OPINION LETTERS
Wallowa.com
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
A5
Nutrition: More than just what you put in your mouth
I
n addition to the start of
spring, and the celebration of
all things Irish, March is also
National Nutrition Month. It can
often be diffi cult to separate fact
from fi ction in all the headlines
that blare out at us about trying
one diet over another, or that one
study or another shows something
completely different from what
we’ve always thought to be true
when it comes to our health.
What most researchers, those
in the medical and nutrition fi elds,
health practitioners and Oregon
State University, tend to agree on
is that overall, the basis for good
nutrition is in the consumption of
fruits and vegetables (these can
be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or
in the form of 100 percent juice),
lean protein and whole grains
(except those grains with gluten,
which is off limits to people with
Celiac’s Disease), and low-fat or
fat-free dairy products (unless
you have an allergy or are lactose
intolerant).
However, there is more to
nutrition than simply what you put
in your mouth. There are consid-
erations such as personal prefer-
ence (no matter how many times
you’ve heard broccoli is good for
you, you’ll never get passed the
fact that, to you, it tastes like eat-
ing a green Brillo pad), who else
lives in your house, their ages, cal-
orie needs, allergies or food sen-
sitivities, your budget, how physi-
cally active you are, your and your
family’s schedules, cultural prefer-
ences and so on.
If you have young children or
seniors who share the same house-
hold, those people will have vastly
EATING
RIGHT
Ann Bloom
different calorie needs. Children
are still growing and need more
calories, while seniors may feel
like eating less than they may
have in the past. If there are food
allergies or sensitivities in the
household, this will defi nitely dic-
tate what everyone eats. Budget
is a huge consideration when it
comes to the food you buy. How-
ever, people on all budgets can eat
nutritiously with a little planning.
Practices such as buying fruits
and vegetables in season (sorry,
no peaches in December), buy-
ing from local producers, taking
advantage of sale items and buy-
ing in bulk, can pay off in big div-
idends when it comes to the fam-
ily food budget.
Cooking and meal prepara-
tion for households whose mem-
bers have food allergies or sensi-
tivities can be challenging, but it
is possible. For example, if some-
one in your house has an allergy
to gluten (a protein found in wheat
and some other grains), there is
no reason why the family can’t
still enjoy a spaghetti dinner. Pasta
now comes in rice, corn and qui-
noa varieties and is just as nutri-
tious as the wheat variety. Many
people say, in terms of taste, they
can’t tell the difference between
wheat past and gluten free pastas.
There are also gluten free breads
that can stand in for the usual gar-
lic bread made from wheat bread.
According to the USDA’s
myplate information (found at
the website www.myplate.gov)
a nutritionally balanced meal, at
breakfast contains one item from
the fruit, dairy, and grain or/pro-
tein groups (three items total). At
the evening meal, a balanced meal
contains something from four of
the fi ve food group—protein, veg-
etables, dairy, and grains. Some-
thing from all of the food groups
is preferable.
For more information on
appropriate portion sizes for dif-
ferent ages, genders and activ-
ity levels, and recipe suggestions,
go to the website for myplate. For
more information on nutrition and
healthy recipes, got to www.food
hero.org.
More elk management is needed, farmers need relief
D
ale Johnson is so right
about the issue of elk man-
agement. This dilemma
parallels the management issue
over the Canadian wolves that
now inhabit our county. Our local
ODFW would like to be more
aggressive with management of
both species, but I believe they are
handcuffed by superiors who can’t
decide if they should opt for good
management or try to stay out of
court with environmental groups.
Before the elk had pressure
from predators, they stayed less in
the valley and more in the woods.
With half of our county owned by
the federal or state governments,
there is basically a lot of elk hab-
itat. But with close to 120 wolves
and many cougar putting pres-
sure on them, it’s only logical that
they would come closer to human-
ity where wolves are less likely
to kill them. When they have sur-
vived an attack or see one of their
kind killed, they prefer to go to
open areas where they can see
their attackers approaching. They
aren’t stupid when it comes to
surviving.
The simple solution would
be to reduce or limit the number
of wolves and cougars and also
issue more tags for large elk herds
that are staying on private farm-
ing ground. We struggle with up
to 200 head of elk in the summer
months who graze in our alfalfa
fi elds, eating feed we need to har-
vest for our cattle. Shooting a few
does basically nothing!
