A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
June 7, 2017
Wallowa County Chieftain
You are the
‘u’ in public
budget process
O
ne of the popular catch phrases that arose out of
Watergate in the ‘70s was “follow the money.” Back
then, it generally referred to the attempts by Pres.
Richard M. Nixon to “buy” whatever he wanted, including
elections.
Here’s another way to think about it. Each June, taxing
entities across Wallowa County engage in a process to
create a budget or spending
plan for the coming year. A
good way to know what is
going to be accomplished ––
or perhaps not accomplished
Voice of the Chieftain
–– can be determined by
following the money.
If it’s not in the budget, you can bet it’s not going to
happen.
The idea of budget-setting from the beginning was that
taxpayers would take conscientious notice of how a county,
city, school district or special district proposed to spend its
money, and that would be part of the checks and balances of
the American system.
Somewhere along the line, most of us became too lazy
and apathetic to care a great deal about who was spending
what, as long as our sacred cow wasn’t on the auction block.
Public notices advertising budget hearings are generally
greeted with a corporate yawn. It’s not unusual for only one
or two members of the public to show up for these sessions.
Then along comes a year when revenues are short and
decisions must be made to present a balanced budget. Left
with little or no public input, the elected officials in charge
of the process do their best to craft solutions. Most of the
options are not popular.
When taxpayers complain, it’s generally pointed out to
them that the budget process is conducted in a public forum,
and they were conspicuous by their absence.
While that statement is true, it’s a bit like slapping some-
one in the face to tell them how much you appreciate them.
Elected officials can help constituents discover and
engage in the budget process by being proactive as the work
begins to unfold. A public education process would go a
long way.
Reaching out to key constituency groups who may be
interested in the negotiations could be effective. Conduct-
ing evening or Saturday hearings might broaden the base
of participation as not everyone is able to leave work for a
weekday mid-morning gathering.
We recognize that the Chieftain could do a better job of
getting ahead of the information curve when budget season
approaches. There needs to be a broader commitment to
covering the budget process for all public entities before it
begins. Public officials need to be more willing to discuss
budget options in preparing those stories, rather than asking
us to wait for the ink to dry on the budget document before
commenting and explaining their choices.
And yes, the public needs to do its part by showing a
much greater fiduciary responsibility.
Most budgets need to be approved and submitted by June
30. That’s not a lot of time to make an impact for this year,
but that’s not a reason to sit this one out.
A good step forward would be to plan to attend the hear-
ing on the future of the Wallowa County Library 10 a.m.
Tuesday, June 13, at the Wallowa County Courthouse.
EDITORIAL
When a lie becomes reality
A free society must function on trust. Religion attempts to
build trust and trustworthiness. But with today’s lying to gain
advantage, integ-
rity is suffering.
Adolf Hitler
said, “The great
masses of people
... will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small
one.” Some lying is necessary, e.g. to lead a lethal adversary
astray or to comfort a dying patient in denial.
All groups hold political and sometimes religious beliefs
that help us cope with the harsh realities of life but may not
be true.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
See LETTER Page A5
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
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
O FFICE MANAGER
Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com
Paul Wahl, editor@wallowa.com
Stephen Tool, stool@wallowa.com
Kathleen Ellyn, kellyn@wallowa.com
editor@wallowa.com
Jennifer Powell, jpowell@wallowa.com
Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
Sheryl Watson, swatson@wallowa.com
p ublished every w ednesday by :
EO Media Group
Periodical Postage Paid at Enterprise and additional mailing offices
Subscription rates (includes online access)
Wallowa County
Out-of-County
1 Year
$40.00
$57.00
Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery
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 © 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction
without permission is prohibited.
Volume 134
More than sunshine this spring
T
he sun is shining outside my patio
door. Laundry is hanging on my
makeshift line. These past morn-
ings I am awakened by an introductory
chorus of robin songs, which crescendo
into countless sparrows chirping in the
lilac trees outside my bedroom window.
I’ve been measuring the progress of
spring up the valley by the blooming of
glacier lilies. In March, I stopped at the
Minam campground coming home from
La Grande. A patch of six-inch glacier
lilies with lemon yellow blooms draping
over their stems greeted me.
While spending a day at Indian
Crossing last week, I came upon glacier
lilies beginning to bud, and drew a deep
breath of relief. Spring is here.
I am so grateful. Last winter was a
tough one for many of us. For me, it
was a huge learning curve. My frustra-
tion was borne from having scheduled
my need to be anywhere but home for
different activities.
My vehicle was stuck several times
in the snow. I just had to deal with it. I
watched lifetime residents of Wallowa
County relaxing during the same winter,
because they knew to stay home in such
weather.
WALLOWA GIRL
Katherine Stickroth
Lesson learned. I’m planning not to
plan my winter by going places. I’m
grateful for my Wallowa County elders
who teach me how to live and enjoy this
place I call home.
I’m thankful for the people I’m
acquainted with –– some closer than
others. While driving along the Imnaha,
I encountered a fellow columnist and his
friend and had a friendly exchange about
morels with an invitation to leave some
in their truck as I made my way out.
A small celebration of my sixth de-
cade on this earth was shared last month
with friends. Nothing fancy. Just the joy
of getting to be with friends on a special
occasion.
“What’s it feel like to be 60?”
“I’ve heard 60 is the new 40, and I’m
going to roll with that,” I reply.
As Father’s Day approaches, I’m
grateful for the fathers who protect and
provide for their children. Not all do, as
evidenced in my growing-up years. But
I’ve had men at key times enter my life
who filled the blank spaces.
Mr. McCraney, my first boss, taught
this young teenager to look people di-
rectly in the eyes when talking to them.
Dick Perry, another boss, recognized
my potential as an engineer. He taught
me how to design construction jobs and
enjoyed my creativity. I call them “my
fathers by heart.”
