VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, March 6, 2021
East Oregonian
A5
DEAN
RIDINGS
OTHER VIEWS
Who cares
about public
notices?
You should
O
ne of the great things about living in
the U.S. is that our city and county
governments are required to keep
their citizens informed about their actions.
One of the ways they do this is through public
notices — the informational notices that have
been deemed to be of importance to local
constituents. They are required by law to be
disseminated by an independent third party
to a broad audience within the community.
An example of a public notice is a request
to rezone a piece of property from residen-
tial to commercial. The ramifications of such
government action are obvious, and it’s in
the public’s interest to be able to monitor
and provide input into such activities. Public
notices are currently required to be published
in the newspaper.
There have been recent attempts in several
states to change the law so that public notices
are no longer required to be published in
newspapers. The motivation for eliminating
the newspaper publication requirement is
typically from one of two sources:
• Sometimes it comes from a legislator
who doesn’t agree with the editorial position
of the newspaper and may seek to remove
public notices as a way to get back at them.
• And sometimes, it is a sincere approach
to save the city or county money.
While saving money seems to make sense
at first blush, when you weigh the impact on
the community — losing transparency and
the ability to keep citizens informed — the
costs are minimal and worth the investment.
Public notices have been around since the
first Congress, and newspapers have been
the designated recipient of public notices
since the beginning, when radio, TV and the
internet didn’t exist. We now have dozens,
if not hundreds of media choices; there are
more forms of communication than ever
before. With such a multitude of choices it
begs the question of what’s the most effective
medium, and are newspapers still a viable
option? Broadcast TV, cable and radio often
have a representative audience. However, it
just isn’t cost effective to produce ads and
buy airtime for public notices, and those ads
don’t explain the complex issues as well.
Plus, it isn’t feasible to go back and watch a
public notice ad that ran in an earlier time
period.
What about a city or county just posting
the notices to their own website? This is the
most significant challenge that newspapers
often face in the public notice debate, but this
carries two significant problems:
• Government websites don’t provide
the same proactive notice as newspapers.
Most newspapers have at least 10 times the
audience that city and county websites have,
making newspapers and their websites far
more effective.
• Newspapers provide independent veri-
fication that the notice was provided. It is not
too far of a reach to imagine a city official
“burying a notice” on the city’s website or
limiting the length of time it is seen if the
notice was thought to be problematic. When
a notice is in the newspaper, the publisher
is required by law to verify that the notice
is printed according to the statutes. This
provides the community with the informa-
tion it needs. With a newspaper, it is easy to
document when the notice was published in
print and online, and exactly what it said.
While there are many websites that
have large audiences, most are specifically
targeted at a specific interest, and not for
a local (geographic) community. Public
notices, by their very nature, are local and
only have value to the audience who live in
the impacted area. The laws in most states
require that the public notices printed in
newspapers must also be posted to the news-
paper’s website, so the right audience is
reached in print and online. Plus, the most
interested observers of a community and its
government typically read the local news-
paper; there are typically few or no other
entities that provide news about the city and
county. It is rare to find a local website with
an audience more interested in the actions of
their government than that of the local news-
paper.
Newspapers charge a reasonable fee for
publishing public notices — usually signifi-
cantly less than the commercial rates charged
to other advertisers. This covers the newspa-
per’s expense and may even provide a small
profit. Considering the important role that
newspapers play in their community, this is a
worthwhile investment in an institution that
provides news and information that is rarely
available elsewhere.
Let your state legislators know that you
value being able to access notices in your
newspaper and that they are worth the invest-
ment. There is a cost to keeping citizens
informed, but the costs of not doing so are
much higher!
———
Dean Ridings is CEO of America’s News-
papers, an association committed to explain-
ing, defending and advancing the vital role of
newspapers in democracy and civil life.
Life is a team effort — embrace it
LINDSAY
MURDOCK
FROM SUNUP TO SUNDOWN
I
could feel it coming. The air began to
change and the clouds seemed to take
a shape of their own. My bones started
to ache. A storm had been lingering on the
horizon, and there was no longer a way to
avoid it.
It had been there all week. An occasional
gust of wind. Periodic downpours. And
even a cold front or two. I couldn’t stop it. I
couldn’t detour it. But oh, how I tried.
Maybe if I had closed the curtains.
