A4 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2022
BAKER CITY
Opinion
EDITORIAL
YOUR VIEWS
The mystery of
the bills with
no sponsor
W
Idaho Power should not bully private
property owners
e would like our Oregon legislators to
join us in a whodunit. The mystery is:
Help us find out who are the legislators be-
hind certain bills.
Most bills this session or any session have a
chief sponsor, maybe even a bunch of regular
sponsors. They make it clear which legislators
wanted their fellow legislators to consider a
bill. Their names are right there on the bills.
But there is a subset of bills without any
such clarity. The residents of Oregon can’t
know by looking at a bill who is behind it.
We went through the bills that were sched-
uled for some mention during the legislative
session on Tuesday, Feb. 1, and found three,
Senate Bills 1521 and 1522 and House Bill 4031.
SB 1521 would prohibit a school district
from firing its superintendent for acting in
compliance with state or federal law. This bill
was introduced, at least in part, to prevent su-
perintendents from being fired for complying
with pandemic restrictions, such as masking
and distance learning. It was apparently in-
troduced at the request of the Senate Interim
Committee on Education. All the members of
the committee? One of them?
SB 1522 has so many disparate pieces it’s
hard to sum up. It’s 20 pages long. It also has to
do with education. It covers access to contact
information for graduate students, requiring
school districts to allow students to apply cer-
tain credits toward graduation, requirements
for homeschooled students to participate in
athletics and more. It was also at the request of
the Senate Interim Committee on Education.
House Bill 4031 establishes a state goal that
the percentage of diverse employees employed
by the Department of Education reflects
the percentage of diverse students in public
schools. This one comes from the House In-
terim Committee in Education at the request
of the Department of Education.
Now why would legislators allow bills to be
introduced without putting a legislator’s name
on it? It’s not because legislators are dissolute,
lazy and work-shy or too busy.
It’s, in part, because they can. The rules of the
House and Senate allow it. It’s Rule 12 in the
House Rules. But legislators make those rules
for introducing bills. So they must want it.
We aren’t particularly worried about any of
these three bills. The concern is the mystery
that enables legislators to conceal what they are
doing from their constituents. The power to
act in hiding and set in motion new laws in se-
crecy is great power. And that has no place in a
government that is supposed to be transparent.
It has no place in the Oregon Legislature.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the
Baker City Herald. Columns, letters and car-
toons on this page express the opinions of the
authors and not necessarily that of the
Baker City Herald.
Idaho Power, an out-of-state regulated en-
ergy monopoly, is attempting to build a 300-
mile 500-kilovolt transmission line, through
five Eastern Oregon counties. It is called the
Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) transmis-
sion line, an unneeded and destructive proj-
ect that threatens our land and heritage.
Idaho Power has begun taking landowners
to circuit court to gain access to their land for
pre-construction surveys. This is for pre-con-
demnation proceedings (aka eminent do-
main) — for a transmission line that has not
been approved!
The B2H application is still under con-
sideration; more specifically, it is in a con-
tested case that needs to be resolved before
final consideration and decisions are made
by the Oregon Department of Energy
(ODOE) Energy Facility Siting Council
(EFSC). This is not expected until summer
or later this year. There could even be more
court challenges before a final decision is
made. Obviously, Idaho Power’s pre-con-
demnation process is premature; it ignores
the established state process for conducting
pre-construction surveys.
The ODOE process allows for “over
the fence” surveys should the landowner
choose not to allow utilities’ agents on
their property. The Stop B2H Coalition
has communicated with ODOE to learn
the relevant regulations regarding access to
private property. Idaho Power and its attor-
neys chose to bypass the established ODOE
processes and are taking private landown-
ers to court using methods that are incon-
sistent with ODOE’s Proposed Order.
To date, at least 21 landowners have or
will be served a petition for pre-condemna-
tion entry on their property. Eventually, there
will be more. How can we sit back and watch
this invasion of private property and poten-
tial land taking happen to our neighbors and
friends? Idaho Power has the financial re-
sources to bully people, to publish slick ma-
terials to convince Oregonians that the B2H
is a done deal, to make grandiose promises of
tax revenues to counties, to employ attorneys
and engineers to twist words and counter ev-
erything that people (including our local sci-
entists) raise. They relentlessly “greenwash”
the project which is NOT green at all.
The B2H application should be suspended
until Idaho Power ceases its pre-condemna-
tion court proceedings and follows the pro-
cedures in the proposed order. Condemna-
tion or pre-condemnation should not occur
until a site certificate is issued, which gives
permission to build the line. At that point, if
that happens, there is an established process
for condemnation or eminent domain that
Idaho Power will need to follow.
Please speak out. Contact your elected offi-
cials: demand that Idaho Power stop bullying
and harassing landowners. We sent this letter
to elected officials, citing the rules: https://bit.
ly/legis-ltr. Idaho Power has a bad reputation.
This has been clear since they built the Hells
Canyon dam complex without the promised
fish ladders, and it has resurfaced and intensi-
fied with the B2H transmission line.
