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East Oregonian
Friday, July 12, 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
Clear need for new ambulance district
N
o one likes to pay more
taxes. Let’s face it, for most
of us, the prospect of another
government entity reaching into our
wallets or purses for more cash is an
unpleasant prospect.
Yet when it comes to providing
cash for emergency services — such
as firemen, police officers and ambu-
lance services — the reality is voters
often face little choice.
Voters in the Milton-Freewa-
ter area may be required to tackle
another difficult funding challenge
this fall if local officials can craft
a ballot measure in time to provide
more funding for the city’s emer-
gency medical services.
Late last month board members
of the Milton-Freewater Ambulance
Service Area Health District met
with county commissioners to chat
about the formation of a new ambu-
lance district because of a lack of
funds.
The new district would cover the
city and boost the permanent tax rate
from 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A pair of the district’s ambulances sits outside the Milton-Freewater Rural Fire District fire
station on Tuesday afternoon.
value to a yet undetermined new rate.
Before anything happens, though,
the ambulance board must secure the
OK from the city council for the idea.
The ambulance board’s treasurer,
George White, said recently in an
article in this newspaper that ambu-
lance service can’t survive without
more funds.
The issue revolving around the
city’s medical services is not an unfa-
miliar one for small cities scattered
across Eastern Oregon. In a real way
those who provide such services and
those who pay — taxpayers — face
a Faustian bargain in such matters.
On one hand, citizens in the small
towns across the region often already
feel as if they are paying too much in
taxes. On the other side of the coin is
the very real need for emergency ser-
vices. Obviously, it would be nice if
we never had to worry about police,
fire or ambulance services but the
reality is we have to have all three.
People get sick or are injured. Fires
erupt and criminals exist.
Rarely would we advocate more
taxes. However, emergency services
are critical to the health of any com-
munity. The truth is we have to have
police, firefighters and trained medi-
cal personnel to serve our great com-
munity and we have to pay for them.
Area officials need to quickly
develop a plan about how to pay for
the new ambulance service district in
Milton-Freewater and then quickly
— but efficiently — explain why it is
necessary for taxpayers. That doesn’t
mean hosting a single public meeting.
It means sponsoring several public
meetings to explain the need.
Taxpayers will pay for added ser-
vices — but only if the need is clear.
On this issue, we believe the need is
not only clear but crucial.
OTHER VIEWS
Oregon politics needs a reset
after high-drama session
The Oregonian
he final weeks of the 2019 legisla-
tive session made for some ugly poli-
tics. In between Senate Republicans’
walkout and Democrats’ hobbling of Ore-
gonians’ ballot-initiative power, partisan
conflict metastasized — both in and out
of Salem. Sine die, it seemed, marked the
opportunity for legislators and Oregonians
as a whole to break from the drama and hit
the reset button.
That reset, however, has yet to occur.
Frustrated by the death of a carbon cap-
and-trade bill, Gov. Kate Brown announced
last week that she may resort to executive
orders to carry out some of the ideas and
policies included in House Bill 2020. While
Brown is right to continue pressing for car-
bon-pricing legislation, she should abandon
any efforts to implement such controversial
policies by fiat. What Oregon needs most
is thoughtful leadership that rallies people
behind a common goal, not flexing of polit-
ical muscle.
There’s already been far too much
of that. Senate Republicans, mired in
minority status, staged a walkout twice this
session, fleeing the Capitol in order to deny
the Senate a quorum. The first time, they
disappeared to delay a vote on a new busi-
ness tax for education, returning only after
securing promises to kill two unrelated
bills. The second time, they stayed out even
longer, holding legislative operations hos-
tage to block passage of HB 2020, which,
they argued, would hit rural communities
and their industries especially hard.
Their message, however, was soon
drowned out after Sen. Brian Boquist,
R-Dallas, warned that any Oregon State
Police troopers sent to bring him back to
Salem better be bachelors and “come heav-
ily armed.” But such muscle flexing ulti-
mately won’t help Republicans, despite
the bill’s demise. Boquist now faces a for-
mal complaint in the Senate, as he should
— there’s simply no conceivable defense
for making such threats. And Republicans
have handed Democrats a potent weapon in
future elections. Why should voters choose
Republicans when they admit — twice in
one session — that their only tool to effect
change is a constitutional gimmick? While
legislators must stand up for the interests of
their constituencies, they also must let vot-
ers be the ones to hold lawmakers and their
work accountable.
It should be noted that HB 2020 was
not doomed by the Republicans’ no-show,
but by three Democratic senators who
T
YOUR VIEWS
Walden should get more
credit for his work
“Walden town hall turns testy” is what I
found when I was looking to see how Con-
gressman Walden’s town hall on June 30
went. As someone who’s known Greg Walden
for a number of years and is a business owner
in Hermiston, I know how much Greg cares
for his district and how much support he has
in the area.
