A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
G UEST C OMMENT
BOLI overstepping
authority on
minimum
wage rules
where an employee normally
reports to work, not where
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
they happen to do a day of
ne of the lesser known
landscaping or a half day on a
steps in government
road service call. Employers
“sausage making”
and employees alike need
happens after the Legislature
stability and predictability.
passes new laws, when
Requiring GPS-like tracking
state agencies responsible
of an employee’s location to
for working out the details
determine how much they get
step in to determine how to
paid is costly for small business
implement and enforce them.
owners and unpredictable for
Right now, Oregon’s Bureau of Oregon workers.
Labor and Industries (BOLI),
This is also consistent with
our state agency in charge of
supporters’ expressly stated
employment laws, is grinding
policy goals of simplicity
the sausage of the new three-
and predictability, both for
tiered minimum wage set to go employers and employees.
into effect on July 1.
But BOLI doesn’t seem to
Unfortunately, BOLI — led care. Commissioner Avakian
by elected Commissioner Brad is going in a direction that
Avakian — is pulling a bait-
was put off limits by sponsors
and-switch on Oregonians as
and proponents of the bill,
they fi gure out exactly how
demonstrating he has no respect
to track and enforce three
for the rule of law, only the
different minimum wages
“Rule of Avakian.”
across the state. When the
This is just one more
Legislature passed SB 1532,
example of BOLI’s excessive
setting the minimum wage at
and harmful reach into
$14.75 for Portland, $13.50
policymaking. BOLI’s
for suburbs and $12.50 for
proposed minimum wage
rural communities, we made
rules must be fi xed, and I have
it clear that wages would be
asked Commissioner Avakian
determined by the location of
to do so immediately. If this
the employer, not the employee. is another episode of BOLI
We decided on “employer is
overstepping its authority to
located” because otherwise
pay back special interests and
businesses would be required to campaign donors, Oregon
track their employees hour by
small businesses and workers
hour, costing small businesses
will be the true casualty. It’s
even more money and possibly time our state government
violating employee privacy.
did everything possible to
I opposed setting three
help small businesses and the
different minimum wages for
thousands of Oregonians they
Oregon workers, but I trusted
employ succeed, starting with
that BOLI would carry out
fi xing BOLI’s new rules for the
the Legislature’s very specifi c
minimum wage. Oregonians
instructions to determine an
should reject any politician
employees’ hourly rate based
that refuses to acknowledge
on where their employer
the “checks and balances” of a
is based. The defi nition of
Democracy.
“employer is located” is
State Sen. Ted Ferrioli, John Day,
common sense: It’s the place
is the Senate Republican leader.
By Ted Ferrioli
O
W HERE TO W RITE
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.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax:
541-421-3075. Email: info@cityofl ong-
creek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument
97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025.
Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — 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: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate 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).
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
• State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario (Dis-
trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900
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 Ferrioli, 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 White House, 1600 Pennsylva-
nia Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500;
Phone-comments: 202-456-1111; Switch-
board: 202-456-1414.
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516 Hart
Senate Offi 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.
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313 Hart
Senate Offi ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
228-3997. Oregon offi 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.
• U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, 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 offi ce: 14 North Central, Suite 112,
Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646.
Fax: 541-779-0204.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Employees support
Russ Young,
Iron Triangle
To the Editor:
Some people in the community
have been questioning the charac-
ter and motives of Russ Young and
Iron Triangle concerning his work on
projects within the Malheur National
Forest in Grant County. We work for
or with Iron Triangle and know that
Russ does what he says and provides
jobs to us and many others within
Eastern Oregon. Iron Triangle pro-
vides us with the ability to continue
to live and work in Grant County
now and into the future through the
10-year stewardship contract with
the Malheur forest, providing for our
families without having to work out
of town for extended periods of time.
Russ not only looks out for our
well-being but provides contributions
to many projects and causes through-
out Grant County, which help others
who don’t work at Iron Triangle to
benefi t from his work.
Those who try and berate Russ
and Iron Triangle don’t seem to un-
derstand the level of commitment
Russ has shown to our community.
In the years when things in the tim-
ber industry and our community were
real tough, Russ kept us working and
continued to provide assistance to
local causes and activities. We ap-
preciate the commitment to a healthy
Grant County, a healthy forest and
our local schools, which Russ Young
has demonstrated over the past 25
years, and encourage our fellow cit-
izens to support Russ as well.
Signed by 82 Iron Triangle
employees and their families
Editor’s note: The full list of names
is available on the online version of
this letter at myeaglenews.com.
Young people facing
economic diffi culty
To the Editor:
Oddly enough, a think tank fund-
ed by the Koch brothers offers an
excellent description of why our eco-
nomically discouraged young people
are supporting Bernie Sanders’ pres-
idential bid. Generation Opportunity
reports that more people aged 18-29
are making less than $25,000 annual-
ly than there were during the 1990s.
One-fourth of these young people are
still living with their parents, and only
36 percent of people under 35 own
their own homes, the lowest level on
record since home ownership fi gures
were fi rst tabulated by age.
