ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATurdAy, NOvEmbEr 20, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Wishing
the 116th a
safe return
I
t is never an easy task to say goodbye
to some of the region’s best, but we
want to wish the members of Herm-
iston’s Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion,
116th Cavalry (Armor) the best as they
depart on an overseas deployment.
The recent ceremony for the 75
members of the Oregon Army National
Guard outfit at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center sent the citizen-sol-
diers off in style as they will travel to Fort
Bliss, Texas, to complete training for the
deployment to somewhere in southwest
Asia.
The deployment is certainly an import-
ant milestone for the regional Guard unit,
but the 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry is no
stranger to overseas duty.
Twice during the war on terror, the 3rd
Battalion deployed to Iraq. The battalion
also can trace its lineage — or history
— to units from the 41st Infantry Divi-
sion that deployed to the Pacific Theater
during World War II.
The key point to the deployment is a
simple one and as old as the nation. When
citizen-soldiers are deployed to foreign
shores, they represent their towns and
regions in a very real way. When Guard
soldiers are sent overseas, their actions
are linked directly to Main Street.
They are not regular Army personnel
who come from all over the nation but
natives of a specific region with strong
ties to their communities. In a sense,
when they deploy, so does a piece of
Hermiston or Pendleton or La Grande or
Baker City.
That is the unique aspect of the Oregon
Army National Guard. They are men and
women plucked from the rural heartland
and will complete their mission and then
return to civilian life and a part-time gig
with the National Guard.
For the first time in a long time the
nation is not at war, but the deployment of
the 75 citizen-soldiers is no less mean-
ingful or, to some extent, dangerous.
The world is a complicated, messy place,
and while we wish the very best to our
Guardsmen, we hope the community
understands their commitment and cour-
age.
We wish the citizen-soldiers of the
116th Cavalry Godspeed and a safe
return.
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.
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YOUR VIEWS
Let’s face climate
change together
I’m not a Democrat or a Republican.
I’m a Christian.
I believe in the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. But I don’t believe in climate
change. Come to think of it, I don’t
believe in gravity either.
Why? Because gravity and climate
change are just facts of physics —
observable, measurable and predictable
— not to be believed so much as under-
stood and respected.
Gravity and climate change are also
very consequential. For instance, if I
choose not to get out of bed for several
weeks, my muscles will eventually
shrink until I can no longer stand on
my own two feet. So, gravity, if I fail
to resist it long enough, will take away
my independence. Climate change, if
we fail to resist it long enough, will take
away our civilization.
Will we resist, or will we retreat?
While my faith doesn’t have much
to say about physics, it has a lot to say
about right and wrong. Unlike grav-
ity, climate change has serious moral
implications. We caused it (not natural
cycles); we have known that for over
30 years; and yet we are still making
climate change worse. Every year the
risk increases for you, me, the place we
call home and the people we love.
That is why I went to Glasgow, Scot-
land, earlier this month to attend the
United Nations Climate Change Confer-
ence. I was there to watch and pray as a
member of the international Christian
Climate Observers Program. I was also
there to help launch a movement called
#ClimateVigil.
While world leaders gave speeches
and delegates attended to tedious
negotiations, Christians gathered at a
historic church in Glasgow to pray, sing
and light candles. Many more joined us
around the world in their churches and
homes. It was a global candlelight vigil
to show our solidarity in the face of the
climate crisis — and our commitment to
respond with faith, hope and love.
You can still experience the global
vigil at ClimateVigil.org. You will hear
new music from The Porter’s Gate
Worship Project. You will also hear
inspiring messages from Christian lead-
ers, including Katharine Hayhoe, Ruth
Valerio and Thomas Schirrmacher.
Still not sure about climate change?
You can check the facts for yourself at
climatevigil.org/learn. But don’t stop
there. Consider the facts in light of your
most deeply held values. You might
even pray about it. That’s what I did,
and it changed my life. I realized I could
no longer look away or sit on the side-
lines. I had to make a decision — for the
love of God, my neighbor and my kids.
