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OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, March 23, 2017
OTHER VIEWS
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
OUR VIEW
Remove M-44s
from Oregon
It has been a bad month for
fact that taxpayers have spent a lot
of money — and our government
Wildlife Services.
has spent a lot of time — working
The federal agency accidentally
killed a wolf in Wallowa County
on their recovery. Each accidental
with an M-44, a cyanide-based trap
death , especially those caused
that shoots poison into the mouth of
by the government, increases the
a canine. The traps are intended for
money taxpayers will pay to fend
coyotes. Just a week later, a family
off lawsuits, and the more active
dog was killed by
government will
an M-44 in Idaho,
have to be in wolf
Wildlife Services do recovery. The
and a young boy
who was nearby
active the
important, difficult more
was injured when
management, the
the trap went off.
work that saves the higher the cost.
And, as a side
The incidents
lives of many
were matching
note, it’s a good
black eyes for an
to talk about
animals by culling time
agency that likes
how wolves help
to stay out of the
control coyote
those causing a
headlines as it
populations.
problem.
kills hundreds
But it isn’t just
of thousands of
about money.
nuisance animals
Placing something
in our woods that indiscriminately
across the country each year. That
kills canines — be they wolves or
list includes pigeons and starlings,
coyotes and badgers and bears. When coyotes or family dogs — is not
wildlife becomes a problem, Wildlife smart. For the safety of our family
pets, and our family members out
Services likes to be the solution.
traipsing around the hills, removing
And in plenty of cases they do
all M-44s makes sense.
important, difficult work that saves
Oregon has put so much money
the lives of many animals by culling
and so much effort into improving
those causing a problem. In other
and conserving the environment in
instances they are killing non-native
and invasive species en masse, doing our state, for the benefit of elk and
the difficult work that many of us are salmon and forests and water and
humans and wolves. Any fatal actions
incapable of doing.
must be taken with extreme caution.
Still, there are problems. And a
Paying government trappers to
black eye can cause people to notice
those problems. A pair leads to some kill predators may seem like a 19th
Century concern, but it’s happening
serious questions.
to this day in rural Oregon. There is
M-44s are one such problem
still some need for it, but it should
for a state that has an increasing
be updated to include 21st Century
wolf population. Maybe you don’t
technology and ethical and social
like wolves and hope they are
mores.
poisoned. But you cannot argue the
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.
YOUR VIEWS
Fire bond won’t pick up
where old tax left off
I attended the last Pendleton City
Council meeting on March 7th. I told
the council that their fact sheet on
the fire bond is not correct. Their fact
sheet says that with the retirement of
two bonds, the net increase would be
$0.14 per $1,000, or $1.80 per month
for the same property. These two bond
issues were paid off on your 2016-2017
property tax bill. You will not start
paying for the fire bond until November
2017. It will be $0.62 per $1,000 of
assessed value.
These false fact sheets are still on
the counter at City Hall. The council
has an attorney and the head man at the
county tax office on the city council.
Something is wrong here; why was this
grave mistake not corrected?
I am not blaming the EMTs or the
fire personnel, I think the blame goes
much higher than that. I cannot vote for
a bond issue that I think I was lied to
about.
Rex J. Morehouse
Pendleton
A case to keep drug court
In response to the article about Drug
Court funding being cut, published
March 16, 2017:
The Drug Court program has
lowered recidivism, lowered crime
rates and lowered demands upon first
responders and the court system in
Umatilla County. In short, it has, and
continues to save money and save lives.
The program should be retained. In
the interest of clarity, we provide the
following vital information which was
not covered in the original article:
1. Any cut directly affects not just
the Drug Court program but those
receiving post-prison supervision
treatment and those in the jail program
as well.
2. The biannual review by the state
Criminal Justice Committee (CJC)
is routine and resulted in a finding of
“moderate to needs improvement,”
attributing the findings to new staff.
That reflects the training implemented
by the program manager himself. Had
the staff been trained properly the
scores would reflect such.
3. There have been problems
with morale and stress within this
department due to administration of
the program for some time. Several
employees have been forced to take
time off for stress-related illness, some
have moved within the county to other
areas because of this, and others have
left altogether, creating a high-turnover.
4. Two senior alcohol and
drug counselors were placed on
administrative leave before the CJC
review under an investigation instigated
by the program manager, which was
determined to be unsubstantiated. This
baseless investigation cost the taxpayers
money, and hurt the program at the time
it was being reviewed.
5. Staff have attempted to
discuss the situation with the county
commissioners several times, in an
effort to alleviate tension within
Community Corrections and address
the immediate issues that have led
to the “shortcomings” mentioned in
the CJC review. These requests were
repeatedly denied.
Drug Court may be one of the most
cost-effective programs in Umatilla
County. With appropriate management
it could be even better. We invite you to
join us in asking tough questions of the
people in charge of our tax money.
Debbie Swenson, president
Aaron Engum, vice president
AFSCME Local 3742
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.
