Opinion
A4
Thursday, August 5, 2021
OUR VIEW
Public interest
requires release
of details
W
hen people die in a heat wave, should
their names, addresses and race be a
matter of public record?
A total of at least 83 people died from hyper-
thermia in the June heat wave. Some, most, or
perhaps all of those deaths were likely prevent-
able. Yes, there were government warnings about
the heat wave. Weather broadcasts said it was
coming. Still many Oregonians don’t have air
conditioning. Never really needed it. Older people
are especially vulnerable to hyperthermia. The
body just can’t regulate the temperature from the
environment and their body temperature keeps
climbing.
Two media outlets — The Oregonian and The
Portland Tribune — requested the names and
addresses of the people who were confi rmed to
have died from hyperthermia during the heat
wave. The Oregonian also requested the races/
ethnicities. The state medical examiner said no.
The argument was those records are condi-
tionally exempt from disclosure. That basically
means they are exempt from being made public
unless there is a good argument that the public
interest demands it. The medical examiner said
releasing the records might make future death
investigations more diffi cult. Families may not
want to cooperate if they know the results could
be made public. And in these incidents some
families had asked that the information be kept
private.
But there is an interest in knowing more about
who died. With the information requested, the
public could better understand if people in some
geographic areas or of some socioeconomic back-
ground or minority status were disproportionately
aff ected. The public could then hold their govern-
ment accountable.
The Oregon Attorney General’s Offi ce agreed
with that argument, at least a version of it, and
ordered the release of the records. In the order, it
noted that it has required the medical examiner
to disclose “the name, month and year of birth,
date of death and cause of death for each person
whose death was determined to be a homicide”
for similar reasons of public interest.
It’s not clear yet if the recent order will be chal-
lenged in court.
We agree in this case that the public interest
outweighs the state medical examiner’s argument.
But what do you think? You can write us a letter
to the editor and send it to letters@lagrandeob-
server.com.
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River Democracy Act benefi ts everyone
RANDY
KNOP
OTHER VIEWS
A
s our state and the Western
U.S. deals with record heat,
drought and wildfi re, we are
reminded of the importance of water
to every Oregon community. These
conditions underscore the urgent
need to protect the sources of clean
water: our rivers, streams and their
tributaries.
That is why I am pleased to sup-
port Sen. Wyden and Sen. Merk-
ley’s River Democracy Act. This
is at once a visionary and prudent
measure that will ensure the values
of the waterways that support our
way of life — like the Upper Grande
Ronde, Umatilla, North Fork John
Day — are protected. As historic
and important as this legislation is,
still, only 6% of Oregon’s waterways
would be protected.
What makes this legislation par-
ticularly special is that it was built
from the bottom up using input
from Oregonians here, and across
the state, to determine which water-
ways to include. In late 2019, Sen.
Wyden invited Oregonians to nomi-
nate the rivers and streams that were
important to them, their families,
businesses and communities. More
than 15,000 nominations were sub-
mitted and considered, forming the
backbone of the River Democracy
Act.
It is truly a bill for Oregonians
by Oregonians, as we all stand to
benefi t from protecting our rivers.
The past year has shown us all how
important our public waters are as
people from all walks of life sought
refuge in our forests, streams and
meadows. They gathered safely
with friends and families, fi shed and
hunted, and physically and emotion-
ally healed from one of the greatest
challenges our country has faced in
a generation.
Protecting our waterways is a net
positive for Union County and for
Oregon. Doing so will help ensure
continued access to clean drinking
water, preserve access to the water-
ways that support our way of life,
help fuel a thriving outdoor recre-
ation industry and support the fi sh
and game that draw anglers, hunters
and wildlife watchers. The bill pro-
tects these important values while
allowing the Bureau of Land Man-
agement and Forest Service to mit-
igate fi re risk and carry on existing
activities.
It was also encouraging to see the
proposal go beyond simply naming
big iconic rivers. The Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act allows smaller
waterways and diff erent types of
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. SENATORS
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
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waterbodies to be protected. Sev-
eral smaller tributaries like Beaver,
Lookingglass and Five Points creeks
are also included. Those, and other
tributaries, feed cold water into
the larger streams and help sup-
port fi sh and wildlife. Supporting
our rivers means supporting our
creeks and streams. Sens.—Wyden
and Merkley were wise to recognize
this important fact and built a bill
that takes a holistic approach to pro-
tecting a critical resource.
Clean, cold water is an irreplace-
able resource. If this warming trend
continues, as it is expected to, that
resource will become ever scarcer
and more precious. The recent heat
wave and current drought demon-
strate how important it is to have
more — not less — water available.
It is sound policy to be thinking
now about how to protect and pre-
serve access to waterways while also
accounting for other uses and human
safety. The River Democracy Act
accomplishes all of the above, and
its passage would be a win for Union
County and a win for Oregon. I
encourage my friends and neighbors
to join me — and so many others
— in supporting this important
legislation.
———
Randy L. Knop lives in Union and
is the vice-chair of the Union County
Democratic Central Committee.
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