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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2020)
OPINION Wallowa.com LETTERS to the EDITOR Trump crony undermines justice Some news trickled in this week that was surely overshadowed by the passing of Justice Ginsburg and the blatant hypocrisy of filling her seat. A defamation lawsuit from a registered Republican, former Playboy centerfold and mistress of President Trump was dropped by a Trump-appointed judge against Tucker Carlson because apparently what Mr. Carl- son says is not taken seriously by his over 4 million viewers and is therefore not to be considered “news” or factual. I would argue that at least 2 million of them do. Now he must feel empowered to say whatever he wants, i.e., “Democrats must hate America” and not worry if it is false, misleading or could further fuel the divisiveness that plagues this country that we must all pray for more than ever. Jeff Irish Enterprise Presidential election about more than personalities Before I sat down to write this letter, some wise counsel was given. Instead of writing a multitude of phrases or persua- sion, this letter will be shorter and to the point. If you believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, limited abortion, secure borders, a strong military and police force, vote for President Trump. If you believe the Constitution is out- dated and needs to be rewritten, and our Second Amendment rights eliminated, abortion on demand, late-term and even after birth, that socialism is good for this country, then vote for Biden and his social- ist running mate. Before you cast your ballot think care- fully: Do you want our country to be another Russia? This election, as I see it, isn’t about per- sonalities or winning debates. It is about whether we will keep or lose our Constitu- tion and our country as we know and love it. Carol McCrae Wallowa Trump supporters should do their research Vietnam Navy veteran Michael McLain believes the current president has a “record of working for and helping veterans” (Trump, a man with a record of working for and helping veterans, Oct. 7, 2020.) My wife and I believe the credit given Don- ald Trump is far more likely due to many others before him, not the least Oregon’s senior Sen. Ron Wyden, who worked hard to get a VA facility in Eastern Oregon. I, too, served during the Vietnam era, enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1967 and retir- ing in 1987, so we appreciate your service, Mr. McLain. For someone concerned about law and order, it’s worrisome that you con- done the corruption and lawlessness of this president and his entire administration. And for someone concerned about socialism, it’s amazing that you are willing to accept VA assistance — socialized medicine, like our Medicare and TriCare for Life. Social Security is also a socialized pro- gram to assist seniors to live decent lives in their declining years. As for question- ing what the president may or may not have said regarding veterans, think only about what he said about John McCain, whom he called “a loser.” When pressed, he said, “I like people who don’t get caught, OK?” Well, Donald Trump certainly never risked getting caught. He used bone spurs to avoid military service during the Viet- nam era, although they seem not to bother him on the golf course. He was so sensi- tive about John McCain, in fact, that aides had to cover the name on the stern of the destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG-56) before he would be seen speaking on it. A letter addressed to “fellow citizens,” whose 489 signatories identify as “generals, admirals, senior noncommissioned officers, ambassadors and senior civilian national security leaders,” reads: “We are Republi- cans, Democrats and Independents. We love our country. Unfortunately, we also fear for it. The current president has demonstrated he is not equal to the enormous responsi- bilities of his office; he cannot rise to meet challenges large or small. Thanks to his dis- dainful attitude and his failures, our allies no longer trust or respect us, and our ene- mies no longer fear us.” We urge you to do a little more research before you cast your ballot, Mr. McLain, and again, thanks for serving our country. Dan Blair, Lt. j.g. (USN Ret.), and Jan Blair Joseph Trump supporters don’t understand the danger Driving around the county I see a lot of Trump-Pence signs, and I wonder what are the political issues that these supporters find so important that they want others to know they are eager to have this adminis- tration in office for another four years. What I feel concerned about are efforts by the Trump administration to compro- mise two major elements of American lives and livelihoods: Social Security/Medicare and the U.S. Postal Service. President Trump has stated that if he ENDORSEMENT LETTERS MUST BE TURNED IN BY SUNDAY Editor’s Note: Wednesday, Oct. 28, is the last edition that endorsement letters will run prior to the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election. Any endorsements must be received by Sunday, Oct. 25, in order to be considered for publication. is reelected, he will defund Social Secu- rity and Medicare as we know it today. For years, I and other workers have been paying into Social Security and Medicare through our payroll tax deductions. And now I and millions of Americans count on those funds to help with our retirement income and medical care. To take those away and make them funded by general taxes, which are allocated at the whims of the congressional budget process, is to me, catastrophic. