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OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 8, 2017
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
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OUR VIEW
Love your city
and its people
On Saturday, Hermiston residents
will turn out for a citywide cleanup
and goodwill tour — the next step in
the “I Love My City” campaign that
rose from the ashes of tragedy.
And there are few things as
immediately fulfilling as picking up
trash. Litter that was just an eyesore
and environmental scar is bagged
up and carried away and a cleaner,
more beautiful place is revealed.
We hope lots of people show up
to beautify Hermiston and create
ties and friendships that grow into
further community service. There
are actions that may not be as
immediately fulfilling as collecting
trash or clearing overgrown yards —
but it is just as important.
Loving your space, your culture,
your environment and your
fellow man is the key to creating
flourishing communities.
Every city in our region
— from Milton-Freewater to
Boardman, from Pendleton to
Ukiah — does this well, but has
room for improvement. As politics
tries its best to wedge us apart,
only community and personal
relationships can bridge that gulf.
So how do you love your city?
It takes all kinds.
Cleaning up trash and repairing
public areas in disrepair is one way.
So is speaking and working to keep
our air, water and public spaces
clean in the first place, and passing
on good stewardship habits to the
next generation.
Others can use their
entrepreneurial spirit to create
family wage jobs in the community.
Hard work is a virtue, and here in
agriculture country we see the fruits
— sometimes literally — of a long
day’s work.
A soft touch with neighbors who
are struggling is also important,
as is keeping watch over the most
vulnerable and overlooked.
There are times to be boosters and
fans, sitting high in the bleachers
and cheering on your local athletes.
There is a need to donate money and
time to support your community’s
best students, and also the most
disadvantaged.
There is need to go to public
meetings. To run for public office.
To make brownies for bake sales.
To shop local. To show up for
after-school activities. To volunteer
at your local homeless shelter or
hospital or park or nonprofit.
The opportunities abound if you
look for them.
You may never have expected to
end up where you are. But whether
you’re here for a few months or a
lifetime, finding a place to serve
and belong makes life better for
everyone.
Supporting one another is not
just a healthy way to recover from
tragedy, but to prevent them.
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.
Contributed photo by Clayton Haight.
Dillon Spencer hands out candy canes at Wal-Mart during a past I Love My
City event in December 2016.
OTHER VIEWS
The soul of a corporation
W
e know from an infamous
Lloyd said.
Supreme Court ruling that
To this day, REI is not a corporation
corporations are people.
in the normal sense of the word. It’s a
They may be heartless, like the
consumer cooperative — the nation’s
largest — owned not by shareholders,
pharmaceutical company that jacks
but by members. There are more than
up the price of a lifesaving drug. Or
6 million active members, and Mary
clueless, like Pepsi with its latest ad
Anderson, officially, was member No.
solving racism by having a fashion
model give a can of colored sugar
Timothy 2.
water to a cop.
While other retailers are struggling,
Egan
But can a corporation also have a
REI is thriving. With more than 140
Comment
soul? If the answer is yes, that soul
stores in 36 states, the company just
passed on to higher ground a few days
recorded record revenue of $2.56
ago, when Mary Anderson, a co-founder of the billion for 2016. It fell astray at times. As it
outdoor retailer REI, died at the age of 107.
grew into a national behemoth, the company
The wonder is not that she lived to triple
forced the Andersons out of their role in
digits. She loved clean air, a good fight and a
guiding REI’s operations.
well-told joke. The wonder is that someone
But the Anderson influence remained. REI
born in 1909, when many veterans of the Civil now gives back more than 70 percent of its
War were still arguing over slavery, could live profits to the outdoor community and other
to see her common-sensical values flourish in
worthwhile projects. One of the company’s
an otherwise unrecognizable brave new world. biggest initiatives this year is an effort to
The corporations of 2017 that strive to do
boost the profile of future Mary Andersons
well while doing good, the ones that want to
— women who love nature — to change the
step up as global citizens while the Trump
image of male-dominated outdoor sports.
administration steps back, owe a part of their
A few years ago on Black Friday, that
enlightened self-interest to Mary Anderson.
horrid stampede of Christmas season greed,
She was the longest-standing member of
REI did something revolutionary — it closed.
REI, formerly called Recreational Equipment
Employees were given a paid day off and told
Inc., the company she founded with her
to take a hike or spend some time with family.
husband, Lloyd Anderson, in 1938. Initially,
Corporations behaving badly tend to
they ran the operation out of the home they
get most of our attention. It will take years
built in West Seattle. Their attic was the
for Wells Fargo to dig itself out of the
warehouse. Their kitchen was where Mary
fiasco it created with customers who were
stitched together tents. From that farmhouse
burdened with accounts they didn’t authorize.
grew an empire of goose down and freeze-
Volkswagen, once known for the little Beetle
dried fettuccine.
that was many a baby boomer’s first car,
I interviewed this founding couple a
stumbled badly when it rolled out autos
few years before Lloyd Anderson died in
that could cheat emissions tests. And Fox
2000, at the age of 98. Mary started out as a
News, with its numerous sexual harassment
public-school teacher. Lloyd was a city transit settlements, is beginning to look more and
worker. They loved the mountains. But they
more like a criminal enterprise.
were frustrated that you couldn’t buy decent
On the other hand, you have Patagonia,
climbing gear without getting gouged.
another outdoor retailer, pulling out of the
And so they started importing ice axes
annual industry show in Utah this year to
from Austria, selling them to fellow climbers
protest the state’s hostility toward the public
at cost. The first 23 members contributed
land that the company’s customers depend on.