Until we can do what good
management should be doing,
this dilemma will not go away.
Environmental groups want
more non-lethal management of
wolves, ignoring the fact that their
increase is exponential, and their
damage will far outweigh their
good in the near future. The Ore-
gon Wolf Plan is a management
plan, not a refuge for any wolf
born in Oregon. We need logic,
not fantasy wolf worship. And elk
numbers can be controlled with
hunters who can provide food for
our people. Our farmers in the
valley need relief from misman-
agement and non-management! If
you would like to tell ODFW we
are tired of non-management of
local species, email odfw.commis-
sioners@state.or.us.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Connie Dunham
Enterprise
Letter: Thou Mayest
The editorial “Thou Mayest”
(March 6) harks back to the draft-
ing of the Constitution and earlier.
Benjamin Franklin brought it to
the writing of the Constitution cre-
ating our “federal” government.
But his argument came from the
six-nation Iroquois Confederation
in New York state. He said:
“It would be a very strange
Thing, if six Nations of igno-
rant Savages should be capable
of forming a Scheme for such an
Union, and be able to execute it in
such a Manner, as that it has sub-
sisted Ages, and appears indis-
soluble; and yet that a like Union
should be impracticable for ten
or a Dozen English Colonies, to
whom it is more necessary, and
must be more advantageous; and
who cannot be supposed to want
an equal Understanding of their
Interests.”
The six nations met regu-
larly, hosted by the Onondaga in
the Syracuse, NY, region. There
was a sachem, a chief of chiefs,
who moderated sessions, resolv-
ing any differences that may have
arisen between nations. (I was
acquainted with Onondaga chiefs
and leaders when I worked nearby.
They continue the cooperation
among the nations.)
So, the U.S. became a fed-
eration. That was calculated to
resolve differences among the col-
onies so they could become states
of the Union.
Almost from the beginning, we
have seen bitter departures from
this unity, but we have recovered
from time to time. I hope we can
resolve our tribal differences.
Ed Pitts
Joseph
Parkinson’s disease is
not fatal
County notable Ben Boswell.
Many of us who knew Ben
might think that he died of Par-
kinson’s Disease. This is not the
case. Parkinson’s Disease is a
degenerative movement disorder
for which there is no cure. How-
ever, unlike ALS (Lou Gehrig/
Stephan Hawking) or Hunting-
ton’s disease (Woody Guthrie)
— which are fatal — people suf-
fering from Parkinson’s live on,
learning to cope with decreasing
abilities in the areas of move-
ment, balance and at times cog-
nitive function.
While some of the symptoms
of Parkinson’s Disease, (e.g.
impaired balance) might lead to
a life threatening fall, one would
not say that the person who fell
died of Parkinson’s disease even
though its symptoms were con-
tributive. Rather, folks live
with Parkinson’s disease as Ben
Boswell showed us how to do in
a brave and meaningful way. In
that way, Ben Boswell is a hero
to all of us, especially, those who
are affl icted with PD.
On Saturday I attended the
celebration of life for Wallowa
Mike Koloski
THEY CAN WORK, PAY INCOME TAXES, AND DRIVE. SHOULD 16-YEAR-OLDS VOTE, TOO?
Enterprise students have their say
Florida shooting, and other
causes.
The idea of extending vot-
ing rights to 16-year-olds
is controversial. They can
drive. They can work and pay
By Ellen Morris Bishop
Wallowa County Chieftain
Back in November, before
it snowed much, nine Oregon
legislators placed Joint Res-
olution 22 on the legislative
docket. It would place a ref-
erendum on Oregon’s 2020
state-wide ballot to lower
the voting age from 18 to 16
years of age. The voting age
was lowered from 21 to 18 in
1971 by the 26th Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution.
Joint Resolution 22 pro-
poses an amendment to Ore-
gon’s Constitution that would
extend voting rights in vir-
tually all elections, federal,
state, and local, to 16-year
olds. The amendment would
maintain the present U.S.
citizenship and Oregon res-
idency requirements — 6
months immediately prior to
the election — and require
all voters to registers at least
20 days prior to the elec-
tion. It would include the
legal requirement that “per-
sons who vote upon ques-
tions of levying special taxes
or issuing public bonds” be
taxpayers.
