THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
4A
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EDITORIAL
Vaccine
can boost
business
Baker County residents missed a chance on Satur-
day, April 24 to help protect themselves against CO-
VID-19, and potentially to help some local businesses
that have suffered signifi cantly during the pandemic.
Fortunately it wasn’t a one-time opportunity.
Still and all, the pitiful turnout for Saturday’s free
drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Fair-
grounds in Baker City was both surprising and disap-
pointing.
Surprising because Baker County residents thus far
have not exactly shunned the vaccine. Although the
county ranks 20th among Oregon’s 36 counties in its
vaccination rate per 10,000 residents, Baker does have
a higher rate than other counties in our region except
Wallowa.
Yet on Saturday, just 62 people — three of whom
don’t even live in Oregon — showed up to get their
fi rst dose of the Moderna vaccine without even having
to leave their car.
The Baker County Health Department was pre-
pared to inoculate more than 1,160 people if necessary.
That didn’t seem like a farfetched goal consider-
ing that the health department has administered
more than 600 doses on four separate days — Feb. 26,
March 12, March 26 and April 9.
Unlike Saturday’s drive-thru clinic, those four
events, which took place at Baker High School, were
for people who had appointments to receive either
their fi rst or second doses. Yet it was hardly unreason-
able to expect that Saturday’s clinic would attract a
steady fl ow of cars. The event could hardly have been
more convenient — people didn’t have to make an
appointment or pre-register, and, as mentioned, they
didn’t even have to get out of their car. Moreover, the
clinic, unlike previous vaccination events, was open to
anyone 18 or older.
The clinic was an ideal opportunity for county
residents to take action to reverse the surge in CO-
VID-19 cases over the past month, a trend that moved
the county to high risk on April 23 and, starting this
Friday, April 30, to extreme risk for at least one week.
The correlation is obvious — almost half of the
county’s new cases over the past month are people
younger than 50, the age range with the lowest vac-
cination rate, largely because many people in that
category haven’t been eligible until recently.
There were no impediments to those people getting
vaccinated Saturday. They just didn’t show up.
Meanwhile the rate of infection among people 70
and older has dropped substantially over the past
month. Again, this is not a coincidence — that age
range has a much higher vaccination rate. For the
approximately 1,000 county residents who are 80 or
older, the vaccination rate is 70%. For the 2,100 or so
residents ages 70 to 79, the rate is 62%. During April,
slightly less than 10% of the county’s COVID-19 cases
have been in people 70 or older.
That COVID-19 vaccines are effective is hardly a
revelation, of course.
But if county residents fail to take advantage of a
free, easily available vaccine, and they also continue to
eschew simple precautions when attending the social
gatherings that health department offi cials say are
the main source of the recent rash of cases, then local
businesses will continue to suffer under state restric-
tions.
Some of those restrictions are unfair, to be sure —
most notably the ban on indoor dining and strict limits
on gyms, theaters and some other businesses while
the county is at extreme risk. But complaining about
draconian state rules won’t help ailing businesses.
Reversing the trend of COVID-19 cases, by contrast,
likely will help to accomplish that task.
The county has plenty of vaccine doses. To get one,
call 541-523-0015 or go to www.bakercountycovid19.
com. Pharmacies at Safeway, Albertsons, Bi-Mart and
Rite Aid also have vaccines.
— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor
Your views
Drivers: please secure trash
before heading for the dump
I’m writing a very important remind-
er to anyone that hauls their trash to
the dump. Please put a cover over your
pickup or trailer to keep the trash from
fl ying out and on the roads. I do know
it’s our responsibility to keep your
trash in your vehicle. It is also against
the law to let your trash fl y out. We do
have a great city, so let’s keep it clean.
Sharon Maloy-Styer
Baker City
Uncomfortable with seating
at county health department
As anyone who reads the local news
is well aware, Baker County could
soon be raised to an “extreme” level of
coronavirus danger. With that in mind
I found it to be particularly shocking to
see that the Baker County Health De-
partment chose not to adhere to “Social
Distancing” while vaccinating a large
number of residents on 04/23/21. I am
one of the many residents vaccinated
on that day. I continue to be amazed
at the fact that in a small waiting area
the seats were positioned close together
and the number of people allowed in
the waiting area (signifi cantly more
than the number of seats available)
made “Social Distancing” impossible.
Although the staff were friendly and
professional; the person or people
who organized this activity should be
prevented from being involved in any
similar activity in the future. I have
mixed feelings about this experience.
I feel fortunate to have been able to
receive my second shot ... yet hope I
didn’t catch the virus while doing so.
Les Dickey
Baker City
If you like Idaho, you’re
welcome to move there
I am trying to determine the money
behind the Move Oregon’s Border. They
have sent mailers all over eastern Or-
egon and are advertising on YouTube.
Could it be business owners, who would
rather the federal minimum wage be
$7.25 instead of the $12.25 in Oregon?
Could it be those who like a 6% sales
tax, something Oregon has turned
down nine times since the 1930s?
