TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
A4
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OUR VIEW
Learning
lessons
from fires
Oregon is going to have to make different choices if
it is going to reduce the danger of wildfi re.
Homes near forest or rangeland? The priority
should be fi rebreaks. They should have fi ne mesh
over their vents where fl oating embers can get
sucked in. They need roofs and siding resistant to
fl ame.
The wildfi res are going to come. They are part of
this region’s history — human-made and lightning
made. And because of climate change it’s going to get
worse.
We won’t save every property or even more tragi-
cally every life. But we can save more.
The Bootleg Fire in Klamath and Lake coun-
ties was caused by lightning. It burned more than
400,000 acres. That would be like fi re over half of
Rhode Island.
When the fi re was racing along, it essentially went
around the Sycan Marsh Preserve. That’s a property
held by the Nature Conservancy.
That is not so much a mystery. The preserve is
wetter. Fire doesn’t like wet. It’s a wetland, soaking
up the spring runoff and gradually letting it fl ow into
the Sycan River.
The land managers there have not been taking
chances, though. They did prescribed burns on the
property. That reduced fuels. And gave the preserve
the better chance at dodging a fi re.
If your home or property skirts the edge of a forest
or wildlands, give it that same better chance. Bark
dust, mulch or whatever you call it can make lovely
groundcover.
They aren’t the best choice to make life diffi cult
for wildfi re. Don’t give it a foothold in your neighbor-
hood.
Look at your land like a fi re would and then make
it so a fi re has no easy place to go.
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
Railroad quiet zone would
help children, community
My husband and I lived for 10
months within one block of the railroad
tracks. We lived there while our home
was being built and we both became
very discouraged with the public dis-
turbance the train causes. We believe
the blowing of the horn at each crossing
is an unnecessary breach of community
peace. My husband has a hearing loss
based on military service and requires
hearing aids. He used industrial ear
plugs to sleep and he still heard the ex-
tremely loud blaring of the train horns.
Yet, it is my granddaughter that I am
most concerned for.
She spends six hours a day in the
intermediate school right next to the
tracks. I encourage anyone opposed
to the Quiet Zone to go spend a few
hours by the intermediate school to see
what our children and grandchildren
are subjected to. I wouldn’t be sur-
prised to learn their hearing is being
permanently damaged, not to mention
their cognitive performance due to the
constant distraction. A Quiet Zone is
a lot less expensive than a new school,
though I think it would be ideal to
move the school away from the tracks
entirely. This should never have been
allowed to happen. Our great uncle
George met the fi rst train that arrived
in Baker and I am sure he and the
community leadership of that time
never intended this. Now, as his descen-
dants, we want a safer, better future for
our grandchildren.
I am asking the City Council to move
forward with making this community
safer and quieter. We think this is a
good use of city funds, and we also
support the fundraising by community
members. We urge the City Council
to approve the Quiet Zone so the
residents of Baker City can enjoy an
improved quality of life, our children
can grow up safe and healthy, and
grandparents can know this com-
munity cares about them and future
generations.
Joan and Randolph Tracy
Baker City
Cartoon questioning Fauci
shouldn’t be taken seriously
I was disturbed by the recent politi-
cal cartoon published in the Herald
that compared Dr. Anthony Fauci to
both Pinocchio and the Jack Nicholson
character in the movie “A Few Good
Men.” The cartoon suggests that while
being questioned by Senator Rand Paul
(who strongly inferred that he was
lying), Dr. Fauci not only lied but also
suggested that the American public
could not “handle” the truth. Dr. Fauci
has been involved in public health
for more than 50 years, won multiple
awards for his service, and advised
every American president since Ronald
Reagan. Senator Paul was trained as
an ophthalmologist. I have followed
the struggle against COVID-19 closely
since it began. I haven’t seen anything
to suggest that Dr. Fauci is less than
both competent and honest. The pur-
pose of a political cartoon is to persuade
its viewers to a particular point of view.
Does the Baker City Herald really
believe that the point of view expressed
by this cartoon is worth taking seri-
ously?
Kevin Lee
Baker City
Permits shouldn’t be needed
to kill attacking wolves
Wolves continue to kill livestock.
No big surprise, that’s what they do.
But shooting wolves shouldn’t be that
big a deal! It shouldn’t make the front
page and it shouldn’t take any special
permission from a state agency or, in
fact, from anyone. It should just be
done. And if the agency staff are really
going to address the problem, they
should shoot the breeding pair, not
just a couple of pups! Wolves should
be included in the same category as
rattlesnakes, coyotes, badgers, black
widow spiders, and mosquitoes that
can be killed on sight. They are all ani-
mals that can kill humans and cause
other damage. In the case of wolves,
they primarily hurt ranchers by killing
or seriously maiming livestock. Aside
from the kills, wolves hurt livestock by
running them through fences, causing
weight loss from harassment, generat-
ing anxiety, and how they respond to
typical cowboy interaction (gathering,
corral sorting, response to dogs, etc.).
Ranchers bear the brunt of these wolf
assault costs while the compensation
program is a sad joke.
