BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2022 A5
OREGON
Creating a buzz for Greater Idaho
BY DICK MASON
The (La Grande) Observer
COVE — Grant Darrow is a
man of letters.
The Cove resident has
penned so many letters to
newspapers over the past four
decades about pressing issues
that he has lost count.
One stands out, however,
with the grandeur of 12,662-
foot Borah Peak in Central
Idaho. It is a letter clipped
from The Observer and kept
in a black notebook. The let-
ter is fading slightly, unlike the
movement it helped ignite.
Darrow, in his 391-word piece,
published in The Observer on
June 29, 2015, pushed for a sea
change — the moving of Idaho’s
border west so that it could in-
clude Eastern Oregon and other
rural portions of the state.
“Imagine for a moment Ida-
ho’s western border stretching
to the Pacific,” Darrow wrote at
the end of the letter.
Almost seven years later,
many Oregonians are imag-
ining just as he hoped they
would, which means the the
Greater Idaho movement is
gaining momentum.
“We are gaining support,”
Darrow said. “This is an excit-
ing time.”
Those who have taken note
include The Atlantic magazine,
which refers to Greater Idaho
as “Modern America’s Most
Successful Secessionist Move-
ment” in a story that appeared
in its Dec. 23, 2021, edition.
Darrow is not surprised by
the growing momentum, espe-
cially when he reflects on the
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group
Grant Darrow, a retired chimney sweep and Cove resident, poses for a photo outside his home on Saturday,
Feb. 26, 2022. Darrow has been leading local efforts in the campaign to change the Oregon-Idaho border
and allow Eastern Oregon to become part of Greater Idaho.
response his letter received in
the days and weeks after it was
first published. He said about
40 other rural Oregon newspa-
pers printed the letter after he
sent it to them.
“Some newspapers even
called me up and requested
a copy so they could run it,”
he said.
Today, the letter, which
stated Eastern Oregon should
be part of Idaho because its
people are ignored by Oregon’s
west-side leaders, is viewed
as so integral to the Greater
Idaho movement that a copy
is reprinted on the website of
a leading group pushing for
Greater Idaho — Move Ore-
gon’s Border, whose leader is
Mike McCarter, of La Pine.
Darrow credited McCar-
ter with doing much of the
heavy lifting, which has given
Greater Idaho the momentum
it now has.
“I put into words what peo-
ple are feeling, and Mike puts
legs under it,” he said.
“Even though this has been
talked about for 100 years,
Grant’s letter piqued the inter-
est of a lot of people in Eastern
and Southern Oregon,” McCa-
rter said.
McCarter credited Darrow’s
letter with leading to the initial
meetings in La Pine of what is
today Move Oregon’s Border.
“Grant is an integral part of
this,” McCarter said.
A plea to legislators
Since the passage of Mea-
sure 31-101 Darrow has been
urging the Union County
Board of Commissioners to
request in writing that State
Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo,
and State Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, work to get Oregon
legislators to discuss Greater
Idaho.
Darrow said he is not re-
questing that formal discus-
sions about Greater Idaho be-
gin at the state capital. Darrow
said it could be something as
simple as the formation of a
committee to try to determine
why interest in Greater Idaho
is growing.
“Getting people at the state
level to talk about it is the next
step,” he said. “We need to get
more dialogue, to get every-
body talking about it. We have
to get it out there.”
Darrow said he has a first-
hand understanding of the
growing sense of frustration
people in Northeastern Ore-
gon have about the state’s ur-
ban-rural divide because he
worked as a chimney sweep
in Union, Wallowa and Baker
counties for 44 years before
retiring in September 2021.
“I would work in 12 to 15
homes a week,” he said.
The chimney sweep has de-
tected a growing sense of dis-
enchantment with Oregon’s
government during the past
decade, noting they believe,
like Darrow does, that the
needs and concerns of Eastern
Oregon are largely ignored by
the Legislature.
