A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Mammograms
save lives
A
s more and more women
are diagnosed with breast
cancer each year, one
key statistic should encourage
women to talk to their doctors
about mammograms: Breast
cancer survival rates have
improved due to early detection.
Mammograms in women
50 and older can reduce deaths
due to breast cancer by 20-30
percent, according to the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force.
For a 15-minute screening,
that’s a staggering number.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
recommend mammograms every
two years for women 50 and
older and recommend women
40-49 consult their doctor about
mammograms.
Yet, in Oregon, one in four
women over 50 has not had a
mammogram in the last two
years. If more women were
screened, more lives could be
saved. It is a simple proposition.
In Oregon, 75 percent
of breast cancer cases are
diagnosed at an early stage of
the disease, which is easier to
treat, according to the Oregon
State Cancer Registry. While the
recommended mammograms
may not detect every case early,
a higher screening rate improves
the probability of early detection.
Blue Mountain Hospital can
perform mammograms right
here in John Day, and technician
Danielle Hunt said they only take
10-15 minutes and soft padding
now makes the procedure more
comfortable.
Help is also available for
those who cannot afford a
mammogram. Nationally,
the CDC provides assistance,
800-CDC-INFO, and locally,
the Blue Mountain Healthcare
Foundation provides help, 541-
620-1010.
While there are other steps
women can take, mammograms
are a powerful tool in the fi ght
against breast cancer.
If you have not already, please
make an appointment with your
doctor today to help reduce the
lives lost to this all-too-common
disease.
T HE B ACKROADS
The joys of hunting
By Sean Hart
Blue Mountain Eagle
Ah, hunting season is upon us
— the time where I seem to wander
through rugged but beautiful back-
country to come home with nothing
to show for it but a slight smile from
being outdoors and soreness from
otherwise-avoided exercise.
I apologize if you missed
me last week. I think the only
thing harder to fi nd than me
was the elusive four-legged,
antlered creature known as a
buck deer.
Although I’m from the
sagebrush portion of Eastern
Oregon, I fi gured I’d try my luck in
the timber opening weekend. What a
wonderful idea that was. I’m not sure
how anyone hunts with all those trees
in the way.
Opening morning was nice. My
hunting party found a couple spots
that appeared as if we might actually
be able to hunt — where the lodge-
pole pine wasn’t so thick I couldn’t fi t
through sideways.
On the walk, however, we realized
the underbrush was just as bad. Ma-
neuvering around a tree, I then caught
a pine needle in the eye. For at least a
minute, my eye was watering so bad-
ly I wouldn’t have seen Bigfoot if he
was standing right in front of me —
maybe that’s what was scaring all the
deer away.
Somehow I did stumble upon
an abandoned shovel, though, so I
knew I wouldn’t go completely emp-
ty-handed this season.
The next morning, we fi nally saw
a buck on Forest Service land. Be-
fore realizing it was just outside my
unit, I thought about waiting until it
was light enough to shoot. I’m not
sure what the townsfolk would have
thought, though, because the little
forked horn was feeding on the grass
at the Prairie City Ranger District sta-
tion in town.
My brother and I fi nally found a
nice spot to hunt in the forest later
that day and actually saw what may
have been a buck. We couldn’t say for
sure because it darted off into
a thicket almost as quickly as
we saw it. We tried to hunt
through the dense trees, but
it’s safe to say the deer knew
the terrain far better than we
did. A fl eeting glance was all
we saw as he disappeared into
oblivion.
We decided to return to the sage-
brush to hunt the other side of the unit
for the rest of the season.
Driving from John Day to Vale, I
fi nally got a good view of a deer —
as it dashed out in front of me on the
highway. I slammed on my brakes
and tried to swerve around the little
doe, but in the infi nite wisdom pos-
sessed by these elusive creatures, it
decided to cross anyway.
I swerved back to the right and had
almost slowed the car to a stop, but I
caught the tail end of the deer — just
enough to break the plastic covering
my headlight.
I stopped and got out to look for
the deer. I suppose I shouldn’t have
been surprised to fi nd the deer had
vanished into the night like all of its
relatives in the forest.
Ah, hunting season. There’s noth-
ing quite like it.
Editor’s note: I did fi ll my tag back
in sagebrush country, but you’ll have
to wait until next week to read about
that.
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
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Sheriff Palmer
has integrity
To the Editor:
I’ve been watching the appar-
ently orchestrated weekly letters
printed in the Blue Mountain Ea-
gle, letters attacking Sheriff Glenn
Palmer by use of wild assumptions,
and twisted and slanted attacks on
Palmer’s honesty and integrity. It
would seem clear that these letter
writers are an active part of the op-
posing sheriff offi ce candidate, and
apparently with his approval of
their statements and methods.
Ours is a national political sys-
tem that has deteriorated over the
years to what has evolved into a
system that is bloated by self-serv-
ing individuals and puppet groups
who are acting not in the roles
of servants of society, but rath-
er by enriching themselves at the
expense of society by whatever
means or actions they deem effec-
tive to accomplish their goals.
I personally applaud Glenn
Palmer, who has managed his posi-
tion not by a willingness to use his
offi ce as a governmental whipping
post of the public, but rather, by his
willingness and reason, to evaluate
and apply the power of his offi ce to
at times as needed, to take a stand
to shield that public against the fre-
quent encroachments and abuses
of a self-serving national govern-
mental system gone power-mad.
