Opinion
4A
Saturday, May 1, 2021
Our View
Draft a wish list
for your Oregon
legislators
e’d like you to draft a multimil-
lion-dollar wish list and send it off to
your Oregon state senator and state
representative.
Each of Oregon’s 30 senators can spend $4
million in federal funding — almost as they
please. And each of the 60 members of the House
has command of $2 million.
Who knows better than you where it should be
spent? Or at least, they should listen to your sug-
gestions and thank you for them.
The total $240 million comes courtesy of the
federal American Rescue Plan Act. This deal
for spreading around the money was struck to
keep Democrats and Republicans in the Legisla-
ture focused on passing legislation, not fighting.
Lawmakers have until May 10 to come up with
lists. All the lists submitted may well be rounded
up into what they call a Christmas tree bill, so
everybody’s goodies are rolled into one. That way
the bill surely will pass.
Now you could be a penny pincher and tell
your Oregon legislators not to spend a penny.
You have to know, though, other legislators
won’t let the money sit around. They will spend
it. Might as well take local control of the money.
The overall state budget is in good shape. The
early session pandemic financial fretting melted
away with the spring, because the total Oregon
is expected to get from the federal rescue plan is
some $2.6 billion.
One-time spending of $4 million or $2 million
can’t fix wildfire risk in national forests. It won’t
build much for roads anywhere. Some targeted
dollars, though, can change lives.
Union County’s aging jail is in need of major
upgrades, possibly even a better facility entirely.
A big chunk of money could help provide ser-
vices to combat homelessness in the county. Of
course, state Rep. Bobby Levy and Sen. Bill
Hansell, our voices in the Legislature, have dis-
tricts covering multiple counties so they will have
plenty of folks asking for the dollars they can
allocate.
It perhaps makes sense not to spend it on
hiring people for new jobs or to start up new pro-
grams. How do you pay for them next year? That
said, it might make sense to spend it on a pilot
program if there’s a good idea that needs testing
out. Eastern Oregon University probably has
some of those that could benefit from a financial
boost.
There’s such a big need for so many things it’s
not going to be easy to divvy up a few million.
Are some needs more acute right now? Would
it help to spend some more to encourage more
people to get vaccinated? Is there a program in
the schools that could make a real difference for
students who lost learning because of the pan-
demic? Could something be done to help keep
businesses operating? Is there anything needed
for public safety training? Affordable housing,
fighting child abuse, homelessness and so many
more ideas that we have not mentioning also are
deserving.
It’s not going to be so easy for legislators to
pick. You may have a good idea that your leg-
islator never thought of. You may have a good
idea that your legislator is on the fence about. Let
them know.
If you are not sure who your legislator is, you
can enter your address at oregonlegislature.gov/
FindYourLegislator/leg-districts.html and it will
tell you. Click on their name and their email
address should pop up. Then plan your wish list.
W
Other Views
Why joining Idaho is the right choice
MIKE McCARTER
GREATER IDAHO PROPONENT
his May, voters in five coun-
ties of Eastern Oregon will be
deciding whether to entrust
the future of their children and their
communities to the governance of an
enlarged Idaho or to the unhinged pol-
iticians of Salem.
The Idaho Legislature is controlled
by representatives from rural districts,
who govern according to the concerns
and priorities of rural counties.
The ruling party in the Oregon
House doesn’t have a single repre-
sentative from Eastern Oregon or
any rural district. Since the ruling
party doesn’t consult the other party,
Eastern Oregon is completely ignored.
Long after Gov. Kate Brown is
out of office, her replacements will
continue to act on the priorities and
values of Northwest Oregon because
that area has 79% of Oregon’s
voters. This is why Oregon hasn’t
elected a Republican governor in
38 years, and Democrats have a
super-majority in both houses of the
T
Oregon Legislature.
