Page 4A
East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Private schools join ag push
A Ph.D. in economics is not required
to figure out what makes Oregon go.
All it takes is a car.
A drive through the Willamette Valley
will reveal vast acreages devoted to
nurseries, sheep, cattle, berries, wine
grapes, tree fruit, hazelnut trees, seed
crops — the list grows as you travel.
Turn in any direction and you’ll see
timber. Cross the Cascades and head
east and you see more livestock,
pastures, hay, wheat, potatoes and
onions. Head west and you’ll see dairies.
Go toward the ocean and turn south and
you’ll find cranberries. More than 220
crops are grown in the state.
The USDA tells us there are 35,439
farms encompassing 16.4 million acres
of Oregon.
This same picture is seen in
Washington, with 37,249 farms on 15
million acres, Idaho with 24,814 farms
on 11.5 million acres and California
with 77,864 farms on 25 million acres.
Together, the 175,366 farms and
ranches in those four states produce
crops and livestock with a market value
of about $70 billion each year.
That’s big, and for young people
across the West that level of economic
activity also means big opportunities.
By 2020, companies will need to fill a
projected 57,000 agricultural jobs, most
in management.
Community colleges and land-grant
universities have long been the place to
learn about agriculture, food processing
and other associated fields. Researchers
at Oregon State University, Washington
State University, the University of Idaho
and the University of California system
and its many campuses have led the way
to breakthroughs in agronomy, genetics
and hundreds of other areas.
But there’s an exciting development
taking place among the region’s
private universities. They are taking
notice of the opportunities agriculture
presents and also offering their students
ag-related courses and degrees.
Corban University, a small Christian
college near Salem, recently announced
it will offer classes in agribusiness
next fall through its school of business.
Ultimately, Corban plans to start a
college of agricultural studies.
Other private universities and
colleges also see the opportunities in
agriculture.
Brigham Young University-Idaho
in Rexburg, Idaho, is listed among the
best colleges for agricultural sciences in
the nation. Students there do research
at the university’s 190-acre farm. The
George Plaven/EO Media Group
Corban University will add agribusiness as a concentration under the Hoff School
of Business beginning in August.
agricultural program’s biggest problem
is producing enough graduates to meet
the needs of the industry, professors
there say.
Researchers at Northwest Nazarene
University in Nampa, Idaho, also have
agriculture on their minds. Using a
USDA specialty crop block grant, they
have been developing a drone that can
scan a field in a few minutes and help
farmers determine the condition of their
crops.
These are exciting times for
agriculture — and ag education. More
students are learning the skills and
gaining the backgrounds they’ll need
for a career in agriculture. And more
colleges and universities are joining
the region’s community colleges and
land-grant universities in helping their
students find professions in agriculture.
They recognize the opportunities that
await their students.
All they have to do is take a drive.
OTHER VIEWS
An article of impeachment
here are good reasons to be
6. On May 17, shortly after
wary of impeachment talk.
hearing that the Justice Department
Congressional Republicans
had appointed Mueller to take over
show zero interest, and they’re
the Russia investigation, Trump
the ones in charge. Democrats,
berated Jeff Sessions, the attorney
for their part, need to focus on
general. The appointment had
retaking Congress, and railing about
caused the administration again to
impeachment probably won’t help
lose control over the investigation,
them win votes.
David and Trump accused Sessions of
But let’s set aside realpolitik for
Leonhardt “disloyalty.”
a few minutes and ask a different
7. In June, Trump explored
Comment
question: Is serious consideration
several options to retake control. At
of impeachment fair? I think the
one point, he ordered the firing of
answer is yes. The evidence is now quite
Mueller, before the White House counsel
strong that Donald Trump committed
resisted.
obstruction of justice. Many legal scholars
8. On July 8, aboard Air Force One,
believe a sitting president cannot be charged Trump helped draft a false public statement
with a crime. So the proper remedy for a
for his son, Donald Trump Jr. The statement
president credibly accused of obstructing
claimed that a 2016 meeting with a Russian
justice is impeachment.
lawyer was about adoption policy. Trump Jr.
The first article of impeachment
later acknowledged that the meeting was to
against Richard Nixon argued that he
discuss damaging information the Russian
had “prevented, obstructed and impeded
government had about Hillary Clinton.
the administration of
9. On July 26, in a tweet,
justice.” One of the two
Trump called for the firing
impeachment articles that
of Andrew McCabe, the
the House passed against
FBI’s deputy director, a
Bill Clinton used that
potential corroborating
identical phrase. In both
witness for Comey’s
cases, the article then laid
conversations with Trump.
out the evidence with a
The tweet was part of
numbered list. Nixon’s
Trump’s efforts, discussed
version had nine items.
with White House aides, to
Clinton’s had seven. Each
discredit FBI officials.
list was meant to show
10. Throughout, Trump
that the president had
(and this quotation comes
intentionally tried to subvert
from the Nixon article
a federal investigation.
of impeachment) “made
Given last week’s news
false or misleading public
— that Trump has already
statements for the purpose
tried to fire Robert Mueller, the special
of deceiving the people of the United
counsel investigating the Trump campaign
States.” Among other things, Trump
— it’s time to put together the same sort of
repeatedly made untruthful statements
list for Trump. Of course, this list is based
about American intelligence agencies’
only on publicly available information.
conclusions regarding Russia’s role in the
Mueller, no doubt, knows more.
2016 election.
