A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Farmer’s story is
cautionary tale for
work near streams
and wetlands
he Oregon Department of State Lands wants to fi ne a farmer
$6,000 for alleged violation of state fi ll-removal laws.
The potential fi ne seems excessive, particularly to the
actual harm — or, more accurately, the lack thereof. But rather
than a story about fi nes and punishment, the case serves as a
cautionary tale for landowners with streams and wetlands — or
anything that can be later so classifi ed.
Kelly Sampson grows hay and nursery stock on 80 acres near
Canby, Ore., on the banks of Milk Creek.
Sampson told our sister newspaper, the Capital Press, that he
noticed a section of the stream bank was eroding, and he decided
to plant willow trees to stabilize the soil.
He put hay bales onto rocks next to the creek to retain moisture
for the young trees.
Ordinarily, landowners don’t need a fi ll-removal permit from
the Oregon Department of State Lands if they’re adding or
removing less than 50 cubic yards of material in a waterway or
wetland.
But in this case Milk Creek — a tributary of the Molalla River
— is designated as “essential salmonid habitat,” so any amount of
disturbance requires a permit, according to the agency.
Sampson was unaware of the designation, and says his reading
of the rules on the DSL website made him believe he was in the
clear.
A complaint received by DSL indicates that Sampson placed
hay bales as well as “horse manure and barn cleanout” below the
creek’s ordinary high water mark.
Though Sampson’s intentions were good, he was in apparent
violation of the law.
To its credit, when DSL fi nds an unintentional violation it
works with the landowner to work things out. If you can restore
things as you found them, the fi ne can be waived. Or, the fi ne can
be reduced to the extent that the effort is successful.
The best policy for a landowner is to assume a permit is needed
and seek professional advice.
“Give us a call and we can advise them,”said Lori Warner-
Dickason, fi eld operations manager for DSL. “If they proceed
without confi rmation from us, they do so at their own risk.”
T
F ARMER ’ S F ATE
Pink pants, invisible clothes and truth
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
“Sitting in the pool on the sun-
deck, overlooking the rolling waves,
sipping a cold drink — does life get
better?” I asked my sister as I lazi-
ly kicked my feet through the clear
water. She was spritzing tanning lo-
tion on her already brown legs. She
stopped and set the bottle down.
“Really?” she asked. I could hear
the eye-roll in her voice as she lifted
one eyebrow at me.
“Well?” I questioned. “What part
about that statement is wrong?”
“What part about that statement is
right?” she shot back.
I pushed a fl oating toy car away
from me as I leaned back in my kids’
plastic wading pool, sitting atop our
boathouse on the Columbia River.
“It’s all true.” I argued. “I’m in a
pool, overlooking the water, a cold
drink in my hand.”
Once more she gave me a dis-
gusted look, like only a sister can,
“A half-drank glass of your kid’s root
beer slushy?”
“It’s all in how you spin it,” I
laughed.
She shook her head, “You’re cra-
zy.”
She went back to her book, and I
went back to my slobbered-on slushy
while soaking in the little plastic pool.
It’s all in how you spin it.
Maybe that’s what’s going on with
the news today. Every place you turn
you hear, “Fake news, fake news!”
It’s all in how you spin it. As a kid,
there was a song I remember listen-
ing to about a man who was dating
a woman he thought was really rich.
She was always telling her boyfriend
how her “daddy re-
ally cleaned up in
Tennessee.”
The
boyfriend was afraid
of meeting her really
rich father. When the
time came, he was
Brianna
stunned to learn that
Walker
her father was really
a garbage truck driv-
er — he really did clean up! The song
ends when he says next time a girl
says her daddy’s big in Tennessee,
he’s just going to assume she means
fat!
As a culture we claim we value
honesty, but I am not so sure. Chil-
dren are honest — and we try to
change that from the time they can
talk. Don’t believe me?
A child walks up to their great-
great-aunt, pushes on her polyester
clad middle and says, “You have a
really big belly.” The child’s mother
blushes deep red, scoops the child up,
apologizes to her great-aunt and starts
scolding the child. Another time, the
child sits on grandma’s lap and says,
“You have hair on your chin.” Again,
the mom apologizes and scolds the
child. The child wasn’t incorrect —
but he learns he can’t speak the truth.
We curb the truth out of politeness.
As the child grows, they become
less honest. First out of politeness,
then out of political correctness and
now, in today’s society, because truth
seems ugly and offensive.
I’m reminded of the old fairy tale
of the emperor’s new clothes. A cou-
ple of hustlers conned the emperor
into paying them to make the fi n-
est (and, of course, most expensive)
threads that gold could buy. And the
best part? Only wise people fi t for
their posts would be able to see it.
