A4
Opinion
wallowa.com
June 14, 2017
Wallowa County Chieftain
Are ‘Get out of Opiods for the masses: Painkillers
jail free’ cards a causing their own brand of hurt
budget solution? T
GUEST
he Wallowa County Sheriff’s Department has
begun releasing lesser bad guys on their own
recognizance rather an processing them into
Umatilla County Jail.
It’s a budget-saving measure. We don’t know a lot
more than that because
county officials are still in
the denial phase. It’s still
being discussed, money
Voice of the Chieftain
may still be restored to
the budget and the prac-
tice may end, the budget isn’t set yet, we really don’t
know any more, it’s not a story. It’s become a familiar
refrain.
Regardless, this step marks a notable change in
policy by the sheriff’s department, and we believe
readers should be aware of it and have the opportu-
nity to weigh in.
Anecdotally, several individuals in the community
have expressed a degree of shock over the move.
According to figures The Chieftain obtained from
Umatilla County, which holds Wallowa County’s
contract for jail services, $40,300 has been spent
thus far into the fiscal year. Since the contract began
in March 2016, a total of $62,500 has been spent.
Sources there say 235 individuals have been
processed through their facility on behalf of Wallowa
County so far in the 2016-17 fiscal year. The
numbers reached a high of 30 in both May and July
2016.
Everyone understands money being short. Coun-
ties particularly seem to have taken the brunt of
shortfalls with little help forthcoming from state
coffers for beleaguered general funds. That’s the
hand that has been dealt.
The missing piece of the puzzle here is do the
taxpayers of Wallowa County want scofflaws deemed
to be “no threat” to the public to be walking around
rather than cooling their heels in jail?
The answer may well be “yes, by all means,” but
to this point, no taxpayer we are aware of has been
asked. The issue appears to be a rather punitive
“we’ll show you” sort of measure. “No new taxes you
say ... fine. We’ll let accused criminals walk.”
The numbers have gone up over the past 17
months because of crackdowns on drugs and other
violations. That apparently was at the behest of
taxpayers with concerns about crime. Are taxpayers
OK with the a more lax approach to drugs simply
because dealing with the financial aftermath is
denting the county budget?
They may be. Perhaps the message is “yes, crack
down on crime, but don’t get into red ink doing it.”
And that’s a legitimate response, but who decided
that’s what taxpayers wanted? The supposition here
is that because taxpayers didn’t storm the Bastille
when the policy was changed, everyone is fine with
it.
Well, are you?
The county has just a couple weeks remaining
before it finalizes a budget. It’s unknown at this point
whether funding will be restored for the sheriff to
continue the previous jail policy.
If you are someone concerned about this, let your
voice be heard.
T
EDITORIAL
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
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Contents copyright © 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction without
permission is prohibited.
Volume 134
he headlines are everywhere.
“The Killer Among Us.” “Inside
a Killer Drug Epidemic.” “The
Opioid Menace!”
Go behind the dramatic headlines and
you will find that America does have
a major problem with opiods. Opioids
are a class of drugs related chemically
to opium and include medications such
as Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Oxycodone
(OxyContin), Methadone and Fentanyl.
They are used for acute pain, such as
that experienced after a traumatic injury
or surgery but also used for chronic pain,
which has lasted more than three months.
The use of opioids is wide-spread.
Perhaps this is because as many as 1 in 5
American’s suffer from chronic pain. But
still, the numbers are staggering.
In 2015, 26.2 percent, more than 1
in 4, of all Oregonians filled a prescrip-
tion for a legally prescribed opioid drug.
Since that time, the number of people
receiving prescriptions has gone down to
20.8 percent, 1 in 5.
Wallowa County’s use is slightly
below average, with 19.3 percent of the
population filling opioid prescriptions
in 2017. The rate in neighboring Union
County was at 27.4 percent.
However the use of these pain medi-
cations has not been without cost.
Opioid-involved deaths continue to
increase in the United States.
Since 1999, the number of overdose
deaths involving opioids has quadru-
pled. Currently 91 Americans die every
day from an opioid overdose, according
to the Centers for Disease Control. There
are a number of other significant risks
related to the use of opioids.
Patients taking prescription opioids
can become addicted. Up to 1 out of
4 people receiving long-term opioid
COLUMN
Stephen Kliewer
therapy in a primary care setting
struggle with addiction, according to
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration. Other side
effects include withdrawal when the
medication is stopped, constipation,
nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, sleepiness
and dizziness, confusion and depression.