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I’m a fan of the U.S. Postal Service. I don’t use it as much as I used to (email), but I rely on it for all the reasons it exists, not the least of which is voting by mail. We Oregonians are very fortunate. Mail-in voting is not so easy in the majority of other states in the coun- try. Now we are faced with a pandemic that has turned the world as we knew it upside down. So mail-in voting, which is so much safer in our current COVID world, and which has never been proven to be any- thing but reliable and fraud-resistant, in spite of what some impartial media sug- gests, is being compromised by the pres- ident’s vocal opposition to its implemen- tation in other states across the country. He appointed a major Trump campaign donor to be postmaster general and since then, changes have caused mail sorting and delivery to be slowed down. I believe our country is being damaged by these changes. Why would any president want to suppress voting and why would he not want to make sure that our voting rights were protected during these unusual times? So I’m wondering what issues are so important that Trump/Pence supporters are willing to give up these two very fun- damental rights — financial security and health care, and voter rights — that have been part of the fabric of our American lives up until now? Stanlynn Daugherty Joseph My name is Bryce Yanke, and I am a sixth-grade student in Mr. Dakota Hull’s classroom. I am going to inform you about the bond our school is hoping to pass. This bond will install many important mod- ern day things in our 100-year-old school. Some examples are replacing the leaky roof and damaged sidewalks, installing energy efficient windows, and remodeling restrooms to make them more accessible for everyone. The future of this town is in our hands, so please help our school out and make it a better place to learn in. Vote yes in November to help us kids learn, succeed, and eventually graduate. We need YOU to invest in our futures. Bryce Yanke Enterprise Sajonia has been good for Joseph Joseph is ‘lucky’ Sajonia is seeking reelection The city of Joseph is lucky to have two good candidates for mayor. However, my wife and I, owners of two shops in Joseph for nearly 30 years, are supporting Teresa Sajonia for the following reasons: 1) Teresa is pro-business, which means she is pro-community. A vibrant Main Street (very difficult in small, rural towns these days) means more stores and services for locals and more jobs for us and our children. 2) Since Teresa became mayor, suddenly potholes were filled, streets paved, flower boxes cared for and the city administration and council settled down and functioned properly for the first time in years. 3) She had the guts to enforce city ordi- nances — cleaning up out-of-compliant Main Street eyesores. I want to thank Teresa for all the years she has served in this unpaid, some would say “thankless,” position. Rob and Ary Lamb Joseph The residents of Joseph are extremely lucky to have Mayor Teresa Sajonia run- ning for another term. Teresa has served as a city councilor and mayor for the past 14 years. I can’t imag- ine a more qualified candidate. I served on the council for seven of those years and was always impressed with her understanding of all agenda items and willingness to lis- ten to resident input. She definitely did her homework. Teresa’s work ethic is incredible. When she starts a project she sees it through to completion. That type of leadership and tenacity is what we need in city govern- ment. It would be a step backwards to vote in someone with no experience. We need consistency. I would like to remind everyone that the mayor and all council positions are strictly voluntary. Nobody gets paid, and it is a thankless job. Unfortunately folks are quick to criticize anything they don’t agree with or that doesn’t personally benefit them. “Change, we need change” has become a common rant in all elections — big and small. You want change? Get involved. Attend meetings. Volunteer for local boards and committees. Or better yet, run for a position on the city council where your vote really gets counted. Teresa runs one of the busiest, most suc- cessful businesses in Joseph and has been on Main Street for 32 years. She doesn’t need another job, especially one with no compensation. We should be thankful she is willing to serve another term. Let’s let her finish the job. Jim Zacharias Joseph Water decisions not engineers’ fault I subscribe to the Chieftain even though I moved to Arizona 17 months ago. Joseph and Wallowa County will always have a special place in my heart. I eagerly await Wednesday morning so I can read the paper with my first cup of cof- fee. I read with great interest your article on the upcoming election for mayor of Joseph, as I was the mayor from 2009 until Novem- ber 2018. I was particularly interested in the responses to the question about the sewer and water upgrades. Mayor Sajonia stated that if the city had followed the recommen- dations of the city engineer, Anderson and Perry, in the previous decade the cost would be much smaller. I beg to differ. I cannot think of a single A&P recom- mendation that the city did not follow. The sewer plant has averaged about 55% capac- ity since 1998. What prompted the costly sewer upgrade was DEQ implementing new standards, which were completed in 2018. We knew they were doing a review but needed to wait for the final report before the city could implement the required upgrades. The water line project was implemented after a water line broke