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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2019)
A4 East Oregonian Friday, September 13, 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 Hats off to those who make Round-Up go I t is hard not to get caught up in the spirit of the Pendleton Round-Up. This week our town celebrates not only a great event but one of the most iconic rodeos in our Western heritage. There are so many events, so many different venues to experience during this weeklong festival that it is hard to pin down which one to enjoy first. While the rodeo is the center- piece of the entire experience, the fact is the Round-Up is one of those once-in-a-lifetime events that attracts interest from all walks of life. That is good news overall and especially good news for Pendleton. The influx of people to our town this time of year not only represents the majesty of our Western way of life but it also injects much-needed eco- nomic development dollars into the local economy. The town and all of those who journey from far away to experience this great event owe a great debt of gratitude to those who work and vol- unteer to make the experience a good one. People like Round-Up President Staff photo by Kathy Aney A saddle bronc rider competes during Wednesday’s Pendleton Round-Up. Dave O’Neill spearhead an event that is a mammoth undertaking. Every year, these folks put in countless hours of their own time to make sure the event will go off without a hitch. That kind of dedication is really what makes this event stand on its own and why it is, year in and year YOUR VIEWS Homeless people should be treated humanely In response to “Homeless a drain on soci- ety,” Humphrey is correct. The homeless sit- uation needs to be addressed or we will suf- fer like Portland with trash, used needles and unwashed people on our streets. I don’t believe that he would agree with lining them up and shooting them, a solution that would indeed rid us of the problem but would leave us with blood on our hands. However, he seems to be in favor of jailing or driving them from our town using the law. After all, we don’t need a bunch of people around look- ing for free stuff. This way they can be con- tained in a cell away from our sight or they can go outside of the city limits to die where we won’t see them. Perhaps instituting the Sundown Laws that Pendleton had at one time would help. His plan of getting them off drugs and getting mental health is quite humane. The problem with Humphrey’s rant is that we are dealing with human beings. Humans don’t fit into nice little manageable cubby- holes. Some have jobs but don’t earn enough to keep a home, and others have tapped out with medical expenses they cannot meet, while still others had a bit of bad luck. Not all of them are druggies. Not all of them are thieves and some who are thieves are just trying to survive. All of the homeless are humans and deserve to be treated with humane respect. With the inequality in our society where four people own more than the bottom 50%, wages kept low over the last several decades and prices rising, the tanking of our economy, which will affect 90% of us, and the worsen- ing ecological disaster we are facing, we can expect the numbers of the homeless to rise. Passing and enforcing laws that negatively affect the homeless will not address the prob- lem. What would be smart is to accept that we have a growing problem and plan for it. The first part of the plan, and this goes for the rest of the country as well, is to grow up, stop playing cowboy and face our prob- lems head-on instead of allowing them to be covered up. It will be necessary to cease name-calling and look at our fellows as humans and not libtards, rethugs or racist names. The second part would involve look- ing at where all the money is, who runsthings and what are wages in comparison to prices. The third step would be to identify unused resources that could be repurposed. An important part of the plan is to ask the home- less what they think. We could extend this to those who are just hanging on. After all the 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. information is collected, we can then have a public discussion on how we can deal with the problem. If we confront the problem in a rational manner, conflicts could be reduced and we could make Pendleton a model others could follow. Ira White Pendleton Walmart decision to discontinue ammo sales a step in the right direction The East Oregonian recently ran a front- page article on Walmart’s recent decision to discontinue selling ammunition that can be used in assault-type weapons, and I believe that is a commendable step in the right direc- tion. Yes, Walmart will undoubtedly feel a financial drop in profits, but it is clear they are putting principle before profit, and that should be recognized and respected. Although I am a long-time Democrat, I strongly agree with Sen. Bill Hansell’s (R-Athena) position that Walmart is a private business and they have the right to make busi- ness decisions that they believe are right for themselves and their customers. Right after the El Paso, Texas, and Day- ton, Ohio, mass shootings, The Donald made a few comments about tightening background checks. However, all it took was a mere phone call from Wayne La Pierre, NRA executive director, and The Donald folded like a poker player with a weak hand. Unlike Walmart, The Donald puts money (in the form of cam- paign contributions) ahead of principle. But this does not surprise me. I have said in this forum before that The Donald never did have any principles or values. In a related situation, The Donald is cur- rently being investigated by Congress for unethically profiting from