A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Report on women
should serve as
a call to action
I
n a state that makes efforts
that go a long way to
helping others in need, it
has a long way to go in helping
raise the status and equality
for women who live within its
borders.
That’s the urgent wakeup
call that the “Count Her In”
report delivers in what is the
fi rst comprehensive look at the
status of Oregon women and
girls in nearly two decades. The
120-page report comes from
the new Women’s Foundation
of Oregon and was released
to state offi cials this past
Wednesday in Salem, ironically
a day before American
Business Women’s Day.
The fi ndings in the study
are both stark and grim. The
last comprehensive report on
the status of Oregon women
and girls came out in 1998
and relied on census data from
1990. Much was different then,
and much has changed.
The material for the “Count
Her In” report, which one
legislator described as “really
top-notch work,” was gathered
from surveys, interviews and
federal and state reports. It refl ects
the harsh daily circumstances
facing Oregon women in nearly
every walk of life:
• Women in Oregon have
the nation’s highest rates of
reported depression and heavy
alcohol use.
• Federal surveys found that
nearly half the women and
girls in Oregon have suffered
domestic or sexual violence.
• Census numbers show
women across the state earn
less than men, and the wage
gap is even wider for women
of color. In Umatilla County,
women make $0.77 for every
dollar a male counterpart
makes, while in Morrow
County that fi gure is $0.72.
• Oregon is one of the least
affordable states in the nation
for working mothers to care
for children. In Umatilla and
Morrow counties, there are
fewer than 14 child care slots
per 100 children, the lowest
rate in the state.
• Elected and appointed
leaders also skew heavily
toward men, with 30 percent of
those positions statewide fi lled
by women and only 20 percent
in Umatilla County.
Clearly, the report illustrates
serious problems Oregon
women face every day.
Emily Evans, director of
the Women’s Foundation
in Oregon, put out a call to
action that policymakers and
all Oregonians should heed,
saying “ … there is something
hopeful about fi nally knowing
the full measure of the problem.
Then we can move past the
speculation of whether it is
a problem and move toward
creating solutions together.”
State Rep. Knute Buehler,
R-Bend, is already on board.
“Good policy will be
produced from such great
foundational efforts,” he said.
Other lawmakers and leaders
throughout the private sector
need to get on board as well.
If Oregon wants to live up to
its reputation for progressive
values, the “Count Her In”
report presents the challenge to
uphold those ideals.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Concerns about
Trump have already
happened
To the Editor:
In regards to Mr. Moskowitz’s
letter on Sept. 14: All the things he
is afraid Donald Trump will do if
elected, President Barack Obama
has already done and more.
The Constitution means nothing
to Obama unless it will help with
his agenda. Obama wants to bring
in hundreds of thousands of Syrian
so-called refugees but no Chris-
tians.
He has said virtually nothing
about the slaughter of thousands
of Christians in the most horrible
ways — even did not object to the
beheading of an American. Within a
few minutes of the act, he was back
on the golf course.
Some say he is not a Muslim, but
it is hard to believe he is not when
he is silent to the murder of Chris-
tians.
You be the judge. As to some
of the claims Moskowitz claimed
about Trump wants to do, he had
better pay better attention to how
our government is supposed to
work.
There are supposed to be three
branches to check on each other.
Sometimes in the last eight years
they haven’t done it. What is wrong
with asking Japan and South Korea
to help pay for their protection?
They can afford it.
Joe Clarke
Long Creek
Let’s make a deal
To the Editor:
Let’s make a deal. President
Barack Obama wants to bring
110,000 Syrians to the U.S.A. OK,
we send Obama to Syria.
W. Toop
Canyon City
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
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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).
• 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.
Harney County
sheriff not selective
with assistance
To the Editor:
I am a homeowner, taxpayer and
a registered voter in Grant County.
Currently, I work for an agency in
Harney County, doing much the
same work I did in Grant County.
My work in both counties involved
working closely with all law en-
forcement agencies, but due to the
scope of the geography, mostly we
work with the sheriff’s department.
I cannot tell you how refreshing
it is to work in Harney County with
a responsive, professional force.
With this particular line of work,
you never know what type of a sit-
uation you may be facing, and the
Harney County Sheriff’s Offi ce
never picks and chooses what they
will assist us with.
They assure my safety and also
the safety of the vulnerable popula-
tion with whom I work.
I wish I could have said the
same about my experience in Grant
County. I am looking forward to a
change in November.
