VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Quick takes
— Jessica Lyons
Here is a novel idea: Rather than the
council deciding, what if we put it on a
ballot and let voters decide.
— Crystal Cortazar
I don’t smoke marijuana so it’s no
convenience for me, but I think Pendleton
and Hermiston both are complete fools for
not allowing the sales of marijuana. We’ll
be losing out on so much money!
— Tiah Estabrook
Urban/rural gun divide
And unfortunately for us whatever
(urban Oregon) wants we’re stuck with.
— Levi Raber
If I have a concealed weapon permit I
know what businesses to not enter and how
to behave in public. Props to this man for
standing up for his legal rights but using
caution.
— Janice Martin
I’ll be all for universal background
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provides me with all the background check
info the Obama administration ran to green-
light airdropping 50 ton of ammo and guns
in Syria.
— Nick Ritzer
Tweet your Quick Takes to @Tim_Trainor or
email editor@eastoregonian.com, and keep
them to 140 characters.
By GLENN NELSON
Writers on the Range
I
n central Washington, one of Jonathan
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lake near the foot of 8,122-foot Mount
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snakes past the North Cascades. A union
organizer from Seattle, Rosenblum loves to
hike to the lake with his young daughters
and ply them with the history of the region.
One of his favorite stories is about Wilson
Howard, a black gold miner, who braved
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a late-1800s mining claim in the area and
named the lake after himself.
Because of Rosenblum’s 2007 petition,
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lake by what is believed to be its oldest
known name, Howard Lake. The federal
government, however, recognizes the
lake by a name that causes the jaws of
most people of color to drop: Coon Lake.
Rosenblum’s research shows that some
white locals began calling the lake “Coon
Lake” in the early 1900s, after Howard’s
departure; further sleuthing uncovered no
raccoons in the area.
The federal government did not follow
the usual course of supporting the state’s
action, mostly because of opposition from
the National Park Service, which manages
the area that contains the lake.
Rosenblum is quick to recognize the
irony of the situation. Washington Gov. Jay
Islee, who is white, calls the place Howard
Lake, after the black miner who named it.
President Barack Obama, who of course
is black, is supposed to call it by a term
often used as a racial slur and tantamount to
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The Park Service, acting on research
from its North Cascades unit, originally
defended its stance by claiming that there
Reorganized downtown association
has new priorities for Pendleton
By FRED BRADBURY
Pendleton Downtown Association President
T
he Pendleton Downtown Association
reorganized this year.
The PDA represents the
downtown business district area, which is
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east of Main Street from the railroad
tracks to the Umatilla River, including the
Pendleton Arts Center.
In April 2015 the PDA elected new
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board established bylaws, a PDA logo and
conducted downtown
business district survey.
From survey results the
organization developed
a mission statement
and a two year strategic
plan. The strategic plan
was shared with the
Pendleton Development
Commission in late
September to identify
areas of common interest.
Over the summer, the board established
six staffed subcommittees: publicity
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project, vacant storefront exhibit boards,
surveys, membership coordination and
the Main Street incentive program. To
encourage community partnerships:
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the PDA board for the Pendleton Chamber
of Commerce, Umatilla County economic
development, Main Street Cowboys and
the city of Pendleton.
In August, a downtown business district
survey was conducted and the results were
tabulated. PDA board members also paid
one-on-one visits to many in the district.
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business district, we received a 25 percent
district-wide survey return and a 40 percent
survey return from Main Street. The PDA
gathered a great deal of valued responses
on an array of issues from this process.
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businesses’ opinions as follows:
1. Review district-wide infrastructure
improvement and maintenance needs.
2. Partner with the city to develop
a parking plan to provide additional
customer parking and methods to provide
for code enforcement of current parking
areas. Review options for a transit or
shuttle system and advocate for off-street
Page 5A
The name of a lake is a name that matters
Pot taxes just might pay off
Pendleton is denying a tremendous
amount of money for not expanding and
allowing any new business to come in.
I don’t know what they are so afraid of.
Growth is a good thing. Time for a little
change.
East Oregonian
parking requirements for all 6 x 6 block
upper-story residential occupancy.
3. Pedestrian safety calling for
additional marked crosswalks, lighting,
sidewalk repairs, and enforcement of the
20 mph speed limit.
4. Partner with the PDC to develop a
building enhancement and improvement
plan.
5. Business provided a favorable
UHVSRQVHWRWKHÀRZHUEDVNHWSURMHFWDQG
suggested possible expansion and a built-in
watering system.
6. The district overwhelmingly
expressed support for
the continuation and
expansion of tourism.
7. Supported business
signage methods
directing tourist and
local shoppers to shop
location by category,
similar to the “you are
here” mall directory and/
or brochures and maps
conveniently located
throughout the business district.
8. Partner with Farmers Market on their
plans to relocate this popular event.
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QRWL¿FDWLRQRIVWUHHWFORVXUHVDQGGHYHORSD
year-round calendar of district events.
10. Identify 6 x 6 block support and
level of participation in providing seasonal
lighting, decorations, displays, promotions
and special events.
11. Need to provide more benches,
trees, landscaping, bathroom facilities, and
restaurant sidewalk customer usage.
What comes next? The PDA is in
WKHSURFHVVRIHVWDEOLVKLQJQRQSUR¿W
status, developing a vision statement,
implementing a work plan and searching
for project funding. With these components
completed, the PDA will be eligible to
apply for the Oregon Main Street Program.
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the district for assistance in reaching
established goals.
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each month at the community room of city
hall at 7 a.m. Feel free to come to these
meetings to continue the dialogue.
