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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 25, 2015)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Put rural lessons on the slate for Gov. Brown G ov. Kate Brown, installed last week, is taking the helm of a state embroiled in a scandal – a governor under investigation for inÀuence peddling and ethical transgressions – unlike anything seen here before. She takes charge of a state government that is controlled by the Democratic Party, her party, which gives her plenty of opportunity to be effective in the short time before the next statewide election in November 2016. While the Kitzhaber mess is likely to grab headlines for months to come, the Democrats nonetheless will continue to maintain strong majorities in both the state House and the Senate. That’s not seen as welcome news in Republican- dominated Eastern Oregon, where we need a lot of friends in the Valley in order to get anything accomplished. Despite his foibles in Salem, Kitzhaber could claim to be one such friend. A case in point was Kitzhaber’s support for increasing water from the Columbia River to expand irrigation and agriculture production in the Umatilla Basin. That goal seemed near reality just a few weeks ago, but has been thrown back into limbo by the recent political upheaval. Kitzhaber’s proposed budget featured money for such water development, as well as other projects to help the still struggling rural areas. One of the early tests for Brown will be what she does with the governor’s budget and with the staff that coordinated policy with rural Oregon communities. Obviously, water is just one of many issues important to our communities. The change in command has left county and city of¿cials across this region wondering about the rami¿cations for their speci¿c needs, whether that comes down to water, forest health, sage grouse habitat, or road maintenance, to name just a few items on the rural list. In her early statements, Brown weighed in for ethics reforms – no surprise, given the circumstances of her ascent to power. But more important for this region, she also said she wouldn’t forget the needs of areas of Oregon that have been left behind by the economic recovery. In other words, places like Grant and Harney counties. Political analyst Jim Moore told the Capital Bureau he thinks she’ll follow through on the pledge to rural areas. “The reason she will is because that is where the economic problems of the state are right now,” he told reporter Peter Wong. “The Legislature has said we are going to focus on the rural Oregon economy. She has to be in on that conversation.” As do we. With some key players changing, Eastern Oregon leaders must be prepared to adjust their strategies and build new relationships to keep rural recovery from slipping down the priority list. Let the rural education of Gov. Brown begin now – and with a chorus, not a whisper. T HE F ARMER ’ S F ATE Speeding combines fail the small-town test By Brianna Walker For the Blue Mountain Eagle I recently picked up an article titled “You know you’re from the farm when …” I settled down in my chair and prepared for a few minutes of amusing light reading. It started out with “…you have only two McDonald’s in town.” Only two? I read on: “You casually state to out-of-towners that your house is protected by the Good Lord and a gun, and you’ll meet ’em both if you show up without an invite.” Okay, I’ll give them that one. But when I came to the third I had to wonder if the writer had ever even been in a small town: “You know you’re from a small town when your school tardiness is excused because your combine only goes 35 mph.” Huh? 35 mph? In a combine? And a tiny town with two McDon- ald’s? The article should have been titled “you know you’re not from a small town when you think … ” The rest of the statements were equally ridiculous. “Yeh frequentleh tahlk with that old suthern drawl lai- hke this, an’ no- Brianna body gits tired of it. Walker And them city gals just melt when yeh use it.” After shaking my head, I decid- ed to just write my own, hopefully with a bit more accuracy. You know you’re from a small farming community when: 10. Your short cut across town is avoiding the stop light. 9. When you look up at the sky, see your familiar constellations, and aren’t surprised that it’s dark enough to see them. 8. On a grocery trip, you buy all your frozen foods last … to en- sure they won’t melt on the way home. 7. You’re in the city and you can see or smell livestock without walking too far in any direction … and you think nothing of it. 6. You have (or know someone who has) put a lamb or calf in the bathtub ... and it doesn’t seem un- usual. 