Wolves should not be protected
by the ESA or any other legislation.
Ranchers and farmers are the people
who feed all of us and they need to be
supported. At the time of the Civil War
some 75% of Americans were directly
involved in agriculture. Today that
involvement is 2%. Ranchers and farm-
ers are the ones who are endangered
and need protection, not the wolves.
Wolf protection needs to be ended.
Jim Carnahan
Baker City
Pediatrician urges COVID-19 vaccinations
I have spent a large part of my
career advocating for the safety
and effi cacy of vaccines for children
and adults.
As a pediatrician in Columbia,
South Carolina, I have had many
conversations with parents about
vaccines that prevent whooping
cough, measles, mumps, polio, men-
ingitis, hepatitis, cervical cancer,
and now COVID-19. After several
years of these conversations, I have
found ways to present the facts
while also listening carefully and
respectfully to parents’ concerns
and answering any questions that
children and teens may have.
But the COVID-19 vaccine con-
versations are different.
Some of my patients and their
parents were knocking down the
clinic doors to get the vaccine as
soon as it was available to them.
Then there were the families
who were generally in favor of the
vaccine but had some questions.
These were fairly easy conversa-
tions during which I was able to
address their concerns and discuss
the benefi ts of the vaccine and
the risks of the disease. Most of
these families received the vaccine
shortly after these conversations.
And then there are the families
who are truly hesitant to receive
the COVID-19 vaccine. Some are
hesitant about vaccines in general,
but most are not. Some believe that
the vaccine was created too quickly
and hasn’t undergone enough
testing. Others have heard stories
about medical problems related to
the vaccine, including heart disease
and infertility. Some fear that it
may alter their genetic informa-
tion.
I try my best to address all these
concerns with the families in my
practice and I will try to address
them here in the same way, be-
cause the health and safety of our
children depend on it.
Are there potential side effects
from these vaccines? Yes, as with
any vaccines there are potential
side effects. They have been largely
found to resolve on their own and
certainly are less serious than the
potentially serious short- and long-
term effects of COVID-19.
The potential side effect that has
received the most media attention
and generated the most fear is
myocarditis, or heart infl amma-
tion after a COVID-19 vaccine.
Although this can occur after
vaccination, it is extremely rare
and typically mild. The benefi ts of
vaccination far outweigh this very
uncommon side effect.
What about blood clots after the
COVID-19 vaccine? There is a rare
chance of clots after vaccination,
mostly women under age 50, with
the Johnson and Johnson Janssen
vaccine. Again, the benefi ts of vac-
cination are much higher than the
risk of getting this rare side effect.
And what of the reports of long-
term infertility following COV-
ID-19 vaccine? There is no evidence
that any vaccines, including CO-
VID-19 vaccine, have any ability to
impair fertility. The mRNA vaccine
does its work and is broken down
and eliminated.
How about changes to the
patient’s DNA from the COVID-19
vaccine? Neither the mRNA vac-
cines nor the viral vector vaccines
have any ability to interact with
or change a person’s DNA. The
science is very clear on this, and
it’s vital for us to trust the rigorous
processes that go into a vaccine
before it ever becomes available to
the general population.
And what about the folks who
continue to say that the COVID-19
is not a dangerous illness for
children? Well, the Delta variant
has changed that. Our pediatric
emergency rooms and pediatric
intensive care units in South Caro-
lina are full. Not all the children
admitted there have COVID-19,
but some of them certainly do.
When these units are full, it affects
everyone, regardless of the reason
that they need emergency or inten-
sive care.
There have also been deaths in
children from COVID-19 disease.
While infrequent, even one death
from a disease that could have
been prevented is too many.
The COVID-19 vaccines have
now been given to millions of
people ages 12 and older. The Pfi zer
vaccine is approved for those age
12 and up while the Moderna and
Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen
products are approved for those
18 and older. All three vaccines
have undergone extensive testing.
All have been found to be safe and
effective. All have been shown to
dramatically decrease the risk of
catching COVID-19. More impor-
tantly, they have been shown to
dramatically decrease the risk of
hospitalization and death from
COVID-19.
COVID-19 cases are spiking,
especially in the South, and the
highly contagious Delta variant is
on the move. About 90% of CO-
VID-19 cases were caused by the
Delta variant as of late July, the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reports.
The vaccine can help prevent
this spread and get us back on the
path to normalcy.
If you have questions or fears
about the vaccine, please talk with
your family doctor or pediatrician.
We are here to listen and to help.
I will continue to advocate for the
COVID-19 vaccine for my patients
who are old enough to receive it. I
will continue to have the conversa-
tions and to answer the questions
so that my patients and their
parents can feel comfortable being
vaccinated. I will continue to follow
the science as the vaccine trials
continue for younger children.
And I will continue to advocate for
children as we navigate our way
through this pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Greenhouse is a
pediatrician in Columbia,
South Carolina.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Joe Biden: The White House,
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500;
202-456-1111; to send comments, go to www.
whitehouse.gov.
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. Cliff Bentz (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.