A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Hayes on the
sidelines, but
damage is done
A
t his press conference
last Friday, Oregon
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will have no policy role during
the remainder of his fourth
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declaration were the news
reports generated by Hillary
Borrud in the Salem bureau
of the EO Media Group and
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While it was useful to have
the governor clarify where
Hayes stands in the Kitzhaber
administration going into the
next four years, the question
remains: Exactly what policies
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working for? The governor, in
an appearance that broke little
new ground, mostly referred
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As The Register-Guard of
Eugene has mused, there’s a
question of how many shoes
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Especially when it comes to
environmental policies, which
were Hayes’ “passion,” it’s
hard to look at any decision
or position and not wonder
who was making the wheels
turn, and which wheels were
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violations casts a pall over
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People are quick to judge
actions by their outcome,
and perhaps that’s why the
outrage over the First Lady’s
shady employment history
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Those who are pleased with
the enviro-friendly direction
this administration has taken
us have been able to shrug off
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the disclosure of the $118,000
in apparently untaxed income
Hayes took from the Clean
Economy Development Center
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on stories about that situation
suggest this is the last straw
even for some supporters of the
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To be sure, even if the
governor had never met Hayes
he might have made the exact
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of the administration to take
these issues seriously from the
get-go remains a big problem
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interest, rather than an interest
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The essence of Kitzhaber’s
Cylvia Hayes problem was
described succinctly by Brent
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biographer and managing editor
of Willamette Week, during a
talk last November to Columbia
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“I didn’t think we’d ever see,
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sale, but that’s exactly what
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The tragedy of John
Kitzhaber stems from a
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All politicians and celebrities
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that John Kitzhaber is having
such a hard time reckoning with
the damage that Cylvia Hayes
has done him is that the John
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F ROM THE B OOKSHELF
Memoir tells of heavenly
homestead on the Steens
geology, Native American culture,
personal responsibility with the
VKHHSHWF
‘Child of the Steens’
“If there is a heaven, I hope it
Life was always interesting and
By Eileen O’Keeffe McVicker,
looks like the Steens,” says author
RFFDVLRQDOO\ DPXVLQJ ± OLNH WKH
2008
Eileen O’Keeffe McVicker in her
time the kids playing outside a
volume of photos and memoirs,
family dance hall one evening de-
³&KLOGRIWKH6WHHQV´
ping-off spot to literally hundreds cided to bury a passed-out Basque
Steens Mountain, along with of thousands of birds on their tra- VKHHSKHUGHU-XVWLQFDVHKHZDVQ¶W
dead, they planned to put a stove-
the interesting Frenchglen Ho- GLWLRQDOPLJUDWLRQURXWHV
tel (no keys, no TV, family style
“Child of the Steens” is a little SLSHRYHUKLVIDFH
Then there was their ultra-de-
PHDOV HWF ZDV D GHVWLQDWLRQ girl’s story of being totally in love
point for me during three decades with the outdoors, the mountain pendable “Old Johnny Mule,” who
on a fire lookout at the south DQG HYHU\WKLQJ DURXQG KHU +HU had a peculiar quirk: at exactly 5
end of the Prairie City Ranger family, making their livelihood each evening he stopped work and
'LVWULFW
raising sheep, lived there content- wouldn’t move until they removed
Of course, that experience may edly until the time came to move KLVKDUQHVV
McVicker tells a fun story of
not be for everyone; I remember to Burns for schooling of the three
a happy childhood in a place of
a fellow tourist once asked me FKLOGUHQ
at one of the spectacular view-
This Steens Mountain child exceptional interest and beauty;
points if this was “all there is to claims she was “never bored once worth reading by those who visit
see … scenery?” I said yes and he LQKHUOLIH´6KHORYHGLWDOO±DQG Steens Mountain often or those
hopped on his “hawg” and roared that included the dangerous time who might put it on their list of
RII
when her mother shot a rabid SODFHVWRH[SHULHQFH
Other resources are a coffee table
The O’Keeffe family arrived on coyote stalking her dad near their
the Steens Mountain from Ireland KRPHVWHDG $QRWKHU WLPH KHU ID- book, “Steens Mountain in Oregon’s
in 1930, a time of serious drought ther was extremely ill during one High Desert Country,” with commen-
when most people trying to work LVRODWHGZLQWHU7KH\QRWRQO\VXU- tary and photos, as well as “Great Basin
VPDOOKRPHVWHDGVZHUHJLYLQJXS vived it all but incorporated their Country” by local authors Nancy and
The massive spread belonging to mother’s dictum that the word the late Denzel Ferguson, available in
one of the cattle barons still hang- “can’t” doesn’t belong in any vo- the Grant County Library’s Oregon
URRP
ing on was purchased by the fed- FDEXODU\
Linda Driskill is a Grant Coun-
eral government, and the public is
McVicker regards her forma-
fortunate to now own the Malheur tive years as a continued educa- ty writer and volunteer at the
National Wildlife Refuge, stop- tional experience: birds, wildlife, Grant County Library.
