A10 THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
The right way
to preserve Bend’s
historical homes
B
end’s west side can be fertile ground if you are looking
for an older home that is a piece of Bend’s history. The
Wienecke, Emil and Ottilie House on NW Federal Street
is even individually listed in the National Register of Historic
Places.
Bend’s Landmarks Commission
moved Tuesday night to take some
baby steps to encourage more pres-
ervation of historic homes in the
area around NW Federal Street and
NW Awbrey Street. If you own a
home in the area the commission
is discussing, it would be a good
idea to find out more. Historical
preservation is an admirable target.
But it can come with many strings
attached.
For some people, owning and pre-
serving a home in a formal historic
district is an honor. Bend has two
historic districts already, the Bend
Old Town Historic District and the
Drake Park Historic District. They
help to retain distinctive architec-
tural and historic characteristics.
There can be grants and historic tax
credits for property owners.
For others, it’s complicated. It can
add a new layer of restrictions and
cost to home improvements. Vinyl
windows and nonhistoric siding ma-
terials are frowned upon. A historic
district can also put upward pres-
sure on home prices. And in Bend,
major home alterations in a historic
district, require a hearing before the
Landmarks Commission before they
can proceed.
The area discussed Tuesday night
is not necessarily ripe for a full-on
historic district.
A study prepared for the Land-
marks Commission looked at 318
homes. Only one home outright
qualified and only 36% were deemed
eligible for listing in the national reg-
ister. Many homes had been signifi-
cantly modified with vinyl windows
or with “Craftsman-inspired design
elements that were never historically
present, introducing a false histori-
cism that renders the property” inel-
igible, according to the study.
Commissioners briefly discussed
an option between what exists now
and a historic district. It’s called a
local landmarks district. “In land-
marks districts, design review is lim-
ited to major changes (such as new
construction, exterior alterations,
and demolition),” the study said.
Property owners can also be encour-
aged to reverse things, such as siding
so more homes are eligible for his-
toric listing.
A majority of the members of the
Landmarks Commission seemed to
clearly want more homeowners to
try to preserve the historical charac-
ter of their homes.
But they absolutely were not
plotting to impose anything on
residents.
“We don’t want to give them the
impression that there is someone
working behind the scenes about to
pounce on them,” Commissioner
Robin Vora said during the meeting.
First and foremost, a majority of
the homes do not qualify. Commis-
sioners want to share information
with homeowners, so they know
they have options.
Homeowners don’t have to in-
stall vinyl windows. They can make
choices that help retain the historic
character. Commissioners talked
about meeting with neighborhood
associations and finding other ways
to spread the word.
It’s ultimately up to the neighbor-
hood if it wants to help preserve its
historic character or allow it to fade.
Contact the Landmarks Com-
mission, if you want to learn more.
Email senior planner Heidi Kennedy
at hkennedy@bendoregon.gov.
Oregon shouldn’t hide names
of government employees
A
bill in the Oregon Senate
could essentially blind Or-
egonians to who works in
government.
Senate Bill 550 requires every
public employer to set up a system
so employees can require their em-
ployer to use a unique identifier in-
stead of the employee’s name in re-
cords. And then the public employer
would be forbidden from disclosing
or using the name of the employee
in response to a public records
request.
The bill is sponsored by state Sen.
Chris Gorsek, D-Troutdale. His of-
fice did not respond to an email.
Gorsek is a former police officer.
You may remember that last sum-
mer Portland Police officers covered
their names on their uniforms with
masking tape and replaced it with a
number.
It was to protect them from peo-
ple putting their personal informa-
tion online.
To make widespread secrecy the
rule in who works for government
entities is an unsettling challenge to
the ability of the public to hold their
government accountable. This bill
should not move forward.
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor
Gerry O’Brien and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
My Nickel’s Worth
Take freedom seriously
I was 12 when I first visited Wash-
ington, D.C., with my grandparents,
just one year before John F. Kennedy
was struck down by Lee Harvey Os-
wald in Dallas, Texas.
And, just as I remember where I
was on that day, and on the day Bobby
Kennedy was shot and killed in Los
Angeles, where I grew up, then Mar-
tin Luther King Jr., I will never forget
what I saw on my TV on Jan. 6.
I didn’t think I could feel more hurt,
more ashamed or more embarrassed
as I did by those thugs and vile ani-
mals that were desecrating and disre-
specting those beautiful buildings, the
monuments to our democracy and
our freedoms.
I wanted to cry, but decided they
weren’t worth it. But why weren’t
more people disturbed and hurt by
what they witnessed on their televi-
sions?
Have we become so indifferent and
blasé because we’ve been hurt too
many times? What will it take? How
many more wars must be fought, how
many more people killed, how many
more maniacal power-hungry despots
like Hitler, Mussolini, Trump (yes,
Trump) will it take before we value
and protect our precious American
values and we take freedom seriously
and personally?
If not now, when?
— Rose McLoughlin, Bend
Don’t divide the country
Why in the world would The Bul-
letin print Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
opinion that the individuals involved
in the riot at the Capitol building were
comparable to the Nazis in Germany?
None of us know what type of in-
dividuals made up the majority of the
crowd and, it may be only a minority
of troublemakers participated in the
riot. Do you know? Then print it. If
not, this hyperbole will only serve to
divide the country more.
Much of what the Democratic
leadership has been doing does re-
mind me of pre-war Germany. The
left-leaning rioter’s in Portland and
other Democratically controlled cities
could just as well have been wearing
“brown shirts” as they did in Ger-
many. I don’t recall Democrats like
Merkley and Wyden condemning
these riots.
Book burning in Germany tried
to eliminate the past, elimination of
heritage by tearing down statues and
monuments serves an equal purpose.