How pundits got key part of
Trump-Russia story all wrong
key talking point in the theory
support providing lethal defensive
that Donald Trump and the
weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces
Russians conspired in the
and greater coordination with NATO
2016 election is the allegation that
on defense planning. Simultaneously,
last summer, during the Republican
we call for increased financial aid for
convention, the Trump campaign
Ukraine, as well as greater assistance in
changed the GOP platform to weaken
the economic and humanitarian spheres,
its stance on Russia’s aggression in
including government reform and
Ukraine.
anti-corruption.”
Byron
It’s been cited by Democrats and
When Denman proposed her
York
anti-Trump pundits many, many times.
amendment, a Trump national security
Comment
The only problem is, it’s all wrong.
aide named J.D. Gordon, who was in
The reason it’s wrong is this: To
the room, wanted to edit it. According
allege that the platform was weakened, you
to Denman, Gordon got on the phone, saying he
have to know what it was in the first place.
was calling “New York” to discuss the changes.
What did the original draft of the platform
The end result was that at the behest of the
say about Russia and Ukraine? Was it, in fact,
Trump campaign, the platform committee took
changed? If so, how?
out the reference to “lethal defensive weapons.”
As it turns out, a look at the original draft of
But it approved her statement of support for
the platform — which has never been released
maintaining, and possibly increasing, sanctions
publicly — shows that
against Russia, and, in
it always had tough
the place of lethal aid,
language on Russian
substituted a pledge to
The GOP platform,
aggression in Ukraine.
provide “appropriate
already fairly strong on assistance to the armed
And not only did that
language stay in the final
forces of Ukraine” and to
the Russia-Ukraine
platform — nothing
work more closely with
issue, was strengthened, NATO. Here is the final
was taken out — it was
actually strengthened, not
language that was added
not weakened,
weakened, as a result of
to the platform as a result
events at the convention.
of
Denman’s amendment:
as a result of the
The controversy
“We support
subcommittee meeting. maintaining and, if
is over a chapter in
the original platform
warranted, increasing
headlined “America
sanctions, together with
Resurgent.” The original draft discussed Russia
our allies, against Russia unless and until
and Ukraine in two parts of the chapter. The
Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
first passage warned of “a resurgent Russia
are fully restored. We also support providing
occupying parts of Ukraine and threatening
appropriate assistance to the armed forces of
neighbors from the Baltic to the Caucasus.”
Ukraine and greater coordination with NATO
The second passage was more expansive
defense planning.”
and began by noting a desire to maintain a
“The platform ended up tougher than it
friendship with “the people of Russia.” But
started, compared from the beginning to the
better relations are made more difficult, the draft end,” Denman told me, although she added she
said, by “the continuing erosion of personal
still believes her lethal aid provision should
liberty and fundamental rights under the current have been included in the final document.
officials in the Kremlin”:
Nevertheless, not long after the platform
“Repressive at home and reckless abroad,
subcommittee meeting, The Washington Post
their policies imperil the nations which regained published a story headlined, “Trump campaign
their self-determination upon the collapse of
guts GOP’s anti-Russia stance on Ukraine.” It
the Soviet Union. We will meet the return of
charged that Trump had weakened the platform,
Russian belligerence with the same resolve
and a new conventional wisdom began to form:
that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Trump team, doing the bidding of Vladimir
We will not accept any territorial change in
Putin, gutted the GOP platform’s position on
Eastern Europe imposed by force, in Ukraine or behalf of Russia.
elsewhere, and will use all appropriate measures
That is precisely the opposite of what
to bring to justice the practitioners of aggression happened. In the end, the platform, already
fairly strong on the Russia-Ukraine issue, was
and assassination.”
strengthened, not weakened, as a result of the
That wasn’t exactly a pro-Russia or
subcommittee meeting. The Trump campaign
pro-Putin statement. And it stayed in the final
agreed to a platform condemning Kremlin
Republican platform.
belligerence, calling for continued, and perhaps
So how did the Trump-weakened-the-GOP-
increased, sanctions against Russia, for the full
platform narrative get started? It appears it was
unwittingly set in motion by a single Republican restoration of Ukrainian territory, for refusing to
delegate, a Texas woman long active in GOP
accept “any territorial change in Eastern Europe
politics named Diana Denman, who proposed
imposed by force, in Ukraine or elsewhere,”
to add a couple of paragraphs to toughen the
and pledging to aid Ukraine’s armed forces.
original platform’s position on Ukraine. This is
The bottom line is that almost nothing in the
the key part of her proposed amendment:
Trump-weakened-the-GOP-platform narrative
“The Ukrainian people deserve our
is as it seems. Whatever the full story of Trump
admiration and support in their struggle, and in
and Russia in the 2016 campaign turns out to
their efforts to strengthen the rule of law, forge
be, it will only be revealed by examining what
a free market economy, and expand democratic
actually happened, not by repeating talking
governance. We therefore support maintaining
points.
(and, if warranted, increasing) sanctions
■
against Russia until Ukraine’s sovereignty and
Byron York is chief political correspondent
territorial integrity are fully restored. We also
for The Washington Examiner.
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