A4
East Oregonian
Saturday, June 29, 2019
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Editor
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Tip of the Hat,
kick in the pants
A
tip of the hat to Rep. Brian
Clem, D-Salem, and other
lawmakers for the passage
of House Bill 2579, one of those rare
feel-good pieces of legislation that
makes a real difference. Dubbed the
“Farm to School” bill, the program
assists area schools in buying locally
grown produce. House Bill 2579 gives
all school districts in the state access
to grants to buy local and it helps stu-
dents, area businesses and towns
across the state.
The bill’s chief sponsor was Clem,
who has been a champion of the pro-
gram since he joined the Oregon
House.
“I used to sit on a tractor during
harvest and wonder if local fruit was
being served at the school next to our
orchard,” Rep. Clem said. “When I
came to the legislature in 2007, I had
a chance to change how our schools
buy the food they serve in their lunch-
rooms. I’m proud of all the support
that the Farm to School program
has garnered over the years. Farm to
School works by allowing school dis-
tricts to be reimbursed for a portion of
the cost of buying local products for
the meals they serve.”
There isn’t any valid reason to keep
local agriculture producers — if they
wish — from providing products from
their harvest to local students. This is
a good program, and an example of
good legislative judgement.
A tip of the hat to local resident
Tom Tangney for nominating local
resident — and Korean War combat
veteran — Richard Allstott to be this
year’s Pendleton Independence Day
Parade grand marshal. Allstott grew
up near Heppner and worked for the
county road department.
He also answered the call from his
country and serviced in the Korean
War where he was wounded and dec-
orated for valor. Now 90, Allstott
doesn’t talk much about his wartime
experiences but Tangney knew of his
gallantry and pushed for his nomi-
nation for grand marshal. Both men
deserve to be lauded. And we should
all feel grateful for brave men like
Allstott.
A tip of the hat to the hundreds
of demonstrators and trucks that
descended on Salem on Thursday to
stage a protest rally against the state’s
proposals to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. We’ve already stated our
opinion of the proposal — House Bill
EO File Photo
Jenny Chavez, program coordinator for the SNAP-Ed program, hands out samples of fruits
and vegetables to students at Windy River Elementary School in 2014 in Boardman.
2020 — on this page and in this space
but the individuals who appeared at
the rally deserve some praise. That’s
because they all exercised one of
the most fundamental rights of our
Republic — the right to assembly
peacefully and express their discon-
tent. The right to assemble and peace-
fully protest is ingrained into our
political system and we should all be
grateful.
The men and women who appeared
at the state Capitol on Thursday were
doing exactly what our founders
intended to be a key bulwark in our
political system.
A tip of the hat to Oregon U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley for his commit-
ment to town hall meetings in the
state. He won’t carry a lot of votes out
of Morrow County — or Eastern Ore-
gon for that matter — but the fact that
Merkley will hold another one of his
annual town hall meetings in Board-
man next week should be a good sign
for voters.
That’s because Merkley, a Dem-
ocrat, clearly doesn’t take the parti-
san train — which is often a common
sight in Washington, D.C. — on a ride
into the heartland of Oregon.
Merkley could ignore portions of
the state where his political views are
unpopular but he doesn’t. Instead he
— and others in the Oregon federal
delegation — view their service as one
for all of Oregon, not just Democrats
or Republicans.
We need more of that philosophy in
our national political dialogue,
not less.
OTHER VIEWS
Senate Republicans
followed footsteps of
Brown and Lincoln
Bend Bulletin
O
regon’s climate bill is appar-
ently dead this session, and
Democrats in the Legislature
have only themselves to blame. The bill
is a mess. We can’t get weepy about it.
The Legislature’s Democrats tried
to wedge it through, paying scant
attention to the views of the minority
Republicans. That’s a privilege of
being the party in power. It doesn’t
make it right.
Senate Republicans walked out —
some hiding in Idaho. Enough were
gone to deny a quorum in the Senate,
so it couldn’t meet. It meant House Bill
2020, which would cap carbon emis-
sions in Oregon, and many other bills
were likely to fail this session. The ses-
sion is constitutionally mandated to
end on June 30.
The climate bill aims to compel Ore-
gon to get on the path to clean energy
by raising the price of carbon-based
fuels. Many Oregonians may get
behind that concept. It’s the details that
matter. For instance, the bill could be
structured to return the hundreds of
millions raised by the scheme to Ore-
gonians. Instead, Democratic leaders
wanted control over the money.
Also, remember what Senate Repub-
licans have been after. “We do believe
in taking action to reduce carbon emis-
sions, but HB 2020 is an inefficient,
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.
expensive, and constitutionally flawed
bill that puts the livelihoods of many
Oregonians at risk,” state Sen. Tim
Knopp, R-Bend, tweeted. “We are
fighting to refer it to the ballot to let the
people vote!”
Gov. Kate Brown and other Demo-
crats criticized the walkout in a medley
of put-downs. “The Republicans are
driving us away from the values that
Oregonians hold dear, and are moving
us dangerously close to the self-serving
stalemate in Washington, D.C.,” Brown
said.
That’s a curious perspective from
Brown. In 2001, when she was the
leader of the Senate Democrats, Brown
backed a walkout of House Democrats
who didn’t like what House Republi-
cans were doing in a fight over redis-
tricting. She called the action by House
Democrats “very appropriate under the
circumstances.”
“Under certain circumstances, it’s
fair to say we would use all the tools
available to us,” she added.
If the words of Brown aren’t enough
for you, what about the deeds of Hon-
est Abe?
In 1840, when he was a member of
the Illinois Legislature, Abraham Lin-
coln tried to deny a quorum by going
out a window.
Surely Gov. Brown and Honest Abe
put the Senate Republicans in fine
company.
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