OPINION
Wallowa County Chieftain
A4
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
There really outta be a law — or at least a regulation
F
all sports season is at an end,
and our local teams have all
done themselves proud.
The boys Enterprise/Joseph/Wal-
lowa cross country team has earned
a richly-deserved 3A state champi-
onship. Ellyse Tingelstad and team-
mates Kyla Hook and Mary Cather-
ine Mathews have been a dominating
presence in the girls, also holding the
#3 division ranking. In volleyball,
Wallowa made the first round of state
playoffs. The Joseph Eagles may have
ceded the official 6-man football state
championship to South Wasco in a
very hard-fought, close game, but they
are the defensive champs statewide,
permitting only a miserly 45 points to
their opponents, and scoring the sec-
ond highest point total in the state this
year. Wallowa improved all season,
ending with an 80-0 tempered rout of
Cove, and a promising season next
year.
Which brings up the topic of lop-
sided scores, and perhaps the impo-
sition of some reason and limits on
scoring in six- and eight-man football.
Eight-man and six-man football
seem particularly prone to scoring that
can leave one team in the dust, and the
other trying to figure out how to stop
making touchdowns without just lying
down on the field or playing sub-par
football. These schools have small
populations of students. And at a time
when injuries, whether concussions or
sprained ankles, weigh heavily on the
minds of parents and students, football
may not be the most popular pursuit.
Consequently, some eight-man teams
may have fewer than a dozen play-
ers. In the Joseph-South Wasco game,
the Redsides suited-up a team of nine.
In these games each boy plays both
defense and offense. They play almost
every down. It is among the tough-
est and most strenuous of high school
sports. Many of the players from rural
Ellen Morris Bishop
A Wallowa player wraps up a Crane opponent in their October 18th matchup. Crane won the
game that was closer than the 56-40 score might indicate.
schools across the state grew up on
ranches and farms, and participate in
rodeo and work with livestock where
the possibility of injury is ever pres-
ent. So the risks posed by football
may not seen significant. They play a
game they love for both its compet-
itiveness and physicality, taking the
risks of injury in stride.
Lopsided scores are common. On
October 25, 8-man scores around the
state included 66-0, 51-6, 58-0, and
80-0. On the 18th, scores included
80-6, 56-0, 60-6, and 54-0. Most
games had at least a 20 point spread in
the scores.
There would seem to be little point
in winning by such an overwhelm-
ing margin, especially when contin-
ued play of tired and stressed players
on both sides holds a mounting risk
of injury as the game continues, and
motivation diminishes on both teams.
OSAA rules instituted in 2017
Voters could be asked to decide
future of Oregon’s forestry practices
By Sam Stites
Oregon Capital Bureau
A political fight over how
Oregon manages its forests
and timber activity could
resolved by voters next fall.
Two separate sets of bal-
lot initiatives with contrary
views of forestry in Oregon
have been filed with the state
Elections Division. One side
seeks to insulate current
practices from change and
the other aims to create new
regulations that prohibit cer-
tain techniques they feel are
harmful to the environment
and Oregonians.
This week, Jim James
and his fellow chief petition-
ers filed initiatives they’re
calling the “Healthy For-
ests and Wildfire Reduction
Plan.” They would keep the
regulation of forest and tim-
ber practices on all state and
privately-owned lands in the
hands of professional forest-
ers, scientists and the Ore-
gon Board of Forestry.
The plan would require
the state Forestry Depart-
ment to report new forestry
regulations to the state board
Oregon Department of Forestry
Six new forestry ballot
initiatives offer conflicting
goals and practices for
Oregon Forestry rules.
for review. The measures
would add four members to
the board representing sci-
entific forestry fields and
timber interests. The pack-
age also would also amend
Oregon’s constitution to the
state to compensate land-
owner if state actions reduce
property values.
James is a professional
forester based out of Foster
and the executive director
of the Oregon Small Wood-
lands Association, a lobby-
ing group that advocates for
private forest owners. The
initiatives he’s promoting
were filed in response to a
set of prospective measures
called the “Oregon Forest
Waters Protection” package.
“I believe that our forests
are at a huge risk from the
ballot measures proposed by
radical, anti-forestry activ-
ists. We need these petitions
to be successful in continu-
ing to protect our manage-
ment of forests,” he said.
The opposing initiatives
were re-filed at the begin-
ning of October by Kate
Crump, a resident of Rock-
away Beach, and two other
petitioners after their orig-
inal package was rejected
for violating the initiative
process.
One goal of Crump’s ini-
tiative package is to prohibit
aerial spraying of pesticides
on a forest clear cut within
500 feet of forest rivers and
streams, especially those
that feed watersheds used
for potable water. It would
also greatly reduce the log-
ging operations in proximity
to water bodies.
CORRECTION
In the October 23, 2019 edition of the
Chieftain, our story about local hemp
grower Shayne Kimball misspelled his
name as Shane Kimball.
The Chieftain apologizes for the error.
This story, headlined Local hemp farmer
gets high crop at high altitude, did not mean
to imply that hemp contains any mind-al-
tering properties. In fact, hemp is defined
as containing insufficient THC to cause
any “high,” as was specifically noted in the
story.
require that if a 45-point differential
occurs at halftime or any time thereaf-
ter, a running clock shall be used. The
running clock shall be started with the
ready-for-play signal from the official.
Once the running clock is started, it
shall be stopped only for reasons that
include measurement of a first down,
injury, a radio or TV time out, time
between the third and fourth quarters,
a team time out, and “a team attempt-
ing to conserve or consume time.”
