A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
November 25, 2015
Wallowa County Chieftain
Reasons
for being
thankful
all around
T
his week as we all gather with friends and
family for Thanksgiving Day, we’d like to
take a moment to express our gratitude for
several of the great aspects of Wallowa County life.
We, the Chieftain staff, feel blessed to work with,
and for, such a generous
and caring community.
Perusing recent issues of
the Chieftain, it’s easy
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pervasive attitude.
We’re thankful, for example, to have people such
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who’ve been working extra duties since the
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back in March. Picking up some slack for a brief
period is one thing, but the city is eight months into
its search for a new police chief and we learned this
week that the process is back to square one. Thank
you all for stepping up for your community in a big
way.
Of course, we’re grateful for all our local
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that does so much for those local veterans. We’ve
recently published stories about Divide Camp,
which promotes healing from the effects of war
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and camping. And we were proud come along when
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of their quilts to local vets on the eve of Veteran’s
Day. These are just two examples of this county’s
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have been made.
And how many communities can come together
in a single evening and raise more than $70,000
for much-needed medical equipment? That’s just
what happened Nov. 14 during the 20th annual
Healthy Futures Dinner Auction at Cloverleaf Hall
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those in attendance and others who either helped
with the event or contributed in other ways was
palpable. It was a shining example of philanthropy
at the community level, and it was a proud night for
Wallowa County.
We know we’ve only scratched the surface.
Look all around and you’ll see the warmth and
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bonus, we just happen to live in one of the most
beautiful places in the world, a slice of heaven and
a landscape of grandeur. And we’re thankful for
that as well.
Lastly, we wish to express our gratitude for our
loyal readers and advertisers. You’re the reason we
do what we do. Thank you for allowing us into your
homes and businesses and helping us to chronicle
this great county.
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
EDITORIAL
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
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Enterprise, Oregon
Nate Beeler / The Columbus Dispatch
Want a part-time job that earns $174K?
Senators, congressmen
will work two days per
week in 2016
W
ant a part-time job that earns
$174,000 with generous
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Run for Congress.
Writing Nov. 13, Dana Milbank
of The Washington Post reported that
Congress will meet only 111 days in
2016. That is two days per week. They
will spend the rest of the year using
their generous travel allowance to stay
in touch with the rest of us.
There was a time when congress-
men and senators came to Washington
by car or train or even air, did their
work over a sustained work period
lasting months and then went home
GUEST EDITORIAL
By The Daily Astorian
for various recesses, and especially in
summer when Washington’s heat is
beastly.
Two things changed that. Central
air conditioning and the commercial
jet. Air conditioning made summer
palatable. And the jet allowed members
to come and go with impunity.
These days, congressmen love to
crow about not living in Washington.
No, indeed, they proclaim to prize their
long weekends at home, being where
the real people are. The problem is that
a deliberative body such as the House
or Senate, only does business when it
deliberates, in a chamber in Washing-
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and women seldom do these days.
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the door, congressmen and senators
lack the social relationships their
predecessors enjoyed. Lacking real
relationships, they treat each other like
abstract objects. They have much deep-
er relationships with the narrowly-fo-
cused interest lobbies and ideological
think tanks. They also have closer re-
lationships with big campaign donors.
And that brings us to the phenomenon
of the permanent campaign season and
year-round fundraising.
One of the best pieces of advice
that any employee receives is to make
yourself essential to your employer.
The men and women of Congress have
dug themselves a hole by not facing
the pressing needs of the nation. They
are inessential.
Modern insights from an ancient text
By John McColgan
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n a recent Republican debate, U.S.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida made
these claims in the context of his
pitch for an increased commitment to
vocational education: “Welders make
more money than philosophers. We
need more welders and less philoso-
phers.”
It had been my intention in this
column to present arguments that in-
cluded economic data that suggest that
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inaccurate, and then to proceed to a
more philosophical analysis disputing
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to be both a tradesman with 38 years
of experience as a carpenter/contractor
and a “philosopher” by virtue of my
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over Sen. Rubio’s remarks for a few
days before putting my thoughts to
paper.
Last night, remarkably — and I be-
lieve, providentially — as I was settling
into bed, I moved along in my reading
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deuterocanonical book that is accepted
in the Catholic Old Testament but is not
included in Protestant versions of the
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tural by the ancient Jewish Synagogue.
