A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
A multipronged
approach is
right course on
pension reform
W
hen it comes to
reforming Oregon’s
Public Employees
Retirement System, state
leaders need to avoid taking
one step forward and two steps
back.
As the L egislature recently
sputtered on pension reform,
Gov. Kate Brown appointed a
seven-member, public-private
task force to scrutinize ways to
make the most of state assets
to reduce the system’s pension
liability, which was $22 billion
at the most recent valuation.
Brown gave the task force
a goal of reducing the liability
by $5 billion and suggested
selling state assets, although
not certain properties, such as
prisons and state parks. Sales
could include properties such
as “buffer zones” around state
prisons or youth correctional
facilities. It’s also possible the
state could enter public-private
partnerships or cut costs in
other ways, such as by moving
certain state offi ces to lower-
rent areas.
Those are good steps and
should be taken, but many
would generate one-time-only
savings, and none address the
real root of the PERS problem
– the system’s structure and
the benefi ts themselves.
Public employee unions have
vigorously fought any reduction
of benefi ts, and the unions
exert heavy political clout.
Brown and other lawmakers
acknowledged near the end of
the legislative session that any
structural or benefi t reform
would have to be tackled at
the next full session in 2019,
thereby kicking the can down
the road once again. In this
past session, a bill that would
have required a 1 percent salary
contribution toward PERS died
in committee.
A multi pronged approach
is the right course to take.
Legislators, for their part,
can only make changes to the
system going forward. The task
force, though, isn’t addressing
the benefi ts issue. It s mission
is fi nding ways the state can
pay down a chunk of what
it expects to owe. It’s also
looking at whether dedicating
specifi c revenue streams to help
reduce the obligation makes
sense.
In its fi rst meeting last
week, the task force agreed to
focus its work — expected to
culminate in a report due to the
governor by Nov. 1 — on big-
ticket items that can get to the
$5 billion fi gure.
However, the board
overseeing PERS downgraded
assumptions about how much
return the system will get on
its investments Friday, which
is expected to increase the
unfunded liability by about
$2 billion. This means state
agencies and school districts
will have to put even more
money into the system in the
coming years.
The governor and lawmakers
need to be advocates for system
changes to reduce the fi nancial
threat the liability poses to the
state’s future well-being. Until
those issues are addressed, the
liability will continue to grow,
public employers will have
to increase the amount they
pay into PERS for employee
benefi ts and the task force’s
work will provide only short-
term help.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Family entertainment
positive for community
To the Editor:
Having been a businessman
here in Grant County since 1974, I
personally know how diffi cult, ex-
pensive and challenging it can be
to start a new enterprise. I want to
take this opportunity to recognize
the Madden brothers for their vision
and willingness to invest hundreds
of hours of their time and thousands
of dollars in upgrading the old Ju-
L
nior High School on Dayton Street
and bringing it back to life. Their
goal is to provide the community
and the surrounding area with the
opportunity to enjoy some good,
clean family entertainment. I hope
that everyone will invite a friend
or a neighbor and come enjoy the
music and see old friends. Let’s
show the Maddens a good old Grant
County turn out and let them know
that their efforts are appreciated.
Jerry Franklin
Prairie City
etters policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express them-
selves 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. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to
edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous
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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
G UEST C OMMENT
Bipartisan water progress
By Rep. Greg Walden
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
All of us in Oregon and across
the country deserve access to safe,
clean drinking water. That’s why
the Energy and Commerce Com-
mittee — where I serve as Chair-
man — just passed bipartisan leg-
islation to modernize the nation’s
drinking water infrastructure.
Today, drinking water fl ows to
our homes and businesses through
more than one million miles of pipes
operated by both publicly and pri-
vately owned water systems. Many
of these pipes were laid in the early
to mid-20th century with an expect-
ed lifespan of 75 to 100 years. In
fact, some communities in Oregon
still rely on wood stave water pipes
that are reaching the end of their
life. While in most places, drinking
water quality remains high, we also
have seen horrible problems from
Flint, Michigan, to drinking foun-
tains in Oregon schools.
Our legislation focuses on ad-
dressing drinking water systems’
physical needs, aiding states and
utilities with compliance and opera-
tion of the drinking water program,
and encouraging the wisest use of
money that is spent.
For the last 20 years, Congress
has helped drinking water deliv-
ery systems meet the challenge of
providing consumers with safe and
affordable water through the Drink-
ing Water State Re-
volving Fund. From
the end of 1997
through 2016, Or-
egon has received
more than $274
million in grants to
Rep. Greg
help improve the
Walden
safety and quality
of tap water, com-
ply with drinking water rules and
reporting requirements and give a
helping hand to the most economi-
cally distressed communities strug-
gling to provide their residents safe
drinking water. This fi scal year,
Oregon is set to receive nearly $12
million in funding to improve its
water systems.
