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
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