1. During a dinner at the White House
Obstruction of justice depends on a
on Jan. 27, 2017, Trump asked for a pledge
person’s intent — what legal experts often
call “corrupt intent.” This list is so damning
of “loyalty” from James Comey, then the
because it reveals Trump’s intent.
FBI director, who was overseeing the
He has inserted himself into the details
investigation of the Trump campaign.
of a criminal investigation in ways that
2. On Feb. 14, Trump directed several
previous presidents rarely if ever did. (They
other officials to leave the Oval Office so
left individual investigations to the attorney
he could speak privately with Comey. He
general.) And he has done so in ways that
then told Comey to “let this go,” referring
show he understands he’s doing something
to the investigation of Michael Flynn, who
wrong. He has cleared the room before trying
had resigned the previous day as Trump’s
to influence the investigation. He directed his
national security adviser.
son to lie, and he himself has lied.
3. On March 22, Trump directed several
When the framers were debating
other officials to leave a White House
impeachment at the Constitutional
briefing so he could speak privately with
Convention, George Mason asked: “Shall
Daniel Coats, the director of national
any man be above justice?”
intelligence, and Mike Pompeo, the CIA
The same question faces us now: Can a
director. Trump asked them to persuade
president use the power of his office to hold
Comey to back off investigating Flynn.
himself above the law? Trump is unlikely to
4. In March and April, Trump told
face impeachment anytime soon, or perhaps
Comey in phone calls that he wanted
anytime at all. But it’s time for all of us —
Comey to lift the “cloud” of the
voters, members of Congress, Trump’s own
investigation.
5. On May 9, Trump fired Comey as FBI staff — to be honest about what he’s done.
He has obstructed justice.
director. On May 10, Trump told Russian
He may not be finished doing so, either.
officials that the firing had “taken off” the
■
“great pressure” of the Russia investigation.
David Leonhardt is an op-ed columnist
On May 11, he told NBC News that the
for The New York Times.
firing was because of “this Russia thing.”
T
YOUR VIEWS
Who hid Wheeler County
judge’s exoneration?
On April 4, 2017, a letter from the
Oregon Department of Justice, Criminal
Justice Division was sent to the Honorable
Gretchen Ladd, Wheeler County District
Attorney, completely exonerating former
Wheeler County Judge Chris Perry of any
alleged wrongdoing and dismissing any and
all unfounded criminal allegations against
him that sadly and wrongly ultimately led to
his recall.
For some inexplicable reason this
letter from Bumjoon Park, senior assistant
Attorney General, was never made
known to the Wheeler County Court and
our citizens as it should have been. The
people voted to unfairly terminate Judge
Perry’s years of honest, ethical and fiscally
responsible service prior to his being found
“innocent” of all of the frivolous “small
community” hearsay allegations against
him.
To add insult to injury, someone “sat
on” this letter for nine months until I heard
about it, and am now issuing a long-
overdue “press release” in hopes that in the
future our citizens will avoid behaving like
a lynch mob, assuming the role of judge,
jury and executioner before all the facts are
known.
This letter was sent to our district
attorney Gretchen Ladd in April with the
intention of delivering it to the Wheeler
County Court for release to the public.
That didn’t happen. We need to ask them,
who withheld this letter from us for nine
months? Where did it get waylaid?
Roberta Vandehey
Fossil
There are ways to control
America’s wild horses
The Jan. 27 column on “wild horses”
by Ellie Phipps Price was full of fake facts,
ignorance and emotionalism. For starters,
these animals are not wild horses, they are
feral horses. Wild horses are found in zoos
and parts of Asia and Africa.
It is true that most Americans want
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the
East Oregonian editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and
not necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
these horses, as do I. But I want them
to be managed so that they, as well as
the ecosystem, will remain healthy. The
carrying capacity of the range has been
determined to be 26,600 horses. The
limiting factors used to determine this is
based on food, water, competition of other
wild animals, weather, etc. The most serious
occurs during the winter. Either Ms. Price is
ignorant of how cattle are managed or she
is deliberately misleading when she says,
if all the cattle were removed everything
would be just fine. Well, that is not true. The
limiting factors would still come into play.
Cattle are removed from the range during
these adverse times.
That she is concerned the population
could become extinct is laughable. All that
would need to be done was to go to the next
horse sale, buy up some horses and turn
them loose. Since there are no predators,
they will reproduce at 15-20 per cent
per year and in just a few years carrying
capacity would again be reached.
Birth control sounds good, but is not
practical. Besides, it probably violates the
harassment and capture clauses in the 1971
Act. They were once farm animals but if
you start rounding them up to give them
annual shots and castrating them they will
become skittish quite quickly.
As for the 90,000 horses the Trump
administration is planning to slaughter, that
is probably fairly accurate. There are 46,000
horses in corrals that are costing $50 million
dollars per year to feed and another 40,000
exceeding the appropriate management
level of the range. Americans have always
eaten horse meat. In 1951 Time magazine
ran an article stating that in Portland there
were three times as many horse butchers,
selling three times as much horse meat, as
there were for all the other meats.
I would suggest these 90,000 horses be
offered first to the poor by our government.
If a mother knew that she could feed her
child a high protein food, more nutritious
than beef, I am willing to bet she would
jump at the opportunity. If that failed, offer
it to the “foodies.”
Carlisle Harrison
Hermiston
The proper
remedy for
a president
credibly
accused of
obstructing
justice is
impeachment.
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
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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.