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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (July 30, 2022)
The BulleTin • SaTurday, July 30, 2022 B5 EDITORIALS & OPINIONS AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER Heidi Wright Gerry O’Brien Richard Coe Publisher Editor Editorial Page Editor Should Bend ban stores from selling dogs and cats? L ooks like the Bend City Council may vote Wednesday to ban stores from selling dogs, cats or rabbits. None of the pet stores in Bend sell them now. So it won’t be much of a change. Why bother, then? Why fix something that is not a problem? It will prevent a store from do- ing it in the future. The city says the idea of pet stores selling dogs and cats is considered “increasingly out- dated and socially unacceptable.” Sometimes pet stores elsewhere in the country have been outlets for puppy mills that produced an- imals with little regard to breeding healthy pets, just breeding dol- lars. The city argues the ordinance may promote awareness of animal welfare and reduce the burden on shelters. We’d argue it’s better to adopt anyway. Shelters work hard to make sure they find the right pet for the right family. Many pet stores in Bend actually host adoption events. Much of that shut down during the worst of the pandemic. Breeders are an option, too. Maybe not all breeders are perfectly motivated. Of course, many are or come close. We don’t have to tell you to do your research. Just to be clear, the ordinance language specifically says the ban does not apply to breeders, ani- mal care facilities or animal care organizations. Do you think Bend should ban stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits? We do. You can let councilors know what you think at council@bendoregon.gov. You can see the proposed ordinance here, tinyurl.com/Nodogscatsrabbits. Historical editorials: It wasn’t too much Fourth of July █ Editor’s note: The following historical editorials originally appeared in what was then called The Bend Bulletin on July 19, 1907. “T he Bulletin comes to hand this afternoon, five days late. Everybody in town has been inquiring about The Bulletin. There is but one explana- tion for the delay. Too much Fourth of July.” — The Prineville Review. We must admit that we cele- brated. We could not have done otherwise when there were so many congenial friends from out- side points to help us in that cel- ebration. But the mode and the manner of our “good time” was not of the nature implied by the Re- view man. The Bulletin was mailed out of the office that week on Fri- day evening — its usual time. If it failed to make its appearance in Prineville the fault was either the postmasters or the stage drivers. And in this connection The Bul- letin desires to register a vigorous kick. Numerous complaints have come to us in which subscribers stated they did not receive The Bulletin regularly — not on the date that it should appear. Many of these complaints have to do with the mail that passed through the Prineville office. Whether that of- fice is to blame for these delays or whether the fault lies elsewhere, we do not know. But one thing we █ do know and that is that if these complaints continue to be heard, a determined effort will be made to locate the blame and as deter- mined an effort made to see that it is corrected. There is no sufficient reason why it should require five days for The Bulletin to travel from Bend to Prineville. Why that is as slow as the record the railroads make in moving freight. • • • A Bend man remarked this week that those of us who are now booming this country and who have great faith in it, will be greatly surprised to see what is will pro- duce in 15 or 20 years. He implied that our prophetic vision was not strong enough to see the full devel- opment of future years and that we were only telling half the truth. He undoubtedly is correct. Practically every new country that is opened to settlement surpasses the fond- est dreams of its most enthusiastic friends in the abundance and diver- sity of the crops that are produced on it in later years. This same result is already seen to some extent in the Bend country. Each year sees more tender vegetables, more fruit and better crops grown. This sea- son promises to lead all others in that respect. Twenty years — yes, 10 years — will see a development in Bend country of which none of us now dream. 