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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 2015)
A4 Opinion wallowa.com January 14, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain Divide Camp, Wallowa FRXOGEHQH¿W HDFKRWKHU F inally, something good may now be developing EDITORIAL for both the City of The voice of the Chieftain Wallowa and U.S. war veterans. In case you haven’t already heard, Wallowa’s alternately much-wanted and little-wanted, one-acre-plus compound that was originally a home to U.S. Forest Service operations could be seeing a new long-term tenancy. Rural Joseph QRQSUR¿W'LYLGH&DPS±ZKLFKSURYLGHVDEHDXWLIXOVHWWLQJ where individuals enjoy peace after their military service that LQFOXGHGZDU±SURSRVHVWRHVWDEOLVKDQRQJRLQJSUHVHQFH also within Wallowa. If this new relationship takes hold, it’s one that compassionate and patriotic townsfolk are apt to feel somewhat proud of. Credit for that community victory, if it comes, probably should in large measure go to one city councilor who politely declined for a brief spell to run with her herd. Back in November, Lisa Mahon expressed her reservations with a Wallowa City Council consensus directive charting the city’s next step at that point in its lease QHJRWLDWLRQVZLWK'LYLGH&DPS:HHNVHDUOLHUWKHQRQSUR¿W had seemingly arrived out of nowhere with a proposal to lease the former USFS compound, about half a year after the site’s presumptive occupant, the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center, had suddenly abandoned a long and carefully nurtured plan to establish headquarters there. For MHIC and the city, laying the foundation for MHIC’s eventual tenancy had entailed nothing less than gaining an act of the U.S. Congress, complete with a presidential signature. The accomplishment was unavoidably punctuated by fanfare that involved members of Oregon’s congressional delegation and other federal types. Sometime after all the hoopla died down, the city and Maxville Heritage discovered that they held divergent views DVWRZKDWVSHFL¿FDOO\VKRXOGEHLQFOXGHGLQDQDFWXDOOHDVH however. Over time, MHIC apparently determined those differences to be unbridgeable, so MHIC walked away. What should Wallowa now do with its ex-federal property? Nobody seemed to have a clue. The city asked about returning it to the Forest Service, but the feds quickly rebuffed that inquiry. 'LYLGH&DPS¶VXQH[SHFWHGLQWHUHVWWKHQFRXOGEH regarded as something of a godsend. It’s not clear that city RI¿FLDOVKDYHDOZD\VVHHQLWWKDWZD\WKRXJK)RUH[DPSOH an observer might wonder why the city was insistent that the new prospective tenant work with the same lease offer that had been rejected by the previous prospect, MHIC. $VWKHGDQFHSURFHHGHG'LYLGH&DPSLQWURGXFHG VLJQL¿FDQWDPRXQWVRILWVRZQODQJXDJHHVFKHZLQJWKH city’s template. At that moment, in a special meeting a IHZGD\VVK\RIWKHQHZ\HDUFLW\RI¿FLDOVIDFHGDFULWLFDO choice: either consider the counteroffer’s substance to move negotiations along, or reject it outright. It sounded like they were heading the latter direction, which amounts to “my way or the highway,” but then Mahon spoke up to remind HYHU\RQHWKDWVKHKDGQHYHUEHHQLQIDYRURIDQLQÀH[LEOH stance with regard to the agreement’s form. She didn’t have to argue very long or hard to win the day, but it’s hard to imagine that negotiations would still be alive if she hadn’t. We soon should know whether they’ll be bearing fruit. )RURXUSDUWZHKRSHWKDWWKH\GR$GGLQJD'LYLGH&DPS RI¿FHFRXOGIXUWKHUUHLQIRUFHRQHRIWKHSRVLWLYHHOHPHQWV LQ:DOORZD¶VLPDJH±DVWKHWRZQWKDWUHOLVKHVWKHUROHRI hosting the area’s 4th of July Parade, and whose residents last year responded so warmly to a couple of young kids who UDLVHGIXQGVIRUQHZ$PHULFDQÀDJVDORQJLWVPDLQGUDJ —RCR USPS No. 665-100 P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 2I¿FH1:)LUVW6W(QWHUSULVH2UH 3KRQH)D[ :DOORZD&RXQW\¶V1HZVSDSHU6LQFH Enterprise, Oregon M EMBER O REGON N EWSPAPER P UBLISHERS A SSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR R EPORTER R EPORTER N EWSROOM ASSISTANT A D S ALES CONSULTANT G RAPHIC D ESIGNER O FFICE MANAGER Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com Rob Ruth, editor@wallowa.com Stephen Tool, stool@wallowa.com Rocky Wilson, rwilson@wallowa.com Rich Rautenstrauch, rrautenstrauch@wallowa.com Brooke Pace, bpace@wallowa.com Robby Day, rday@wallowa.com Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY : (20HGLD*URXS 3HULRGLFDO3RVWDJH3DLGDW(QWHUSULVHDQGDGGLWLRQDOPDLOLQJRI¿FHV Subscription rates (includes online access) Wallowa County Out-of-County 1 Year $40.00 $57.00 6XEVFULSWLRQVPXVWEHSDLGSULRUWRGHOLYHU\ See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet www.wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa | twitter.com/wcchieftain POSTMASTER — Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828 Contents copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. /RFDO\HDUEHWWHUWKDQQDWLRQ¶V Well, it’s that time of year. Time to say adios WR DQG PD\EH UHÀHFW D little on the past year. One thing about January, all that depressing Christ- mas music is over till next Halloween. Ebenezer had it right, bah humbug. Have you ever considered that letters to Santa might just be collecting intel as to what will sell? The best thing about Xmas is that the days have been getting longer for four days. It’s been a pretty good year here in Wallowa County. Record cattle prices and good hay and grain prices have sure helped the mood and economy of this FRXQW\7KH'RZ-RQHVDYHUDJHLVRYHU 18K and the Nasdaq is ready to set a re- cord. The fact that this has all happened GXULQJD'HPRFUDWLFDGPLQLVWUDWLRQKDV yet to cause a stampede to the county FOHUN¶VRI¿FHIRUORFDOYRWHUVWRFKDQJH registration. The cattle market has been propelled by the perfect storm, low numbers and cheap corn. Maybe some of these ranches for sale will come clos- er to penciling out. Watching the news I have come to the conclusion that racial diversity is RYHUUDWHG 7KH RQO\ JUDI¿WL , VHH KHUH is on box cars passing through and our county hasn’t seen the demonstrating and looting other parts of the country DUHGHDOLQJZLWK,W¶VWLPHIRUWKHLQÀDP- matory rhetoric about police racism to OPEN RANGE Barrie Qualle FDOP GRZQ 7ZR 1<3' RI¿FHUV KDYH been ambushed and died because some ]HDORWEHFDPHLQÀDPHGE\DOOWKHKDWH- ful rhetoric. New York City hate demon- VWUDWRUV FKDQWLQJ ³:KDW GR ZH ZDQW ± GHDGFRSVZKHQGRZHZDQWLW±QRZ´ on network TV is counter-productive. Let’s face it, that thug in Ferguson and the guy in New York would be alive if they hadn’t been breaking the law and resisting arrest. We can’t have two sets of laws, one for minorities and one for the rest. This is a nation of laws and when the grand jury arrives at a conclu- sion we shouldn’t have anarchy because some of the populace disagree. For several decades minorities have been moved to the front of the line by laws OLNHDI¿UPDWLYHDFWLRQDQGVHYHUDORWKHU programs. These advantages were total- ly needed when enacted but there comes a time when you have to do something for yourself. Ferguson demonstrators and looters, put your hands down and get a job. I realize that anyone who dares to criticize this problem is immediately la- beled a racist. That may not be the case. Maybe they just want everyone treated fairly and equally. We were talking about New Year’s UHVROXWLRQVDQG'RQ.LVHUKDVUHVROYHG to let himself go and try to take it eas- ier in 2015. Lowell Lewis and I have resolved to quit borrowing Steve Zoll- man’s equipment until he gets better ma- chinery and the list I spent considerable time developing for my wife continues to be ignored. Brian Bjornson, a former Marlboro Man living in Wallowa, and P\VHOIDUHORRNLQJLQWR¿OLQJDGLVDELO- ity claim now that age has damaged our good looks and modeling careers. A local dignitary told me he went out New Year’s Eve and had a few cocktails IROORZHG E\ VHYHUDO JODVV RI ZLQH 'H- spite his jolliness, he still had the sense to know he was over the limit. That’s when he decided to do what he had never done before. He took a cab home. Sure HQRXJK WKHUH ZDV D '8, FKHFNSRLQW but, since it was a cab, they waved it past. He arrived home without incident. This was both a great relief and sur- prise because he had never driven a cab before. Now he has a cab in his garage and doesn’t even know where he got it. Hope 2015 is a good one for all. Open Range columnist Barrie Qual- le is a working cowboy in Wallowa County. /LWWOHJX\GRHVQ¶WDOZD\VORVH By Rocky Wilson When I was younger, which, if I re- member, was prior to yesterday, I per- formed in a high school production of the 1950s stage play “The Mouse That Roared.” You might gain an idea of how im- portant my role was to the overall suc- cess of that endeavor by learning my stage name then: Third Soldier. It’s a humorous British comedy about WKH OLWWOH JX\ ZKR ¿JKWV EDFN DQG QRW only wins, but wins far more than he bargained for. ,QEULHIWKHWLQ\(XURSHDQ'XFK\RI Grand Fenwick loses all income thanks to an American corporation that devel- ops and markets a cheaper, inferior wine WKDW HIIHFWLYHO\ D[HV WKH 'XFK\¶V VROH industry, its quality wine. Not deterred, Grand Fenwick’s prime minister designs a foolproof scheme to avail his country of America’s propensi- ty to shower major