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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2017)
FRIDAY, AUGUST 18, 2017 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion — Letters to the Editor — Economic development director needs to explain himself To the Editor: What is up with Baker County renew- ing its contract with Greg Smith and his economic development snake oil? How does this guy keep getting funded for hundreds of thousands of dollars to peddle something he seems hard-pressed to even define? When asked what the County’s return on investment for the $96,000 tax dollars he was paid last year, his answer was am- biguous at best. More disturbing was that the County board and County commis- sioners thought it was a wise idea to not only renew his contract for another year, but to increase it by $12,000! In business, you should be able to articulate the return on investment to the investors of a given enterprise. Why haven’t we been able to get straight answers since 2011 when he was hired? Whenever we have funding short falls (roads, education, law enforcement, etc) the answer is to just keep taxing us. Hit us for a sidewalk tax, tax us for another police officer whether we feel the need or not, up the sewer and water rates … It just keeps going. And for what? Do you know what our County Commissioners make each year? Any idea what the City Manager makes each year? Any idea of what these jobs are worth in the private sector? Seems like government folks like to reward themselves far beyond the actual value they bring. But they have the power to tax. Greg Smith’s contract appears to be regular PR contract worth about a $45,000 per year (at best) in any other place in the free market. Did that contract even go out for bid to anyone else? Should it have? I think some answers should be forth- coming, otherwise, the County needs to opt out of this before the opt out clause expires. It’s our money. Jake Brown Halfway Councilor not a victim To the Editor: In regard to City Councilor Adam Nils- — Editorial — Nervous about eclipse visitor influx Like most residents of Baker County, right now, as this issue goes to press, we’re a little ner- vous about the predicted influx of eclipse-seeking tourists coming into our area. We wish we could just be excited and welcoming in the shadow of this incredibly cool celestial event, but right now the unknown for first responders, business owners and law enforcement obscures that. The weather forecast along the Oregon Coast came out this week, and with that came news of can- celled reservations west of here and plans for visitors to come this way where the skies are predicted to be clear during the eclipse. The problem is, without places to stay, we’re hearing from travelers who just plan to pitch a tent or sit in their vehicles on BLM or Forest Service-managed lands in rural ar- eas with no real preparation for, or experience in, that sort of camping. Those public areas bump up 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 words per letter. Letters are limited to one every other week per author. Letters should be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCounty- Press.com. Advertising and Opinion Page Dis- claimer: Opinions submitted as Guest son’s letter/rant/ramble, published in an- other newspaper on August 9, please stop! You were caught red-handed in the act of spray painting (vandalizing) property you don’t own. The fact that some other vandal had applied a previous coat doesn’t make it better or okay, and trespassing will always be trespassing. If you had just admitted your obvious guilt, taken your lumps and kept your mouth shut this whole thing would have been a non-issue. You would have possi- bly had some public sympathy or cred- ibility had you not, in your own words, admitted that you were in fact painting on a building you didn’t own or have permis- sion to paint on. Now I fully admit I did not witness deputy Maldonado’s behavior at the scene of the crime, but any deficits in his behav- ior will never be an excuse for yours. I live in the city and don’t have many interactions with sheriff’s deputies or any other law enforcement. However, on the two occasions I can think of in the last 10 years, both were actually good experienc- es, including being stopped for speeding out by Phillips Reservoir. Considering the last election results, the majority of Baker County residents would disagree with your calling the Sheriff’s Office “poorly led, ill-equipped or under- trained.” You are not being persecuted. You are being prosecuted. There is a big differ- ence. A lone officer, in a remote area with poor communication comes upon two people engaged in the act of committing a crime, and it turns out one of them is armed. Were you expecting a hug? Or did you think the officer would recognize your status as a city council- man and say oh, sorry, Mr. Nilsson, please paint away and feel fee to trespass any time you want? You are not the victim. I don’t know if Maldonado is, as you stated, “not qualified” to work in the ca- pacity he was hired for, but I can think of one city councilor for which those words certainly apply. Kevin Luckini Baker City against privately owned lands in much of our county, and are filled with tall, ungrazed dry grass. If a car or ATV ventures off these gravel roads into that grass, which they surely will, the potential for wildfires becomes a near certainty in many rural areas. We hope people will use common sense. Gas station managers are already talking about the possibility they won’t be able to keep up with demand. ODOT warns about traffic, road rage, patience and accidents during a time when our first responders are going to be spread thin. If the freeway stays open both directions all weekend long, we’ll consider it a miracle. And if it remains closed or clogged for too long, with tens of thousands of people instantly quadrupling the population of our little town, food supplies are going to run slim in short order. We think about the potential im- pact on our emergency room. We think outside of accidents— what about an increase in crime? If ever there was an example for the necessity of preparedness, this would be it! But maybe, just maybe, we won’t have a thing to worry about. We’ll see how this plays out— hopefully, profitably and safely. —The Baker County Press Editorial Board 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, businesses, etc., are printed as a paid service, which does not constitute an endorsement of or fulfillment obligation by this newspaper for the products or services advertised. — Special Column — So I was thinking ... The curse of four-letter words Submitted Photo By Jimmy Ingram Special to The Baker County Press Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and father of two who enjoys people watching within our wonderful community and beyond. Cussing, cursing, swearing, profanity, letting the expletives fly ... Call it what you want but we’ve all done it. Its roots undoubtedly go back many years. You can’t convince me that the pyramids were built without a cuss word or two being spoken: “Man, are we ever going to be done moving these *bleeping* things?” had to be uttered at least a couple times. I come from a long line of in- telligent, yet occasionally foul- mouthed men. As a result cussing seeped its way into my brain as a way of expressing myself at times. In fact, if cursing at broken-down heavy machinery was an Olympic event, Michael Phelps would have nothing on me. If creating new, more descriptive versions of traditional cuss words in a sequence was art, Vincent Van Gogh has nothing on my father. No mortal man should be expect- ed to work around farm machin- ery without a curse word or two. Drunken sailors have nothing on blue collar workers when it comes to bad language. So does periodic cussing make you seem less intelligent? Maybe. On the other hand some situations in life just call for a four-letter word. The two- second delay between when you stub your toe and when the pain hits calls for a far more expressive phrase than “oh good- ness.” When your dog digs a crater in your yard the size of a small automobile, calling him by his real name seems far too passive. Bad words exist for a reason. Use them on occasion to express yourself and behold their stress relieving effects. Now don’t get me wrong—im- pressionable little ears shouldn’t hear such words ... at least from adults. But remember that there’s always the one kid at school who will be able to trick your kid into saying something that will get them in trouble with you or with a teacher. Casual conversation should also be more or less devoid of cussing. Dinner party guests who manage to slip fout-letter words into stories are typically seen as uncouth, al- though among certain groups they may actually welcome you as kin. Your mileage may vary. Best to let someone else drop the first F-bomb to take the pressure off. Much to the surprise of many of us, there are people out there who have never cussed. While this is certainly an admi- rable trait, their frustrated expres- sions like “gosh darn it” and “for Pete’s sake” sound like a song sung out of key—recognizable, but it just doesn’t sound the same to your ears. I suspect there is a study some- where linking people who say they have never cussed with belief in unicorns. So while I certainly don’t advo- cate the use of foul language, I’m not above using it myself. If you’re one of those who find it offensive, then I apologize. If so, I urge you to wear earplugs around heavy machinery ... not necessarily because of the loud machinery, but the cussing you’ll undoubtedly hear from its operator if/it breaks down. — 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. 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
