OPINION
Wallowa County Chieftain
A4
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
The important value of farmers markets
I
t’s seriously spring in Wallowa
County. The balsamroot is bloom-
ing on the moraine. Thunder is
rolling through the mountains. And
lots of us have fi nally gotten up the
nerve to plant our garden.
The health benefi ts of eating fresh
foods, whether vegetables harvested
just before dinner, grass-fed beef
raised locally with care, or eggs laid
by your neighbors free-range, crick-
et-chomping chickens, have become
readily apparent in the past decade.
Our physicians sometimes prescribe a
Whole 30 diet rather than prescription
drugs. There should be little doubt
in anyone’s mind that fresh, locally
raised foods are generally better for us
than goods hauled here from afar.
There are other benefi ts to grow-
ing our own foods and eating locally.
First, it makes this isolated rural com-
munity more self-suffi cient. That’s
something that we have always taken
pride in, and still do. Second, we sup-
port our neighbors who are growing
good food as much as a labor of love
as for income. Supporting local farms
also helps keep us rural. Third, pro-
ducing our own food strengthens our
economy—in several ways. An arti-
cle in the very urban Washington Post
documents this clearly.
“Every time money changes hands
in the community it boosts the com-
munity’s overall income and level of
economic activity, and fuels the cre-
ation of jobs. The more times money
Ellen Morris Bishop
Beets are among the many, many locally grown healthy foods available seasonally at farmer’s
markets.
changes hands within the community
before heading elsewhere, the better
off the community is,” said economist
Sarah DeWeerdt. “Spending money at
a locally-based business has a greater
multiplier effect, …because locally
owned businesses are more likely to
invest their dollars locally.”
The January 2019 issue of the Jour-
nal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and
Community Development included
a study of Moscow, Idaho’s Farmers
Market. The study indicated “a posi-
tive impact on the downtown commu-
nity of Moscow due to direct sales at
the market, and direct sales at nearby
downtown businesses.” Total eco-
nomic impact was “between $3.9 mil-
lion to $5.5 million, generation of
94 to 129 local jobs, and $290,000
to $405,000 in taxes generated in the
state.” (Of course, Idaho has a sales
tax…) The report continues: “More-
over, there is evidence that the mar-
ket fosters the brick and mortar busi-
nesses that may develop as spillover
effects of business-to-business activity
with market vendors.”
Granted, Moscow, Idaho is much
larger than Joseph or Wallowa – or
even Wallowa County, for that mat-
ter. But the basic fi ndings still apply.
A robust Farmers Market that pur-
veys local foods is good for us all.
Importantly, it attracts visitors and
their dollars to the “nearby downtown
businesses.”
For the City Council of Joseph to
exile Wallowa County’s upper valley
Farmers Market to an obscure park-
ing lot on an outbound highway at the
edge of town bespeaks a blatant and
foolish disregard for the economy and
health of their community. The cit-
izens of Joseph owe a huge debt of
gratitude to Stein’s Distillery for offer-
ing their parking lot to the Farmers
Market, where it will be among the
fi rst things that many visitors see, and
fi rst place they stop. They will likely
consider Joseph as a forward think-
ing, health-conscious community as a
result. If the fi ndings in Moscow, Ida-
ho’s study hold true here, then some
of Joseph’s newest businesses—
Stein’s, Blythe Cricket, La Laguna,
Aspen Grove Gallery and even the
not-yet established MThrive Organ-
ics—may see their business pros-
per in a revitalized north end of town.
And while this outcome is good, it’s
sad that the Joseph City Council did
not have the foresight to embrace
and support an organization that pro-
vides nothing but good for the entire
community of Joseph, and Wallowa
County.
Striving for mediocrity
WHERE TO WRITE
Washington, D.C.
The White House — 1600 Penn-
sylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.
20500; Phone-comments: 202-456-
1111; Switchboard: 202-456-1414.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516
Hart Senate Offi ce 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.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313
Hart Senate Offi ce Building, Washing-
ton D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753.
E-mail: senator@merkley.senate.gov.
Fax: 202-228-3997.
Oregon offi ces — One World 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 (Second
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. Medford offi ce:
14 North Central, Suite 112, Medford,
OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646. Fax:
541-779-0204.