Could it be that Oregon spends $11,000
per student while Idaho spends $7,200,
the lowest in the country? Could it be
miners, who wish no environmental
controls? Could it be those who think
Boise will replace the Oregon general
fund, which funnels money from the
Valley to our schools to cover the short-
falls, so our property taxes can remain
low? Could it be those who think Boise
will cover the maintenance of our
roads, which are now covered by road
mile taxes, generally fl owing east from
the Valley? Does it think Boise will pay
Oregon back for all the Oregon State
property, including state highways that
are not owned by those in the east, but
by the state?
My family came to this state in 1904.
In the interim we have had all kinds
of government control. The Republi-
can party was once dominant, but it
changed in about 1982, which caused
me to leave. It has gone more doctri-
naire, more adept at litmus tests and
has thus lost the respect of most in the
state. The supporters of this measure,
instead of determining how to appeal
to all voters, are taking the chicken
way out and attempting to do what will
assuredly fail, but that will make the
confl ict between the east and west even
more onerous.
I for one do not like Idaho and do not
wish to be a part of the state. Thus, I
hope there is enough money in the till
for them to buy my ranch. I am asking
for $1 million.
Or those who like Idaho so much
could just move there. So much simpler.
Tom Nash
Halfway
Disney’s painful political shift
By Jonathan VanBoskerck
My family and I have been loyal
Disney customers for decades. We vaca-
tion at Disney World every year. We
take a Disney cruise every year or two.
Consequently, we spend way too much
money in Orlando.
Unfortunately, I am strongly rethink-
ing our commitment to Disney and,
thus, Orlando. The more Disney moves
away from the values and vision of Walt
Disney, the less Disney World means
to me. Disney is forgetting that guest
immersion is at the core of its business
model. When I stand in Galaxy’s Edge
or Fantasyland, I know I am in a theme
park but through immersion and my
willingness to set the real world aside,
something magical happens.
That spell is broken when the im-
mersive experience is shattered by the
real world. And boy, has Disney been
breaking the immersion.
Recently, Disney announced that cast
members are now permitted to display
tattoos, wear inclusive uniforms and
display inclusive haircuts. Disney did
all of this in the name of allowing cast
members to express themselves.
The problem is, I’m not traveling
across the country and paying thou-
sands of dollars to watch someone I
do not know express themselves. I
am there for the immersion and the
fantasy, not the reality of a stranger’s
self-expression. I do not begrudge these
people their individuality and I wish
them well in their personal lives, but I
do not get to express my individuality
at my place of business.
What’s next, is Disney going to end
the rule barring on stage cellphone use
by cast members as an infringement on
self-expression?
More broadly, like many corporations,
Disney has been politicizing its busi-
ness. Full disclosure: I am a Christian
and a conservative Republican, so the
people who run Disney and I do not see
eye to eye.
Regardless, corporations have always
made politically motivated decisions.
Usually, it is due to the desire to make
a profi t, but sometimes it is due to the
values of the people in the corporation.
Walt Disney used his corporation to
express his patriotism during World
War II and his pro-capitalism beliefs
afterward. The difference today is that
the people who run Disney use social
media to scream to the whole world
that a decision has been made for
political reasons.
Disney is in the process of taking
the woke scalpel to the Jungle Cruise.
Trader Sam is out because he might
offend certain people. Every grown-up
in the room realizes that Trader Sam
is not a representation of reality and is
meant as a funny and silly caricature.
It is no more based in racism than
every Disney caricature of an out-of-
touch white American dad.
The next time I ride Jungle Cruise I
will not be thinking about the glori-
ously entertaining puns of the skip-
pers, I will be thinking about Disney’s
political agenda. That’s a mood killer.
Disney proclaims that Splash
Mountain must change because of its
association with “Song of the South.”
Disney owns Splash Mountain so it
can do what it wants. But if Disney
screams at the top of its corporate
voice, which is pretty loud, that it is
changing it to appease a certain politi-
cal point of view, now every time I look
at the ride I am thinking about politics.
The same with Pirates of the Carib-
bean. Disney has made signifi cant
changes to Pirates of the Caribbean
over the years. Whether Disney caved
to political pressure or really thought
the alterations were necessary is ir-
relevant.
Pirates used to be one of my favorite
attractions. My family would always
ride it fi rst on our fi rst day at the
Magic Kingdom. Now, we do not even
ride it every trip. When my family
rides Pirates now, each of the changed
scenes takes us out of the illusion
because they remind us of reality and
the politics that forced the changes.
Disney World is going to lose us as
customers if it continues down this
path. I do not want to have Disney
World taken away from us because
Disney cares more about politics than
happy guests.
This should matter to the people
of Orlando because, if Disney drives
away customers like me, Orlando loses
money. I can take my tourist dollars
elsewhere. I would rather keep spend-
ing them in Orlando but people like
me feel more and more excluded by
Disney’s decisions.
The parks are less fun because im-
mersion and thus the joy is taking a
back seat to politics.
Disney, please return to the values
and vision of Walt. The customer
experience should be the core of your
business model. Immersion should not
be sacrifi ced on the altar of political
correctness and appeasing the Twitter
mob.
Jonathan VanBoskerck lives in North
Las Vegas, Nevada. He wrote this for the
Orlando Sentinel.