A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Candidates
give agriculture
short shrift
U
nless establishment
Republicans can pull
some convention
shenanigans, Donald Trump will
likely be the GOP nominee for
president.
And despite Bernie Sanders’
continuing efforts, short of a
timely indictment Hillary Clinton
will be the Democrats’ standard
bearer.
But what either thinks about
the concerns of farmers and
ranchers is, and will probably
remain, a mystery in the short
run.
Though once courted by
politicians, farmers and ranchers
have gotten short shrift from
presidential candidates in the
21st century.
Quite a surprise, given that
everyone in America eats,
and eats quite well. Food is so
abundant that it doesn’t register
as a concern, and food producers
are so few that they no longer
constitute a viable interest group.
Trump’s website doesn’t
mention agriculture specifi cally.
Sam Clovis, Trump’s national
campaign co-chairman and chief
policy adviser, told Capital Press
the campaign “looks at agriculture
from a security issue as every bit
as important as energy and border
security.”
Clinton’s campaign didn’t
respond to our request for
information. Her website offers
the vague promise to “increase
funding to support the next
generation of farmers and
ranchers, invest in expanding
local food markets and regional
food systems, and provide a
focused safety net to assist family
operations. ...”
Here’s what we know based on
what the candidates have said or
published:
Neither Clinton nor
Trump likes the Trans-Pacifi c
Partnership, the big 12-party
trade deal now pending before
Congress.
Clinton was for the pact before
she was against it. As secretary of
state she touted the negotiations
and the prospects for a deal. She
once referred to TPP as the “gold
standard” for fair, transparent
trade. But once the deal was
fi nalized, Candidate Clinton
dropped her support.
Her online campaign material
doesn’t say what she wants in
future trade deals.
As always, Trump is blunt.
“The TPP is a horrible deal,”
Trump said of the pact. How he
thinks it could be improved, we
don’t know. His positions on
trade are fairly general — it will
“fl ourish,” he says.
Clinton supports the use of
genetically modifi ed crops,
and mandatory labeling on
food products. Trump, who
eats organic food at home, told
the Iowa Farm Bureau that he
supports the use of biotechnology
in food products and opposes
mandatory labeling.
On immigration the candidates
occupy opposite poles.
Clinton supports a path for
citizenship for illegals now in the
country, Trump does not. Clinton
supports “humane, targeted
immigration enforcement.”
Trump wants to hire 10,000
more ICE offi cers and repatriate
all criminal aliens as well as
everyone caught crossing the
border.
Clinton supports the president’s
plan to give work permits to
as many as 5 million illegal
immigrants. Trump supports
mandatory E-Verify screening to
prevent non-eligible applicants
from getting jobs.
Trump has promised to reduce
federal regulation, Clinton has
not.
We will do more reporting to
better nail down the candidates’
positions on these and other issues
important to agriculture. But it’s
too early to say which would be
better.
And maybe too early to know
who the nominees will be.
G UEST C OMMENT
Giving law enforcement tools they
need to help victims in an emergency
By Rep. Greg Walden
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
On Dec. 1, 2013, Kari Rene
Hunt was brutally murdered by
her estranged husband in the
bathroom of a motel room in
Marshall, Texas. Her three chil-
dren listened through the door
as she was stabbed repeatedly.
Kari screamed to her 9-year-old
daughter to “call 9-1-1.” The girl
did as instructed, frantically di-
aling 9-1-1 four times. But each
time, she heard static on the other
end of the line. What she didn’t
know is that, because of the way
the motel’s phone system was
set up, she had to dial “9” first
to reach an outside line. She told
her grandfather later, “I tried, but
it wouldn’t work, Papa.”
On June 2, 2007 — just days
after her high school gradua-
tion—Kelsey Smith went to a
Target store in Kansas to buy a
present for her boyfriend. She
was abducted from the parking
lot in broad daylight, and law
enforcement began a massive
search her. They were unsuccess-
ful for four days until her cell-
phone’s location information was
turned over to law enforcement.
Kelsey’s body was then found in
about 45 minutes.
The House Communications
and Technology panel, which I
chair, heard these stories recently
from the parents of both the slain
young women. No family should
have to face situations like these.
And they were made worse by a
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.
confusing patch-
work of laws that
govern telephone
and communica-
tions systems in
this country. If the
laws were differ-
Rep. Greg ent at the time, is it
Walden
possible that Kari
Hunt and Kelsey
Smith would be alive today? Per-
haps. That’s why I’m helping to
lead an effort in the U.S. Con-
gress to pass two bills to ensure
that law enforcement can help
victims faster in an emergency
situation, when time is precious.
