A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Rural highways
and drivers
deserve green
light in Salem
R
ural Oregon rarely
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spotlight, but two bills
currently being debated on
the floor have us front and
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The first would increase
speed limits on select rural
highways, including the
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second bill would allow for
self service gas in counties
with less than 40,000 people
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Increasing the speed
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Dalles to Ontario, as House
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Eastern Oregon economy,
good for our drivers and
good for travelers coming
from neighboring states with
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everyone has to speed up
by 5 mph — but those of us
who feel more comfortable
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do so without fear of being
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speed goes up, gas mileage
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And if you are traveling in
Grant County and other rural
areas, but forget to fill up, it
can be a long way to the next
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R-John Day, is a co-sponsor
of a bill to lift the ban on
self-service in certain areas,
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reaches of the state, where
stations are widely scattered
and few, if any, can afford to
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going to be tough to find a
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of our most rural places for
self-service to be legal when
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You heard that right, under
this proposal, such stations
will still be full service from
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around until the station opens
in the morning, you can
pump your own so you can
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This is a reasonable step
for the rural areas, and also
nudges the state toward the
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Jersey, the only other state
with a self-service ban, is
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And that might come in
handy one of these nights
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stretch of Highway 26 or
395, your gauge dipping
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By Bruce Daucsavage
195 N. Canyon Blvd. • John Day, OR 97845
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
541-575-0710 • Fax 541-575-1244
USPS 226-340
John Day, Oregon
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
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PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY:
EO Media Group
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access)
Grant County
Elsewhere in Oregon
Continental U.S., Outside Oregon
Outside Continental U.S.
Banner headlines, above the
fold: Supreme Court Overturns PERS
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Since the announcement a couple of
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gon has been focused on assessing the
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What do the billions of unfunded PERS
costs mean for the state moving for-
ward?
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are now willing to tax themselves to
prevent cuts to important public ser-
vices including schools and public safe-
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DHM Research did some earth-
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to determine where Oregon voters are
on PERS and the question of higher
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Despite all the hoopla surrounding
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that they had not heard or read anything
related to PERS within the last two
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important issue they want their state
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for an adequate level of public services
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magnitude of concern, however, re-
mains moderate: Less than one half of
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Furthermore, voters listed high tax-
es among the top issues that they want
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ing remains a top concern, but is men-
tioned by less than a majority and split
between those who feel the schools
already have enough
money (and just need
to spend it more wise-
ly) and those who feel
schools need more
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Two more data
Adam
points from this past
Davis
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economic recovery before the political
landscape shifts enough in Oregon to
safely support building a request of the
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The state remains very divided on
the need for more state revenue, even
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In the 2013 Oregon Values and Be-
liefs Survey, 43 percent agree that our
current tax system with just income tax
and property tax is too unstable to pay
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the PERS decision there was a need to
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agreed that it is time to raise taxes, only
16 percent of Republicans and 34 per-
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Wonder if people view the situation
differently when framed in terms of
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the heart strings, right?
Given four statements, only 24 per-
cent felt the statement that comes clos-
est to how they feel is “my local public
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and now with the recent Supreme Court
ruling overturning PERS reform, the
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with the PERS reforms being over-
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in taxes for my local schools until edu-
cation reforms have been put in place to
ensure that any additional money will
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The most common viewpoint, cho-
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prepared to pay more in taxes for my
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reforms being overturned, I feel the
schools have enough money; they just
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A smaller number, 10 percent, said
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egonians in support of increased taxes
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and for how long would they need to
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about the need for additional revenue to
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money needed to address new expenses
such as our deteriorating water, sewer,
and transportation systems?
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titudes about government and politics,
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No wonder only about a third of Or-
egon voters feel that over the next 10
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dressing the critical issues we face as a
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Adam Davis, who has been con-
ducting opinion research in Oregon
for more than 35 years, is a founding
principal in DHM Research, an inde-
pendent, non-partisan ¿rm. 9isit www.
dhmresearch.com.
Trade pact is good for rural Oregon
EAGLE
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
By Adam Davis
For Oregon Capital Insider
C OMMENTARY
Blue Mountain
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
The PERS earthquake:
A damage assessment
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
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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.
Recently there has been much de-
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ship (TPP), the free trade agreement
that the United States is negotiating
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Trade Promotion Authority (TPA),
which gives the President authoriza-
tion to negotiate the TPP and bring it
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One thing is for sure: TPA and TPP
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Businesses grow and hire people
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One of the biggest opportunities to sell
more Oregon made products is to ex-
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day there are 525 million middle class
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sumers are demanding exactly what
rural Oregon produces: great food,
quality building materials, and renew-
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Most of the TPP countries simply
do not have the excellent forest and
agricultural resources that we possess
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including wheat, fruits and vegetables,
processed foods, dairy, beef, and wood
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lion in goods that Oregon exported in
2013 went to TPP countries, and much
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Small and medium sized business
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time, housing starts in China and other
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While much attention was paid
to the controversial topic of export-
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that exports of manufactured wood
products to Asia grew rapidly during
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the recession would have been much
worse for rural Oregon without access
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During the recession my company
began producing high quality wood
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lets are used to heat homes, hospital
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They replace fossil fuels, improve air
quality, and help restore our forests
by providing a use for small diameter
trees that are contributing to devastating
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of people employed at our mill in John
Day, but it accelerates the much needed
thinning and restoration of our eastside
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The TPP and TPA are needed to
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for Oregon products where little or no
trade is currently occurring, lift trade
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get into the business of exporting in the
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Perhaps even more important is that
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leading to a trade agreement with the
strictest and most enforceable labor and
environmental standards of any trade
agreement in history, helping Oregon
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to comply with these standards here at
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gressional delegation have been leaders
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have about TPA and TPP, there should
be little doubt that they are good for ru-
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Bruce Daucsavage is the president
of Ochoco Lumber Co., which operates
Malheur Lumber in John Day.