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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2017)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Friday, June 2, 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 OUR VIEW Tip of the hat; kick in the pants A tip of the hat to Keystone RV Company, Lippert Components, Kirby Nagelhout Construction, Pendleton Plumbing, Pendleton Electric, Sheeting Painting and other volunteers who helped remodel a bathroom for a Pendleton single mother of a disabled daughter. Courtney Bissinger had been trying to secure state assistance to repair her broken shower, so she did not have to bathe her daughter in unsafe conditions. But Keystone RV said a state contractor denied the assistance, so it and other businesses and individuals stepped in to help. Bissinger’s entire bathroom was redone, and the door to the tub was expanded 12-inches to make it easier to bathe 4-year-old Ember. The entire bathroom was expanded by 16 inches as well. The renovation looks great and works great, so we offer appreciation to local businesses for helping a person in need. Bath before Bath after 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 Westland users have reasons to oppose central water project A s the quiet majority, the Patrons Our property is located in the middle of Westland have grave concerns section of the Westland canal system, so about the management of this didn’t make sense; the new water Westland Irrigation District. could only be delivered to the main What might we be concerned about? canal, where the Teel Irrigation District is The last time there was a major water located. project in 1987, the senior water rights We are for an affordable exchange holders’ McKay allotment went from project from the Columbia that will 3.5 acre feet to 2.3 acre feet and our cost work in collaboration with CTUIR and went up, while Teel, the junior water the Bureau of Reclamation. We are not rights holders as the Limited Water Users, for more water to benefit a select few ended up receiving the benefit. large farmers — the juniors Teel — at A short history: The detriment to the expense of Westland via a project of Westland started when dry land wheat misconception. farms from Teel drilled The patrons voiced wells. The wells dried their opinion by electing We were told up. Teel tried to get rights two new directors in to McKay, and this was you can buy the the fall of 2016 — the denied numerous times. first time ever voting for water, but we So Teel came to Westland. plaintiffs who purchased Teel got their Umatilla may not be able the Oregon Hereford River water delivered with Ranch in 1976. to deliver it. the flood water delivery Furthermore, why contracts in 1984. did the district notify the A boundary expansion patrons on August 23, was proposed by then manager, doubling 2016 “it is likely the district will need to the site of the district with the same increase assessments to cover the cost amount of water, to include Teel inside of defending the suits” — neglecting the boundaries, despite a letter from to mention there is an indemnification OWRD on January 28, 1986, that citied clause in the limited water users serious concerns and violation of state contracts, holding senior water rights law. In 1987, Teel became the limited harmless from cost of all claims, losses, water users to get access to McKay. damages, causes of action or suit arising. Teel took control of the Westland The will of the people could have Board. Westland senior rights holders’ reached the same conclusion about the McKay allotment decreased and Central Project, potentially voting it irrigation season shortened after the down. Why was that opportunity denied, senior water right holders went from allowing for blame to be placed on the flood to sprinkler at their own expense. lawsuit instead? (Records are available to verify this The plaintiffs in the lawsuit will history.) always have a clear conscience, reached With that, the senior water rights by doing the right thing for the right holders in Westland need to have a full reason. Fighting to not allow an irrigation season of water as we had in the past. board to take your water to do with it as Stop the prevention of people from they please, at their discretion and by the knowing the facts through destruction of power of eminent domain — which is records, as noted in the October 6, 1991, what the Westland attorneys are arguing. Oregonian article, “The Umatilla River The Westland Irrigation District Blues.” Also, patrons shouldn’t have to Board has a fiduciary duty to the Patrons put in a public records request to receive of Westland with 1903, 1907 and 1961 meeting agendas, draft minutes and board water rights to deliver the water resources packets prior to meetings. to which each is entitled. Water delivery The Central Project was first discussed by priority: first in time, first in right. with patrons on March 31, 2015. We ■ were excited to have ability to purchase Dixie Echeverria is one of the more water. To our disappointment, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a small farmer in though, we were repeatedly told by the district. She wrote this with support Westland: You can buy the water, but with a group called the Patrons of we may not be able to deliver it to you. Westland. OTHER VIEWS Oh dear, the Trumps keep multiplying