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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, September 30, 2016 OTHER VIEWS Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JANNA HEIMGARTNER TIM TRAINOR Business Ofice Manager Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW Tip of the hat; kick in the pants A kick in the pants to Umatilla County stores that sold tobacco to minors during recent undercover sweeps. And any time, for that matter. It was a lot of them, so we’ll need to do a lot of kicking. During those sweeps, more than a third of stores sold to underage buyers. That’s unacceptable, and a serious reason why Umatilla County has one of the highest youth smoking rates in the state. According to the Oregon Health Authority, 4.4 percent of eighth graders in Umatilla County smoked tobacco in 2013, a tick above the 4.3 percent state average. But by 11th grade the Umatilla County rate jumped to 17.8 percent, almost twice the state average. Stores selling directly to minors is a clear, Occam’s razor culprit. Regardless of whether they can sneak a dip from dad’s stash or a cigarette from mom’s purse, allowing youth to start the habit of buying from retailers is not healthy. We’re not convinced that a county licensing program is the answer, but it’s clear that this is a problem that needs addressing from a law enforcement and education perspective. And we’d suggest the retailer where the sale is made should pay a ine, not just the clerk. That will quickly encourage businesses to make ID checking a top priority. We should do what it takes to keep young people from being addicted to a cancer-causing substance. When they are old enough to make up their own mind, we hope to have taught them well about the dangers of smoking or snufing. A tip of the hat to teachers in Hermiston and Pendleton who are garnering awards, accolades and opportunities for their specialty courses. In Hermiston, high school agriculture science teacher Leah Smith was recognized this week by the National Association of Agricultural Educators as this year’s top teacher mentor in the western region. The award is given each year to an experienced teacher who helps motivate and guide beginning teachers. Smith has been teaching agriculture for 15 years, nine of them in the Hermiston School District, so has the experience to help new teachers develop their curriculum and improve their classrooms. In Pendleton, Kristin Swaggart was recently named a inalist in the Farmers Insurance “Dream Big Teacher Challenge.” If Swaggart won, she would receive $100,000 to buy and operate food truck for the Pendleton High School culinary team. We know what you’re thinking: Tacos! Sweet, sweet tacos. So how do we help bring a new food truck to town? Readers can vote once per day every day in October at www.thankamericasteachers.com. The school is using the hashtag “#voteforchefkeveryday,” to raise awareness, which can be used on social media websites like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. We suggest everyone get on board and help Swaggart bring real-world experience to her students and real-tasty cuisine to the rest of us. 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 Improving conidence in our police The (Albany) Democrat-Herald A tentative contract agreement between the city of Portland and the city’s Police Bureau caught our eye because of one detail that could be relevant in the mid-valley. The agreement, which Portland police oficers have yet to ratify, does away with the controversial “48-hour rule.” That’s the rule allowing oficers who were involved in an incident that included the use of deadly force to wait two days before being interviewed by investigators. As you might imagine, the 48-hour rule didn’t do anything to build public conidence in the police force there. In fact, it might have made matters worse, in that it appears to give a beneit to an oficer that would never be given to anyone else involved in a deadly force incident. Oregon law requires that each county develop a “deadly physical force plan,” which outlines the procedures to be followed in those events when an oficer uses deadly force. In this context, deadly force means about what you might think: The plan deines it as “physical force that under the circumstances in which it is used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.” Among the procedures outlined in the plan is one that gives oficers “a reasonable amount of time” before being interviewed in the wake of a deadly force incident. The plan speciies that investiga- tors generally should wait 48 hours before conducting interviews with oficers. The reasoning is that such a cooling-off period takes into account the emotional and physical state of the oficers involved. That’s important, the reasoning goes, because these incidents can be traumatic. Well, there’s no doubt that an incident involving the use of deadly force can be stressful for oficers. But that’s also true for the others involved — and only police oficers have the opportunity to cool off and sort out the details of the incident for 48 hours. You can be sure that no one else involved in the incidents gets 48 hours to relect. In fact, try it the next time you have an encounter with an oficer, and see how it goes: “I understand that you pulled me over for an alleged trafic violation,” you could say, “but this is very stressful for me, and I need another 48 hours before I can say anything about this.” Let us know how that goes. Now, oficers can choose to waive the 48-hour waiting period, and the policy does not preclude an investigating oficer asking for a preliminary statement to get the investigation going. But the policy still rankles. And it’s ironic in that the policy is included in the county’s deadly force plan, because among the goals listed in the plan are these: to treat the law enforcement oficer fairly and to promote “public conidence in the criminal justice system.” It’s hard to imagine exactly how this 48-hour exception does anything to increase conidence in the criminal justice system. That seventh-grade bully is running for president D onald Trump displayed an empathy — and the immaturity that excellent version of the stern reduces a woman to her breasts. squint in the presidential OK, now I’ve just insulted debate. Many of us men are familiar 13-year-old boys by comparing them with this expression, because we to the man who may become our next practice it at age 13 in the hope that it president. Sorry, kids, most of you are will impress girls. It doesn’t, and we far better than that! grow out of it — most of us, anyway. Trump is puerile not only where Hillary Clinton wears a patient Nicholas