I was disappointed to read that the only
piece that was remotely fair to who Greg
Walden is was one small section at the end.
The news article briefly touched the import-
ant work that I know Congressman Walden is
doing to help alleviate the burden of robocalls
on our society, which deserves much more
than just a line — especially when he is lead-
ing the charge. Greg is someone I know who
tries to reach across the aisle whenever possi-
ble, and it is a shame that this wasn’t reflected.
Eva J. Swain
Hermiston
Unpatriotic Americans
shouldn’t be lauded
If printed, this letter will be after the 4th
of July. This is our most patriotic celebration
where we express our appreciation and grat-
itude for those who fought and died to create
this wonderful country.
Homegrown Nike almost got it right. They
produced a new sneaker featuring the Betsy
Ross American flag on the heel. This flag
had 13 six-pointed stars in a circle and was
the very first American flag. This might have
been a good way for Nike to apologize for
supporting failed quarterback Colin Kaeper-
nick in their recent “Just Do It” campaign. As
the first to take a knee during the National
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.
Anthem, this unpatriotic has-been has some-
how become a big hero to a segment of our
society. He must have tremendous clout, as he
told Phil Knight (Oregon’s richest person) to
stop production of this shoe because it “car-
ried offensive slavery connotations.” What a
ridiculous accusation, but sure enough, Phil
buckled to this pressure and stopped produc-
tion even though some of these sneakers had
already been delivered to retail outlets. Now
that is real power.
How ironic this unpatriotic failure as a pro
quarterback has been made rich and famous
posing as this poor mistreated guy who has
sacrificed so much to further his phony cause.
I expect him to be chosen as a vice presiden-
tial running mate for at least one of the dem-
ocratic contenders (since Alexandria Oca-
sio-Cortez is too young).
Another sad situation involves soccer star
Megan Rapinoe. She is proudly and defiantly
gay and has happily announced she would
never visit the White House if the team won.
Her exact words were pretty profane, so I
can’t repeat them here. She offers no apolo-
gies and freely admits her hatred for our pres-
ident. I see she has gladly accepted an invi-
tation from AOC, however. Maybe they will
discuss the Gangreen New Deal?
Being gay is her personal choice, but she
is not playing for herself — she is playing
for the country and the Americans who sup-
port this team. She should show some respect
for the National Anthem, the country and for
the office of president. It should be an honor
to visit the White House, no matter who is in
office. I would rather lose without her than
be so ashamed and embarrassed winning
with her. The sad truth is if you are a sports
superstar in the USA, you get a pass for bad
behavior.
David Burns
Pendleton
ultimately decided that the legislation
posed more pain than promise for their
constituents.
That should resonate with Brown
because Oregonians’ support or opposi-
tion doesn’t depend so much on whether
they believe climate change is real. Rather,
it’s how they weigh the difficult set of facts
underlying any action to price carbon in
Oregon.
Climate change is already having dev-
astating effects on lives and livelihoods
around the world, from intensifying wild-
fires to deadly heat waves and starv-
ing wildlife populations. Scientists have
sounded the alarm that we are running out
of time to stem the worst effects of climate
change.
But Brown and leaders still need to
acknowledge the tensions that make acting
on that moral obligation harder to do.
Carbon pricing legislation is necessar-
ily about inflicting economic pain on those
engaging in acts of pollution in order to
change behavior, whether it’s people driv-
ing gasoline-powered cars or farmers rais-
ing methane-belching cows. That uncom-
fortable reality becomes even trickier if
options for changing behavior don’t exist or
are exorbitantly expensive.
At the same time, Oregonians’ share of
emissions is so tiny that even drastic reduc-
tions in Oregon would have nearly zero
impact on national emissions, much less
global. How should policymakers weigh
the obligation to act for the common good
versus the hit of a gas price increase of up
to 72 cents a gallon in year one? And while
cap-and-trade legislation could fund break-
through research that yields global ben-
efits far beyond any reduction in Oregon
emissions — perhaps the single best argu-
ment for enacting cap and trade — what’s
the right level of investment versus devot-
ing dollars to mitigate the harm felt by
individuals?
As obvious a problem as climate change
is, convincing people what to do, how
much to do or even whether Oregon should
do anything at all is far more complex. To
Brown’s credit, she said she will first push
for a legislative solution before resorting
to executive action. She is also directing
her carbon policy office to work with rural
manufacturers and transportation entities
to figure out how they can meet emissions
goals.
But this past session showed that even
with a supermajority of Democrats, carbon
pricing isn’t a slam dunk. Brown should
not treat it as if it should be.
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 services and products or letters that infringe on the rights
of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime
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Send letters to the editor to
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211 S.E. Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801