gifts on countries the U.S. has defeated in war. Hence, with 20 soldiers and bows and arrows, an inva- sion force is sent across the Atlantic to lose a short war. Heading the force is Tully Bascombe, a less-than mental giant given the pri- mary objective to, like a quarterback kneeling down to solidify a big victo- ry, surrender a yard and win the game. Unfortunately, Tully and men arrive in JABBERWOCK II 1HZ<RUN GXULQJ DQ DLU UDLG GULOO ¿QG no one to surrender to and, after stum- EOLQJ DFURVV WKH SUHVHQFH RI 'U$OIUHG Kokintz and men carrying a Q bomb ca- pable of destroying an entire continent, 7XOO\ WDNHV 'U .RNLQW] KLV HQWRXUDJH and the bomb captive, and wins the war. This, of course, creates unexpect- ed problems for a tiny nation used to fighting with bows and arrows, and before long super powers around the globe begin wooing Grand Fenwick to place ultimate power back in the hands of those who should have it, whomever that should be at the time. Communication is important and the significance of that 60-year-old politi- cal satire should not be overlooked. It’s not a slam dunk that the little guy has to lose every time. :KHWKHU XVLQJ SDUDEOHV ± ZKLFK someone past and present maxed out LQ DSSOLFDEOH HIIHFWLYHQHVV ± VDWLUH RU analogy, there is a great advantage to those who both know what they want to say and how best to communicate themselves. A lady from my past, a graduate of Presbyterian Seminary who went on to study numerous East- ern religions before becoming a sought counselor, clarified for me the defining lines between being aggressive, asser- tive, and passive. And I totally agree with her teaching that being assertive is the way to go. For it’s only in that mid- dle-ground where you will be respected for your words. Aggressive shuts down the ears of others and passive intimates that you have little, if anything of true merit to say. By definition, assertive persons know what they believe and when and how to say it. In the form of an analogy, the lead- ership of Wallowa County is not all that different from the prime minister of the 'XFK\RI*UDQG)HQZLFN,QVHUWWLPEHU for wine and the Forest Service for the United States in Leonard Wibberley’s 1955 novel that became a movie star- ring Peter Sellers in 1959, and the piec- es begin to tumble into place. How to mount the attack on the For- est Service is where the analogy falters. The Forest Service not only is big, but owns 51 percent of our large county in a country where, supposedly, the ma- jority rules. Still, laws must be adhered to and, hidden somewhere, the writers of our Constitution must have insert- ed some forgotten stopgap where the rights of the little guys are not negated by changing political philosophies. Jabberwock II columnist Rocky Wil- son is a reporter for the Chieftain. 86)6UHFLSHLJQRUHVORFDOGHVLUHV 7RWKH(GLWRU A recipe for locking up public lands to motorized use. ,QJUHGLHQWV ± 5HJLRQDO )RUHVWHU 3 Forest Supervisors, Environmental *URXSVDQG6WDWH$JHQFLHV2'):SUH- IHUUHG 6HDVRQLQJV ÀRXWLQJ UXOHV DQG ignoring the public. 1) You take one forest supervisor that is within retirement age and will- ing to sellout entire communities to get his high 3 for retirement, add in 2 others that will blend smoothly with a Regional Forester picked ripe from the vine to force motorized use restrictions on the public. Blend in a yearly bonus of somewhere around $5,000 a year to turn a deaf ear to local residents’ calls for keeping their mountains open. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 2) In a separate bowl collect a ra- tio of “interested groups” 4 to 1, An- ti-motorized use to Pro-motorized use to cover the supervisors and regional forester. 3) Spread the “interest group” top- ping over the blended Forest Supervi- sor/Regional Forester mix and cover heavily as to disguise any sense of pre-conceived agenda. 4) Apply a generous seasoning of flouting rules on how public engage- ment should occur, smothered with a heavy application of ignoring the pub- lic on their concerns. Place in a “consensus” oven set at, till hell freezes over, and wait to see when the Forest Supervisors and Re- gional Foresters actually act upon lo- cals’ concerns. Meal will be done when the supervi- sors and regional forester are soft to the touch, poking with an email or phone call to test tenderness, and are ready act upon local residents’ concerns. Until they reach that point you should place the meal back into the oven and increase the heat till such time as the Forest Supervisors and Re- gional Forester act accordingly or are done, whichever comes first. -RKQ'*HRUJH Bates