A8 The BulleTin • Thursday, March 4, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Reaching across
the aisle in the
Oregon Legislature
P
olicy disagreements, partisanship and the walkouts
can give Oregonians a distorted picture of what their
Legislature is like. Journalists — and certainly this
editorial page — tend to highlight conflicts, not the places of accord.
We were struck recently by what
state Rep. Daniel Bonham said
during a committee hearing about
a resolution to honor former state
Rep. Mitch Greenlick. State Sen.
Tim Knopp, R-Bend, is one of the
resolution’s sponsors.
Bonham is a Republican from
The Dalles. His district includes a
large part of Central Oregon — Sis-
ters, Culver, Madras and the Warm
Springs Reservation. Plot Bonham
and Greenlick along an ideological
line and there would be a big gap be-
tween them in how to solve many of
Oregon’s challenges. Bonham would
be on the right. Greenlick, a Dem-
ocrat who represented Multnomah
and Washington counties beginning
in 2002, was on the left. Greenlick
died while serving in office on May
15, 2020.
They became friends.
Bonham was appointed to the
Legislature in November 2017 to fill
a vacancy. He came into the session
in 2018 trying to find his way in the
new role.
He happened to stay in the same
hotel for the session as Greenlick
and his wife, Harriet. They fell into
the habit of exercising together in
the gym and joining each other in
the pool. And talking.
“I got to know Rep. Greenlick
more on a personal level than any-
thing else,” Bonham said. “What re-
ally impressed me was just his care
and concern for helping somebody
brand new to this role that truly was
trying to find their way. And despite
the fact that we were not of the same
party affiliation or shared the same
views on how to solve health care
problems we had many wonderful
conversations.
“I will say we probably talked
more about the kids, the grandchil-
dren and the great grandchildren
than we did about public policy. But
his care and his compassion for oth-
ers was just evident in his approach
to life. And we saw it come through
in very passionate ways both on the
floor and in committee and even
over lunch.
“I wanted to take the moment to
stop by your meeting here today and
to offer my words of just gratitude to
the Greenlicks. Again I don’t know
how you talk about Mitch without
talking about Harriet. I don’t know
how, at least from my experience.
They were such a team. I am grate-
ful for their friendship and for the
kindness that they showed me. I give
my absolute support to SCR (Sen-
ate Concurrent Resolution) 3 and
encourage everyone else to take a
moment and read through it and re-
member and honor our good friend
Mitch Greenlick.”
Should county step up effort
to reduce juvenile crime?
I
t only seems right to offer juve-
niles a second chance in many
cases if they break the law. But
even before that, it would be ideal
to prevent the crime from ever
occurring.
Deschutes County has a formal ju-
venile crime prevention program. Its
results were reviewed and its future
plan was approved this week by the
county’s local public safety coordi-
nating council. The program possi-
bly builds a case for expansion.
The program has two different,
primary components. We don’t have
the space to talk about both. One is
family-based interventions. In the in-
terventions, the program works with
juveniles, 12-17, who are not in the
justice system. Juveniles who might
be descending into trouble are iden-
tified by school officials and others.
The program attempts to harness the
strengths that each family has and
build on them. It had aimed to serve
20 individuals for the last two years
and ended up serving 25.
Did it work? On some levels, yes.
Something as intangible as family
function is difficult to measure and
you can’t determine for sure if it ac-
tually prevented a crime. They do
look at things such as how a family is
communicating. Is it in raised voices?
They look at supervision levels. Do
parents know where their children
are? The belief is that the families do
show improvement.
Some juveniles targeted by the pro-
gram do end up committing crimes.
That does not necessarily mean the
program is a failure, though in those
cases it was not a success.
The program’s budget is expected
to stay about the same for 2021-2023
that it was for the last two-year pe-
riod — about $200,000. The money
comes from the state based on a
formula.
We wondered if the county or
other local government agencies
should kick in a bit more. One issue
for the program has been bringing
someone in full-time who speaks
Spanish who also has familiarity with
the kind of family therapy the pro-
gram does. The program did use an
interpreter over the past two years.
Another issue could be expanding
the program, even slightly. Is there
the need? Are there more families
that could benefit? That wasn’t dis-
cussed during the county’s public
safety committee meeting.
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
Oppose Stevens Tract bill
A Salem representative’s bill to
bring the rest of the state-owned Ste-
vens Tract into the urban growth
boundary can only increase the grow-
ing pains Bend residents are suffering.
Past UGB expansions have mostly
resulted in expensive single-family
homes, and this proposal doesn’t ap-
pear to be different.
House Bill 2282 would only require
5% of the 262 acres to be affordable
housing. Bend is still far from com-
pleting the infrastructure and plan-
ning needed for the UGB expansion
approved in 2016. Reed Market Road,
an arterial for Stevens Tract, is already
heavily congested despite recent im-
provement.
Placing housing around the city’s
edges increases traffic congestion and
emissions, and risks creating large
low-income “projects.”
Instead, we need more mixed-in-
come housing and mixed-use devel-
opment in the urban core close to
public transit.
In other places, such as Mumbai,
India, where I am from, a developer
may redevelop a property only with
the approval of 70% of the people who
live on the property.
The developers are required to pro-
vide housing for all current residents.
The new buildings are taller with
some commercial, luxury flats, units
for middle-income families and small
habitations for the homeless who re-
sided on the property.
The public should be involved
in an open process to determine if
there are higher local needs and uses
than onetime funding for the state
school fund and then transferring
development rights to a powerful in-
dividual.
Other uses should also be consid-
ered, such as a large park, which could
be an asset to an already congested
Bend. Please ask Representative Jason
Kropf to oppose HB 2282.
— Robin Vora is a candidate for
Bend Park & Recreation District Board
and lives in Bend.
our fellow citizens and putting us all
at greater risk in the future.