The generation report asserts that
young Americans are increasingly
impoverished because the U.S. gov-
ernment over-regulates American en-
trepreneurs, but it seems more likely
that strangling student loan debt, low
entry level wages and American busi-
ness’ increasing reliance on part-time,
temporary labor are the real culprits. If
American youths are to catch up eco-
nomically with their parents, they need
the higher minimum wage, job creation
and publicly funded higher education
which Bernie Sanders is fi ghting for.
Clinton Grubbs
Bangor, Maine
Experience
and dedication
To the Editor:
We support Chris Labhart for
re-election as county commission-
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
er. He has invested years of service
and hard work into promoting Grant
County’s economy and quality of
life, as county commissioner, and
previously served on both John Day
and Canyon City councils as council-
or and mayor. At county court meet-
ings, we have been impressed with
his willingness to listen to different
viewpoints and to add to the discus-
sion constructively. Commissioner
Labhart takes the time to attend city
council and school board meetings as
well as visit senior centers throughout
the county to hear from his constitu-
ents about their needs and concerns.
His experience and background on
local issues is tremendously helpful
on the various local and state com-
mittees that he serves on as our rep-
resentative, such as the Association
of Oregon Counties Veterans steering
committee, GC Local Community
Advisory Council and the Eastern Or-
egon Coordinated Care. We appreci-
ate his involvement in the community
and the knowledge and expertise with
which he represents his constituency.
Experience and dedication makes a
positive difference for our county!
Mark and Adele Cerny
Bear Valley
‘What are you doing
to make this a better
community?’
To the Editor:
Since the occupation of the Mal-
heur Wildlife Refuge occurred, the
community began to become divided
around many different issues (forest
access, government overreach, the
sheriff’s deputies’ natural resource
plan, “stewardship,” the elections,
the Canyon Creek Complex fi re).
This “us” vs. “them” mentality in this
community came to a head last week
for me with John D. George’s letter
to the editor.
What kind of community do we
want to have when all the smoke
clears from all this division? Speak-
ing only for myself, I want:
• a community that sticks together
regardless of whether or not we dis-
agree about policies or laws or even
who we want for county commission-
er or sheriff;
• a community that thrives eco-
nomically, where our property values
increase, as do our student numbers
in schools; and
• decreased unemployment, more
job creation in the private sector.
Unfortunately for some, that mod-
el includes the government, both state
and federal. We can all agree there
are things we would change if we
made the rules, but guess what, we
don’t. Our community is in a better
position economically due to collab-
oration, the stewardship contract and
increased forest restoration overall.
Is “coordination” good? Maybe,
but one thing I know for sure is that
we are making progress with “col-
laboration,” and for my family and I,
we want to live in a community that
picks each other up instead of tearing
each other down, and that includes
working with people that may not al-
ways agree.
Gordon Larson’s comments at
the community meeting Jan. 26 keep
ringing in my head about who is tear-
ing us down and who is building us
up. He was saying our community is
made of both government workers
and private workers, working togeth-
er to better our county.
Whether government employee or
private employee, what are you doing
to make this a better community? As
for John D. George and the other folks
that have been attacking people like
my dad, King Williams, Russ Young,
Dave Hannibal and Mark Webb, you
should choose your character battles
more carefully.
Zach Williams
Canyon City
Clinton has experience,
knowledge and integrity
To the Editor:
It has been a wild and woolly po-
litical season the past year, and the
time has fi nally arrived to pick our
candidates for president. Democrats
have the choice between a proven
leader in Hillary Clinton and an ide-
alist with big ideas in Bernie Sanders.
The two candidates aren’t all that
far apart on the issues of health care,
minimum wage, climate change, even
job creation. But they are pretty far
apart on who has the political skills to
accomplish these goals. Hillary Clin-
ton brings the experience, knowledge
and integrity to accomplish what
needs to be done to move our country
forward in the next decade.
The ballots are out now, and as a
longtime supporter of Hillary Clinton
and a former delegate for her at the
2008 Democratic Convention, I urge
you to vote to make Hillary Clinton
our next president.
Jack Lorts
Former mayor
Fossil
Check facts before
believing accusations
To the Editor:
In response to a letter (published
in the April 27 Blue Mountain Eagle)
by John D. George, who is a federal
employee living in Montana:
He has made false statements about
me and others whom I respect. My
family and I are lifelong residents of
Grant County who care for our county,
our way of life and our forests.
John stated that:
1. I and others (Russ Young, Dave
Hannibal and Mark Webb) “have a fi -
nancial stake in seeing projects com-
pleted ... at the expense of decommis-
sioning roads.”
2. “Mark, King, Russ and Dave ...
represent their own personal interest
... at the expense of all of our open ac-
cess to the forest.”
Both of these statements are false!
Iron Triangle, Grayback and King
Inc. directly employ many workers
supporting many families not just
their “personal interest” and have all
challenged and objected to road clo-
sures and decommissioning of roads
and limitations to access on the Mal-
heur National Forest, never advocat-
ing to trade away access.
3. “... Mark makes his paycheck
by ‘facilitating’ the ‘collaborative’ ...
to help King, Russ and Dave get their
work and money ...”.
This too is false!
Mark is hired by the BMFP col-
laborative to facilitate the develop-
ment of the projects that have:
• increased the annual harvest on
the MNF to 75 MMBF/year with no
litigation;
• increased jobs and school enroll-
ment after a 15-year decline;
• kept the 100+ employees work-
ing at Malheur Lumber and the
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