Wednesday, April 14, 2021
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Elected
leaders
work for
the voter
O
regon lawmakers did some-
thing good recently when
they approved Senate
Bill 513, a measure that requires
high school students to complete
one semester of civics before they
graduate.
The bill goes into effect beginning
in the 2025-26 school year.
Lawmakers passed a similar bill in
2017 that strongly encouraged school
districts to offers civics instruction,
but it was not required.
Senate Bill 513 probably will not
garner banner headlines or spark con-
troversy, but is probably one of the
most crucial pieces of legislation to
come down the pike in decades.
That is because knowledge regard-
ing how our government works is, at
times, absent from public discourse.
All one must do is look to the recent
presidential election or the tenure of
several of our past presidents. For-
mer Presidents Donald Trump, Barak
Obama and George W. Bush could
not simply rule exclusively. That is
not how our system of government
works. Each president can do a whole
lot by themselves — using such
edicts as executive orders — but in
the end they are beholden not only to
the people but to Congress.
A firm, basic knowledge of how
our republic functions, how legisla-
tion is created and who gets to make
the final decision on key issues is cru-
cial for not only our youths but for all
voters.
We in the news business sometimes
make the error that everyone under-
stands how our government works,
and then stand in dismay when peo-
ple make what appear to be outra-
geous statements about democracy.
The path to work within our sys-
tem to make change or to get some-
thing done begins with the knowledge
of how the machinery of democracy
works.
Why is it important? Civic educa-
tion is critical because if we do not
know how the system functions, we
cannot act as careful observers of
our elected leaders. Our elected lead-
ers — from the local city council all
the way up to the president — are not
bestowed with unlimited power to do
as they choose. They are constrained
by a check-and-balance system bril-
liantly conceived by our Founding
Fathers.
Many of the recent problems the
nation encountered can be directly
traced to an ignorance of how our
government works. Many do not
know how a legislative bill works.
Where it is developed. Others believe
a president carries unlimited power
and can make “things happen” on a
whim.
The first lesson in civics educa-
tion should be the easiest. That lesson
is elected leaders work for the voter.
Period.
LETTER to the EDITOR
‘Civic Pride?’ letter revisited
I am updating a letter I wrote in 2002.
Here is the original letter called “Civic
Pride?”
“The smokers in front of the Pioneer
Guest Home dispose of their cigarette
butts in the same time-honored manner
as the nearby well-dressed tourists do —
on the street.
“A tour of the Enterprise downtown
area will show many other examples of
missing civic pride. City Hall is badly in
need of paint and the beautiful Carnegie
Library has crumbling and leaking foun-
dations and no handicap access. There
is also the matter of the swimming pool
repairs, expensive clocks at confusing
intersections, the need for well-main-
tained year-round public toilets, lack of
parking for shoppers since storekeep-
ers and their staff park in front of their
stores, handicapped access to these same
stores, etc.
“So, at what socio-economic level
does civic pride start? With our teenag-
ers and residents of ‘Halfway’ homes or
with our elected officials and community
businesspeople?”
Let’s address the positive first. The
clock has been fixed, the library has an
elevator thanks to our librarian, Denine
Rautenstrauch. The staff at the court-
house (a landmark) endured many years
of construction and now this building is
ADA compliant, too.
The pool was removed and, when
the weather allows, we have an ice rink.
Maybe a permanent indoor ice rink
could be a dream for a wealthy donor to
our city. And we have public toilets near
the tennis courts in the park. Thanks to
many soccer fans, we now have a per-
manent indoor arena and our young
teenagers are improving the skateboard
park.
Parking is still an issue and handicap
access to many stores will never be pos-
sible, but at least the Oregon Department
of Transportation is improving the hand-
icap/stroller ramps. There is the sign
coming into town — that looks great.
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa County Chieftain
editorial board. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opin-
ions of the authors and not necessarily that of the Wallowa County Chieftain.
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VOLUME 134
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Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
City Hall did not get its coat of paint
since unfortunately, it burned down.
After much delay, the town now has a
beautiful City Hall and a large fire hall.
Improvements to many heritage
buildings have been made but there are
still many empty stores. Wild Carrot
Herbals is a new addition as are other
stores too numerous to mention. The OK
Theatre looks great and includes ADA
bathrooms. When COVID-19 hit the
community, it seemed to halt much of
the downtown remodeling. On the cor-
ner of River and Main, there are sev-
eral buildings undergoing improve-
ments although the Litch Building has
put a new meaning to the words “Com-
ing Soon.” Admittedly, it will be an
eye-catching building when finished.
Due to a lack of space, I neglected
many improvements being done in this
town so there is civic pride but it will be
years before tourists can exclaim, “What
a great little town Enterprise is!”
Cathryn A. Paterson
Enterprise
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