— John Owen, Bend
Gun coverage didn’t include
enough views
The Stevens Road Tract is a square-
mile section of land southeast of 27th
Street and Stevens Road. The urban
growth boundary now includes 380
acres of this parcel, which is sched-
uled for a high density mixed-use de-
velopment.
The remaining 260 acres is still
outside the UGB. I would like to rec-
ommend this acreage be entirely set
aside as a park.
This land borders ranches and
homes that are usually 10 or 20 acre
minimum sizes, and a large-scale
park is one of the best ways to tran-
sition from high density develop-
ment to rural acreages. Currently, the
northwest side of town has the beau-
tiful Shevlin Park and the new Riley
Ranch Park.
I have visited both parks in re-
cent months, and they are both are
heavily used. The southeast has no
public park on a similar scale. This
proposed park would be larger than
Riley Ranch, but much smaller than
Shevlin. Thousands of houses have
been added to southeast Bend, and
thousands more are planned on the
Stevens Road Tract.
This portion of the Stevens Road
Tract is one of the last large sections
of open land in this part of town. Our
community recently celebrated 100
years since the establishment of both
Shevlin and Drake parks. One article
thanked the foresight of our com-
munity leaders 100 years ago who set
aside that land for parks. Can we have
some of that foresight now for our
future community? Is there support
for the future Southeast High Desert
Park?
— Patti Bailey, Bend
The Bulletin’s recent Sunday front-
page story on increased gun sales in
Oregon, and here in Bend, read more
like an NRA handout than a legiti-
mate news report.
Reporter Suzanne Roig linked in-
creased sales to perceived new Orego-
nian fears about their personal safety
because of what “they’ve seen on tele-
vision in Portland and throughout the
country.”
She quoted the Jefferson County
sheriff saying that having an “armed
citizenry is a good thing.”
She included a Bend gun store
owner’s unsubstantiated claim that
firearms and ammunition are fly-
ing off the shelves because the Biden
Democrats want “to take away our
guns.”
Nowhere in her report did Roig
seek out any group or individual
who may be even mildly critical of
this gun mania; who is more worried
about gun-wielding citizens who may
take the law into their own hands.
The notion of more states, 21 in
all, and now including Montana and
Utah, allowing owners to carry a con-
cealed firearm into their state capitols
is terrifying.
Having lived and worked for many
years in Canada and the U.K., I can
attest to the benefits of living in soci-
eties where citizens and police forces
aren’t armed to the teeth.
As for the guntrader who told Roig
that “he prays for America,” I do as
well.
But I do so not because of a fear of
protesters but because he’s loading up
Why not a park instead?
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Oregon citizenship is a needed bridge for immigrants
G
BY WILLIAM BARRON
ood immigration and asy-
lum policy is hard. There are
many perspectives, so much
misinformation and racism, and so
much at risk. These United States
were founded on the spirit of immi-
gration, the world’s melting pot. We
have swung between open borders to
closed, and back again, repeatedly like
the swing of a pendulum. To help slow
this process, Oregon should create an
“Oregon Resident” status to assist im-
migrants toward their U.S. citizenship
while recognizing the value these in-
dividuals bring to the state.
Under an Oregon Resident clas-
sification, all non-U.S. citizen im-
migrants in the state would be rec-
ognized as legitimate citizens of the
state. They would be required to
follow all applicable laws, have valid
driver’s licenses, pay all appropriate
taxes, participate in state medical in-
surance programs, pay into a state’s
version of Social Security and vote in
local and state elections.
They would have equal standing, as
well as responsibilities and obligations
as any other Oregon resident, with
one clear exception: A conviction for
any local, state, or federal laws would
result in a deportation hearing and a
real probability of being imprisoned
and/or deported. After five years of
state citizenship the state would act as
a sponsor and advocate for their fed-
eral citizenship application.
The immigrants in our state need
and deserve a clear path to U.S. citi-
zenship. They need ways and means
to provide for their families without
GUEST COLUMN
fear of retaliation based on their sta-
tus, the fear of family separation, or
the fear of prosecution only because
of their immigration status.
These are people we see every day.
These are hardworking, industrious,
humble people willing to do the jobs
most of us of privilege would not
want to do. These are people who do
not want to be a burden on society,
to the contrary. They want to be inte-
grated into the community and make
it better.
Every country needs a strong, se-
cure border to ensure its sovereignty
and protect its national interests. Ev-
ery country needs a strong, consistent
immigration policy and a means for
those trying to save its families from
tyranny, gangs, and genocide to seek
and secure asylum. These are not mu-
tually exclusive. States, counties, and
cities that are establishing sanctuary
status and policies work against the
spirit of an integrated immigration
and asylum program. The problem is
we, as a country, do not have a con-
sistent, integrated, coordinated immi-
gration and asylum program.
This is where Oregon can lead the
way and create a bridge to fill the gap
and capture the benefit immigrants
bring to our state. It will take bold
leadership and a strong commitment
to help these people in need. Are we
as a state ready to support a state pol-
icy on Oregon citizenship? Maybe,
maybe not; but if we don’t the prob-
lems and conflict with wavering fed-
The immigrants in our state need
and deserve a clear path to U.S.
citizenship.
eral programs will continue.
And who am I? I’m a guy who
grew up on the border. A guy who
has worked in the cotton fields with
immigrants, both legal and tran-
sient. A guy who has watched men
leave their hoes and race to jump a
train heading east in search for better
jobs and a better life so they can send
money back to their families. Their
plight is real, and so is their contribu-
tion to the state. Let’s recognize them
and make them citizens of Oregon
and help them become U.S. citizens.
#NeverFeartheDream
e e
William Barron lives in Bend.