VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Quick takes
Pendleton hunter attacked
by wounded bear
Bears can live a long time on adrenalin
as we witnessed in Fort Yukon Alaska when
a friend shot a 3 year old bear for food for
village elders. The young bear ran 300 yards
and only when he was being gutted later did
everyone notice that there was no heart left
only exploded bits. Soo take care.
Margot Gilmore
The animals have no defense when being
hunted. It’s not a fair ight.
Rose Warriner
Great advice.... NEVER hunt alone!
Hmmmm, I think I have mentioned that a
time or two.
Kathi LoPiparo Segrin
Everybody makes it sound like this was
the bear’s fault. It was wounded irst, that
would make me mad too!
Leslee Meador
Switching genders
I can think of at least 50 things that will
harm children and their futures. And not one
of them is a transgender person using the
restroom of their preferred gender.
Kellye Connell Finch
Veteran returns to Vietnam
Thank you Skip Nichols, now and your
18 year old self.
EO Reader
One of the great lessons of the Twitter age is
that much can be summed up in just a few words.
Here are some of this week’s takes. Tweet yours
@Tim_Trainor or email editor@eastoregonian.
com, and keep them to 140 characters.
East Oregonian
Page 5A
Grasty epitomizes rural leadership
M
experienced by the Grasty family,
y friend, Steve Grasty, a
nor can I fully appreciate what it was
veteran Harney County
like to be surrounded by visitors who
judge who is retiring Dec.
intimidated residents and openly
31, is now facing a recall vote.
provided a threatening presence. It
The recall vote has little, if
would appear the
anything, to do with his record of
armed presence
exemplary service advocating for
experienced
and helping guide one of Oregon’s
smallest counties — at least in
George by Burns was
terms of population if not in terms
Murdock not unlike
representations
of size.
Comment
from international
Harney County is one of the
hot spots.
largest in America — bigger than
It will be years before
some states — and Grasty has been an
Burns and the small
outspoken and successful advocate bringing
communities surrounding
attention and resources to Harney County
it will ever hope to
well beyond what would have come their
return to normal. The
way with a less ardent advocate at the helm.
recall effort focused on a
Judge Grasty is respected in Salem for his
dedicated public servant
straightforward approach, his integrity and
is evidence of the residue
his willingness to ight for Harney County.
that remains.
Now, on the eve of his departure from
Like Judge Grasty
a distinguished career in public service,
and many other elected
Grasty is instead going to spend the twilight
oficials, I have deep
months of his public life experiencing a
concerns about federal
prolonged reenactment of the bizarre events
ownership of too much of
that propelled Harney County from relative
Oregon as well as federal overreach, rules
obscurity onto the national stage.
and regulation. It is also annoying that those
What are the basic charges? Grasty
representing states where federal ownership
failed to support the armed takeover of the
is as low as two percent fail to understand
Malheur Wildife Refuge by out-of-state
the impact of having so much land removed
insurgents who, according to some reports,
from the tax rolls.
caused an estimated $6 million in damage
Conversely, while the concept of taking
to a treasured resource and blatantly plowed
back the federal lands sounds exciting, it
up artifacts important to the Paiute Tribes
would bankrupt states and counties very
while at the same time transforming the
quickly. Take, for example, the immense cost
community of Burns from a place where
of ighting forest ires. Ownership would
residents felt safe and uniied into a
not necessarily be accompanied by a lack of
nightmare of discontent and fear.
federal regulations.
While I have had opportunities to
Judge Grasty knows the residents of his
discuss the events surrounding the takeover
county depend upon access to federal land to
with Judge Grasty, I cannot grasp the full
survive. Harney County is the third largest
dimension of the threats and harassment
cattle producing county in Oregon and many
of those cattle feed on federal land.
But Judge Grasty also has an obligation
to uphold the law and conduct business in
a civil manner. The path to resolution of
federal grievances isn’t
paved with armed visitors
who turn communities
upside down and create
divisions that will fester
for generations.
While I am concerned
about a federal
bureaucracy that continues
to impose its will upon
western America, I
cannot condone civil
disobedience. And, on a
side note, I also believe in
honoring a contract with
any agency — public or
private. As cattle ranchers,
our family appreciates the
value of pasture and it has
never occurred to us that
it would be appropriate to
withhold our grazing fees.
Simply put, Judge Grasty is being
maligned for doing his job. Those who
are not bound by an oath of ofice have
considerably more freedom in doing what
they choose.