Love is what moves us. Do we have
enough love to get out of bed, stand up
and resist climate change? Or will we
pull up the covers and watch the dark-
ness overtake our family and friends?
Either way, climate change will be one
of the hardest things we ever face. So I
say we face it together.
Will you light a candle with us?
Peter Fargo
Baker City
Wyden is mucking around
in our forests again
Sen. Ron Wyden is mucking around
in our forests again.
I attended a meeting in Wallowa about
10 years ago. There was fewer than 10
people there and Wyden was one of those
attending. I’d gone that day to report on
federal funding for the Wallowa-Union
Railroad Authority.
Minutes into the meeting a local busi-
ness owner thanked Wyden for securing
$12 million for federal purchase of a large
piece of agricultural land in the Imnaha
River canyon lands. Upon hearing this,
my focus changed completely as I recog-
nized the big story being the federal
government purchasing thousands of
acres of private, agricultural land.
The parcel had been acquired by a
private entity during the era of the failed
Blue Mountain Land Transfer around
2006. During the same time, the land
purchaser had actually been working
with Rep. Greg Walden on legislation
that would have forced certain private-to-
public land transfers. When that conflict
of interest became public, Walden
backed away from the legislation and
BMLT died on the vine. This left the land
purchaser in a pickle with thousands of
acres of land and a large loan from a local
institution.
Next, that piece of Imnaha property
becomes the highest priority, top of the
list, for federal land acquisition; in steps
the Nature Conservancy, United States
Forest Service and Wyden.
After about five years, the Nature
Conservancy purchased the property
from private land purchaser and holds
the property while Wyden works to
get federal funding, from the Land and
Water Conservation Fund, so the Forest
Service can purchase the property, circa
2009-12.
When I learned all this, problems
began to surface. First, I learned that the
private owner, Nature Conservancy, and
Forest Service all used the same land
appraiser. Next, a well-respected, local
ag-land appraiser claimed they’d violated
laws, including the “larger parcel rule”
after the private purchaser submitted
a verbal plan to construct a 11-parcel
housing subdivision. I was informed
this inflated the land’s value by about 3.5
times.
Now we see Wyden mucking around
in our forests again and I wonder to
whose benefit.
Brian Addison
Baker City
Infrastructure bill will ‘do
a lot of things for all of us’
It is exciting that the new infrastruc-
ture bill will do a lot of things for all
of us. It is especially gratifying that
we will begin to have access to more
electric automobiles and less expen-
sive transportation. Three years ago,
my husband and I decided we needed a
second car. We wanted one that would
fit into the space we had in our garage,
so we carefully measured the garage.
Then we began to search for a car that
the space would accommodate. We
measured a lot of cars and finally found
the one. It was available as either a
gasoline or an electric version and we
decided on the electric version.
So, we got our used 2015 electric
smart car for less than $10,000 and
I have seldom driven anything else
since. The certification was a little
more expensive because we would not
be paying gasoline tax and the state
required a contribution toward highway
maintenance. The car we purchased
came with a 110 hookup so we could
plug it in anywhere; but we put a 220 in
our garage to be able to charge it faster.
When it became time to recertify the
car, I checked with the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation and learned I
could pay a lesser fee by signing up with
a special program for electric cars. Now
I pay 3 cents a mile for transportation in
my electric car. Quite a savings, right?
Lately, while checking the electric
vehicles on the market, it appears that
prices are going down and now they
are not far above the prices of gasoline
driven cars. That is, unless you feel
you need something super big or fancy.
The new infrastructure law will install
thousands of charging stations along
highways and throughout the country.
Already, I am told that there are at least
six public charging stations in Wallowa
County.
Good things happen! The sooner
more of us are using electric vehicles,
the cleaner the air, the healthier life for
everyone.
Evelyn Swart
Joseph