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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 2015)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, July 3, 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 $WLSRIWKHKDWWRQHLJKERUVKHOSLQJQHLJKERUV¿JKW¿UHV Whether Helix farmers or Pendleton urbanites, people in both environs have stepped up to help save lives and property recently when a frightening ÀDUHXSVKRZHGLWV¿HU\IDFH We have professional hose haulers in a few Umatilla County municipalities, but for many people, saving your residence can come down to how willing and able you and your neighbors are to protect your property. And it should be noted: people should never put their own safety, or the safety of others, at ULVNWRVDYHDIHZVODEVRIZRRGRUD¿HOGRI straw. But it is admirable when people do what they safely can to help themselves and the people around them. We’re happy when we hear it and see it, and it makes us glad to live in a place where the community supports each other. A kick in the pants to the mess that is the Oregon Trail Library 'LVWULFWZKLFKLVVWLOOEHLQJPRSSHGXSGHVSLWH¿QDOO\QDPLQJDQ LQWHULPGLUHFWRUDIWHUWKHGLVDVWURXVWHQXUHRI0DUVKD5LFKPRQG It seems like the library district and the city of Irrigon were the weekly recipients of a kick in the pants when the Columbia River town’s library remained closed because the two groups could not get in the same room and each sign the same piece of paper. Frankly, we should have been kicking twice a week. Barring taxpayers from something they paid for because of the squabbling incompetence of public HPSOR\HHVDQGDSXEOLFO\IXQGHG organization was disgraceful. It’s now clear that the library district was the least functioning of the two. Later, board members went incommunicado for months and the district was barely able to legally conduct business. Often they were not even able to do that. Richmond deserves much of the blame for steadily diminishing RSHUDWLRQV6RLW¶VKDUGWREHOLHYHWKDWVKHZRXOGWKHQEHDEOHWRÀHHWKDW sinking ship and be hired as coordinator of the Umatilla County Special Library District. Did anyone in the district check Richmond’s work history, or read media reports of the mess she left behind in a neighboring library district? We hope her damage is more limited in the new position than her last, but 8PDWLOOD&RXQW\OLEUDU\JRHUVDQGHPSOR\HHVVKRXOGZRUU\ A tip of the hat to those truly patriotic and conscientious citizens who XVH¿UHZRUNVVDIHO\WKLV)RXUWKRI-XO\ZHHNHQGOr, better yet, who opt WRSXWWKHPDZD\XQWLO1HZ<HDU¶VZKHQORRVHVSDUNVDQGÀDPHVDUHOHVV likely to ruin everyone’s day. It doesn’t take a meteorologist to know this spring and summer have been brutally hot and unusually dry. Your basic sparklers, poppers and snakes aren’t going to get too out of hand (with proper adult supervision, RIFRXUVHEXWWKHPRUHÀDVK\¿UHZRUNVFDQ be a real hazard. Especially if the users aren’t paying close attention. If you are going to set off your own display, remember to keep a hose and bucket of water nearby, small children away and pay attention to the burnt out shell even when the spectacle is over. But the real question is, why bother? Pendleton will kick off the weekend ZLWKD)ULGD\QLJKWGLVSOD\DQG+HUPLVWRQ%RDUGPDQ6WDQ¿HOGDQG,RQHDOO offer their own shows Saturday night. 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. OTHER VIEWS National Park fees go up again The (Eugene) Register-Guard N early a century ago, Congress passed the National Park Service Organic Act, creating a federal agency to manage the nation’s parks and monuments. The agency’s mission was as broad and impressive in scope as the lands to which it applied: to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects” of the parks and to “provide for the enjoyment of the same ... by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” That mission has been endangered in recent years by a massive backlog in maintenance and construction projects — nearly $12 billion worth — that threaten to cast a shadow over the National Park Service’s celebration of its centennial in August 2016. The agency’s maintenance needs have been exacerbated by congressional budget cuts that have taken an increasing toll on both operating and capital budgets. In a recent report, agency RI¿FLDOVUHSRUWHGWKDWRIWKHQDWLRQDO park system’s paved roads are in “fair to poor condition” and dozens of bridges