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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2021)
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 A4 OPINION VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN Council should share how it was advised L ight is the best disinfectant, and transparency is vital to establish- ing trust. That is why it’s concerning that the Joseph City Council, last week, declined to comment on how it was advised by City Attorney Wyatt Baum regarding whether it should indeed investigate the alleged harassment by now former city Administrator/Recorder Larry Braden, who submitted his resignation April 16. Yes, Oregon law allows for items dis- cussed in executive session by a city council to remain behind closed doors. But in this instance, we at the Chief- tain believe doing so is not the correct move. A citizen who spoke up at the emer- gency council meeting last week stated the reason why it’s concerning: It allows a “fog” to linger over the council. That fog is doubt — doubt of whether or not the council will do what is right. If the council has been advised to have an investigation — even if it hasn’t decided yet if it will — the residents of Joseph deserve to know as much. On the flip side, if the opposite is the case, and an investigation has not been advised, the residents deserve to know that. The “no comment” given by Mayor Belinda Buswell to the question of if there will be an investigation — even if it is the answer she gives after any exec- utive session — is not sufficient here. That nobody else on the council shared what was advised is equally concerning. Does it mean a decision is still being made? Has new information been made known that steered the adviser — Attor- ney Baum — one way or the other in his guidance? Does the council intend to go with or against whatever Baum has said? And if so, why? The Chieftain maintains that the right move for the council is to have an inves- tigation. It seems like an easy decision, especially given what has been alleged. Granted, the Chieftain is not privy to the information Baum or the council may have that could ultimately influence how they move forward. Nobody cur- rently is. And therein lies the problem, the cloud, the fog. As long as there is doubt of whether or not an investigation takes place, there is doubt about the council’s ability to govern properly. It is a serious allega- tion — the claim of harassment — that has the council in this position in the first place. The “no comment” adds to that doubt. A simple “yes,” “no,” or even “we’ve been advised a certain way and are still deciding if that is correct,” would give the people of Joseph what they need right now. It would help serve as a light- house to start cutting through the fog. That transparency and light are needed to bring peace of mind in Joseph. And right now, they are missing. LETTER to the EDITOR What happened to ‘flatten the curve’? What ever happened to “flatten the curve”? Surely most of us can remember when, more than a year ago, lockdown measures hailed from on high and we all donned our masks, sheltered in place and submitted to the politicians’ decisions to shut down our economy for the sake of not overwhelming the health care system. The message was clear: flattening the curve (decreasing the rate of spread of the virus) would help ensure that hospi- tals were not overwhelmed with patients; it was never intended to eradicate the virus or minimize the total number of deaths. “Two weeks to flatten the curve” has turned into 52. We still have huge por- tions of our economy shut down or ham- strung by burdensome regulations. Travel is restricted. There are limited sporting events. We also seem to have forgotten the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention’s own guidance that a COVID- 19 “exposure” occurs after a patient has had “close contact” (within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more) with someone who has coronavirus. Instead of acknowledging that we’re CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES U.S. PRESIDENT Joe Biden The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 U.S. SENATORS Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande office: 541-962-7691 Bobby Levy, District 58 900 Court St. NE, H-376 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1458 Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us Member Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association Published every Wednesday by: EO Media Group General manager, Jennifer Cooney, jcooney@wallowa.com P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore. Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921 Bill Hansell, District 29 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. SEND LETTERS TO: editor@wallowa.com, or via mail to Wallowa County Chieftain, 209 NW 1st St. Enterprise, OR 97828 Periodical Postage Paid at Enterprise and additional mailing offices Subscription rates (includes online access) Annually Monthly (autopay) Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery 1 Year $51.00 $4.25 Editor, Ronald Bond, rbond@wallowa.com Reporter, Bill Bradshaw, bbradshaw@wallowa.com Multimedia Journalist, Alex Wittwer, awittwer@eomediagroup.com Advertising Assistant, Cheryl Jenkins, cjenkins@wallowa.com • • • Contents copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. SENATOR Greg Smith, District 57 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us 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. LETTERS: The Wallowa County Chieftain welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns USPS No. 665-100 Cliff Bentz 1239 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 Medford office: 541-776-4646 REPRESENTATIVES GOVERNOR Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton office: 541-278-1129 Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884 VOLUME 134 all responsible citizens capable of assess- ing our own level of risk tolerance, we have sanctimonious ne’er-do-wells up at Fergi (and on our hiking trails) mak- ing snide comments and criticizing those who dare enjoy the great outdoors mask- less. Bullies and politicians alike are hap- pily taking advantage of this corona-cri- sis in order to gain power. Perhaps instead of seeking to control others, we can focus our efforts toward taking care of ourselves and our own families, and trust that others will do the same. Rebecca Patton Enterprise To submit news tips and press releases, call 541-426-4567 or email editor@wallowa.com See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet Wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa twitter.com/wcchieftain POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828