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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
A4 Opinion wallowa.com December 30, 2015 Wallowa County Chieftain Supreme Court must give landowners right to challenge Corps T he U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take a case that will determine whether landowners can challenge in court a regulatory determination that their properties are subject to the Clean Water Act. The government contends, and is backed by the 9th and 5th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal, that a regulatory determination by the Corps of Engineers that a property is subject to Clean Water Act restrictions is merely advisory in nature, and is not a ¿QDODJHQF\GHFLVLRQVXEMHFWWROLWLJDWLRQ The 8th Circuit reached the opposite conclusion last year, VHWWLQJXSDFOHDUFRQÀLFWWREHVHWWOHGE\WKH6XSUHPH&RXUW For farmers, ranchers and other landowners, the stakes are high. Regulatory requirements and restrictions under the act are expensive Voice of the Chieftain and can severely limit the owner’s property rights. Property owners should have the right to challenge a jurisdictional determination. The government says landowners who disagree with a jurisdictional determination can go ahead with a planned SURMHFWZLWKRXWDSHUPLWDQGWKHQ¿JKWWKHGHWHUPLQDWLRQZKHQ the government brings an enforcement action. Or, the landowner can apply for the necessary permits. If the permit is denied or the landowner disagrees with the JRYHUQPHQW¶V¿QGLQJVWKHODQGRZQHUFDQ¿OHVXLW Neither of these are practical options. A landowner would be foolish to expend capital and proceed without a permit if the Corps of Engineers has GHWHUPLQHGMXULVGLFWLRQZKHWKHUWKDWUXOLQJLVD¿QDO determination or merely advisory. Having determined a landowner needs a permit, by whatever means, the Corps will certainly follow with an enforcement action if a landowner proceeds. Win or lose, the landowner will be saddled with the expense of defending his action. And should he lose, the government can pile on ruinous ¿QHVDQGSHQDOWLHVDQGSHUKDSVFULPLQDOFKDUJHV Should the landowner acquiesce to the Corps’ determination, he submits to a costly, time-consuming process. If the permit is denied, or there is an issue with the terms, the litigating landowner walks into court having already conceded that the Corps has jurisdiction. The Corps may consider its determinations advisory in nature, but the same can be said of a rattlesnake shaking its tail. Either are ignored only at great peril. The rattlesnake’s warning can be appreciated for its honesty, while the Corps’ is veiled by semantics. Having been warned, the landowner will certainly feel the sting of the Corps’ strike. 7KH&RUSV¶GHWHUPLQDWLRQVDUH¿QDOE\DQ\VWDQGDUG of common sense. As such, they should be allowed to be FKDOOHQJHGLQFRXUWZLWKRXWWKHODQGRZQHU¿UVWEHLQJSODFHGLQ OHJDORU¿QDQFLDOMHRSDUG\ :HDUHFRQ¿GDQWWKHKLJKFRXUWZLOODJUHH EDITORIAL Get a healthy start to the new year L 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. In terms of content, writers should refrain from personal attacks. It’s acceptable, however, to attack (or support) another party’s ideas. We do not routinely run thank-you letters, a policy we’ll con- sider waiving only in unusual situations where reason compels the exception. 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 ³2SLQLRQ´PHQXRQWKHQDYLJDWLRQEDUWRVHHWKHUHOHYDQWOLQN 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 Scot Heisel, editor@wallowa.com Stephen Tool, stool@wallowa.com Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com editor@wallowa.com Jennifer Powell, jpowell@wallowa.com Robby Day, rday@wallowa.com Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com For The Chieftain GUEST COLUMN Support the team or keep quiet This letter is directed to the person who has been paying for personal ads concerning the Wallowa High School boys basketball program. Enough is enough. Knock off your verbal diarrhea. You should be supporting the boys on the court and the coaches leading them in a positive direction. If you can’t do that, then be quiet. Also, if you choose to submit another overly verbose, so- called concern about athletes being ³VHO¿VK´ RU ³KRSH´ IRU WKH VHDVRQ DW least have the courage to attach your name to it. Mitch Frye Lostine LETTERS to the EDITOR ern Oregon that show this process are 1) The Grant County