FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Letters to the Editor —
Justus edges out Nichols
To the Editor:
This letter is intended to assure that you
vote for the candidate for County Com-
missioner that best represents your values.
Both, in my view, are capable candidates
but with quite different views of how
Baker County, and the rest of Oregon,
should be managed and what our long
term objectives should be. I do not person-
ally know either of the gentlemen.
One candidate, Mr. Bruce Nichols, is
quite well known, largely because of his
business relationship with local farmers.
He appears to have a good business un-
derstanding, including budgeting, which
could be of benefit to the county. He
appears to be content with the manner in
which the federal agencies manage a large
portion of the county lands and a very
large portion of its natural resources. This
includes law enforcement on public lands.
For the most part he would like to help
run the county more smoothly.
The competing candidate, Mr. Kody
Justus, is not nearly as well known, has
a strong agricultural background and a
reputation for honesty. He believes in the
U. S. and Oregon Constitution, and lives
the law of the land to the extent presently
possible. He believes that local govern-
ment should, and has the constitutional
authority to, manage local natural re-
sources on what are now considered to be
federal lands and are strictly controlled
by federal agencies to the detriment of the
local economy and way of life.
This, to the best of my knowledge, is
the major difference between two good
candidates. The one who gets your vote
defines what sort of environment in which
you choose to live and to pass on the next
generation. I, personally, believe in our
rights as set forth in both Constitutions
and therefore stand firmly behind, and
with, Mr. Justus.
Jasper Coombes
Haines
Nichols helped develop golf
course, volunteers
To the Editor:
As a business owner and lifelong Baker
County resident, I am supporting Bruce
Nichols for Baker County Commissioner.
I have known Bruce for over 30 years and
I feel I know a lot about his character and
commitment to Baker County.
Bruce has been involved in countless
projects that have benefited the people of
our county. I worked with Bruce before
and after he volunteered to be on the golf
board. He worked very hard in helping
to develop the back nine at the Baker
City golf course. His vision was not just
about having a back nine in Baker City,
but the potential tax revenues for the City
and County that the housing around the
new course would provide. This is the
kind of vision I want our commissioner to
possess.
I feel Bruce would look out for the
economic interest as well as our personal
freedoms that are so important to the
people of Baker County.
I hope you join me on Election Day in
supporting Bruce someone who will rep-
resent everyone in Baker County.
Scott Warner
Baker City
Nichols will bow to feds
To the Editor:
Baker County’s economy is stagnant,
and declining. Yet it is very rich in natural
resources. Mining and timber and ranch-
ing were once the core of local prosperity,
but no longer. Why the disparity?
I say it is over-regulation by the federal
government, as it unlawfully and uncon-
stitutionally subjects the counties to the
crippling policies of the New World Or-
der. Loggers and mills are no longer able
to produce, and miners and ranchers are
forced off our public lands. We should be
already aware of the many horror stories.
Baker County has a wonderful law
(Ordinance 2001-1) that requires federal
agencies to come to the table and agree
with the Commissioners about every regu-
lation that may affect the health, safety
and welfare of the local people. But it has
never been enforced.
The previous Board of Commissioners
ignored it. They bowed to the pressure of
the federal agencies, and became subservi-
ent slaves. We all suffer as a result.
Kody Justus is committed to restoring
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the local economy by taking control of
local resources away from the federalies,
And it can be done! It is now being done
in several states, with great results.
But what about Bruce Nichols? Does he
not proudly proclaim his intimate work-
ing connections with federal agencies and
bureaucrats? Does it seem that he is up to
his ears hobnobbing with the social elite
who are content with the status quo? Was
he not recently overheard saying that he
wanted to be “much nicer” to the USFS,
and intended to cooperate with them in-
stead of requiring them to coordinate with
the County under binding county law?
Has Nichols made any public statements
supporting the people who are opposed to
unlawful closures of public roads in the
forests? Does he oppose the unconstitu-
tional BLM power grabs of public lands?
Does he advocate more limited govern-
ment? Does he take a stand to defend
fundamental Second Amendment rights
from federal attacks? I think not. But
Kody does.
