A4 BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2022
BAKER CITY
Opinion
WRITE A LETTER
news@bakercityherald.com
Baker City, Oregon
EDITORIAL
Cliff Bentz
and others talk
about gun laws
W
here Congress is on gun laws may not be
where you are on gun laws. We took at
look at what some local politicians think.
This is one of many topics we hope to explore on
policy matters before the November election.
We asked Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican, who rep-
resents Baker County and the rest of Oregon east of
the Cascades. And we also asked the two major candi-
dates for the new Congressional seat that will include
much of Central Oregon, Republican Lori Chavez-
DeRemer and Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner.
All three responded. No surprises for us in their re-
sponses. Note that we asked about the Protecting Our
Kids Act, HR 7910, and the Federal Extreme Risk
Protection Order Act, HR 2377.
HR 7910 basically makes it so semiautomatic
weapons can’t be sold to people under 21; it creates a
framework for regulating guns without serial num-
bers, commonly called ghost guns; bans the sale and
possession of large capacity magazines; and more.
HR 2377 is what some people call a red flag law. It
allows family members or law enforcement to peti-
tion a court for a temporary order to prohibit some-
one from purchasing or possessing a firearm. Oregon
has a similar law, already.
Bentz opposes both bills.
“Each of these laws, if enacted, would be litigated,
delayed in implementation, and in several cases, held
to be unconstitutional,” he wrote in an email. “What
we should immediately do is forcefully tell the De-
partment of Justice to prosecute individuals who lie
on their background checks, end straw firearm pur-
chases, conduct more detailed background checks,
enhance (within the law) the capabilities of law en-
forcement agencies gathering background informa-
tion, and crack down on people selling firearms from
their personal collection without a dealer’s permit.
Instead of politicizing the response, we should be
actually enforcing our existing laws and addressing
the mental health crisis that results in these terrible
events.”
He pointed out he has co-sponsored other leg-
islation that would allow schools to take unused
COVID-19 funding and hire more school resource
officers and mental health guidance counselors.
“Confiscating guns will not solve this problem,” he
wrote. “The rights protected by Second Amendment
are integral to American liberty.”
Chavez-DeRemer did not tell us how she would
vote on the two bills, specifically. Read into her re-
sponse what you will.
“I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment
and will vote to protect our Constitutional rights in
Congress,” she wrote in an email. “Oregonians are be-
ing crushed right now by inflation caused by reckless
spending. We desperately need commonsense leader-
ship, so that families aren’t extraordinarily burdened
when we get gasoline for our cars or buy our family’s
groceries.”
McLeod-Skinner says she would vote for both bills.
“Both bills are common sense safety measures to
help protect our families and respect the rights of re-
sponsible gun owners,” she wrote in an email. “My
dad hunted to put food on our table, and I live in ru-
ral Oregon where a lot of people own guns. Respon-
sible gun owners are committed to keeping our com-
munities safe and they reject the fear-mongering of
those opposing these common sense measures. Un-
fortunately, D.C. insiders and extremist politicians are
out of touch with the vast majority of Oregonians and
Americans, including gun owners, who believe that a
felon should not be able to buy a gun in a parking lot
without a background check, or that an 18-year-old
or someone who is a known danger to themselves or
others shouldn’t be able to buy a weapon of war.”
Bentz may be your representative. Chavez-
DeRemer or McLeod-Skinner may be your represen-
tative in the future. You can tell them what you think
about these bills and gun control.
You can email Bentz at https://bentz.house.gov/con-
tact. A campaign email for Chavez-DeRemer is info@
lorichavezderemer.com. A campaign email for Mc-
Leod-Skinner is campaign@jamiefororegon.com.
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
Agree that railroad quiet
zone plan is unnecessary
In response to Mr. Haskell’s
opinion, “City’s quiet zone is mis-
guided and costly” — I totally
agree.
When some folks move into the
serene and beautiful valley that
Baker City has to offer, they want
to start campaigning for change.
“Geez, what’s that train whistle
we hear daily? We can’t allow that
to continue. That’s got to go! It’s
ancient history!”
