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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (July 14, 2017)
FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2017 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Politics / Local Merkley holds town hall Controversial gun grab bill passes in Oregon CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Merkley said recent health care talks involved the health care bill known as “Trumpcare.” He said, “Then a group of 13 senators meeting se- cretly developed a Senate version of that.” He said the two bills wound up being very simi- lar anyway, but condemned any meetings he felt were being held without the knowledge of constituents. The group of 13 did indeed meet over months to draft legislation, but not so much in secret as their activities were reported by most major news sources across the U.S. Merkley said according to its Congressional Bud- get Office (CBO) score, the new bill wasn’t much different from the original. He claimed, however, that the Senate bill would produce $33 billion in tax breaks for only 400 “rich” Americans who didn’t need breaks, in his opinion. That tax money, he said, could be given to 700,000 poorer Americans to fund their health care. The bill, he said, “would vastly reduce health care to give a tax break to the richest Americans.” He stated that Republi- cans who supported this bill have cancelled town- halls so as to hide their support from the public. Merkley then criticized partisanship divisiveness. Merkley went on to give the statistics that in rural Oregon, one out of every three people are now on the Oregon Health Plan. 65% of citizens across the country are enrolled in the equivalent. Merkley quickly refer- enced ongoing “Russia and North Korea issues” before moving on to question and answer time. Craig Martell wanted to know what Merkely would do about “gimmicks and loopholes for the rich.” Merkley said he had seen a one-page tax reform plan from the Trump admin- istration that suggested repealing the estate tax, but said the sheet gave no “real details.” “We don’t have a plan,” he said. Art Sappington of the Vir- tue Mine asked specifically what would happen now that Oregon Governor Kate Brown has legislation in place regarding the Oregon Department of Environ- mental Quality’s policies, which conflicted directly with certain federal laws. Merkley put Sappington in touch with his staff at the meeting for research, as no one in the room had heard of that exact issue prior. One lady wanted to know what Merkley would do to stop lobbying and spend- ing, and to limit the group Citizens United. Citizens United is a conservative group that supports Presi- dent Trump tax-reduction agenda. Merkley said he felt such groups, had been instru- mental in helping legisla- tors like Mitch McConnell “steal” the Supreme Court seat vacated after Judge Scalia’s death. Maureen McMahon of Halfway wanted to know what Merkley could do to help Oregonians take the mindset of the state’s two Democrat senators and help “influence” more con- servative senators outside the state to legislate/think their same way. Merkley pointed to social media and contacting the offices of those elected officials. Linda Bergeron of Halfway asked what he was doing about nepotism in D.C. Merkley said there was “no law against” nepotism, then brought up “emoluments,”—a term not often heard prior to this year. Merkley explained that emoluments are essen- tially anything of value (kickbacks) from a foreign government or entity that a sitting president is not al- lowed to take. For example when President Grant received medals made of precious metal, he asked permission of Congress to accept them. He inferred that book- ings on Trump’s properties constituted emoluments, and could be grounds for impeachment. He said there was no precedent for such an impeachment as he believed it had never been an issue before, and said Trump had been urged to divest of his holdings, or at least create a blind trust, but had refused. Other questions involved reducing fuel load on pub- lic lands, environmental protection, etc. Marshall McComb of the Baker County Democrats voiced frustration with what he views as the “in- equality of wealth” in the country, and said that 42% of Baker County residents “can’t make ends meet.” McComb cited stagnant wages and automation as culprits, as well as the top 1% of wealthy Americans keeping too much of their money. Merkley recalled a trip to a dairy and how the au- tomation process worked, stating it had changed that industry so that people were rarely involved with the cattle. As most politicians, Republican or Democrat, tend to set a tight sched- ule during their townhall travels, the hour quickly ran out before questions did. Merkley attempted a speed round to address the desires of numerous remaining people to ask questions. During that round, Kim Lethlean invited Merkley to the Virtue Mine to show him how to use substances like apple cider vinegar to replace chemical acids dur- ing mining, so he knew it could be “done right.” Another lady told Merk- ley the story of her own personal disability. Steve Culley, a “grand- parent parent,” brought to Merkley’s attention the methamphetamine epi- demic in Oregon and how families are devastated. In all, the meeting lasted just over an hour. Walden’s field rep visits County Commissioners BY TODD ARRIOLA Todd@TheBakerCountyPress.com The Baker County Board of Commissioners held a work session on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, 9 a.m., in the Commission Chambers of the Baker County Courthouse, which included discussions with Baker County Planning Di- rector Holly Kerns, about clarifying and updating the County’s nuisance property ordinance, and Congress- man Greg Walden’s new Field Representative Tucker Billman, about economic and other issues in the County. Present from the Board were Chair Bill Harvey, Commissioners Mark Ben- nett and Bruce Nichols, and Executive Assistant Heidi Martin. Harvey opened the session, and Kerns ex- plained the issues with the County’s 2006 nuisance property ordinance, which she said has been written complaint-driven, but with little opportunity for en- forcement, when complaint letters didn’t result in com- pliance with the ordinance, something the Planning Department recognized in 2013, upon reviewing the process. She mentioned an email sent to the Planning