FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Politics / Local
— Letters to the Editor —
Marijuana part of ‘all about me’
mentality
To the Editor:
We live in a society which is focused on
“it’s all about me—feel good at any cost”.
For many it is all about the money, per-
sonal responsibility be damned. Nothing
is more indicative of that than the legal-
ization of marijuana. Every assertion I
will make here is backed by sound studies
which, due to the need for brevity, will not
be referenced.
Clearly there is money to be made by
legalizing marijuana, a substance which
is still illegal under federal law. Money,
however, is not everything if the following
facts are considered.
1. In states that have “legalized” mari-
juana injury and fatal traffic crashes have
increased significantly
2. Marijuana is far more addictive than
alcohol or cocaine
3. Its use reduces critical learning skills,
memory, and the ability to focus
4. Use leads to increased (non traffic)
injuries, accidents and absences from
school or work
5. Inhalation of marijuana smoke is 20%
more harmful than regular tobacco
6. Use of marijuana alters brain struc-
ture. The American Medical Association
reports that marijuana use increases anxi-
ety, harmful mood swings, and depression
The argument that “medical marijuana”
is more effective than legitimate pharma-
ceuticals is bogus. Proponents of legal-
ized marijuana ought to at least be honest,
and positive claims about its medicinal
value are clearly not truthful. The original
legalization of marijuana for medical
purposes which preceded the current Or-
egon law was nothing more than a not too
cleverly disguised means of achieving the
ultimate goal of total legalization.
Ask any honest, experienced cop about
weed and he or she can tell you of its link-
age to a long list of other criminal behav-
iors none of which is in the best interests
of society. Finally, for those pot heads
who like to combine getting high with use
of firearms be advised that as of January
16, 2016 the new DOJ/BATF form 4473
specifically asks about marijuana use. An-
swer it honestly and you can’t buy a gun.
Lie, and you become a criminal.
While it appears that some of Baker
County’s smaller cities are opting to
legalize marijuana vending for economic
reasons I hope the County itself, and the
City of Baker City do not. Their respon-
sibility to the citizens they serve is more
important than economic gain.
Jerry Boyd
Baker City
Editor’s Note: We’ve had a couple calls
about letters to the editor that weren’t
printed. We didn’t make a choice not to,
but they never arrived in our post office
box. Emails sent to editor@thebakercoun-
typress.com are by far the best way to
submit your letters. Thank you!
Ferrioli reelected Oregon
Senate Republican leader
SALEM-Monday night,
Senate Republicans elected
as their leader state Sen.
Ted Ferrioli, of John Day.
Ferrioli released the fol-
lowing statement:
"It is both a privilege
and an honor to serve as
the Republican leader in
the Oregon Senate. We
look forward to fighting
for PERS and budgetary
reform in the upcom-
ing session. The outrage
of the governor's budget
proposal is that she wants
to create over a dozen new
tax hikes on Oregonians,
while also slashing senior
services, like Oregon
Project Independence, and
veterans services. Through
working together we can
accomplish a solution that
protects our most vulnera-
ble and brings us to a more
solid financial future."
Brooklyn Elementary
School holds budget night
BY SAMANTHA
O’CONNER
Samantha@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Monday, December 12,
Brooklyn Elementary
held their annual commu-
nity budget meeting. The
meeting allowed parents to
give feedback to Brooklyn
faculty concerning budget
priorities for the 2017/18
school year.
The meeting began with
a presentation by Brooklyn
Principal Phil Anderson.
He began the presentation
by discussing some of the
board goals, beginning
with literacy, a top priority
at Brooklyn.
He discussed the three
modes of writing they
focus on at Brooklyn—ex-
pository, persuasive, and
fiction their students learn.
Anderson explained that
Brooklyn focuses on hav-
ing their students leave
Brooklyn reading at a third
grade level.
He explained that stu-
dents in first grade who
cannot read at a third grade
level yet will have that be
their goal to reach when
they leave Brooklyn.
He also discussed expand-
ed learning opportunities
such as summer school,
full day kindergarten, and
Friday school opportuni-
ties. This is the second
year they have had full day
kindergarten.
This year, they have also
created an Inquiry Block,
which is 45 minutes at
— Contact Us —
the end of the day where
teachers are able to do
science, arts, and social
studies. He said they are
hoping to build on that
next year.
For the ongoing pro-
fessional development,
Anderson explained they
had Oregon RTI visit with
Brooklyn, South Baker,
Haines, and Keating to
discuss how they support
struggling readers.
Anderson also explained
that attendance is a critical
component for student
success and they look at
classes to see if there are
any attendance issues.
SEE BROOKLYN
BUDGET NIGHT
PAGE 5
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BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Sumpter City Council
met in regular session
December 13th.
Items on the agenda in-
cluded the second reading
of the marijuana business
ordinance.
Mayor Cary Clarke and
Councilors Samantha
Rowan and Greg Lucas
were in attendance.
Robert Armbruster was
out of town but was con-
tacted via phone by Clarke
for a couple of items.
Utility Manager Report
Clarke stated Utility
Manager Jeff McKinney’s
report is that he is out
plowing snow getting
ready for the next big
storm.
Fire Department Re-
port
Jim Sheller reported no
call outs and said both
trucks are chained up ready
to go. The QRU runs on
studded tires.
Planning Report
LeAnne Woolf stated at
the last meeting the Plan-
ning Commission finished
their preliminary review
of goal nine of the Com-
prehensive Plan: economic
development.
