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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2020)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2020 Baker City, Oregon 4A Write a letter news@bakercityherald.com OUR VIEW Breaching dams is a bad option Though hardly the last word on Lower Snake River dams, federal agencies with jurisdiction have affi rmed in a fi nal environmental impact statement that breaching four dams in Eastern Washington is a bad idea. We agree. Let the lawsuits continue. The dams in Southeast Washington generate electricity and allow farmers to move grain by barge down the Columbia River’s main tributary. Without the dams, the river would be too shallow to barge wheat and other farm goods the roughly 100 miles between Lewiston, Idaho, and the Tri-Cities. Lake Sacajawea, a reservoir created by Ice Harbor Dam, irrigates 47,000 acres. The loss of electricity generated by the dams would increase the cost of pumping groundwater. In a ruling in December 2018, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon required the EIS as part of a lawsuit over protected fi sh species, including an alternative focused on removal of the four Snake River dams and their impacts. In the fi nal report, agencies rejected pleas from environmental and fi shing groups to breach Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Ice Harbor dams on the Lower Snake River. The report acknowledged that breaching the dams would do more for fi sh. But it also would damage the federal system’s other uses, such as fl ood con- trol, irrigation, navigation, recreation and electricity generation. The agencies said they couldn’t breach the dams unless Congress changed their mandate. The report’s “preferred alternative” on operating the system includes modifying some fi sh-passage structures and spilling more water over dams to ben- efi t endangered runs of salmon and steelhead in the Lower Columbia and Snake rivers. That option for river management complies with President Trump’s order to secure reliable water supplies in the West. The fi nal report mirrors the conclusions of a draft released in February. Outraged by the draft report, environmental and fi shing groups renewed their opposition to the fi nal EIS and urged Congress to intervene. “The federal plan totally and completely fails Idaho and isn’t good enough for the many guides, outfi t- ters, river businesses and communities in Idaho that depend on healthy runs of fi sh,” Idaho Conservation League Executive Director Justin Hayes said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s reckless rush to fi nal- ize the Columbia Basin hydropower review process is heartbreaking and immoral,” said Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney Giulia Good Stefani. The fi nal environmental impact statement lays the foundation for a decision next month on operating 14 federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. But this is no way the fi nal word on the subject of dams on the Columbia-Snake system. Environ- mentalists and fi shing groups won’t stop litigating until the courts or Congress order the removal of the dams. If they win, it will be at the expense of the entire region that depends on low-cost and reliable electric- ity the dams provide and the livelihoods of farmers, barge operators, deck hands, dock workers in the region and the vendors who support them. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Baker City Herald. Columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the Baker City Herald. Your views Trying to keep Oregon together isn’t divisive the calendar once again. Letters to the editor Having nothing better to do I have been marking off the days on my cal- endar until I could write another letter. Thank you to Mr. Donald Neugart for providing me with some new subject matter. Dear Mr. Neugart: I am truly sorry that my recent letter pertaining to the “Move Oregon’s Border” group rankled you so severely. I was only expressing what I believe to be the ridiculousness, absurdity and futility of such a venture, when the solution is so simple and evident. My perception, my opinion. You begin your hate of me by accusing me of alienating and dividing with my written words — “message” I believe is what you called it. This strikes me as odd since I am not the one that wishes to divide our entire, beautiful state of Oregon, giving most of it to Idaho. I am quite certain that I did not threaten you sir, unless it Mike Meyer Baker City We welcome letters on any issue of public interest. Writers are limited to one letter every 15 days. Writers must sign their letter and include an address and phone number (for verifi cation only). Email letters to news@ bakercityherald.com. Who’s behind the rash of recent bicycle thefts? was with a different ideology. Nor did I label you. That you choose to label me as a leftist and a hypocrite along with threatening me in a public forum — “l would tread lightly, if I were you, Mr. Meyer” — is not only a little scary but speaks volumes on your character and composition. Peace, especially to you Mr. Neugart, and “All.” P.S. It would be pretty hard to send me “back” to Portland Mr. Neugart, since I’ve never lived there? I’ll be marking off What’s with all the bicycle thefts lately? Some local Facebook groups report about one a loss a day. And you can’t help but notice some of the homeless types rid- ing bikes that have been freshly spray painted. We’ll assume the coming colder weather will put a stop to much of this. But what about the local meth-heads that still need to steal to support their habit? It’s not just bikes vanishing from people’s property. Where is this stuff being fenced? What do we do here? If our law enforce- ment can’t address this, you’re looking at vigilante citizens