One of the biggest problems is
increased sensitivity to pain when
opioids are used for chronic pain.
Chronic pain is not just about the body,
it is also about the brain and the nervous
system.
This is why opiates do not always
work for treatment of chronic pain. If a
person has pain that is due to a problem
in the nervous system itself, such as the
system having become hypersensitive,
and we use opioids to block a pain signal
down at the point of the original injury, it
does not work.
Ultimately the pain signals increase,
trying to get through the block, while
at the same time the brain, due to the
opiates, stops producing its natural pain
killing chemicals. Thus there is more
pain and less capacity to handle the pain,
leading to an ever-growing need for
opioids.
What is the answer? Treating the
crisis involves a number of responses,
the first involving prescribers them-
selves, who are now following new
prescribing guidelines developed by the
Centers for Disease Control.
The guidelines have 12 specific
recommendations, the first being
“Non-pharmacologic therapy and
non-opioid pharmacologic therapy are
preferred for chronic pain.” Other strat-
egies include better education about
opioids, increased monitoring of opioid
use for those who have prescriptions,
pain management contracts and an initial
assessment of risk for addiction.
But one of the main strategies is
the development of pain management
programs such as the Center for Optimal
Living, a program of Wallowa Valley
Center for Wellness. Such programs
work with primary care doctors to
support and enhance the medical
management of the pain.
They provide additional tools that aid
in pain management. Some are psycho-
logical, such as mindfulness, while
others involve physical conditioning,
using tools such as yoga. In addition they
offer patient education about such crit-
ical topics as nutrition.
There are things all people can do. If
you have chronic pain talk to your doctor
about all your options. Participate in a
pain management program.
When you are ready to stop using
opioids, make sure you get rid of unused
medicine properly, as these medicines
are often sold illegally on the street.
Be aware of the signs of addic-
tion in yourself and in those you love.
Encourage friends you think may be
addicted to talk to a doctor and seek
help.
Info: 541-398-2478.
Kliewer is a licensed professional
counselor and is head of the Center for
Optimal Living in Enterprise.
Get ready for ranch rodeo
OPEN RANGE
F
inally some decent weather.
Between branding calves, irri-
gating and getting ready for the
10th annual CJD ranch rodeo, things
are busy. Ten years ago, a group of
civic-minded citizens gathered and put
together a ranch rodeo to kickoff Chief
Joseph Days PRCA rodeo.
Over the years, the ranch rodeo has
contributed thousands of dollars to local
scholarships. It has gone through a lot
of changes over the years. Some of the
events have changed, and some have
been modified.
In the beginning, we had four-man
teams, and two of the team members
had to come from the county. In order to
increase the number of teams a few years
ago, it was changed to three-man teams
and two members had to be from the
county. Individuals who had been raised
in the county but moved away were
considered eligible as residents.
One like that, Justin Nedrow, will
be back this year and is on a team with
Rawley Bixby and Buck Haney. Buck is
one of the out-of-county ringers who has
competed in the Ranch Rodeo Finals in
Texas and is a top hand.
J Arrow livestock team is another top
team consisting of Jim Hite, Marian Yost
and Jerry Cobb. I have never understood
how Jim Hite can go all year without
practicing and be at the top of his game
when he competes.
Jerry Cobb placed in a big roping last
year in Las Vegas and pocketed $95,000.
Dashing Luke Morgan is entered and
is fresh off a big first-place win in a
ranch rodeo in central Oregon where the
winners were presented trophy rifles.
Barrie Qualle
The Quail Run Ranch team has won
the buckles the last two years and hopes
to three-peat. That team consists of locals
Mel Coleman, Barrie Qualle and out-of-
county ringer Brady Black. Mel moved
to the county a few years ago and is a
16-time NFR qualifier and has several
Canadian Saddle Bronc and All-around
Championships.
Too bad most of his championships
were in at the wrong end of the arena. He
is also the only Olympian to be entered.
Mel competed in the Olympics for team
Canada in Salt Lake City in 2002.
One of the all local teams to watch is
a team made up of Trevor Lewis, Clint
Sheafer and recent arrival from western
Kansas Greg Seifer.
As you can see, there is some quality
talent entered. There will be several other
teams entered consisting of top cowboys
from local ranches, and if you have been
to any local brandings, you know they
are real handy in a corral and any team
might win.