gender is concerned. He also seems to smile, the expression of every woman Kristof boast about what he can get away with, such as not paying taxes. who has calmly suppressed irritation Comment When Clinton noted in the debate while being harangued by a boor on that for at least a couple of years he topics he knows nothing about. Sadly, paid no federal income tax at all, Trump women never have the opportunity to retire responded, “That makes me this expression because it is smart!” He seems to think constantly needed, or so my that people who pay taxes are wife tells me. chumps — which is irritating What is thrilling is that for all of us who do pay taxes Trump’s boorishness may be and would love to glimpse his catching up to him. returns. Trump has advocated One of the most effective policies that are confused commercials against Trump or senseless — deporting highlights his callousness, as 11 million unauthorized he makes fun of a disabled immigrants en masse, journalist. The mother of a disabled child banning Muslims from entering the country, says, “The children at Grace’s school all know undermining NATO, slashing taxes on never to mock her, and so for an adult to mock billionaires while raising them on single someone with a disability is shocking.” parents, capitulating to Russia on Crimea Another powerful commercial depicts girls — yet these don’t get him into deep political studying themselves in a mirror as Trump is trouble. Instead, his vulnerability seems to be heard mocking women for their looks. Text on something more elemental: He’s a jerk. the screen asks: “Is this the president we want In particular, he’s a jerk toward women — for our daughters?” a tendency he displayed prominently during Of course, even if Trump acts like a Monday’s debate. Trump interrupted Clinton middle-school boy, his policies would be those 51 times, by Vox’s count (she interrupted him of a dangerous adult — and I wish the debate 17 times). were more focused on those substantive Trump seems oblivious to his own proposals. Trump’s comments may be brutal, loutishness. When Clinton called him out but his policies would be ininitely more so. for labeling women pigs, slobs and dogs, If only his troglodyte views on gender he defended himself by saying that Rosie could be a springboard to discuss women’s O’Donnell “deserves it.” When Clinton issues that rarely get explored, such as reproached Trump for having degraded a domestic violence that strikes one woman in Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, over her four, or human traficking, channeling some weight, Trump obligingly went on Fox News 10,000 underage Americans into the sex trade to demonize Machado again for gaining “a each year. One advantage of more women massive amount of weight.” This crassness is nothing new from Trump, in public life should be more scrutiny of pay gaps, and greater attention to the need for of course. Few comments could be more high-quality day care. demeaning than one Trump offered in 2005 Yet if Trump’s Achilles’ heel proves to be when Howard Stern asked him if he would not his oaish policies but rather his churlish stand by his wife, Melania, if she were in a horrible car accident and left with 100 stitches manner, so be it. There are important policy reasons to reel at the thought of Trump in the on her face, an oozing sore on her left eye, White House, but voters perhaps linch even and a mangled foot. Trump’s irst, automatic more at his personal conduct: We already run response? “How do the breasts look?” into enough jerks in daily life, so why would (Afterward, he did say that he would stick we want one as our head of state? with her.) Middle school is the wrenching, jungle Something about Trump is paradigmatic of stage of life that we all must struggle through. the most atrocious kind of seventh-grade boy: Why would we subject ourselves to a “leader” The boasts about not doing homework, the habit of blaming others when things go wrong, who is permanently in the seventh grade? ■ the penchant for exaggerating everything Nicholas Kristof grew up on a sheep and into the best ever, the braggadocio to mask cherry farm in Yamhill, Oregon. Kristof, a insecurity about size of hands or genitals, the columnist for The New York Times since 2001, biting put-downs of others, the laziness, the won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990 and 2006. self-absorption, the narcissism, the lack of Trump is puerile not only where gender is concerned. YOUR VIEWS Closing Sand Station will leave Hermiston residents homeless The word “homeless” carries with it a stigma. For example, if you are homeless you must be on drugs or alcohol or have a mental problem. Unfortunately in some cases this is true. I’m not advocating for those individuals. There is another side to being homeless. There are people out here that, through no fault of their own, must ind a way to survive. Those with kids have it the hardest. There are a lot of homeless families in the Hermiston area with kids and we need to address this. It has come to my attention that the Army Corps of Engineers is planning to close down Sand Station for the winter. There are people out there that, if this were to happen, would have no place to go. They will be forced to live on the streets of Hermiston. We need help. If you can, please call the Army Corps of Engineers and ask them to please reconsider closing Sand Station. We will keep the station clean and stocked with tissue for the restrooms. The churches in the area have been wonderful in helping. I beg them to keep up the good work. With winter coming, we will need donations of food, can goods, clothes, sleeping bags, heaters and anything else that you think may be of help to us. Please, these people need your help. Michael Nathan Hermiston Hermiston should sell old fairgrounds to pay for schools I keep seeing newspaper reporting of the Hermiston School District, which may put a $104 million bond issue on the ballot next year. Since we already have a huge bond tax from schools in 2008, which runs for 29 years, I would like to suggest not hitting the taxpayers again, which of course raises the rents by landlords for perhaps those less fortunate. The fair inside the city is done, so why not sell off some of the large property to home developers as the town is growing? The amount received could be huge and would be mostly all proit to the school district as they only paid a small amount when purchased from the city. Jim Tiede Hermiston 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. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include a daytime phone number. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
