A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Immigration
reform will
require courage
T
here are 12 million stories
about those who have
illegally immigrated to the
U.S. They range from heart-
wrenching to opportunistic. Each
is different in many ways, and
the same in one: Each person
broke federal law in getting here.
That’s why the discussion of
illegal immigration is so divisive.
While many Americans see
the people behind the statistics,
many counter with, “What part
of illegal don’t you understand?”
Democratic and Republican
presidential administrations for
decades have tried to come up
with effective and fair means of
addressing illegal immigrants
that ranged from deportation to
amnesty.
President Barack Obama
even tried an end-run around
Congress after that esteemed
body refused — again — to do
anything substantive about the
issue.
Though politicians tend to
fall back on a combination
of generality, placation and
prejudice when they speak about
illegal immigrants, many of the
arguments circle around to what
Congress needs to do to address
the issue.
Most people agree that the
border must be secured to
prevent the free low of people in
and out of the U.S. Without that,
we have no immigration policy.
Most people also agree illegal
immigrants must pay a ine for
breaking the law in order to be
considered for any type of legal
permanent residence. And they
must not have broken other
criminal laws.
They must also learn to speak
English. It makes no sense to
foster a nation in which the
people do not share a common
language. For the sake of the
nation, and for the immigrants,
they must learn English.
Much hangs in the balance,
including the integrity of our
country and an acknowledgment
that, from its very beginning, this
is a nation of immigrants.
Of particular concern to
farmers and others is the fact that
about 75 percent of our food is
harvested or tended by illegal
immigrants, according to Jeremy
Robbins, executive director
of the Partnership for a New
American Economy, a bipartisan
organization made up of 500
CEOs and mayors.
Each year, farmers and food
processors are put at risk. They
need to hire enough people
to pick and process the crops.
Though they insist that workers
possess proper documentation,
it is too often falsiied. This puts
farmers in a quandary. They
need workers, but they have little
choice but to accept at face value
the paperwork that’s presented.
The other option is obtaining
H-2A guestworkers. While this
assures that the workforce will
be legal, it is expensive and time
consuming and relies on federal
agencies whose priorities are set
in Washington, D.C.
We are often told that
congressional action on
immigration will take place
“after the next election.”
As it turns out, there’s always
another election, allowing
politicians to duck and cover one
more time, leaving immigration
reform — and a growing list
of other pressing matters —
unaddressed.
As the fall general election
approaches, we urge our
readers to listen closely to the
congressional and presidential
candidates. Brush aside the
bombast and the generalities
and look for positions on
immigration reform that are
practical, affordable, effective
and offer a long-term solution.
They all know what that
solution is, they just aren’t
willing to display the courage it
takes to make it a reality.
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@cityolong-
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 Ofice 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 Ofice Building, Washington D.C.
20510?. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
228-3997. Oregon ofices 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 ofice: 14 North Central, Suite 112,
Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646.
Fax: 541-779-0204.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Grant County parade
exemplary
To the Editor:
This is not a thank you letter, nor is
it political, but it is an honest review
of the parade held Saturday, Aug. 12,
in John Day.
It was great fun to be in the parade;
people actually threw candy to some
of those who were participants in the
parade. There were political themes,
views, candidates and others, but all was
congenial. Before the parade, everyone
at the starting point was polite, person-
able, helpful, open and interesting.
This parade was exemplary of what
a parade in small town USA should be.
Nearly every house and business along
the route was ready, waiting, and excit-
ed to see the parade entries. Everyone
waved and smiled, and I mean every-
one from ages 1 to 100.
I had a deep feeling of pride sim-
ply to be a participant. Again I am re-
minded of just why I love this country,
this state and particularly rural Central
and Eastern Oregon, my home.
W. Mark Stringer
Nyssa
‘The little guy’ would
pay for tax increase
on large industry
To the Editor:
Gov. Brown wants to raise taxes
on large industry. Doesn’t she care
that all of these costs are passed on
to the end users? That means people
on ixed incomes, unemployment
and minimum wage wages. She says
schools need the money. When Ore-
gon passed the lottery that was sup-
posed to take care of the schools. Now
the lottery is used up by any group
that comes up with some trumped
up claim that they need funded and
the schools keep clamoring for more
money. They are extremely well tak-
en care of but the education keeps
falling behind. So much for the little
guy who has to foot the bill.
Joe Clarke
Long Creek
Sheriff Palmer is
under attack
To the Editor:
For over a decade, the majority
of Grant County voters have chosen
Sheriff Glenn Palmer to be the pre-
mier law enforcement ofice in our
county based on years of experience,
trust and loyalty. Now we are faced
with the tabloid media’s implication
that the same Grant County citizens
are ignorant peons because of our
choice of sheriff.
Sheriff Palmer and the people who
support him are under attack by indi-
viduals (those who only understand
from their limited level of percep-
tion), news media and special interest
groups playing sick political games
with peoples’ lives, targeting those
whose opinions do not support their
obdurate scheme.
