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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (June 23, 2017)
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion / Politics / Local — Editorial — Sexes, genders and the great unknown Oregon just became the first state in the U.S. to offer up a third sex option box that citizens can check on their driver’s license applications. (And no, we don’t mean “Never,” “Often,” or “Heck yeah.”) Now applicants can choose between “Male,” “Female” and “Non-specific.” To say this decision was controversial is an understatement, and immediately those in favor of it stepped up to argue that there are a multitude of sexes possible, not just male and female, and so of course the third option makes sense. Well, this was never our understanding from Biology class. So we hit the inter- net for some research, and sure enough, human beings are either genetically male or female roughly 99% of the time. This means that males are born with the XY genotype and display male characteristics as a result. Females are XX with female characteristics. So what about that other 1%? Well, they’re not so much considered techni- cally belonging to other sexes, but rather having chromosomal abnormalities sur- rounding either the male or female sex. An extra X or Y chromosome attached to a male or female can produce issues like Turner’s Syndrome, Klinefelter’s Syn- drome, and so on. Apparently there is an new argument out there that yes indeedy, this situation does mean there is a whole spectrum of different sexes. That seems like a stretch. But what about babies born with both female and male genitalia? We used to call that hermaphrodism. According to about a hundred sites dedicated to political cor- rectness, we could be lynched for using that word. “Intersex” is now the only way to describe this condition without offend- ing a snowflake somewhere. Doctors point out that those born with most of the chromosomal abnormali- ties mentioned above aren’t boys who identify as girls or vice versa. These are serious medical conditions that come with features like severe learning disabilities, shortened necks, muscular impairment, etc. Do we really want to include a medi- cal issue on a driver’s license to define a person? And if one is “transgender” and/or “identifies as” the opposite sex, an animal or a piece of farm equipment, how then, scientifically, does it make sense to use a belief in one’s head as a physical identifier either? The World Health Organization ex- plains: Gender and sex are no longer the same thing, but gender can still define a person. Sex is biology only. Gender is how a person “feels.” Redefine the word, and you can take it outside the realm of science—and reality. Think you’ve got the left’s thought process figured out now? You don’t if you don’t know what words like boi, cisgen- der, butch, bottom surgery, deep stealth, F2M, FFS, gender dysphoria/euphoria, GG, gurl, ominsexual, non-op and so on mean. We’re waiting for the day we’re listen- ing to the police scanner or get a press release stating, “Law enforcement is seek- ing the public’s help in locating a missing 5’9” non-specific dragon who outwardly appears to be a human female with blond hair and blue eyes ...” Sigh. —The Baker County Press Editorial Board — Letters to the Editor — Thank you for the pies! To the Editor: I would like to thank everyone who has volunteered to make pies for the Bike races this Saturday, June 24 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. We are still in need of more pies if there are bakers who want to help. We could also use ice chests (borrowed of course) to keep the drinks cold. Please drop items off at Random Resales this Friday or at the Orpheum Theatre on Main Street on Saturday morn- ing around 10 a.m.. We’re still looking for volunteers to help sale and serve the pies Sat. You don’t have to be there all day. Shifts are 11 a.m.- 1:30 p.m., 1:30-3:30 p.m. and 3:30 - 6 p.m. If you can help please give me a call at 541-554-5549. This is a fundraiser for restoring the Baker Orpheum Theatre. We need all the help we can get! Leanne Hinkle President, Eastern Oregon Regional Theater Baker City Greg Walden to lead panel combatting opioid epidemic U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today announced that he will lead a panel discus- sion Wednesday morning on efforts to combat opioid addiction in Oregon and nationwide. The panel discussion, “Addiction in America,” is hosted by The Washington Post and will feature policy makers, researchers, and health care experts to dis- cuss solutions for combat- ting addiction in America. Walden's panel, “Addiction Crisis: A Nation Re- sponds,” will focus on how the U.S. government and Congress are responding to the opioid epidemic. “This is a vital conver- sation to have across the country and especially in Oregon, where more people die from drug overdoses every year than car accidents,” said Walden. “Combatting the opioid epidemic is going to require a team effort from our elected officials, health care experts, and those on the front lines of this fight in our local communities. I look forward to participat- ing in this event and taking our discussion back to Or- egon as I continue to work towards putting an end to this crisis in our state.” As Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Walden is at the forefront of Congress’ response to the national opioid epidemic. Details on the event are included below, and the event was streamed live to Facebook and online at www.wapo. st/postlive. ODOT announces sign upgrades on U.S. 395, 26 An Oregon Department of Transportation project will replace highway signs along sections of U.S. 395 and U.S. 26 in Umatilla and Grant counties starting later this year. The project will go to bid in August with some work possibly occurring in the fall. All work will be com- pleted by summer 2018. The project will include sign upgrades/replacement along U.S. 395 between the junction of OR244 (near Ukiah) and Mt. Vernon, and along U.S. 26 between Mt. Vernon and the west city limits of John Day. Travelers can expect lane and shoulder closures during the construction activities, plus flaggers Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker County Press reserves the right not to publish letters containing factu- al falsehoods or incoherent narrative. Letters promoting or detracting from specific for-profit businesses 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@TheBakerCountyPress. com. Advertising and Opinion Page Disclaimer: Opinions submitted as Guest Opinions or Letters to and delays of up to twenty minutes at times. Traffic fines are double the amount in all highway work zones. Drive with extra caution when you see those orange road construction signs. For updated informa- tion on highway work and current travel information throughout Oregon, visit www.tripcheck.com. 