FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Politics
Note to
readers
My apologies in advance, but due to
family obligations, the June 16, 2017, is-
sue of The Baker County Press will not be
released on that Friday as usual.
I realize other weeklies occasionally
skip a print run, but that practice is some-
thing I have always tried to avoid.
During that week I will be in Boise at
St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital while my
— Editorial —
Public safety
fee should be
avoided
It’s not wise to try to fee and spend a
community into economic balance. That
mentality should be avoided, so we under-
stand the uproar behind the proposal for
Baker City to adopt a new public safety
fee in order to eliminate the “potential”
for cuts to our local police and fire depart-
ments. That fee would be $10 for busi-
nesses and $5 for homes per month.
As if ballooning water bills weren’t al-
ready enough for most low-income folks.
The City, through increased PERS costs,
decreased ambulance billing/collections,
etc., is facing a more than $500K budget
shortfall within the General Fund after
looking at its preliminary budget.
Preliminary. Not finalized.
Quite honestly, there’s very little fat
to trim in either the Fire Department or
Police Department, and from what we’ve
witnessed over the past few years, those
five-year-old daughter has surgery, then
caring for her afterward. Needless to say,
my mind won’t be on books or newspa-
pers that week.
BCP reporters will continue to cover
stories from that week—and I’ll run them
together with articles the following week
in what is likely to be a larger paper, com-
bining two issues.
To help make up for the inconvenience,
I’m also bumping the subscription end-
dates for subscribers back a week.
Thanks for your understanding. I’ll print
a reminder closer to June 16 so no one is
caught off guard.
— Kerry McQuisten, Editor
budgets have been managed pretty well.
In our opinion, first looking to the two
departments that house our first respond-
ers, with the threat of officer and EMT/
firefighter cuts to convince the public to
quickly accept another fee, is a no-go.
We suggest that the Budget Board dig
deeper into the preliminary budget during
its upcoming meetings with the idea of
cutting actual responder positions com-
pletely off the table for right now.
When we make the following sugges-
tions, they are not personal in nature
to any employee in City Hall. They are
strictly made in looking at numbers and
priority of services to the community. Ad-
ministration falls under the General Fund.
So does Community Development. So
do Parks, Cemetery, Airport, Planning...
Look at salaries and task duplication.
The problem is some higher dollar staff
positions and/or line items with more
wiggle-room for budget cutting do not lie
within the General Fund.
What other revenue sources are out
there? Can anything legally be shifted
within areas of the budget? At least part of
that shortfall can be made up by trimming.
After that, the new positions added to the
City last year, including the one at the
Fire Department, would sadly but reason-
ably, we think, be the first to go, if any
positions must. A new fee? Only as a last
resort.
— The Baker County Press Editorial Board
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
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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,
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endorsement of or fulfillment obligation
by this newspaper for the products or
services advertised.
Public Safety Utility Fee
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 1
Budget Board Appoint-
ment
This Board has one
vacancy that needs filled
immediately. Budget meet-
ings are scheduled to begin
May 15,2017 to set the
City’s budget for the 2017-
2018 fiscal year.
Two applicants applied:
Randy Daugherty, who has
previously served on this
board and Tracy Winans.
Winans has accounting
and a government back-
ground. Appointment to
this board is for a two-and-
a-half-year term ending in
January 2020.
McQuisten made a
motion to appoint Randy
Daugherty that was sec-
onded by Joseph.
Thomas spoke up ques-
tioning if a vote was in
order rather than a motion.
City Recorder Julie
Smith advised if a motion
was made it was appropri-
ate to move forward that
way.
A vote of 4/3 was cast
in favor of appointing
Daugherty.
Smallwood Kennel
License Appeal
In January, a kennel
permit was requested
by Carolyn Smallwood.
Smallwood has had a
permit Since 2008. That
permit expired Jan 1, 2017.
At the time a renewal of
the permit was requested
there were approximately
26 dachshunds living in
the home. The permit was
denied by the Baker City
Police Department due to
complaints and conditions
of the home. City ordi-
nance allows for a hearing
before the City Manager.
City Manager Warner
met with Smallwood and
Christina Wood on April
6th, 2017, and found that
the denial of the kennel
permit would stand. He ad-
vised Smallwood by mail
that the matter would be
forwarded to City Council
and she was welcome to
attend the Council meeting
to appeal to Council.
