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
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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
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Oregonian. Brown will serve three years in prison.
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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
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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\
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neighborhood Seahawks.
An NFL-commissioned report found that Jim McNally, a seasonal
Patriots employee who worked all home
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The report said McNally snuck off
with all 19 game footballs before the
AFC Championship game between
the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts.
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footballs to below legal levels, to the
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Tom Brady.
This was nothing new. The report says
before most games, Brady and McNally
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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
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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
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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
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(which awards money to promising
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students around the country) and, in other
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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.
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At the same time, Carson has been absent
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from some important party gatherings. For
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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
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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.
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As Carson traveled non-politically, he
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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.
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In a new Fox News poll, Carson dropped
problems.
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After the rollout, Carson also has the
the choice of 11 percent of Republicans
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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
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Republican candidate in that period.
candidates so far have seen pops around their
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know anything good about him, and they
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Whatever Carson does, it will stand out
For example, when Fox asked respondents
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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.)
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Carson also fares poorly in other attribute
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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.
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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
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unconventional campaign, but it will still have
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to be a campaign. And it has to start very soon.
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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
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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
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entire region. Education of our
younger generation is not only a
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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
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proposed bond. What is left is the
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.