A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Reviving northern
ambulances
benefi ts all of
Grant County
T
he return of volunteer
ambulance services in
Monument and Long
Creek is good news for all of
Grant County.
In a county so sparsely
populated, where the nearest
doctor may be more than an
hour away, ambulance response
times may mean the difference
between life and death.
For years, the county
had been fortunate to have
volunteers staffi ng ambulances
in Seneca, Prairie City, Long
Creek and Monument — in
addition to the full-time
emergency medical services
employees staffi ng ambulances
at the hospital in John Day —
who could respond at moment’s
notice to emergencies in their
communities.
For most of last year,
however, half of those
critical outposts were out
of service. Responding to
calls in Monument required
the crews in John Day to
travel almost 60 miles before
EMTs could start providing
basic life support. Before
the patient could be treated
in the emergency room, the
ambulance had to travel all
the way back to John Day.
Undoubtedly, people who
could have been saved would
have died waiting for help to
arrive. With ambulance service
restored in the northern cities,
people may gain another
chance to hug their loved ones.
EMTs from Monument and
Long Creek can once again
respond immediately and begin
transporting patients to the
hospital, cutting the travel time
in half.
But the benefi t of reviving
these outlying ambulances goes
beyond the immediate effects
for northern county residents.
With their return, not only is
the county again better covered
by emergency medical services,
Blue Mountain Hospital
District has sent the message it
considers volunteer ambulance
service important.
The foundation to continue
providing these services
remains intact. Volunteer
recruitment and retention
efforts can be built upon it.
With aging volunteers and a
lack of younger replacements,
the next threat to these
ambulance outposts may be
a lack of volunteerism. But
the hospital has signaled it
has not given up, despite the
diffi culties.
In a county with stagnant
or declining population,
infrastructure lost can be
diffi cult to regain.
Both the hospital and all
of the ambulance volunteers
throughout the county deserve
praise for maintaining this
service and this system.
For the benefi t of all of
Grant County, we hope all of
these volunteer ambulances live
well into the future.
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,
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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.
• 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.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Cattle destructive to
streams
To the Editor:
A recent editorial in the Blue
Mountain Eagle recounted a graz-
ing study that concluded that cattle
spend 1-2.5 percent of their time in ri-
parian areas. And the editorial writers
asserted this demonstrated that cattle
obviously weren’t damaging riparian
areas as much as assumed.
There are a number of problems
with such a conclusion.
First, if you actually read the en-
tire study, the authors admit there
were other sources of water like
springs and wetlands beyond the
stream banks in the area where they
did their study. So cattle had other
ways to get a drink, which may have
compromised the results.
But beyond that issue, what this
study really shows is that it doesn’t
take much time for cattle to destroy
riparian areas. In most parts of the
West, the major impact to our ripar-
ian areas along streams comes from
cattle — there are no other major
sources of impact.
Cattle trample and break banks,
widening the stream and making
them more shallow. They compact
soils, reducing the sponge effect and
water storage of these areas. They eat
the streamside vegetation reducing
the roots of stream bank plants, and
shade of the stream. They pollute the
water.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if the
cows spend 1 percent of their time or
all their time in riparian areas. That
doesn’t change the fact that cattle are
among the most destructive element
on Western streams. And it doesn’t
change the fact that ranchers don’t
compensate the rest of us (owners of
public lands) for this destruction.
George Wuerthner
Bend
Congress’ public lands
decision concerning
To the Editor:
I write with concern about Con-
gress’ recent decision to assign zero
value to public lands (House Resolu-
tion 5). This step allows the new Con-
gress to sidestep requirements that a
bill giving away a piece of federal land
does not decrease federal revenue or
contribute to the federal debt.
This decision directly impacts peo-
ple who hunt and fi sh in Eastern Or-
egon and those who rely on outdoor
recreational spending. Public lands
generate millions of dollars in reve-
nue for our state and local businesses,
in the form of outdoor recreational
spending and tax receipts. This deci-
sion opens the door to a transfer and
sale of thousands of acres in the Wal-
lowa, Umatilla and Malheur National
Forests. This results in reduced access
and increased costs of management
for state and local governments.
In a time when political differenc-
es between residents of Eastern and
Western Oregon are often laid bare, I
hope that all Oregonians can support
and protect our public lands for current
and future generations benefi t and en-
joyment.
Scott Leonard
Milwaukie, Oregon
Editor’s note: From House Res-
olution 5, which passed the U.S.
House of Representatives Jan. 3,
234-193: “In the One Hundred
Fifteenth Congress, for all pur-
poses in the House, a provision in
a bill or joint resolution, or in an
amendment thereto or a confer-
ence report thereon, requiring or
authorizing a conveyance of Fed-
eral land to a State, local govern-
ment, or tribal entity shall not be
considered as providing new bud-
get authority, decreasing revenues,
increasing mandatory spending, or
increasing outlays.”
