ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
PHIL WRIGHT
News Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
The kicker
may get
kicked to
the curb
I
n almost the same breath that state
officials announced that an aver-
age Oregon taxpayer may get a $850
kicker tax rebate, they were hinting at
changing the kicker.
Oregonians are in for a record kicker
rebate because nobody could very well
predict the pandemic’s economic impact.
The kicker law requires very good
guesses about revenues by state govern-
ment or it kicks.
The kicker kicks “if actual state reve-
nues exceed forecasted revenues by 2%
or more over
Oregonians are
the two-year
in for a record
budget cycle.
kicker rebate
The excess,
because nobody
including
the 2% trig-
could very
ger amount,
well predict
is returned
the pandemic’s
to taxpay-
economic impact.
ers through
a credit on their following year’s tax
return.”
Oregon is the only state with this kind
of law. It is one way, not the most artful
way, of keeping a lid on government
spending. And voters approved it.
It gets criticized because people who
are wealthier tend to benefit more.
You get money kicked back to you
based on the taxes you paid. Lower-in-
come people may need a big kicker rebate
more, but they get less.
That is an interesting argument
because Oregon’s income tax system is
progressive. So people who earn more
pay more in taxes.
So if Oregon were to change the kicker
so lower-income people would benefit
more from the kicker, that would be a
doubly progressive tax system? That may
make sense to some.
There also have been proposals to
channel kicker money instead to import-
ant matters Oregonians need, such as
providing more child care or helping to
create more affordable housing.
Those are great causes. We’d rather
see the money go directly into people’s
hands and let them decide how it is spent,
instead of having the government decide
for them.
Treasure your kicker, if you are fortu-
nate enough to get one for the 2021 tax
year. It may be the last of its kind.
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 Oregonian.
LETTERS
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:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
Changing our expectations about wildland fire
BILL
ANEY
THIS LAND IS OUR LAND
hings are different now.
In mid-July this year, the
Umatilla National Forest had
four large wildfires burning at the
same time. Conditions were so dry,
and firefighters stretched so thin, that
for several weeks the entire national
forest was closed to any public entry, a
heretofore almost unheard-of restric-
tion on public lands in our area.
Now, as we approach September, a
fire management team is still trying to
corral two large fires in the northern
Blues, and there are 16 other large fires
burning in Oregon and Washington.
To date, more than 1.2 million acres
of land have burned in the two states,
ringing up almost $700 million in fire-
fighting costs.
If you are numb to these numbers,
and are resigned to summer days of
smoke-filled skies, then like me you
are becoming used to a new normal.
Certainly, climate change and
forest conditions have something to
do with creating this condition. It
really doesn’t matter what measure
you use; fire seasons are longer, hotter
and drier than they were 40 years ago
when I started working with wild-
fire. This appears to be true globally,
with steadily worsening conditions
T
in temperate zones from Europe to
Australia to North America.
In the U.S., our land and forest
management practices have contrib-
uted to the problem on private and
public lands. Since the tragic fires of
1910, when land managers began an
all-out war against fire, our forests
and shrublands have become more and
more choked with biomass. Fire sees
biomass as fuel, and large swaths of
land covered with dense, dry vegeta-
tion are an unending banquet for fire.
Coupled with a warming climate, the
result is more, larger and more intense
wildfires.
Thankfully, the response of fire-
fighting agencies isn’t simply to throw
more firefighters at the problem. This
would be a dangerous approach, and
no more appropriate than sending
battalions of foot soldiers to fight a
war against a modern well-equipped
adversary. Instead, fire managers work
at being smarter, changing tactics in
ways that often result in more acres
burning but with less risk to firefight-
ers.
More and more often they are using
what the landscape gives them to stop
fire spread. The old way was to send
bulldozers and fire crews to engage in
hand-to-hand combat with the blazing
menace; the new way is to bring the
fire to the firefighters in safer places
such as roads, open ridges and other
less vegetated areas. In essence, they
are fighting fire where the firefighters
are more likely to be successful (and
safer). But this approach does result in
more acres burned.
