FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2015
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
The good,
the pretty
bad, & the
really ugly
The Good. This week the Baker
City Police Department and Baker
County Narcotics Enforcement Team
made multiple arrests, taking known
drug dealers—meth dealers—off the
streets.
Now, we realize those arrested are
innocent until proven guilty.
We also realize the reality is most
residents of Baker County either know
someone who is dealing, using, has
used or has dealt.
In most neighborhoods, the resi-
dents can point a finger down the
street straight at that one house from
which they know drugs are coming
and going. We’d say meth has become
an epidemic in our area, no exaggera-
tion.
When a meth user starts using, it can
be for a myriad of reasons—immatu-
rity, poor judgement, ignorance, peer
pressure, mental health issues—but
once started for any reason, they’re
hooked.
We have spoken with former meth
addicts, and they will describe their
old lifestyle as a living hell. Other
crimes such as theft increase around
them, and they may find themselves
participating to pay for their addiction.
They lose children. Their children
are emotionally scarred. They lose
jobs. They lose their self-respect.
When they want to seek help, they
often can’t—at least not without great
difficulty—out of fear of retaliation
from the dealer and his/her network
of thugs, and by the constant pushing
of the substance onto a person whose
choices are already significantly i -
paired.
Dealers are doing the devil’s work,
no doubt about it.
So when we see the multitude of
arrests over the last year, and the effort
undertaken to quietly, methodically
complete these sting operations, we
cheer.
Around this same time, yet another
alleged Baker City meth dealer was
arrested in Wheeler County.
The last press release we received
said that more arrests are anticipated.
We look forward to it.
The Pretty Bad. President Obama’s
State of the Union address.
If ever a sitting president appeared
to happily sit cocooned in his own
little imaginary land, it would be this
one.
This year’s SOTU address sounded
much like former campaign speeches
during which Obama talked about
how great he’d done and how much
better America is doing because of it.
In spite of a clear mandate as demon-
strated by the November election, he
took the opportunity to decry Repub-
licans. He cracked jokes in the face of
an $18 trillion debt. He failed to men-
tion the current war against extremist
Muslim terrorists currently happening
all over the globe. And of course he
was focused on all the “free” stuff
he wants to give the underprivileged.
Read: He focused on how much he
could pilfer from those who work their
bottoms off to make an honest living.
In essence, he spewed the core tenant
of liberalism once again.
The Really Ugly. Two words:
Michael Moore.
Here is a man who gives new mean-
ing to the word “hypocrite.”
Moore has made millions making
documentaries bashing businesses and
executives who have made millions.
Now he’s speaking out against
military snipers who risk their lives to
protect the soldiers who risk their lives
to give Moore the right to speak out in
the first place. (Whew!
Then, when pounced on by main-
stream America and fellow Hol-
lywoodites (Dean Cain, Rob Lowe,
Blake Shelton ...) about his multitude
of anti-sniper tweets, which essen-
tially called Chris Kyle a coward,
he carefully backtracked and said he
hadn’t referred to Chris Kyle or the
movie “American Sniper” directly. As
if indirect inferences make his tweets
more acceptable. He then went on to
say lovely things about the acting and
production of the movie.
We’d like to see Mr. Moore dropped
down into the middle of an ISIS
camp—or even in the middle of the
training regimen our Navy SEALS en-
dure—and see who’s the coward then.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
— Letters to the Editor —
Earth’s resources are essential
To the Editor:
Access and use of the land are per-
haps the most important problems facing
America today. The problem is that so few
people recognize the problem and how it
relates to them, particularly those who live
in metropolitan areas.
I say most important because no indus-
try, no business, and no jobs can continue
without the produce and resources that are
recovered from the Earth.
Another fact that few are aware of is that
all new wealth comes from the ground.
There is no other source. It is created
when farmers, ranchers, and fishermen
harvest the food and fibers in their crops
and timber men, miners and oil men
recover our vital resources. This wealth is
expanded when we process and manu-
facture more useful products from these
resources.
All others share this wealth by distribut-
ing the products or by providing a service
for one another. Thus, the basic industries
are the foundation of our entire economy.
Our county has serious economic prob-
lems and needs more jobs and money.
The problem is that agencies that have
been charged with administering our
lands, the BLM, USFS, EPA, etc., have
been so carried away with issuing a never-
ending series or regulations and restricting
access and use of the land, often disre-
garding Congressional Law and decisions
of the highest courts in the land, that they
are destroying the very industries that sup-
ply the wealth and resources that support
our country.
They have been so carried away by
environmental policies and their slogan
“Save the Earth” that they have forgotten
the basic fact of life—that no life on Earth
can survive unless we harvest the food
and resources of the Earth.
It is a noble thing to save a few special
places for the future, but you can’t have
them all.
The same forces that uplifted our beauti-
ful mountains brought the minerals to the
surface and change the climate to make
timber growth productive.
Unless we reassess our access and use of
the land policies, we face economic break-
down, and your job and all environmental
concerns will go out the window.
Ken Anderson
Baker City
Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker
County Press reserves the right not to pub-
lish letters containing factual falsehoods or
incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or
detracting from specific for-profit business-
es will not be published. Word limit is 375
words per letter. Letters are limited to one
every other week per author. Letters should
be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCounty-
Press.com.
Advertising and Opinion Page Dis-
claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest
Opinions or Letters to the Editor express
the opinions of their authors, and have not
been authored by and are not necessarily
the opinions of The Baker County Press, any
of our staff, management, independent
contractors or affiliates. Advertisements
placed by political groups, candidates,
businesses, etc., are printed as a paid
service, which does not constitute an
endorsement of or fulfillment obligation
by this newspaper for the products or
services advertised.