One proposal, known as
“Kari’s Law,” would require that
all multi-line telephone systems,
typically found in hotels, offic-
es, and schools, be configured to
reach 9-1-1 without any addition-
ally prefix. After all, children are
taught from a very young age to
simply dial 9-1-1 in an emergen-
cy, not “9-9-1-1” or “7-9-1-1” or
anything else. This fix would be
both easy and inexpensive.
Many hotels around the coun-
try have made progress address-
ing this problem, but we need
a uniform, national standard to
make sure what happened to Kari
Hunt and her family never hap-
pens again. It’s been said that
you may only dial 9-1-1 once in
your life, but that time will be
the most important call you ever
make. We should make sure it’s
as easy as possible so you can get
the help you need when seconds
count.
Another proposal, known as
the “Kelsey Smith Act,” would
give law enforcement the tools
to locate victims in emergencies,
using location data from their
cellphone providers. By creating
a narrow set of circumstances
in which law enforcement can
access this type of data, the bill
seeks to protect the privacy of
users while still allowing access
for law enforcement when the
situation demands it. The Kelsey
Smith Act is already the law in
22 states, including right here in
Oregon where it was approved
by the legislature unanimously in
2014. The federal bill would take
the Oregon standard and apply
it nationwide. It’s just common
sense.
Both these proposals were re-
cently approved unanimously by
the Communications and Tech-
nology panel I chair, as well as
the full Energy and Commerce
Committee.
The next step is a vote in the
full U.S. House of Represen-
tatives, which I hope will take
action soon. These plans would
save lives using existing tech-
nology and don’t cost taxpayers
a dime. It’s time they become
law so that what happened to the
families of Kari Hunt and Kelsey
Smith never happens to another
American family again.
Greg Walden represents Ore-
gon’s Second Congressional Dis-
trict, which covers 20 counties
in southern, central and Eastern
Oregon.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Sometimes the truth
is hard to take
To The Editor:
I seem to recall a letter to the
editor about a month ago de-
manding the Eagle “shape up or
ship out” and by doing so tell
both sides of whatever the story
may be.
It seems to me that when a
reporter such as Les Zaitz (The
Oregonian) reports on anything
that doesn’t fit the narrative or
agree with the opinion of some of
the citizens here, he is perceived
by them to be out of line and a
liar.
Here we have Michael Emry
who is a self proclaimed journal-
ist, “The Voice of Grant County”,
(and many other counties along
the way) who was outed at the
very least as a thief, a snitch,
and for my money had no place
in our community with his stolen
machine gun and his seditious
background. It was interesting to
me how many of his enthusiastic
supporters crawfished when he
was arrested, and even more in-
teresting were the justifications I
heard for his behavior from oth-
ers who refuse to accept the fact
that this man is a bad player of
the very worst kind.
So, back to my original point.
Sometimes the truth is hard to
take when it defies certain agen-
das. When the truth came out
about Mr. Emry, which wasn’t
really too much of a surprise to
many of us here in Grant County,
the hate-filled rhetoric directed
towards the FBI and certain jour-
nalists for doing their jobs was
ridiculous.
I would suggest those of you
who invited Mr. Emry here in the
first place to not get your panties
in a wad, as it were, and accept the
truth about the man. Semper Fi.
Dan Maynard
John Day
You will get caught
To the Editor:
When I was gone, you opened
the gate onto Highway 395 sev-
eral times and my horse ended
up on the highway. You will get
caught.
When I was in the hospital
having brain surgery, you came
onto my property again and stole
over $3,000 worth of tools, sev-
eral 5-gallon water jugs, etc. You
will get caught.
While I was at a funeral, you
stole my 4-month-old dog who
was in a kennel. You will get
caught.
You stole gas out of my fire
truck several times. You will get
caught.
Jack Johns
Vaughan Ranch, Fox
What’s up with that?
Letter to the Editor:
So, it appears from the article
in the May 11 issue that our coun-
ty officials think that preserving
the name of Squaw Meadow is
more important than approving
an investigation into the Canyon
Creek Complex which took so
much away from Grant County.
What’s up with that?!
Judith Beaudet Reed
Robert Reed
Canyon City
L
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. We
must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. 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.
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