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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2016)
Page 6A OPINION East Oregonian Tuesday, May 3, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW BMCC baseball looks for rally If you threaten to demolish it, company wanting to move into the attractive Westgate spot is appealing, they will come. but at this point it’s just a dream. Supporters of Blue Mountain The college, on the other hand, Community College baseball will dig in at the Pendleton City Council has a long-time vested interest in seeing Pendleton grow, and the city chambers Tuesday to defend the should have the same view of the ield that has been the team’s home college. for the past three decades. Without certainty that a ield will To be fair, the council hasn’t be available to the exactly said it intends for a period to demolish the ield The relationship college of at least two years, it was recently gifted when land near the between Pendleton the program won’t prison was transferred and BMCC should be able to recruit or schedule — putting to the city from the supersede the it at a severe state. But members in the of the council did relationship be- disadvantage Northwest Athletic discuss adding a tween Pendleton Conference. It’s at 180-day eviction risk of losing the notice to the lease and a business to real roster of 40 athletes between Pendleton be named later. who are also full-time and the college in students at the school. case a developer Our hope is that the council takes wants to build in the industrial zone the college’s concerns seriously, and needs a bigger footprint. rallies up some teamwork and puts If the city does decide to change the partnership irst. the terms of the lease, an interested Maybe BMCC baseball isn’t buyer could show up and effectively meant to be played at the prison ield throw BMCC out of the game. forever. But rather than being forced That’s worth kicking some dirt to scramble to ind a new home — over. or held in limbo for an unknown The relationship between amount of time — the city should be Pendleton and BMCC should wary of hurting the relationship in supersede the relationship between order to beneit what at this point is Pendleton and a business to be named later. The idea of a big-league only imaginary. 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. Culture corner A long-awaited sequel to a beloved literary classic hit the shelves today. And unlike last year’s much-hyped sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird” that arrived via dubious channels, this one you’ll feel good about reading. Pulitzer prize-winning author Richard Russo’s 1993 novel “Nobody’s Fool” introduced us to the masterfully crafted character most of were able recognize in our own lives: aging, down-on-his- luck, troublemaking and kindhearted Donald “Sully” Sullivan. In 1994, Paul Newman would inhabit the character in his last ilm role in an excellent and underrated ilm based on the novel. Now, 15 years after the book was published, Russo takes readers back to the small town of North Bath and the cast of characters who reside there. The new book is titled “Everybody’s Fool.” No more than a bit part in the irst book, Sully’s occasional nemesis Oficer Raymer is the lead in the sequel — which means this work carries a bittersweet air, too. Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Raymer in the ilm, died of a drug overdose in 2014. The two deaths show that no story is totally free from loss. Readers will ind some of that in “Everybody’s Fool” — but tempered by the sweetness and comedy that is always present in Russo’s writing. — Tim Trainor is the opinion page editor of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS The choice explosion few years ago, social perspective by asking these questions. psychologist Sheena Iyengar The Heaths recommend making asked 100 American and deliberate mistakes. A survey of new Japanese college students to take brides found that 20 percent were not initially attracted to the man they ended a piece of paper. On one side, she up marrying. Sometimes it’s useful had them write down the decisions to make a deliberate “mistake” — in life they would like to make for agreeing to dinner with a guy who is themselves. On the other, they wrote not your normal type. Sometimes you the decisions they would like to pass David on to others. Brooks don’t really know what you want and the ilters you apply are hurting you. The Americans illed up the side Comment They mention our tendency to for decisions they want to decide for narrow-frame, to see every decision themselves. Where to live. What job as a binary “whether or not” alternative. to take. The other side was almost blank. The Whenever you ind yourself asking “whether only “decision” they commonly wanted to or not,” it’s best to step back and ask, “How hand off to others was, “When I die.” can I widen my options?” In other words, The Japanese illed up the back side of the sheet with things they wanted others to decide: before you ask, “Should I ire this person?” what they wore; what time they woke up; what Ask, “Is there any way I can shift this employee’s role to take advantage of his they did at their job. The Americans desired strengths and avoid his weaknesses?” choice in four times more domains than the The explosion of choice means we all Japanese. need more help understanding the anatomy Americans have always put great emphasis of decision-making. It makes you think that on individual choice. But even by our own we should have explicit decision-making standards we’ve had a choice explosion over curricula in all schools. Maybe there should the past 30 years. Americans now have more be a common course publicizing the work of choices over more things than any other Daniel Kahneman, Cass Sunstein, Dan Ariely culture in human history. We can choose and others who study the way we mess up and between a broader array of foods, media sources, lifestyles and identities. We have more the techniques we can adopt to prevent error. This is probably especially important for freedom to live out our own sexual identities and more religious and nonreligious options to schools that serve the less fortunate. The explosion of choice places extra burdens express our spiritual natures. on the individual. Poorer Americans have This opening has produced much that fewer resources to master decision-making is wonderful. But making decisions well is techniques, less social support to guide their incredibly dificult, even for highly educated decision-making and less of a safety net to professional decision-makers. As Chip catch them when they err. Heath and Dan Heath point