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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 22, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, June 22, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Wolf regulations get reality check The saga of reintroducing to have developed. In northeast wolves into the Paciic Northwest Washington, for example, managers appears to have entered a new are having dificulty determining chapter, as managers in Washington which wolves — or packs of announced their revised guidelines wolves — are responsible for killing for managing the livestock. Two wolf predators. packs overlap in the Formulated by Oregon wildlife area of the attacks. the Washington Washington’s rules managers Department of also call for state Fish and Wildlife’s and Wildlife seem eager to Fish Wolf Advisory Department people just shrug their on the ground to Group, the guidelines appear with ranchers shoulders and work to be realistic to assess damage say a wolf kill and determine what and much more workable than the and how was ‘probable.’ happened department’s irst to avoid it from rules, which were happening again. neither. They have the ability The advisory group played a to help ranchers igure out ways to key role in developing the new keep hungry wolves at bay, which regulations, and the participation of is the true value of having state ranchers, conservationists and others managers anyway. shows in its work product. The One quirk in Oregon’s rules for outcome appears to be better than we managing wolves is the tendency could have anticipated. Although the for managers to say a dead lamb or initial proclivity for secrecy and the cow is a “probable” wolf kill even steep price tag of $800,000 caught though evidence points to wolves. the attention of our sister paper the For example, near Mud Creek in Capital Press, it’s good to see better northeast Oregon, a 150-pound calf rules emerge. was killed and partially eaten by a Wolves are back in the Northwest. predator with large teeth, according In Idaho, where the irst Canadian to the state Department of Fish and immigrants were dropped off in Wildlife. The calf was consumed the mid-1990s, the wolves have in one night, another indication long been past the point of needing that it was killed by a wolf, yet the protection. department called it a “probable” In Oregon and Washington, where wolf kill. the wolves appeared within the When police investigate a past decade, the recent population murder scene, they try to put all growth curve has been steep, about of the evidence together and make 36 percent a year. At that rate, the some sort of conclusion about what population will nearly double each happened. Not so with Oregon year for the foreseeable future. wildlife managers. They seem eager That growth means managers can to just shrug their shoulders and say switch gears from protecting wolves a wolf kill was “probable” unless the to managing them. Washington’s wolf is caught in the act. new rules are similar to Oregon’s As the wolf management rules rules, allowing for a set number of become more realistic with the depredations before removing the burgeoning wolf populations, we responsible wolves. also hope investigations become There are so many wolves that more conclusive so problem wolves in some areas a “wolf jam” appears can be identiied and addressed. OTHER VIEWS A nation of healers ’ve been traveling around to the I have no idea how a person this most economically stressed parts of beautiful can emerge from a past that this country. hard, and yet you meet people like this all the time. Their portion of good luck You see a lot of dislocation on a trip may have been small, but their capacity like this. In New Mexico, for example, for gratitude is ininite. I met some kids who lost their parents Earlier in the day I’d met Jade — to drugs, death, deportation or Bock. When she was 17, Bock lost her something else. father to a workplace accident. Now They get run through a bunch of David systems, including homeless shelter, Brooks she’s found her calling directing the Children’s Grief Center. foster care, mental health and often Comment This is a center for kids who, given juvenile justice. They’re like any the stress and poverty all around, have kids — they turn hungrily to any beam of friendship. But for these kids, life has been a often lost their fathers to suicide, drugs or series of temporary stops at impersonal places. accidents. The young kids are anxious about who is They sometimes have only the vaguest idea going to die next. They don’t really understand where they are going next month. “I’m going what death is and wonder if back into the foster care their loved one is going to be system,” one teenager told wet and cold if it’s raining me, without affect either on his grave. way. The older kids are You meet people who sometimes trapped in are uncomfortable with magical thinking: Maybe the basics of the modern if I’d gotten better grades, economy. he wouldn’t be gone. I met a woman in West Sometimes they will start Virginia who had just dressing, talking and acting learned, to great relief, that like the deceased. she didn’t have to give an Many teenagers don’t anticipated speech at church. want the other kids in school “We’re not word people,” to know, so they go through life as if nothing is she explained. Those words hang in the air. wrong. Then three years later when they suffer A lot of wonderful people speak through some breakup or setback, it all comes barreling acts of service, but it’s hard to thrive in the out because it hasn’t been processed up until now. information age if you don’t feel comfortable Along with a hundred other volunteers and with verbal communication. staff members, Bock gets these kids to process You see the ravages of drugs everywhere. I their grief. She sits with them in group after ran into a guy in Pittsburgh who hires people group, tender but in a realistic no-nonsense for his small plant. He has to give them sort of way. She’ll cry and be present, but she drug tests because they’re operating heavy won’t let you escape the task of moving though equipment. If he pulls in 100 possible hires, it. If it’s mentionable it’s manageable. Pain that most of them either fail the drug test or don’t is not transformed is transmitted. show up for it because they know they