$1 each. This was in the 1930s, the Great
Business schools study this sort of thing —
Depression, and also the height of the
how to achieve a branding of authenticity, how
cooperative movement. The Pacific Northwest to be seen as a corporation with a conscience.
was full of Scandinavians who didn’t think
But it’s not that complicated.
consumer-owned companies were communist
“In founding REI as a co-op, Lloyd and
plots. Seattle’s public power utility, City Light, Mary saw a higher purpose in their work,”
and a medical cooperative, Group Health,
said Sally Jewell, an interior secretary under
grew from the same soil.
President Barack Obama and a former chief
And maybe one day, if Medicare-for-all
executive officer of REI. The Andersons
emerges as the obvious solution to our
proved that a higher purpose with a solid
dysfunctional and incomprehensible health
bottom line does not have to be an oxymoron.
care system, we’ll see a little bit of the co-op
■
spirit there as well.
Timothy Egan worked for 18 years as a
The Andersons instilled their company with writer for The New York Times, first as the
an unusual business ethic. “I never thought a
Pacific Northwest correspondent, then as a
man should make money off his friends,” as
national enterprise reporter
YOUR VIEWS
Lybrand should
be behind bars
I write today to voice my
opinion on the Jason Lybrand case,
where the owner of local tattoo
shop Wicked Kitty was caught
selling an assortment of illegal
drugs, including steroids and
methamphetamine.
We, the people, are disgusted
that our own personal lives
are micromanaged at every
level — yet the public is expected
to sympathize with a major drug
dealer who gets off without the
appropriate punishment meant to
deter such activity?
We, the citizens of Pendleton,
are officially boycotting the Wicked
Kitty Tattoo store to send a clear
message: We want the drug dealers
our of our community. Those are
nor the values we represent.
Remember to vote your values
in future elections.
Carlin Sacco
Pendleton
New fire station would
make firefighters safer
We are writing in support of
the bond proposal to replace Fire
Station 1 and purchase equipment,
such as heart monitors and the
“Jaws of Life” extraction tools.
Pendleton is lucky to have
a very well respected fire chief
and many amazing firefighters.
Our current station does not meet
current fire and building codes,
it contains hazardous materials
and our firefighters are breathing
unsafe levels of diesel fumes,
which are known to cause cancer.
They are also fighting fires and
trying to save lives with outdated
equipment.
The current fire station would be
too costly to renovate, and it does
not have sufficient training space.
The new station will have faster
response times and will have lower
maintenance costs and utility bills,
with savings estimated at $50,000
a year.
We residents of Pendleton have
a long history of supporting our
city. We would like to see our city
thrive, and one of the ways we can
do that is by putting money into the
things that matter. Our firefighters
matter. Please vote yes for a new
fire station.
Mike and Shannon Collins
Pendleton
Pendleton spending
money in wrong places
The city is asking for $10
million for a fire station. We have
at least $10 million or more in
street repair needed done also.
Winter increased the amount of
road repairs needed in the city due
to the freezing and snow. That is
$20 million between the fire station
and road repairs.
The city council just allocated
$20,000 for a beautification project
on Main Street. That could have
been used for street repairs or
help update the fire department
or equipment some. What are the
priorities? Do we fix what’s broke
or just keep adding new things to
the list to pay for even if they’re
not essential to the functioning
of the city? I believe there are
other things that need done before
spending money on beautification
of Main Street. If people want to
donate funds for beautification
projects and do them, go for it.
I would like for Pendleton to
have the best fire station in the
state. What is it going to cost us?
Is the city going to come out next
year and say if you want your
roads fixed your going to have to
approve another $10 million bond
issue?
Could the city use the PGG
building for a fire station with
some updates and renovation?
It had an in-floor and overhead
exhaust system for vehicles to run
inside in the shop area. It has more
room in the building than anything
they have now. Would the PGG
building be more cost effective
than building a new building? With
the lot with it they could build
training facilities there later. I do
not know if PGG was considered
when they started looking for a
place for their new fire station or if
it is available for purchase?
Are there more cost effective
ways to upgrade the fire
department than spending $10
million, or do they just want a new
fire station? Just some thoughts
and ideas I had on the issue.
Roger Fleming
Pendleton
Good schools need
strong citizen support
Historically, Hermiston has
strongly supported its schools.
Looking purely at the dollars
and cents, we can see that our
community as a whole significantly
benefits from these fantastic
facilities.
Hermiston School District
has become a vital part of
our community’s economic
development. When you moved
here, what was the first thing you
searched out beside a job? For my
family and me, it was the schools.
An independent study by
EcoNorthwest quantified the
economic impacts our community
receives from the use of school
district facilities by either district-
hosted or outside-hosted events. In
2013-14, it was $7.3 million and is
expect to be more in the subsequent
years. That alone creates 78 jobs
within our community while
also supporting numerous small
businesses.
Also, an independent analysis
performed by Elesco Limited,
found the May 2017 bond election
would return a whopping $184
million over the next ten years.
Where else in government can you
see a net positive return of almost
2-to-1 on your tax investment?
The last bond measure cost
$1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value
for $69 million; today’s bond is 90
cents per $1,000 of assessed value
for $104 million. Because our
community continues to grow and
add businesses and homeowners,
we are sharing that cost over a
larger taxing base. There is a direct
connection between our investment
in schools and our increased tax
base.
Schools are the very definition
of community and a primary source
of Hermiston’s economic vitality.
Join me in voting yes for the May
16 Hermiston School District Bond
election.
D ave Drotzmann, mayor
Hermiston
LETTERS POLICY
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less
on public issues and policies for publication in the newspaper and
on website. Letters must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a phone number. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers
Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.