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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2020)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2020 Baker City, Oregon 4A Write a letter news@bakercityherald.com OUR VIEW Allow temporary housing for fire victims This fi re season burned more than 1 million acres and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures in Oregon. About 40,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. Wildfi res are to be expected. But this was extraordi- nary and requires government to act. State Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond, is. He is working on a bill for the 2021 session aimed at stripping away re- strictions to allow people to rebuild if regulations might have changed since their homes were built and might now get in their way. This week, Oregon’s Land Conservation and Develop- ment Commission may take action to help with the more immediate need of giving people shelter. The commission will consider temporary rules allowing interim shelters to be built where they might not be currently permitted, such as outside of urban growth boundaries. Winter is close. “Without shelter and interim housing available, Oregonians will be forced to consider leav- ing the affected areas, causing communities to further fragment and decline,” a staff report for the commission reads. “Those choosing to stay are likely to face substan- dard and overcrowded housing conditions.” Commissioners should do as staff recommends and pass temporary rules allowing interim shelters. Tempo- rary rules, like these, are only effective for 180 days. But the commission can pass temporary rules more quickly and can always act later to make them “permanent.” Permanent rules can be repealed when no longer neces- sary. We don’t expect the decision to move ahead on tempo- rary rules will get much opposition, if any. Let’s hope not. 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. Hospital endorses Measure 108 By Priscilla Lynn Every day, health care profes- sionals see the dangerous and real health consequences of nicotine addiction among children, young adults, and parents who have tried and failed to quit vaping or smoking. Oregon’s Measure 108 is essential to protect the health and future of our young people. Raising the price of nicotine vapes and tobacco products is the single most effective way to prevent youth from starting to smoke or vape in the fi rst place. That’s why M108 is endorsed by Oregon hospitals, including Saint Al- phonsus Baker, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, nurses, doctors, local businesses, community leaders, and over 250 entities across the state. Smoking kills nearly 8,000 Orego- nians every year and is the number one cause of preventable death in Oregon. Nearly 9 out of 10 daily smokers try their fi rst cigarette by age 18, and young people who vape are almost three times as likely to start smoking cigarettes. The avail- ability of low-priced vaping products has led to an 80% increase in youth vaping from 2017 to 2019. Tobacco companies are selling vapes at cor- ner stores for 99 cents and making them taste like gummy bears and cotton candy. Smoking harms every organ system in the body. It causes cancers, strokes, and heart attacks, and can increase the severity of respira- tory diseases. Youth who vape are more likely than their peers to be infected with COVID-19. Addition- ally, smoking-related diseases and death disproportionately affect the poor, racial minorities, and the most vulnerable. As it stands, Oregonians spend $1.5 billion per year on smoking- related health care costs. Health care experts drafted M108 know- ing that increasing the tobacco tax would lower costs for everyone and a public, bipartisan committee wrote it to ensure the dollars would go to fund the Oregon Health Plan and smoking prevention and cessation programs. As the COVID-19 pan- demic goes on and more and more people are counting on the Oregon Health Plan, it’s essential that we do everything we can to prevent people from losing coverage. More than a million Oregonians count on OHP (including 400,000 children) and more than 4,800 Baker County residents. Everyone deserves to see a doctor when they are sick without fear of bankruptcy and Measure 108 will help keep this essential service going. Too many of our children and neighbors have been harmed by to- bacco. It’s time to help save lives and create a healthier community. Please join me, and many other caring Or- egonians, in voting Yes on Measure 108 when you cast your ballot. It’s a great way to ensure a healthy future for our children and our entire com- munity. For more information visit YesOn108.org. and the other fi ve candidates (can only hope through no fault of their own) have been “vetted?”, lumped together, revealed as Republicans and endorsed by the Baker County Republicans. Being, supposedly, nonpartisan positions why would the Republicans claim a break in tradi- tion and endorse these six? Does any- one else fi nd this disturbing? Seems quite evident that a personal agenda is in the works? Do they know what is best for all Baker City citizens? Scary indeed! Have yet to see who the Baker County Democrats are endorsing? Oh that’s right — it’s a “nonpartisan” position! Why would a political party be involved? I know two candidates that will make a difference and serve “all” citizens regardless of political lean- ings. Gretchen Stadler and Damon Rose. I will give my precious votes to true “nonpartisan” representatives. Their city-focused accomplishments, service to the community and civic values are exactly the characteristics we need. They will provide a much needed fairness and inclusiveness in our city government. The people we choose to make unbiased deci- sions should never be tied down to a specifi c ideology or agenda. Join me in preserving the nonpartisan- ship “requirement” on our Baker City Council, it was put there for a reason and ultra important in today’s divisive climate. “Vetting”: Investi- gate someone thoroughly, especially to ensure they are suitable for a job requiring secrecy or loyalty. Hmmm? Peace to all. Mike Meyer Baker City claims. However, we cannot verify the accuracy of all statements in letters to the editor. • The writer must sign the letter and include an address and phone number (for verifi cation only). Letters that do not include this information cannot be published. • Letters will be edited for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. Priscilla Lynn is the president and chief nursing offi cer at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center – Baker City. Your views Nonpartisan nature of City Council important now Was pondering those who might get my vote for City Council? Thanks to the Baker