At their next meeting
they plan to tackle goal
ten: housing.
Josh Stump
Clarke stated there is a
wage dispute happening
in Sumpter. The City at-
torney does not want to get
involved as he is not up on
this type of issue. Clarke
suggested hiring Stump
for this one matter as it is
all he does. His name was
given by CIS, the insur-
ance company for the city.
This passed unanimously,
including Armbruster’s
vote via speakerphone.
William Cullum asked
the cost to hire this at-
torney. Clarke stated it
is $350 per hour, but CIS
says he is fast and thor-
ough and won’t drag things
out.
New Year’s Eve
Sumpter Valley Blue
Mountain Snowmobile
Club requested the use of
Volunteer Park for their an-
nual New Year’s Eve party
and bonfire.
Lucas asked what hours
the event would run.
John Young stated they
start serving about 5 or
5:30 p.m. and are done by
7:30 p.m.
Clarke stated, “We’re
all old. We go to bed by
eight.”
Council unanimously
approved the request.
2nd Reading of Mari-
juana Business Ordi-
nance
Lucas stated that the
survey results counted in a
special meeting prior to the
Council meeting were not
an official vote.
The purpose was to see
if sentiment in the town
leaned overwhelmingly
one way or the other.
There was one more vote
for denying grows and
manufacture than allowing
them (75 yes, 76 no, 12
neutral).
There were six more
votes for allowing retail
than for not (74 yes, 68 no,
7 neutral).
Lucas stated that his
thoughts were the survey
did not give the Council a
definite direction to go.
He said as builders and
other agencies have to go
with the most stringent
code, whether state, local,
or international, he felt
the Council should do the
same thing at this point.
The more conserva-
tive direction would be
leaving the ordinance as is
and leaving the issue to a
general election vote.
Clarke said he felt the
Council should do some
rewriting of the ordinance
due to the outcome of the
poll.
He specifically refer-
enced the section banning
marijuana businesses from
being within 1,000 feet
of a State park, effectu-
ally eliminating the entire
Sumpter commercial
district.
Armbruster stated the
survey has nothing to do
with the ordinance.
He asked where the
1,000 feet element came
from.
Clarke stated it has been
used in other cities and is
a common item. He said
it had just been brought to
his attention that on August
23, the OLCC removed the
1,000 foot rule from parks,
though it is still in place
for schools.
Armbruster stated
there is not a direct path
to follow. The Council’s
requirement is to conduct
themselves to the benefit
of the community. He said
his opinion is that Council
should take on the task
of determining how this
should come out regardless
of the poll.
Catherine Dodgens
stated that there were three
workshops on this ordi-
nance and they were open
to the public. Anyone
could voice what they had
to say and this is how this
ordinance came into being.
Clarke stated they got
the opinion of those who
were at the workshops, but
with the survey results they
now have three hundred
and some opinions.
Woolf stated that this
involves a land use issue,
changing zoning for some
commercial businesses, but
not all.
She said as well as going
through the City Coun-
cil process, this must go
through the Department
of Land Conservation and
Development and hearings.
Lucas stated there are
two opinions on land use
issues, gleaned from talk-
ing to lawyers and other
experts. One says if a
business will be denied us-
age of their building, there
must be hearings. The
other says if the business
will be allowed to go in,
there must be hearings,
but if not, no hearings are
necessary. He stated the
Council is in kind of a
conundrum.
After further discussion
along the same lines Clarke
motioned to read ordinance
2016-3 as written.
Three voted in favor
with Rowan against.
Over the next thirty
minutes, City Recorder
Julie McKinney, spelled by
Lucas and Rowan, read the
ordinance in its entirety.
Lucas motioned to pass
the ordinance as read.
Clarke was unable to
reach Armbruster for his
vote. The motion passed
with two in favor, Rowan
opposed.
OreTel Franchise
Agreement
Motion to adopt this con-
tract passed unanimously.
Public input
Denny Vincent shared
about his son’s experi-
ence battling cancer. He
was not able to physically
take chemo anymore but
using cannabis shrunk his
tumors and reduced cancer
markers. When he stopped
using cannabis, the cancer
came back.
Myrna Clarke stated the
issue has become a terrible
thing for everybody, no
matter which side and that
Council has gone through
hours trying to do what
they thought best.
Dodgens said when they
moved up in 2000, there
were three meth houses in
Sumpter and their biggest
sales were marijuana.
She stated everyone on
High Street and the area
was getting robbed and
could keep nothing in their
yards or pickups.
She started a Neighbor-
hood Watch and it took
six more years to shut the
meth houses all down.
Clarke said he wanted
to share his opinion as a
citizen and came out from
behind the Council table to
do so.
He said part of him
thinks the Council did the
right thing tonight and part
of him thinks differently.
The Council put a lot of
time and effort into getting
320 opinions. He said
when it comes to a vote of
the people, he hopes every-
one votes and everyone is
happy.
Jenny Long stated their
business is proposing to
sell a product that’s legal in
the state of Oregon.
They are not selling
meth. They are working
with the Sheriff’s Office on
training to know if people
are intoxicated on any sub-
stance and are not catering
to “meth heads.”
They are still planning to
open in January and within
21 days will file an appeal
with LUBA (Land Use
Board of Appeals).
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown
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
Copyright © 2014 -2016
Sumpter: No marijuana
stores within 1,000 feet
of local parks
541.523.8201
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