Ŷ
Fred Bradbury is president of the
Pendleton Downtown Association. Email
him at fbradbury@yahoo.com for more
information.
Downtown
business owners
want the
Farmers Market
to relocate.
Be heard! Comment online at eastoregonian.com
was ambiguity around the use of the term
“coon.”
“At the time, no evidence was found
that the name was intended as a pejorative
term or racial slur; if we had found such
evidence, we would have recommended
changing the name immediately,” said Craig
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Region of the Park Service. “The National
Park Service is re-examining its position
because of ongoing community concerns
and will provide feedback to the U.S. Board
on Geographic Names in the near future.”
In the years leading up to its 2016
centennial, the Park Service has done a
lot of talking and writing about the need
for diversity and inclusiveness. But it has
done little to address the issue: Its own
ranks remain 82 percent white, as does
the estimated percentage of park visitors,
according to the agency’s 2011 survey. The
controversy over Howard Lake gives the
agency the opportunity to correct a historic
wrong and send a much-needed signal about
diversity.
Seattle Democratic Sen. Pramila Jayapal
has written a letter urging the state’s
congressional delegation, as well as Interior
Secretary Sally Jewell, to press a federal
name change to Howard Lake. Fifty of
her fellow state legislators, including six
Republicans, have signed it. Another local
activist, Eddie Rye Jr., whose daughter
Angela is the former executive director of
the Congressional Black Caucus, says he
has been enlisting caucus members to “help
in getting rid of this racist name.”
By following the Park Service’s lead on
“coon,” the federal board on geographic
names butted up against its own policies,
which say that the board “will not adopt a
name for federal usage that is determined
by the board to be derogatory to a particular
racial or ethnic group, gender, or religious
group.”
The National Park Service seems
irrationally resistant to the idea of honoring
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in 2007 for the lake and a nearby creek
to be named after William McComb, a
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Stehekin Valley. The proposal was rejected.
Rosenblum strongly believes that changing
the name to McComb would not have been
an acceptable compromise. Removing the
homage to Howard, the African American
miner, was a form of what Rosenblum calls
“eracism.”
Times change. The issue of Coon Lake’s
name gained new steam following the
Obama administration’s recent decision to
change the name of North America’s tallest
mountain from Mount McKinley to Denali.
The state of Alaska had been petitioning for
such a change for 40 years, and the dispute
was resolved by the stroke of Secretary
Sally Jewell’s pen. A similar secretarial
order could avoid a repeat of what already
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prevent a dispute over a 15-acre lake that, in
this country’s current racial climate, could
get ugly.
Such an order also might save the
National Park Service from itself. A
projected nonwhite U.S. majority that is
hostile to our national parks spells doom for
the already resource-strapped agency. It’s
past time for the Park Service to back away
from its misguided opposition, encourage
Secretary Jewell to come to its rescue, and
allow another black life to matter.
Ŷ
Glenn Nelson is a contributor to Writers
on the Range, the column service of High
Country News. He is an Asian-American
journalist in Seattle who founded The Trail
Posse to encourage diversity and inclusion
in the outdoors.
The war on millennials
By JARED MEYER
Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research
T
ens of millions of Americans are
between the ages of 18 and 30, and
achieving success will be more
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it was for young people in the past. This
is because politicians and bureaucrats in
Washington have put in place policies that
restrict economic opportunity for the young.
It does not have to be this way.
Washington’s expansion of entitlement
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SODFHVDPDMRUIXWXUH¿QDQFLDOEXUGHQRQ
the young — one that many did not even
vote for. The federal government has a debt
of $18 trillion, but this is only the tip of the
iceberg. Unfunded liabilities driven by Social
Security and Medicare push the total federal
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As if this were not enough, the Affordable
Care Act has raised health insurance
premiums for the young in an effort to pay
for older Americans’ health care. Now,
even though people under 30 only spend an
average of $600 a year on health care, young
people cannot pay less than one-third of
what older people pay.
In elementary and secondary school,
ineffective teachers are protected from
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older teachers and their unions, but it harms
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teachers.
Common-sense reforms to improve
education outcomes such as vouchers and
charter schools are consistently opposed by
teachers unions.
In their college years, young people
are encouraged to attend a university even
though four in ten college freshmen fail to
graduate within six years. The current system
of excessive federal student aid raises the
cost of college tuition, which forces students
to take on mountains of debt.
As if this were not enough, after high
school or college graduation, Washington
and state governments prevent young
people from entering the job market.
Occupational licensing requirements are
meant to protect public safety, but often
they mostly protect established businesses
and workers. This comes at the expense of
everyday consumers, entrepreneurs, and
young workers, as unnecessary licensing
makes many promising career paths too
prohibitively expensive or time-consuming
to enter.
Minimum wage laws, though they may
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for young and low-skilled workers to acquire
valuable experience. Again, the government
is telling young people that they are not free
to work. Destructive labor-market laws need
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career ladder can again be within reach.
Some think that if government were
larger and gave more handouts, and taxes
were raised to pay for these programs, then
young people would do better. However,
this would only make matters worse.
Government tends to pick winners and
losers, and the politically unorganized young
are ineffective at lobbying for their interests.
The key to restoring Millennials’ lost
economic opportunity is for government to
get out of their way.
Washington is robbing America’s young.
Our country is facing a crisis, and change
is essential for young people to achieve the
future they deserve.
Ŷ
Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan
Institute for Policy Research.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. Senators
State Senator
Ron Wyden
Washington office:
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office:
541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
Washington office:
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office:
541-278-1129
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
State Representatives
Greg Barreto, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-38
Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-1458
Rep.GregBarreto@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us