need repair. An estimated 6,700 miles of hiking trails need maintenance. Name the park, and the agency has a corresponding list of deferred maintenance projects. At Crater Lake, the list consists largely of roads, including the iconic Rim Road, which takes visitors around the lake and is scheduled for a major renovation later this year. At Yosemite, the list ranges from up. The park headquarters at Lassen Volcanic National Park needs a new utility system, and Sequoia National Park needs a water treatment facility. The list goes on. And on. The National Park Service has asked Congress for $243 million in new funding over the next 10 years to restore LWVQRQWUDQVSRUWDWLRQIDFLOLWLHVWRJRRG condition. That’s a modest request in light of the maintenance backlog and the increasing popularity of national parks — an estimated 292 million people visited national parks last year. At 130 national parks across the country, the agency recently began charging visitors more to get inside, with entrance fees doubling, even tripling at some sites. The price of daily admission went from $10 to $15 a couple of weeks ago at Crater Lake. Across the nation, park visitors will also face higher fees for other amenities. It’s unfortunate that park visitors will have to pay more to visit and play in national parks, and it’s possible the new increases will price some Americans out of visiting them. National parks, which represent some of the most extraordinary examples of America’s landscape and heritage, should be available for the enjoyment of all citizens. Yet most national fees have not FKDQJHGVLQFHDQGDJHQF\RI¿FLDOV say 80 percent of the fees stay at the park where they were collected. Americans can also take solace in the fact that revenue from the fee increases will be used to keep the nation’s parks from falling further into disrepair and, hopefully, to reduce a monumental — and unacceptable — maintenance backlog. OTHER VIEWS GOP searches for strategy to counter Obama winning streak R epublicans have tried to pin the policy, popular with the American lame duck label on President people, or good healthcare,” noted Obama for quite a while now. Curt Anderson, a top adviser to the But for a lame duck, Obama is doing Bobby Jindal campaign. pretty well. Some saw Obama’s wins as He won on Obamacare. He won tangential to the issues that matter on gay marriage. He won on trade. most with voters, explaining that His party was even able to leverage Obama is still a loser when it comes to a horrendous crime — the killings in the big stuff. Byron Charleston — to put Republicans on “When the voters start giving York the defensive over the Confederate the president credit for a booming Comment ÀDJ HFRQRP\DQGDJOREHVSDQQLQJVWULQJ A president’s approval rating, and of foreign policy successes, then the his general image of success or failure, affect Republicans will have to worry,” said Vin the candidate of his party seeking to succeed Weber, a longtime GOP strategist who is an him. From that perspective, Obama’s victories outside adviser to the Bush campaign. are a gift to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Finally, others saw Obama’s wins as mainly the work of a Washington establishment out Clinton. of touch with economic suffering going on Indeed, Clinton was quick to embrace beyond the Beltway. the Supreme Court Affordable Care Act “President Obama and decision. “Yes!” she tweeted America’s elites are winning, just minutes after the news winning, winning,” said Alex EURNH³6&2786DI¿UPV Castellanos, a longtime GOP what we know is true in VWUDWHJLVWZKRLVQRWDI¿OLDWHG our hearts & under the law: with any campaign this time Health insurance should be around. “Let the peasants affordable & available to all.” eat cake, Obamacare, and A short time after unemployment. A lot of steam Clinton’s statement, I sent notes to several Republican is building up in the populist operatives, some working on pressure cooker. In 2016, SUHVLGHQWLDOFDPSDLJQVDQGVRPHXQDI¿OLDWHG some very angry peasants are going to storm How do GOP candidates deal with a president Washington with torches and pitchforks.” on a winning streak? How does it affect the One could spend a long time searching campaign? Does it give Clinton a stronger those statements for a single, fully coherent hand? The answers that came back showed a strategy to counter