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 Right thing to ask voters on psilocybin Commissioners Adair and DeBone did the right thing by voting to send an opt-out to Measure 109 to the voters. Our voters should decide if psilocybin should be manufactured and services provided in unincorpo- rated areas of our county. We learned a valuable lesson about local opinion after the legalization of marijuana. Community members have shared with me they did not ob- ject to personal use of marijuana but did not want marijuana production going on next door to their homes. Data supports this decision. Mea- sure 109 passed in Deschutes County by nearly 7,000 votes (126,249 bal- lots cast, 53% approved and 47% op- posed). Not a mandate by any means. This measure was mainly carried by voters in the city of Bend, with Sisters split 50-50, Redmond and La Pine opposed the measure, and 19 unincorporated area voting precincts out of 24 voted to oppose Measure 109. This tells the story of the voter base and therefore, an opt-out measure is appropriate to gain further guidance. Voters approved a measure to legal- ize use; doesn’t mean they want those substances manufactured in their communities. I hope Measure 109 helps individ- uals with mental health issues. Now with an opt-out measure, the voters can decide if they want psilocybin use and manufacture in rural De- schutes County. Individuals will have access to psi- locybin therapy even if voters decide to opt-out in the rural/unincorpo- rated areas of our county. This was the right decision to send this important issue to our voters for guidance, as we should whenever possible. — L. Shane Nelson is the Deschutes County sheriff Building over our water capacity The future sustainability of Central Oregon? It is beyond comprehension to me that the governments of Cen- tral Oregon is allowing the ridiculous amount of new development in an area with fragile water sources. There is no amount of revenue that is worth the over taxing of the aquifer. Central Oregon has a population capacity that is limited. It’s great that everyone wants to move here but water is life. I am extremely disap- pointed that developers are given this license to build entire communities with zero responsibility to the natural resources that make Central Oregon so very special. This is my first public reach out on this subject. I have been in contact with the state water de- partments to begin learning the dy- namics of Central Oregon hydrology. The development must stop or we all will pay the price. As we say in ag- riculture — the numbers just don’t pencil. — Eric Little, Terrebonne Explore potential for better rail service Thank you, Don Senecal, for your July 22 Bulletin letter, “Improve rail service” about the lack of Amtrak train service to and from Bend. We appreciate you raising the issue and opening that door. First an update: The bus connect- ing Amtrak to Bend no longer has a Chemult stop and, instead, bus ser- vice directly connects Bend Haw- thorne Station and the Portland Am- trak Station; a long and boring ride, but for now, it works. More informa- tion as well as an Amtrak ticket kiosk is available at the Hawthorne transit station, 334 NE Hawthorne Ave. We concur with Mr. Senecal that the rail potential for this area is, at the least, worth exploring. And for those who prefer train travel and feel aban- doned here, patience and planning will find a good ride. We have made numerous train trips to Seattle and Portland and suc- cessfully relied on local transit to get us to most anywhere we wanted. Just in case, keep in mind one of the dictums of travel: Getting lost is just part of the adventure. — Patricia and Ronald Schauer, Bend Letters policy Guest columns How to submit We welcome your letters. letters should be limited to one issue, contain no more than 250 words and include the writer’s phone number and address for verifica- tion. We edit letters for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We reject poetry, personal attacks, form letters, letters submitted elsewhere and those appro- priate for other sections of The Bulletin. Writers are limited to one letter or guest column every 30 days. your submissions should be between 550 and 650 words and must include the writer’s phone number and address for verification. We edit submissions for brevity, grammar, taste and legal reasons. We reject those submitted elsewhere. locally submitted columns alternate with national columnists and commentaries. Writers are limited to one letter or guest column every 30 days. Please address your submission to either My nickel’s Worth or Guest Column and mail, fax or email it to The Bulletin. email submissions are preferred. email: letters@bendbulletin.com Write: My nickel’s Worth/Guest Column P.O. Box 6020 Bend, Or 97708 Fax: 541-385-5804 Time is running out to give Zelenskyy the military aid Ukraine needs BY JOSH ROGIN The Washington Post R ussian artillery and heavy ar- mor are pounding Ukrainian forces in the country’s south and east, grinding out small advances using brutal, scorched-earth tactics. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new war objective is to occupy as much territory as possible before the winter freeze and attempt to annex it to cement his gains, which would make achieving peace far harder. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that if Russia holds large parts of the south when win- ter arrives, such as the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, Ukraine will lose its ability to function as a via- ble state. He says the next few weeks will determine the country’s fate, and Ukraine is already mounting a coun- teroffensive. He’s right when he says that if the United States doesn’t give him the tools to succeed — and fast — Washington and Kyiv will both regret it later. Speaking to a delegation of five U.S. lawmakers last week in Kyiv, Zelen- skyy repeated his requests for more and better U.S. weapons. He also re- vealed that he has been asking the Biden administration to deploy U.S. military personnel in Kyiv to improve U.S.-Ukraine coordination on all as- pects of the war, three of those law- makers told me. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., asked the Ukrainian president whether he supported sending more U.S. military personnel into Ukraine to boost co- ordination. Zelenskyy jumped at the idea. “As soon as I raised it, he cut me off and said: ‘We’ve been asking for it. We’d welcome it. We’ve proposed that,’” said Waltz, who told me, “The problem is with the White House.” Zelenskyy proposed that U.S. and Ukrainian military personnel form three joint coordination cells, focused on planning, logistics and strategic communications. Waltz said U.S. troops would not be deployed to the front lines. They would work out of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, which is struggling right now to reestablish op- erations with a skeleton staff. Congressional confidence in the $40 billion U.S. weapons and aid pro- gram in Ukraine will wane without more direct supervision, Waltz said. “From an oversight standpoint, we have to know where this stuff is go- ing,” he said. “Also, it would help the Ukrainians use it more effectively.” House Armed Services Commit- tee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., who led the delegation, told me that he, too, supports Zelenskyy’s idea to deploy more U.S. military personnel in Kyiv. But some Biden administra- tion officials are concerned about fur- ther deepening U.S. military involve- ment in the conflict, he said. “The resistance is because the Biden admin- istration feels it would be escalatory,” Smith said. “And also, if we’ve got U.S. personnel working in an operations center inside Ukraine, they become le- gitimate military targets.” A National Security Council spokes- person told me the United States is coordinating extensively with the Ukrainian military at the leadership level and among troops on the ground in neighboring countries. The law- makers said this coordination, mostly in Germany and Poland, is inferior to working together inside Ukraine. There’s also resistance within the Pentagon to providing Ukraine with other weapons Zelenskyy is asking for, including longer-range missiles and advanced, long-range drones. Officials are worried about depleting U.S. stocks and fear the drones might be captured by Russia and then re- verse-engineered or used against us, Smith said. “I understand that risk. It’s not in- significant,” he told me. “But I think that the risk of the Russians winning and carving up Ukraine so that it ceases to be a country is greater.” Zelenskyy told the lawmakers his army needs the MGM-140 Army Tac- tical Missile System (ATACMS), a sur- face-to-surface missile that can travel about 190 miles, nearly quadruple the range of the missiles the United States is currently providing. These muni- tions would allow Ukrainian forces to move farther away from Russian artil- lery while striking deeper into the ene- my-held territory and forcing the Rus- sians to lengthen their supply lines. Biden’s officials fear Ukraine could use them to strike inside Russia, trig- gering further escalation. Zelenskyy has given the White House assurances these missiles wouldn’t be used inside Russia. Another delegation member, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., told me that Zelenskyy has proved he can be trusted to keep his word. Slotkin, like the other lawmak- ers, emphasized the urgency of Zel- enskyy’s requests. She said the next weeks and months present a window for Ukraine to claw back territory. If Kyiv fails, she said, hopes for a negoti- ated solution will further suffer. To its credit, the Biden administra- tion has given Ukraine an enormous amount of aid — but that entire effort could falter without a new weapons surge. If Putin establishes territorial gains this year, next year he will only push further. Time is running out to give Zelenskyy what he needs to win or at least negotiate from a position of strength. █ Josh Rogin is a columnist for the Global Opinions section of The Washington Post.