County Republican Party my choices were made much easier. I will be extremely wary of McQuisten, Dixon, Milliman, Bru- land, Alderson and Waggoner. I know fi ve of them only from their news- paper profi les. McQuisten however posted an “in your face vote for me” mega profi le on Facebook. It is here I found that she would “protect our God given Constitutional rights”? When I questioned this statement (pointing out that it was, in fact, our forefathers that wrote the constitu- tion, not “her” God) my comment was quickly removed? Unsurprisingly all the other comments were nothing but accolades! I feel sorry that she Letters to the editor • We welcome letters on any issue of public interest. Customer complaints about specifi c businesses will not be printed. • The Baker City Herald will not knowingly print false or misleading Mail: To the Editor, Baker City Herald, P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814 Email: news@bakercityherald.com Saved from a book drought by Stephen King I’ve never met Stephen King and almost certainly I never will. He lives in Maine, for one thing. This is not exactly in my neigh- borhood. And geography aside, I don’t operate in social circles that include world-famous authors who have sold hundreds of millions of books. But strangers though we are and probably will always be, this summer I welcomed the novelist as I would an old friend for whom I have the greatest affi nity. That King was neither involved in nor, I’m sure, aware of this greeting in no way diminishes my gratitude to the man. I own perhaps half of King’s books. This would be a small collection indeed if the author were instead, say, J.D. Salinger. But with a writer as prolifi c as King — he’s published more than 60 novels — even half of his output commands a signifi cant amount of shelf space. I’ve been reading King’s work since I was a teenager. And since then I doubt I’ve ever let more than a few months pass during which I didn’t read one of his novels or col- lections of short stories. Or, rather, re-read, in most cases. I’ve always believed that a good story, like a good song, actually improves with repetition. And King is a consummate teller of tales. But as much as I have relished JAYSON JACOBY his creativity over the decades, never have I appreciated King more than during the coronavirus pandemic. When the Baker County Library was closed for part of the summer — I know ebooks are available but I prefer to feel the soft brush of paper on my fi ngertips when I read — I relied on the bookshelves in our home to satiate most of my appetite for words. In the early days of the pandemic, though, I tried a different approach. I needed little prodding — none, actually — to start perusing online bookstores. I reasoned that it was an ideal time to expand my personal library. I placed an order for a few books, none of which I had read, and these kept me occupied for a couple weeks. But even though these were used books, with commensurately modest prices, I realized that having to pay for all of my reading material was not fi nancially sustainable. And so I made a tour of our bookshelves. These are distributed among three rooms and include a variety of construction designs, some of which require a fair amount of kneeling and peering into nooks where almost no light reaches. As my eyes slid over the volumes I waited for that instant of inspiration when a title would suddenly come into focus, the story within immediately remembered, and savored. I waited, and was disappointed. Not a single book seemed compel- ling. But then I returned to where I started — the bookshelf in one corner of our bedroom. And about halfway down I noticed a thick hardcover, the spine of which I had many years ago repaired with silver duct tape when the binding began to fray. The tape covers the title but I remembered that this was one of King’s epics — “It.” I prised the book from between its neighbors. This required more effort than is usual in such matters, as the volumes were packed tightly and “It,” in common with many of King’s novels, is hefty — the edition I own tops 900 pages. I sat in my favorite cushy recliner and began to read. I did this with a certain trepida- tion. I worried that the story might not immediately capture my attention. This has rarely been an issue with a King novel, to be sure. But on a few occasions I’ve started reading one of his books for what might have been the 7th time and, after my interest strayed a few pages in, replaced it in the bookshelf and sought my entertainment elsewhere. The possibility that this might recur, at the same time I was de- prived of the public library, where I’ve never come away disappointed, was distressing. I needn’t have worried. After the fi rst turn of a page — such a small yet sensuous gesture, that — I was entranced by a story I have probably read 10 times since it was published in 1986. This is a uniquely pleasurable experience, starting a book — most especially a lengthy one that will enrich so many hours in the days ahead. Just looking at the great thick span of pages waiting to be read gives me a thrill. Notwithstanding my reference to this as being a unique experience, it does remind me, at least superfi - cially, of one other — the exhilara- tion you sometimes feel when you embark on a long journey. I relish that moment when I settle into the driver’s seat and back out of my driveway, knowing that hundreds of miles of roads await, rich in vistas I have never seen and with the prospect of meeting people who will add brief but memorable chapters to my own life story. ✐ ✐ ✐ I asked my son, Max, what he wanted for lunch and his response made me feel the way I do when I listen to Harry Chapin singing “Cat’s In The Cradle.” “Do we have Top Ramen?” Max asked. This product, so intimately as- sociated with college students and their parsimonious budgets and undiscriminating palates, made me think of Max not as a boy of 9 but as a man of 19. This maudlin feeling quickly dissipated as I hunted through the pantry. Max saw the ramen package before my eyes could adjust to the gloom. I put a pan of water on the stovetop to boil and opened the crinkly plastic wrapping to get at the noodles and the foil packet of fl avoring. I noticed that the packet was labeled. “Please tear along this line,” it read. Lots of packages include instruc- tions about where you ought to rip them, of course. But I believe this was the fi rst time I had read such a recommen- dation that was prefaced with a polite request. I was surprised, and not a little pleased, to read that extra word. It wasn’t necessary, strictly speaking. But I don’t believe there can ever be too much politeness in the world, and I am gratifi ed to fi nd it in unex- pected places. Jayson Jacoby is editor of the Baker City Herald.
