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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 2015)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion / Local — Letters to the Editor — Boy/girl showers unacceptable To the Editor: Here we go again with dumber than dumb political correctness. Obama admin- istration orders schools that “Boy’s must be able to shower with girls and use their bathrooms.” Transgender is not a gender, but a mind that is being told they have the right of freedom of choice to be whatever gender they feel like at any given moment. What next? Moral individuals’ rights mat- ter too! Except with this president who is hell bent on destroying America’s moral and social values and ultimately our society. He appears to be on the wrong side of ev- erything pertaining to morally acceptable behavior; Christian values, Family values, Right to life for the unborn, traditional marriage between one man and one wom- an and our unalienable religious freedoms and rights given us by our Creator. And then promotes and forces all these things that are very destructive to a civilized and moral society upon all citizens with no regard to the discrimination and violation of their rights. Do we law-abiding and moral con- science people not have a right to serve our God rather than man and his lust for sinful living? I think we do, or better yet I know we do and we have a responsibil- ity to God to obey Him rather than man and must make our faith known unto all mankind or it will become worthless indeed and we will become followers of the blind of this world. We are a chosen people; those who truly follow Him who has chosen us before the world was. It is written: Many are called, but few are chosen. We become the child of the One whom we obey. We the people must think about the next and every election thereafter as to what and who a political candidate is by their past performance, actions and reputation, not by their refusing to expose their secret records of the past, lack of transparency, broken promises and lies like we all have witnessed for the past seven-plus years under this president and his administra- tion. He does not represent me nor my values. Let us all pray for some common sense and moral leadership and then actively seek out and vote according to our moral God given conscience, within each of us. For God sake let us wake up and stop the assault on Christians and our values and the American family traditional values for the preservation of mankind, all of God’s children. Whenever any elected official abuses the power given to wreak havoc on the citizenry, the people Must react and not allow anyone to force them into accepting the unacceptable and immoral behaviors even to the point of demanding Impeach- ment of such a overstepping and careless individual. Don Beck Baker City — Contact Us — YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS The Baker County Press President Barack Obama PO Box 567 Baker City, Ore. 97814 202.456.2461 fax Open Monday-Thursday for calls 9 AM - 4 PM Open 24/7 for emails Office location: TBA Phone: 541.519.0572 TheBakerCountyPress.com 202.456.1414 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 Kerry McQuisten, Publisher Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com David Conn, Advertising and Sales David@TheBakerCountyPress.com 541.624.2400 541.624.2402 fax Walden.House.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 503.378.3111 Governor.Oregon.gov 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 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 Copyright © 2014 — Guest Opinion — Obama needs to come clean about Owyhee Canyonlands monument By U.S. Rep. Greg Walden We’ve seen this movie before. A lame duck President uses the An- tiquities Act to declare huge swaths of public lands off limits so he can have an environmental legacy. Right up until the night before he declared the Grand Staircase Escalante a national monument, the Clinton White House told the Utah congressional delegation no such plans were in the works. And in his final month in office, President Clinton declared seven national monuments. I fear the Obama Administra- tion—urged on by outside interests groups and wealthy corporations seeking a marketing niche—is up to the same “dark-of-night” declara- tion on the Owyhee River canyon in eastern Oregon. Last Thursday night, in Adrian (population 177), more than 500 people turned out to a public meet- ing organized by State Rep. Cliff Bentz to voice their deep concerns about this possibility. Extra chairs had to be brought in to the local gymnasium, and people were still standing in the aisles. One person who wasn’t there? Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. Although I called on her or a senior representative to attend the meeting, no senior members of the Administration attended. If they had, they would have heard a message loud and clear: resi- dents of eastern Oregon don’t want another “Washington, D.C. knows best,” federal designation that would further destroy our way of life. Yet, despite this public outcry, I believe the Administration is play- ing hide the ball from the public. The Obama Administration needs to come clean about what it has planned for these millions of acres of land in eastern Oregon. Those of us familiar with eastern Oregon know that the Owyhee River canyon in Malheur County is home to some of the most beautiful land- scapes in the country. We also know that these lands are an important part of the economic base for Malheur County, which generates more than $370 million annually in agriculture business according to Oregon State University, of which $134 million comes from cattle. The Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies manage 4.5 million acres, or 73% of the land in the county, making public lands grazing an integral part of most local family ranch operations, many of whom have cared for this high desert country since the 1860s. 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 Submitted Photo Greg Walden represents Oregon’s Second Congressional District, which covers 20 counties in south- ern, central, and eastern Oregon, including Baker County. For generations, these local fami- lies have been good stewards of the lands. They’ve worked cooperatively and collaboratively with federal agencies to manage these lands with an eye towards the long-term viabil- ity of the range and their family’s livelihood. Much like thinning an over- stocked forest, grazing helps reduce the amount of fuel available to large rangeland fires that threaten watersheds and sage grouse habitat in the arid climates of southeastern Oregon. When fires do start, the volunteers in the Rural Fire Protection As- sociation are positioned to respond promptly and are highly effective thanks to their intimate knowledge of local terrain and weather. Over the years, these ranchers have developed springs and other water sources that have supported their cattle, but also countless numbers of wildlife that share the range. The latter benefit has been particularly valuable during recent droughts. In towns like Adrian and Jordan Valley, ranching is the base of the community. Whether through hiring employees, or buying needed sup- plies for the ranch or their family, they are injecting money into the local community. A monument designation larger than the states of Rhode Island and Connecticut would greatly restrict or eliminate grazing and other produc- tive uses of the land. It will shake the foundation of these communities and cause harmful economic impacts to the county and the surrounding region. I’ve worked with my colleagues in the House to include language in the funding bill for the Department of Interior prohibiting the creation of this national monument. Our farm- ers, ranchers and rural communities are most affected by the decisions made on public lands. I will continue to work to return the focus on locally driven manage- ment efforts, and stop these unilat- eral actions that lock up our public lands and negatively impact our communities. The Obama Administration has done enough damage to the West through their overzealous regula- tions. We don’t need a presidential declaration locking up more of our public lands and choking our local ranch economy. 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.
