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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, February 24, 2016 L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Don’t act negatively out of high emotion G UEST C OMMENT Lands managers Yalue input A s employees of federal land agencies in Oregon, we are entrusted by Congress with the responsibility to help steward and manage federal lands for all Americans This is a tremendous honor and responsibility we take seriously And we can¶t do it alone As public lands belong to all Americans, managing these lands is a collectiYe effort It is a priYilege to work alongside local communities, partners and the public to help achieYe the long-term health, productiYity and protection of public lands Here in the Paci¿ c Northwest, and across the country, our best work is accomplished by working with diYerse partners and stakeholders — ranchers, enYironmentalists, sportsmen, local communities, schools and priYate industries Though our agencies haYe different missions, we share a common goal of managing public lands in a cooperatiYe manner with you, the people who own them The future management of public lands reTuires cooperation oYer confrontation In Oregon and across the West, there are countless examples of collaboratiYe groups working together to achieYe positiYe results One recent shining example was the work accomplished across agencies, states, counties and ownership lines to create and implement land-use plans that aYoided a listing of the sage-grouse as endangered Managing public lands is sometimes challenging There are a Yariety of Jamie uses, interests and Connell opinions on how these lands should be managed, and ¿ nding balance is not without challenges That is why it Jim is crucial that we Peña listen to each other, ¿ nd common ground and work together to ¿ nd common-sense solutions IndiYidually and collectiYely, we are committed to these principles of listening, talking and working together to achieYe the greatest good We striYe for these things in good faith eYery day Public lands belong to all Americans — they are yours to enjoy and participate in their management That¶s one of the reasons public lands are so special We look forward to continuing our work with local citi]ens, communities and partners to manage public lands so we can ensure the special places we loYe can meet the needs of today and remain aYailable for future generations to enjoy Jamie Connell is the acting State Director, Bureau of Land Management Oregon/ Washington. Jim Peña is the Regional Forester for the U.S. Forest Service¶s Paci¿ c Northwest Region. To the Editor: My husband and I were raised in Grant County and hope to retire there one day We haYe liYed in Pany ar- eas across the US and still ¿ nd Grant County one of the safest, most peace- ful areas in the country Many things I haYe read haYe made my blood boil to the point it would be easy to say some nasty things, but that would be playing into the adYersaries¶ hands Many people with an ax to grind haYe written things to scare you into belieYing Sheriff Glenn Palmer is not acting in a wise or legal manner Use your own Nnowledge to elect your of¿ - cials Be smart, people of Grant Coun- ty, and use your Yoice by Yoting Re- spect all that Sheriff Glenn Palmer has done for you by remaining respectful NegatiYe rhetoric is so hard to hear, but free speech is eYeryone¶s right, a right Sheriff Glenn Palmer respects and upholds Let your emotion get you in- YolYed in eYery meeting, Yoting, write factual letters to the editor and Coun- ty Court, unite your community and county, Must don¶t fall into the trap of acting negatiYely out of high emotion Grant County needs strong, smart and stable leadership right now (not ones that carry picNet signs to an eYent of opposing Yiews When my mother- in-law was sick and took a turn for the worst Sheriff Glenn Palmer was wor- ried that my father-in-law would driYe too fast trying to get down the slick roads of Canyon Creek, so he droYe up and got him Glenn and his wife spon- sor a dinner each Christmas for people who haYe no family near to share that day with that¶s the kind of person I challenge you to be right now Each one of you can keep Grant County, Oregon, one of the great places to liYe you haYe the power and the abilities to do your part It is said the sTueaky wheel gets the grease, but it is also said actions speak louder than words 7hose who haYe falsely accused or write falsehoods for their own purpose cannot win if you stand uni¿ ed Charity Boyer Moses Lake, Washington Fire accountability? To the Editor: Recently, there was a letter to the editor about further inYestigation into what could be done to bring accountability and change to the awful destruction from the “let it burn´ ¿ res Could it be true" Such a huge undertaking to confront the entrenched bureaucracy, especial- ly when the buck gets passed until it becomes inYisible, and no one is held accountable for awful, ridic- ulous decisions that impact us all with the deYastation we haYe to liYe with for decades EYery driYe from Prairie City to John Day brings a feeling of anger to think of what was lost because of probably one person¶s call to not at- tack the ¿ re up