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 ob- ligation by this newspaper for the products or services advertised. City Council CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 She also noted that as in previous years, care would be taken to locate vehicle owners that were parked in restricted areas rather than immediately issuing violations as the event was intended to be enjoyed by all. Joseph moved to ap- prove the resolution with a second by Councilor McQuisten. A unanimous vote was cast. Third reading of Ordinance #3354 Public Safety Fee Before City Manager Warner read the Ordinance for the third and final time, Downing opened the floor to public comment remind- ing everyone that the meet- ing was being broadcast and to keep language and comments appropriate for all ages that may be watch- ing. Citizens then began to come forward one by one. In all, nine spoke, none in favor of the fee. Carl Myers voiced con- cern over the golf course and the fact that the City is still funding $20,000 per year plus additional for maintenance. Warner confirmed an ad- ditional $10,000 had been budgeted for a total of $30,000 for the year. Myers cited other instances that he felt past City Councils had ap- proved funding for at the expense of citizens such as City support of a “convention center” that never materialized and the Campbell Street project many years ago. Myers said, “The City hired an engineering firm out of Portland to tell them what to do. Paid $90,000 to tell them the best thing to do with that street and they didn’t follow one recommendation. $90,000 out the window.” Myers pointed out sev- eral other projects he felt the City had been wasting money on he also brought up the sidewalk fee that would be discontinued and replaced with the Public Safety Fee. He said, “I argued against it in the first place, if people need to fix their sidewalks they set it up on a payment plan or you put a lien on their property.” Myers felt that the City employs more police than the population requires and that the Public Safety Fee that is proposed to retain current staffing levels is unnecessary. Valerie Oman spoke to Council stating she is on a fixed income and although $3 didn’t seem like much, to her it made a huge dif- ference. She also thought that the fee would never truly go away, be renamed for something else and go up over time. She, as most others felt, something like this needed to be voted on by the people. Rick Leggett, who also is on a fixed income told Council, “At the end of the month $3 could mean whether or not I eat that night. I’m sure there are a lot of other seniors and disabled people that will be in the ship.” Sam Bass told Council that he was at the meeting to find out what this was all about. He told Council this was “going to be a hardship on a lot people.” Kenneth Martin spoke, as he had in the last meet- ing still expressing anger and frustration over the proposed fee calling the City Council a bunch of “communists, mafia and dictators.” He accused Council of “not listening to the poor people.” Joseph Martin stepped forward stating, “If this ordinance passes I intend to place Baker City Coun- cil under citizen’s arrest for conspiracy to commit extortion, conspiracy to commit racketeering, con- spiracy to overthrow the Constitution of the United States of America.” Anthony Constantine told Council he also disagreed with the safety fee. He cited an article that ran in The Baker City Herald in 2015 regard- ing crime within the City, which stated FBI statistics reported 56 aggravated as- saults in Baker City. Constantine said the article quoted Police Chief Wyn Lohner as saying, “Those numbers are com- pletely inaccurate.” According to Constan- tine in the article Lohner reported that number to be 11 aggravated assaults. Constantine went on to say, “That’s less than one assault per officer for an entire year. Baker City was also called ‘Safest City in Oregon’ and that was with the amount of officers standing on the force at — Contact Us — that time. I don’t believe that calls for an increase in uniformed Police Of- ficers.” Tom Muller again ad- dressed Council as he has previously at Budget and Council meetings in oppo- sition of the Public Safety Fee. He continued to state the passing of the fee was “taxation without represen- tation.” Kevin Luckini voiced concern that once passed the fee would never go away. He added that to fund police and fire ser- vices the City was “hold- ing our water hostage.” He felt the matter should go to the people for a vote but said, “You seven people think you know bet- ter than us. I think you’re all good people but I think the way you’re going about this is wrong. Give us a chance, be fair and let us vote on this.” Tommy Constantine was the last to address council. He questioned the numbers that City Finance Director Jeanie Dexter had estimat- ed as revenue generated by the fee, fearing an inflated number could result in an even bigger shortfall in the future. He also questioned if the City anticipated a budget shortfall for the next three years, while the fee was being collected. Accord- ing to Dexter the answer was yes due to mandated increases to PERS, which the City elected to partici- pate in during the 1950’s and cannot withdraw from. Constantine, who has prior City budget experience, scolded Councilors and staff present saying that “a budget should never be based on anticipated revenue,” as it had the previous year leading to this debacle. After hearing all public comment Councilors discussed the fee among themselves. Councilor Joseph said, “It is not my intention to keep this fee.” Citing the three-year sun- set clause, Joseph indicated he hoped the City would be in a financial position next year to eliminate the fee completely. Nilsson said, “I have had concerns and questioned the fee all along, but time is of the essence.” SEE CITY COUNCIL PAGE 5 YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS The Baker County Press President Donald Trump 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 202.456.1414 Whitehouse.gov/contact US Sen. Jeff Merkley 503.326.3386 503.326.2900 fax Merkley.Senate.gov Phone: 541.519.0572 TheBakerCountyPress.com US Sen. Ron Wyden 541.962.7691 Wyden.Senate.gov Kerry McQuisten, Publisher Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com US Rep. Greg Walden Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com 541.624.2402 fax David Conn, Advertising and Sales David@TheBakerCountyPress.com 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 541.624.2400 Walden.House.gov 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; Bruce Nichols 541.523.8200 Copyright © 2014 -2017 541.523.8201