I appreciate fathers who coach
baseball or softball teams and include
the least player with words of encour-
agement. I know of ranchers who donate
calves to young people for 4-H projects.
There is a kind man who gave a neigh-
borhood child a kite, just so she would
look up.
So fathers, if you’re out mowing
the lawn or driving to Safeway and a
memory strays in that asks the question,
“I wonder what ever happened to that
kid?” here’s the answer.
We’re still looking up. Because of
you.
Happy Father’s Day.
Katherine Stickroth is a Wallowa
County-based freelance writer who also
blogs at awallowagal.com.
Dog hair and pre-existing conditions
“W
hat a nice dog,” Greg
Walden’s aides told me.
And they were right. She
was awfully groovy. She’d do this thing
where she’d lean in and rub her forehead
back and forth on your shins or kneecap
in kind of a backscratcher move, but
for her eyebrows instead. It was a little
weird, but also charming somehow.
She was doing this forehead mas-
sage technique using the legs of Greg
Walden’s aides so I warned both of these
young fellas about the hair. This dog
we’re talking about was a husky mix and
the exodus of fur from these creatures is
sometimes just astounding. Gets every-
where and likes to stay there, weaving
into the fibers of clothing.
Like, for instance, dark pants on suits
worn by two aides of Greg Walden.
“Aw, that’s no big deal,” they said
and kept petting her so she kept right on
working those steel wool hairs of hers
into their suits.
This was years ago. Back then I
worked at the radio station, and Walden
was in town talking about pressing
matters. While he was in the radio booth
doing his interview, my dog and I were
keeping Walden’s retinue company out
in the front room.
Pretty soon we see through the win-
dow of the recording booth that Dave
Nelson and Greg Walden are nodding
and shaking hands, so the interview is
AND
FURTHERMORE
Jon Rombach
wrapping up –– and here’s what stuck
with me from this otherwise unre-
markable encounter: the two aides are
suddenly extremely concerned about dog
hair on the fabric of their suits.
“We’re going to a wolf meeting
next,” they said, furiously brushing their
pant legs with their hands. “We can’t
have wolf hair on our clothes.”
More frenzied brushing.
Couple things I’d like to pause and
consider here. For context, this was back
when wolves in Wallowa County had
fairly recently become a thing. OK, next
item: clearly my employers were pretty
chill if I could have my dog with me in
the office, but I daresay the casual bring-
your-pet-to-work policy may have been
revised had I, say, brought a ... I don’t
know ... wolf into work.
Yeah, huskies can have that look
about them, but my dog weighed about
50 pounds. So, you know, big coyote at
best. It’s almost a compliment if Greg
Walden’s aides thought Wallowa County
was Wild West-ish enough that a large
coyote or pygmy wolf would be hanging
out in a place of business.
Fast forward to present day. My dog
died a few years back, rest her furry
soul. Lived to be 18. What finally got
her was a pre-existing condition of 18
times seven being a lot. Sad!
Pre-existing condition talk is what
reminded me of that dog hair encoun-
ter. Walden has been in the news lately,
trying verbal bank-shots to explain why
sick people not getting health care is
probably a good thing. I couldn’t exactly
follow the logic of his argument.
There was a lot of English being ap-
plied to the words so they were spinning
pretty fast. But that image of his guys
jumping up and trying to rid themselves
of what they just said themselves was
a good thing they were happy about ...
that’s the clip my brain now plays when
I observe a politician peddling an anti-
dote to wellness.
Well, I’m running out of room here,
so I’m afraid I won’t be getting to the
real-life examples of people I know get-
ting hosed if their pre-existing condition
keeps them from seeing their doctors.
To be fair, though, this prospect of
people losing health coverage will allow
–– quoting Greg Walden here –– “more
flexibility for states to innovate.” So
that’s a solace.
Good luck with brushing the dog hair
off your pants, Congressman.
Jon Rombach is a Wallowa Coun-
ty-based columnist for the Chieftain.
Library one of Wallow County’s treasures
Wallowa County is full of treasures.
Many are obvious –– majestic moun-
tains, beautiful productive valleys, the
lake, historic buildings and friendly peo-
ple.
There is one treasure that is no so
obvious. In fact, it is almost hidden ––
Wallowa County Library. I passed the
building many times before stopping one
day to discover what was inside. What a
surprise.
I became so enamored by the library,
its services and its stellar librarian that I
began donating materials.
One of the things that impressed me
about Sue is her motto “you have to meet
Where
to write
In Washington,
D.C.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
people where they are,” and that she does.
The programs of the Wallowa County Li-
brary are numerous and geared specifi-
cally for the county. One of my favorites
is “Deliver-Me-A-Book,” a wonderful
outreach to homebound providing them
with personalized literary materials and
a social contact that means a great deal.
I spend a lot of time in Wallowa
County and participate in many activities
there. The libraries are one of the draws.
I find that communities that see the value
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516
Hart Senate Office Building, Washing-
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.
in and promote literacy and libraries are
the best communities.
While I recognize the budget prob-
lems, I urge citizens to find a way to
keep the county library at its current
service level. From newborns to senior
citizens, the county library is helping and
influencing the community and beyond.
Don’t lose it. When it is gone, you may
find there is a domino effect and other li-
braries may go as well.
I urge each of you to attend the hear-
ings on June 13 and Sept 13 at 10 a.m.
and support your library.
Annette Byrd
Elgin
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313
Hart Senate Office Building, Washing-
ton D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753.
E-mail: senator@merkley.senate.gov.
Fax: 202-228-3997.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R — (Sec-
ond District) 1404 Longworth Building,
Washington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-
225-6730. No direct e-mail because of
spam. Web site: www.walden.house.
gov Fax: 202-225-5774.