will The social fabric is tearing across this fail. But this kind of tour is mostly uplifting, not country, but everywhere it seems healers are rising up to repair their small piece of it. They depressing. Let me just describe two people I are going into hollow places and creating met on Saturday in Albuquerque. At the New Day Youth and Family Services community, building intimate relationships that change lives one by one. program I was introduced to an 18-year-old I know everybody’s in a bad mood about woman who’d been born to heroin and meth the country. But the more time you spend addicts. She’d spent her early girlhood riding in the hardest places, the more amazed you along as they traficked drugs from Mexico. When they were unable to take care of her, she become. There’s some movement arising that is suspicious of consumerism but is not cycled through other homes where she was socialist. It’s suspicious of impersonal state physically abused. She fell into relationships systems but is not libertarian. It believes in the with men who mistreated her, was hounded in small moments of connection. school for being (supposedly) obese and was I remember watching an after-school sent to psych wards for depression. counselor in Texas sitting in a circle of little girls Yet this woman glows with joy and who had nowhere else to go. She offered them good cheer. She’d built a family out of her a tongue twister: “OK,” she said chirpily, “who friendships. She’d completed high school, can say ‘Unique New York’ six times fast?” learned to express her moods through poetry ■ and novellas, found a place to live through David Brooks’s column on the Op-Ed page New Day’s Transitional Living Program, of The New York Times started in September found a job and had plans to go to community 2003. college. I The more time you spend in the hardest places, the more amazed you become. YOUR VIEWS 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. Sugar police at your door The Oregonian, June 10 Nanny in a can: Beware, anyone in Multnomah County who likes to enjoy a sweetened drink now and again. The Cupboard Cops are on the prowl. Erstwhile county commission candidate Mel Rader of Upstream Public Health recently iled a proposed initiative that would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages, Willamette Week’s Beth Slovic reported. It could go before voters in November. The money generated by the tax would support educational and nutrition programs for children. The measure isn’t intended only to raise cash, though. It’s also designed to reduce consumption of beverages that, at least when used in excess, can be bad for you. These include not only carbonated soft drinks, but also sweetened sports drinks, iced teas, coffee drinks and so on. Rest assured, budget-conscious junk food junkies. Should the tax pass, you’d still be able to chow down on cake, cookies, chips, ice cream, double cheeseburgers, french fries, onion rings and various other kinds of sweetened, fried and irresistibly processed diet- busters without paying Multnomah County’s gastronomic shame tax. For now, anyway. A similar effort izzled in 2012, and this may well follow suit. If not, Multnomah County residents should start thinking seriously about hopping in the family car and doing their weekly shopping in Clackamas or Washington counties. They’d avoid the sweetened- drink tax, which if passed directly to consumers would add 72 cents to the cost of a typical six-pack. And if they illed up the car at the same time, they’d also avoid both Multnomah County’s gas tax (3 cents per gallon) and Portland’s (10 cents per gallon). (Washington County has a penny-per-gallon gas tax.) As an added bonus, Portland residents shopping elsewhere also could enjoy the thrill of carrying their groceries into the house with single-use plastic bags, which have been banned locally. They’re strong, light, fully functional when wet (ahem, paper bags) and can be repurposed in a number of ways, from lining wastebaskets to holding your lunch. Yes, Multnomah County’s consumption commuters might have to endure disapproval from some neighbors. But there is a perfect Portland response: We’re just keeping it weird. Transgender policy decisions deserve careful review The Oregon Department of Education presented their policy interpretation allowing men to enter women’s bathrooms and locker rooms based on current gender feelings. This asymmetrical approach results in a random walk through relective life. When comforting lights of popular expressions drive decisions, no opportunity remains to consider insights such as that from John Hopkins. At one time their Sexual Behaviors Consultation Unit conducted candidates through a lengthy preparation process culminating with gender reassignment surgery. Study caused them to question whether any emotional resolution was achieved and they eliminated the practice in 1979. Dr. Paul R. McHugh says, “that transgenderism is a mental disorder that merits treatment ... These policy makers and the media are doing no favors either to the public or the transgendered by treating their confusions as a right in need of defending rather than as a mental disorder that deserves understanding, treatment and prevention.” Shouldn’t transgenderism irst be assessed as a medical issue? Women are terribly uncomfortable with a mercurial revelation that they believe violates their inherent natural right to feel safe and private in their persons. This policy provides many the opportunities to indulge in deviant impulses. The policy thrusts a few into intimate political theater where they portray a feeble caricature of a woman, but without evidence of beneit to their psychological condition. Considering John Hopkins’ experience with reassignment surgery, shouldn’t this radical transformation of society await careful review? Nolan Nelson Eugene 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. CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES Sen. Ron Wyden Sen. Jeff Merkley Rep. Greg Walden Washington ofice: 221 Dirksen Senate Ofice Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande ofice: 541-962-7691 Washington ofice: 313 Hart Senate Ofice Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton ofice: 541-278-1129 Washington ofice: 185 Rayburn House Ofice Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande ofice: 541-624-2400