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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2016)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, August 17, 2016 Entertainment at fair deserves applause F or a small fair in a small county, this year’s big-time entertainment at the Grant County Fair deserves a big round of applause. From the opening-night talent show to the touching tribute to Fair Manager Mary Weaver from the headlining act, the grandstands were packed most evenings for shows worth well more than the price of admission. Weaver’s efforts preparing for the fair in her sixth year as manager were clearly evident long before the opening day, even though she was unable hold the reins during the actual event as she battles an aggressive case of cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, as well as our thanks for a fair worthy of praise. Weaver was a frequent fi gure at County Court meetings this year, explaining the diffi cult decision to cut the unprofi table rodeo and bringing forward new ideas and improvements for the fair and at the fairgrounds. Her yearlong passion for what is a few-day excursion for most shone through any negative news, as the positive progress — such as almost $150,000 in grants she secured this year for safety upgrades — was clear. And she surrounded herself with good people — fair staff Mindy Winegar and Dusty Williams, the board and many volunteers — who stepped up to pull off the fair she helped prepare. All deserve thanks from the community for putting on such an entertaining community event. Wednesday’s Grant County Talent Search provided a venue for a variety of local entertainers — and great entertainment to the many locals who cheered them on. Friday’s freestyle bullfi ghting lived up to its billing as one of the most intense sports ever seen. If you can spare another prayer or two, you might send them toward the bullfi ghters with a torn lung and a busted knee who danced with the bulls, and got a little gored in the process, all for a good time for the rest of us. And Sammy Kershaw was the perfect selection for the Saturday send-off. Great stage presence, great show and a great connection with local fans with the tribute to Weaver. For a small county fair, we should all be very pleased with what was accomplished this year — and those who accomplished it. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Public servants must obey the law To the Editor: Just to set the record straight, I cling to my guns and religion as fearlessly as anybody I know. That being said, I also believe that people have the right to choose, as long as they are not tram- pling on my God-given constitutional rights. There are individuals in this coun- try and this county who are given great power and responsibility to serve and protect. With that power and respon- sibility comes certain obligations to be honest and forthcoming and trans- parent to the rest of us. Regardless of whether you are running for or serving as president of the United States or sheriff of Grant County or for that mat- ter any public offi ce, behavior such as deleting emails and work-related com- munications is unacceptable behavior. There is an epidemic of arrogance among many of our public servants that the laws that the rest of us are ex- pected to follow don’t apply to them. On a local level, I would like to see individuals elected that will do their best to follow the highest standards de- manded of our public servants. For that reason and many others, Todd McKinley is the best choice for sheriff of Grant County. Dan Maynard John Day Fear of God 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. To the Editor: As I read the latest Blue Mountain Eagle, I have become increasingly aware of a serious issue. Citizens of Grant County, Oregon, and all of the United States of America have no fear of God. Our founding fathers enacted a system based solely on doing that which is pleasing to God. I read and see bitterness all around. Families, brothers and neighbors fi ghting with one another over insig- nifi cant matters, deception and lies being used to deface the character of others. Have you lost your desire to do what’s right in God’s eyes, or have you simply replaced it with what’s right in your own? The citizens of Grant County were once tight-knit, close and a community that cares for each other. They used to fully understand what it meant to be “One Nation Under God.” Where, may I ask, is the fear and rev- erence for the one that created you and all that you see? As I read through the section of the paper entitled “Journey through Grant County and beyond,” I could really appreciate the beauty in what our cre- ator has given us through the several pictures there. We have taken it for granted, just as we have forsaken the God we were supposed to put our trust in. We have become like the large cit- ies and metroplexes that have so many that would rather spit in your eye over looking at you. The bickering needs to stop so does all the arguing. What are we teaching our children these days by the constant written and verbal attacks on your friends and neighbors? All the eyes and ears of the children are on all of us, and they “be like daddy” or “be like mommy.” What are you teaching them about true fellowship and genuine love when you have forsaken the one who truly loves you? It’s time, Grant County, to be a blessing to others in word and deed, to seek what we all have in common, 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 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 rather than what makes us different. May we