FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Local
— Guest Opinion —
— Letters to the Editor —
what you think you want.
No more gun control
To the Editor:
I didn’t want to do any more writing
but I feel compelled to speak out a bit on
“gun control” in order to maybe stop the
low information voter from making what
might be an irreversible mistake. The
Founding Fathers were educated men and
wrote the Second Amendment as a direct
result of their experiences with dictatorial
governments. If I used the phrase, “cross-
ing the Rubicon” with them they would
know what I meant. Very few gun control
advocates today would have a clue.
Human nature has not changed. People
like to gain and consolidate power. The
usual routes for this is for a strong man to
get control of the military and police forc-
es. The founders knew this. They didn’t
even want a standing army. They would
rather rely on the “militia” which was the
people, an armed populace. They were the
ones who met the British at Lexington and
Concord.
Subsequent history taught them that a
standing army was necessary but they also
knew that the dangers of a standing army
were still there.
Never once will you find any reference
to a National Guard being the militia.
Nowhere in the Constitution will you find
any reference to hunting. You will find,
however, in quotes from almost all of
them about the need to remain armed as a
barrier to tyranny.
Manufactured terms like “assault
weapon” belie the fact that since 1934 the
rate of fire on all firearms has been one
projectile per trigger pull.
The reason I need a good “military” type
weapon is because the military has them.
The reason I would need a police type
weapon is because the police has them.
Do I believe that we are in imminent
danger of takeover of the government?
No. Do I believe it possible in some future
time? Only if the Democrats succeed in an
Australia-type gun control agenda.
My fear is that someday a ban or order
to confiscate will dredge up an Australian
scenario of grinding up 600,000 rifles.
This is not Australia. Be careful of getting
Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker
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claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest
Steve Culley
Baker City
“I’ve got the government’s
back” is more accurate
To the Editor:
“I’ve got your back” — a phrase heard
a lot in Grant County the last few years.
Generally spoken by the Grant County
Court and Commissioner Boyd Brit-
ton. When using the phrase who was he
referring to? Almost exclusively it was in
support of another government agency.
Harney County Judge Steve Grasty,
Malheur National Forest Supervisor Steve
Beverlin or Gov. Kate Brown.
“I’ve/We’ve got your back” has become
a mantra in the County Court, but it is
only reserved for those who play along
with authority figures, and those that are
seen as part of the social fabric of the
community. You’ve seen how that works
in last week’s paper with Mr. Beverlin
coming out to sing the praises of Mr. Brit-
ton and his work ethic with the Forest Ser-
vice, not much to anyone’s surprise since
Mr. Britton has told him on more than one
occasion, “We’ve got your back.”
As a public official, Mr. Britton is to
remove himself from anything that has the
appearance of a conflict of interest, and he
lays it out very clearly that for the last five
years he has averaged roughly $4,200 in
payments from the Forest Service, while
they bring forward business to the court,
that he not only votes on, but lobbies for,
all while he applies for jobs, while lob-
bying the merits of Forest Service policy.
That is not “baseless.” That’s a clear
conflict of interest. It’s just unfortunate he
cannot see it.
Mr. Britton is clear in his statements;
he does not believe Grant County has the
guts to remove him from office. He thinks
he will slide right through this. Time will
tell, but for me it’s an easy ballot cast, and
it’s a yes vote to remove him from office.
John George
Bates
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Sumpter: No new
mayor, Oakley resigns
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On Tuesday, July 12th,
Sumpter City Coun-
cil members Samantha
Rowan, Carey Clarke, and
Robert Armbruster met to
hear reports and conduct
City business. Clarke pre-
sided over the meeting at
the request of Rowan and
Armbruster.
The council approved
previous meeting minutes
and bills to be paid, with
the exception of 4x4 use
reimbursement requested
by Lori-Jean Pruitt for
park-related business. This
item was tabled for further
clarification.
Utility Manager
Jeff McKinney reported
the water treatment plant
restoration is nearly com-
plete and going well. He
anticipates the high quality
2-part epoxy undercoated
with rust preventer will
serve the City well for
years to come. The
number 2 valve is broken
and will be replaced or
repaired.
McKinney spoke with
the county regarding the
street improvement project.
The material for the project
is crushed and available.
McKinney stated they are
working out the details, but
he hopes to see that project
underway soon.
McKinney thanked
Clarke for spending most
of a day repairing play-
ground equipment in the
rain. McKinney stated
that also with Clarke’s
assistance, he’s been able
to meter and sell water to
High Desert Construction
for the Granite Highway
paving project. $7,553.28
has been billed out so far.
Figuring in rent on the
hydrant meter, the City
will clear over $7,000 in
unbudgeted income.
Fire Department
Jim Sheller reported two
medical call outs the past
month. Training on the 1st
and 3rd Tuesdays is going
well. All volunteers are
able to run engines and
pumpers. They are well-
trained on fire and wildfire
and “we will continue
training hard.”
