TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
A4
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EDITORIAL
Botching
statistics
The Oregon Health Authority announced on Thurs-
day, Oct. 21 that about 550 more Oregonians have died
after testing positive for COVID-19 than the agency
has reported. Most of these previously untallied deaths
happened between May and August of this year.
This is no minor mistake. Adding these deaths will
boost Oregon’s total pandemic death toll by about 13%.
And Oregonians deserve a more thorough explana-
tion than a “technical computer error,” the term OHA
offered last week. This blunder undoubtedly will ex-
acerbate the debate that the pandemic has infl amed.
Some people are angry that the state has understated
how dangerous the virus is. Others will distrust the
accuracy of the numbers, which is unfortunate.
According to OHA, employees manually recon-
cile death records to case records, and although the
agency is trying to automate the process, the manual
method “has led to periodic backlogs,” including the
problem announced Thursday. But previous instanc-
es have involved a handful of deaths, not 550. A more
detailed explanation won’t alleviate all suspicions, to
be sure. But it needs to happen regardless.
— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor
OTHER VIEWS
Rethink mandate
Editorial from The Detroit News:
Weeks after President Joe Biden announced his decree
that roughly 80 million workers would need to get the
COVID-19 vaccine or weekly testing, many details of
that order are still unknown. Business groups are rightly
pushing back against an undefi ned, invasive mandate that
could exacerbate an already tight labor market.
After months of being told what they could and couldn’t
do by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan companies are seek-
ing to normalize their operations and tackle the workforce
shortages so many employers are facing.
This new federal order that would impact businesses
with 100 or more employees places an unnecessary burden
on employers to force workers to comply — or face stiff fi nes.
In addition, the logistics of the mandatory testing and the
costs involved remain a mystery.
Last week, several chambers of commerce, led by the
Michigan Chamber of Commerce, asked Biden to rethink
his vaccine rules, and let states determine the best way to
handle vaccinations.
Better yet, the government should just let the private sec-
tor fi gure this out for itself.
“I don’t think anybody needs to be reminded of how
divisive this is, and we’re again going to be inserting employ-
ers right into the middle of that,” said Andy Johnston of the
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce.
The group, Listen to MI Businesses Coalition, makes a
good case. Wendy Block, vice president of business advocacy
and member engagement at the Michigan Chamber, says
more business associations are signing on each day. It’s
similar to the Reopen Michigan Safely effort that businesses
championed earlier this year to fi ght state orders banning a
return to the offi ce.
“We’re creating an outlet for Michigan businesses to make
their voices heard,” Block says. “We want to be clear we aren’t
anti-vaccine. It is about being opposed to an unprecedented
top-down mandate of this type. Not all states are the same.”
Mandates in general seem to backfi re. For instance,
nearly all of the major airlines have instituted vaccine
requirements for employees, following Biden’s September
announcement. And it hasn’t gone well.
Delta Air Lines, on the other hand, is taking a gentler ap-
proach. It’s the only U.S. carrier that has said it won’t enforce
a vaccine mandate. Employees seem to be responding posi-
tively. The company says more than 90% of its workforce has
received the vaccine, and that percentage is expected to rise.
Biden has tasked the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupa-
tional Health and Safety Administration to issue rarely-used
“emergency temporary standards,” which sidestep the formal
rule-making process and Congress. The rules are before the
Offi ce of Management and Budget, and this review could
take months.
In the meantime, 24 attorneys general sent a letter to
Biden, challenging what they call an unlawful mandate.
“Your plan is disastrous and counterproductive,” they
wrote. “From a policy perspective, this edict is unlikely to
win hearts and minds — it will simply drive further skepti-
cism. And at least some Americans will simply leave the
job market instead of complying. This will further strain
an already-too-tight labor market, burdening companies
and (therefore) threatening the jobs of even those who have
received a vaccine.”
Biden’s vaccine mandate goes too far by interfering in pri-
vate employers’ decisions, and will likely only cement more
opposition to the shots. The administration should listen to
these businesses’ concerns and back down.
Your views
Raise money fi rst, then proceed
with train quiet zone
I attended the Baker City Council
meeting on Oct. 12th, a meeting mainly
about the city council discussing the
railroad quiet zone idea. There were at
least 50 to 60 people at the meeting. I
heard several people complain about
the stress and mental damage that the
horns create, one presentation from
Peter Fargo about the private group
trying to raise money to get a railroad
quiet zone established and a big split,
down the middle, amongst the city
council members. One of the points of
concern is the health and safety of the
children at South Baker Intermediate
School. The school is right next to the
railroad tracks.
The South Baker Intermediate
School is a very concerning situation. I
feel that Peter Fargo’s concern for his
daughter’s health and safety, as well as
the other children, is real and heartfelt.
The school was built in the mid-1950s.
Why was it built there, at that time?
The train had already been going by for
decades by then. As I have pointed out
before, the worst potential catastrophe
scenario for Baker City would be a
train derailment within the city limits.
If it happened next to the school, the re-
sults could be beyond belief. Mr. Fargo’s
battle about the horns and potential
health and safety hazards should be
with the Baker School District. In
recent years the school board decided
to close Churchill and North Baker
schools. That left the only school in the
entire west end of Baker City open,
next to the railroad tracks.