Also, consider the suppression of free
speech by the left. Some Democratic
leaders are encouraging retribution
against Trump supporters, some com-
panies are being boycotted because
they supported Trump policies and
left-leaning tech companies are sup-
pressing conservative views and Dem-
ocratic wrong-doing (Biden’s alleged
collusion with Communist China).
Finally, Schwarzenegger mentions
the “Night of Broken Glass” in Ger-
many. The riot at the Capitol is rem-
iniscent of the burning of the Reich-
stag in Germany by Hitler’s cronies
which was then blamed on the Jews.
Did Soros or some wealthy leftist fi-
nance some of the rioters? It has been
done before, but I am only speculat-
ing. If you think I am a subscriber to
conspiracy theories, I am not. I want
proof.
At the end of the war, I wonder
how many people in Germany wished
they had been more vigilant as Hitler
slowly took over. The Nazis had the
Jews for scapegoats, the Democrats
seem to be using the conservatives
in the same way and are covering up
their own misdeeds, largely with the
help of the media.
I see troubled times ahead.
— John Russell, Bend
Consider donating
your relief payment
Bravo to Joette Storm and her letter
from Jan. 17 in support of direct relief
payments with a sharper focus on get-
ting the money to those suffering the
greatest hardship. She’s dead right that
those of us either working or com-
fortable in retirement don’t need that
help.
So let’s take matters into our own
hands. If our dutiful federal represen-
tatives sow future bounty indiscrim-
inately, those of us who don’t need it
can redirect it to any number of local
nonprofits.
Check around. It’s breathtaking
how much they do and how little
they’re noticed. Oregon, Deschutes
County, Bend, are much better places
because of their existence.
And, for the skeptical reader’s ques-
tion: “Did he follow Ms. Storm’s im-
plied advice?” Yep. Sent my $600 re-
lief payment to the Bethlehem Inn.
The inn doesn’t charge, and that gift
covered the cost of a homeless family
staying for five nights. Felt good to hit
the website’s submit button.
You should try it, too, for any of the
many local groups doing equally good
work.
— Dwain Fullerton, Bend
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Many Americans want payback; we need a uniter
A
BY TIMOTHY SHRIVER
Special to the Washington Post
fter the shocking attack on
our Capitol on Jan. 6, many
Americans feel it’s time for
payback. That former President Don-
ald Trump, his Republican enablers
and the white supremacist, conspira-
cy-minded seditionists all deserve the
contempt of the nation and a lifetime
ban from dignity.
In these circumstances, the word
“unite” — a word on which Joe Biden
ran for president and a vision in
which many of us believe — has itself
drawn contempt. Uniters are seen as
wishy-washy and spineless.
Nothing could be further from the
truth. No one I know who hopes to
wear the label of “uniter” is suggest-
ing that those responsible for sedition
and violence should not be held ac-
countable. Shallow calls to unite from
Republicans responsible for one of
the most divisive days in U.S. history
won’t work either.
Here’s what makes a uniter ap-
proach distinctive — and why unit-
ing the country remains the essential
and urgent challenge of now: When
facing polarizing forces, uniters make
the high-risk step of crossing divides.
Think of the Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
Think of Nelson Mandela inviting his
former jailer to dinner. Think of the
Good Friday Agreement in North-
ern Ireland. In each of these instances,
enormous division and injustice was
transformed by avoiding contempt.
When facing factions and hostile inter-
ests, uniters search for creative solutions
that create common purpose grounded
in transcendent principles such as
truth, goodness, justice and peace.
For uniters, the enemy is often a
condition in the human heart. Man-
dela was a uniter who spent his en-
tire life opposing racism that he saw
deep in the hearts of his oppressors.
Mahatma Gandhi opposed colonial-
ism, but he did so with a vision of a
free and nonviolent Indian democ-
racy without demonizing the British.
Mother Teresa opposed the caste sys-
tem but rarely scapegoated Indians.
Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery but
sought a country with “malice toward
none.”
I can tolerate a lot of debate about
the qualities of a uniter, but being told
that trying to unite our country is a
coward’s path is too much. On the
contrary, being a uniter is the more
difficult path because uniters risk the
hatred of all those — on the left and
the right — who have become con-
vinced that hatred and destruction
of the other side is the only path for-
ward. Lincoln offered malice toward
none and was murdered a month
later. King offered a world where love
defeats hate and gave his life for it.
My uncle Robert F. Kennedy said that
what our country needed in 1968 was
love, and eight weeks later, he was
gone. Too frequently, uniters pay with
their lives, because when hatred and
contempt rage out of control, the one
who calls us to the self-sacrificing work
of uniting is often the victim.
Biden ran to be a uniter. People may
oppose him, but at least they ought to
understand the enormity of what he is
trying to do. Does he have to respect
the vote from House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to overturn
the election? No. Should he invite Mc-
Carthy to join him in rushing resources
to schools and children in crisis around
the country? You bet. Should he invite
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to dinner at the
White House? Not until Cruz faces the
truth of his actions and offers to change.
But can Biden treat him with dignity
and ask him to join in generating new
solutions to the challenge of immigra-
tion that affects so many Texans? Let’s
hope so. And instead of exhausting his
political capital to drive a stake through
the heart of Trump, should Biden use
that same energy to convince Trump’s
74 million voters that there is an Amer-
ican future in which they belong and
to which they can contribute, full of the
faith, freedom and justice that they es-
pouse? For sure.
I want justice. I want no part of rac-
ism and lying and sedition. And I’m
choosing love to oppose them all. You
can accuse people like me of many
things, but please don’t suggest we’re
choosing the easy road. Uniting peo-
ple without compromise and without
contempt is the hardest road of all.
And the only one that will heal our
country today.
e e
Timothy Shriver is chairman of Special Olympics
and a co-founder of Unite, a civic and social
issues initiative.