As it turns out, this is part of the
solution. Our wildlands actually need
more fire, not less. Good fires, those
burning with low to moderate inten-
sity, create healthier fire-adapted
forests. Late-season wildfires that are
burning far from homes, communities
and infrastructure can and should be
allowed to spread until weather extin-
guishes them.
Fires purposely set by land manag-
ers (prescribed fires) are another part
of the solution, but as a society we
have to be willing to make some sacri-
fices to make this work at any signif-
icant scale. We need to be tolerant
of smoke that is created by manage-
ment-ignited fires in the spring and
fall. We need to be willing to accept
the risk that comes with burning in the
drier portions of the spring and fall,
and we need to fund and staff the agen-
cies adequately to carry out burning at
a larger scale.
Until that happens, we will
continue to have expensive wild-
fires, and some will be damaging
and some will not. Large wildfires
that don’t cause irreparable harm to
things we care about should be seen
as a success, allowed to play their role
and helping reduce the future risk of
large, destructive fire.
———
Bill Aney is a forester and wildlife
biologist living in Pendleton and loving
the Blue Mountains.
divide. Tossing rocks at each other over
the mountain isn’t a viable long-term
strategy. Finding strong leaders is how
we move forward.
Rep. Owens has demonstrated to me
that he understands his mission is to
serve the people of Oregon, not his own
ego. I wish other politicians in Oregon
would follow his example.
Brian Fitzgerald
Happy Valley
comments, and choices, as very short-
sighted, especially for an elected public
servant.
Sheriff Bowen’s comments were
made in a letter to Gov. Kate Brown
after she and her administration issued a
mandate that requires masks for every-
one inside a public school in Oregon this
year. Gov. Brown made it clear her deci-
sion was based on science and date.
I agree with a letter in the Saturday,
Aug. 24, 2021, EO stating individual
“rights” do not give citizens the right
and freedom to infect other citizens.
Personally, I had my first vaccine shot
against COVID-19 before Christ-
mas 2020, and my second two weeks
later. However, I still wear a mask as a
precaution for the health and well-being
of others. As Sheriff Bowen stated, this
is my choice, and I do not feel that my
rights are being infringed upon.
John Donne’s wise words from
several centuries ago still hold true: “No
man is an island, unto itself.” And, of
course, the Nobel Prize-winning author
Ernest Hemingway borrowed these few
words to begin his world-renowned
novel, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
Bob Shippentower
Pendleton
YOUR VIEWS
Rep. Owens a leader
we should support
I lived in Burns for a brief time while
a military recruiter. The people were
kind; I miss them. Even though I’m no
longer in Eastern Oregon, I pay close
attention to the region. I am always
looking for an elected who can help
bridge the rural-urban divide.
I believe such a person is found in
Rep. Mark Owen, R-Crane. This past
year I had a political disagreement
with Rep. Owens. At the time I was a
Democrat. He certainly received some
slings and arrows from me. My points
were cogent; he should have folded.
No. He was professional, articulate
and strong in his defense of Eastern
Oregon. And all without yelling. He
instantly gained my respect and admi-
ration.
I am an independent on the lookout
for unifying politicians. Oregon has
been torn asunder by bitter partisan
wars. Instead of leading, our elected
leaders malinger and evade responsibil-
ity. Not Rep. Owens.
The Republican Party of Oregon
needs competent leadership. It must
learn how to bridge the rural/urban
We are not isolated, so
precaution is necessary
It is common knowledge that the
COVID-19 virus is highly contagious.
Thus, I find some of the comments
made by Union County Sheriff Cody
Bowen in a recent East Oregonian arti-
cle very concerning. “I believe that as
Americans, we have the (individual)
right to choose,” Bowen said.
So, I take his comment by what I
read in black and white, and I will not
theorize and philosophize on what he
could mean. Therefore, by choosing to
not wear a mask and not be vaccinated,
which go hand-in-hand here in East-
ern Oregon, and which greatly increase
the spread of the virus, I see such