A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
August 5, 2015
Wallowa County Chieftain
Unlimited
local control
would be
too chaotic
T
he 2Uegon 6ecUetaUy of 6tate¶s 2f¿ce has Gealt a seUious Elow
to an effoUt to Sut a initiatiYe on the Eallot that is GesigneG to
overturn laws pre-empting local control of matters currently
regulateG Ey the state.
Though EacNers of the ³5ight to /ocal, Community 6elf-
Government” initiative are
consiGering their options, we
EDITORIAL
hope this puts an enG to this
nonsense.
The voice of the Chieftain
,nitiative EacNers hopeG
to Ee aEle to turn EacN state
prohiEitions on local governments Eanning genetically moGi¿eG
organisms anG local regulation of pesticiGes. They also woulG
liNe local MurisGictions to Ee aEle to regulate fracNing, oil anG gas
Gevelopment anG coal e[ports.
,n part, EacNers seeN to allow local MurisGictions ³to enact local
laws that protect health, safety, anG welfare Ey estaElishing the
funGamental rights of natural persons, their communities, anG
nature securing those rights using prohiEitions anG other means
anG estaElishing, Ge¿ning, altering, or eliminating the rights,
powers, privileges, immunities, or Guties of corporations anG other
Eusiness entities operating or seeNing to operate in the community,
to prevent such rights, powers, privileges, immunities, or Guties
from interfering with such locally-enacteG funGamental rights of
natural persons, their communities, anG nature.”
%acNers collecteG more than 1,000 signatures on their petitions,
which gave them stanGing to receive a review for a Eallot title ² an
important step in getting the measure on the 201 Eallot.
%ut the 6ecretary of 6tate¶s 2f¿ce reMecteG the initiative. ,t
says the measure is too EroaG. 6peci¿cally, the initiative woulG
³effectuate funGamental constitutional changes to the structure anG
Givision of powers of state anG local governments” anG alter the
power of the legislative anG e[ecutive Eranches, accorGing to state
attorneys.
The 6ecretary of 6tate¶s 2f¿ce says such a sweeping ³revision”
can¶t Ee accomplisheG with a Eallot initiative.
0ary GeGGry, a chief petitioner for the initiative, saiG that
proponents haven¶t yet GeciGeG on a course of action Eut Gisagree
with the Secretary of State’s conclusions. She says her group isn’t
going to roll over.
³We’re talNing aEout funGamental rights,” she saiG.
³Communities Gon’t have the right to say µno’ unGer the current
system.”
She’s right, they Gon’t. %ut we suspect that she’s talNing
aEout things liEerals Gon’t liNe. ,n aGGition to Eanning G02s
anG pesticiGe use, we’re sure certain ³progressive” communities
woulG write their own minimum wage laws, gun regulations anG
environmental rules. AnG if they GeciGe they Gon’t liNe Gry cleaners
or meat pacNers, who Nnows.
%ut once passeG, the measure woulG Ee sauce for the goose.
2f¿cials in the more rural anG largely conservative counties of
(astern 2regon might well GeciGe that 2regon’s protections on
wolves Gon’t apply, or gun regulations they Eelieve maNe people
less safe anG trample on personal freeGoms, or state lanG-use
restrictions that violate personal property rights.
During the 1990s, there was a proposal to give county
commissions the authority to regulate cougar hunting. This was
tantamount to creating wilGlife management organi]ations
across 2regon. The plan GieG.
,n theory, it’s harG to argue against ³local” control. The notion
has great Gemocratic appeal. %ut in reality, turning each of 2regon’s
counties anG 22 incorporateG cities into an inGepenGent Guchy
woulG set up a patchworN of regulation that woulG maNe everyone’s
Eusiness Gif¿cult, if not impossiEle.
Correction
John Williams, a memEer of the Wallowa County 1at-
ural 5esource AGvisory Committee (15AC), was mistaN-
enly iGenti¿eG as chairman of that group in last weeN’s ar-
ticle aEout forest gra]ing. %ruce Dunn is 15AC chairman.
The Chieftain regrets the error.
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Of¿ce: 29 1: )irst 6t., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 27 • )ax: 2392
:allowa CoXnty’s 1ewspaper 6ince 88
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
Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com
Elliott Seyler, eseyler@wallowa.com
Brooke Pace, bpace@wallowa.com
Robby Day, rday@wallowa.com
Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY :
EO Media Group
PerioGical Postage PaiG at (nterprise anG aGGitional mailing of¿ces
Subscription rates (includes online access)
Wallowa County
Out-of-County
1 Year
$40.00
$57.00
6XEscriptions mXst Ee paid prior to deliYery
See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet
www.wallowa.com
faceEooN.comWallowa _ twitter.comwcchieftain
POST0AST(5 ² SenG aGGress changes to
Wallowa County Chieftain
P.O. %o[
(nterprise, O5 92
Contents copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. Reproduction
without permission is prohibited.