As such, it might be viewed by some
readers as a wisdom writing or a work
of philosophy. The book was written in
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GUEST COLUMN
John McColgan
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Included in Chapters 38 and 39,
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had laid in my path that night, were the
following passages that provide a far
more thoughtful and elegant response
to Sen. Rubio than I would have mus-
tered on my own:
“So it is with the blacksmith sitting
by his anvil. He considers what to do
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scorches his skin, as he contends with
the heat of the furnace. He batters his
ear with the din of the hammer. His
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his heart on completing his work, and
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“All these (workmen and craftsmen,
such as the plowman, blacksmith and
potter) put their trust in their hands,
and each is skilled at his own craft. A
town could not be built without them.
There would be no settling, no trav-
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council. They do not hold high rank in
the assembly. They do not sit on the
judicial bench, and have no grasp of the
law. They are not respected for culture
or sound judgment, and are not found
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they give solidity to the created world,
while their prayer is concerned with
what pertains to their trade.”
“It is otherwise with the man who
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Law of the Most High. He researches
into the wisdom of all the Ancients. He
occupies his time with the prophecies.
He preserves the discourses of famous
men. He is at home with the niceties
of parables. ... He enters the service of
princes. He is seen in the presence of
rulers. He travels in foreign countries.
He has experienced human good and
human evil.”
“If it is the will of the great Lord, he
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standing. He will shower forth words
of wisdom, and in prayer give thanks
to the Lord. He will grow upright in
purpose and learning. He will ponder
the Lord’s hidden mysteries.”
“If he lives long, his name will be
more glorious than a thousand others,
and if he dies, that will satisfy him just
as well.”
“All the works of the Lord are good,
and He will supply every want in due
time. You must not say, ‘This is worse
than that,’ for everything will prove
its value in its time. So now, sing with
all your heart and voice, and bless the
name of the Lord.”
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siasticus, and to ponder for yourselves.
John McColgan majored in Phi-
losophy as well as Government at the
College of William and Mary. He writes
from his home in Joseph.
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Rob Ruth, editor@wallowa.com
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Brooke Pace, bpace@wallowa.com
Robby Day, rday@wallowa.com
Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
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Contents copyright © 2015. All rights reserved. Reproduction
without permission is prohibited.
Volume 133
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nized as National Adoption Awareness
Month. This year the nation will focus
on the adoption of older youth from
foster care. In the United States today,
there are more than 108,000 foster
children waiting to be adopted. Nearly
45 percent of these waiting children are
age nine or older. For many, age creates
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permanent home.
The statistics are similar in Oregon.
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homes for older youth. In 2014, 836
children in foster care were adopted.
More than 75 percent of the adoptions
were children 8 years old and younger.
L
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Only 33 of those adoptions were for
youth older than age 14.
Studies show that youth who are
adopted from foster care are more like-
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and be more emotionally secure than
their peers who remain in, or age out of
IRVWHUFDUH7KDW¶VZK\¿QGLQJSHUPD-
nent, loving families for these children
and youth is so important. Adoptive
parents, just like any other parents,
provide the essential guidance children
need to successfully navigate a strong
and successful path to adulthood.
This November, we want to stress
the importance of creating lifelong
connections for young people, before
they age out of foster care. Like all
youth, children who experience foster
care need stability and support as they
age into adulthood and throughout
their lives. Please ask yourself if you
have room in your home and heart for a
foster youth. To learn more about foster
care adoptions please call 1-800-331-
0503 or visit Oregon DHS, Adoption
Services: http://www.oregon.gov/dhs/
children/adoption/pages/index.aspx.
Lois Day,
Oregon Child Welfare Director
Salem
etters to the Editor are subject to editing and should be limited to 275 words. Writers should also include a phone number
with their signature so we can call to verify identity. The Chieftain does not run anonymous letters.
You can submit a letter to the Wallowa County Chieftain in person; by mail to P.O. Box 338, Enterprise, OR 97828; by email to
editor@wallowa.com; or via the submission form at the newspaper’s website, located at wallowa.com. (Drop down the “Opinion”
menu on the navigation bar to see the relevant link).