As to the supporters opposing
Glenn Palmer — with the very ap-
parent approval of the candidate
trying to replace him, the tone and
clear twisting and distortions be-
ing used to attack Palmer speak
volumes to their own integrity and
honesty. If Grant County voters
want still another level of gov-
ernmental pressure, wielding an
ever-growing control of the mass-
es system, clearly using an “ends
justifi es the means” mentality, then
the challenger is your man.
I personally fully support Sher-
iff Palmer, and he will have my
vote as long as his name is on the
ballot!
Gary Davidson
Canyon City
Let out-of-state
corporations pay
fair share with yes
on Measure 97
To the Editor:
I know you’ve seen them. Mea-
sure 97 ads are popping up every-
where, and with those ads come a
lot of misinformation. I’ve been
really interested in this since I fi rst
heard about it and have done a lot
of research. Here is what I believe
to be true.
Measure 97 affects only large
corporations — fewer than a quar-
ter of 1 percent of businesses in Or-
egon — which already pay higher
taxes in every other state. Oregon
has the lowest tax on corporations
in the country.
Measure 97 is not a sales tax
nor will it be passed on to farmers,
ranchers or consumers. These big
out-of-state corporations won’t re-
spond by raising the price of their
goods in Oregon, because their
prices are set nationally — not
based on state tax rates.
Corporations like Chevron,
Wells Fargo and Comcast are
spending millions to defeat Mea-
sure 97 because, for decades, they
have gotten away with paying next
to nothing in Oregon taxes — while
hard-working Oregon families like
yours and mine have been left to
pick up the slack. Many pay only
$150 a year. I pay more than that,
and most of you probably do too.
As a retired teacher, I have
seen the impact of decades of un-
derfunding education. Something
needs to change. Measure 97 will
fi nally hold large and out-of-state
corporations accountable to pay
their fair share.
The big backers of the no cam-
paign are spending millions on a
deceptive media blitz. Don’t be
deceived. Please vote yes with me
for seniors, health services and ed-
ucation to build the Oregon that
working families deserve.
Susie Garrison
Portland (formerly Canyon
City)
Despite my name on
ad, I do not support
Sheriff Palmer
To the Editor:
I am writing to express my
disgust in a section of last week’s
paper. My name was put on the en-
dorsement of the Glenn Palmer for
sheriff advertisement in the paper.
I did not put my name on any pa-
per or endorsement and do not sup-
port him. I am at a loss of words as
to how anyone’s name can be put
into a paper without permission. It
makes you wonder how many oth-
er names that are on that advertise-
ment were not signed by that per-
son — and not to mention all the
duplicate names and out-of-county
names on the list. The out-of-coun-
ty voters shouldn’t be able to infl u-
ence our votes. I feel as if maybe
some of this may be provoked by
the current sheriff, Glenn Palmer.
I just want to make it known that I
did not approve of my name in the
paper and especially on the Glenn
Palmer endorsement. I’m casting
my vote for Todd McKinley and
urge every other Grant County res-
ident to do the same.
Eddy Hicks
Prairie City
‘Vote Todd
McKinley for sheriff’
To the Editor:
I’m writing this letter because
of my experience as having a
law enforcement career nearly 28
years, the last 10 as a trained, cer-
tifi ed 911 dispatcher, working with
(sheriff candidate Todd) McKinley
and (Sheriff Glenn) Palmer.
Palmer’s deposition, Sept. 20,
2016, displayed a clear picture of
where the professionalism, knowl-
edge and honesty lie. Palmer as-
serted his Fifth Amendment 51
times, was not able to answer many
questions without having some
question explained repeatedly, his
demeanor poorly displayed along
with his gum chewing. People
want answers; Palmer didn’t pro-
vide answers. Palmer stated that
he had no training in public record
law. Being sheriff for 16 years, he
should know public record law.
Public record law effects every-
one; it’s a crucial part of all record
keeping, especially this line of
work. Victim or suspect, there’s a
report. Get it; read it! It’s public in-
formation and a key to aiding other
agencies including prosecution. If
the report is not accurate or com-
plete, the results could be devas-
tating to a faltered conviction on
either side.
McKinley’s reports are accurate
and complete without question. He
takes his job to a higher level than
any offi cers I’ve ever worked with.
McKinley has proven his dedica-
tion as an offi cer, by fulfi lling his
duty to protect and serve all with a
high level of professionalism and
honesty.
I’ve made countless calls to
McKinley and Palmer in the mid-
dle of the night with single-digit
temperatures and blustery weather.
(All calls are recorded and public
record.) McKinley never hesitated
or turned one call down, took every
call and responded within minutes;
I can’t say this for all. The call that
sounds simple, not important, could
be the crucial life or death call; I al-
ways knew I could rely on McKin-
ley to respond; that is dependable.
Palmer’s deposition showed we
need a change. It’s not who you
know, but what they represent.
McKinley’s dependability, reliabil-
ity, honesty, accuracy, experience
and knowledge represents a pro-
fessional law enforcement offi cer.
He is a man of his word. Stand
proud. Show your support. Vote
Todd McKinley for sheriff. He will
protect and serve us all.
Kathie Maben
Mt. Vernon
Hospital earns
thumbs up
To the Editor:
Thumbs up for our hospital staff.
After a month-long stay, be assured
that anyone will receive maximum
care when a stay is required. Staff
will pitch together. This includes
nurses, physical therapy, doctors,
kitchen services, room cleaning and
personal health caregivers. Can you
believe it? Take my word!
Al Olson
John Day
See LETTERS, Page A5
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.
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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,
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