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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, May 8, 2015 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN Publisher JENNINE PERKINSON Advertising Director DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor TIM TRAINOR Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Tip of the hat; kick in the pants A kick in the pants to Brian Brown, of Portland,ZKR¿OFKHGPLOOLRQV RIGROODUVIURPDQRQSUR¿WGHGLFDWHGWRLPSURYLQJWKHOLYHVRI$PHULFDQ Indians. Brown was the former president of National Relief Charities and he later started his own charity, called the American Indian Education Endowment Fund. He was able to convince National Relief to donate $4 million to his new endeavor, which he said would go to college scholarships for poor American Indians. But instead, Brown pocketed the money for himself. At a hearing last week, after being found guilty of committing mail and wire fraud and transactional money ODXQGHULQJ%URZQVDLGKH³ORVWKLVPRUDOFRPSDVV´DFFRUGLQJWRThe Oregonian. Brown will serve three years in prison. ³,WLVRQHWKLQJWRVWHDO´VDLG5REEL5LFH'LHWULFKSUHVLGHQWRIWKH 7H[DVEDVHG1DWLRQDO5HOLHI&KDULWLHV³,WLVDQRWKHUWKLQJWRVWHDOIURPWKH SRRUHVWRIWKHSRRU´ This is one case where the decision to kick or let pass is an easy one. OTHER VIEWS Time for Ben Carson to run a real race B A tip of the hat to all those who will donate food to those who need it this Saturday by simply leaving it by your mailbox and letting your USPS letter carrier do the rest. The Community Action Program of East Central Oregon is again joining forces with Stamp Out Hunger, and the rules are easy for those in Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam and Wheeler counties. Just collect some nonperishable food items (dehydrated milk, canned meats and vegetables, whole-grain rice and cereals and soups are especially appreciated) and leave them in a bag by your mailbox before your carrier stops by. The donation will go straight to the CAPECO food bank and on to people who need it right in your communities. A kick in the pants to the New England Patriots,ZKR³PRUHSUREDEO\ WKDQQRW´FKHDWHGRQWKHLUZD\WRODVW\HDU¶V6XSHU%RZOZLQRYHURXU neighborhood Seahawks. An NFL-commissioned report found that Jim McNally, a seasonal Patriots employee who worked all home JDPHVFDOOHGKLPVHOI³WKHGHÀDWRU´ The report said McNally snuck off with all 19 game footballs before the AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. ,QWKHEDWKURRPKHGHÀDWHGDOOWKH footballs to below legal levels, to the VSHFL¿FDWLRQVRIJROGHQER\TXDUWHUEDFN Tom Brady. This was nothing new. The report says before most games, Brady and McNally ZRXOGJHWEDOOVRQWRWKH¿HOGWKDWKDG QRWEHHQFKHFNHGE\JDPHRI¿FLDOV $QGZKLOHWKHEDOOVZHUHFHUWDLQO\LQÀDWHGWRWKHSURSHUH[WHQWZKHQ WKH3DWULRWVSOD\HGWKH6HDKDZNVLQWKH6XSHU%RZOWKLVWHDPRIFKHDWLQ¶ cheaters took shortcuts all year (and probably all decade) long. Still, the ‘Hawks should have handed off. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. en Carson declared his QRW´ presidential candidacy in Detroit Aides say Carson is doing well on Monday. Not a minute too soon. social media and in various outreach The retired neurosurgeon and efforts. After Carson announced the conservative star formed a presidential exploratory committee, according exploratory committee on March 3. to Mike Murray, a senior adviser for 6LQFHWKHQKH¶VEHHQWUDYHOLQJDURXQG fundraising and grassroots efforts, the the country in what might be called would-be campaign raised $2.1 million a non-strategic way — making paid from a little more than 30,000 donors, Byron speeches that he had longstanding with the average contribution between York commitments to give, appearing at $50-60. In April, the campaign added Comment events for his Carson Scholars Fund DQRWKHUGRQRUV³,W¶VEHHQ (which awards money to promising WUHPHQGRXV´0XUUD\VDLG students around the country) and, in other 2QKLVFRPPLWWHH¶VZHEVLWH&DUVRQKDV ways, not directing any particular focus on been asking conveniently leading questions the key early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, designed to offer him encouragement to run. South Carolina and Nevada. 