T he kids are not alright. were honoring Ivanka by donating Let’s see now. Donald $100 million to a World Bank fund for Trump’s son-in-law, Jared women entrepreneurs. Kushner, is under investigation for Perhaps you remember a weird cloak-and-daggerish meetings presidential debate last fall in which with the Russians. Ivanka just took a Trump denounced the Clinton bunch of money from the Saudis for Foundation for accepting money from her favorite charity. Eric and Don Jr. conservative Arab nations like, um, are traveling the world to promote Saudi Arabia. (“You talk about women Gail Trump hotels and golf courses while Collins and women’s rights? So these are being looked after by the Secret people who push gays off buildings. Comment Service on our dime. These are people that kill women and Tiffany is going to law school. If treat women horribly. And yet you take only the others were in law school. their money.”) Ah, well. Pop question: Who’s your favorite mini- Jared’s current issue is the mysterious Trump? I’m sort of attached to Eric, the one back channel he attempted to set up with the Russians. Like so very many things involving who compared waterboarding to a fraternity this administration, it’s a controversy in which hazing. the most positive interpretation is that he had In theory, Eric and Don Jr. are supposed no idea what the hell he was doing. to be totally unconnected to the government, In December Kushner met with Sergey running the family business in a manner so Gorkov, the head of a Russia bank, to talk separate from the president that they might about setting up a special communication easily be working in a totally different system, apparently so he could talk without dimension. U.S. intelligence overhearing. Hahaha. It had to be disastrous in some way, since “I do not talk about the government with Mike Flynn was involved. Among the possible him and he does not talk about the business explanations: with us. That’s kind of a steadfast pact we A) The incoming administration had made, and it’s something we honor,” Eric told directed a 36-year-old real estate developer Forbes earlier this year. Then, Forbes reported, about “two minutes with no government experience to solve the Syrian crisis while keeping the whole thing later” Eric volunteered that he’d still be secret from everybody except Vladimir Putin. making “profitability reports and stuff like B) Jared was trying to do a favor for his that” to the president. He and Dad are, Eric sister-in-law Lara by setting up a channel to added, “pretty inseparable.” Darned tootin’. Besides traveling the world smuggle abused beagles out of Russia. C) This is something about Russian money to publicize Trump golf courses and hang backing Trump businesses. out with potential investors, Eric and Donald I am of course going for the beagles. But Jr. are also working the political side of the street. The boys recently met with Republican feel free to be cynical. “We know Kushner’s business operations leaders to discuss 2018 election plans. (Don are in constant need of loans and investors. It’s Jr., by the way, is the one who was recently off shooting prairie dogs during their breeding highly suspicious,” said Fred Wertheimer of the good-government group Democracy 21. season.) He used to specialize in campaign finance Eric’s wife, Lara, was at the meeting, reform, but now Wertheimer lives in a world too. More relatives! When she’s not talking where a president’s daughter joins Dad at a with Republican leaders, Lara is active in dinner with the Chinese president the very an animal rights group called the Beagle same day she receives trademark rights for Freedom Project. It helps find homes for dogs selling Ivanka Trump glitz in China. that were used in scientific studies, which is And speaking of sleazy contacts with commendable. On the other hand, one of its foreign investors, last week Senate Judiciary leaders spent six years in jail for harassing Committee chairman Chuck Grassley research workers. called for an investigation into “potentially Her father-in-law isn’t really into pets, fraudulent statements and misrepresentations” which is now looking like a good thing. made by a Chinese company promoting Given the way he operates, if Trump had, say, deals that seemed to involve U.S. visas for a cocker spaniel it would probably now be financiers who made big investments in a deputy secretary of agriculture. luxury condo project in New Jersey. Lately, the Trump relatives we’ve been The condos are being developed by hearing most about are Ivanka, an official Kushner Cos. and were being marketed by presidential adviser, and her husband, Jared, Jared’s sister. Yes! There’s no end to them. whose portfolio includes modernizing Stay the course, Tiffany. government and bringing peace to the Middle ■ East. They recently accompanied the president Gail Collins joined The New York Times on his overseas trip — the one that began in 1995 as a member of the editorial board in Saudi Arabia with fun festivities and the and later as an Op-Ed columnist. In 2001 she glowing orb. became the first woman ever appointed editor While the Trumps were there, the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates announced they of the Times’s editorial page. 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 re- serves 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.