that are about ready to ... Dan Collins Baker City Reopening schools: A balance By Joanne Berger-Sweeney Reopening schools, including colleges and universities, has become a politi- cal issue. Some argue that the media is engaging in fearmongering and the COVID-19 crisis is infl ated, especially for young adults — why not open? Some ar- gue that institutions of higher education are only considering opening to ensure their fi nancial existence — why not stay safe and remain closed? These are simplistic dichotomies, and the decision to reopen schools should not be an issue advanced by one political party or the other but based on facts and guided by local conditions. This pandem- ic has created complex choices. My choice is to open Trinity College — an urban, residential, liberal arts college — to in- person, hybrid and remote classes. When I consider my decision to reopen Trinity College to students on campus, I have a decision-matrix in mind that includes some of these critical questions: • How can we best fulfi ll our educa- tional mission to prepare students to be bold independent thinkers who lead transformative lives? • How do we best ensure an equitable educational experience for all Trinity students? • What are the risks to health and safety for our community? • How do we fulfi ll our social mission to support the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut? Not one of these is an easy question to answer independently, and when we consider them simultaneously, it can be overwhelming. At Trinity College, we thrive on per- sonalized interactions among students — with each other, and with faculty, coaches, staff and alumni. In-person learning is our greatest opportunity to ensure equitable access to the full Trinity experience — the transforma- tive combination of classroom, residen- tial and experiential learning along with academic support, and mental health and wellness care. For each of our students, we provide a rich learning environment — inter- actions with mentors, places for quiet concentration, access to books and computers, and we provide health and food security on campus. And in this fertile learning environment, as we prepare our students to be engaged citizens who lead transformative lives, we expect them to understand how to navigate adversity, overcome obstacles and fi nd solutions to problems that have never before been posed. In the middle of a pandemic, we must help the Trinity community un- derstand how each of us plays a role in promoting health and safety without succumbing to overwhelming fear that could lead to helplessness. We must take responsibility to be positive lead- ers in challenging times and share our knowledge of how we can live as safely as possible in a pandemic. Ultimately, we must balance our needs as an institution with our important role as an economic engine in the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut that brings jobs and fi nancial resources that allow others in our community to work and thrive. We take these complex roles very seriously, which leads us to respond. In order to make our community as safe as possible as we return to Trinity’s campus, we will provide public health education to our campus community. We will require pre-arrival COVID-19 testing and quarantine and promote shared responsibility and safe practices of wearing masks, physical distancing and hand washing to dem- onstrate our care for each other and for the broader community. We will rigorously engage in testing to ensure that we do not spread COVID-19 and educate ourselves about the essen- tial role that vaccines play in disease control. We will reduce density on our campus and allow those who are able to work from home to do so. And we will be fl exible and adapt to changing conditions based on scien- tifi c facts and best practices shared by our state and other public health agencies. We do reserve the right to change course as this fast-moving environment evolves, but we remain optimistic. I continue to promote reopening Trinity College. We have much to contribute to our communities — our educational and fi nancial resources, volunteerism and neighborhood sup- port, and contributions to knowledge in a knowledge-based economy. Joanne Berger-Sweeney is the president of Trinity College in Hartford and a professor of neuroscience. CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS President Donald Trump: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456- 1414; fax 202-456-2461; to send comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov/contact. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce: One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503- 326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Baker City offi ce, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-278-1129; merkley.senate. gov. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717. La Grande offi ce: 105 Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962- 7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd District): D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 1211 Washington Ave., La Grande, OR 97850; 541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.house.gov. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor. oregon.gov. State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503- 986-1730. Email: Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature. gov State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem offi ce: 900 Court St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503- 986-1460. Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature. gov Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. Loran Joseph, Randy Schiewe, Lynette Perry, Arvid Andersen, Larry Morrison, Jason Spriet and Doni Bruland.
