A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Pick your
protest carefully
N
ever let anyone tell you
protests don’t matter.
From the French
Revolution to Selma, and
from the Malheur Wildlife
Refuge to Standing Rock,
otherwise powerless people
gain infl uence when they
join together to defy the
government, corporations or
the law of the
land.
Often this kind of statement
requires some law-breaking. It
was the case in the Boston Tea
Party, it was the case in the Nat
Turner’s Rebellion and in more
recent cases, too.
Protesters must ask
themselves if they are willing
to break the law in order to
stand up for their beliefs.
They must ask themselves
if the law in question is
immoral or unconstitutional,
or better yet both. They must
ask themselves if they are
willing to go to jail, willing
to be kicked and punched and
humiliated.
There is a line of thinking
that protesters are sitting on
their rumps, collecting welfare
and waiting for any micro-
aggression to get bent out of
shape about while the rest
of us working stiffs earn our
paychecks.
But living through the
blizzard in North Dakota right
now is anything but easy, as
anyone who went outside their
front door for more than a few
minutes during this week’s
snowstorm knows. Likewise,
there is nothing easy about
heading toward John Day and
seeing police lights in your rear
view mirror.
Black Lives Matter
protesters have blocked
streets and even highways,
and similar tactics were
used by protesters against
Donald Trump in Portland
last month. Negatively
affecting other people’s lives
is no way to engender support,
but organizers believe the
problems they create bring
light to their concerns.
And yes, there are insurgents
who try to capitalize on the
illegal aspect of protest, who
try to twist the mob mentality.
Protests require extreme
vigilance and dedication to
stay on message, to keep
everyone on the same page and
to disavow violence at every
turn. How well organizers and
protesters can do that often
portends how successful their
protest
will be.
Success is not assured. In
fact, it’s often unlikely. The
anti-Trump protests in Portland
were mocked, infi ltrated by a
violent element, and ultimately
did no good except to reiterate
that many people don’t want
Donald Trump to be the next
president.
The thousands of people at
Standing Rock got at least a
temporary win, and brought
their concerns to a much
wider audience who found
their plight sympathetic and
honorable.
The people who occupied
Wall Street were unable to
reach the politicians who had
the power, despite months of
media coverage.
Nat Turner was hanged
for his violent rebellion 30
years before the Emancipation
Proclamation was signed.
The Boston Tea Party
spurred the creation of the
most powerful nation on Earth.
Maybe because this country
was conceived in protest, the
Founding Fathers made sure to
protect the right to assembly
and speech. It’s something
we shouldn’t take for granted,
and we should always be wary
when peaceful protests are
banned preemptively or shut
down
violently.
But it’s also not a right
we should misuse. Potential
protesters must go forth
understanding the risks, their
rights and what they are trying
to accomplish.
Contributed photo/Kay Steele
Running up and down the Middle Fork John Day River, this mule deer buck could not kick
loose the barbed wire tangled in its antlers.
G UEST C OMMENT
Remove old barbed wire to
prevent wildlife tragedies
By Terry and Kay Steele
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
A recent photo shoot in northern
Grant County revealed a problem
that causes injury and death to wild-
life. Miles and miles of old, rusty
barbed wire is strewn across the
countryside from years and years
of neglect of abandoned fencing.
Downed wire creates death traps for
animals — wild and domestic.
Placing blame for this tragic
situation is not useful. Abandoned
wire is found on both private and
public lands. It is understood that
its use is required where fencing
cows is necessary; however, the
deadly accumulation of old barbed
wire will barely be noticed — until
something bad happens.
Rutting deer (and elk) do battle
for available mates. They lower
their racks and thrust themselves
forward to clash. As they charge
to and fro, their antlers can easily
become hopelessly entangled in
By Susan Johnson
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:
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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).
• 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.
our county that are hard to know
how to fi x. This is not one of those.
The problem of abandoned barbed
wire is solvable. Ranchers can lead
the way — work collaboratively
with public agencies to conduct a
countywide cleanup. It is recog-
nized that ranching is more than
a full-time job, but there are pos-
sibilities and opportunities to turn
this into a win-win situation. Part-
nership grants can put people, es-
pecially our youth, to work remov-
ing this hazard. A sense of value
and pride for accomplishing this
task would be a worthy outcome.