Volume 133
We’re protecting poison ivy
Got asNeG some Tuestions aEout hiN-
ing Hells Canyon the other Gay, so let’s
Go a TuicN rounG of )reTuently anG HarG-
ly-(ver AsNeG 4uestions aEout Hells
Canyon. )irst Tuestion Is there a time
when rattlesnaNes anG poison ivy aren’t
a proElem" <es. Just Euy the lower legs
from a suit of armor anG hiNe in those.
That will solve your snaNe worries.
Poison ivy is more complicateG. I’m
tolG it’s a native plant so we can’t spray
it on puElic lanG. 1ow, I’m no Eotanist,
Eut I Go Nnow people who swear gloE-
al warming is faNe anG they say right up
front they’re not scientists ² so clearly
you Gon’t neeG science training to Nnow
what you’re talNing aEout. Or talN, any-
way. 1ow that we’ve estaElisheG my
creGentials of having an opinion, can we
please Must spray trails anG campgrounGs
to NnocN EacN the poison ivy" I mean,
c’mon. There’s a formerly sweet camp-
site in the upper canyon I watcheG get
overtaNen Ey poison ivy to the point you
can’t go ashore there unless you have
a retarGant plane stanGing Ey to Grop a
loaG of calamine lotion. I appreciate the
notion of protecting native plants Eut as
long as we’re spraying other plants we’ll
never entirely Ee riG of, let’s sTuirt some
PI. /eaves of three, leave us Ee.
AND
FURTHERMORE
Jon
Rombach
The other Tuestion this hiNer asNeG
was how to get across the river from Or-
egon to IGaho. (asy. Drive to Hells Can-
yon Dam anG start there if you want to
Ee on the IGaho siGe. ([cept that wasn’t
really the Tuestion. 0ost people hiNe
the canyon up or Gown one siGe or the
other. This Erilliant feller is entertaining
a Eisect maneuver Ey going from Hat
Point on our siGe, Gown to anG across the
SnaNe, then up the other siGe to the sum-
mit of He Devil over in IGaho. )or those
not familiar, Hat Point anG He Devil are
the high points where they stretcheG the
tape measure from to ¿gure out Hells
Canyon is 1orth America’s Geepest river
gorge. What a hiNing soMourn that woulG
Ee. I e[pect the misery level woulG Ee
high anG if you pulleG it off there’s the
aGGeG risN of enGing up in an arm cast
from getting so many high ¿ves.
So we neeG to get this hiNer across the
SnaNe. %ear Grylls GiG a 0an vs. WilG
TV episoGe in Hells Canyon where he
crosseG the SnaNe 5iver using nothing
Eut an inÀateG Gry Eag anG ego, a Met Eoat
right ne[t to him with a camera crew anG
support staff anG possiEly a miniature
suEmarine holGing him up from unGer-
water. That was the only episoGe I’ve
seen of the program Eut I thought it was
an e[cellent source of terriEle iGeas. /iNe
pole vaulting Gown a steep scree ¿elG.
I assume that portion of the show was
sponsoreG Ey /ife )light anG the EroNen
anNle surgeons of America.
I happen to Nnow this local hiNer we’re
talNing aEout Goes not have a TV crew to
get him across. )or my plan all he neeGs
is a Sharpie marNer. I am 109 sure if
you taNe a Sharpie anG write IDAHO in
Eig ElocN letters on your sleeping paG to
maNe a hitchhiNing sign anG you’re stanG-
ing on the Oregon EanN with your EacN-
pacN where a Eoat can get in, someEoGy is
going to ferry you across in a MetEoat or a
raft. 1ormally I woulGn’t Ee so con¿Gent
in human NinGness, Eut some Eoater is go-
ing to see what you’re up to anG help a guy
out. If I’m wrong Must hiNe EacN out, give
me a call anG I’ll help you get a TV show
so you can Go it %ear Grylls-style.
-on RomEach is a local colXmnist and
wilderness hitchhiking adYisor for the
Chieftain.
Better answers for mental health
The staff at Wallowa Valley Center
for Wellness sometimes hear from com-
munity memEers that ³mental health anG
aGGiction issues are everywhere”
The fact is that mental health anG
aGGiction issues are everywhere. Sta-
tistically 1 out of 5 people in Wallowa
County suffer from a mental health or
aGGiction GisorGer at any given time.
People with such issues are our parents,
chilGren, anG spouses. They are frienGs
anG neighEors, the people we worN with,
anG the people who come into our Eusi-
nesses. Sometimes we are that person.
0ental health anG aGGiction issues
can create many NinGs of proElems for
the people who suffer from them. People
with aGGictions or mental health issues
may have trouEle staying employeG.