“We have become nothing
more than window dressing,”
he said.
Darrow in his 2015 letter to
the editor expressed this point
even more starkly.
“It would appear to any
rural resident or outside ob-
server that most of Oregon’s
urbanites view Oregon’s ru-
ral residents as nothing more
than third-world inhabitants
occupying their weekend and
vacation playgrounds in what
they advertise to the world
as Oregon’s unique diversity,”
he wrote.
Regulations are choking
businesses
Darrow objects to things
such as the way state govern-
ment is imposing more and
more regulations and fees that
make it increasingly difficult
for Oregonians to start and
operate businesses in Oregon.
“It has gotten so bad that I
could not afford to start a ca-
reer as a chimney sweep in
Oregon today,” he said, adding
that every time government
puts in a new regulation or fee
it adds to the red tape citizens
must deal with. “It gets to be
absolutely crazy.”
Darrow does not know
what Greater Idaho will lead
to, noting that it may push to
something beneficial to rural
Oregon that might not involve
moving Idaho’s borders west.
“It could morph into any
direction,” he said.
He believes the Greater
Idaho campaign could lead
to a positive change in how
the Legislature perceives ru-
ral residents, the creation of a
new state or Greater Idaho.
The Cove resident is some-
times asked by people who
know how much he dislikes
Oregon’s urban-rural divide,
why he doesn’t move to Idaho.
“I tell them, ‘That is what
I am trying to do,’” Darrow
said.
Local legislator makes offer on Vale newspaper
of your idea of buying a pa-
per to shut it down,” he said.
VALE — Greg Smith’s offer “Thanks for the offer. We’ll be
to buy the Malheur Enterprise in touch.”
came in a postscript.
Smith followed-up by clari-
An email exchange between fying he would not shut the En-
Smith and Les Zaitz, the pub-
terprise down if he bought it.
lisher and editor of the small
“I already have staff in place
weekly newspaper
that would run the
in Vale, over an edi-
paper quite well,” he
torial led to an offer
wrote.” I never said it
to take the Enter-
would be shut down.”
In a response to a
prise off the market.
According to the
request for comment,
email chain ob-
Smith provided a writ-
tained by the East
ten statement.
Oregonian, Zaitz
“The Malheur En-
Smith
wrote to inform
terprise, a privately
Smith, the state rep-
owned company, pub-
resentative for District 57 and licly announced it was for
the Malheur County economic sale,” he said. “Gregory Smith
development director, that he
and Company, also a privately
intended to publish an editorial owned company, made an of-
critical of Smith and asked him fer to purchase the Malheur
for comment.
Enterprise. Other than being
“I’m preparing an editorial
publicly ‘mocked’ by the seller,
for next week about the Mal-
no reply to our offer has been
heur County Court’s man-
received. Moreover, Gregory
agement of your company’s
Smith and Company has not
contract,” he wrote. “You will,
publicly stated its reason for
in part, get a pass because you purchasing the paper. It is un-
can’t be blamed by taxpayers
fortunate, some speculate to
for getting what you can as eas- the negative.”
ily as you can. But the issue of
your truth telling is another
Smith’s history with the
matter. You lie. By that, I mean Enterprise
you declare as fact something
A two-time Pulitzer Prize
you know to be false.”
nominee with The Oregonian,
Smith responded by saying
Zaitz, along with his family,
he wouldn’t respond to “neg-
bought the Malheur Enterprise
ative suppositions,” but also
in 2015.
added Malheur County resi-
Zaitz eventually took over
dents were “begging” Zaitz to
the paper’s editorial operations
sell his newspaper and that it
and worked toward growing
had no support.
the weekly’s presence. Zaitz
expanded the newsroom and
“P.S. … if you need a buyer
started collaborations with na-
for the paper, I’ll pay $35,000
tional news organizations as
cash,” he wrote at the end of
the Enterprise collected new
the email. “No employees in-
accolades and awards.
cluded.”