We all know what Kody Justus stands
for. Maybe we should take a close look at
Bruce Nichols. Your future may depend
on it.
Kasey Wright
Halfway
Fiscal responsibility needed
To the Editor:
A key element among the many respon-
sibilities of a county commissioner is to
be fiscally prudent. We are fortunate to
have Bruce Nichols running for commis-
sioner. His background and experience
will serve the people of Baker County
well. There are many areas of impact
within the county that the commissioners
influence and we believe Bruce Nichols
has the temperament, analytical ability
and credentials to do an excellent job.
Dean Defrees and Ron Rowan
Baker City
Justus got information firsthand
To the Editor:
Throughout the current commissioner
campaign, the January 2016 New York
Times article regarding Kody Justus’
visitation to the Malheur County Ref-
uge continues to be mentioned. While
it is important to understand Mr. Justus’
reasoning for his visit, another perspective
should also be brought to light.
The New York Times and other media
sources, including Oregon Public Broad-
casting and the LA Times to name a few,
also visited the Malheur County refuge
and spent time with the occupiers; how-
ever, no one questioned their presence or
intent as to why they were there. Is this
because we have been programmed as a
society to “trust” the main stream media
to guide our thoughts and emotions, with-
out questioning their motives as a public
information source? Think about this: the
media felt safe enough to visit the refuge
and interview the occupiers for nearly 41
days. Why? To collect data for the pub-
lic. Therefore, my question is, why then
is it wrong for the common individual or
our public officials to do the same?
Kody Justus went to the refuge to collect
information—to listen; as did anyone else
who visited the refuge or who attended
the public events where the occupiers and
local citizens voiced their concerns. Isn’t
this what we are asking from our public
officials—to listen to us?
Perhaps the old adage “actions speak
louder than words” rings true. It’s time
to take action, ask questions and educate
ourselves—and to expect our leaders to
do the same. When it comes to the issues
that effect Baker County, I believe Kody
Justus has the tenacity to work hard and
a desire to do his own research to bring
educated and informed decisions to the
commissioner’s table, instead of relying
on the swayed opinions of the media or
the political desires of a select few. Baker
County needs strong leaders who are ap-
proachable and who will listen to the con-
cerns of all Baker County residents and to
be a voice for our community as a whole.
On May 17th, please vote Kody Justus for
Baker County Commissioner.
Rosemary Dayhoff
Haines
Nichols has financial experience
To the Editor:
“It is the duty of every citizen according
to his best capabilities to give validity to
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his convictions in political affairs.” Albert
Einstein
Bruce Nichols is an outstanding ex-
ample of a man prepared to stand up for
his convictions. I’ve had the pleasure of
doing business with Bruce for over ten
years and have sought his guidance on
numerous occasions regarding financial
affairs. Bruce has always been forthright,
timely, totally accurate with information,
fair and a delight to work with.
There is no candidate as qualified as
Bruce Nichols, CPA, to face these finan-
cially stressful times. He is honest, and
well acquainted with all aspects of Baker
County life; i.e., farmers and ranchers,
small business and single entrepreneur-
ship, as well as the struggles of part-time
workers and retired citizens.
“Can a people tax themselves into pros-
perity? Can a man stand in a bucket and
lift himself up by the handle?” Winston
Churchill. I think not. Vote Bruce for
common sense and stability.
Susan Castles
Baker City
Nichols’ fiscal decisions don’t
add up
To the Editor:
Who will make the best decisions dealing
with our county budget? That has been a
repeated question the last few months.
In my line of work I make decisions
based on results (rate of gain, cost of gain,
etc.).
During the primary campaign I noticed
a couple interesting choices. None of the
candidates had enough time to gather sig-
natures to both file and place their state-
ment in the voter’s pamphlet.
Bruce Nichols elected to collect the 114
signature required to file avoiding the $50
fee, that breaks down to $.44 per signature.
Bruce then elected to pay the $600 fee to
put his statement in the voter’s pamphlet.