6XFKDV³6RPHSHRSOHVD\QRQSROLWLFLDQV At the same time, Carson has been absent VKRXOGQ¶WEHHOHFWHGEHFDXVHWKH\ODFN from some important party gatherings. For µH[SHULHQFH¶:KLFKLQ\RXUHVWLPDWLRQLVD example, Carson did not attend the GOP more important quality for a president: Having summit in New Hampshire a couple of weeks a career in Washington politics or having solid DJRWKDWIHDWXUHGDKXJH¿HOG²DOPRVWHYHU\ YDOXHVDQGFKDUDFWHU"´&DUVRQ¶VFRPPLWWHH serious (and non-serious) 2016 candidate. Nor VD\VSHRSOH³RYHUZKHOPLQJO\´FKRRVHVROLG did Carson go to Iowa last weekend for a big values and character. social conservative gathering that showcased a Carson made his announcement in large number of hopefuls. 'HWURLW,W¶VDQDWXUDOFKRLFHVLQFHLWLVQRW As Carson traveled non-politically, he MXVW&DUVRQ¶VKRPHWRZQEXWDOVRDJRRG slid down polls of the GOP race. Since the political choice because some conservatives beginning of March, Carson has slipped from see the city, mired in bankruptcy and general, 12.3 percent in the RealClearPolitics average long-running decline, as a laboratory for new of polls — nearly in the top tier of candidates policies that could reverse its fortunes. Carson — to less than half that, 5.8 percent, today. FRXOGGLUHFWVSHFLDODWWHQWLRQWRWKHFLW\¶V In a new Fox News poll, Carson dropped problems. ¿YHSRLQWVLQMXVWWKUHHZHHNV²IURPEHLQJ After the rollout, Carson also has the the choice of 11 percent of Republicans FKDQFHWREULQJQHZDWWHQWLRQWRKLVÀHGJOLQJ surveyed at the end of March to 6 percent campaign that could stop his slide in the in mid-April. It was the biggest drop of any SROOV³,W¶VVDIHWRVD\WKDWDOORIWKHGHFODUHG Republican candidate in that period. candidates so far have seen pops around their In addition to a loss of support, most people DQQRXQFHPHQW´QRWHV0XUUD\³:HVHHD VWLOOGRQ¶WNQRZZKR&DUVRQLV7KH\GRQ¶W JUHDWRSSRUWXQLW\DV%HQVWDUWVWRGH¿QHKLV know anything good about him, and they PHVVDJHDQGSRVLWLRQVRQLVVXHV´ GRQ¶WNQRZDQ\WKLQJEDGDERXWKLP Whatever Carson does, it will stand out For example, when Fox asked respondents IURPWKHUHVWRIWKH¿HOG&DOOLQJKLVDSSURDFK ZKHWKHU&DUVRQLV³KRQHVWDQGWUXVWZRUWK\´ WRWKHUDFH³XQRUWKRGR[´ZRXOGEHDQ SHUFHQWVDLGWKH\GLGQ¶WNQRZ²WKH understatement. Carson speeches, even in a highest of any Republican candidate. (For the political setting, can seem more like TED talks record, 32 percent said Carson is honest and on the values that brought him success in the trustworthy, while 25 percent said he is not.) GHFLGHGO\QRQSROLWLFDO¿HOGRIEUDLQVXUJHU\ Carson also fares poorly in other attribute $WWKHVDPHWLPH&DUVRQKDVGHÀHFWHGSROLF\ measurements — Is he a good leader? Does he questions by saying he is not yet a candidate care about people like you? — because most and is still studying the issues. $PHULFDQVVLPSO\GRQ¶WKDYHDFOXHDERXW That ends soon. If he runs, Carson will him. have to get into politics in a big way. No more &DUVRQDLGHVGLVPLVVVXFKFRQFHUQV³3ROOV putting off questions. Carson may run an JRXSDQGGRZQ´QRWHVSROLWLFDOFRPPLWWHH unconventional campaign, but it will still have VSRNHVZRPDQ'HDQD%DVV³5LJKWQRZDV to be a campaign. And it has to start very soon. ZH¶UHLQWKHH[SORUDWRU\SKDVH'U&DUVRQ Ŷ has been focused on listening to people in Byron York is chief political correspondent determining whether he is going to run or for The Washington Examiner. YOUR VIEWS Residents should choose court judge One of the Hermiston city councilors commented that city councilors should pick the municipal court judge because they were better informed, or something of that ilk. It is truly a slippery slope when an elected JRYHUQPHQWRI¿FLDOLVGHOXGHGLQWR believing his/her constituents are low-information voters. I urge Hermiston voters to vote no on 30-56 and maintain the right to vote on municipal court judge. Fred Huling Hermiston Plass would be effective BMCC board member Susan Plass is uniquely prepared to serve on the Blue Mountain Community College Board of Education. Susan, former Director of Grants for BMCC, has a thorough knowledge of the college and the experience to be an effective board member. During her tenure at BMCC, Susan helped to bring more than $9 million to the institution. She is a strong supporter of higher education and understands the critical role BMCC plays in the economic health of northeastern Oregon. Susan is informed, dedicated and experienced. I have worked with Susan in Altrusa where she demonstrates strong leadership and organizational skills. We strongly support her candidacy and urge a vote for Susan Plass, BMCC Board of Education. Gale and Pat McClintock Pendleton All unnecessary costs trimmed from bond As a member of the Blue Mountain Community