Stop B2H Coalition are passionate peo-
ple from all walks of life and politics. We
have joined forces and commented on ev-
ery step in the decision making and per-
mitting processes (federal and state) since
2007 as individuals and 2016 as a coalition.
We have been steadfast and professional in
our well-researched filings against the B2H
documenting countless errors and outdated
studies in their application and analyses.
Jim Kreider, co-chair
Irene Gilbert, co-chair
Fuji Kreider, co-chair
Charlie Gillis
Matt Cooper
Lois Barry
Stop B2H Coalition board of directors
WRITE A LETTER
news@bakercityherald.com
Baker City, Oregon
Improving government requires
cooperation, not finger pointing
I believe some in Baker County United
are disgruntled with the federal government,
and at times I am too. Some in your orga-
nization although want to join the Consti-
tutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Asso-
ciation, which is a radical extremist group.
It’s a movement that doesn’t just reject gun
control — it encourages law enforcement
officers to defy laws they decide are illegal.
And it sometimes puts police on the same
side as “sovereign citizens,” a fringe group
that the FBI considers one of the most se-
rious domestic terrorism threats. I too am
a firm believer in the Constitution and the
Bill of Rights, and these rights come with a
mechanism designed to give the people of
the United States a say in who runs the gov-
ernment and how they run it. It is called the
right to vote, that is the way we have our say.
We have a Supreme Court that rep-
resents the law of the land, and interprets
the meaning of our constitution, to insure
fair and equal treatment for us all. If those
we elect do not follow the ideals of their
constituents they can be recalled. If we
don’t like the outcome of a court decision
we can appeal. What is happening now
with all the decisiveness, name-calling and
spreading of rumors solves nothing. We all
need to air our differences and work out a
solution that we can all live with.
I believe most Americans would like to
believe we can do better and we can, but
it takes all of us working together instead
of finger pointing and feeling we must get
even for something untrue. This is espe-
cially true of our elected congressmen,
some have decided that their personal po-
sitions are more important than those they
represent and have decided to have things
their own way and stand in the way of
progress for the people to make someone
else look bad, and that is bad for all Ameri-
cans. If you do not like the way the govern-
ment is going, take it up with your elected
officials, and let them know you will re-
member them at election time.
Don Worley
Baker City
Baker County United seeks to
preserve liberty
Baker County United asked for one simple
resolution to uphold specific amendments to
the constitution. As usual, those who oppose
it made it into something that it isn’t. If they
have to lie or deceive people then they know
it’s wrong. All it would take is looking at the
county minutes and video recordings to see
that they are stirring the pot in the newspa-
per. Go to www.bakercountyunited.com for
the rest of the story.
The World Economic Forum recently
stated that by 2030, “you will own nothing
and you will be happy” and a “Great Reset”
will occur after COVID-19. Kate Brown
vowed to assist in that mission.
We cannot stand one more second of
this tyranny. Unconstitutional bill HB 3284
was signed by Brown on June 15, 2021.
That paved the way for OHA to implement
Brown’s bidding with a $2.9 billion budget!
Many believe that government starts from
the federal level down to the local level when
in fact, it is absolutely just the opposite. Lo-
cal governments have the most power. They
have been brainwashed into thinking that
they have no authority. Stockholm Syndrome
mentality has put us in the position we are
facing today. Creating a welfare county fur-
ther erodes our liberties.
Being a constitutional county doesn’t need
a special charter or specific definition. It’s
about upholding an oath of office. It needs
county commissioners that won’t walk off the
job then go hide behind a computer during
a work session after their constituents took
time off work to be part of the process. Being
a constitutional county needs commission-
ers who don’t pull stunts by bringing people
in during sessions sitting on the floor yelling
super spreader events or making courthouse
staff get security during a commission ses-
sion because drama is more important than
doing their jobs. These are just some of the
things that Commissioner Bruce Nichols did
Jan. 12, 2022, and Feb. 2, 2022.
A constitutional county wouldn’t consider
creating no shooting zones, violating the 2nd
amendment ordinance, that was passed by
ballot initiative, forbidding such violations of
the constitution and was praised by Commis-
sioners Bennett and Harvey.
A constitutional county wouldn’t allow
Kate Brown to usurp her power on local gov-
ernments just as Kate wouldn’t allow Trump
to come in and fix the mess that she created
in Portland. Did she lose her funding? No!
Have we told her we will not comply? No!
I’ve read and heard statements from Nich-
ols and other people stating that the courts
are the ones to decide the fate of our life, lib-
erty, and pursuit of happiness.
In my opinion that is absolutely ludicrous
and another way of just kicking the can down
the road to avoid responsibility. Ultimate
power of the state, fellow readers, is commu-
nism and we’re getting a dose of it (literally).
Let’s say that Commissioner Nichols’ loved
one was the judge who was going to make a
ruling of him being fired for walking off the
job during our work session. The judge was
employed by Nichols. Now if you were naive,
you would think that the judge would be im-
partial. The court system rarely goes against
their employer.
