A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Local dispatch
should be
maintained
T
he 911 dispatch center
for Grant County is
in danger of being
outsourced, but residents have
the power to save it.
The center covers all of
Grant County, dispatching law
enforcement and emergency
medical services from Kimberly
to Seneca. Although the center is
managed by the city of John Day,
the city itself and its residents
receive the same benefi ts from it
as the rest of the county.
The state 911 tax, paid with
phone bills, covers some of
the operating expenses, but
the current payments leave a
roughly $200,000 defi cit, with
John Day currently covering a
disproportionate amount. John
Day City Manager Nick Green
has said the city cannot afford to
subsidize the service for other tax
jurisdictions.
Green is right. John Day
residents should not pay more
than others to provide this
countywide service. The cost
should be equitably divided
among the users.
Green has proposed a cost-
sharing agreement between all
the cities and the county, where
each would cover its share of
the defi cit, or a local option
tax, where the defi cit would
be divided among property
owners.
While the easiest and best
solution would be for the
Legislature to reform the 911
tax that has not been increased
since 1995, that likely won’t
happen this session. In the
interim, we believe residents
should support a plan to
maintain the local dispatch
center, at least until a possible
legislative fi x in 2019.
If dispatch services are
outsourced, that local service
and those local jobs will
probably never return to Grant
County, even if the 911 tax
is later modifi ed to provide
enough funding to cover
operating expenses.
If the six current dispatch
positions are cut, those
employees may have to
move out of the county. Six
fewer families would pay
less in property taxes to local
governments. Six fewer
families would enroll in local
schools. Six fewer families
would shop at local businesses.
The rural blight this county
knows all too well will have
claimed another industry
that will only clear the way
for more casualties in the
downward spiral.
But even more important
than the economy is safety.
Who do you want answering
when your child or parent
or spouse needs immediate
attention? A local dispatcher
more familiar with the area? Or
someone who may have never
stepped foot in Grant County?
We hope the state
Legislature will fi x the 911
tax to provide enough funding
for rural dispatch centers, and
we hope county residents will
support this vital local service
in the meantime.
What to do before the lights go out
By Dave Robinson
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
OK, admit it. You promise your-
self every year that you’re going to
put together a few extra supplies,
just in case. Everybody from the
Red Cross to the government, to
the local newspaper suggests that
you “Get A Kit, Make A Plan, and
Be Prepared.” And every year, you
mean to, you really do. And the next
thing you know, there’s an earth-
quake off in some far away place, or
a hurricane on the other end of the
country and you think, “I’ve really
got to do this thing!”
But where to start? What to do
fi rst? Which kit to buy? What will
my friends think? Here’s my ap-
proach: “Just pretend that the power
goes out all over the area, and you
can’t get to the store for at least
three days or longer. What are you
going to need to get by?”
In the event of a disaster and de-
pending on your priorities, you’re
going to need to eat, drink and fi nd
your way around in the dark. And
that’s just for starters. So here’s what
you do. Haul out that old camping
stove and see if it still works. Clean
it up, put some fresh fuel in it and
try it out. While you’re at it, dig out
your lantern and do the same with
it. If you don’t own either and you
are solely dependent on electric-
ity for all your energy needs, then
you need to at least pick up a stove.
(Watch garage sales or the classi-
fi eds for some real bargains.) Then
make sure you have fresh batteries
for your fl ashlight. There are lots
of battery-powered lanterns on the
market. Kerosene lanterns and can-
dles are just fi ne, but bear in mind
they produce a fl ame. Always a fi re
hazard.
Now, see how easy that was, and
you’re on your way to getting your
kit together. And oh, by the way, I
don’t suggest that folks buy a kit.
There are hundreds on the market,
they usually have stuff in them that
you will never use, items that don’t
fi t your needs and, believe it or not,
some kits even have low-quality
components. It is always best to as-
semble your own kit. That way you
will know what you have and ex-
actly what you don’t have. Besides
you can go online and see what the
commercially available kits have in
them, and get ideas for your own.
Just remember, survival is not a kit
anyway, but it does help to have a
few things together. Skills and in-
formation are more important than
stuff.
Disaster preparedness doesn’t
have to break your budget, but with
a little careful planning, you can,
over time, accumulate a few things
that will make life a whole lot easier
the next time the lights go out. And
if this prompts you to go out and
buy fresh batteries for that fl ashlight
in your kitchen drawer, or an extra
bag of soup mix, then it has served
a good purpose.
