KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
THurSDAY, MAY 20, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Oregon
makes push
for secrecy in
government
S
haring someone’s personal information
with intent to harm them could soon get
a person sued in Oregon. A bill in the
Oregon Legislature would permit a lawsuit for
what’s commonly called doxxing.
The bill may help fill a gap in Oregon law.
What’s worrying is a proposed amendment
that would create more secrecy in Oregon
government.
House Bill 3047 has more detail than we
will summarize here. It ticks off a long list of
things it defines as “personal information,”
including address, email address, phone
number, photographs of children, identifica-
tion of children’s school and more. It says if a
defendant with the intent to harass, injure or
stalk knowingly discloses such information
and knew the person didn’t want the informa-
tion disclosed and a plaintiff was harassed,
injured or stalked, a plaintiff can seek
damages. You can read the bill yourself on the
Legislature’s website.
One important thing to note: The bill does
not specify that the personal information
disclosed is or is not already publicly avail-
able. So it may not matter if anyone could find
the information if they went looking. What
can matter is the intent of the disclosure and
if the person was harassed, injured or stalked
and if a reasonable person would have been,
as well.
Let’s look at the amendment. Members of
the public and journalists can get into battles
with government agencies over public records.
The proposed amendment aims to expand the
list of things exempted from disclosure.
The Oregonian reported the “amendment
was introduced on behalf of the League of
Oregon Cities.” Scott Winkels, the organiza-
tion’s lobbyist told that newspaper: “We were
just trying to align the language to what a lot
of people in the state had always felt like it
meant.”
Part of the amendment may do that. It also
would throw a shadow over much government
activity.
Just one thing the amendment does is
exempt from disclosure communications
within a public body or between public bodies
if “they cover other than purely factual mate-
rials and are preliminary to any final agency
determination of policy or action.” The
communications may still be released, but
a member of the public might have to go to
court to get them.
It’s easier to understand with an exam-
ple. An Oregon Secretary of State audit had
found in January 2018 that Oregon’s Depart-
ment of Human Services has been slow,
indecisive and inadequate in fixing recurring
problems with foster care. In April 2018, the
Bend Bulletin asked DHS what it was doing to
make progress. When the Bulletin didn’t get
a response, it made a public records request
for DHS emails connected to the request. It
turned out DHS had written up a memo to
answer the Bulletin’s questions. The Bulletin
only received the request because it made the
public records request. Other emails the Bulle-
tin received showed that the agency was more
concerned with how the information might
be seen than informing the public what it
was doing. They wanted to hold off releasing
anything and roll it into a media campaign.
That’s an example of how your state
government works. Its priority can be
controlling information, not informing the
public. And under the amendment like the
one to House Bill 3047, we may never have
received those emails.
The amendment doesn’t simply line up
state law with what people think state law
says. It’s also a move to suppress the people’s
ability to understand how their government
behaves behind the scenes.
The overlooked dangers of cold water
MARC
AUSTIN
EYE TO THE SKY
T
he chilly days of winter are
waning and the increasing
daylight hours surely mean
summer is just around the corner. As
temperatures start to climb, people head
outside to take advantage of the ideal
climate and many outdoor adventures
that the Inland Northwest is known for.
Many of these activities are situated
on or near the numerous pristine rivers,
lakes and streams of the region, making
cold water an underrated threat to those
feeling those warm afternoon tempera-
tures.
Even on the warmest spring and early
summer days when air temperatures rise
into the 70s and 80s, water temperatures
can stay in the 30s and 40s, meaning the
threat of cold water shock and hypother-
mia is real. Much of the summer water
supply for these water bodies stems
from high elevation snowmelt.
With a melting point of 32 degrees,
it’s no wonder area creeks, streams,
rivers and lakes stay rather cold well
into the warm season. It also takes water
way longer to heat up than it does air, so
many bodies of water stay cold through
the summer months.
With an increasing number of people
recreating around water, the risk of
cold shock and hypothermia drasti-
cally increases during the summer.
Many believe it takes extremely cold
water for hypothermia to set in, but in
reality, water temperatures need only
be in the 50s or 60s. Temperatures are
commonly lower than this for many
mountain-borne lakes and rivers where
snowmelt is the main source of water.
