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
Email: news@lagrandeob-
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