KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUeSDAY, MARCH 29, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Taking
a step
to curb
poaching
T
he news the Oregon Department of
Justice hired a special prosecutor to
crack down on poachers did not roll
across social media or the news wires with
a snap, but it is a move that most hunters
should, and do, applaud.
Jay Hall was hired last month to be the
new assistant attorney general dedicated to
enforcing anti-poaching laws and providing
expertise and resources to local law enforce-
ment for poaching investigations and pros-
ecutions. Previously, he prosecuted major
crimes for the Lane County District Attor-
ney’s Office and developed expertise in using
state racketeering laws against organized
poaching rings. In 2010 he received an award
from the Oregon State Police for prosecut-
ing a poaching ring that killed more than 300
deer and elk.
The new slot appears to have been created
in response to a surge in unsolved illegal kill-
ing of deer and elk.
Finding a way to stop poaching also was
a priority, in the past, for lawmakers as the
Oregon Legislature, which approved money
in 2019 for the Stop Poaching Campaign,
to increase anti-poaching efforts. The
campaign includes working with commu-
nities to find poachers, adding four Oregon
State Police troopers and a sergeant to
increase enforcement, and hiring an
anti-poaching prosecutor.
The move to hire a special prosecutor
to focus on anti-poaching initiatives is a
good idea. The more that can be done in this
regard, the better.
Poaching is a terrible crime that damages
one of the region’s great attributes. For most
law abiding and sensible hunters, poaching
is a crime that wouldn’t even enter into their
thinking. Those who cherish our region’s
attributes — including the ability to go out
each season and hunt game — know that
poaching hurts many while helping very few.
Our ability to hunt each year is one of
those sacrosanct features many of us enjoy
yearly and when someone poaches an animal
— whether its deer or elk — it impacts every
one of us who hand over cash to get a tag.
Legal hunting is one of those intangible
elements to our area that make it such a great
place to live, work and play. When someone
breaks the law and kills game out of season
illegally, the entire community suffers.
There is no doubt that poaching will be
a part of our Western landscape, regardless
of how senseless it is. However, a move like
the Department of Justice to create a position
that will put a spotlight on the crime is good
news. The more emphasis we can put on
stopping the crime of poaching, the better off
our unique way of life will be.
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
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Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
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or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Oregonians don’t want a party hack in governor’s office
LES
ZAITZ
OTHER VIEWS
F
or some Oregonians, the race for
governor isn’t about who can raise
the most money.
And these voters aren’t interested in
who can parrot party platforms without
flaw.
Instead, they seek a new governor
who is somewhat blind to party affilia-
tion.
Such a governor, they think, can unite
the state. That governor would energize
more Oregonians.
Beneath those feelings is a sense that
Oregon can do better.
In recent weeks, I gathered by Zoom
with voters from around the state. Our
partners were Rural Development Initia-
tives and the Agora Journalism Center.
I was eager for voters — they were
from all parts of the state — to share
two points. One was to share what they
wanted to learn about those running for
governor. The other was to learn how the
Oregon press can more effectively serve
up information about the candidates.
This wasn’t a scientific poll. I’m
not going to suggest the views of three
dozen people perfectly mirror Oregon
attitudes.
But the messages they delivered
are well worth considering. That’s
especially true for the 30 or so people
running to succeed Gov. Kate Brown.
She is in her final year and by law can’t
run again.
Let’s take what they want in the next
governor. An earlier column described
the hope for a governor who blurs the
urban-rural line in Oregon.
But equally important to the people I
talked with was the idea that party poli-
tics must be tamed.
These citizens are worn out by the
focus on party over performance. They
recognize the impact — in Oregon and
across the U.S. — of Republicans and
Democrats treating each other like the
enemy. For these voters, those party
affiliations seem to be more about who
has power, not who is doing best for
Oregon.
There’s no getting away from party
dominance, at least in the primary elec-
tion. Candidates with a “D” or an “R”
as part of their credentials campaign
through the spring to their political
tribes.
But the two main political parties are
watching a deep erosion in voter ranks.
That’s influenced in part by automatic
voter registration and the “non-affiliated
voter” who doesn’t pick a party.
But the declining party representa-
tion may reflect what these voters had to
say. They are hungry for a governor who
can lead all of Oregon. They don’t want
someone who comes into office waving
their party banner.