Fortunately, in the primary election, a
majority of Harney County voters seemed
to support those who were rational in their
response to the occupation. I hope that
sentiment will prevail in a vote of conidence
for Judge Grasty, who deserves to serve with
dignity during his remaining six months in
ofice.
■
George Murdock is a Umatilla County
Commissioner.
While I am
concerned
about federal
bureaucracy
that continues to
impose its will
upon western
American,
I cannot
condone civil
disobedience.
Oregon lawmakers
should take cue from
Florida’s sunshine laws
By JOHN SEPULVADO
Oregon Public Broadcasting
I
n elementary school, Franklin
Weekley was diagnosed as
“mentally retarded.” He was
slow to learn, but quick to act out
on impulse. Teachers at his rural
school were unequipped to get a
handle on him. Weekley ended
up spending much of his time at
home. Unsupervised, he would
often get in trouble.
Weekley fought with his
siblings and raged at his
neighbors. He was fascinated
with ire and explosives, and was
quick to run away in frustration.
His parents — who were also
developmentally disabled —
hoped Weekley would grow out
of it.
In 2001, that hope went up
in smoke — literally — after
Weekley set his family home on
ire. The family lost everything,
including their son, who was
committed to a state-run mental
facility as a result.
While in state care, Weekley
vanished one day. The state
agency in charge of his care
would claim the developmentally
disabled teenager — who had
problems dressing himself — ran
to Canada. But around 2004,
an attorney heard about the
disappearance. That attorney
told a reporter, and soon after,
the reporter iled public records
request with the state agency in
charge.
Those records showed that
state contractors had found a
body in an abandoned building
on the property shortly after
Weekley’s disappearance.
The records showed the body
was badly decomposed, but
around the skeleton’s hips was
an elastic underwear band with
“F.Weekley” written on the tag.
A reporter’s investigation found
Weekley had run away into an
abandoned building and fell
down an elevator shaft, where he
died.
Shortly after that story was
published, the state agreed to pay
Franklin Weekley’s parents $1.3
million.
Strong public records laws
have the ability to right wrongs,
hold state workers — including
politicians — accountable, and
shine a light into the darkest
recesses of government — like
the bottom of a derelict elevator
shaft on state-owned property.
Public records laws help keep
things honest.
That was the case in Florida,
where Franklin Weekley died.
Yet if that were to happen in
Oregon, it’s a good bet that
Weekley’s whereabouts would
still be unknown. That’s because
a public records request for a
case like Weekley’s would almost
certainly be obstructed by delays,
exemption claims, and high costs.
“The current state of public
records is poor to pathetic,” said
Willamette Week reporter Nigel
Jaquiss. “The public agencies
have no deadlines to respond
to public records request, so
they often do so slowly and
incompletely. Some public
agencies use their ability to
charge whatever they want in a
punitive fashion.”
Jaquiss, a Pulitzer Prize
winner for Investigative
Reporting, routinely iles public
records requests — and he said
state agencies often ind reasons
to block requests because they
“fear publication of a story that
would be embarrassing.”
As Jaquiss noted, there are no
deadlines for Oregon agencies
to respond to requests, nor are
there limits to costs. Even if
the agencies do respond, there
are more than 500 exemptions
to the state’s public records
laws. And while some of the
exemptions serve the public
good by protecting the victims
of domestic abuse, or shielding
state employee medical
information, other exemptions
include dog licenses, information
about boat accidents, and
complaints iled by consumers
about insurance companies,
manufactured homes, and even
the state’s judges.
In comparison, Florida
has four exemptions of public
records, there are deadlines for
when responses must be iled,
and costs must correlate with
work performed and be clearly
outlined.
Legal challenges to this
obstruction are often long and
costly, and it creates an Oregon
where only those with resources
have access to transparency.
While the state’s reporters
have long complained about the
state’s open records laws, national
research shows Oregon has some
of the weakest open records
rules in the country. According
to the Center for Public Integrity,
Oregon earns an “F” grade in
the State Integrity Investigation,
which measures “transparency
and accountability grades for all
50 states.”
The state also earns an “F”
grade measuring the public’s
access to information, ranking
34th in the country. For context,
Florida is ranked 17th (and
neighboring California and
Washington ranked 28th and
32nd, respectively).
The Oregon Territory
Chapter of the Society of
Professional Journalists is calling
on policymakers to reform
Oregon’s open record laws.
Our membership believes that
if it’s good enough for Florida,
it should be good enough for
Oregon. We urge the public to
support that reform.
And we encourage all
journalists and voters to hold
policymakers accountable until
that reform is achieved.