Recycle the rolls of discarded wire.
The removal of barbed wire risks
will benefi t horses, cows, hunters,
hikers and, yes, the wildlife we all
cherish.
Terry Steele, nature photogra-
pher, is a self-educated naturalist.
Kay Scheurer Steele, biologist, is a
self-educated photographer. More
of their work can be viewed at ter-
rysteelenaturephotography.com.
Making an enrollment list and checking it twice
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
W HERE TO W RITE
downed barbed wire. Many of these
bucks are destined to a long and
painful death — unable to eat, drink
or protect themselves from preda-
tors or the elements.
On this day, a beautiful mule
deer buck, dragging barbed wire,
pulled his way to the cooling wa-
ters of the Middle Fork of the John
Day River. His efforts to dislodge
the wire were frantic. Panting hard,
he kicked up his back feet as he
plunged and swung his head back
and forth. Unsuccessful, he left the
river with the wire in tow and disap-
peared over a high ridge. Short of a
miracle, the wire will become hung
upon something and he will meet an
unnecessary fate.
Unbelievably, in less than an
hour, about 25 miles away, we wit-
nessed a second mule deer buck
catch his rear feet as he leaped a
partially downed fence. He strug-
gled a bit but was able to kick his
way free — this time.
There are many problems in
Enrolling in health insurance
can get complicated. That’s why
it’s important to gather the infor-
mation you need ahead of time to
eliminate headaches.
To save time and avoid repeat
trips to your assister, collect the
following information in a folder
as you prepare to apply for health
insurance through HealthCare.
gov:
• Information about your
household size. Figure out who in
your household should apply be-
fore you start your application.
• Home and/or mailing ad-
dresses for everyone applying for
coverage.
• Information about everyone
applying for coverage, such as
addresses, birth dates, and Social
Security numbers.
• Information about the pro-
fessional helping you apply (if
you’re getting help completing
your application), such as name,
job title and contact information.
• Document information for le-
gal immigrants.
• Information on how you
file your taxes. (For example,
if you’re self-employed, you
may pay estimated taxes each
quarter.) You might want to
bring your last tax filing.
• Employer and income infor-
mation for every member of your
household (for example, from pay
stubs or W-2 forms).
• Your best estimate of what
your household income will be in
2017.
• Policy numbers for any cur-
rent health insurance plans cover-
ing members of your household.
• A completed Employer Cov-
erage Tool for every job-based
plan you or someone in your
household is eligible for. (You’ll
need to fill out this form even for
coverage you’re eligible for but
don’t enroll in.)
• Notices from your current
plan that include your plan ID
number, if you have or had health
coverage in 2016.
In order to choose a health
plan, you’ll probably want to
gather the following additional
information, which will help you
choose a plan which best fits your
needs:
• Names of medical facilities
anyone in your family uses.
• Names of all family physi-
cians or other providers, including
specialists.
• Names of all medications
anyone in your family is currently
taking.
• Frequency of provider visits
for each family member.
• Whether or not each family
member smokes.
• Premium and deductible
amounts you are able to pay.
HealthCare.gov has tools
which allow you to see which doc-
tors, facilities and prescriptions
are covered by each plan.
You can get assistance with
your application by visiting Or-
egon HealthCare.gov, by call-
ing the Oregon Health Insurance
Marketplace from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Mondays through Fridays at
1-855-268-3767, or by locating a
Local Enrollment Center.
The Affordable Care Act is
still the law of the land, and open
enrollment only lasts until Jan. 31,
2017. You must enroll by Dec. 15,
2016, for coverage to be effective
Jan. 1, 2017.
You must pay your premium
monthly in order to maintain cov-
erage—85% of people get help
paying their premiums, which
can often be less than $75 per
month.
Enroll today and enjoy the peace
of mind that comes with having
health insurance for you and your
family.
Susan Johnson is the regional
director of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Re-
gion 10.
L
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