Cold shock occurs when people are
suddenly immersed in cold water. It can
result in increased heart rate and blood
pressure, a feeling of panic as cognitive
abilities diminish, and rapid uncontrol-
lable breathing, which may result in
drowning if water is inhaled. Hypother-
mia sets in within minutes of cold water
exposure as body heat is rapidly lost.
Water can draw heat from the body
four times faster than air of the same
temperature. Once your core body
temperature falls to 95 degrees or lower,
it becomes increasingly difficult to think
clearly and use your arms and legs to
swim to safety.
Cold shock and hypothermia can be
avoided using some rather simple tips.
First, if you plan on being on or near
the water, make sure you have a life
jacket or personal floatation device. This
drastically reduces the potential for acci-
dental drowning and death, as you can
quickly swim to safety if you happen to
fall in. If you know you will be ventur-
ing into cold water, consider a wet or
dry suit to minimize heat loss from your
body.
Limit your time in the water to main-
tain body temperature, and never swim
alone so that there is someone who can
reach you if you do begin to experi-
ence symptoms of cold water shock.
It’s also best to steer clear of waters
you are unfamiliar with, as there may
be currents and deeper areas you are
unaware of.
Cold water is serious. Treating it with
respect and a few simple safety rules
will ensure you and your family have a
safe and enjoyable summer as you hit
the water.
———
Marc Austin is the warning coordi-
nation meteorologist for the National
Weather Service, stationed in Pendleton.
a logging company in the 1940s and
1950s. Don’t get me wrong, I do appre-
ciate those with the mindset to fight
wildfires.
If you notice, you don’t see the old
mascot Smokey Bear with the slogan
“Put fires out cold” anymore. Last
fall, we went literally for 9-1/2 hours
through the mountains here, just to see
for ourselves the incompetent manage-
ment.
There were places where there had
been huge fires that had taken all the
trees, which now cover the hillsides
with new growth that were so thick.
It looked as thick as hair on a dog’s
back. There was mile after mile with
no place to even begin to see through
the growth. There had not been any
clearing of the floor for as far as the eye
could see. There would be no stopping a
wicked new fire with the amount of fuel
on the forest floor. And you can’t see it
unless you walk in a ways. It is almost
impenetrable.
It is so sad when all the overgrowth
hampers the animals and humans alike
from freely walking about. Could it be
that turning a blind eye is job security?
This scenario is sad and preventable
with years of mismanagement of our
forests.
Barbara Morehead
Pilot Rock
YOUR VIEWS
Mismanagement of forests
will lead to disaster
After reading the recent East Orego-
nian article about wildfires making
an early entrance in our region, I felt
compelled to share my opinion.
The statement about local fire offi-
cials being already concerned about the
fire conditions prompted my response
to share another perspective. They
might consider the old saying, “An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure.” The millions of dollars that our
Forest Service leaders are paid to help
prevent and fight forest fires seems at
times to be a “gravy train,” and politi-
cally motivated.
It seems the laws that are made as
to what and how fires can be fought on
public property are like tying one hand
behind the firefighters, because they
just might break a rule putting the fire
out too soon.
There seems to be a lack of trans-
parency with the “straight-up truth.”
It makes me recall what my Dad used
to say, “You have one man shoveling
and three leaning on theirs.” He had
Kindness to a stranger is a
blessing
On May 12, while at the Hermiston
Bottle Drop, I had the misfortune of
tripping over a parking curb and falling
onto the very rough blacktop, suffer-
ing a multitude of lacerations — some
requiring several stitches and all bleed-
ing profusely. Let me state here that I
am almost 92 years old, so you can see
that this put me in a serious situation.
A young lady came to my aid and
helped me up and into a sitting position,
then administered first aid and stayed
with me until I was able to navigate
again. To say thank you does not seem
near enough for your thoughtfulness.
It also reminded me that there are still
good people in this world.
Roy Drago
Irrigon
EDITORIALS
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
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LETTERS
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SEND LETTERS TO:
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211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801