C
ongratulations to all the high school
students who are about to graduate,
especially those of you who have
worked hard to excel and score high on
your SAT test. Getting a high score on this
test, along with personal satisfaction, will
open a lot of doors for you as far as being
admitted to the college of your choice.
I see where there is a movement to
change the scoring for the SAT by giv-
ing disadvantaged students extra points. If
you were raised by a single parent, come
from a poor family, are a member of an eth-
nic minority, etc., you would be awarded
extra points. In my opinion this degrades
the credibility of the score. Adding points
doesn’t make a student smarter. It seems
to me this artifi cial score will now qualify
unqualifi ed students to enter colleges they
are not equipped to succeed in. Adding arbi-
trary points to someone’s SAT score doesn’t
raise their IQ or expand their knowledge
to a point where they will be successful.
To handle this problem they will probably
lower the standards of the colleges thereby
diminishing the value of a degree and the
value of the graduate to employers.
There was a time when only the winners
got the trophy and the winners were the
ones who put in the time and effort to win.
Other than personal satisfaction, what rea-
son is there for a kid to try hard and work
on skills to excel when the laziest and most
useless kids get the same participation tro-
phy. I know what it is like to not win and
it isn’t good but that is the reason to prac-
Pending Bills
For information on bills in Congress
— Phone: 202-225-1772.
Salem
Gov. Kate Brown, D — 160 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
4582. Fax: 503-378-8970. Web site:
www.governor.state.or.us/governor.
html.
Oregon Legislature — State Cap-
itol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-
1180. Web site: www. leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
State Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove
(District 58) — Room H-384, State
Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., Salem OR
97301. Phone: 503-986-1458. E-mail:
rep.gregbarreto@state.or.us. Web site:
http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/
barreto
State Sen. Bill Hansell, R (Dis-
trict 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.
OPEN
RANGE
Barrie Qualle
tice or study and get better at what you are
doing. Why work at something if there is no
greater reward than what every other entry
is going to receive. There should be some
incentive to try. Somehow participation tro-
phies seem pretty socialistic and don’t pre-
pare a kid for real life. In fact it is going to
make their adult lives tougher.
‘WHEN SCHOOL IS OVER AND
YOU ARE OUT IN THE OLD COLD
WORLD, THE ONES WHO TRIED
AND EXCELLED ARE THE ONES
WHO MAKE THE BIG MONEY
AND HAVE A GOOD LIFE.‘
There is a high school in central Oregon
where things appear to be decaying. In most
sports they don’t choose an MVP for fear
of hurting someone’s feelings. This year the
football coaches weakened and allowed it
but chose three MVPs thereby diluting the
value of the award. The administration also
decided to have the teachers pick the class
presidents and select the student council.
That should teach the kids something about
the election process. Rather than reward
the valedictorian with the privilege of giv-
ing the graduation speech the administra-
tion chose a student they deemed more
closely represented the class. A valedicto-
rian shouldn’t represent the class average,
a valedictorian has tried and excelled and
should be rewarded for the time and effort
that was necessary to achieve that title. The
school mission statement might as well be
“Striving for Mediocrity.”
Here’s a bulletin for any students who
are satisfi ed with a participation trophy or
having points added to their SAT. When
school is over and you are out in the old
cold world, the ones who tried and excelled
are the ones who make the big money and
have a good life. They are the ones employ-
ers really want because they are the ones
that make companies succeed. Because they
don’t struggle fi nancially at a job they hate
they have cause to be happier and more
content.
Any way, I am proud of the students in
this county and all the organizations that
provide much needed scholarships for them.
On a different note, have any of you noticed
the happy fl agger where the road work is
being done on the Minam grade? She waves
and smiles at every car that passes. It kind
of makes your day a little better seeing
someone that happy and nice. Her name is
Lisa.
Ellen Morris Bishop
The Enterprise High School class of 2019 will pursue careers in many diff erent walks of life.
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
M EMBER O REGON N EWSPAPER P UBLISHERS A SSOCIATION
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VOLUME 134
USPS No. 665-100
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Offi ce: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
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Interim Edito , Ellen Morris Bishop, editor@wallowa.com
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Administrative Assistant, Amber Mock, amock@wallowa.com
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