Those who have read the history on the
king’s courts know that absolute power cor-
rupts absolutely. Baker County United pre-
serves liberty not fascism.
Carrie Matthews
Baker City
COLUMN
The persistence of a person’s worldly possessions
W
e bought a new mattress
recently and the effects of
this otherwise modest de-
cision, which continued for some
days after our first restful night of
slumber, reminded me of the vast
difference between acquiring items
and disposing of them.
Items enter our homes by their
dozens over the years, as stealthy as
cats, but once ensconced they’re as
stubborn as soap scum on the walls
of a bathtub.
(Or, worse still, the remnants of
Frosted Flakes and milk left to con-
geal in a bowl overnight. You can’t
dislodge that stuff with a howitzer.)
My wife, Lisa, had no trouble ob-
taining the new mattress.
Generally speaking, if you have
a credit card with a spending limit
that hasn’t been stretched until it’s
close to snapping, there are compa-
nies willing to send just about any-
thing to your house and leave the
package propped against the most
accessible door.
So it was with the mattress.
It was the first one of my acquain-
tance, however, that arrived not
fully fleshed but shrunken, rather
like dehydrated, freeze-dried food
that I stuff into my backpack for
hiking trips.
Except to get the full utility of this
mattress you add not water but air.
Lisa chose a foam mattress be-
cause it’s supposed to be a bit firmer
than the pillow top model it re-
placed. She explained, citing cer-
tain informants whose credibility I
am in no position to question, that
ill-tempered vertebrae, which hers
sometimes are, prefer to recline on
a less-compliant surface than the
typical mattress offers.
This seemed to me contradictory.
I always figured that you’re more
likely to foul up your back by slam-
ming it into a brick wall rather than
a pillow. But I know so little of our
spinal area that when I hear the
term “slipped disk” I can only think
of dropping a Frisbee.
This foam mattress was rolled
up and stuffed into a cardboard
box. We coaxed it out, which was
slightly easier than slipping a sau-
sage out of its casing but much less
greasy, unrolled it and laid it atop
the box spring.
The mattress at this point was
about as thick as what you’d expect
to find slung over a metal cot in a
prisoner of war camp.
But Lisa assured me that, like
bread dough left in a warm oven,
the mattress would plump up, and
Jayson
Jacoby
within a day or two fatten up to its
fully advertised one foot.
It didn’t take that long.
As air rushed in to fill the spaces
in the foam — or at least that’s the
process I envisioned; I know as
much about physics as I do about
backbones — the mattress thick-
ened at a rate that I fancied I could
detect by craning over and squint-
ing at it. By bedtime, several hours
after it was first exposed, the mat-
tress was about 10 inches tall and
ready for its debut.
This was both gratifying and en-
tertaining.
So all was well.
At least in that room.
On the other side of the house,
however, a goodly portion of the
floor space in our living room was
no longer floor space.
This is where the old queen-size
mattress came to rest.
This wasn’t exactly an opti-
mal place to put the thing, but in
a house that covers about 1,400
square feet, we didn’t have a better
option.
I wanted to lug the mattress out
to the street and tape a “free” sign to
it — at least I wouldn’t have to look
at it, or trip over it in the dark (at
least the landing would be soft) —
but Lisa wouldn’t hear of it.
The mattress, of course, is only
one example of how difficult it can
be to rid ourselves of possessions
once they have crossed the thresh-
old.
A mattress just happens to be a
particularly treacherous example
of the general phenomenon, being
both larger and heavier than most
other things that we accumulate.
My back rarely gives even a slight
twinge, but I feared for its future
while we were grappling with the
old mattress. Few items can com-
bine heft, an ungainly shape and the
tendency to twist, like a snake try-
ing to escape your grasp, as effec-
tively, which is to say infuriatingly,
as a mattress.
If we had opted for a king-size
when we bought the mattress 16
years ago I suspect I would know
more intimately what a slipped
disk is.
And what it feels like when it’s
slipped.
We had hoped to donate the mat-
tress, but none of the potential des-
tinations we looked into was inter-
ested.
So we ended up tossing it into the
back of my father-in-law’s pickup
truck and hauling it to the dump.
And by tossing I mean fumbling
with it and nearly dropping it three
times and generally scrambling
around in the driveway. This is what
typically happens when a pickup is
parked in the driveway, prepared to
make a dump run.
We’re back to our normal contin-
gent of mattresses, which is a relief.
But in the process of swapping I
unearthed a few items from under
the bed frame that, based on their
manes of dust, had been lurking
there since the Clinton adminis-
tration.
Now I have an old T-shirt and a
tennis racket cover to deal with.
Neither is so physically taxing as
a mattress, to be sure.
But it still annoys me that I let
these inanimate objects, which are
incapable of moving on their own,
get past my defenses and take root,
like a besieging army gradually
amassing in nooks and crannies I
rarely think about or see.
Jayson Jacoby is editor of the
Baker City Herald.