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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Thursday, August 11, 2016 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW The more you know Local school districts deserve That isn’t the case, because plenty credit for taking the initiative and can happen to water from the time testing preemptively for lead in their it reaches a property until it ills a water. drinking glass. In Hermiston and all throughout Although budgets are tight for the InterMountain Education Service everyone, many businesses and District, schools have taken samples homes and public buildings should and are learning what all comes out consider testing for lead in their of their faucets — whether regularly water systems. Schools should be used for drinking or required, because not — when they of the serious Homes, turn on the tap. effect lead can So far, on children’s businesses and have Hermiston, Helix health. Test kits are public buildings affordable, easy and Athena-Weston school districts accurate. If you should consider and have accrued some have young children helpful knowledge. testing for lead glugging water daily Helix learned each from your kitchen in their water faucet in their sink, it makes sense building meets to know how safe systems. safety standards that water is. for levels of lead Yet a possible in drinking water. But Hermiston drawback to a renewed focus on and Athena-Weston learned there lead levels in water is the rise of are some spouts in their buildings individually packaged, expensive that are above acceptable limits and and environmentally destructive require action. bottled water. That is a poor Armed with that knowledge, the response to high lead levels — or districts can upgrade and improve just a fear of high lead levels — at the plumbing and ixtures at those home or work. Test irst, make sites, or sign them and close them simple easy ixes (like a new off to drinking. Both are better faucet) second and if that doesn’t options that running unsafe water work consider bigger ixes such through our children. as iltration or using water from a Other districts have submitted different source. Don’t go through samples and are awaiting their carton after carton of wasteful results. Blue Mountain Community bottled water. College is the only local school Buy stainless steel or BPA-free under the mistaken impression reusable plastic bottles, ill them that city testing is good enough. If from a safe source and drink for free that was true, all of Hermiston and all day long. And send one to school Athena-Weston’s tests would come with your child, too, if it makes you back with the same lead levels. and your pocketbook feel better. 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 Change in disability beneits a beneit to families and state The Bend Bulletin O regonians with disabilities and their families can start planning for a new inancial tool that becomes available this winter, courtesy of the state of Oregon and the federal government. The state’s Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Plan, created after Congress gave states the ability to do so, goes into operation in December. It offers a way for the disabled and their families to put money aside for future needs. It’s a good change. Currently, those with disabilities can have no more than $2,000 in savings before they begin losing the federal beneits on which many rely. Their families can set up special needs trusts, but those are expensive propositions and require lawyers and trustees. That has put them out of reach for many disabled individuals. ABLE accounts will change that. They’re relatively inexpensive to set up, says Michael Parker of the Oregon 529 Savings Network, of which the ABLE accounts will be a part, and there need be no trustee. The network also includes the state’s 529 college savings program. After-tax dollars can be added by the ABLE account beneiciary or by nondisabled family members, and no taxes will be levied against the accounts. Those who add to the accounts can qualify for tax deductions of up to $4,000 per year. The accounts will give disabled beneiciaries more control over their money than many have today. They can be used to pay for a house or a new wheelchair, or nearly anything else that improves a beneiciary’s quality of life. And, an account can contain $100,000 before there’s any loss of federal beneits — a big jump up from the current $2,000 limit on assets. Even then, a beneiciary would lose beneits only until the ABLE account — which can contain as much as $310,000 — is spent down to the $100,000 level. At a beneiciary’s death, the account becomes part of his or her estate. ABLE accounts won’t create inancial independence for every person with a disability. But they’ll provide a bit more peace of mind to families who must worry about continued inancial security for disabled relatives after parents or others die. It offers a way for the disabled and their families to put money aside for future needs. Clinton campaign is boring, but effective W hat has Hillary Clinton been “You’ve got to ask yourself in this doing while Donald Trump campaign, do you want a president has been careening from one who stands for ‘you’re ired’ or one controversy to the next? She’s been who stands for ‘you’re hired?’” traveling the country giving speeches 17) Mention Trump University. about jobs, hammering Trump on the 18) Repeat Trump is unqualiied economy, and mostly avoiding press and unit to be president. contact that could bring attention to her 19) Mention one more time her email scandal, the Clinton Foundation, plans for jobs, education, healthcare Byron or her record as Secretary of State. and more. York And then she talks more about jobs. 20) Sum up: “I think this election Comment comes down to economic opportunity, Clinton’s speeches are boring. They national security, and American unity.” don’t make much news. But they’re in There wasn’t a single headline in the line with voter concerns three months away entire 20-minute poll- and focus group-tested from the presidential election. speech, or the others delivered in Nebraska In her Democratic convention acceptance and Colorado, which hit many of the same speech, amid