To understand the path of this de-
structive mentality, you must follow
the money, not the bawling distraction
of the man who pictures himself as the
biggest bull in the media pen (and we
know what comes from bulls) who
uses the tools of tyrants to pervert the
plain meaning of words. Follow the
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
people who would beneit from a new
“agency-friendly” sheriff or the dis-
bandment of the elected county Pub-
lic Forest Commission that stands in
support of our public lands.
Who is plotting the takeover of
our public lands and subverting our
Constitutional rights? Why do Les
Zaitz and the Oregonian want pub-
lic records from the sheriff’s ofice?
What does he plan to do with them
— use them to harass individuals
identiied in those records? Continue
to twist the truth and lead those with
intellectual disabilities by the nose
with lies?
Association is nothing where there
is no honor or truth. You might also ask
who beneits from the illegal destruc-
tion of Sheriff Palmer’s political signs.
Signs from private property, paid for
by private citizens who are also your
neighbors. Destruction of signs and
redundant attacks from skewed media
reporting should not destroy our trust
and loyalty. They only serve to instill
disgust in Grant County citizens for
the warped mindset of those attempt-
ing to destroy our way of life.
Judy Kerr
Canyon City
Election smoke and
mirrors
To the Editor:
I am very confused by this election
rhetoric. Since, as I understand it, the
Clintons and the Trumps were sup-
posed to be very good friends. So here
is a scenario.
Hillary: Oh, Donald, I want to be
president so bad, but the American
people, they don’t like me, they don’t
trust me, they think I’m a crook. I want
the power so bad, but I’ll never get
elected.
Donald: Don’t worry, babe, you get
the nomination, and I know how to get
you elected. I guarantee it.
Smoke and mirrors
Marc Mitchell
Tacoma, Washington
‘Our professional
foresters have failed us’
To the Editor:
I’m not here to complain about our
(public land) ires. How they just keep
happening, growing larger and larger
each year, costing all citizens of this
country more and more money (three
billion). What comes to mind is the
word “competency.” Who’s respon-
sible for stopping these ires before
they get out of control. There’s lots of
stories out there about that, but I’m not
going there.
I want to talk about how we got
here. Our professional foresters have
failed us. They went to school and
know what a pine region forest should
look like. My inger is not pointing to-
wards foresters only, but special inter-
est groups, politicians and even some
responsibility on the wood product
industry.
The wood product industry has
been out of the picture for a good 30
years. Politicians, well you can see how
much they have done. Special interest
groups for the past 30 to 40 years have
stopped the proper management of our
pine forests. Our professional foresters
say their hands are tied and in a couple
years transfer to another region.
So this is where we are. Our “re-
newable” natural resources are going
up in smoke, costing each and every
one of us, while small rural communi-
ties suffer economically. It’s going to
take voices, everyone’s voice. Educa-
tional programs to show the ignorant
backing the special interest groups why
and what needs to be done. Let the for-
esters do their job and put life back into
rural communities.
It doesn’t take too much common
sense how to start turning our nation-
al forests into healthy and productive
resources again. It may be too late for
hundreds of thousands of acres, but we
need to start now.
Ken Koser
Prairie City
Old forest policies
were better
To the Editor:
They, the Forest Service, want in-
put. Here’s mine. I have seen many
good things for years. The Forest
Service had good, wide roads, most
of them graveled. No turnouts be-
cause the roads were wide. So here
they come spending lots of mon-
ey, borrowing and putting turnouts
in roads that were so good they
couldn’t stand it. If I’m correct, they
had two blades to go over the roads
each spring and summer that were
used by woodcutters, sportsmen and
loggers. “No problem and not much
expense!” Four men, two pickups,
power saws and two road patrols. I
remember most everyone was happy
and pleased. We could use all roads
anytime of the year for playing, hunt-
ing, woodcutting or logging.
Nowadays you can’t do anything
on the forest. Almost. For the public,
things are a disaster. We own but can’t
use. We loggers and jypoes were al-
ways there for quick ire suppression.
If a ire broke out, we were there and
no one had to tell us to do so. It was
automatic.
Here is what they need to do now-
adays. Hire a few small loggers to
log the scorched and lightning trees.
Don’t let them go waste. Bring them
in, and then have an auction once a
month and sell them to mills. Their
methods of timber sales nowadays
stink. Log the ones that have died or
are dying. No size would be too large.
Some would be too small, however.
It wouldn’t take but a few over-
seeing the work in the woods and the
log yard. Maybe I am having a dream,
but I have seen a lot in my 40 years of
logging in and around Grant County.
They could do things a lot better with
less expense, and we could all use the
forest. How about somebody doing
something right for a change? This is
a waste of our money. Cut the budgets.
Stan Powell
Mt. Vernon
Let’s do something
nice for each other
To the Editor:
The recall is over. The message is
clear. We are keeping our commission-
er in ofice.
In the process leading to this out-
come I ask: What has happened to
civility in this county? The back stab-
bing gossip, the cruel innuendos, the
untruths, they make me sick.
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