Opinion
A4
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
OUR VIEW
Gett ing
involved
in local
government
esidents have an opportunity to get
involved with their local communities
because several county advisory com-
mittees have openings.
At least seven committees — from the
Mount Emily Recreation Area committees to
the Northeast Oregon Economic Development
Board of Directors — need new members.
Interested citizens are invited to submit
a completed Advisory Committee Applica-
tion, which are available at the Union County
Administrative Offi ce, 1106 K Ave., La Grande.
There are few better ways to contribute to
one’s community than by volunteering to be
part of an advisory committee. The commit-
tees play an important — some would say vital
— role in the basic nuts and bolts of democratic
government.
There usually isn’t any stipend attached to
such volunteer positions, but their importance
outweighs any type of monetary compensation.
We need people to be involved in our com-
munities now more than ever. The COVID-19
pandemic created rifts in our entire society and,
by extension, separated us from our govern-
ment in ways that are not healthy for the future
of democracy.
We need to all be more involved in our gov-
ernment for a host of reasons. Our democratic
government is structured in a way that demands
citizen involvement or it doesn’t work. Involve-
ment doesn’t mean making wide-sweeping
proclamations on social media. That’s usually a
modern form of yelling and hoping other like-
minded individuals pick up the banner and join
in the screaming.
No, our democracy needs people who will
volunteer their time with no ulterior motive
other than to help.
Once that type of civic involvements was
common but over the past few decades it has
began to evaporate. There is an array of reasons
for this circumstance and scholars can, and do,
argue about them now.
Yet the solution remains a simple one —
involvement. We are all pressed for time. All
of us are busy. Yet, one day, or a few days, a
month to be on a committee is not only time
well spent but will enhance our democracy.
The beauty of our democracy is its very
utility. That’s what the founders wanted and
that is how they designed our government. It
doesn’t work, though, if no one is involved.
So, if you have the time and the inclination,
check out the open positions on local commit-
tees and make a commitment to contributing to
the success of our democracy.
R
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of The Observer editorial board.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions
of the authors and not necessarily that of The Observer.
YOUR VIEWS
Offi cials wouldn’t
tolerate unsportsmanlike
behavior on the fi eld
For years, I have worked closely
with high school kids in many
areas, as a teacher, advising stu-
dents in various social clubs and
coaching high schoolers in bas-
ketball, softball and soccer. I have
advised a large Key Club in one of
the largest high schools with more
3,000 students.
It is my experience that the
games are not necessarily for the
kids, but for the parents themselves.
Kids are participating in sports
and other activities to have fun and
enjoy the moment. They don’t live
or die because of a football game in
high school. Sure, they want to win.
Kids don’t have the capacity to be
racists — it is a learned behavior
later — but the parents do, and the
parents complain to the coaches and
the balloon continues to get bigger.
I can tell you, sportsmanship is
important. The offi cials are aware
of sportsmanship unbecoming a
participant. It is their job to recog-
nize a problem and deal with it. I
haven’t heard one word from any
offi cial regarding the La Grande
High School and Gladstone High
School football game. There isn’t a
qualifi ed offi cial that would tolerate
such behavior.
I believe the focus should be
on the parents with the Gladstone
team. The parents are more likely
to fabricate this situation than the
kids on either team. If my kid was
on the La Grande Tigers team and
in that game, I would be contacting
my attorney, and the coaches, the
parents and the administrators
LETTERS
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two weeks.
would be right beside me in the
courtroom.
Ron Keff er
San Jose, California
County commissioners
have some explaining to do
In October, our county commis-
sioners — Paul Anderes, Donna
Beverage and Matt Scarfo — sent a
letter to Sen. Ron Wyden asking him
to remove all Union County water-
ways from the proposed federal
River Democracy Act legislation.
One of the commissioners’ com-
plaints was that the required process
for considering waterways for Wild
and Scenic designation, requiring
extensive public input, was not fol-
lowed. The commissioners com-
plained that the federal government
failed to hold public meetings in
communities that would be impacted
by designating Union County as
Wild and Scenic and failed to pro-
vide a satisfactory substitute for
local meetings.
I have reviewed the agendas and
minutes of all the commissioners’
public meetings for the past two
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years. Only in December 2021 —
long after the commissioners decided
to log a section of Mount Emily and
had staff solicit and receive bids on
their Red Apple logging project —
did the commissioners bother to
list the logging project on their own
meeting agenda. Only after the com-
missioners privately discussed and
decided among themselves to move
forward with logging Mount Emily
did they grudgingly go through the
motions of soliciting public input on
their decision.
It is more than a little ironic that
at precisely the same time our com-
missioners were complaining about
the lack of process or public input
regarding the River Democracy
Act, they themselves were actively
violating the laws requiring public
discussion and community input
regarding their own decisions.
Maybe the commissioners would
be willing to explain why they
expect the federal government to
adhere to the same rules that they
apparently feel free to ignore.
Michael Howard
La Grande
STAFF
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