Kody Justus decided to pay the $50 filing
fee and collect signatures for his statement
for the voter’s pamphlet avoiding the $600
fee, that breaks down to $3 per signature.
I guess being a CPA doesn’t automatical-
ly mean you make wise decisions. I want
a commissioner that gets the best bang for
the buck. I am going with Kody Justus.
Lance Cosby
Baker City
Justus will fight for rights
To the Editor:
A month before the takeover in Harney
County, the occupiers petitioned Com-
missioner Grasty, Sheriff Ward, and the
District Attorney to address video and eye
witness accounts of the BLM deliberately
setting fire to local rangelands that re-
sulted in cattle being severely burnt alive
and private ranch structures being burnt
to the ground. While no charges were
brought against the public employees for
their actions, the Hammonds were con-
victed of a far lesser crime. Furthermore,
their supporters tried to get due process
through the legal channels to address
their extreme sentences. Every correspon-
dence with local authorities fell on deaf
ears. Harney county officials refused to
investigate claims or address concerns.
Desperate, frustrated and feeling they had
no recourse, the occupiers moved in on
the Malheur refuge in protest.
After the occupation ended, Sheriff
Ward held a press conference with Com-
missioner Grasty and chastised the oc-
cupiers for “not following the rule of law,”
and told them that we have due process
and legal structures that should have been
followed.
While it was wrong for the occupiers
to force a takeover of that public facility,
and I do not support their actions, I find
it hypocritical that the elected officials
turned a deaf ear to repeated attempts at
due process and then lectured the occupi-
ers for not following the rule of law.
I feel that we are seeing the same logic
from Bruce Nichols. He has publicly
stated that he is against Bill Harvey’s
efforts with coordination and that he will
reject any attempt at due process in chal-
lenging Federal agencies that control and
manage public lands within our county.
What other recourse do we ranchers, min-
ers, hunters, firewood gatherers, outdoors-
man and recreationists have? These issues
impact our jobs and economy and our way
of life here. Nichols repeatedly makes the
point that we are a nation of laws, but then
refuses to use laws to hold our govern-
ment officials accountable. His campaign
slogan is, “Minding the county’s busi-
ness.” Sounds to me like his plan is to
ignore it?
Joseph Brown
Halfway
Like Nichols but won’t vote for
him
To the Editor:
We have known Bruce Nichols since
1973. We have always liked Bruce, we
chose him to do our taxes, would we
chose him to be our commissioner, “no.”
Presently all three commissioners are
on record as supporting coordination. By
this time, everyone knows, coordination is
the last tool available in dealing with the
federal agencies. Mr. Nichols was quite
clear at the last two forums that he will
not take on the chore of standing up and
demanding, yes demand, the federal agen-
cies conform and follow the law. By the
way, coordination is the law, not a choice,
unless you have a lazy board of com-
missioners that choose to let the federal
government dictate our way of life.
Together, BLM and the USFS con-
trol about half of our land base in Baker
County. Virtually all the wealth (minerals,
timber, grazing, or recreation)on these
holdings are controlled by their dictates.
Collusion creeps into dealing, whether
projects proceed, etc., kick in a little ex-
tortion with trade off of roads and you end
up not knowing where the fox is denned.
For many many years the direction our
local representatives have chosen, “go
along and get along.” What has the return
been. I’ll begin with the Travel Manage-
ment Plan, many of us recall the slap in
the face from the forest service, with their
Record of Decision that totally ignored lo-
cal voices. The list continues, Boardman/
Hemmingway Line, BlM Sage Grouse,
Blue Mountain Forest Plan Revision, Blue
Mountain Resiliency Project and more
in the pipeline. BLM resource plans and
countless endless projects from the forest
service. Jerking us around with their com-
ments and appeals. Our efforts have been
rewarded with obvious predetermined
handouts. This is known as collaboration.
The time is now, a voice that will speak
up for the people and our area. Kody Jus-
tus, will be that voice. He will stand with
Bill Harvey and Mark Bennett, to form a
united team.
Tork and Wanda Ballard
Baker City
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