Today, Zaitz said the Enter-
Later in the chain, Zaitz told
prise is profitable and growing.
Smith he would share Smith’s
As he neared his 50th year in
offer with the public.
“Let’s see what the commu- the journalism business, Zaitz
nity — and the state — thinks said he decided to sell the pa-
BY ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
East Oregonian, File
Les Zaitz works in 2018 at his newspaper, the Malheur Enterprise in Vale. He put the paper up for sale in
early 2022, and Rep. Greg. Smith, R-Heppner, a frequent subject of the Enterprise’s investigative work, sent
Zaitz an email offering to buy the paper. Zaitz, however, is not selling to Smith.
“The Malheur Enterprise is an essential source of local news and
is a role model for local journalism. So its import goes beyond just
reporting on Malheur County. Its import is also helping show
newsrooms large and small how to do effective local journalism that
generates business success.”
— Les Zaitz, Malheur Enterprise publisher and editor
per because he felt it was the
right time to hand over the En-
terprise to a new generation.
“We’re not going to sell to
anyone that shows up with
a check or a suitcase full of
$20 bills,” he said. “The Mal-
heur Enterprise is an essential
source of local news and is a
role model for local journal-
ism. So its import goes beyond
just reporting on Malheur
County. Its import is also help-
ing show newsrooms large and
small how to do effective local
journalism that generates busi-
ness success.”
When Smith made an offer
to buy the Enterprise, Zaitz
said he took it seriously.
Elected in 2000, Smith is
the longest-serving legisla-
tor in the Oregon House of
Representatives. Although
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his district’s lines have shifted
significantly over the years,
Smith always has represented a
chunk of Northeastern Oregon
from his home in Heppner.
But being a legislator is
only a part-time position.
His full-time work involves
him serving a number of eco-
nomic development positions
throughout Oregon, both
within and outside his leg-
islative district. Some of his
titles include being the proj-
ect manager for the Colum-
bia Development Authority
in Boardman, the director of
the Eastern Oregon University
Small Business Development
Center in La Grande and the
economic development direc-
tor in Malheur County.
His status as an influential
lawmaker who also is in charge
of raising money for local proj-
ects and institutions around the
state has earned him scrutiny
in the media. The Willamette
Week referred to Smith as the
“best compensated lawmaker
in Salem” while also noting his
actions were “perfectly legal.”
The Enterprise also has
done reporting on the connec-
tions between Smith’s personal
business and his work in the
Legislature, in addition to fo-
cusing on his work in Malheur
County, publishing stories on
his contracts with the county
and his handling of local eco-
nomic development projects.
Zaitz declined to provide
further details on the editorial
that prompted the exchange
with Smith before it was pub-
lished, but later summarized
the Enterprise’s various deal-
ings with Smith over the years.
“He complained that our
reporting on him represented
criminal conduct,” he said.
“The sheriff looked into that
and essentially laughed him
out of Malheur County on
that allegation. He has pub-
licly ridiculed the Enterprise
and has made representations
that raise questions about
whether the Enterprise is pay-
ing its taxes. This is a man
who has a pattern of taking
aggressive actions against the
newspaper that is doing no
more than reporting on mat-
ters of public importance.”
After Smith made his of-
fer, Zaitz followed through on
his promise and shared ex-
cerpts from the exchange on
the Enterprise’s Facebook page
and asked readers what they
thought. As of the evening of
Thursday, March 10, nearly 70
people have commented on the
post. Almost all the comments
either opposed Smith buying
the paper, expressed support
for the Enterprise’s current
ownership or both. Many ques-
tioned Smith’s motivations.
Even if Smith doesn’t get
involved in the Vale media
business, he’ll continue to be
a prominent figure in Eastern
Oregon for the foreseeable fu-
ture. No one filed to contest
Smith in either the Republican
primary or the general election,
all but assuring him a 12th
term in Salem.