out in their book As researchers Sendhil Mullainathan and “Decisive,” 83 percent of corporate mergers Eldar Shair have shown, the stress of scarcity and acquisitions do not increase shareholder itself can distort decision-making. Those who value, 40 percent of senior hires do not last 18 experienced stress as children often perceive months in their new position, and 44 percent threat more acutely and live more defensively. of lawyers would recommend that a young A school principal I met in Pittsburgh observed person not follow them into the law. that living in an area of concentrated poverty It’s becoming incredibly important to learn can close down your perceived options, to decide well, to develop the techniques of and comfortably “relieve you of the burden self-distancing to counteract the laws in our of choosing life.” It’s hard to maintain a own mental machinery. The Heath book is a feeling of agency when you see no chance of very good compilation of those techniques. opportunity. For example, they mention the maxim, In this way the choice explosion has assume positive intent. When in the midst of contributed to widening inequality. some conlict, start with the belief that others It’s important to offer opportunity and are well intentioned. It makes it easier to incentives. But we also need lessons in absorb information from people you’d rather self-awareness — on exactly how our not listen to. decision-making tool is fundamentally lawed, They highlight Suzy Welch’s 10-10-10 and on mental frameworks we can adopt to rule. When you’re about to make a decision, avoid messing up even more than we do. ask yourself how you will feel about it 10 ■ minutes from now, 10 months from now and David Brooks’s column on the Op-Ed page 10 years from now. People are overly biased of The New York Times started in September by the immediate pain of some choice, but 2003. they can put the short-term pain in long-term A YOUR VIEWS Support Athena- Weston schools To the community members of Athena and Weston: I am writing to urge your support of the Athena-Weston School District’s Bond, Measure 30-113. Our communities have the rare opportunity to receive an unprecedented $4 million matching grant from the state of Oregon, which, when coupled to the proposed $4 million bond, will allow the district to address a wealth of safety and security improvements, energy eficiency projects, and upgrades and renovations at all three schools — all directly beneiting kids in our communities. We all know the wonderful work that our district’s staff perform daily at our schools, and passage of this bond will not only address much needed safety improvements, but also allow the district to put more money back into the general fund budget through reduced operating costs — a direct result of the proposed energy eficiency projects and addressing the “death by a thousand cuts” maintenance expenses the district incurs now. This will have a direct beneit to the classroom, and, more importantly, to our students. The grant from the state is a rare opportunity and, when matched with the district’s $4 million bond, will allow us to beneit from $8 million work of improvements and upgrades while still retaining one of the lowest tax rates in the region. As the proud parent of two children in the district, and a proud resident of our respective communities, I urge your support for Ballot Measure 30-113. Scott Rogers Athena A vote for Trump is a vote for Hillary After what seems a never- ending election cycle, it is now Oregon’s turn to vote. For the last several elections it has been said that “this is the most important election our lifetime” and this year, it’s more true than ever. At the beginning the primary season, the Republicans provided Be heard! Comment online at eastoregonian.com a candidate ield of great depth, albeit much too large. We’ve watched one after another suspend campaigns, leaving two major contenders, along with debris from the ugliness of this year’s process. Zealots in each campaign are still energized but the mean seventh grade mentality has left way too many disgusted. While it was hoped to hear policy and principle discussions, we have witnessed bullying, personal attacks and bait and switch deceptions. With all the raucousness of the internet wars, and the bias of a media valuing proit over fact, the truth is that the consequences of this vote are so important that the America I have grown up knowing hangs in the balance. Anger and frustration, it is said, fuel Trump’s candidacy. I’m angry and quite frustrated with what has happened over the last eight years. Trump, everyone agrees, has tapped into that anger and has great campaign slogans. Being an effective president requires more that arousing large crowds. (I still see Obama standing in front of Greek columns.) To be a president who navigates America out of these turbulent times requires many skills and character traits such as trust, honesty and faithfulness; Trump has a recorded history of lacking these. Also lacking is any history of conservative convictions. Like most conservatives in the last two election cycles, I held my nose voting for McCain and Romney. Please consider very carefully when voting; a Trump nomination ensures a Hillary presidency, for, like thousands of rock-solid conservatives across the country, I will NOT vote Trump in November. Annette Lathrop Joseph Dale Primmer checks all the boxes Dale Primmer is the best choice for Pendleton City Council Ward 3. Having been raised in Umatilla County, Dale has been able to see the evolution of Pendleton’s economics. Being a father, Dale is interested in the quality of life here and the opportunities for his children. Being a department head for Community Justice at Umatilla County, Dale has the professional experience that is needed on the Pendleton City Council. Dale has experience with managing community programs during times of declining funds. Dale has experience making dificult decisions that are unpopular. Dale has experience with developing collaborative partnerships that make public dollars go farther. Dale is motivated to serve on city council because he wants to add value and make a difference. I have had the pleasure to work with Dale for two years and have seen him in action consistently taking a goal-oriented, solutions- based approach. Dale is about doing something, not just talking about it. Dale is a courageous and convicted leader who I would be proud to have represent Pendleton. Join me in voting for Dale Primmer and then support him once he takes his seat. Susan Bower 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 residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.