5. It’s time for roof repairs and you get the front-end loader to do the job. 4. Your early morning prayers always mention rain. 3. Your chainsaw gets used for everything from house remodels to cutting down your Christmas tree. 2. You wear specific hats for farm auctions, cattle sales, and holidays (and they probably all advertise a local business). And the No. 1 way you’d know you were from a small farming community: If you saw a combine coming down the road at 35 mph, you’d get out of their way in a hurry – because you’d know they must have lost their brakes com- ing down the hill. Brianna Walker writes about the Farmer’s Fate, published occasion- ally in the Blue Mountain Eagle. C OMMENTARY Solve the costly port crisis By Rep. Greg Walden To the Blue Mountain Eagle Blue Mountain EAGLE 195 N. Canyon Blvd. • John Day, OR 97845 541-575-0710 • Fax 541-575-1244 Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper USPS 226-340 John Day, Oregon MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION P UBLISHER E DITOR A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT E DITORIAL A SSISTANT C OMMUNITY N EWS S PORTS M ARKETING R EP C USTOMER S ERVICE R EP Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com Scotta Callister, editor@bmeagle.com Kristina Kreger, kristina@bmeagle.com Cheryl Hoefler, cheryl@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Lindsay Bullock office@bmeagle.com PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY: For the past nine months, opera- tors and workers at the Port of Port- land and 28 other West Coast ports have been locked in bitter negoti- ations over a collective bargaining agreement. Like pebbles thrown into a pond, the slowdowns and delays caused by the dispute have had a ripple effect throughout Oregon’s econo- my. Crops are sitting, rotting on the docks. Trucks sit idle at the ports. Prices of commodities are plummet- ing. Farmers are losing their custom- ers and communities are losing their livelihoods. And negotiations are still at an impasse after nine months, despite the involvement of a federal media- tor. The situation will only get worse. Since growers cannot reliably export their products, foreign customers have been forced to go elsewhere and may never come back. Onion growers in Malheur Coun- ty, with whom I met last week, are shipping at less than their produc- tion costs, if they are able to ship at all due to a backup on the railways. Pear growers in the Columbia Gorge are seeing shipments of perishable fruit delayed by over a month, degrading the value of the prod- uct. Cherry growers have lost thousands Rep. Greg of dollars due to the Walden disruption, and Ore- gon’s potato farmers have seen their sales decline 15 per- cent. Manufacturers and transporta- tion companies are also reporting a heavy reduction in sales, reverberat- ing throughout Oregon’s economy. Nationally, agriculture exports have been reduced by $1.75 billion every month because of the labor slowdown. At the Port of Portland, Oregon’s largest port, 95 percent of shipments are being delayed, with delays averaging four to six weeks. On top of that, the Port’s largest car- rier, Hanjin, announced recently they are canceling service to Portland, a double whammy for Oregon agricul- ture and other industries. Enough is enough. It’s time to end this crisis. I’ve teamed up with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to introduce a reso- lution calling on both sides to swift- ly reach an agreement. It’s time they get their work done before more peo- ple suffer. And we’re calling on the presi- dent to get involved too. A similar situation in 2002 was only ended when the president got involved to end a lock out. While it is en- couraging that President Obama has sent a member of the cabinet to help mediate the dispute, he must do more to publicly urge both sides to end this conflict as soon as pos- sible. And if the situation should move into a strike or lockout, he should immediately use the legal authority Congress has granted him to settle the dispute and end this crisis. More than one in five Oregon jobs depend on trade. And 40 per- cent of our agriculture products are shipped internationally, according to the Oregon Farm Bureau. The labor dispute at West Coast ports has al- ready harmed our fragile economy, and it will only get worse if not re- solved. It’s time to end this crisis and get Oregon products – and our econ- omy – moving again. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) represents Oregon’s Second Con- gressional District, which covers 20 counties including Grant. EO Media Group L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing of¿ces. SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County Elsewhere in Oregon Continental U.S., Outside Oregon Outside Continental U.S. 1 year $40.00 $48.00 $55.00 $60.00 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery See the Blue Mountain Eagle on the Internet www.MyEagleNews.com POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2015 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. Focus on logging? To the Editor: Christy Cheyne, the District Ranger of the Emigrant Creek Ranger District, Malheur National Forest proposes to amend L the Forest Plan twice to allow her to implement the Wolf Timber Sale in the Wolf Creek Watershed 17 miles southeast of Seneca. The proposed timber sale will log 43.2 square miles. She claims the logging is needed to save the aspen growing in the area. Cheyne proposes to amend the plan to allow logging trees greater than 21 inches DBH in aspen stands and to log big-game winter range to an extent the big game cover will be way be- low Forest Plan standards. If you plan to hunt in this area and/or enjoy hik- ing and camping among the old-growth trees that will be liquidated, please call Cheyne at 541-573-4398 and comment in writing on the draft Environmental As- sessment before March 6. Dick Artley Grangeville, Idaho 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.