the president and neutralize SDUW\VWUXJJOLQJWR¿JXUHRXWH[DFWO\KRZWR WKHEHQH¿WKLVYLFWRULHVPLJKWFRQIHURQ deal with the Democrats’ recent run. Hillary Clinton. That’s not really a surprise, Some stressed that the president’s wins given that there are currently 13 declared aren’t really his, pointing especially to the candidates, with three more likely to come, in trade deal, in which Obama succeeded almost the race for the Republican nomination. But entirely because of Republican help. whichever course they choose, Republicans “Yes, he can claim some victories, but will have to connect with the people who lose few of his own making and mostly due to when Obama wins. other actors, for their own reasons, making After the Supreme Court decision, the things happen,” said Dave Carney, the New GOP candidates themselves issued mostly +DPSVKLUHEDVHGVWUDWHJLVWZKRDGYLVHG5LFN boilerplate statements. They pledged to keep Perry in the last election. “He has become the ¿JKWLQJ7KH\YRZHGDV7H[DV6HQ7HG&UX] Forrest Gump of presidents.” said, to make the 2016 election “a national Others laid blame on GOP lawmakers in referendum on repealing Obamacare.” Congress, arguing they must do more to stop They promised to replace Obamacare with the president’s agenda. something better. “Republicans in Washington need to But what’s going on now is bigger than act and put pressure on Obama to veto simply Obamacare. The president is on a roll conservative legislation or come to the at the moment, and the Democrat who hopes table,” said Tim Miller of the Jeb Bush to follow him to the White House is looking campaign. “There has been a lot of talking, but to roll along. Republicans need a focused Republicans need to start getting results.” strategy to stop that momentum. So far, the Still others argued that Obama’s wins don’t GOP is still looking. say much about the merits of his agenda. “He Ŷ won the (Obamacare) case, but just having the Byron York is chief political correspondent Court say it was legal doesn’t make it good for The Washington Examiner. Some see Obama’s wins as tangential to the issues. YOUR VIEWS Meth is the real problem in Pendleton — not marijuana Marijuana is legal. Months have gone by since the election but there is no plan for the implementation of this law. There are hundreds of locals who rely on medical marijuana for its medicinal qualities. There was a recent East Oregonian editorial on the topic of medical marijuana dispensaries. It reminded me of the movie “Reefer Madness,” made in 1936 and based on the exaggerated effect of marijuana. The EO had a quote from our police chief that was alarming: “How many deaths is it going to take?” I have read dozens of obits in the EO and have never seen one where the death was caused by marijuana. Former city councilman Keith May said that “he would close his business and move away if a marijuana shop opened on Main Street.” That is amusing because his store is equidistant to two businesses that sell drug paraphernalia, Thur’s and Pandora’s Box. The third head shop, “Out of Action,” is located nearby on Main Street. The fourth business, “Wicked Kitty,” is on Main Street and it sells paraphernalia in its “green room.” In an EO story published in November 2014, Wicked Kitty manager Angela Treadwell stated that glass products are their number two revenue generator. The distressing news is that these businesses do not simply cater to marijuana users. Pendleton has had a history of drug abuse for years. Meth is an epidemic in the town. Residents in a motel manufactured meth in a room. Since meth is made from battery acid, drain cleaner, lantern fuel and antifreeze, I ¿QGLWRGGWKDWWKHRZQHURIWKHPRWHODQGKLV employees had no knowledge of this activity. The same thing occurred in another Pendleton motel. Both were shut down for months to detoxify the rooms. The glassware that is sold in the four head shops are not just for marijuana. It is also purchased by meth users. Meth addiction is a major issue in Pendleton and accounts for many of the crimes committed in town. With the city council prohibiting rigidly controlled medical marijuana dispensaries, the city is forcing local residents to purchase marijuana on the black market. As a result, Pendleton will lose millions of dollars over the long term from taxes that won’t be collected to EHQH¿WWKHFRPPXQLW\ Jerry Cronin Pendleton