By Linda Driskill
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
Don’t sign MOU
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L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
To the Editor:
For anyone that reads this I
would like to let you know, the
elected body that you call county
commissioners is preparing to sign
over their jobs of protecting the
health, safety, and welfare of your
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and with it the vote you cast for
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2Q -DQ WKH )RUHVW 6HUYLFH
held a meeting in Pendleton to at-
tempt to get county commissioners
from Baker, Grant, Harney, Mor-
ro, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa and
Wheeler counties in Oregon along
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and Walla Walla counties in Wash-
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The document they asked them
to sign was a memorandum of un-
derstanding that the counties would
function as “cooperating agencies”
under the guidance of the Forest
Service, giving the Forest Service
VWDWXVDVWKHOHDGDJHQF\DQG¿UPO\
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back seat of the decision-making
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No county commissioners signed
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*UDVW\ RI +DUQH\ &RXQW\ DQG 0U
Davidson and McClure of Union
County have stated they more than
OLNHO\ZLOOVLJQWKHGRFXPHQW,GR
not believe any of us voted to place
these people into the jobs they cur-
rently hold to have them sign over
their decision-making authority to
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The counties have a way of fully
protecting our positions by entering
into a coordination agreement with
the Forest Service that requires the
Forest Service to align their land
management use plan with each in-
L
Book Review
dividual county, and not lump coun-
ties together and allow the Forest
Service to make their decisions for
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Within our county courts over
the next few weeks a vote will be
held to decide if your county com-
missioners should accept cooperat-
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You need to tell them that, point
EODQN
John D. George
Bates
Lost opportunity
To the Editor:
Thank you for your editorial on
our County Court’s decision not to
sign a letter of support on the pro-
SRVHG ELNH SDWKV 7KH VWDWH RI 2U-
egon has recognized Grant County
as an innovator and leader in the
development of biking tourism to
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decision on this has given Grant
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DWUDYHVW\IRUDOORIXV
Every community in Grant
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RI ELNLQJ (QWKXVLDVWV EULQJ WKHLU
bikes from all over Oregon to enjoy
the unique biking opportunities we
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eat in restaurants, sleep in motels,
buy clothing they forgot to bring
with them, have their bikes repaired
KHUH
The Court’s decision on declin-
ing to write a letter of support does
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that decision does have an impact
on tourism decisions at the state lev-
HO:HPD\KDYHORVWDUDUHRSSRUWX-
nity for being promoted statewide
as a premier area for welcoming an
industry that is clean and brings a
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And, oh yes, their numbers can’t
begin to match those of wild and
domestic animals that need to in-
discriminately relieve themselves
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nothing like stepping out your front
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Eva Harris
Canyon City
Name the scoundrels
To the Editor:
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FRPPHQWDU\ +H LV DOOHJLQJ WKDW
Grant County has rampant corrup-
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name the individuals who have con-
ÀLFWVRILQWHUHVWDQGRUDUHFRUUXSW
He should go to the district attor-
ney and sheriff and report the evi-
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they are also corrupt he needs to go
to the Oregon State Police and Ore-
gon attorney general!
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countable so I ask him to step for-
ward and name the scoundrels so we
can take appropriate action and clean
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We can prosecute the ones who are
guilty of crimes and recall the ones
KH KDV LGHQWL¿HG DV KDYLQJ VHULRXV
FRQÀLFWRILQWHUHVWVLIWKH\GRQ¶WUH-
VLJQ,DSSUHFLDWH0U6SUDXYHEULQJ-
ing this notice of corruption to the
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Many of us were unaware of cor-
ruption at the county government
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Harry Stangel
Dayville
etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity
is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters.
Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and
signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Deadline is 5
p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.