You might be a Democrat, but
most Eastern Oregon Democrats don’t
want Eastern Oregon to be ruled by
the kind of Portland politicians who
won’t or can’t stand up to the relent-
less advancement of radical leftist
proposals. They don’t understand
how we make a living. Their deci-
sions damage industries like timber,
mining, trucking and farming.
“The ruling party in Salem has
a vision of the future that does not
include people like me or the rural
culture of my community, friends,
and family,” said former Speaker of
the Oregon House of Representatives
Mark Simmons of Union County.
“It is time to part ways with them by
every legal means available to us.”
Voting patterns prove that Eastern,
Central and Southern Oregon do not
belong in Oregon. It’s bigger than pol-
itics — it’s our culture. These areas
gave two votes to Trump for every
Hillary or Biden vote, just like Idaho.
Our counties would be better off
as part of Idaho. Oregon schools rank
37th in the nation. Idaho’s schools
rank 23rd, according to U.S. News.
Idaho is the state with the eighth
smallest tax burden, and Oregon ranks
33rd, according to taxfoundation.
Letter to the editor
Trust the science — get vaccinated
There is only one way to end the
COVID-19 pandemic: herd immu-
nity. On April 19, Oregon took a major
step forward toward that goal when
COVID-19 vaccination was opened
to the general population. I want to
strongly encourage everyone to get
their vaccine as soon as possible.
Generating an immune response
through vaccination is the single-most
important step you can take to get
back to life as normal. Getting to herd
immunity means that we will be able to
ditch masks, ditch cumbersome quar-
antine requirements, and ditch social
distancing.
While growing up, my family would
have a “Good Riddance” party at New
Year’s, where we would throw into the
fireplace crumpled up pieces of paper
upon which we wrote things that we
were excited to leave behind in the pre-
vious year. This shot, particularly this
early in the year, gives us an excel-
lent chance to say “Good Riddance” to
COVID-19 as we consider 2022.
Many people have chosen not to
get vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccina-
tion research seeks to understand why
people choose not to vaccinate. Cur-
rent research suggests that many people
prefer to hear the recommendation from
their doctor, instead of from figure-
heads in government. Please take this
letter from myself, a doctor you know
and trust, recommending that you get
vaccinated. And of course, if there are
further questions, your primary care
provider can explain the reasons why
we have full confidence in this vaccine.
Although we are looking forward
to the things we can ditch, I am most
looking forward to the things we can
embrace. Imagine spending time with
family and friends with the unencum-
bered ease of a post-COVID-19 Friday
night. Union County is a new home
for me. So far, I have only been able to
embrace it at a socially distanced 6 feet,
with my mask on. I eagerly await the
day when the things that keep us semi-
strangers are a memory.
Trust the science. Take the shot.
Dr. Zach Spoehr-Labutta
Grande Ronde Hospital Women’s
and Children’s Clinic
Editor’s Note
Do you have a point you’d like to
make or an issue you feel strongly
about? Submit a letter to the editor
or a guest column.
org. Idaho has a much lower cost of
living. In March, the U.S. government
ranking of 50 states on unemployment
rate showed Idaho ranked fifth and
Oregon 31st.
Idaho is not a sanctuary state, nor
does it give driver’s licenses to illegal
aliens. Taxpayers there aren’t forced
to pay for abortions.
Rural Oregon is in an abusive rela-
tionship with the Willamette Valley.
Their leaders refuse to protect citi-
zens from rioters, arsonists, criminals
and illegal aliens, but they infringe on
your right to defend your family with
firearms. The public school curric-
ulum teaches the next generation to
hate Americans and Americanism.
It’s time to end this abusive
relationship.
———
Mike McCarter of La Pine is a vet-
eran and a former president of the
Oregon Agribusiness Council and
Oregon Association of Nurserymen.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
UNITED STATES OFFICIALS
President Joseph Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building, Washing-
ton, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753;
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Rep. Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C., 20515;
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
STATE OFFICIALS
Gov. Kate Brown
900 Court Street N.E., Suite 254
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Sen. Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. N.E., S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep. Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. N.E., H-376, Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@oregonlegislature.gov