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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (May 19, 2021)
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 A4 OPINION VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN Another push in Oregon government for more secrecy S haring someone’s personal information with intent to harm them could soon get you sued in Oregon. A bill in the Oregon Legislature would permit a lawsuit for what’s commonly called doxxing. The bill may help fill a gap in Oregon law. What’s worrying is a proposed amend- ment that would create more secrecy in Ore- gon government. House Bill 3047 has more detail than we will summarize here. It ticks off a long list of things it defines as “personal information,” including address, email address, phone number, photographs of children, identifica- tion of children’s school and more. It says if a defendant with the intent to harass, injure or stalk knowingly discloses such informa- tion and knew the person didn’t want the information disclosed and a plaintiff was harassed, injured or stalked, a plaintiff can seek damages. You can read the bill yourself on the Legislature’s website. One important thing to note: The bill does not specify the personal information dis- closed is or is not already publicly available. So it may not matter if anyone could find the information if they went looking. What can matter is the intent of the disclosure and if the person was harassed, injured or stalked and if a reasonable person would have been, as well. Let’s look at the amendment. Members of the public and journalists can get into bat- tles with government agencies over pub- lic records. The proposed amendment aims to expand the list of things exempted from disclosure. The Oregonian reported the “amendment was introduced on behalf of the League of Oregon Cities.” Scott Winkels, the organi- zation’s lobbyist told that newspaper: “We were just trying to align the language to what a lot of people in the state had always felt like it meant.” Part of the amendment may do that. It also would throw a shadow over much gov- ernment activity. Just one thing the amendment does is exempt from disclosure communications within a public body or between public bod- ies if “they cover other than purely factual materials and are preliminary to any final agency determination of policy or action.” The communications may still be released, but a member of the public might have to go to court to get them. It’s easier to understand with an example. An Oregon secretary of state audit found in January 2018 that Oregon’s Department of Human Services has been slow, indecisive and inadequate in fixing recurring problems with foster care. In April 2018, The Bulle- tin in Bend asked DHS what it was doing to make progress. When the paper didn’t get a response, it made a public records request for DHS emails connected to our request. It turned out DHS had written up a memo to answer the questions. The Bulletin only ever received the memo because of the pub- lic records request. Other emails the paper received showed the agency was more con- cerned with how the information might be seen than informing the public what it was doing. It wanted to hold off releasing any- thing and roll it into a media campaign. That’s an example of how your state gov- ernment works. Its priority can be con- trolling information, not informing the pub- lic. And under the amendment such as the one to House Bill 3047, we may never have received those emails. The amendment doesn’t simply line up state law with what people think state law says. It’s also a move to suppress the peo- ple’s ability to understand how their govern- ment behaves behind the scenes. LETTER to the EDITOR Support for improvements to cemetery appreciated by all As Memorial Day Weekend approaches and families have a long weekend to enjoy spring outings, we also turn our thoughts to those who gave their lives for our freedom. The Chieftain gives excellent coverage of the military obser- vances at Wallowa County cemeteries honoring our military heroes preceded by the schedule of each ceremony for those wishing to attend. This is also the time of year that the Friends of Enterprise Cemetery appeal for donations that bridge the gap of an out- dated tax base and the actual expense of operating and improving this cemetery. It is with deep appreciation that so many have been instrumental in meeting the original goal of a green, manicured ceme- tery. Many other improvements have been realized by this generosity. Our groundskeeper and volunteers do a great job of mowing the grounds and trim around and in between each stone 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 P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828 Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore. Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921 General manager, Jennifer Cooney, jcooney@wallowa.com 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 Designer, Andy Nicolais, anicolais@eomediagroup.com • • • Contents copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. To submit news tips and press releases, call 541-426-4567 or email editor@wallowa.com 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 where mowers cannot reach. As a gen- tle reminder, the upkeep of the stones are the responsibility of the families. Dirt and moss can obscure the etching on stones, especially those that are flat. Outstanding support the past six years for the improvements to Enterprise Pio- neer Cemetery is appreciated by all. Best wishes for a safe Memorial Day Weekend. Ella Mae Hays Friends of Enterprise Cemetery Newberg 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 See the Wallowa County Chieftain on the Internet Wallowa.com facebook.com/Wallowa twitter.com/wcchieftain 1 Year $51.00 $4.25 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallowa County Chieftain P.O. Box 338 Enterprise, OR 97828