Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2017)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion / Politics — Editorial — in the moment anymore, but rather, always chasing what’s ahead. Why are we working so hard to tie our children’s happiest, most joy-filled memories to receiving the hot new toy or glitziest elec- tronic? What happened to the spiritual side of Christmas? The part of the We walked into some local stores holiday where we simply enjoy this week only to see the Christ- family time together? mas displays out, with decorations We suppose gifts have always and gifts already for sale. Friends been somewhat at the center of the around town said these things have holiday, going back for decades, been out for weeks and we’re just but it seems as if the scale has slow in noticing it. tipped to where getting outweighs This means Americans are now giving, and the stress of budgeting devoting about one-third of our and spending is consuming what calendar year to either thinking peace was once there in between about or planning for Christmas preparing for holiday activities. shopping. We think it’s time to take Santa We’ve skipped right past celebrat- Claus, his elves, and that Elf on a ing the beautiful beginning of fall, Shelf down a peg and get a grip right past Halloween, right over on Christmas before its meaning the top of Thanksgiving, and all is further lost beneath mounds of the way to Christmas in one giant wrapping paper and ribbons. materialistic leap. We aren’t living —The Baker County Press Editorial Board That holiday merch — Letters to the Editor — Support amazing for recent petition drive To the Editor: This past September the Baker County Republican Party began a petition drive to get several measures on the ballot so the people can make the decision on impor- tant issues rather than Salem. We had over 25 people circulating peti- tions in the county. We had all the peti- tions at our booth at the Halfway fair over Labor Day weekend. We did two petition drives in Baker City at the park. The response was overwhelm- ingly positive. Almost 100% of the people who came to the tables thanked us pro- fusely for doing this. We had people from all political parties and walks of life come to sign. People are visibly mad at what is going on with the State Legislature and the Governor’s office. We had hundreds of people create a steady backed up line each day we set up the table at the park. All total Baker County submitted almost 1,000 signatures for all five measures. These were Initiative Petition #1 to Stop tax dollars for abortions. #5 Proof of citizenship for voter registration. #22 Stop sanctuary state status. #301 Stop tax on health care insurance premiums, and #302 Repeal gun confiscation law. Here are the results: #302, to repeal the gun confiscation bill did not get enough signatures. Please remember Governor Brown delayed signing this bill and cost us 39 days of petition gathering time. Another thirty days and we would have qualified. This being a referendum we cannot get an extension. But rest assured we are not done with this issue. #301 will be on the ballot. Signatures collected were certified and this petition had the full legal time to collect signa- tures. Initiative petition #1 has an extension to the end of the year. #5 and #22, both can be collected through July 2018. If anyone wants to help collect signa- tures, please let me know and we will get you the petition forms and instructions. Call me at: 541-519-5035. It was heartwarming to have the good citizens of Baker County, from all parties participate in the petition drive. All is not lost here in Oregon and meeting and talk- ing with each one of you who signed, who circulated petitions proved that. Suzan Ellis Jones Bridgeport Baker County Republican Chair Congressional District 2 Alternate Chair ORP Natural Resource Committee Chair Rep. Walden applauds reopening of sage-grouse public comment period Rep. Greg Walden (R- Hood River) this week released the following statement applauding the reopening of the comment period for sage grouse plans in Oregon: “I am pleased that Sec- retary Zinke has reopened the comment period for sage grouse plans in Oregon and across the West. Oregon’s ranchers and landowners have done great cooperative work to improve sage grouse habi- tat, and this is a chance for their firsthand knowledge to be incorporated into the planning process. Lift- ing the overreaching sage grouse mineral withdrawal is also welcome news in Lake County, where I’ve heard strong concerns about how the withdrawal would impact sunstone tourism in the area. “The BLM’s decision is a step in the right direction towards working with our rural communities in these planning processes, rather than just burdening them with rules from Washing- ton, D.C. “I am confident Secretary Zinke will use their input as he develops a better path forward for Oregon and the West.” Oregon wants to tax roads modeled after California The U.S. Department of Transportation last week awarded Oregon a grant of $2,315,000 to enhance Oregon’s exist- ing road usage charge program (OReGO), as well as a $2,590,000 grant to implement a joint project with California that will integrate the states’ road charging programs. Both grants will help expand the state’s understanding of the technology used in the OReGO program and its ability to support local, state, regional and even national transportation funding needs. “The principal method of funding the road sys- tem—the fuels tax—is not sustainable in the long-term because of the much-improved efficiency of vehicles,” explained Maureen Bock, OReGO Program Manager. “Econo- mists expect this trend to continue and for the gap in road funding to get much worse over the next several decades. An alternative to the gas tax is needed to ensure all drivers pay their fair share of road costs.” “We know we need reforms to transportation funding to create a system that benefits everyone,” said Elissa Gertler, Plan- ning Director for Oregon Metro. “Exploring the innovative tools that could be at our disposal is a critical part of making sure our transportation system is equitable, efficient, and affordable for everyone in our region. It’s great to see that ODOT’s innovative efforts to reform our trans- portation funding system are being recognized and supported.” ODOT successfully launched OReGO July 1, 2015. The fully opera- tional system is function- ing effectively with 1,404 vehicles enrolled to date. In creating the program, Senate Bill 810 (2013) authorized ODOT to assess and collect a charge of 1.5 cents per mile for up to 5,000 vehicles. OReGO volunteer drivers receive a fuels tax credit while enrolled. Adapting road charging for local transportation funding The first OReGO grant will support testing of three options for adapt- ing road charging to local jurisdictions. In most states, counties and cities levy a local-option fuels tax. These taxes are then remitted back to the local government for their use. More than ever, local jurisdictions need differ- ent revenue sources to maintain their roadways as roads age and the popula- tion of Oregon grows, increasing congestion and wear and tear. While OReGO dem- onstrates that road charg- ing works for the state, it remains unproven at the local level. Better under- standing of OReGO’s tech- nological capabilities may provide local jurisdictions with alternative funding options. How local area road charging technology will be tested ODOT will examine three local road usage charge options with up to 500 volunteer participants each. Each option will ex- plore technical feasibility of various local per-mile — Contact Us — scenarios such as: geo- fencing a city or county for additional per-mile rates during specific travel times; and, incentivizing freeway corridors during certain times of day for longer through trips. The test scenarios will launch in 2019 in the Port- land metropolitan area and run concurrently for one year. The tests will illumi- nate whether the OReGO system can handle local option road usage charges, and provide some insight as to whether different pricing scenarios inspire drivers to plan their trips differently. The RUC West regional California-Oregon interop- erability project With the second grant, RUC West—a consortium of 14 western states—will demonstrate a regional system between member states Oregon and Cali- fornia, creating a platform that other states may join as they become ready. The demonstration will provide a starting point for potential future nationwide adoption and implementa- tion. The pilot is expected to go live with volunteer drivers in 2019. California’s road charge program launched July 1, 2016 and concluded March 31, 2017. Oregon’s pro- gram (OReGO) launched July 1, 2015 and contin- ues to operate. Testing interoperability of these two inaugural systems is the next step in developing road usage charging as a viable transportation fund- ing alternative across the country. For more information visit RUCwest.org. 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 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 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. 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