De- partment, dated July 11, 2017, from County legal counsel Drew Martin, which addresses issues with the ordinance. In it, he explained that there are several issues, one being whether the County may be liable if a hazardous property catches fire and damages a neigh- boring property. He said that the County’s liability would generally be limited by the doctrine of “discre- tionary immunity,” but that the risk would increase if the County determines that a property is a dangerous hazard, and the County fails to act. Martin also recom- mended, in regard to existing nuisance proper- ties, to hold off on pro- ceeding under the current ordinance, because he said that the ordinance contains some inconsistencies and ambiguities that require clarification, and the en- forcement procedure needs to include a more clearly defined right to a hearing and hearing process. Martin also recom- mended spending the time and resources to develop a refined process, including County staff familiariza- tion with the process and basic legal rights, if the County anticipates numer- ous nuisance abatement ac- tions. If the County antici- pates infrequent actions, he said it may be simpler to just use the Circuit Court and existing civil proce- dures and remedies. The Board discussed the associated issues, and agreed there needs to be a more refined process, in order to protect property owners, to limit County li- ability, and to put adequate tools in place to ensure there is a resolution in each specific case, when written complaints are filed. SEE COUNTY PAGE 7 Salem, Ore. - Amid bipartisan opposition, House Democrats today advanced legislation that establishes a constitution- ally tenuous legal process for allowing courts to compel an individual to surrender their firearms. House Republicans argued that SB 719 infringes on constitutionally protected self-defense rights, could put law enforcement of- ficers in harm’s way by requiring them to remove firearms from individuals even if they have not been convicted of a crime, and ultimately fails to address the root causes of violence in Oregon communities. “I do not begrudge the sponsors of this bill nor the spirit in which this legisla- tion was brought forward, but there are several pieces of this bill that should give us pause,” said Representa- tive Bill Post (R-Keizer). “SB 719 sets up a consti- tutionally tenuous process for stripping Oregonians of their rights and puts the burden of enforcement on the backs of our already strained law enforce- ment community. If we want to reduce violence in our communities, we need to get serious about investing in mental health programs and ensuring that Oregonians have access to the care they desperately need.” SB 719 creates what sponsors of the legislation have dubbed an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) The process for obtaining an ERPO as out- lined by the bill allows an individual who either lives with, or is in an intimate relationship with, a person who they believe may be at risk of harming them- selves or others to seek a court order to have the potentially at risk person’s firearms and any items that could qualify as dangerous weapons removed from them. An ERPO can be requested by an indi- vidual in secret and does not provide an opportunity for an individual to contest the order until after it has already been issued. Courts may consider an overly broad list of factors when determining whether to issue an ERPO, including convictions for nonvio- lent crimes and subjective statements. “The proponents of SB 719 have sought to protect Oregonians from domestic- and self-inflicted violence —a goal we all share,” said Representative David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford). “But the process established under this bill has some significant flaws that could allow for abuse of the system and result in innocent Oregonians having their rights compro- mised without just cause. We have an obligation to preserve and protect the freedoms guaranteed by our constitution, including the right to bear arms, and I believe this bill runs the risk of coming into conflict with that obligation.” In opposing the bill, Republicans argued that the best way to reduce violence in Oregon com- munities would be to invest in mental health services. They cited a study showing Oregon ranking as the worst in the U.S. for mental health, and called for policymakers to prioritize investments in mental health education and services. Lawmakers have done little to expand mental health treatment this session, including fail- ing to advance SB 1054, which would have led to expanded care options for veterans. SB 719 passed the House on a 31-28 vote, with sev- eral Democrats joining Re- publicans in opposition to the bill. The bill now heads to Governor Brown’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law. City Council CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 City Manager/Director Comments City Manager Warner advised Council the Baker 5J School Board would be holding a meeting in Coun- cil Chambers utilizing the recording system. They have agreed that they would like to start recording and broadcast- ing their meetings so they would like an opportunity to “try it out.” Warner suggested if all went well that the City might consider selling the current system to the District allowing them (the City) to purchase new, updated equipment. Warner also advised that he has attended Jeff Merkley’s town hall meet- ing the previous Saturday and felt the meeting held was somewhat productive in that Baker City citizens were able to voice their concerns about things that were important to them such as the City watershed and healthcare. Council Comments A question from outside of Council was directed to Councilor Andersen 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 regarding the watershed. Andersen stated that he felt that was an item that should be discussed at length during a future Council meeting by all Councilors. He acknowledged a response that had been received concerning a re- cently drafted City Council letter to the Forest Service about the City watershed but was reluctant to engage in any discussion at the time. With nothing further, the meeting was adjourned. 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. — Contact Us — 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. 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