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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2020)
Opinion 4A Tuesday, December 1, 2020 Our View The Observer, File Young writers gather for a session in 2018 at Fishtrap, the literary nonprofi t in Wallowa county. Fishtrap is one of dozens of local nonprofi ts and charities that could benefi t from a boom during 2020’s Giving Tuesday. Giving matters T oday is Giving Tuesday. The idea came out of the nonprofi t Mary-Arrchie Theater Company in Chicago, which nine years ago urged shoppers to donate to charity once they were done with their Cyber Monday shopping. Giving Tuesday went viral and became a global event. Just as numerous local businesses are strug- gling under the constraints of COVID-19 man- dates, so are dozens of local nonprofi ts. If you have a spare dollar or more, or spare time, con- sider giving to any of these or the other local nonprofi ts and charities operating in Northeast Oregon. • Northeast Oregon Network — Works to improve health systems delivery and health sys- tems planning programs for residents of Eastern Oregon: www.neonoregon.org, 541-624-5101. • Shelter From the Storm — Provides ser- vices to those who have been affected by inter- personal violence, sexual assault and stalking through advocacy, education and awareness: www.unioncountysfs.org, 541-963-7226. • Union County Museum Society — Presents and preserves the history of Union County and the surrounding area and operates the county’s historical museum: www.ucmuseumoregon.com, 541-562-6003. • Union County Warming Station — Pro- vides shelter and resources to preserve the life and health of those with no place to sleep during cold Union County winters: www.ucwarmingsta- tion.org, to donate contact Ashley Smith at 541- 786-6596 or asmith@neonoregon.org. • Art Center East — Community arts orga- nization offers arts learning opportunities in regional schools and other accessible arts pro- gramming: www.artcentereast.org, 541-624-2800. • Blue Mountain Humane Association — Animal shelter and rescue committed to pro- viding a safe, humane, high-save environment to connect all animals with their forever family, and reunite lost animals with their owners: www. bmhumane.org, 541-963-0807. • Wallowa Land Trust — Works coopera- tively with private landowners, Indian tribes, local communities and governmental entities to protect the rural nature of the Wallowa Country: www.wallowalandtrust.org, 541-426-2042. • Wallowa County Humane Society — Com- mitted to the well-being of companion ani- mals: www.wallowacountyhumanesociety.org, 541-263-0336. • Wallowa Resources — Creates strong econ- omies and healthy landscapes through land stew- ardship, education and job creation: www.wallo- waresources.org, 541-426-8053. • Fishtrap — Promotes clear thinking and good writing in and about the West: www.fi sh- trap.org, 541-426-3623. • Josephy Center for Arts and Culture — Provides functional space so Wallowa County residents and visitors can view art, listen to music, watch theater, engage in workshops and classes and learn about and contribute to the history and culture of Wallowa County: www. josephy.org, 541-432-0505. Our View Lawmakers should not hide tire tax T he new year will bring a new Oregon Legislature, and there are already dis- cussions for new taxes. There might be a new tax on tires. Other options are a new tax on the sale, lease and rental of off-road equipment; a new tax on new heavy trucks; and a new tax on diesel fuel used off-road. A legislative task force is set to dis- cuss options on Thursday, Dec. 3. It is for a good cause. Legisla- tors are looking at these options to bring in money to provide incentives to help businesses reduce diesel emissions and get cleaner air. Waiting around for businesses to slowly adopt cleaner vehicles was believed to be hap- pening too slowly. So legislators have been looking at ways to help vehicles burn cleaner fuel, burn Letters More of Oregon’s cherished rivers should be protected I grew up hunting and fi shing on public lands and waters all throughout Oregon, and now as a mother, I cherish what those memories, experi- ences and adventures do for my own children. My children thrive while experiencing the joy of nature and all it has to offer them. I see the impor- tance of the outdoors through the lives and eyes of my children, especially when we are out exploring our public lands and waters. Spending time on a river makes me happier, more attentive, more inclu- sive and more nurturing, and has an less or just burn cleaner. The Legislature also won’t nec- essarily move forward with all these taxes. It may just pick one. It might well be a tire tax. There’s already a federal tax on tires. Many states have them. The state taxes can be about $1 per tire. West Virginia apparently charges the most at $5 per tire. The idea in Oregon might be to charge the tax and use the rev- enue to help with recycling tires and also put money into a fund to provide incentives to help busi- nesses move to cleaner vehicles. That’s basically what California already does. In Oregon, the Leg- islative Revenue Offi ce estimates the annual average revenue from a surcharge of a $1 per tire would be about $3.1 million, growing with population growth. The argument for a tire tax is it is related to the goal of reducing damage to roads and also reducing diesel emissions. Argu- ments against are pretty much the traditional against any new tax — the industry is already taxed in other ways and it just raises costs to consumers. There also is a fairly unique “equity” argument that there is no equivalent tax on railroads or transportation using waterways. If the Legislature does move forward with a tire tax, law- makers should require it be clearly labeled as a tax. Con- sumers should see it when they make their purchase. Legislators crafted Oregon’s $1 billion annual gross receipts tax to conceal the cost from consumers. Don’t do that with a tire tax. Write to us The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are limited to 350 words and must be signed and carry the author’s address and phone number (for veri- fi cation only). Email your letters to news@lagrandeobserver.com or mail them to the address below. enormously positive effect on the relationship I have with my children. The world today is hard to navigate, but when we are outdoors, we are focused on the present situation — the clean air, the clean water, the wildlife and the landscape. Wild and Scenic Rivers across the state of Oregon have improved the quality of life for my family. There are 110,994 miles of river in Oregon. Only 2,173 of those river miles are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Do the math and that pencils out to less than 2% of our state’s rivers that are protected. As a lifelong Oregonian, that statistic doesn’t sit right with me, as I believe Oregonians overwhelmingly cherish our rivers and streams and the unfor- gettable memories we’re able to create on them each year. As such, my family was excited to see Sen. Wyden’s public call for nomi- nations for new Wild and Scenic River designations. Chelsea Cassens Imbler