on Mill Street, and after digging it up to repair found that it was a steel line past its useful life. The city immediately engaged A&P to determine which water lines were in the same condi- tion, and that water line project is close. I remember budget hearings where it was recommended to raise water and sewer rates on a yearly basis per A&P recom- mendations, and certain councilors voted against it. Would be interesting to read old minutes of council meetings to identify those councilors. As someone who served the city for 12 years and wants the city to prosper, I rec- ommend Belinda Buswell for mayor. Dennis Sands Sierra Vista, Arizona Vote ‘Yes’ on Enterprise school bond Three reasons to vote for Enterprise school bond As a member of the Enterprise School Bond Committee that spent six months dis- cussing the bond proposal on the ballot that arrived in your mailbox recently, I’d like to Wednesday, October 21, 2020 A5 highlight three important reasons why you should vote YES for the Enterprise School Bond: 1) We have the opportunity to access 100% matching funds from the state. For the $4 million price tag, we can do $8 million worth of work. This opportunity goes away and is not guaranteed to be available again if we don’t pass this bond this November. 2) I, too, asked if we shouldn’t just bite the bullet and build a whole new school to replace our 100-plus-year-old one. The con- sultants who guided us through our six- month discussion ran a quick calculation that came back at over $50 million to build a new school. I do not think that my fam- ily nor yours can afford that kind of tax increase. 3) This bond is modest and only fixes the bare necessities. The roof is past its useful life span and is failing. Stormwater floods the school building and neighboring build- ings most years. Lack of accessibility is a real hindrance to students and the com- munity. Our kids deserve to be safe in the buildings where they spend a majority of their time. Please join me, your neighbors and your friends in voting YES for Enterprise schools. Autumn Wilburn Enterprise Grateful for those who have helped during COVID-19 As the season changes and OHA records are updated to reflect the second COVID- 19 death in our county, and as I await news of friends who were recently exposed in other counties, I want to turn your attention to the people who care for and about us, right here, right now. Thank you to the doctors, nurses, coun- selors and caregivers who are helping us be healthy, sometimes at their own risk. Thank you to the quilt guild mem- bers and needlecrafters who sewed quan- tities of facemasks and distributed them for free when masks were not available for purchase. Thanks to the many volunteers of Wal- lowa County Community Action Network who have and are prepared to support our caregivers and community. Thanks to Slow Food Wallowas and Community Connection and generous neighbors for your efforts in ensuring those who lost work this year have the resources to feed their kids and elders. Thanks to all the other nonprofits, agen- cies, and contractors and businesses who worked hard to adapt their services, ranging from online art shows, presentations, and book clubs to permitting, licenses, essential goods and services, and food delivery to help us AND keep us safe. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. KC Bowman Joseph Local sports coverage needs improvement It is a tough time to be in the newspaper industry. We have been subscribers to the Chieftain and The Observer for years. It’s quite easy to see that the two are becoming more and more integrated. My family has been a part of, and sup- porters of, local school athletic programs for years. We have supported our daugh- ter and countless community youths as we have been kept abreast on their athletic achievements via the Chieftain sports arti- cles. Now, those reports are nearly impossi- ble to find. A picture — maybe. No articles. COVID-19 has taken away much of the kids activities, but there is school volley- ball and touch football being played. And who doesn’t want to keep up with the local cross-country squad success? I once advised an editor that if he wanted to sell papers, he needed to play up local sports, FFA and 4-H news. Parents and grandparents love to read about their kids in the paper. I am now offered articles by Baker City reporters in the Chieftain. I might understand it in The Observer, but I don’t expect local sports to be bumped out of our paper for the same news article from Baker City. I hope you’ll reconsider the latest edi- torial decisions. Quite a few will make their decisions on whether or not we need to read about local news in the Chieftain or Observer — there may not be a need to keep both. Anyone else agree? David E. Bruce Enterprise Arguing politics won’t change the outcome I grew up in Wallowa County in the 1950s and ’60s reading the Chieftain. Now 50 years later, I’ve been amused at the opinions expressed on the upcoming pres- idential election. Many of you are try- ing desperately to change your neighbors’ minds about the candidates. You’d be far better off having cof- fee together and discussing the weather. Because it doesn’t matter how you vote on national or even state matters. Multnomah and Lane counties will deliver Oregon’s Electoral College votes to Biden/Harris no matter what you think. The best you could do is help Medford send a Republican 2nd District congressman back to Congress. However, you’ll have to get off the “Hate Trump” bandwagon to do so. Can you say “Speaker Pelosi” four more years? Ed Glenn Boardman