And while we are at it, why
don’t we allow zoo animals to be
placed on downtown rooftops
and sidewalks. (Oops, you already
allowed that.) That will really en-
courage tourism, won’t it. Why
do we need monuments adorn-
ing our city depicting the history
of the Oregon Trail and how the
rough, tough, and brave pioneers
made their trek out West?
Insanity? I think so. Pleeeeease
Baker City residents, hold onto
your traditions and common
sense.
Jan Smith
Vancouver, Washington
• We welcome letters on any issue of public interest. Customer
complaints about specific businesses will not be printed.
• The Baker City Herald will not knowingly print false or
misleading claims. However, we cannot verify the accuracy of
all statements in letters.
• Writers are limited to one letter every 15 days.
• The writer must include an address and phone number (for
verification only). Letters that do not include this information
cannot be published.
• Letters will be edited for brevity, grammar, taste and legal
reasons.
Mail: To the Editor, Baker City Herald,
P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814
Email: news@bakercityherald.com
OTHER VIEWS
Pandemic opens door for measles
BY SAAD B. OMER
P
andemics have consequences be-
yond the death and disease directly
caused by the novel pathogen.
In the 1918 influenza pandemic, more
deaths were caused by the pneumococcal
bacterium among those made susceptible
to bacterial infection by influenza than by
the flu itself.
One potential byproduct of the devas-
tating COVID-19 pandemic is the threat
of an old scourge: measles. In the United
States, two doses of measles vaccines are
recommended for all children. These
doses are usually administered as the
measles, mumps and rubella combined
vaccine. The first dose is given at 12 to 15
months of age, and the second dose at 4 to
6 years of age. Schools in all states require
measles vaccination for entry, though
they allow various medical or nonmedical
exemptions.
But early in the pandemic, there were
substantial disruptions to routine non-
COVID vaccination — including fewer
children coming to vaccination appoint-
ments, and fewer students enrolling in
kindergarten, meaning they skipped the
requisite vaccines. Many children who
missed their recommended doses still ha-
ven’t received them.
The World Health Organization has
already warned this year of a “perfect
storm” for measles outbreaks worldwide
and recorded nearly twice as many global
cases in the first two months of 2022 than
in 2021.
In one of the country’s most significant
public health achievements, the U.S. elim-
inated measles cases originating within its
borders in 2000, thanks to vaccines. Since
then, measles has reached the U.S. mainly
via Americans returning from abroad, or
in secondary outbreaks associated with
these importations from other countries.
Yet this public health victory now faces
a twofold threat: missed vaccine doses
in 2020 and 2021, and growing anti-vac-
cine views because of opposition to the
COVID-19 shots.
Herd immunity against measles was
under threat even before the pandemic.
Increasing vaccine refusal over the last
two decades has created a population of
unvaccinated individuals from toddlers to
young adults.
Looking at outbreak investigations, my
colleagues and I found that from 2000
through 2015 a large majority of measles
cases started in people who were unvacci-
nated despite being vaccine-eligible. More
than 70% of these had nonmedical ex-
emptions — i.e., exemptions for religious
or philosophical reasons.
In another 2016 study, my colleagues
and I estimated that 12.5% of U.S. chil-
dren and teens were susceptible to mea-
sles — accounting for those who had
refused or missed vaccine doses, as well
as those who were too young to be vac-
cinated but were not protected through
maternal antibodies. Alarmingly, among
children 3 years old or younger, about a
quarter did not have measles immunity.
Since measles is highly infectious and re-
quires very high levels of population im-
munity to prevent outbreaks, the U.S. was
at high risk.
In fact, in the years before the
COVID-19 pandemic, large measles out-
breaks brought the United States close to
revocation of its measles elimination sta-
tus by the World Health Organization. If
COVID vaccine misinformation and op-
position ramp up vaccine mistrust in gen-
eral, as health experts fear, measles vac-
cination rates in the U.S. could dip below
90% — the approximate childhood rate as
of 2019 — and enter the danger zone.
