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East Oregonian
Friday, April 13, 2018
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
Tip of the hat,
kick in the pants
A tip of the hat to a bill before the
U.S. Senate that would legalize hemp.
The bipartisan bill — spearheaded
by Oregon Democratic senators Jeff
Merkley and Ron Wyden along with
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is known
as the Hemp Farming Act of 2018.
It would legalize and clearly define
hemp as an agricultural commodity and
remove it from the list of controlled
substances.
This is long overdue — hemp has no
intoxicating agents and has a long list of
uses in agriculture and manufacturing.
It could be a benefit to farmers and
entrepreneurs right here in Eastern
Oregon.
The legislation would also give
states the opportunity to become the
primary regulators of hemp, allow hemp
researchers to apply for competitive
federal grants from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and make hemp farmers
eligible to apply for crop insurance.
These are the important steps that kept
hemp from being studied and utilized
while it was on the list of controlled
substances
And as more Republicans join the
growing majority of Americans who
support legalizing hemp and marijuana,
Oregon will once again be a trailblazer
(cough, cough) in a growing industry.
A kick in the pants to a continued
stretch of fatal traffic accidents in our
area.
Two people died in accidents in a
close radius outside Stanfield this week,
one killed while she was trying to
cross Interstate 84 in the early morning
light. Another man was killed while
running across Highway 101 on the
coast this week. And a crash Thursday
on Interstate 84 near Deadman’s Pass
closed part of the highway for much of
the morning.
These are terrible accidents, resulting
in death and destruction. And they are
much too common.
We’re elated by the multi-million
dollar plan to make the stretch of
interstate between Pendleton and
La Grande a safer route of travel.
It’s long overdue. Better lighting,
better messaging, better snow and ice
technology, better infrastructure that
keeps out-of-control vehicles from
crossing the medians — these are all
ways to reduce collisions and death.
But as we’ve tried to say, much of
the responsibility lies with us. Some
accidents cannot be helped, but we
should do everything in our power to
AP Photo/Mary Esch
In this 2016 photo, Dan Dolgin, left, and Mark Justh examine seeds from hemp plants
on their JD Farms in Eaton, N.Y. The crop is the first legal hemp harvested in the state
in a pilot program that’s part of a national resurgence of the hemp industry.
focus on the job at hand when we are
behind the wheel or near a roadway. Our
lives, and the lives of others, depend on
it.
A tip of the hat to the “text to 911”
service now available in Umatilla
County.
Texting has become the critical way
of communication via cell phones, and
it is helpful for people who cannot use
standard phones — either because they
are in an emergency situation and that
is not possible, or they are hearing or
speech impaired.
Old-fashioned voice calls should
remain the standard for those able to
make such an action — it’s the best way
to get important information out quickly.
But for people who cannot do so, texting
is a critical alternative. We’re happy
local residents now have that option.
OTHER VIEWS
Staring down on Syria
O
YOUR VIEWS
Idaho Power
project is old technology
I own property in La Grande that is
in the crosshairs of at least two of the
proposed Boardman to Hemingway routes
between Hilgard and Ladd Canyon. I am
also a NIMBY. Initially this fueled my
opposition to Boardman to Hemingway.
Over the last 10 years, having taken note of
advances in nascent technologies (including
but not limited to storage, conservation,
rooftop solar and microgrids), and the
proponents’ seeming aversion to them, I
greatly oppose this project turning up in
anyone’s back yard.
At one point, the proponents told us
California, having the highest mandate
for renewable power sources, needed
connection to this new grid. At another
point they told us demand was rising. The
former didn’t pan out, and the latter isn’t.
Preferring to build a multi-billion
dollar project, instead of embracing the
new innovations, seems tantamount to not
switching to an AC powered grid a century
ago. It also seems likely that transmission
will become less problematic than
previously conceived.
Pursuing this project in lieu of real
modernization indicates an indifference
to fish and wildlife habitat, cultural and
archaeological landmarks, as well as
viewscapes. Ceding stewardship of some
9,000 acres of Oregon to those who care so
little about them would be more than folly.
John Williams
La Grande
Rob Collins for
circuit court judge
I am writing in support of Rob Collins
to be our next circuit court judge. I believe
that he has the right combination of broad
legal experience, judicial temperament
and community involvement to be an
outstanding judge.
Rob has practiced law in Pendleton
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.
since 1981. He has represented clients in
a broad cross-section of cases, both civil
and criminal. He knows his way around a
courtroom, and as a judge he would “hit
the ground running.” He has served as
a pro-tem judge for many years, and is
knowledgeable about courtroom procedure
and Oregon law.
Rob Collins has deep roots in this
community, serving on the Round-Up
Board of Directors and the Oregon East
Symphony, as well as many other Umatilla
County activities. Having served as a judge
myself, I appreciate the fact that a good
trial judge is one who treats all litigants,
attorneys and jurors who come into court
with courtesy and respect. I believe that will
be one of Rob’s greatest assets as a judge
— the ability to listen, and have people feel
that they have truly had “their day in court.”
