Polk County
Voices
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 29, 2016 4A
EDITORIALS
Our nation’s Declaration of Independence
Editor’s Note: the entire
text of the Declaration of In-
dependence to mark the oc-
casion of our nation’s 240th
birthday follows ....
Our nation’s Declaration
of Independence
The unanimous Declara-
tion of the thirteen United
States of America
Editor’s Note: the entire
text of the Declaration of In-
dependence to mark the oc-
casion of our nation’s 240th
birthday (July 2016) follows
....
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4,
1776
When, in the course of
human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to
dissolve the political bands
which have connected them
with another, and to assume
among the powers of the
earth, the separate and
equal station to which the
laws of nature and of na-
ture’s God entitle them, a de-
cent respect to the opinions
of mankind requires that
they should declare the
causes which impel them to
the separation.
We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are
life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. That to secure
these rights, governments
are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers
from the consent of the gov-
erned. That whenever any
form of government be-
comes destructive to these
ends, it is the right of the
people to alter or to abolish
it, and to institute new gov-
ernment, laying its founda-
tion on such principles and
organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect
their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dic-
tate that governments long
established should not be
changed for light and tran-
sient causes; and according-
ly all experience hath shown
that mankind are more dis-
posed to suffer, while evils
are sufferable, than to right
themselves by abolishing
the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a
long train of abuses and
usurpations, pursuing in-
variably the same object
evinces a design to reduce
them under absolute des-
potism, it is their right, it is
their duty, to throw off such
government, and to provide
new guards for their future
security. —Such has been
the patient sufferance of
these colonies; and such is
now the necessity which
constrains them to alter
their former systems of gov-
ernment. The history of the
present King of Great Britain
is a history of repeated in-
juries and usurpations, all
having in direct object the
establishment of an ab-
solute tyranny over these
states. To prove this, let facts
be submitted to a candid
world.
He has refused his assent
to laws, the most whole-
some and necessary for the
public good.
He has forbidden his gov-
ernors to pass laws of imme-
diate and pressing impor-
tance, unless suspended in
their operation till his assent
should be obtained; and
when so suspended, he has
utterly neglected to attend
to them.
He has refused to pass
other laws for the accom-
modation of large districts of
people, unless those people
would relinquish the right of
representation in the legisla-
ture, a right inestimable to
them and formidable to
tyrants only.
He has called together
legislative bodies at places
unusual, uncomfortable,
and distant from the deposi-
tory of their public records,
for the sole purpose of fa-
tiguing them into compli-
ance with his measures.
He has dissolved repre-
sentative houses repeatedly,
for opposing with manly
firmness his invasions on
the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long
time, after such dissolutions,
to cause others to be elect-
ed; whereby the legislative
powers, incapable of annihi-
lation, have returned to the
people at large for their exer-
cise; the state remaining in
the meantime exposed to all
the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions
within.
He has endeavored to
prevent the population of
these states; for that pur-
pose obstructing the laws
for naturalization of foreign-
ers; refusing to pass others
to encourage their migration
hither, and raising the con-
ditions of new appropria-
tions of lands.
He has obstructed the ad-
ministration of justice, by re-
fusing his assent to laws for
establishing judiciary pow-
ers.
He has made judges de-
pendent on his will alone,
for the tenure of their of-
fices, and the amount and
payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multi-
tude of new offices, and sent
hither swarms of officers to
harass our people, and eat
out their substance.
He has kept among us, in
times of peace, standing
armies without the consent
of our legislature.
He has affected to render
the military independent of
and superior to civil power.
He has combined with
others to subject us to a ju-
risdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unac-
knowledged by our laws;
giving his assent to their acts
of pretended legislation:
For quartering large bod-
ies of armed troops among
us:
For protecting them, by
mock trial, from punish-
ment for any murders which
they should commit on the
inhabitants of these states:
For cutting off our trade
with all parts of the world:
For imposing taxes on us
without our consent:
For depriving us in many
cases, of the benefits of trial
by jury:
For transporting us be-
yond seas to be tried for pre-
tended offenses:
For abolishing the free
system of English laws in a
neighboring province, es-
tablishing therein an arbi-
trary government, and en-
larging its boundaries so as
to render it at once an exam-
ple and fit instrument for in-
troducing the same absolute
rule in these colonies:
For taking away our char-
ters, abolishing our most
valuable laws, and altering
fundamentally the forms of
our governments:
For suspending our own
legislatures, and declaring
themselves invested with
power to legislate for us in
all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated govern-
ment here, by declaring us
out of his protection and
waging war against us.
He has plundered our
seas, ravaged our coasts,
burned our towns, and de-
stroyed the lives of our peo-
ple.
He is at this time trans-
porting large armies of for-
eign mercenaries to com-
plete the works of death,
desolation and tyranny, al-
ready begun with circum-
stances of cruelty and per-
fidy scarcely paralleled in
the most barbarous ages,
and totally unworthy the
head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our
fellow citizens taken captive
on the high seas to bear
arms against their country,
to become the executioners
of their friends and
brethren, or to fall them-
selves by their hands.