Spearheaded by 38-year-
old Sen. Shemia Fagan (D,
Portland), the measure would
make Oregon the fi rst state in
the U.S. to lower the voting
age to 16. Fagan’s motiva-
tion for proposing this stems
from growing high-school
activism after the Parkland,
really close and not many
people voted.” Asked if she
would vote if she were 16,
Hopkins added “Yes! It’s
defi nitely an important thing
to do.”
‘I FEEL LIKE 16-YEAR-OLDS AREN’T
REALLY MATURE ENOUGH. A LOT
OF THEM WOULDN’T TAKE IT AS
SERIOUSLY AS THEY SHOULD.’
Caden Fent, middle school student
taxes. They may be charged
and sentenced like an adult
if they commit a crime. But
in Oregon, they are also too
young to get married, too
young to enlist in the mili-
tary, and too young to legally
own property or enter into
contracts.
High school and mid-
dle school students in Enter-
prise had strong but differing
opinions on the subject of the
16-year-old vote.
“It’s like the level of matu-
rity is different (between 16
year-olds and 18 year olds),”
said middle school stu-
dent Caden Fent. “I feel like
16-year-olds aren’t really
mature enough. A lot of them
wouldn’t take it as seriously
as they should.”
“I think it’s a great idea.,”
said 8th grader Sydney Hop-
kins. The last election was
WALLOWA COUNTY
Health Line
“I think it would be smart,
allowing them to vote. Teen-
agers don’t get a say in much
around here,” said Nevin
Goldsmith, 14. “In elections
it’s always 18 and older. So
it would be nice for teen-
agers to have a say in what
goes on.” Would he vote
when he reached 16? “Yes,
defi nitely!”
“I think it would be good
to vote in matters that would
directly effect our commu-
nity in some ways, especially
concerning education. I’m
for it, ” said Roan Flynn, 14.
“I feel like some would
be a little irresponsible, but
there would be some mature
ones who would understand
what they were doing,” said
Maddie Nordtvedt, 14.
“When you are 16 you
can work at a lot of places,
you pay taxes, and you have
societal responsibilities. Yes,
I feel like they should be able
to,” said Evan Johnson, 18.
“I feel like some kids
should be a little bit older to
be able to vote, a little more
mature to understand the
issues,” said Jessica Jones,
17. “But voting at 18, or even
17 would be perfectly fi ne.”
“It would defi nitely infl u-
ence elections a bit, but I
wonder about the maturity
of 16-year-olds. I think some
16-year-olds are mature
enough but I don’t think at
16 everyone is. Some people
would be and some wouldn’t.
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ELGIN STAMPEDE GROUNDS
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I guess I don’t really have an
opinion one way or the other,”
said Anna Moholt, 16. Would
Anna vote if she could “Yes,
I would defi nitely vote,” she
said. “ I think so many things
that come up in elections that
effect so many people, and
often times you directly, that
it’s important to have your
input into what should be
going on in the place where
you live, be it state, county,
or nation.”
“It could be a good idea
but I feel like I don’t know
much about the ballots right
now. I think it would be cool
to be able to vote. It could
also be a lot of work because
I feel like we don’t know
what we’d be voting on, and
we’d have to learn. We don’t
have a class on those things.
When we are seniors we have
a “Modern Problems” class,
but we don’t have one at our
age,” said Claire Farwell,
who just turned 16 last week.
If Senate Joint Resolu-
tion 22 passes both houses of
the Oregon legislature, pres-
ent voters, 18 and older, will
have their say.
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208 S. RIVER ST. • ENTERPRISE, OR
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“We took
our daughter to
Dr. Allen on several
occasions, and we
were extremely
happy with the care
we received…”
-Enterprise Mom
Dr. Allen is a family
practice physician and
doctor of osteopathic
medicine.
Call Dr. Allen to
schedule your appointment today!
541-426-7900
Mountain View Medical Group
603 Medical Parkway
(next to Wallowa
Memorial Hospital)
Enterprise, Oregon 97828
We treat you like family
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