College budget committee, I encourage all registered voters in Umatilla and Morrow counties to carefully and thoughtfully think about this measure. This measure must be SDVVHG,WLVIRUWKHEHQH¿WRIWKH entire region. Education of our younger generation is not only a EHQH¿WLWLVD³PXVWGR´LQWRGD\¶V world. They are the future, without question. The technology of the world is advancing at a pace we could not comprehend two decades ago. If we are to keep pace with the rest of the world, we must educate and motivate our upcoming generations. As a country, the USA is still the greatest nation in the world, but our educational systems are falling behind other countries. We cannot allow this to continue. There have been many meetings over the past few months regarding the needs of BMCC. There has been a great deal of input from the voters of our counties. I can assure you, the voters throughout Umatilla and Morrow counties, that the BMCC administration has heard the message from the people, loud and clear. We recently had a budget committee meeting to review the upcoming BMCC budget, along with the bond measure. While it is a considerable amount of money, the cost to us, as individual taxpayers, is very affordable. The administration has diligently worked through their budget process and they have trimmed all unnecessary costs DQG³IDW´IURPWKHEXGJHWDQGWKH proposed bond. What is left is the ¿QDQFLDOUHTXLUHPHQWVQHHGHGWR make appropriate improvements and maintenance to a group of facilities and educational programs that have been well used for the past 50 years. Its time to upgrade IRUWKHEHQH¿WRIWKHVWXGHQWV The cost to most of us as taxpayers is less than one cup of coffee (of your choice) per week: 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed SURSHUW\YDOXH,GRQ¶WWKLQN there is any taxpayer in our area that cannot afford an average of $50-$60 per year to ensure that our students who aspire to go to college have that opportunity. BMCC has a great reputation; the administration is working diligently to meet the demands of the changing world. Read the materials presented with the ballot; read the letters to the editor; go online to learn more; watch your PDLOIRUÀ\HUV Help BMCC provide students with the skills that employers of the present and future will demand. Please vote yes for BMCC bond measure 30-106. Jim and Barbara Stanton Milton-Freewater Pendleton schools levy A step backward if will maintain programs Pendleton levy fails My wife and I are writing this letter to encourage the people of Pendleton to support the renewal of the Local Option Levy. After retiring from the Pendleton School District after 28 \HDUVLQWKHFODVVURRP,¶YHUHDOL]HG what a special place Pendleton is, and one of the things that make it special is its schools. We have watched four of our children go through the system and graduate. Three are now currently working in professions they love and owe a lot of that to the teachers and support staff they had in this district. Passing this local option levy will help maintain current programs and staff levels so we GRQ¶WVHHDUHWXUQWRWKH and 2012-2013 cuts and reductions in programs. We urge you to vote yes to show your support of our local schools, teachers and most importantly, the children of our community. Dale and Amy Freeman Pendleton It is time to vote, and I am writing to urge you to remember to vote, and to ask you to vote yes on the Pendleton School District local option levy renewal. Because this is a renewal, it does not represent any increase in tax rate to you. What it does represent is over $450,000 that stays in the district and allows the district to support teachers and programs that are crucial to the education of our children. Loss of this revenue would likely result in reduction in teachers or programs or both. As a parent and a business owner, I feel that this would be a big step backward for our school GLVWULFW,GRQ¶WWKLQNDVDVRFLHW\ that we can afford not to fund our schools to the best of our ability. Everyone should have their ballot already. Please take a moment to vote. The local option levy is listed on the back of the last page. Remember, there is no increase in taxes to you if this levy passes. Please consider supporting your local schools with a yes vote. Michelle M. Monkman Pendleton LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of resi- dence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