In the U.S. before a measles vaccine be-
came available, the disease was associated
with a substantial number of hospitaliza-
tions and deaths. Even in the post-elimi-
nation era, hospitalizations and need for
outbreak control can be costly. A Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention re-
view of measles outbreaks between 2001
and 2018 found that the median cost per
case was $32,805.
And measles infection can depress the
immune system for years, hampering the
body’s ability to respond to other infec-
tions, as was found in a 2019 study that
aligned with decades of clinical and epi-
demiological observations.
The risk of large measles outbreaks is
increasing with most COVID-19 man-
dates ended and international travel
resuming largely without enforced re-
strictions. Public health authorities will
be gambling if they do not preempt and
prepare for these outbreaks. Past public
health emergencies demonstrate the con-
siderable threat: During the 2014-16 Eb-
ola outbreak in West Africa, disruptions
in routine vaccination resulted in more
children dying of measles than the Ebola
virus in some countries.
But there are straightforward ways for
federal, state and local authorities to miti-
gate the risk right now.
Childhood immunization mandates
continue to play an important role, but
because they are imposed at school entry,
they do not cover the younger age groups
at highest risk of measles infection and
its complications. Just ensuring that the
shots reach a high number of the children
who become eligible for vaccination this
year is not sufficient — those who missed
measles doses in the last couple of years
should be vaccinated as well.
There needs to be a national “catch-up”
campaign to vaccinate those who missed
their doses of routine vaccines during
the pandemic, with a particular focus on
kids younger than 5 (school age). Since
mid-2020, many countries have planned
catch-up campaigns to reduce the risk of
measles and other childhood diseases.
Research indicates that doctors and
nurses remain the most trusted source
of vaccine information even among the
vaccine-hesitant. Any national measles
catch-up campaign — led by the CDC in
collaboration with state and local health
departments — must prioritize healthcare
providers’ voices and patient interactions
for strong public health communication,
especially since anti-vaccine misinforma-
tion is a growing problem.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already
taken a heavy toll on children. We can
prevent further damage by stopping the
return of an already vanquished foe.
Saad B. Omer is the director of the Yale Institute for
Global Health and a professor at the Yale University
schools of medicine and public health.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office: 313 Hart Senate
Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510;
202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office: One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250,
Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386; fax 503-326-2900.
Baker City office, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-278-1129;
merkley.senate.gov.
97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office: 221 Dirksen Senate
Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244;
fax 202-228-2717. La Grande office: 105 Fir St., No. 210,
La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885;
wyden.senate.gov.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and
information are available online at www.leg.state.or.us.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. office: 1239
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. Medford office:
14 N. Central Avenue Suite 112, Medford, OR 97850;
Phone: 541-776-4646; fax: 541-779-0204; Ontario office:
2430 S.W. Fourth Ave., No. 2, Ontario, OR 97914; Phone:
541-709-2040. bentz.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.
treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100,
Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice
Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem office: 900
Court St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730.
Email: Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem office: 900
Court St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460.
Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker
City, OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City
Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m.
in Council Chambers. Councilors Jason Spriet, Kerry
McQuisten, Shane Alderson, Joanna Dixon, Kenyon
Damschen, Johnny Waggoner Sr. and Dean Guyer.
Baker City administration: 541-523-6541. Jonathan
Cannon, city manager; Ty Duby, police chief; Sean Lee,
fire chief; Michelle Owen, public works director.
Baker County Commission: Baker County Courthouse
1995 3rd St., Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets
the first and third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.; Bill Harvey
(chair), Mark Bennett, Bruce Nichols.
Baker County departments: 541-523-8200. Travis Ash,
sheriff; Noodle Perkins, roadmaster; Greg Baxter, district
attorney; Alice Durflinger, county treasurer; Stefanie
Kirby, county clerk; Kerry Savage, county assessor.
Baker School District: 2090 4th Street, Baker
City, OR 97814; 541-524-2260; fax 541-524-2564.
Superintendent: Mark Witty. Board meets the third
Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Council Chambers, Baker
City Hall,1655 First St.; Chris Hawkins, Andrew Bryan,
Travis Cook, Jessica Dougherty, Julie Huntington.