Maybe if I had driven a little to the west and
then the north, or even the south — as fast
as I could. Maybe if I had chosen different
words. Maybe if I hadn’t hit send.
Maybe if …
Life is full of “maybe ifs, and honestly,
I’m sick of making excuses. Excuse like:
Maybe if I had gone to bed a little earlier.
Maybe if I had worked a little harder.
Maybe if I had spent my time a bit more
wisely.
Maybe if I stopped thinking, and started
doing.
Maybe, maybe, maybe.
The storm hit, and it hit hard.
A kink in my neck.
A sore throat.
A birthday party a couple hundred miles
away.
A pile of bank statements.
A mountain of school work.
A stack of bills.
A heap (or five) of laundry.
Dirty bathrooms.
Dirty dishes.
Dirty floors.
Dirt, dirt and more dirt.
The wind started blowing first, and as it
blew the piles seemed to scatter. Just when I
thought I had it figured out how to manage/
manipulate one pile at a time, the piles
multiplied. And with the wind came tears
as well. Tears of exhaustion. Sobs of over-
whelming frustration. Gasps for fresh air as
the dust and dirt swirled. Pride wiped away.
I sat in the chair in the corner of my
bedroom, swiveling it around to face my
closet door mirror. I saw so much emotion
in the reflection staring back at me. The
mom who had just told her two boys to get
out of her sight as she cleaned up every
little piece of trail mix they had spilled on
the floor. The wife who lost it at the kitchen
table when no one would say a word to her
request. The woman who had kneeled down
and scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed
— only to find more dirt. The daughter who
called and couldn’t muster up any words
between the sobs. The sister who whispered
that she was sorry she wasn’t there.
And then I saw it. From the corner of my
eye. The sign that reminds me to look at the
big picture. The framed photo that portrays
so much of my life, with one simple word
that has kept me here in the storm.
Commitment.
Here. Living this life that is often as far
from glamorous as it gets. Living this life
that has taught me, and allowed me, to see,
look for, and be the good — even in the bad.
The reflection that continues to prove so
much about who I’m becoming. A woman
of weakness, but at the same time, so much
strength. A woman filled with fear, but at the
same time, so much hope. A woman filled
with insecurities, but at the same time, so
much confidence.
I had made a mental map of what I
thought would happen, what I thought
should happen.
I had set some expectations of the people
I care most about without even realizing it.
I wanted to be like the point guard on
a basketball team, maneuvering my way
through each and every conversation, meal,
spill, battle, choice and discussion of the day,
with a slam dunk and a victory at the end.
Day well done. That’s what I wanted.
The funny thing is, every time I set
expectations of the who, what, when, where
and how in my world, I’m suddenly watch-
ing my day happen from the sidelines on a
hard, cold bench — alone. Everything I’d
been doing and learning at practice had been
forgotten. The coach’s voice was muffled
by the roaring crowd and my own self-talk.
Expectations do that to a person, over and
over again.
They muffle and hide and even distort
the Voice you’re supposed to be listen-
ing to. I expected some help. I expected
respect. I expected some thanks. I expected,
I expected, I expected. But when I tried to
manipulate, and control, and weigh in with
my opinion on every little thing, I suddenly
slipped from being the player with the best
shot, the best defense, the best ball control,
the best free-throw percentage — to a bench
warmer. All the things I had been doing to
prepare for the “game” were gone.
I had practiced and practiced and prac-
ticed. I had spent hours shooting free
throws.
I had read play books and spent time each
day talking to and listening to the coach.
And then the game began, and I forgot
everything. I forgot that I was part of a team.
I forgot that I actually had to maneuver my
way around live human beings with real
feelings and emotions instead of a cone. I
only saw myself.
Watching myself cry that day did some-
thing to me. The mirror seemed to magi-
cally show me truth. I saw my reflection,
and the pathetic quiver my chin makes
when I cry, but I also saw humbleness. I saw
brokenness, but I did not see failure. I saw a
member of a team who was trying to win the
game that day on her own, but I also became
a member of a team who knew it was time to
ask for a “timeout.”
To be a part of a team you have to prac-
tice commitment. Commitment to your
teammates, not just expectations for your
teammates. Commitment to your coach,
and not just at practice. Commitment to
your fans, and biggest supporters, not for
the glory, but for the opportunity to share
life and excitement, and even heart-stopping
plays.