Canyon Creek when it was small I reali]e that rules are to be followed, but clear at the top, there needs to be a change in poli- cy, and the people that put them in place Anyone can see that what is in place now is not working Is there still hope" Can anyone be found who loYes this land enough to go back to common sense" .udos to anyone who takes the time to keep up the ¿ ght Mary Brown Prairie City Blue Water Navy held up USPS 226-340 Blue Mountain EAGLE Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper www.MyEagleNews.com 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 O FFICE M ANAGER Marissa Williams, marissa@bmeagle.com Sean Hart, 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 EO Media Group Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional Pailing oI¿ ces 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 POSTMASTER — send address changes to Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Copyright © 2016 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication cov- ered 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. www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews To the Editor: House Bill 969 and Senate Bill 681, both bills titled The Blue Water NaYy Vietnam Veterans Agent Or- ange Act, are held up in the Veterans Affairs Committee because no dollar amount has been assigned, the cost to proYide proper VA bene¿ ts Without a dollar amount assigned to these bills, nothing will happen to proYide VA bene¿ ts to Yeterans who are sick from Agent Orange exposure At this writing there are 301 mem- bers of the House in faYor of passage and 37 members of the Senate in fa- Yor This is well oYer the numbers of Congress needed to send the bills to the À oor for a Yote This cannot hap- pen without a dollar amount assigned The VA is attempting to stop pas- sage of these bills The VA¶s Mob and obligation is to help Yeterans in need, not hinder their obligation as set forth by law The committees of both leg- islatiYe houses may haYe to appeal to the Court of Appeals in DC to stop the VA from blocking any action in getting these bills an acceptable dol- lar amount Once this can happen, these bills will go for a Yote America is a free and soYereign nation As such, we take on selÀ ess obligations to help other countries in need This is well and good; it is a part of what Ameri- ca is about HoweYer, what about our Yeterans who ¿ ght the battles to keep America free" Many come home sick and broken in need of help When it comes to special Yeteran groups like the Blue Water NaYy, Vietnam, the VA does not recogni]e them A leg- islatiYe bill must be passed to force the VA to care for this group of war Yeterans John J. Bury, U.S. Navy re- tired, Vietnam War veteran Media, Pennsylvania Stop the witch hunt on Sheriff Palmer To the Editor: It¶s time to stop the witch hunt on Sheriff Glenn Palmer He¶s done a great Mob in the past and the present keeping Grant County a safe place to liYe Let him do his Mob My husband and I attended the meeting on Jan 26 I saw Sheriff Palmer there He neYer took part in the meeting He stood oYer by the wall and kept his eyes on the whole room, making sure there was safe- ty between the picketers (including County Commissioner Chris Labhart, a county-paid of¿ cial and the people attending the meeting I neYer witnessed any heckling or threats from anyone A gentleman I know personally that was standing among the picketers stated the same thing We¶Ye always had a feeling of safety while Sheriff Glenn Palmer has been in charge Sheriff Palmer and wife, Rose- Ann, haYe always went aboYe and beyond to serYe our county through community serYice, many of those using money from their pocket I hope eYeryone will remember all the good things Sheriff Palmer has done for our county this election by Yoting Please keep his family in your prayers They do not deserYe such cowardly accusations Peggy Clark Monument Who are the real terrorists? To the Editor: Now that all the armed protesters are gone from Harney County, many of which are in jail, one would think the siege is oYer SteYe and Dwight Hammond are in federal prison un- justly conYicted as terrorists The BLM will con¿ scate the Hammond ranch, when the 400,000 ¿ ne is not paid The 200 plus FBI agents and other armed agents that had no in- signias that manned road blocks and interrogated and harassed American citi]ens can go home The siege is oYer Right" CJ Hadley, editor of Range Mag- a]ine, Spring 2016 issue, documents a goYernment conspiracy to depriYe Western ranchers of their property rights In Hage Y United States 2010 Judge Robert C Jones found a “literal intentional conspiracy to depriYe the Hages not only of their permits, but also their Yested water rights This behaYior shocks the conscience of the court´ The goYernment has yet to pay the Hages a 14,000,000 ¿ ne Many Americans, myself in- cluded, do not agree with the armed takeoYer, neYertheless our Pledge of Allegiance ends with “liberty and jus- tice for all´ If justice and liberty are denied to the Hammonds, then justice has been denied to all If justice was denied to LaYoy Finicum who was shot multiple times, hands up attempt- ing to surrender, then Sheriff Palmer¶s courageous stand for the