The folks of Baker City just passed
a school bond on May 18, 2021 for
$4 million, with matching funds, for
improving school facilities and safety.
The Baker School District bond is sup-
posed to “prioritize safety and security
and improve capacity in all schools.”
What better way to spend some of that
money than to fi x up North Baker
School and close down South Baker
Intermediate for good.
I did hear one very interesting
observation at the council meeting.
Why aren’t any of the folks in favor of
keeping the train whistle at these city
council meetings, when the main topic
is discussions about the whistle? Ac-
cording to Mayor McQuisten’s recent
post (from Jayson Jacoby’s editorial)
on her Facebook page, “1500 people are
in favor of the quiet zone and roughly
8500 people are not.” Approximately
50 to 60 people attended the city coun-
cil meeting on Oct. 12th, almost all
were in favor of the quiet zone. What
is everyone else doing? You folks need
to stop giving Mayor McQuisten your
opinions in the supermarket and show
up at these meetings. It also would not
hurt to voice your opinions to all the
city council members via emails, they
are not that hard to fi nd.
I do have a suggestion concerning
this idea. No more motions for the city
to move ahead with the quiet zone
application until the Quiet Zone group
comes up with the entire funds needed
for this project.
Roger LeMaster
Baker City
What’s wrong with asking voters
to decide on horns?
Let’s not start name-calling over
a train horn, please. A letter from
Cynthia Roberts stated “The city
council routinely approves projects
that the majority might not support.”
What a sad and shameful statement
to make. She said that “McQuisten,
Dixon, and Waggoner showed a lack
of integrity by requesting a majority
vote on a ballot measure for the quiet
zone project.” That tells me who really
lacks integrity and who really has it.
I am disturbed when the mayor and
councilors are called out when they
are trying to do the right thing. Mayor
McQuisten and Councilors Dixon and
Waggoner understand that they work
for the people. All they asked for was
a majority vote regarding the quiet
zone.
Others think they have all the
answers about what’s best for the city
and they don’t have to involve the
public. Jayson Jacoby’s article made
a lot of sense to me and if this issue is
put to a vote and doesn’t cost the tax-
payers, I might go for it. But frankly, I
believe that if at all possible we should
always hear other people’s views, and
this is mine: Residents of Baker City
have been plagued at other times by
folks who want change and think they
know best. Now they have focused on
“harmful train horns.” They are try-
ing to explain the need to quiet train
horns in order to save the children. Of
course, no one would want to continue
harming the children the way it’s been
done for years and years. We must feel
guilty now.
Perhaps these irritated people
would be better suited for a town I
once resided in and have since visited.
I was kept up literally from dusk until
dawn and beyond with the screaming
sirens and police helicopters slinking
up and down driveways with their
search lights on. All bigger cities have
these noises to contend with. Maybe
these folks are new here and have not
yet learned how to adjust to country
living. I imagine the trains have been
rolling through Baker City since be-
fore the school in South Baker, and, by
the way, the children have been grow-
ing up here with the sound of trains
and their horns for decades and they
are doing just fi ne in the world.
Perhaps the people who are unable
to tolerate train horns and who live in
fear that they are harmful to the popu-
lation haven’t been here long enough to
join the foolish group that tried to ban
the roosters that crow in the morning?
I suggest they look them up and form
a group that could identify annoying
reasons to leave this lovely, quiet little
town to those who enjoy things the way
they are.
Barbara Rockenbrant
Baker City
North Baker transportation project
has great benefi ts
The North Baker Transportation
Improvement Project (NBTIP) is a sig-
nifi cant opportunity to improve Baker
City for all residents. We have funding
of nearly eight million dollars from the
state, county, and city, and the potential
for even more fi nancing, to improve the
safety and accessibility of Tenth, Poca-
hontas/Hughes, and Cedar streets. But
only if our elected offi cials vote to adopt
the NBTIP plan.
Many people from Baker City,
Baker County, Oregon Department of
Transportation, and HDR Engineering
worked together to develop practical
street designs that meet the needs
of drivers and incorporate features
that allow pedestrians, bicyclists, and
wheelchair/scooter users to travel down
and across these streets safely. The
plan retains four vehicle lanes on Tenth
Street while improving sidewalks, bike
lanes, and crossings on all three streets.
This is a win-win solution for all people
traveling in North Baker. The funds
and the road improvements will only be
realized with the approval of the Baker
City Council and the Baker County
Commissioners.
The NBTIP plan is a 20-year project
that will be reviewed and adjusted as
the process moves forward; however,
the end result will be a safer, more
livable community for all of us. Baker
citizens have played an important role
in accomplishing many benefi cial com-
munity projects such as the all-abilities
playground, the Leo Adler Memorial
Parkway, the Heritage Museum, and
the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
Residents who see the benefi ts of bring-
ing millions of dollars into our commu-
nity and improving Tenth, Pocahontas/
Hughes, and Cedar streets can help
this project happen too. Learn more
at https://www.bakercity.com/Docu-
mentCenter/View/1961/TM6_Future-
Conditions_Analysis_Final and voice
your support to Baker City Council
members and Baker County Com-
missioners. Help make this valuable
project a reality.
Gretchen Stadler
Citizen member, NBTIP Technical
Advisory Committee, Baker City
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.