Jan Keil
Mt. Vernon
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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R EPORTER ............................... R YLAN B OGGS , RYLAN @ BMEAGLE . COM
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Park would have been
special for athletes
To the Editor:
If I want to train to be a Navy
SEAL or to join the IDF at age 50
in the middle of the night when it’s
cool and the sun is down, I’m going
to do it.
Most would agree that, for seri-
ous folks such as myself, a tread-
mill just doesn’t provide the best
long-distance training for military
readiness.
It can be good, but needs to be
in concert with cross-country run-
ning, free weight training, swim-
ming and other extreme-endurance
training.
The upshot of this letter is to get
my point across that, if you don’t
like me performing long-distance
training between John Day and
Prairie City, then you should have
allowed “low-elevation” Grouse
Mountain State Park to go in and
right-of-way access could have
been provided for law-abiding, con-
scientious athletes like myself to
run or bike straight to the park from
John Day. I don’t like to dredge up
the past either, but this one has been
slow cooking and needed to come
out on paper.
I know Agent 21 when I see it.
Owyhee Canyonlands and other at-
tempts to lock up precious metals
and other resources in order to act
as a down on our national debt, un-
der the guise of beautiful, sparsely
populated country, which it certain-
ly is.
Other examples are NEPA anal-
ysis of climate change, or was it
freeze-thaw waste of time and mon-
ey analysis? “Journey” can also in
my opinion be considered a form
of locking up lands for more reason
than simply an important wildlife
migration corridor to the Kalmiop-
sis or Marble Mountain Wilderness
areas so that wolves can eat salmon
carcasses on Wooley Creek or Tag-
garts Bar.
But Grouse Mountain would
have been a very special place for
many local athletes, hikers, pic-
nickers, campers and bikers. The
low-elevation trail system would
have been much longer than the
Fossil Beds and much closer to
John Day.
So please get used to my
long-distance training at night
while it is cool and before the sun
comes up and creates any more skin
cancer in me.
Scott Cotter
John Day
Forest Commission
threatened Webb’s
paycheck
To the Editor:
Former County Judge Mark
Webb is executive director of the
Blue Mountains Forest Partners,
the local collaborative group. His
salary is somewhere in the $50,000
range.
When Webb served as County
Judge, there was not a problem with
the Grant County Public Forest
Commission (GCPFC) in providing
the county court with advice, opin-
ions and written comments on the
Forest Plan.
The GCPFC was passed with
a 70-percent vote and its mem-
bers elected by the citizens of the
county.
During the past dozen years
of working with the court and
Forest Service, the “legality”
of the commission was never
questioned.
The past year, the GCPFC has
pushed for “coordination” in deal-
ing with the Forest Service. Coor-
dination is a law that requires equal
footing in dealing with issues from
agency to agency.
Collaborative groups would be
compromised if the county court
were to utilize coordination and ex-
ercise their authority.
Mark Webb’s paycheck was not
compromised as county judge, thus
the GCPFC posed no threat. One
circuit court judge’s opinion does
not necessarily mean it is set in
stone.
Nor does one man’s effort to un-
dermine what is good mean that he
succeeded.
Bob Stewart
John Day
Sheriff should
put safety of
community fi rst
To the Editor:
Over the years it has been frus-
trating to see over and over again
our current sheriff’s lack of leader-
ship, transparency and communica-
tion. He has refused to communi-
cate and work with other agencies
on multiple occasions, especially
government agencies. Most con-
cerning has been his support of
those involved in the take over of
the Malheur wildlife refuge and
his willingness to use his position
as sheriff as a platform to further
his own political agendas, which
in turn created a large divide in our
community and endangered his fel-
low law enforcement offi cers. He is
a constitutional sheriff who upholds
and protects the constitution as he
and other constitutional sheriffs in-
terpret it.
In November, we all have the
great opportunity and responsibility
to choose those who will represent
us and be leaders in our communi-
ty. This community needs someone
who will lead the sheriff’s offi ce
honestly, openly and with a great
deal of cooperation with other agen-
cies. We need someone who is will-
ing to communicate with the pub-
lic, the media and other agencies
whenever necessary, not just when
it’s convenient. We need someone
who has common sense and puts the
safety of our community fi rst.
In November, I will be voting for
someone who has all those qualities
and so many more. I will vote for
someone who throughout the years
has consistently shown an immea-
surable amount of leadership and
service in our community. I will
support a sheriff candidate who will
support not just those who support
his political views but all of Grant
County.
I will be voting Todd McKinley
for Grant County sheriff.
Cammie Haney
John Day
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