The OSAA running clock applies to
all levels, including state champion-
ship games.
But this still seems to allow scoring
that simply goes farther than needed.
In the Plainedge, N.Y. school dis-
trict, there’s a rule that should a foot-
ball team win by more than 42 points,
the coach must explain how and why
this happened to the Nassau County
school athletic board. If the rationale
is not accepted, the coach will be sus-
LETTERS to the EDITOR
I smell an off-road’ rat
Dear Editor:
I can’t fathom why our city councilors
would knowingly lower their town’s stan-
dard of living (as per their proposed “new,
improved” Annoying Terrorizing Vehi-
cles ordinance). What could possibly jus-
tify exposing their citizens to more noise,
exhaust and accidents?
“Because Sumpter and Union are doing
it” (the main reason given at last week’s
public hearing) just doesn’t cut it for me.
If/when Sumpter and Union reinstate pub-
lic hangings, will we follow suit as well?
My innate cynicism notwithstanding, I
smell an “off-road” rat.
Respectfully submitted by,
C. M. Sterbentz
Enterprise
Proposed ATV ordinance it
too freewheeling
To the Editor:
Enterprise currently has an ATV ordi-
nance that puts strict limits on the use of
ATVs within city limits, allowing it only
for snow removal and official city uses.
So when you see a kid riding an ATV with
a lawn mower trailered behind, she or he
is in violation. Making provisions for this
type of use would make sense to a lot of
folks, however, the proposed ATV ordi-
nance currently under consideration not
only fails to solve this issue, but if passed
would also create many new problems for
Enterprise residents, as it basically allows
anyone over 18 with a driver’s license to
ride an ATV anywhere and anytime in the
city, just as if it were a car. But ATVs are
not cars – they are much less safe and con-
siderably noisier. The new ordinance thus
would increase the likelihood of accidents
and create more disturbance to citizens
who value the peace and quiet of small
town life. While I would support an ordi-
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
M eMber O regOn n ewspaper p ublishers a ssOciatiOn
Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group
VOLUME 134
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
Contents copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
pended. It’s only been used once, and
the coach received a one-game sus-
pension. How effective it may be at
preventing score “run-ups” is unclear.
In Nebraska, the Pawnee School
District’s Brian Rottinghaus, Super-
intendent, and Donald Jacobs, MS/
HS Principal & AD, have written a
legislative proposal for a change in
Nebraska School Athletic Association
rules that would end games once a 45
point differential in scores is reached.
The proposed change is that in
eight-man games, any time follow-
ing the end of the first half of play,
once one team has a 45-point differen-
tial in team score over their opponent,
the game is ended. EXCEPTION: The
administration or head coaches from
the two teams may agree, before the
game, to allow a continuous running
clock for the remainder of the game
after halftime and when a 45-point
differential has been achieved. Only
during officials time-outs, team time-
outs, end of the third quarter and for
injuries will the clock stop. If the
score drops below the 45-point dif-
ferential, the clock will continue to
run with the above exceptions. This
exception does not apply to play-
off games and State Championship
games.
This seems like a fair rule. Their
rationale includes:
1) Player safety.
2) Consideration of the wide dis-
crepancy in skill and ability among
eight-man football teams.
3) Consideration of the discrepancy
in the number of players from one
school to the next.
4) Improving the morale of players.
OSAA should consider a similar
45 point rule to stop a game once this
point differential is reached. It would
improve the safety of the game, the
morale of players, and even the atten-
tion and interest of fans.
General manager, Jennifer Cooney, jcooney@wallowa.com
Editor, Ellen Morris Bishop, editor@wallowa.com
Publisher, Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com
Reporter, Stephen Tool, steve@wallowa.com
Reporter, Bill Bradshaw, bbradshaw@wallowa.com
Administrative Assistant, Amber Mock, amock@wallowa.com
Advertising Assistant, Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com
nance that allows limited use of ATVs on
city streets, the one proposed is simply too
freewheeling. ATVs should only be used
for legitimate purposes (e.g., snow plow-
ing), speeds should be limited to 10 mph,
and all riders should be required to wear
a helmet. The new ordinance is scheduled
for a vote later this month, so if you want
to keep our streets safe and our neighbor-
hoods quiet, I encourage you let the City
Council know that the proposed ordinance,
as written, is simply not appropriate.
Rob V. Taylor
Enterprise, OR
America’s veterans need
better medical and dental
care
To the Editor:
The V.A. is not helping us veter-
ans at all. Since I have been here, I have
been treated the worst by the Walla
Walla, Washington VA so-called hospi-
tal. They do not compute. Please help us
if you can. We were promised free medi-
cal care for life. Where the hell is it? I’ve
got a mouth full of rotten teeth and I can’t
afford to have them pulled out and get
false teeth. The dentists are too expen-
sive, like all medical stuff. It’s always all
about the money in America, that vets
don’t get good care. I don’t like to be
lied to. Thanks, V.A. for nothing. You are
liars. The V.A. in Roseburg built a beauti-
ful dental facility there and it was only for
100% disabled and lifers. All the rest of us
can only just walk by and wish we could
be seen. We are not treated well and all of
us draftees are looked down upon by lif-
ers. But until you’ve been on the DMZ of
Korea, which is a war zone by the way,
and you can be killed there, shut up and
help vets get the medical care we need.
Pat Wilson
Wallowa
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Wallowa County Chieftain
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