They may struggle with anger, or fear.
They may ¿nG it Gif¿cult to leave the
house. They may ¿nG it harG to have
happy, healthy relationships. Sometimes
the proElems are so powerful, that peo-
ple feel Griven to get help. Sometimes
they Must suffer silently, hoping to maNe
GUEST COLUMN
Stephen Kliewer
it through another Gay.
Sometimes these conGitions are so
severe that people Eegin to wonGer,
³Why Gon’t we Must locN them up"”
³Why can’t you Go something"”
AnG yes that is what we useG to Go.
)or a long perioG of time in America,
that was what happeneG to people with
mental health anG aGGiction issues. We
simply put them away in hospitals anG
other programs. However this approach
GiG not leaG to healing or recovery.
,nGiviGuals with mental health anG
aGGiction issues are human. They have
rights. They Geserve to Ee treateG with
respect. They GiG not choose their ill-
ness.
ToGay hospitali]ation is consiGereG
a treatment of last resort. One thing our
program, Wallowa Valley Center for
Wellness WVCW cannot Go, is Must
put a person in the hospital. They must
agree with that Gecision, or one of two
criteria must Ee met. The person has to
Ee an immeGiate threat to themselves
we Eelieve they are a suiciGe risN,
or Ee an immeGiate, physical threat to
another. If those criteria are not pres-
ent, we cannot aGmit them against their
will.
This can Ee frustrating for those who
witness Eehaviors that are at times Gis-
tressing anG e[treme. %ut a great Geal of
research has shown that people recover
from mental health anG aGGiction issues
Eetter if they Go it while still a part of the
community.
What we can Go, as a program, is pro-
viGe the NinG of care at the local level
that helps people live as a part of our
community. Where they can Ee with
their families anG frienGs. Where they
can engage in meaningful worN. Where
they can have the most freeGom possi-
Ele.
6ee ./,E:ER, Page A5
Public to learn more about EPD
Editor’s note: The City of Enterprise
released the following statement last
week concerning the Enterprise Police
Department.
The City of (nterprise woulG liNe to
upGate the community on the status of
our Police Department. The previous
Chief of Police resigneG his position in
0arch of 2015. The City Council GeciG-
eG that it woulG Ee a gooG time to have an
agency review of our Police Department
Ey the Oregon Association of Chiefs of
Police (OACP). Our intent was to use the
review to Eoth proviGe the City with in-
formation on how our Gepartment func-
tions anG to help inform the incoming
Chief. One of the City Council’s priori-
ties is to ensure the safety of our citi]ens,
anG a well-functioning police Gepartment
is critical to meeting that goal. We also
feel that we can Eest meet that goal with
our own Gepartment while worNing very
closely with the Wallowa County Sher-
iff’s Department.
The Agency 5eview 5eport was Ge-
livereG to the City anG it containeG sensi-
tive personnel anG other information. The
personnel information in the report relat-
eG to an employee of the City anG was
turneG over to a personnel investigator.
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Other portions of the report were referreG
to the Oregon Department of Justice for
further investigation. The City is reTuireG
to follow certain legal proceGures to avoiG
potential liaEility anG is not in a position
to release the report to the puElic until
these proceGures have Eeen completeG.
The Council GiG GeciGe to reGact from the
Agency 5eview 5eport the personnel in-
formation regarGing the City’s employee.
The Agency 5eview 5eport, with certain
reGactions, will Ee releaseG in response
to a puElic recorGs reTuest as soon as the
reTuireG legal proceGures are completeG.
The City Council GeciGeG not to
pursue entering into a contract with the
County for police protection anG to go
forwarG with the process of hiring a new
Chief of Police. The City has receiveG 11
applications anG now neeGs to review the
applications, holG interviews anG investi-
gate the applicant or the applicants unGer
consiGeration for the position. The new
Police Chief will Ee asNeG to correct the
Ge¿ciencies noteG in the Police Agency
5eport anG Gevelop a professional Police
Department.
It has always Eeen our intent to share
the information with the puElic, anG that
intent has not wavereG. As soon as we
are legally aEle to share the information,
we intenG to invite the puElic to help us
shape a puElic safety program that will
meet the neeGs of (nterprise.
Make Wallowa River
falls accessible again
To the Editor:
We woulG liNe to aGG our voices to
those asNing to continue puElic access
to the only trail that leaGs to the falls of
the Wallowa 5iver. In 199, when I was
9 months olG, my parents tooN me up the
trail to the falls while they were attenG-
ing the 0ethoGist Camp. At that time, the
access to the falls was on lanG owneG Ey
PP/. In the early 1920’s, the 0ethoG-
ists haG purchaseG 110 acres Must to the
1orth of the lanG owneG Ey PP/. I have
gone nearly every year of my life to the
falls.
6ee /ETTER6, Page A5