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
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