Planning Commission
Leanne Woolf reported
the Commission met on
6/16 and reviewed infor-
mation from the County
Building Department, in-
cluding that premade sheds
are subject to the same
rules as those made “from
scratch.”
The Department re-
quired the Planning Com-
mission emphasize that just
because sheds are on skids,
doesn’t mean they get to be
moved around, especially
those of a size to be subject
to building permits.
The Commission also
reviewed the first draft of a
letter encouraging identi-
fied landowners to take
action regarding zoning
irregularities.
On June 25 and June 28,
the Commission reviewed
applications returned for
amendment. On July 7,
Woolf was renamed from
Commission Vice Presi-
dent to President. Two
conditional use permits
were approved and two
returned for amendment.
Sumpter Pines RV Park
Clarke explained a meet-
ing was held with the RV
Park owners, Armbruster,
a former City Recorder,
and himself to discuss the
amount of $925 the owners
are requesting returned to
them.
He said at the end of the
meeting, they decided to
uphold the $925 charge.
Since then, Armbruster
changed his mind. Clarke
stated he was good with
splitting the cost with the
owners if they are willing.
SEE SUMPTER PAGE 5
Reflecting on
Dallas
By Retired Police Chief Jerry Boyd
Special to The Baker County Press
Like most Americans, particularly
so as a former SWAT Commander, I
was greatly disturbed by the outright
assassination of five law enforcement
officers in Dallas at the conclusion of
a Black Lives Matters protest march.
I was concerned also for the well-
being of the additional officers who
were injured by what has now been
determined to be a lone sniper trained
tactically both through his military
experience and independent study.
Two thoughts jumped quickly to my
mind. One, from the officer’s per-
spective this incident had absolutely
nothing to do with race. There are nu-
merous media accounts citing blacks
who have clearly stated that their lives
were saved by the heroic actions of
Dallas police officers. Second, the
vast majority of the march partici-
pants, while they protested what they
believed to be an unnecessary use of
force by police in other cities, did not
direct even as much as verbal taunts
toward the Dallas officers assigned to
the event.
This was clearly the work of one
radicalized individual, and it is im-
portant to keep that in mind. Having
said that, however, law enforcement
officers across the nation are, as they
must be, on high alert.
Unfortunately, at present there are
groups of different ethnic, racial, or
other makeup, which advocate the
killing of cops.
Living in rural Eastern Oregon, one
might assume we are immune from
the type of incident that occurred in
Dallas, and that is probably a cor-
rect conclusion. But what we are not
immune from is an apparent, growing
tendency for violence directed at our
law enforcers.
Cop killing, unfortunately, can and
does happen in all regions of the
country, and it would be imprudent for
any police officer to fail to keep that
in mind.
There seems to be little disagree-
ment that the active shooter/assassin
in Dallas needed to be neutralized.
The outcry, if there is one, is in regard
to the use of a robot carried explosive
for that purpose. I wasn’t there, but
from accounts available to me it seems
certain that the suspect sniper was in a
location where he was still able to fire
at officers.
In the military and in law enforce-
ment, we refer to that as a “sniper
hide.” However, it was not a location
where officers could eliminate the
immediate threat using conventional
means.
Submitted Photo
Jerry Boyd is a retired Chief of
Police. He is the current Reserve
Commander for the Baker City Po-
lice Department.
While I do not expect use of explo-
sives to neutralize suspects to become
a common, or even frequent, practice,
that tactic in this case seems both
reasonable and necessary. Legally,
morally, and ethically if deadly force
is necessary and justified, the means
of force at that particular time is a
secondary concern.
Another, but I think, important
comment: An officer’s decision to use
deadly force, no matter how it is deliv-
ered, is not really an officer’s decision
at all.
I have never met an officer who re-
ally wants to use deadly force, though
we are trained to do so, and must not
hesitate when such action is required .
In the vast majority of incidents—and
clearly in Dallas, since they attempted
to negotiate with the suspect over a
long period of time—suspects are
given both opportunities and encour-
agement to surrender peacefully.
However, if the suspect, through his
continuing use of deadly force di-
rected at innocent people, dictates that
like force must be used against him,
then he, not the officer, has made the
deadly force decision.
Last weekend, many Baker City Po-
lice officers worked the Hells Canyon
Motorcycle Rally event. There was an
outpouring of support for our officers
by residents and visitors to our town.
Several officers were asked if what
happened in Dallas affected them in
any way. Their answer was yes.
An incident like Dallas reminds
each officer of the deadly potential the
profession has, no matter where one
works.
The support local officers have
received from this community, in the
aftermath of Dallas, has been very
much appreciated.
Let us hope and pray that there are
no future incidents of this sort, and let
us be thankful that the likelihood of
such an incident in our community,
while it cannot be discounted entirely,
is extremely small.
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