Dave Robinson is the postmaster
in Bandon and the author of “Di-
saster Prep For The Rest Of Us,”
available on Amazon.com, Barnes
and Noble and other online book-
sellers. Send your questions and
comments to disasterprep.dave@
gmail.com. Previous columns can
be found at disasterprepdave.blog-
spot.com.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Predator control and
compensation should
be increased
W HERE TO W RITE
GRANT COUNTY
SALEM
• 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.
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State Capi-
tol, 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. Web-
site: www. leg.state.or.us (includes Oregon
Constitution and Oregon Revised Statutes).
• State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario
(District: 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 messag-
es for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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.
To the Editor:
The wolf article in the March 1
edition of the Blue Mountain Eagle
struck a very disappointing accord
with me. We shouldn’t be cutting
funding at all to predator control or
compensation, in fact there should
be marked increases! This only
shows our governor’s disengage-
ment with problems in Eastern Or-
egon. If Eastern Oregon follows the
rest of the western states that have
been forced to allow the introduc-
tion of Canadian gray wolves, the
population is about to explode.
With that, so are the problems. One
glaring difference is we don’t have
the vast wilderness of the other
states. Our deer and elk herds won’t
stand a chance supplying these vo-
racious predators. Rural Eastern
Oregon will take the full impact
of these roaming packs. Livestock
producers and our already shaky
economy will take yet another hit.
Something I have never understood
about these invasive predators is
this: All the old timers and preda-
tor control people I have talked to
have said that the wolves that were
here in the 1900s weighed only 70
to 90 pounds. These Canadian gray
wolves can top 170 to 190 pounds.
Hm... does that mean that we nev-
er had Canadian gray wolves here?
Now if that is true, shouldn’t they
be treated the same as the Eurasian
collared dove or the lowly eastern
brook trout? Somehow I just bet the
problem would be better controlled.
I’m sure the western Oregon politi-
cians and our governor would never
allow this. Now, I do see one more
solution: If Eastern Oregon were
annexed into Idaho, the wolf prob-
lem could be much better handled.
There would be an open season on
these Canadian gray wolves. This
would solve at least two problems.
We would no longer be under the
thumb of the “progressive Demo-
crats,” and the wolves could be put
in their rightful place. Under that
scenario, I would even be willing to
endure Idaho’s sales tax.
Jim Boethin
Canyon City
Cultural exchange
breaks down walls
To the Editor:
I visited Mt. Vernon outside
John Day for four weeks in 1982.
I stayed with Roy and Renae Cates
and their four kids in Mt. Vernon.
I remember Mr. Cates, who had
his own enterprise working as a
lumberjack, asking me about the
chainsaws made in Sweden. He
pronounced the name in such a
strange way so, at fi rst, it was im-
possible for me to understand what
he meant. It turned out to be Husq-
varna, a brand well known to a lum-
berjack in Oregon!
I had my own Husqvarna motor-
cycle when I was 16. I also remem-
ber me making Swedish meatballs
with an American recipe Mrs. Cates
had looked up. It was nothing like
real Swedish meatballs, but we had
fun making and eating them. The
stay with the Cates family was a
wonderful experience and a good
example of why a people-to-people
exchange program is such a good
thing. The Cates family was one
out of eight families I stayed with
as part of the exchange program
organized by 4-H, at that time the
world’s largest rural youth organi-
zation.
I think we desperately need
more of those cultural exchange
programs more than ever. The last
couple of weeks your new pres-
ident, Mr. Trump, has spoken
about my home country in words I
thought was not possible.
It is sad to see the leader of the
world’s most powerful country
deliberately spreading fake news
in order to fool people who don’t
take the time or have the possibil-
ity to fi nd out for themselves what
the rest of the world looks like. It
is only when we meet in everyday
activities that we can develop un-
derstanding for each other’s habits
and customs. Building walls is not
a solution.
Today, I’m a Professor in hu-
man-computer interaction at Up-
psala University in Sweden. The
stay in Oregon helped me appre-
ciate another culture in wasy that
have helped me organizing research
with people coming from all over
the planet. This fall, I will organize
a conference in Uppsala, and I have
invited people I appreciate working
with, among them several research-
ers from the United States.
Anders Jansson
Järlåsa, Uppsala, Sweden
L
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