Having known Rob Collins and his
family for many years, I can vouch for his
integrity, his deep knowledge of the law and
his sense of fairness and justice. I would
highly recommend him to you as our next
circuit court judge.
Jeff Wallace, retired Circuit Court judge
The Dalles
Re-elect Larry Givens
county commissioner
I encourage all Umatilla County voters
to reelect Larry Givens to his fourth term
as county commissioner. Mr. Givens is a
practical and common sense man who has
done an admirable job as commissioner. He
also is highly regarded throughout the state
and nation and has served as president of
the Association of Oregon Counties and is a
board member of the National Association
of Counties.
Mr. Givens is exactly the type of
commissioner we need. He patiently listens
to everyone and then takes sensible actions
for the betterment of all the county. I could
not recommend him higher.
George Anderson
Hermiston
hours or days.
n Saturday I took my family
But the truth about current U.S.
to have a closer look at
policy is worse. For starters, there
Syria.
is no policy: The president and his
This was on the Golan Heights,
commanding general in the Middle
from a roadside promontory
East, Joseph Votel, have offered
overlooking the abandoned Syrian
flatly contradictory statements
town of Quneitra. The border is
very green at this time of year,
about what the U.S. intends to do in
a serene patchwork of orchards
Syria. We long ago pulled the plug
Bret
and grassland, and it was hard
Stephens on supporting relatively moderate
to impress on our kids that hell
Syrian rebels fighting President
Comment
on earth was visible in the quiet
Bashar Assad. And the absence of
distance.
policy itself runs counter to what is
But I wanted them to see it — to know
supposed to be Trump’s overarching goal
that Syria is a place, not an abstraction;
of blunting Iran’s regional ambitions and
that the agonies of its people are near, not
forcing a renegotiation of the nuclear deal.
far; that we should not look away. Later
To adapt Churchill’s line about
that day, in a suburb of Damascus, Syrian
Russia, Trump’s approach to Syria is an
forces apparently again gassed their own
impulse wrapped in indifference inside an
people.
incoherence. It makes Barack Obama’s
It’s fortunate for Israel that it did not
failed Syria policy look savvy, since at
bargain the Heights away during the
least the former president’s reluctance
ill-fated peace processes of the 1990s: Had to get involved was consonant with his
it done so, the Islamic State, Hezbollah
overarching desire to improve relations
or Iran might in time have trained their
with Tehran.
guns on Israeli towns below. The strategy
A limited missile strike that slightly
of withdrawal-for-peace has not been
degrades Assad’s military capabilities will
vindicated in recent years, whether in Iraq,
change none of this, just as last year’s
Afghanistan or the Gaza Strip. It’s a point
U.S. strike changed nothing. What could
Donald Trump obviously missed when
work? In a column I wrote for The Wall
he insisted last month on U.S. withdrawal
Street Journal in 2013, I argued that the
from Syria, likely encouraging the apparent U.S. should target Assad and his senior
chemical attack he now threatens to punish. lieutenants directly in a decapitation strike,
As it is, the chances of a wider and
just as the U.S. attempted in Iraq in 2003,
bloodier war over Syria have grown in
and against Osama bin Laden in 2011.
recent days. Syrian tanks and artillery have
Nothing that has happened in the
reportedly entered the demilitarized buffer
intervening five years has changed my
zone near the Israeli border, in brazen
view about this. If we are serious about
violation of the 1974 disengagement
restoring an international norm against the
agreement, as they prepare to sweep rebel
use of chemical weapons, then the penalty
forces from the rest of the border area.
for violating the norm must be severe.
Israel did very little to deny its attack
And if we are serious about confronting
Monday on an air base used by Iran in
Iran, Syria remains the most important
central Syria, and Jerusalem is threatening
battlefield. An extended U.S. air campaign
more aggressive steps to keep Tehran
to destroy Tehran’s military assets in the
from further entrenching itself militarily
country would send the message that we
in its client state. The Iranians have vowed
will not tolerate its attempt to colonize
retaliation for the attack, which they
Syria and threaten its neighbors. It could
are sure to make good on, probably via
also help avert the looming war on
their proxies in Hezbollah. And tensions
Israel’s north and persuade Russia that its
between Israel and Russia are at their
adventure in Syria won’t pay long-term
highest point since the Cold War, in part
results, especially if Assad is gone.
because Israel did not notify Russia in
None of this will solve Syria’s
advance of Monday’s attack.
problems. But it can begin to solve the
So where is the United States in all of
problems Syria has caused for us — as a
this?
violator of moral norms, a threat to our
As Michael Doran pointed out in an
regional allies, and an opportunity for our
astute New York Times op-ed on Tuesday,
most dedicated enemies. There’s a new
Trump seems to have violated his own
national security adviser in the White
ostensible rules for winning in recent
House, and a final chance for American
days. First he promised to withdraw U.S.
initiative in this devastated land.
forces, which would eliminate what little
■
military leverage we have with Syria (and
Bret Stephens won a Pulitzer Prize for
Turkey), and then he telegraphed the kind
commentary in 2013. He began working
of feckless missile strike he seems intent
as a columnist at The New York Times in
on carrying out sometime in the coming
April.
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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