all the promises and proposals, points. And by the way, Clinton’s speeches Clinton made her top priority clear. “My are about one-third the length of Trump’s primary mission as president will be to create unscripted performances, which often go over more opportunity and more good jobs with an hour, giving Trump far more chances to say rising wages right here in the United States,” something controversial. she said. Last week, still in convention Trump has often mocked the kind of speech afterglow, Clinton made a tour out West, Clinton gives. At a huge rally in Dallas last giving speeches in Omaha, the Denver fall, Trump pledged never to give a canned suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, and Las presentation. “That would be so much easier,” Vegas that all focused on meat-and-potatoes he said. “We read a speech for 45 minutes. economic issues. Everybody falls asleep, listening to the same The Las Vegas event was in a union old stuff ...” building, with a heavily union audience, Trump doesn’t do that. His speeches are so there was more emphasis than usual on long, stream-of-consciousness affairs, with the organized labor. But the heart of the speech was the same as Clinton’s other presentations; potential to erupt into news at any moment. From Trump’s perspective, Clinton’s are the after all of the pleasantries and stroking that worst type of boring. are involved in campaigning, Clinton stuck But boring can work. Look at Clinton’s to a relatively small number of big issues that voters care about most. Step by step, here’s the summation. Her presentation is entirely consistent with the issues that voters say are essence of what Clinton did in Vegas: the most important in this election. Asked 1) Thank local constituents — in this in the most recent Fox News polls which is case, IBEW Local 357, the AFL-CIO, and the most important issue facing the country, the Plumbers and Pipeitters Local 525 “who voters most named the economy and national assisted with parking.” security. (The two topics were tied with 22 2) Thank local oficials — Sen. Harry percent each.) When Clinton says, “I think this Reid, Rep. Dina Titus and Democratic Senate election comes down to economic opportunity, candidate Catherine Cortez Masto. national security and American unity,” she’s 3) Establish big picture: “We are going to not speaking off the cuff. create more good jobs with rising income.” None of this means that Clinton, as 4) Promise “investments” focusing on president, might actually accomplish what roads, bridges, tunnels, airports, the electric she promises. For example, Clinton made big grid, etc. “For every $1 billion, we get 47,500 jobs, and they are mostly good union jobs with promises on jobs in her 2000 campaign for a Senate seat from New York, the Washington a good middle class income.” Post reported Sunday, and those promises 5) Promise more collective bargaining came to nothing. Now, she’s saying similar rights to unions. things again. It worked in New York in 2000 6) Promise to make college affordable and and 2006. Research and instinct indicate it’s “debt-free.” still what voters want to hear. 7) Promise national high-speed broadband And she’ll keep saying it. He might mock Internet. 8) Remind people that Trump sells products her, he might criticize her, he might give her new nicknames, but one thing Trump made overseas. 9) Remind that big businessman Trump has can count on is that Clinton will pursue her campaign relentlessly. She will never give up. sometimes stiffed small businesses working Think back to 2008, in her epic battle with for him. 10) Praise a local small business (an IBEW then-Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination. Clinton wasn’t very good at shop, of course). campaigning. But her effort had a plodding, 11) Pledge more technical education. “We one-foot-in-front-of-the-other quality to it need to invest in our young people and give that suggested while Clinton could never be them different paths besides four-year college a spectacular candidate like her opponent to get ahead in America.” Obama, she nevertheless would keep moving 12) Promise free community college. forward until she achieved her goal. 13) Remind again that Trump has One can go a long way in life by putting mistreated small businesspeople. one foot in front of the other. In ‘08, Clinton 14) Mention that her father was a small ran into an overwhelming force in Obama. businessman. Now, things appear to be lining up her way. 15) Use example of Trump’s Florida She’ll do boring to win, any day. resort to imply (without actually saying) that ■ she’ll bring in fewer foreign workers to take Byron York is chief political correspondent American jobs. for The Washington Examiner. 16) Turn a Trump trademark against him. YOUR VIEWS Newspaper shouldn’t consider fault, just ways to help The quality of a newspaper is judged by every person who reads that paper, and I am glad the East Oregonian receives awards. I don’t think the front page story of Aug. 6’s paper (Permanent scars, 1A) is worthy of front page coverage or a headline. The couple in question have indeed been affected by the wreck they were involved in, and I wish them the best in the future. Wouldn’t a more appropriate point of view be a story about the limits of insurance coverage when a driver is driving in a manner that caused the wreck and resulted in a citation? The article approached the story from the “poor investigation” point of view and implied the sheriff’s ofice was at fault. First responders to injury accidents have decisions to make in order to save lives, and second guessing their decisions a year after the fact seems negative and distracting. If the purpose of the article is to build support for the injured victim, it did a good job, and I can only hope some good comes out of people knowing her situation. Perhaps some energy could be spent trying to build a support system for the young couple that would help with the medical bills. It seems as though the paper could have an expectation of public interest if the story offered a variable to the theme of blame someone. No, let’s ind a way to help these folks and stop pointing ingers. Colleen Blackwood 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.