And these voters generally recog-
nized that the governor is not just a
political animal. They want a governor
who has some record of managing large
enterprises. They don’t want a green-
horn attempting to manage multibil-
lion-dollar budgets and a work force in
the thousands. Too much is at stake in
Oregon, they believe, to turn the keys
over to a management rookie.
Along that line, a couple of the voters
said it’d be helpful to know what kind
of team the next governor will take to
Salem. Governors set the tone for state
government in large measure by the
people named to direct state agencies,
from the massive Department of Human
Services to the Corrections Department
to the Oregon Health Authority. That’s
an interesting idea, for most gover-
nors wait until they are elected to start
naming names.
And one voter had another idea to
make the next governor more effec-
tive — remote office hours. This rural
resident thought the next governor could
learn a great deal by setting up shop and
working for two weeks at a stretch from
someplace other than Salem. Imagine
a governor working from Pendleton or
Klamath Falls or Astoria. That could
provide a useful and real world perspec-
tive that a factory tour just can’t provide.
No matter the details, the voters I
listened to are hoping the next gover-
nor will moderate the political tensions
in the state. They hope the next gover-
nor will be — and be perceived as — a
generalist interested in helping the entire
state.
No doubt, Kate Brown or John
Kitzhaber or Ted Kulongoski would
push back on some aspects. They did
travel the state. They didn’t remain crea-
tures of Portland. Yet they also know
better than most that how the governor
is perceived is as essential as how they
work.
These voters are giving candidates
valuable clues about how to weld a coali-
tion of Oregonians. They should heed
the message — and demonstrate they are
listening.
———
Les Zaitz is a veteran editor and inves-
tigative reporter, serving Oregon for more
than 45 years.
YOUR VIEWS
Be nice to the
person behind the
counter
I know we’ve all had
enough of COVID-19, lack
of supplies and rising prices.
But I am concerned about
what I hear from our check-
out people at every store I go
to, saying they can’t believe
how rude and angry people
are getting.
Some have even retired
early because they have had
enough — and you wonder
why there aren’t more aisles
open for checking out?
Granted, there are a lot of
people sitting at home and
letting us pay for their living,
but it is not the people who
serve us who have raised
prices, slowed the supply
chain or made us wait a little
longer to get our errands
done.
Let’s start being much
nicer to the person behind the
counter who is just trying to
make a living and doing their
job — let’s make their day
by being nice. Because if it
was you behind that counter
instead, how would you feel?
Judi Richter
Elgin
What’s that smell
At a recent Pendleton City
Council meeting, a local resi-
dent approached the mayor
questioning what he felt were
the city’s outrageous water
rates. Once again, the stan-
dard response given was that
a study indicated our rates
were comparable to other
cities surveyed. The actual
cost of water to the city
remains a guarded secret. To
be fair, when residents began
to complain about the incred-
ibly poor condition of our city
streets, it was Bob Patterson,
our public works director,
who stepped up to the plate
and suggested that additional
fees could be added to water
bills to cover street repairs
and vehicle replacement. So,
what’s that smell?
City officials responsible
for setting water rates don’t
seem to comprehend the
large disparity between their
salaries and those of the low
income workers fixing fast
food, making beds and clean-
ing those motel rooms that
the emphasis on tourism has
created or retirees on a fixed
income. Many residents have
been forced to stop water-
ing their lawns. Those brown
lawns, though considered
a fire hazard, don’t seem to
concern city management.
A new approach gaining
popularity is the elimina-
tion of hot baths and show-
ers. That smell? It’s 100% all
natural human body odor.
Not to worry, like the odor
of marijuana smoke drifting
through our city parks, or
that urine-soaked homeless
guy sleeping in the post office
or on your doorstep, you’ll
get used to it. There’s even a
rumor afloat that city hall’s
next urban renewal grant
program will include funding
for free deodorant and a bath
at the Vert Auditorium foun-
tain. A tip jar at the fountain
is expected to fund the much
needed repairs at that facil-
ity. An early morning show-
er-hour at the swimming pool,
sponsored by city parks and
recreation, may be an alter-
nate solution to consider.
Incidentally, if you’ve
noticed your water bill
now exceeds your heating
bill during the time period
when you’re not watering
your lawn, you’re not alone.
There’s hope. Patterson, after
pushing so hard for a formula
that would keep the rates at
the pace of inflation, is recom-
mending that the latest rate
increase be limited to about
half of what the city manager
would have expected,
explaining the city could eat
the inflationary increases. If
that’s now the case, have we
been overcharged?
Rick Rohde
Pendleton