Ranch Rodeos and the events are
tailored to emphasize cattle- handling
and roping in a ranch setting and corral
work rather than rodeo arena type events.
The events are typical ranch work but are
timed.
In the past, team roping was an event,
and that has now been changed to more
resemble pasture roping in that the steers
are turned out at the far end of the arena.
The branding contest has been
changed this year to be more like
ranch branding in that there will be 12
numbered calves in the pen with six
cows and the teams will draw a number,
and that will be the number on the two
calves they have to brand.
The festivities begin Friday, June
30, with a trail ride to the top of the east
moraine. The ride begins 2:30 p.m. and
should be back by 5 p.m. in time for
cocktails and a dinner at the Thunder
Room.
Everyone is invited to the trail ride,
and it is free. Last year about 40 people
participated. Everyone is encouraged
to go to the beef dinner for an excellent
meal for $15. Following the dinner there
will be a cowboy Calcutta where they
auction off the rodeo teams and a lot of
money is paid out to the team buyers if
their team places.
Last year the buyer of winning
Quail Run Ranch team received around
$1,200. The ranch rodeo begins 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 1, at the CJD rodeo arena
in Joseph. The events are ranch sorting,
cut and rope, team branding and pasture-
style team roping. There will also be
girls breakaway roping and ranch saddle
bronc riding.
You can’t find family entertainment
like this for $5, so load up the kids, and
we will see you at the rodeo.
Barrie Qualle is an all-around
working ranch hand, author and ranch
rodeo enthusiast. He lives in Wallowa
County.
Vintage cars bring flood of memories
W
alking through the lineup
of nearly 200 vintage cars
entered in the Oregon Moun-
tain Cruise car show in Joseph Saturday,
I couldn’t help but recall people I’ve
known throughout my life who had
owned one of the vehicles.
The station wagons reminded me
of several large families that lived in
and around my hometown. They’d
come to town on Saturday night, all five
doors would swing open and a flood of
humanity would exit.
It often reminded me of one of those
clown cars where the clowns just keep
coming and coming.
We had a number of families in our
town who were rich enough to purchase
muscle cars for their sons (and a few
daughters) over the years. They were
a status symbol. The cool guys drove
the Chevelles, Chargers and Camaros.
You could hear them coming before you
could see them.
I was decidedly not one of the cool
kids. When I came of driving age, the
only vehicle left unused was a 1966
Chrysler Newport. Pale green and 22
feet long, it operated more like a boat on
wheels than a car. The four-barrel carbu-
retor was fed with garden hoses.
When you laid the accelerator to the
WAHL TO WALL
Paul Wahl
floor, the g-forces plastered you back
against the seat, and you could watch the
needle on the fuel gage going down.
I didn’t mind too much because that
car could safely accommodate me and
seven friends on those huge bench seats
without anyone being crowded. And
if you needed to pull over to catch 40
winks, the back seat was as comfortable
as most regular mattresses of the day.
The trunk was the size of two
caskets set side by side and with those
195/75R14 tires, it was about as smooth
a ride as you could hope for.
It was a car in which we felt safe,
despite the rock-hard dash board and the
absence of air bags.
No way was I going to take the
monster off to college with me. It
required two parking spaces, and spots
on campus were already at a premium.
Since I was working full-time and
attending class full-time, I had enough
money to purchase another car. I chose a
1962 baby blue Volkswagen Beetle.
It wasn’t the most ideal vehicle for
the far northern reaches of the country.
It was air cooled and in theory, the heat
from the engine would keep the inside
toasty in the winter.
Alas, it was a flawed theory. Ice
formed on the outside –– and inside ––
of all six windows. Winter driving meant
having a second person along with long
arms to keep the windows clear enough
to see where you were going.
With it’s rear engine, however, it
waded through the deepest of snow with
ease. I parked in an alley at the time,
and most of the residents of the block
would follow me out on snowy mornings
because they knew my VW would make
it through.
I wish to heaven I still had it, but
the parade of things that kept breaking
finally forced me to sell it for parts.
Thanks to the organizers of the car
show for bringing back a flood of good
memories for me and, I am sure, for most
people who attended. Perhaps next year I
won’t have to pick sleet pellets out of my
bratwurst.
Paul Wahl is editor of the Chieftain
and drives a Saturn Ion and a Subaru
Impreza.