Legislators should
obey Constitution
To the Editor:
Not that I agree with the new
rules on guns in the workplace,
our Constitution does state, “The
people shall have the right to bear
arms for the defence [sic] of them-
selves, and the State, but the Mili-
tary shall be kept in strict subordi-
nation to the civil power.”
I did, however, find it rather
hypocritical and amusing that leg-
islators like House Minority Lead-
er Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell
Butte, would complain about the
new rules as may violate that sec-
tion of the Oregon Constitution
when, for starters ORS Chapters
9, 18, 30, 59, 60, 97, 98, 105,
106, 107, 109, 110, 124, 125,
126, 127, 130, 132, 133, 136,
146, 161, 163, 165, 166, 171,
177, 190, 192, 194, 195, 243,
262, 267, 268, 336, 339, 352,
353, 391, 398, 401, 402, 409,
413, 417, 418, 423, 430, 432,
433, 435, 441, 442, 443, 453,
455, 467, 468, 471, 475, 476,
477, 496, 526, 542, 545, 549,
586, 609, 634, 646, 656, 657, 663,
675, 676, 677, 678, 680, 686, 688,
689, 731, 732, 734, 735, 742, 744,
746, 756, 758, 777, 803, 807, 824,
825, 131A, 163A, 181A, 419A,
419B, 419C, 431A, 459A, 475B
and 743B probably, violate Ar-
ticle I Section 20 of the Oregon
state constitution: “No law shall
be passed granting to any citizen
or class of citizens privileges,
or immunities, which, upon the
same terms, shall not equally be-
long to all citizens.”
Twenty-six of the 107 statues
I listed here contain language
that is 100 percent in violation
of our constitution by expressly
granting privileges and immuni-
ties, not equally applied to every
citizen but are unequally granted
to individuals and groups like
unelected officials, agencies and
“special classes/groups” of peo-
ple, to the exclusion and detri-
ment of the majority of our citi-
zens. I’m sure a thorough read of
all 17 volumes our state statutes
would find hundreds of other
constitutional violations.
It is high time for us citizens
to demand that our legislators, re-
gardless of party affiliation, not
only read our state’s constitution,
but start obeying it and legislat-
ing accordingly.
Lynn Johnson
Bend
Positive things
To the Editor:
Are things in Grant County real-
ly as bad as some would have you
think? I asked myself that question
and decided to make a list of what
has been accomplished by varied
groups working hard together. My
list from recent years includes the
things below:
Bates State Park, a wonderful
new John Day Fire Hall (what a great
thing for them during this terrible
winter), new sidewalks and lighting
in John Day, paved pathways, new
reader boards and PA system (soon
to be installed) at the fairgrounds,
tennis courts, a skate park, amaz-
ing landscaping and upkeep at our
wonderful Seventh Street Complex,
a new airport terminal/Forest Ser-
vice training facility, the world class
Thomas Condon center, Kam Wah
Chung museum and interpretive
center, a micro brewery and several
newer small businesses downtown,
a soon-to-open new restaurant, im-
provements and museum at Depot
Park in Prairie City, the old church
there turning into a community cen-
ter, the road shop on Lower Yard
Road and the reopening of the Long
Creek Shop, a full shift at Malheur
Lumber, new bike and hiking trails
planned, a great community hall in
Mt. Vernon, plans moving ahead for
a new library in John Day, the hard
work of the Blue Mountains Forest
Partners with other agencies to en-
sure an increased continuing timber
harvest and jobs through the stew-
ardship plan, unemployment fi gures
that have dropped a percentage point
from last year, a wonderful mural in
the pretty little Dayville Park, the
community gathering place at the
intersection in downtown John Day,
Little Free Libraries all around the
area, the Grantville Theatre and the
Canyon City Community Hall.
I know you all could add more.
Is there more work to be done? Of
course, but these things are real, tan-
gible examples of what can be done.
In the coming days and weeks,
Grant County’s name will likely be
associated with sending a message
that ignores the accomplishments
of what is on this list, and focuses
on the continuation of confl ict and
working outside of law rather than
cooperation. Which message do you
want to send?
Judy Schuette
John Day
How soon one forgets
To the Editor:
Pause for a moment and rewind
the clock back 16 years. George W.
Bush had just ascended to the pres-
idency, and his administration and
Congress began deregulation of Wall
Street and corporate America. Now
fast forward about seven and a half
years. The housing bubble bursts,
and Wall Street and corporate Amer-
ica go into a tailspin, thrusting the
American economy into the Great
Recession. Finally, fast forward to
the present. How soon one forgets.
Fred Fitzgerald
Monument
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
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letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. We 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, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
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