— Guest Opinion —
New ODFW
director must
give new
direction
By Ty Stubblefiel
Submitted Photo
The management of Oregon’s fish
and wildlife has never been in a more
compromising position than it is
today. ODFW faces a $32 million bud-
get shortfall. Plagued with depressed
deer and elk numbers and increasing
predator populations, coupled with a
decline in hunter numbers, it seems
the plight couldn’t get much worse.
That’s unless you consider the severe
decline in managed habitat on much
of the state’s federally managed lands,
over which ODFW has no control.
Now the agency is looking for a new
leader to right this listing ship.
Then add pressure from non-hunt-
ing groups who recently wrote a letter
to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Com-
mission and the Governor asking that
the new director reform the agency
to be less dependent on license and
tag dollars and be more “conservation
minded.”
Excuse us?
Hunting and fishing have been the
funding source of conservation since
the 1930s. In fact, of ODFW’s 2013-
15 projected revenues, $131.9 mil-
lion comes from Pittman-Robertson
funds (a federal excise tax on firearms,
ammunition, archery equipment and
firearm-related accessories). Another
$103.8 million of the agency’s bud-
get comes from license and tag fees.
That’s $235.7 million of ODFW’s
budget—the vast majority—derived
from hunter and angler dollars. Hunt-
ers and anglers are on the forefront of
wildlife conservation. Success stories
abound, including the return of elk
herds in the early 1930s, reintroduc-
tion of mountain goats in the 1950s,
and reintroduction of California
bighorn sheep in the 1950s and Rocky
Mountain bighorns in the 1970s.
These efforts were all funded by
sportsmen.
The real question is: what should
we expect of the new director? First
and foremost, the new director should
be a true hunter and fisherman. His or
her focus should be fish and wildlife,
not politics and people. Too often
politics steer the management of the
department rather than sound science.
The director should also manage the
agency within its budgetary means,
but that doesn’t have to be the Hercu-
lean task it’s often made to resemble.
Taking seriously ODFW’s mandate
to optimize wildlife populations will
also address the need to optimize the
agency’s revenue. Build better deer
Ty Stubblefield is the Field Adminis-
trator for Oregon Hunters Associa-
tion and lives in Roseburg, Oregon,
he can be contacted at ty@oregon-
hunters.org
and elk herds, and hunters will beat
a path to the point of sale machines.
Conversely, if hunters are unsuccess-
ful year after year, eventually they will
find somewhere else to devote their
time and money. The downward trend
in hunting license and tag sales that
parallels the decline in deer and elk
numbers leaves little doubt.
A serious look at predator popula-
tion control is a key part of the simple
equation: more unmanaged predators
prowling the landscape = fewer deer
and elk available to hunters = fewer
license and tag dollars.
ODFW has a choice to make:
restore our big game resources and
reestablish the department’s traditional
funding base, or become a non-game
wildlife agency with a skeleton staff
dependent on elusive and unpredict-
able general funds. Which choice will
the agency make? Its new director
will exert considerable influence on
that decision, and that’s why OHA
will work diligently to ensure the new
director embraces a hunter’s vision of
conservation.
Fiscal Facts
• 1961: 670,000 hunting and
angling licenses sold. Game Commis-
sion operated on $7.5 million biennial
budget. Fish Commission operated on
$5 million biennial budget.
• 1975: 766,000 anglers and
390,000 hunters contributed to a bien-
nial budget of $40 million, of which
50 percent was provided from user
fees, 33 percent by the federal govern-
ment, and 17 percent from the state
general fund.
• 2013: 269,000 licensed hunters
and 617,00 licensed anglers. Pro-
jected revenues are $361.2 million: 36
percent federal funds (Pittman-Robert-
son), 29 percent from license fees, 5
percent from the general fund, and the
balance from other sources.
The Oregon Hunters Association
(oregonhunters.org) is the state’s larg-
est Oregon-based pro-hunting organi-
zation, with 10,000 members and 27
chapters statewide. Its mission is “to
provide abundant huntable wildlife
resources in Oregon for present and
future generations, enhancement of
wildlife habitat and protection of hunt-
ers rights.”
— Contact Us —
The Baker County Press
PO Box 567
Baker City, Ore. 97814
Open Monday-Thursday for calls
9 AM - 4 PM
Open 24/7 for emails
Office location: TBA
Phone: 541.519.0572
TheBakerCountyPress.com
Kerry McQuisten, Publisher
Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales
Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com
David Conn, Advertising and Sales
David@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Published weekly every Friday.
Subscription rates per year are $29.95 all areas,
e-mail delivery. $39.95 print issue, home delivery,
Baker City city limits only. $49.95 print issue,
mail delivery, outside Baker City city limits only.
Payment in advance.
A division of
Black Lyon Publishing, LLC
Copyright © 2014
YOUR ELECTED
OFFICIALS
President Barack Obama
202.456.1414
202.456.2461 fax
Whitehouse.gov/contact
US Sen. Jeff Merkley
503.326.3386
503.326.2900 fax
Merkley.Senate.gov
US Sen. Ron Wyden
541.962.7691
Wyden.Senate.gov
US Rep. Greg Walden
541.624.2400
541.624.2402 fax
Walden.House.gov
Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber
503.378.3111
Governor.Oregon.gov
State Rep. Cliff Bentz
503.986.1460
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli
541.490.6528
Baker County
Commissioners Bill Harvey;
Mark Bennett; Tim Kerns
541.523.8200
541.523.8201