Stewardship Con- tract, a massive, multi-million dollar, single-source contract to Iron Triangle that will treat vegetation and restrict motorized access to thousands of acres of land; and 2) the East Face Project be- tween La Grande and Baker, which is planning 38 miles of road closures. Both equate to nothing more than lawn care service contracts, except in this case, once mowing the lawn and ZHHGLQJ WKH ÀRZHU JDUGHQ DUH FRP- Timber for road plete, they tear out your driveway so you cannot access them anymore. closures Timber sales do not have to equate to A new process is working its way road closures. Jobs for our families do throughout Eastern Oregon that pits lo- not have to mean loss of motorized ac- cals against each other. It is the concept cess. Roads were built to harvest these RI³IRUHVWKHDOWKYVPRWRUL]HGDFFHVV´ lands, for them stay the productive re- The model has been seen in the West sources. We were promised they would before. Idahoans and Montanans have be when set aside in the early 1900s. seen forests build to unsafe fuel loads Not the multi-billion dollar drains they ZLWK HDJHU ³FRQVHUYDWLRQLVWV´ ZLOOLQJ have become over the last 30-plus years to plan projects that will relieve the under the failed leadership of the For- burden of the excessive fuels — only est Service, which no longer serves if we are willing to destroy roads after the people, but serves its own personal the projects are completed. The work is agendas. I support vegetative treatments, I done through service contracts. Compa- nies bid on these contracts to implement support logging/mill jobs and all the prescriptions for treatment that are writ- services that come with them. But I do ten by the Forest Service, along with not believe you have to destroy motor- ized access to have jobs or a healthy road destruction. Two examples playing out in East- forest. I ask that if you don’t support these restrictions, you become active in these projects to speak out against them. John D. George %DWHV2UH Ruled by fear To the HERO who believes Trump is our best bet against ISIS (or Daesh): I agree wholeheartedly! Trump DOES seem quite angry. I notice that you capital- ized a lot of WORDS in your (Dec. 23) letter — that tells me that you, TOO, are ANGRY! Maybe even SCARED! I bet there have been other times throughout history when a scared populace elected someone who seemed AN- *5<HQRXJKWR¿[WKHLUSUREOHPV,ZRQGHU if that worked out for them. No good exam- ples seem to come to mind, however. Our borders must be SECURED! We must keep out the REFUGEES from Syria, just as we kept out refugees from WORLD WAR II! There could be ENEMY combat- ants hidden among them, even if the liberal MEDIA wants us to believe that entering the country as refugees would be one of the PRUHGLI¿FXOWDQGLPSUDFWLFDOZD\VIRU7(5- RORISTS to get into America. They also expect us to believe that refusing refugees only FURTHERS the ISIS CAUSE! What a LOAD! That’s why I only watch FOX NEWS. ISIS wants to KILL US! We GOOD CHRISTIANS need to support fellow Chris- tian DONALD TRUMP! SECURE the BORDERS! Ban the MUSLIMS! HEIL TRUMP! Basil Hargreaves Enterprise Where to write Washington, D.C. P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY : EO Media Group 3HULRGLFDO3RVWDJH3DLGDW(QWHUSULVHDQGDGGLWLRQDOPDLOLQJRI¿FHV Subscription rates (includes online access) Wallowa County Out-of-County ercise and to eat a healthier diet. Like- wise, if you have a family history of prostate or breast cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure or many other diseases Every year, millions of Americans with a genetic component, your provid- make New Year’s resolutions. Do a er might encourage you to take steps to *RRJOHVHDUFKDQG\RX¶OO¿QGKHDOWKUH- reduce your risk. lated resolutions are among the most Susan Johnson Other HHS websites such as health. common: lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, stop smoking, drink less, ing are also available as a preventive JRY KHDOWK¿QGHUJRY ZRPHQVKHDOWK KHDOWKEHQH¿WV7KHSHDFHRIPLQGWKDW JRYWKH2I¿FHRI0LQRULW\+HDOWKVLWH watch less TV, reduce stress. Unfortunately, most of us break our comes with having health coverage can and Let’s Move, offer resources and resolutions almost as soon as we make reduce your stress. suggestions for living a healthier, more While some resolutions are on you, active life. them. There is one resolution you