Bring on March Madness.
Bring on the storms.
Bring the rain.
I’ve got a great raincoat and trusty muck
boots, the best team in the world, a coach
with an amazing winning streak, and the
most loyal and faithful fans. And that seems
to be more than enough.
———
Lindsay Murdock lives and teaches in
Echo.
Get a handle on inflammation before it handles you
JOHN
WINTERS
HEALTH CARE ESSENTIALS
hat inflames you? While inflam-
matory speech and inflammatory
thoughts can distress us psycho-
logically and are definitely factors which
affect our overall well-being, I have chosen
in this column to focus on body inflam-
mation, which causes chronic disease and
aging.
Health experts consider the cause of
inflammation a classic chicken-or-egg
question. While injury and illness can
cause inflammation, inflammation itself
can cause or worsen injury or illness. Either
way, it’s smart to treat inflammation if it
is present. If you have symptoms or test
results indicating the presence of inflam-
mation, or if you just happen to be getting
older, understanding inflammation is
important.
Inflammation is the body’s appropriate
healing response to injury, infection and
illness. If you sprain your ankle, cut your
finger or get an infection, inflammation is
created by the body to clean up the mess
and heal the tissues. This is effective short
term, but if extended for a longer period
of time than necessary, it can contribute to
tissue damage and chronic problems like
cancer, diabetes, arthritis, heart disease,
Alzheimer’s disease, depression, anxiety,
allergies and skin problems, as well as other
conditions.
When triggered, inflammation floods
W
the injured area with blood carrying
immune cells and healing factors. This is
what causes redness, heat, swelling and
pain. Doctors know your body consid-
ers endless details when choosing the best
response. For example, staph infections can
be serious, so the body usually walls off
these infections, creating a cyst. Products
of other infections and injuries are gener-
ally allowed to circulate throughout the
body. Your immune system homes in on
foreign chemicals, toxins and even particles
with the wrong electrical charge to find the
injury.
Once the source of injury is found,
immune cells poison or engulf and digest
the bad guys. Pretty ruthless, but don’t
worry, these murderous immune cells are
very discerning eaters. The health, experi-
ence and memory of the immune cells all
play a role. Experienced immune cells are
why adults don’t get all the sniffles kids do.
The liver, spleen and lymphatic system all
help with the cleanup, so they are important
to consider as they work with all of the other
systems of your body to regain health and
balance.
While the causes and effects of inflam-
mation are complex, the treatment can
be simple. Take every reasonable step to
decrease inflammation and to treat the root
cause of inflammation. Set up your life to be
more “anti-inflammatory” and less “pro-in-
flammatory.” New information tells us that
your actions make the difference; you do
have more control than previously thought!
An “anti- inflammatory” diet includes
nuts, produce, fatty fish, olive oil, avocado,
beans, whole grains, green tea, and even
coffee and dark chocolate. A “pro-in-
flammatory diet” includes excess meat,
dairy, sugar and processed foods. And,
an “anti-inflammatory” lifestyle includes
moderate fun physical activities, plenty of
rest, clean air, pure water and not too much
stress or alcohol or inflammatory thoughts,
political or otherwise.
If these steps to prevent or reduce
inflammation aren’t enough, you can treat
inflammation more directly. Conventional
treatments include steroids and NSAIDS,
which usually treat the symptoms effec-
tively, although they do not address the root
cause. This appears to work in the short
term, but other problems like heart disease
may later develop. Modern medicine often
treats the pain caused by inflammation
using powerful drugs without acknowledg-
ing or treating the root cause of the pain or
considering the side effects of certain medi-
cations. We Americans consume 80% of
the world’s opiate painkillers. Safer ways to
treat inflammation include ginger, turmeric,
fish oil and vitamin D. Blood tests for signs
of inflammation include hs-CRP, ESR,
homocysteine, procalcitonin and insulin.
Ask your doctor about these.
Inflammation can cause or worsen
any of the diseases listed above, and any
of these diseases can cause inflamma-
tion. Paying attention to the importance
of inflammation is always wise, so if your
symptoms or blood tests indicate some-
thing’s smoldering, get on it. You do have
the power to make a healthy difference for
your body, and your mind.
———
John Winters is a naturopathic physician,
who recently retired after operating a practice
in La Grande since 1992.