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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 31, 2017)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 31, 2017 The cost of war, at home and abroad On Monday, we honored those who made the ultimate sacrifi ce — giving their life because their country sent them to war. Americans answer the call. Generation after generation, the urge to serve our nation draws excellent people into military service. They defend us from foreign threats, protect vital interests around the world and gain unique experiences and job skills that strengthen the U.S. once they return to civilian life. Living here as we do in small communities and rural areas, we take special pride in personally knowing servicemen and women. Spring high school graduation ceremonies often include news about local kids making the leap into becoming adult women and men by joining the armed forces. We then follow their accomplishments and adventures on their parents’ Facebook pages and in printed news items. It is among the signature experiences of small-town life to encounter young people we witnessed growing up — perhaps playing on the basketball court — now returned on leave from a military assignment someplace far away. These relationships between civilians and active- service personnel are some of the strongest glue holding the nation together. It is fundamental to the essential national DNA of the U.S. that we respect and appreciate our fellow citizens who man the guard posts of democracy. There was a time when Congress and the White House contained many veterans. They had personally witnessed the horrible cost of war, in the form of friends shot down before their eyes. Because there is no draft, there are now few veterans among our nation’s top leadership — nor do many of their children serve in the armed forces. War has become something they send other Americans’ children to do. And in all fairness, fewer U.S. citizens in general have close kinfolk in the line of fi re. Most of us, though, in every station of life share a deep and sincere appreciation for our honored war dead. Since the awful events of Sept. 11, 2001, it is generally reported that more than 5,000 U.S. service personnel have died. More than 50,000 have been physically wounded. Many more suffer from combat-related stress disorders. So even though the generations that fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam are passing away, we will be paying tribute to modern American warriors for the next half century or more. President Ulysses S. Grant — as good a general as the U.S. ever had — said, “There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.” Our sad drumbeat of wars in the 20th and 21st centuries informs us that we are still too far away from learning this lesson. But war is not the true subject for Memorial Day. We honor the personal sacrifi ces that men and women have made in the name of our nation and its Constitution in many forms. We were reminded of the ongoing struggle Friday night, as complete strangers came to the aid of two Muslim women on the Portland MAX being harassed by an angry and misguided man, a self- described sociopath and white supremacist. Two of the men who stepped forward — a 53-year-old Army veteran and a 23-year-old recent college graduate — were stabbed to death standing between the knife-wielding attacker and the women. They paid dearly, as did their families, for standing without hesitation for the American promise. What we honored on Memorial Day is selfl ess service to the country. But if the day is to be anything but an excuse for a day off from work, we must put meat on the bones of otherwise empty promises. History teaches the danger faced by powerful nations where the majority of the citizenry no longer remembers the hardship and realities faced by its defenders. It becomes far too easy to expend their lives for meager pay to achieve too little, then bringing them home and forgetting them. Repairing the disconnect between decision-makers and these sacrifi ces is essential to the long-term survival of America’s great experiment in democracy. Honoring life is the best payment we can make to the dead. Meanwhile, genuine respect for America’s war dead is best translated into remembering living veterans and tending to their needs. Memorial Day is only the start, not the fi nish, of recognizing the debt we owe to veterans. Truly honoring them means embodying their values and honor in our own lives every day of the year. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Omnibus bill maintains key community and economic funding To the Editor: The recently approved omni- bus bill supported by Oregon’s members of Congress – Sen. Ron Wyden, Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Greg Walden – maintains key community and economic funding through September 2017. Knowing that Congress is working to sustain these programs for fi scal year 2017 is a good sign for these programs’ continued funding in 2018, despite the president’s proposal to elimi- nate fi nancing for these important programs. Why is this important? Eastern Oregon’s public infrastructure, such as water, sewer and waste- water systems, are aging and are in need of repair or replacement. The Water Infrastructure and Inno- vation Act – strongly supported by Sen. Merkley – provides a source of funding to meet the infrastruc- ture needs in Eastern Oregon. Oth- er programs in the omnibus bill that support Eastern Oregon’s commu- nity and economic development in a variety of ways include: • Economic Development Ad- ministration contribution through investment in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strat- egy. The CEDS process, led by EDA-designated Economic De- velopment Districts, such as the Greater Eastern Oregon Develop- ment Corporation, brings together local stakeholders to assess and plan for regional growth. This funding has created or retained 130 jobs annually within GEODC’s seven-county district; • The Community Development Block Grant to support infrastruc- ture and housing; • FAA Contract Tower Program, which is vital to sustaining the city of Pendleton’s airport; and • USDA Rural Development funding that supports rural infra- structure, entrepreneurship and job creation. These programs, and many others, return tax dollars to com- munities that need them. GEODC will work hard to make sure they remain available here in GEODC’s seven-county Eastern Oregon Dis- trict. Susan Christensen Executive director Greater Eastern Oregon Devel- opment Corporation Agenda 21 on a platter To the Editor: I am taking the opportunity to comment of the Forest Service May 2017 Final Environmental Assessment of the Summit Creek Landscape Restoration project. Twenty-one people have “stand- ing” to state objections. So, I guess I am asking: “Where the heck were you when you had the opportunity to speak up for our county’s economy and access?” This project raised its head back in July 2015 with the Blue Mountain EAGLE P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ BMEAGLE . COM A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT ........ C AITLIN B ROOKS , CAITLIN @ BMEAGLE . COM R EPORTER ............................... R YLAN B OGGS , RYLAN @ BMEAGLE . COM C OMMUNITY N EWS .................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM S PORTS ................................... A NGEL C ARPENTER , ANGEL @ BMEAGLE . COM M ARKETING R EP ....................... K IM K ELL , ADS @ BMEAGLE . COM O FFICE M ANAGER ..................... L INDSAY B ULLOCK , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . COM Draft Purpose and Need Proposed Action, followed by the August 2015 Purpose and Need Proposed Action, then the September 2015 Scoping Package Update and fi- nally the December 2016 Prelim- inary EA. You all had almost two years to play “catch up” with a project that had been announced in the local newspaper. The Draft Find- ing of No Significant Impact is available, and in it, with Final EA, the FS has chosen which issues to address and which comments to ignore. It ignores my September 2015 scoping comments referencing County Ordinance 2013-01 (with copy attached) pertaining to pub- lic road closures within Grant County, statutes on the power of county governing bodies/electors over matters of county concern and county legal adviser Ron Yockim’s email that clearly stated the ordinance was enforceable in spite of the federal government’s claim against its legality, which was also challenged by ex-judge Webb, head of the Blue Moun- tains Forest Partners, and has yet to be decided or is still being shuf- fled around to be hidden until it pops out with the popularity of a red headed stepchild at a family reunion. There are county residents putting themselves on the firing line to stand up for your customs and culture, economical interests, public access, Oregon statutes and U.S. constitutional rights while most residents sit back, complain and moan, and do nothing while dissenters posture and pose with selfies taken during protests pro- claiming “not my sheriff.” At least that product hasn’t spilled over into “not my presi- dent” yet or burning of the Amer- ican fl ag. So sit back and relax while Agenda 21 gets served up to you on a platter. Judy Kerr Canyon City Ratio of road closures to business closures To the Editor: As I was driving through John Day, I took notice of King’s be- ing out of business, and it got me thinking: What ratio of road closure would it take to keep our stores open in town? It’s a simple question. The for- est supervisor says roads must be closed for projects to move for- ward, six miles here, 20 miles there. With each “project,” anoth- er set of road closures, which should equate to more timber at the mill, if you believe the forest supervisor. So, what has the Forest Ser- vice and the Blue Mountains Forest Partners identified as the correct ratio of road closures to have in a project to keep King’s, McDonalds, the bowling alley or other businesses going? Obviously six to 20 miles isn’t enough, maybe take half away, maybe that would meet the need. Or, maybe the opposite is true. 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .....................................$40 Everywhere else in U.S. .....................$51 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Email: www.MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 Maybe road closures make an economy less stable, therefore reducing the number of business- es we can retain. Let’s see, prior to all this collaboration/coopera- tion, we had more businesses in town than we do today. Is there a correlation there? Hmm, seems to be. Maybe the answer is letting the community have open access to the forest and utilize the re- sources as was intended in 1908 when the Malheur National For- est was formed, as an economic resource to the local community, not as a financial burden to the nation. The irony of the Malheur is found in the name of the forest, French for misfortune. It has be- come just that, a misfortune to those it fails to support and to those businesses it lets wither on the vine. The Forest Service was housed under the U.S. Department of Ag- riculture to treat “public lands” they administer as “agricultural grounds” to grow a sustainable product the nation could bene- fit from, not to be a “nature pre- serve” in a National Parks style. If that was the intent, they would be better suited for the Department of Interior. We need more access, not less, to sustain our communities. Ron Rue Prairie City European immigrant problems To the Editor: A truck assault in Berlin, Ger- many, is one of many problems Germany is experiencing with 1 million Middle East and North Af- rican immigrants, mostly young males, who are committing mur- ders, robberies and assaults on German Christians and Jews, es- pecially women; and Chancellor Merkel wants to take in another 1 million. The German interior min- ister said German citizens with dual nationalities who are terror- ists and/or a threat to national se- curity should be deported. These people come from a dif- ferent culture, and their loyalty is not to Germany. They do not re- spect native Germans and consid- er them infidels to be converted or made to pay tribute or killed. Germany is reaping the whirl- wind of what it sowed in the 1930s and 1940s when it murdered about 25 million European Christians and Jews, especially Russians and Poles. Since then Germany has tried to make up for its barbarism and guilt complex by opening its borders to lawless migrants. The United States should pay attention to the immigrant prob- lems in Germany, France, Great Britian, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium and other European countries, and imple- ment strict immigration policies to bolster our security and prevent potential terrorists of any back- ground from entering our country. Donald Moskowitz Londonderry, New Hampshire Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 Copyright © 2017 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. 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