can make and keep this year. Get a healthy HHS is offering assistance to attain So whatever other resolutions you start to the new year by signing up for many health-related goals. From Cover- might make for 2016, make and keep health insurance through HealthCare. age to Care (C2C) helps patients make that resolution to sign up for health better use of their health coverage. The coverage for you and your family. It’s gov or your state’s marketplace. Making and keeping that one reso- materials are currently available in really easy — just visit HealthCare.gov lution can actually help you keep other eight languages, with more to come. or your state’s marketplace. However, The Healthy Self Initiative encourag- time is limited. You must sign up by resolutions in 2016. Want to lose weight? Obesity screen- es everyone to take control of their own Jan. 31 or you’ll lose your opportunity ing and counseling are free preventive health. Knowledge is power. Knowing to sign up for 2016 coverage unless you KHDOWK EHQH¿WV RIIHUHG WKURXJK 4XDOL- more about your personal, family and KDYHD4XDOLI\LQJ/LIH(YHQW ¿HG +HDOWK 3ODQV :DQW WR VWRS VPRN- ethnic/racial disease history and ten- 0DNHDQGNHHS\RXU¿UVWUHVROXWLRQ ing? Tobacco use screening and ces- dencies can help you and your provid- of the New Year. Sign up for Market- sation interventions for tobacco users er make smarter decisions about your place coverage today. You’ll get a jump DUHDOVRIUHHSUHYHQWLYHKHDOWKEHQH¿WV health care. For example, if you have on some of those other resolutions for Want to lower your chronic disease a family history of heart disease, your the year and you’ll feel better for it. risk? Diet counseling is available for provider might monitor you more close- 6XVDQ-RKQVRQLV5HJLRQDO'LUHFWRU adults at higher risk of chronic disease. ly. Your provider might also encourage 86'HSDUWPHQWRI+HDOWKDQG+XPDQ Alcohol misuse screening and counsel- you to take steps to lose weight, to ex- 6HUYLFHV5HJLRQ By Susan Johnson 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. The White House, 1600 Pennsyl- vania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switchboard: 202-456-1414. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516 +DUW 6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ :DVKLQJ- ton D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. E-mail: wayne_kinney@wyden.senate. gov Web site: http://wyden.senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313 +DUW 6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ :DVKLQJ- ton D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. E-mail: senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-228-3997. 2UHJRQ RI¿FHV LQFOXGH 2QH :RUOG Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and 310 S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pendleton, OR 97801. Phone: 503-326-3386; 541-278- 1129. Fax: 503-326-2990. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R — (Sec- ond District) 1404 Longworth Build- ing, Washington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730. No direct e-mail be- cause of spam. Web site: www.walden. house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774. Med- IRUG RI¿FH 1RUWK &HQWUDO 6XLWH 112, Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541- 776-4646. Fax: 541-779-0204. Pending Bills: For information on bills in Congress, Phone: 202-225- 1772. Salem Gov. John Kitzhaber, D — 254 State Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378- 3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Web site: www.governor.state.or.us/governor. html. Oregon Legislature — State Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180. Web site: www. leg.state.or.us (includes Oregon Constitution and Oregon Re- vised Statutes). State Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton (District: 58), Room H-481, State Capi- tol, 900 Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1458. E-mail: Rep.Bob- Jenson@state.or.us. Web site: www.ore- gonlegislature.gov/Jenson State Sen. Bill Hansell R — (District 29) Room S-423, State Capitol, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-986-1729. E-mail: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us. Web site: www.oregonlegislature.gov/hansell. Oregon Legislative Information — (For updates on bills, services, capitol or messages for legislators) — 800-332- 2313.