have the fear of God in us to repent of our ignorance. Richard Shafer Childress, Texas Let’s come together for betterment of community To the Editor: I have heard that there are some folks out there that supported me when I ran for the Grant County Public For- est Commission that feel that I have let them down. For this, I am truly sorry. My interest is for the good of Grant County. The voters of Grant County have spoken, and I respect their decision and will honor that. I do not work for any agency or group, but I work for the vot- ers and citizens of Grant County. The county has become divided, so now that the recall for Boyd Britten is over, let’s all citizens and agencies come to the table and leave our egos at home; this includes me. We need to all come together to work for the good of our neighbors and friends as well as those that we may not be as close to. What we all want is that the citizens of Grant County, each and every one, will get a fair shake. Please join me in working to heal the wounds that have been in- fl icted. Thank you one and all for com- ing together with me for the betterment of our community. Nicky A. Sprauve Grant County Public Forest Commissioner position #2 Canyon City Buyer beware To the Editor: I have been watching the infomer- cial about the Power Pressure Cooker OX Plus that you see on TV. I ordered one thinking I could use it to can things from my garden, as the infomercial says. However, when it arrived yesterday and I read the instruction booklet, to my disappointment, it said, “The Pow- er Cooker PLUS will operate properly up to a maximum altitude of 2,000 ft. above sea level. Do Not use this unit for pressure canning above an altitude of 2,000 ft.” A working mother with a large family might fi nd it useful for making large meals in a short time, but I bought the unit for canning. This it cannot do in the John Day Valley. So, buyer beware! Linda Smarr Canyon City ‘Only Human’ To the Editor: My mother, to her dying day, would go through her magazines, and time and again she would go through them and cut things out. This is from her “books,” and the name is “Only Human.” The author of this excerpt is unknown: “There is so much good in the worst of us And so much bad in the best of us That it ill behooves any of us To fi nd fault with the rest of us.” Carole Ashby John Day Recall a waste of county funds To the Editor: Maybe understandable, the ig- norance of those foolishly depleting county funds by a petulant vote to re- call County Commissioner Boyd Brit- ton — but what is not understandable or acceptable is the county offi cers themselves apparently ignorant of le- gal parameters by accepting and initi- ating such a vote and waste of county funds. Seems, at the very least, the vote should be immediately ruled null and void due to improper procedures and documentation — and the county employees responsible for the result- ing waste of taxpayer dollars should maybe be sent to an appropriate school dealing with procedures pertaining to their offi ces. Gary Davidson Canyon City ‘Burned’ — again To the Editor: There remain a lot of unknowns about the Canyon Creek Complex fi re. The only certainty about the Or- egonian’s analysis of it by Gunderson and Sickinger is they are obviously not knowledgeable about the nature of wildfi res and the culture of fi ghting them. In my opinion, they failed miser- ably to objectively fi nd the truth about this catastrophe. The special edition published this week does a very grave disservice to this community, only fanning the fl ames all over again with outrageous judgments of the realities that played a role in the fi re. The problem with the report is that they approached it as a human interest story. The stories of loss by victims are riveting, tragic and photographically sensational. If this fi re was merely a human event, it would make sense to look for who was responsible and lay the blame at their feet. But it was not merely a human-centered event; and in fact, the scope of the natural causes of the fi re far, far, far outweighed the human actions. The Oregonian focused on blaming the Forest Service for releasing crews when there was a potential for fi re in Grant County. Very little attention was focused on the real fi res (not poten- tial) already happening in the nearby region, where help was direly needed. The reporters failed to see the sig- nifi cance of this fact, and it was huge. Context was glaringly neglected in their account. Applied fi re science analysis was non-existent! Then there is hindsight. The degree of hindsight in their report reminds me of berry picking. Someone comes along behind you and only sees the berry you missed. Never mind that you had just completed the most thorough pick humanly possible. The calm of berry picking, however, does not com- pare to the urgency and chaos during the early stages of this catastrophe. Humans, with all their attempts to be in control, were far outdone by gener- ations of building conditions and by immediate natural events. So titling and slanting the report to place blame on the Forest Service is grossly unfair. This community has been “burned” again by this sensational account. Kay Steele Ritter 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offi ces. Grant County .....................................$40 Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$51 POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Email: www.MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 USPS 226-340 Copyright © 2016 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. 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