■
John Sepulvado is OPB’s
Weekend Edition host and a
member of the Oregon SPJ
Sunshine Committee.
A cheer for the bison,
our new ‘national mammal’
participated in whole-
sale slaughter of the
buffalo. Author Larry
Barsness, in Heads,
he bald eagle has
Hides & Horns, chron-
been the national
icles the relationship
symbol since 1782,
of the buffalo to North
but the Western artist
American Indians,
Charlie Russell was right:
and why the Army
The buffalo was far more
worked to wipe them
important to the story of the
out: “Either the buffalo
American West.
or the Indian must go.
Congress agrees on
Only when the Indian
very little these days, but
becomes absolutely
this May, it successfully
dependent on us for his
passed a bill that was
Rodger Mallison/Star-Telegram via AP every need will we be
quickly signed by
A herd of American bison is one of the most able to handle him. If
President Obama. The
popular features of the Fort Worth Nature Center
we kill the buffalo, we
National Bison Legacy Act and Refuge in Fort Worth, Texas.
conquer the Indian.”
designates the American
herds from Alaska to Mexico. By
Yet, the buffalo
bison, most often called
1890, only about 500 animals were survives, and Native Americans
the buffalo, as our irst national
left. By the early 1900s, there were have a big role in the animal’s
mammal. What’s more, the bill
restoration. The InterTribal
enjoyed the support of a wide array only about 30 genetically pure
animals surviving in isolated areas, Buffalo Council represents 63
of ranchers, environmentalists,
such as private ranches and the
tribes engaging in, or planning,
zoos, outdoorsmen and Native
Yellowstone caldera.
management to restore buffalo
Americans. As the Wildlife
In his book “Last Stand,”
culture, and in some cases to
Conservation Society put it, the
Montana author Michael Punke
manage herds for commercial
animal “is an icon that represents
depicted the collapse of the buffalo
ventures, which in turn will aid
the highest ideals of America.”
in a sad telling of historical events.
Indian communities. Executive
The story of the buffalo, once
This included the scourge of the
Director Jim Stone says the new
roaming in immense herds, also
hide hunters, who sent 1.5 million
national animal designation is a
touches on some of the lowest
hides back East in the winter of
vehicle that will allow tribes to be
points in American history. As
1872-1873, leaving the carcasses
“buffalo-centric” again.
settlers and gold-seekers pushed
to rot on the plains. In 1874, the
People talk about oil and gas
toward California throughout the
Sharps Company issued the Sharps
as the new buffalo, gaming as
course of the 19th century, tragedy
Old Reliable, “the rile to end all
the new buffalo. “There’s still the
often followed in their wake,
riles.” Hunter Frank Mayer used
old buffalo,” Stone says. Stone,
including the brutal repression and
one to kill 269 buffalo in a single
a Yankton Sioux, says his South
massacre of the American Indian,
hunt, shooting from 300 yards
Dakota tribe harvested its last
the wide-scale exploitation of
away.
buffalo in 1886. It wasn’t until 1993
wildlife resources, and the near-ex-
Railroads sponsored buffa-
— 107 years later — that the tribe
tinction of North America’s largest
lo-killing expeditions, during which could conduct another ceremonial
land animal, the buffalo.
one Kansas man is said to have
slaughter of a buffalo. Stone
With notable candor, the
shot 120 animals in 40 minutes.
believes a national buffalo desig-
National Bison Association’s
Passenger trains on the newly
nation resembles the effort to put
Dave Carter says “the fact that we
minted transcontinental railroads
the image of Harriet Tubman, the
almost screwed it up” then did not
would stop for hours while a single Underground Railroad “conductor,”
prevent the diverse and sometimes
herd passed, and sportsmen took
on the $20 bill.
conlicting groups from agreeing
Buffalo, you’re the national
on a united effort to help restore the aim. And the rail workers had to
be fed. A young man who came to
mammal. You deserve no less.
buffalo. The end goal: Everything
be known as “Buffalo Bill” Cody
■
from sustainable commercial meat
wrote in his diary that he killed
Gaynell Terrell is a contributing
production to Indian spiritual
4,280 buffalo in 18 months to
writer to Writers on the Range, an
revitalization.
feed construction workers for the
opinion service of High Country
In the early 1800s, there were
Kansas Paciic Railroad.
News (hcn.org). She lives in south-
more than 30 million buffalo in
Mercilessly, the U.S. Army
west Montana.
North America, ranging in massive
By GAYNELL TERRELL
Writers on the Range
T