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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 2021)
A4 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, MARcH 30, 2021 OPINION editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher DERRICK DePLEDGE Editor Founded in 1873 SHANNON ARLINT circulation Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager GUEST COLUMN An Oregon Republican looks to expand Idaho ark Simmons, a Republican former speaker of the Oregon House, was set to testify last week at the Idaho Legislature in favor of letting eastern and southern Oregon counties become part of Idaho. But a not-so-funny thing happened in the Idaho Capitol. Nine new COVID- 19 infections were reported there, and the Idaho Legislature abruptly decided to shut down for a few weeks. Simmons, of Elgin in Union County, pre- sided during the 2001- 2002 legislative cycle. He was among a string of Republican House DICK speakers. Now we have HUGHES the longest-serving pre- siding officers in Oregon history, both Democrats, in state Senate President Peter Courtney, of Salem, and House Speaker Tina Kotek, of Portland. Simmons’ testimony at the Idaho Legislature has been rescheduled for April 12. Mike McCarter, the presi- dent of the newly formed Citizens for Greater Idaho and head of Move Ore- gon’s Border, said testimony would show that “moving the Oregon/Idaho border farther from Boise will protect Idahoans from the ill effects of Ore- gon’s new drug law,” an apparent ref- erence to last fall’s passage of Measure 110. As for the pandemic, the Oregon House also partially shut down, can- celing all floor sessions until this week because people might have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 during the March 15 or March 16 floor sessions. That person, presumably a House member or one of the few staff in the House chamber, was not publicly identified. Oregon, which has required legisla- tors to wear protective face masks on the House and Senate floors, had been among the few states without any coro- navirus infections among lawmakers. Unlike Oregon, Idaho neither closed its Capitol to the public nor required face masks. Lawmakers were not allowed to participate remotely, but public seating was limited and the pub- lic was allowed to testify remotely. Idaho politics are a reverse of Ore- gon’s, which is why some Oregonians embrace the notion of shifting the state border. Idaho Republicans are the ones who hold supermajorities in their Leg- islature. They outnumber Democrats 28 to 7 in the Idaho Senate and 58 to 12 in the House. The split is so wide that the House and Senate committees that will M Some Oregon counties are looking to the east. hear Simmons’ testimony have a com- bined 20 Rs and five Ds. Backers of an expanded Idaho sug- gest, “Areas that vote like Idaho does, and are economically healthy enough to be welcomed by Idaho, are eastern, southern and most of central Oregon, southeastern Washington and northeast- ern California.” It’s a long shot idea that would require congressional action, but five Oregon counties — Baker, Grant, Lake, Malheur and Sherman — have related measures on their May ballots. Peti- tion drives also are under way in Curry, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Har- ney, Morrow and Umatilla counties. Among the arguments being presented for the border charge are that “voters will appreciate Idaho’s overall lower taxes and red-state values on hot-button topics.” One such topic is gun control, a defining issue of urban and rural America. Gun control in Oregon: “Col- leagues, this is the urban-rural divide,” Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said Thurs- day as the Oregon Senate debated Sen- ate Bill 554. It would allow the state and local governments to ban anyone, including holders of concealed weapons permits, from bringing firearms onto public property. “You wonder why many counties in Eastern Oregon want a divorce from Multnomah County? This is why,” Knopp said. The bill passed 16 to 7 on a near party-line vote, with Sen. Betsy John- son, of Scappoose, the only Democrat who voted “no.” Five senators declared potential conflicts of interest because they have a concealed handgun license: Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod, of Lyons; Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale; Knopp; Johnson; and James Manning Jr., D-Eugene. Much of the debate came down to how comfortable people were in being around anyone carrying a concealed firearm. A statewide survey this month by DHM Research found that 59% of respondents either strongly or some- what support the policy behind SB 554. Responses were divided along geo- graphic and partisan lines. Support in the Portland metro area was 69%; Wil- lamette Valley, 56%; and the rest of the state, 49%. Among Democrats, sup- port was 80%, compared with 38% of Republicans and 54% of other voters. State law bans most Oregonians from possessing firearms in public buildings unless they have a concealed handgun license, and Knopp described SB 554 as “a bill in search of a problem.” Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, has long been trying to get the policy through the Legislature. She said the identities of Oregon’s nearly 300,000 concealed handgun license holders are confidential, so it’s unknown whether any had committed violent crimes in public buildings. More on Idaho and gun control: Back when states appreciated maver- icks, Idaho produced the liberal U.S. Sen. Frank Church, who served during from 1957 to 1981 before losing reelec- tion. On national issues, Church fre- quently was out of step with his conser- vative constituents. But on gun control, he staunchly opposed any attempt to hinder Idahoans’ right to bear arms. By the way, Church was the last Democrat from Idaho to serve in the U.S. Senate, just as Vic Atiyeh was the last Republican governor of Oregon, serving from 1979 to 1987. dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon political scene since 1976. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Interested R eading a Chinook Observer story writ- ten by Jeff Clemens (The Astorian, March 23), I was interested in the head- line “… changes on treacherous portion of Highway 101.” I was curious to see what changes could be made. A study found that a particular curve had been the scene of repeated life-threatening crashes. The Washington State Department of Transportation decided to install supple- mental signs called chevrons, yellow-col- ored with 40 mph on them, were posted with reflectors at 80-foot spacing through- out the whole curve. Time will tell if this added advisory will caution drivers to slow down. This brought to mind a similar situation drivers here in Clatsop County are faced with on the same highway farther south in Warrenton. It’s the S-turn (chicane) between the Cullaby Lake entrance and Reed and Hertig packing. There have been two fatalities in a short period of time, plus a fiery rollover a few years ago. So I would like to see the same proac- tive additions made in this area, such as Washington has done. JOHN MEINERS Astoria Accessibility rails End Art Association is grateful to the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition and the Oregon Cultural Trust for help pur- chasing our two new 72-inch by 30-inch height adjustable Americans with Disabili- ties Act work tables. Our goal for 2020-2021 was to improve on our accessibility for members and students in Clatsop County who desire hands-on art experiences. We are now able to meet some of the disability mem- ber needs who presently attend groups, and look forward to our in-person workshops and classes in the near future. You can support projects like this by T donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust at culturaltrust.org. The donations become a direct tax credit on your Oregon income tax for the year that you donate. KITTY PAINO Astoria Judgmental he Terminator, in “Terminator 2: Judg- ment Day,” must have been refer- ring to spring breakers — and probably COVID-19 and vaccine deniers — when he said of humanity: “… it is in your nature to destroy yourselves.” DONNA LEE ROLLINS Astoria T LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to edit- ing for space, grammar and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil. 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