his properties while in public office. There are other nationwide retailers who have also discontinued selling certain types of ammunition, but the EO only wrote about Walmart; thus, I will limit my statements to Walmart, except to say the actions of these other retailers are also commendable. I do not think anyone really believes that Walmart’s action on the situation will stop gun violence altogether, but like I said earlier, it is a good step in the right direction and it is clear that Walmart’s actions are the right thing to do. Bob Shippentower Pendleton out, successful. The people who work to make the Round-Up a go-to event every Sep- tember won’t stand in line to gather accolades. Instead, they work under the radar, their task for the most part unsung and unknown. That is why it is important that we pause now, as the Round-Up rolls into the weekend, to point out how crucial these people are, not only to the event itself but to the community has a whole. Our region, our county and the towns that exist within its boundar- ies face difficult challenges nearly every week. Often the negative is a focus, but the men and women who toil to make the Round-Up success- ful symbolize all that is good and right about our nation. The Round-Up has a deserved worldwide reputation. It is known as a great place to go and have fun. Its success, though, is all about those who are behind the scenes who work hard to give our community and those who come to visit the best experience possible. Our hats are off to all of those who work to make the Round-Up happen. OTHER VIEWS Recall efforts vow to unite against Brown Corvallis Gazette-Times T here is news, more or less, to report about the various recall campaigns currently being waged against Oregon state Democrats. For starters, those of you who have been concerned that the existence of two separate efforts to recall Gov. Kate Brown might suck the life out of both have no need to worry: A joint statement last week from the two campaigns urged people to support both recall campaigns and attempted to downplay earlier media reports of friction between the two. Said Michael Cross, the chief peti- tioner for the “Flush Down Kate Brown” recall campaign: “We want to make it as easy as possible for voters to support both recall efforts, so I am urging our great grassroots volunteers to carry and offer both recall petitions.” Said Bill Currier, the Adair Village man who is the chairman of the Ore- gon Republican Party: “Voters will have the final say at the ballot box on Kate Brown’s future and that of so many of the state’s abused and ignored citizens.” So the advice from both of these cam- paigns is that voters angry with Brown’s actions as governor should sign both petitions. But they should be careful not to sign the same petition twice — that would invalidate both signatures when it comes time for the Secretary of State’s Office to verify the two recall petitions. Both efforts need to collect more than 280,000 valid signatures by Oct. 14 to force a recall election against Brown, and that’s a big hurdle for both of them. But it’s not completely out of the ques- tion: The dramatic end of this year’s legislative session, during which rural Oregon communities helped galvanize opposition to a controversial cap-and- trade carbon proposal (and a walkout by 11 GOP state senators brought the Sen- ate to a standstill), may have helped to spark the GOP faithful. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that state officials noted a surge in July in the number of voters registering as Republican. Here’s the deal, though: Republicans still face a substantial (and slowly grow- ing) gap in terms of the overall num- ber of registered voters in Oregon. As of August, Democrats held an advantage of nearly 267,000 registered voters over Republicans. That’s a little bit more than in August 2018, when the gap was about 258,000 voters. (The numbers for last month showed 969,455 registered Dem- ocrats in Oregon and 702,757 registered Republicans. It won’t be long until the number of nonaffiliated voters surpasses the Democrats; as of August, 932,614 voters were not affiliated with any polit- ical party.) So the math suggests that, even if one (or both) of the recall campaigns man- ages to get onto the ballot later this year, the odds against an election booting the governor from office are long indeed. As former GOP legislator Julie Parrish noted, “Multnomah County still gets to vote. I think it’s a big hurdle.” And if Brown were to be recalled, the next governor likely would not be GOP Secretary of State Bev Clarno — she believes that, as an appointee, the state constitution bars her from taking over for Brown. If that’s the case, then Trea- surer Tobias Read, a Democrat, would be the next governor. It’s possible, though, that winning a recall election is not the point of the campaigns. It could be that the efforts seek instead to rally the party after a dispiriting performance in the 2018 elec- tions and to generate enthusiasm for the 2020 campaigns. To that end, though, Republicans might be better off working now to recruit strong candidates for the Legisla- ture and other state offices. If the recall efforts turn out to be distractions from that work, it’s hard to see how the state GOP will be strengthened in the long run. In the meantime, expect more recall efforts: Oregon’s new Timber Unity group has filed to recall state Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell, a freshman Democratic legislator from Astoria. 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 phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to the editor to editor@eastoregonian.com, or via mail to Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