Many rural communities across
Oregon struggle with failing infra-
structure and a limited ability to af-
ford these increasingly costly proj-
ects. They turn to the DWSRF for
help. In Malheur County, rural com-
munities such as Vale and Nyssa are
completing new water treatment
and storage facilities to bring safe
drinking water to their residents. In
Umatilla County, the city of Pendle-
ton is upgrading more than 30 miles
of water lines that are nearly a cen-
tury old — Mayor John Turner said
this project would be impossible
without the program.
Our bill, the Drinking Water Sys-
tem Improvement Act, continues
those important investments and
authorizes $8 billion over fi ve years
for the DWSRF while also expand-
ing the number of ways in which the
fund can be used to improve deliv-
ery systems. In fact, we’re authoriz-
ing an increase of $350 million in
funding for next year from which
states such as Oregon could benefi t.
Perhaps most important is
how the bill looks to the future,
using smart technology to moni-
tor drinking water quality in real
time. This allows us to better pre-
vent, detect or rapidly respond
to contaminants in our water
systems. The ability to have up-
to-the-minute information helps
ensure water is safe and clean,
system leaks and recent contami-
nation are identified quickly and
the accuracy and availability of
compliance data is maintained.
We also included a program to
help our schools replace drinking
fountains that might contain lead.
These are just some of the high-
lights of the bill. As this measure
heads to the House for a vote, I
will continue working with my col-
leagues on both sides of the aisle to
ensure it passes and we do our part
to make sure the water Americans
drink is safe.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood
River), chairman of the House En-
ergy and Commerce Committee,
represents Oregon’s Second Con-
gressional District, which includes
20 counties in central, southern and
Eastern Oregon.
F ARMER ’ S F ATE
What’s in your lunchbox?
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
As the years have passed, the
science of what food is healthy
spans the spectrum. Red meat,
white meat, fake meat, no meat and
then back to red. Mark Twain once
wrote, “Don’t take advice from a
health book. You could die from a
misprint!”
I like science as much as the next
guy. But historically, it hasn’t been
very consistent when it comes to
diet recommendations. Every year
the theories change. Wine saves you;
wine kills you. Coconut oil is the
new miracle drug; coconut oil is the
worst saturated fat you can ingest.
• Drink a glass of red wine a day.
Studies show it helps build better
bones, prevents blood sugar prob-
lems, boosts your body’s defenses,
can increase your memory power
and may increase life expectancy.
• Alcohol consumption can kill
you. Studies show it raises overall
death rates, causes cirrhosis of the
liver, causes cancer, migraines and
increases the risk of heart disease.
• Coconut oil has many health
benefi ts. Studies show it is a natural
prevention for Alzheimer’s. It pre-
vents high blood pressure and heart
diseases. It cures UTIs and kidney
infections and also shows promise
in preventing cancer.
• Coconut oil can harm your
health. Studies show it will raise
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM
E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ 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
your bad cholester-
ol as much or more
than animal fats. It
will increase your
chances of heart
disease and will
lower your overall
Brianna
health.
Walker
Hippocrates,
the father of West-
ern medicine, promoted wine as
part of a healthy diet as well as
preventing diarrhea. Then Prohibi-
tion outlawed any beverage with an
alcoholic content of over 1.28 per-
cent, citing morals as well as health.
In the ’80s, the New York Times
said wine was linked to migraines,
as well as causing acid-refl ux. In
the ’90s, 60 Minutes said that red
wine drinkers had lower cholesterol
than their counterparts. Later, it was
said to stop macular degeneration
and prevent prostate cancer. Then
in the early 2000s, studies showed it
may increase the likelihood of get-
ting breast cancer.
Summer barbecues bring out the
ever-worsening discussions on food.
“We only eat organic.”
“We don’t eat any artifi cial colors
or dyes.”
“We stopped eating dairy after
we watched a documentary.”
“No gluten for us.”
Barbecuing has now become an
art — not just the actual cooking, but
on how to keep peace between the
carnivores and the vegans.
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
Inevitably, someone will start in
on the latest studies showing a par-
ticular food that is now a super-food
(or super-villain, depending on the
year). My husband will laugh and
say, “I don’t know, my mom ate it
(or didn’t eat it), and she died from
cancer — of course it could have
been because she drank water too!”
This usually provides enough
levity to change the conversation.
It’s funny, though, how animated
people can get over food. Especially
when science over the years can’t
even agree with itself. Is wine good
for you or bad? Is coconut oil help-
ful or harmful? If you don’t like the
results of the studies this year, just
wait. It’s like the weather in Pacifi c
Northwest; it’ll change tomorrow.
Basically, I’d say this leaves us
free to forget the “food science,”
as no one really seems to know or
agree on what causes or prevents ag-
ing and cancer.
I would suggest eating and
drinking what makes you happy.
After all, studies show that happy
people live longer — oh, wait, new
studies say pessimists... Oh mercy!
Studies on preservatives, carbs,
calories, organics — it’s just too
much for me. I just hope I don’t
get the soggy Cheeto that my baby
stuck back in the chip bag after
sucking off the cheese!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
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. No part of this
publication covered by the copyright
hereon may be reproduced or
copied in any form or by any means
— graphic, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, taping or
information storage and retrieval
systems — without written
permission of the publisher.
www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews
@MyEagleNews