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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Our strength is in our unity F or many Americans, the unimaginable images of Sept. 11, 2001, are burned into our national fabric, never to be forgotten. Those searing memories of mass death and destruction resulted from coordinated attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda aboard four hijacked airliners. Two hijacked jets toppled the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center while a third slammed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Aboard the fourth hijacked plane, which initially changed course toward Washington, D.C., passengers bravely fought the terrorists and the plane crashed into a vacant fi eld near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In all, the attacks killed 2,997 people, injured more than 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. The deaths tragically included more than 325 responding law enforcement offi cers and nearly 100 fi refi ghters. The 9/11 legacy, however, goes far beyond the attacks. It rattled our national consciousness, our sense of security and it changed our lives in ways we previously took for granted. A generation of children born that year are now teenagers entering their fi nal years of high school, about to enter adulthood in a world far different than before their birth. They have never experienced our nation at peace. What they have seen is that the attacks spurred the War on Terrorism, which continues to this day, the longest war in our history. They have learned the 9/11 events also spawned increases in hate crimes, over arching government surveillance and profi ling. They have observed that as the war progressed it created bitter political partisanship and has cost billions of tax dollars. They have watched as it’s divided those who believe the money should have been spent to cure deep domestic ills with those who say the far- away fi ghting is protecting our freedom, security and values. As citizens and taxpayers, we must consider it all as we try to set a positive example for the future. While we need to oppose those who engage in hate and violence and uphold the principles our nation was founded upon, we must always hold government directly accountable when it oversteps or misleads. Importantly, we must also never forget the pain and loss of life from 9/11, and we must never lose sight of the incredible heroism and sacrifi ce it provoked or the national unity that surfaced in its wake. On that day and those that immediately followed, we weren’t Democrats and Republicans, we weren’t divided by race and cultural issues. We unifi ed as one nation, people helping people, sacrifi cing when necessary, all Americans. It’s not the fi rst time we’ve had that national unity, and it won’t be our last. It’s in our blood and dates to our nation’s birth. It heroically rises like the American fl ag hoisted by three fi refi ghters at g round z ero in the 9/11 aftermath, and it proudly fl ies like the Star-Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry in Baltimore 203 years ago this week during the War of 1812. Each time our freedom is threatened, and whenever the country or a region suffers a calamity, Americans always respond. The outpouring of national support for the victims of hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and Harvey provides recent examples. Our history is fi lled with countless others. What we must do is to continue to learn from these lessons. They teach us all that our strength as a country is in our unity, not in our divisiveness. 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. G UEST C OMMENT Public land collaboratives work By Bruce Daucsavage To the Blue Mountain Eagle Ochoco Lumber Co . was found- ed in 1927 to work the vast Ponder- osa Pine forests of the Blue Moun- tains of Eastern Oregon, and in 1983, Ochoco Lumber owner, John Shelk, formed Malheur Lumber Co . in John Day . Today, Malheur Lumber Co . (MLC) draws our raw product primarily from the Malheur National Forest in Grant and Har- ney counties. Sourcing raw product for our mills has not always been easy. Tightening timber supplies forced us to consider closing MLC, and we knew that if we wanted to remain in the timber business, we would need to do things differently and to work with people with diverse points of view. That’s why Malheur Lumber Co . has been a member of the Blue Mountains Forest Partners since its founding in 2006. Our company believed then, and is even more committed now, that collaboration among timber inter- ests, the conservation community, local residents, elected government offi cials and the Forest Service — which manages about 72 percent of the land base in Grant and Harney counties — was our only option if we wanted to survive into the fu- ture. Thankfully, these other stake- holders held a similar view, even though our opinions of a “healthy forest” or “responsible forest man- agement” may have differed at the outset. Working together, unemploy- ment numbers in Grant and Harney counties have dropped from 14 per- cent and 11.7 percent, respectively to 6 percent and 5.3 percent. MLC has been able to maintain our opera- tions, increase employment, and are moving forward with investments in our facility to more effi ciently process raw logs coming from our stewardship projects. We have helped develop and implement a 10-year stewardship contract that represents 86 percent of the private employment within the industry, and all existing wood manufacturing infrastructure, with- in Grant and Harney counties. On- going research is telling us that the Malheur is already more resilient to future wildfi re and the effects of cli- mate change as a result of our resto- ration work. There are currently 27 collabo- ratives operating in Oregon to en- courage restoration of public lands. The aim is to facilitate compromise and consensus. Contrary to the per- spective of someone who has never attended a partners’ meeting (Forest collaboratives need to welcome all input, 8/25/17), in our experience, the partners regularly solicit the views of all stakeholders who seek to productively and respectfully ad- vance forest restoration and com- munity well-being on the Malheur National Forest. That’s the “Oregon Way,” and it works. Bruce Daucsavage is president of Ochoco and Malheur Lumber companies. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Electricity rate hike does not add up VA staff ‘give vets the best care they can’ I read in the Aug. 23 Blue Moun- tain Eagle that Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative will be increasing our electricity costs due to a 5.4 percent power rate and 0.7 percent transmis- sion rate increase from Bonneville Power. We may be in trouble. I recently applied to OTEC for a friend’s capital credits. Documents from OTEC said capital credits less than 15 years old were subject to a discount rate of “5.3 percent”. Anything older than 15 years were paid 100 percent. When I went to school, 5.3 percent of $100 was $5.30; of $1,000.00 was $53.00 and 5.3 percent on his capital credits to- taling $1,472.99 would be $78.07. OTEC withheld $343.52 from $1,472.99. That is almost 24 percent (23.32127). I sent OTEC a letter on June 19 asking how they calculated the “5.3 percent discount,” but they never responded. Plus some of his capital credits were probably old- er than 15 years and exempt from withholding. I admit, I went to school before the schools started teaching what they referred to as “the new math.” I don’t know if OTEC is using the “new math” or creative math to cal- culate their capital credits refunds. Maybe one of the math teachers who read this letter can tell me what is wrong with my math calculations. Or maybe the math teachers can give OTEC lessons on how to cal- culate percentages before they use their creative math to calculate the rate increases they will charge us in October. Linda Smarr Canyon City Greetings to the Harney/Grant County veteran communities and general community members. Just a quick note to inform those interested, especially our veterans and their families in Harney and Grant counties, that I retired at the end of August after serving for over nine years as the clinic manager and clinical therapist/social worker of the Burns-Hines VA Clinic. It has been an honor to serve you veterans, from whom I’ve learned a great deal not only about your physical wounds of military life and war but the internal ones that others can’t see. I started the clinic with Dr. Fitz- patrick in 2008. Since then it has been a privilege to serve not only with him but also the hard-working, conscientious staff who continuous- ly made/make extra efforts to serve our veteran population: previously Diane, Steve, Marsha, Ashley, and Emily, and now our current staff of Michelle, Mark, Terri, and Zoe. Our staff work with limited re- sources due to our rural setting, and also can be hampered by some VA policies that are not always us- er-friendly. Still staff work through these situations to give vets the best care they can, which hopefully vets appreciate and thank them for. Best wishes to all. Steve Bull Retired Burns-Hines VA Clinic manager When to call an untruth to light Mark Webb, executive director of Blue Mountain Forest Partners, stated during the Aug . 18 meeting that part of the decision from the operations committee to deny mem- bership to citizens was because of gossip on the street. GOSSIP! Hear- say evidence was used to discrimi- nate against citizens qualifi ed under the rules of membership by BMFP. Desperation is being employed to keep people from joining. Why? No one accused anyone of lying at the July 20 meeting when the fi rst denial of membership was made by Mark Webb. A civil discussion concerning membership followed the meeting. It was only after in- terviews and subsequent denials at the August meeting did the subject of lying come up. When executive members denied saying a prospec- tive member was not trustworthy, a BMFP member who was present at the particular interview interjected with, “Yes, you did say that!” The question here is just how does a reasonable person react when someone prevaricates? Does one say, “That’s a fi b!” or “Liar, liar, pants on fi re!” Or just be blunt and challenge, “You are lying!” as many in Grant County would be prone to do. A lie spoken publicly will become believ- able if not contested. No responsible citizen should ever be afraid to sound off and state emphatically, “That is not the truth!” And if the lie is not re- tracted, then it is fair game to ask for “Book, chapter and verse” to back up what was said. It is pitiful when those who are caught up in lying will plaintively say, “They called me/us liars.” As if that somehow absolves them of ly- ing in the fi rst place. The moral here is simply this, don’t lie! The Blue Mountain Forest Part- ners executive branch needs to clean up its act to retain any credibility. Roger McKinley Prairie City 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 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. Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper P UBLISHER ............................... M ARISSA W ILLIAMS , MARISSA @ BMEAGLE . COM E DITOR .................................... S EAN H ART , EDITOR @ 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 O FFICE A SSISTANT .................... A LIXANDRA P ERKINS , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . 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