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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2015)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, December 30, 2015 Unity without disaster S omething stands out when Àipping through the pages of the Blue Mountain Eagle from the past year. As big as the Canyon Creek Complex ¿re was, it was dwarfed by something far greater. Despite the black cloud that hung over this county as houses burned, something uplifting was illuminated by the blaze. Despite the differences of opinion, despite the inevitable bad news, despite the devastating ¿re ² when the community faced its time of deepest need, people came together and worked together to help. When people had nowhere to go, the community came together to provide shelter. When people had nothing to eat, the community came together to feed them. When people were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs, the community came together to provide them enough to get by. When people needed help, the community came together. Watching the story play out ² even in the two- dimensional pages of a weekly newspaper ² provides a rich portrait of Grant County ¿lled with depth and texture. Seeing the sadness and despair give way to unity and hope was like watching a ray of sunshine bursting through the cloud that darkened the hearts of all those who saw the ashes that remained of people’s lives. The ¿re¿ghters fought the good ¿ght, but they did not beat the ¿re. The weather may have dampened the blaze, but it did not beat the ¿re. By working together and helping each other, the community beat the ¿re. Homes may have been lost, but the community persevered. Mementos may have been lost, but the memories will be preserved. It is amazing how an event charred with negativity can bring out the true grain and positive nature that is sometimes buried beneath a thick exterior. As we turn the page to another year, we hope everyone remembers the beauty possible when people work together in harmony. If the community can retain its unity when it is not facing a disaster, then it truly will be a happy new year. G UEST COMMENT Beware of FS citation First they burn you out, and then they kick you in the gut when you try to rise up out of the ashes. On Aug. 14, my wife and I were burned out by the Canyon Creek Complex ¿re, a ¿re that didn’t have to happen and one that should not have happened. (See “Another bucket of water” in an earlier edition of the Blue Mountain Eagle.) Am I bitter? You’re damn right I’m bitter. We lost everything, and I mean everything. Another bucket of water delivered by a helicopter would have very likely saved not only our home but several others that were burned in the area. Among my losses were 16 cords of ¿rewood. In attempting to relo- cate and start a new life for ourselves, which at 87 is pretty tough, I dutifully went down to the Forest Service of¿ce and purchased wood permits for eight cords of ¿rewood. Cold weather was coming, and I did not have enough wood at our newly established resi- dence in Prairie City. I am almost 87 years old and my wife is 83, and we don’t handle chain saws anymore. I then gave the wood permits to a friend who cuts wood for me. I didn’t tell him when to deliver it or even how many of the eight cords to bring, I just told him to stockpile enough to get me through the winter. He delivered one load, with one of the aforementioned wood tags attached. On attempting to get a second load of wood, which I assumed was to be mine also, my wood cut- ter friend was descended upon by a green and white cop who said, “You can’t cut this wood for this 87-year- old man; you don’t have a permis- sion slip.” Well, the main reason we didn’t have a so-called permission slip was that one was not included in the wood-cutting package I received when I purchased the wood permits. After the citation had been written, I went back to the Forest Service and was given the permission slip and was told that they were sorry, but they had just forgotten to put it in the packet. This man had my verbal permis- sion to cut this wood. I asked him to do it. He had the legally purchased wood permits in his possession that would have subsequently been put on the load of wood had it been loaded. (I assume the Forest Service cashed my check.) What more do you need? Isn’t a man’s word good anymore? My wood-cutting friend said in the urgen- cy to get another load before the next storm he just forgot about any permis- sion slip, and his word should be just as good as any that anyone else has to say in the situation. The Forest Service said they for- got. And that’s OK? But if my wood cutting friend forgets, we get a $275 citation. The green and white cop would not even let him bring the load in that he had on the ground. Why? Why? Why? There is absolutely no need for this. There are several hun- dred thousand cords of ¿rewood going to waste in the forest as is. So the Forest Service is supposed to be excused for forgetting to put a permission slip in my wood-cutting packet, but we have to suffer a $275 citation or an uncalled-for trip to Pendleton over roads that you really shouldn’t be driving on. Wouldn’t you think that a hard copy permission slip would have probably been a memory jogger had it been put in the packet? But why should it even be necessary? He had legally purchased wood per- mits in his possession. So be careful. Buying wood per- mits may not mean a thing, and I have nothing against purchasing a reason- ably priced wood permit. I asked Steve Beverlin, Malheur Forest supervisor, for a stand down on the citation because the whole thing is ridiculous, actually ² for what? I was refused. Dean Elliott Prairie City L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR County Court decision perplexing W HERE TO WRITE GRANT COUNTY Grant County Courthouse — 201 S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541- 575-2248. Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@centu- rylink.net. Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville 97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541- 987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541- 575-1721. Email: cityjd@centurytel.net. /ong CreeN — P.O. Box 489, Long Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@cityoÀong- creek.com. Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monu- ment 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934- 2025. Email: monument@oregontrail.net. Mt 9ernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt. Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net. Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax: 820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net. Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca 97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email: cityseneca@centurytel.net. SALEM Gov .ate Brown D — 254 State Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378- 3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website: www. governor.state.or.us/governor.html. Oregon Legislature — State Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180. Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised Statutes). State Rep CliII Bent] R-Ontario (Dis- trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900 Blue Mountain EAGLE P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY Court St. N.E., Salem OR 97301. Phone: 503-986-1460. Email: rep.cliffbentz@state. or.us. Website: www.leg.state.or.us/bentz/ home.htm. State Sen Ted )errioli R — (District 30) Room S-223, State Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-986-1950. Email: sen. tedferrioli@state.or.us. Email: TFER2@aol. com. Phone: 541-490-6528. Website: www. leg.state.or.us/ferrioli. Oregon Legislative Information — (For updates on bills, services, capitol or messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313. WASHINGTON, D.C. The :hite +ouse 1600 Pennsylva- nia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switch- board: 202-456-1414. US Sen Ron :yden D — 516 Hart Senate Of¿ce Building, Washington D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-5244. Email: wayne_kinney@wyden.senate.gov Website: http://wyden.senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717. US Sen Jeff MerNley D — 313 Hart Senate Of¿ce Building, Washington D.C. 20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email: senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202- 228-3997. Oregon of¿ces include One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; and 310 S.E. Second St., Suite 105, Pendleton, OR 97801. Phone: 503-326-3386; 541-278- 1129. Fax: 503-326-2990. US Rep Greg :alden R — (Second District) 1404 Longworth Building, Wash- ington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730. No direct email because of spam. Website: www.walden.house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774. Medford of¿ce: 14 North Central, Suite 112, Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646. Fax: 541-779-0204. Pending Bills: For information on bills in Congress, Phone: 202-225-1772. To the Editor: A recent letter to the editor re- lating to the Grant County Court invoking coordination but snubbing an invitation to learn more about an action they endorsed was per- plexing. When questioned about the letter, a member of the county government indicated that if some- one retired from the Forest Service “they have fed at the trough too long” and intimated their opinion had no credibility. What kind of thinking is that? Does it mean that after retiring with years of experience a person’s opin- ion is relegated to the manure pile? Perhaps some people at the county government trough should think about who is paying their feed bill. Ron Ballard Mt. Vernon Christmas events should feature Christ To the Editor: There are splinter groups, but for the most part there are two distinct groups in the month of December. There are those of us, Christians, who honor Jesus Christ and set aside the Dec. 25 for this purpose and call it “Christmas.” The world has essentially hijacked this holy observation and introduced Santa Claus, calling their recognition time of this cartoon character “Season” or “Holidays” and morphing their festivities onto Christmas. Take the Timber Truckers Parade as a prime example, their theme be- ing “An Old-Fashioned Christmas.” I drove half a dozen residents from Valley View to the parade in the Nazarene church’s van, and we en- Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ BMEAGLE . COM A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT ........ K RISTINA K REGER , KRISTINA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITORIAL A SSISTANT ................ C HERYL H OEFLER , CHERYL @ BMEAGLE . COM C OMMUNITY N EWS .................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM S PORTS ................................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM M ARKETING R EP ....................... K IM K ELL , ADS @ BMEAGLE . COM O FFICE M ANAGER ..................... L INDSAY B ULLOCK , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . COM MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION joyed the parade; it was beautiful, and the drivers put a lot of work into decorating their vehicles, but it didn’t have anything more to do with Christmas than Earth Day. We’ll probably watch it again next year. I just think the organizer/ sponsors should either include a lit Cross or “Jesus Christ” in lights or something Christmas related on a truck or two if they’re going to call the parade by the name. Richie Colbeth John Day An incredible outpouring of help To the Editor: Last August, many of us who en- joyed living in the Canyon Creek area experienced loss by wild¿re. There was an incredible outpour- ing of help, caring and sharing from all over. We want to acknowledge anon- ymous gifting that we are not able to thank personally. We thank the Lord that we live in a free country where people can show compassion without fear. We would like to thank all the people who put in many hours helping restore order to our lives. God bless you. Gene and Jeanne Freshour Canyon City Timber for road closures To the Editor: A new process is working its way throughout Eastern Oregon that pits locals against each other. It is the concept of “forest health vs. mo- torized access.” The model has been seen in the West before. Idahoans and Montanans have seen forests build to unsafe fuel loads with eager “conser- 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .....................................$40 Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$51 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Periodicals Postage Paid at John 'a\ and additional Pailing oIÀces POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 wwwMyEagleNewscoP vationists” willing to plan projects that will relieve the burden of the excessive fuels, if only we are willing destroy roads after the projects are completed. The work is done through service con- tracts that equate to lawn care services on our public lands. Companies bid on these contracts to implement prescrip- tions for treatment that are written by the Forest Service, along with road destruction. Two examples playing out in East- ern Oregon that show this process are the Grant County Stewardship Con- tract, a massive, multi-million dollar, single-source contract to Iron Triangle that will treat vegetation, and restricts motorized access to thousands of acres of land. And the East Face Project be- tween La Grande and Baker, which is planning 38 miles of road closures. Both equate to nothing more than lawn care service contracts, except in this case, once mowing the lawn and weeding the Àower garden are com- plete, they tear out your driveway so you cannot access them anymore. Timber sales do not have to equate to road closures. Jobs for our families do not have to mean loss of motor- ized access. Roads were built to har- vest these lands, for them to stay the productive resources we were prom- ised they would be when set aside in the early 1900s. Not the multi-billion dollar drains they have become over the last 30 plus years under the failed leadership of the Forest Service, who no longer serve the people, but serve their own personal agendas. I support vegetative treatments, I support log- ging/mill jobs, and all the services that come with them, but I do not believe you have to destroy motorized access to have jobs or a healthy forest. I ask that if you don’t support these restric- tions, you become active in these proj- ects to speak out against them. John D. George Bates 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. wwwIaceEooNcoPMyEagleNews @MyEagleNews