Constitution has been Yindicated Sheriff Palmer has earned the respect and admiration of Oregonians and Americans The press has yet to document that uranium is the real issue with the Ham- mond ranch A 196 Department of Geology Mineral Industries study “doc- uments occurrence of secondary ura- nium minerali]ation in Harney Co´ In September of 2011 uranium of¿ cials met with Burns of¿ cials The Orego- nian Jan 8, 2012, documents “Oregon Energy LLC hopes to mine 18 million pounds of Yellowcake uranium” near Burns The New York Times in April 201 documented, under the Hillary Clinton State Department, the United States “gaYe the Russians control of one-¿ fth of all uranium production ca- pacity” in America The same article documents the Clinton Foundation re- ceiYed oYer 20,000,000 in contribu- tions from uranium companies Who are the real terrorists" The Rev. Stuart Dick Irrigon I will no longer travel to Grant County To the Editor: I grew up in Redmond and PrineYille and haYe always consid- ered the land east of the Cascades home I haYe spent a lot of time and money camping and hunting in Grant County as haYe my friends and family; No More Your sheriff seems to belieYe that the federal land we enjoy is off limits to pri- Yate citi]ens like us and should be the property of mining, logging, and ranching conglomerates to the ex- clusion of all others If your sheriff doesn¶t want us there are we really safe" We haYe rescheduled our trips to friendlier turf Jim Dunnigan Portland Today’s differences similar to Colonial times To the Editor: The loyalists sympathetic to the British crown before America¶s found- ing are Yery similar to the federal loy- alists today So for the sake of being clear, I will now refer to those in the camp of big goYernment and control of our forests by the feds as Tories Like the Tory of yesteryear, today¶s loyalist is comfortable in their ser- Yitude to the federal machine Some running for sheriff and some in the County Court feel it isn¶t their job to interpret the Constitution, but it¶s their job to blindly follow the edicts laid out by the king Their oath of of¿ ce says, support and defend the constitution It doesn¶t say defend a document you know nothing about If elected by the people, you should educate yourself on the supreme law of the land History is repeating The difference today is, we haYe the Constitution as our defense Battle lines haYe been clearly drawn On one side, a group of citi]ens who belieYe public land and resourc- es belong to all people They belieYe oYer-burdensome restrictions placed on it by the feds would limit some from enjoying and sharing in what it has to offer This group belieYes in the Constitution, and the limits that docu- ment places on the feds with regards to ownership of public land This group sees Yalue in a seasoned sheriff who understands and (interprets the Con- stitution for the good of eYeryone The Tories, “Oregon Wild, The Si- erra Club, Thousand Friends of Oregon, some bureaucrats at the top of the USFS and the majority of the Democrat party,” belieYe the federal goYernment knows best on how to manage land, and who should be allowed to use it They¶re in faYor of restricting some from using it in the name of preserYation, eYen if it burns to ash They place some users aboYe others They welcome a sheriff that¶s a lap dog for the feds A sheriff who would gladly throw his fellow citi- ]ens in irons before he would offend the ruling class After all, it¶s not his job to interpret the Constitution DS Edwards John Day A failure of leadership To the Editor: Is it no wonder Grant County has the issues we do" We haYe a County Court that is about as consistent as the weather in Eastern Oregon GiYe it 1 minutes, and they will change They are a group of men that state they stand up for indiYiduals of the county, except when they speak their mind, then they attempt to pass res- olutions to silence those Yoices, or picket public meetings to harass con- cerned citi]ens into silence They want more timber coming out of the mountains, but in a rare sign of continuity, keep allowing the For- est SerYice to destroy the Yery roads that allow us to get timber out of the mountains They don¶t want outsiders ad- dressing the concerns of the county, but allow Oregon Wild, Sustainable Northwest, Blue Mountains Biolog- ical DiYersity Project and other out- side inÀ uencers to peddle their inÀ u- ence, so long as friends of the court¶s projects are allowed to slide through with approYal The only consistency in the Grant County Court is the consistency of making sure their friends know “the court has their backs,” and that is a Yery small circle of friends Who¶s to blame" We all are, I am, each and eYery one of us that bought into the big talk and little action of these three men So this is my chal- lenge to each of you, think wisely in your Yotes this fall, because you¶re going to haYe a choice to make Stick with the narrow Yiew of the Grant County Court that champions haYing the back of a man like Harney County Judge SteYe Grasty, or break a new path with men that really support you as indiYiduals, because the crew we haYe now is leading us down a path of no return, with a dim future John D. George Bates See LETTERS, Page A5