He has excited domestic
insurrections amongst us,
and has endeavored to bring
on the inhabitants of our
frontiers, the merciless Indi-
an savages, whose known
rule of warfare, is undistin-
guished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these op-
pressions we have peti-
tioned for redress in the
most humble terms: our re-
peated petitions have been
answered only by repeated
injury. A prince, whose char-
acter is thus marked by
every act which may define
a tyrant, is unfit to be the
ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been want-
ing in attention to our
British brethren. We have
warned them from time to
time of attempts by their
legislature to extend an un-
warrantable jurisdiction
over us. We have reminded
them of the circumstances
of our emigration and settle-
ment here. We have ap-
pealed to their native justice
and magnanimity, and we
have conjured them by the
ties of our common kindred
to disavow these usurpa-
tions, which, would in-
evitably interrupt our con-
nections and correspon-
dence. They too have been
deaf to the voice of justice
and of consanguinity. We
must, therefore, acquiesce
in the necessity, which de-
nounces our separation, and
hold them, as we hold the
rest of mankind, enemies in
war, in peace friends.
We, therefore, the repre-
sentatives of the United
States of America, in General
Congress, assembled, ap-
pealing to the Supreme
Judge of the world for the
rectitude of our intentions,
do, in the name, and by the
authority of the good people
of these colonies, solemnly
publish and declare, that
these united colonies are,
and of right ought to be free
and independent states; that
they are absolved from all al-
legiance to the British
Crown, and that all political
connection between them
and the state of Great
Britain, is and ought to be
totally dissolved; and that as
free and independent states,
they have full power to levy
war, conclude peace, con-
tract alliances, establish
commerce, and to do all
other acts and things which
independent states may of
right do. And for the support
of this declaration, with a
firm reliance on the protec-
tion of Divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes
and our sacred honor.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We must preserve
our resources
It is ever more important
to preserve our resources in
a way that maintains the
health of our communities
and the wildlife and habitat
around us. One of the
threats to our health is the
indiscriminate spraying of
pesticides and herbicides.
Recently we had a corpo-
ration buy property near us
in rural Polk County.
The contractors are
based in Salem, purported-
ly providing services in-
cluding reforestation serv-
ice and equipment. They
brought equipment out to
the property and began
spraying a large area of
land indiscriminately.
Wind carried the spray
onto our property. They
sprayed near a creek that
drains into the Luckiamute
River as well as provides
groundwater that feeds
into local wells. Our prop-
erty is adjacent to theirs
and many deer and other
wildlife graze on the vege-
tation they were spraying.
This was done without no-
tifying any of the adjacent
property owners. We con-
tacted the Department of
Environmental Quality as
well as the Department of
Agriculture, who have
done nothing regarding
our concerns. This is un-
conscionable and it is
criminal that Oregon, a
supposedly progressive
state, does not protect
landowners, the environ-
ment, and wildlife better
than this. Clearly we need
stronger legislation to pre-
vent such disdain for our
natural environment.
Lisa Jordan
Dallas
Why did councilors
vote no?
I attended the June 20
Dallas City Council meeting
to monitor the vote on the
budget resolution. As a citi-
zen-member of the city’s
budget committee, I attend-
ed each of the committee
meetings, and the vote on
the resolution is the final
step of the process. I was
dismayed to hear two coun-
cilors vote “no” on the reso-
lution to adopt the budget
as written. Keep in mind
that a “no” vote would
mean that, in theory, the
city would grind to a halt,
employees would not be
paid, services would stop,
debt obligations would not
be met and the city would
lose its great credit rating.
The two “no” votes came
from Councilor Jackie Law-
son and Councilor Micky
Garus. Their action ap-
peared to be “grandstand-
ing” and not well thought-
out.
These councilors had all
year to voice their concerns
with the budget and make
suggestions for changes. I
attended almost all of the
city council meetings this
fiscal year and reviewed the
minutes of the few meetings
I missed and saw or heard
no mention of concerns
until very late in the budget
process. One has to wonder
about the motives of these
two councilors. Did they re-
ally do their homework?
What were they doing the
rest of the year? One has to
wonder.
PUBLIC
AGENDA
Public Agenda is a listing
of upcoming meetings for
governmental and non-
governmental agencies in
Polk County. To submit a
meeting, send it at least
two weeks before the actu-
al meeting date to the Item-
izer-Observer via email
(ionews@polkio.com).
—
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29
• Polk County Board of
Commissioners — 9 a.m.,
Polk County Courthouse, first
floor conference room, 850
Main St., Dallas. 503-623-
8173.
TUESDAY, JULY 5
• Monmouth City Coun-
cil — 7 p.m., Volunteer Hall,
144 S. Warren St., Monmouth.
503-838-0725.
• Dallas Urban Renewal
Advisory Committee — 5:30
p.m., Dallas City Hall, 187 Se
Court St., Dallas. 503-831-
3565.
• Polk County Board of
Commission work ses-
sion — 9 a.m., Polk County
Courthouse, BOC office, 850
Main St., Dallas. 503-623-
8173.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6
• Monmouth Historic
Commission — 6 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St.,
Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Monmouth Planning
Commission — 7 p.m., Vol-
unteer Hall, 144 S. Warren St.,
Monmouth. 503-838-0725.
• Polk County Board of
Commissioners — 9 a.m.,
Polk County Courthouse, first
floor conference room, 850
Main St., Dallas. 503-623-
8173.
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For more information:
io-news@polkio.com, or
503-623-2373.
Joe Koubek
Dallas
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Vol. 141, No. 26
(USPS) - 437-380)
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