Smallwood was at the
meeting and addressed
Council telling them she
had taken steps to reduce
the number of dogs and
now had only 19 living in
the home.
She stated that she was
trying to place more but
was very particular where
they went and had already
denied two homes. She
also advised that some
of the dogs were elderly
and therefore difficult to
rehome.
Several people including
Code Enforcement Officer
Mark Powell spoke of the
deplorable conditions the
dogs were in living in and
that the dogs were in small
crates, often more than
one or two to a crate and
were covered in their own
feces and that the home
overwhelmingly smelled
of urine.
“It burned to breathe.”
described Powell.
Carmen Ott of Best
Friends addressed Council
as well regarding the con-
ditions. She told Council
that Smallwood had asked
for their help in the past
but then declined when
offered.
She also stated that the
Oregon Humane Society
had been contacted and
were ready and willing
to help in the situation.
Several of the Councilors
were sympathetic to the
emotional tie Smallwood
had with the dogs but felt
that in all honestly there
were two separate issues at
hand—one being the de-
nial of the kennel applica-
tion and the other being the
situation of the dogs and
what to do there.
Since Council agreed
that they were charged
simply with whether or not
to uphold the denial of the
kennel permit and not the
animals themselves they
voted on the matter upon
a motion that they uphold
the denial made by Joseph
and a second by Nilsson.
All voted in favor with the
exception of Councilor
Andersen.
Smallwood was advised
she had 30 days to comply
and get her puppy popula-
tion to four, the amount
allowed without a permit
or risk being fined.
— Special Column —
So I was
thinking ...
For mom
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
There aren’t any harder working
people on our planet than mothers.
They put themselves and their
own needs on the back burner for
the good of their children and fam-
ily and do so willingly and with
little expected in return.
There aren’t many problems in
life that mom hasn’t helped you
through.
Childhood: Before you even
knew it your mom went through a
lot to bring you into this world.
And once you were here, her love
and work increased tenfold.
She kept you warm and safe, kept
your belly full and your diapers
empty.
She put a band aid on your first
scrape and gave you a hug when
you couldn’t sleep.
She combed your hair and read
you books.
She held your hand crossing the
street and pushed you for hours on
the swing set.
She stayed up all night with you
when you were sick.
She cried a little bit when she
dropped you off at school the first
time and greeted you with relief
and enthusiasm when she picked
you up.
She smiled from ear to ear when
you rode your bike without training
wheels for the first time and told
you how proud she was.
She hung proudly from the fridge
every picture, drawing, and craft
you brought home.
Adolescence: Your mom was
there to reassure you when the
mean kid at school made fun of
you.
She took you to and from prac-
tice and yelled your name proudly
when you were up at bat.
She cleaned your room and did
your laundry while you weren’t
even paying attention.
She bought you ice cream and let
you and your friends make a mess
of the house she just spent three
hours cleaning.
She listened to you talk back and
retreat to your room, knowing that
someday you’d realize she was
Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
right.
She took you to the DMV to take
your drivers license test, and later
watched you drive away to hang
out with your friends with good
faith you’d be home on time.
She helped you with math,
corrected your bad grammar and
taught you how to save money.
She was there in the stands cheer-
ing for every sporting event and
recital you had.
She teared up with joy when you
got your diploma and three months
later cried again when she watched
you drive away into the outside
world—your own world.
Adulthood: She was there to
console you when your heart got
broken.
She reminded you to remember
the good things about the world
and to brush off the bad.
She told you how to cook your
favorite meal and laughed when
you told her how it turned out.
She taught you how to be patient
and work for what you wanted.
She taught you to respect people
and pay attention to the needs of
others.
She reminded you to be charita-
ble, appreciate what you have, and
give to those who have less.
She felt indescribable joy as she
watched you marry the person you
love and once more as you started a
family of your own.
She sees pieces of you in her
grandchildren and feels great
comfort in knowing that you’ll be a
wonderful parent.
She did it the right way and she
knows you will too.
She gave you all she had to give,
and then she gave more.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the
wonderful moms out there.
Your hard work, sacrifice, and
dedication to your children, family,
and community is what makes the
world go round.
— Contact Us —
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