The swindlers pocketed the beauti-
fully expensive wares, while they sat
at empty looms, daring anyone to ex-
amine the beautiful designs they were
weaving into the cloth. No person
wanted to be thought a fool or unfi t
for their posts, so everyone admired
the invisible cloth. The day of the
procession came, and the swindlers
dressed the emperor in his invisible
clothes. His noblemen made a big
show of lifting the train as they car-
ried it down the streets.
Only a small child had the
honesty to say, “But he hasn’t got
anything on.” To which his father
shushed him for his prattle. The
emperor shivered, and suspected
he was right, but he straightened
taller than ever and walked proudly
as his noblemen held high the train
that wasn’t there. Those swindling
weavers sure knew how to spin it!
Today, right is left, up is down,
night is day and purple is green.
We’re shushing the children that
are speaking up, because the truth
of sitting in three inches of water
and drinking a slobbery slushy, isn’t
quite as beautiful as sitting in the
pool, overlooking the rolling waves,
sipping a cold drink. We value beau-
ty more than honesty. Just squeeze
into a pair of too-tight jeans and ask
your husband how they look. I once
watched a guy tell a girl she looked
great in a hideous pair of hot pink
leather pants — she didn’t want hon-
esty, he said, she just wanted to be
told she looked great. Welcome to
the pool!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
G UEST C OMMENT
Mateusz Perkowski/EO Media Group
Farmer Kelly Sampson stands near Milk Creek, a tributary of the
Molalla River, which runs through his 80-acre property near Canby,
Ore. He faces a $6,000 fine for allegedly violating state fill-removal
law by planting willows into hay bales and other materials placed
along the stream.
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,
Salem, 97310. Phone: (503) 986-1180.
Website: www. leg.state.or.us (includes
Oregon Constitution and Oregon Revised
Statutes).
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
• 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.
• U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R — (Second
District) 1404 Longworth Building, Wash-
ington D.C. 20515. Phone: 202-225-6730.
No direct email because of spam. Website:
www.walden.house.gov Fax: 202-225-5774.
Medford offi ce: 14 North Central, Suite 112,
Medford, OR 97501. Phone: 541-776-4646.
Fax: 541-779-0204.
Nurse shortage not a partisan issue
By Sheldon D. Fields
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
The nation is rapidly growing
grayer and more ethnically diverse.
Today, about one in seven Amer-
icans is 65 or older. In less than 15
years, one in fi ve Americans will be
there, a percentage that will continue
to rise. Meanwhile, the Census Bu-
reau projects that by 2044, over half
of all Americans will belong to an
ethnic group other than non-Hispan-
ic white. By 2060, nearly one in fi ve
Americans will be foreign born.
These demographic shifts will
strain a healthcare system ill-pre-
pared for it. Case in point: America’s
looming nurse shortage.
The largest component of the
healthcare workforce, nurses play an
indispensable role in the provision of
health care. But in the years to come,
the demand for nursing services will
outstrip the supply — all the more so
because of the 20-plus million people
who gained access to health care un-
der the Affordable Care Act.
In this environment, the skills of
nurses — and specifi cally, advanced
practice nurses — will be especially
valuable. Averting any shortfall will
require policies from Washington
aimed at making the most of those
who enter the nursing profession.
Advanced practice nurses possess
a higher level of medical expertise,
training and decision-making author-
ity than traditional registered nurses.
The quality of care these nurses
provide is excellent. In one study,
the health outcomes of primary care
patients treated by advanced practice
nurses were as good as those for pa-
tients treated by physicians. In many
cases, patient satisfaction was higher
for those who were treated by ad-
vanced practice nurses.
Moreover, the versatile skill set of
these nurses makes them well suited
to provide services to populations
that would otherwise be underserved.
Clinics staffed by a nurse practitioner
can make a huge difference in areas
where the nearest physician is far
away.
Shifting demographics will also
reduce the supply of nurses. The
average age of a working registered
nurse is over 50, and nearly half of
our 2.7 million nurses will reach re-
tirement age within the next 15 years.
Nursing schools aren’t producing
enough graduates to provide the 1.2
million new nurses our nation will
need by 2030. A lack of resources
forced nursing schools to turn away
more than 64,000 qualifi ed applicants
in the 2016-17 academic year.
On this front, there’s much that
lawmakers can do, starting with pro-
viding healthcare and educational in-
stitutions with the resources to train
more nurses.
They can allocate more funding
towards Title VIII Nursing Work-
force Development programs, which
support nurses practicing in under-
served communities, nursing diversi-
ty grants, the National Nurse Service
Corps and nurse faculty loan forgive-
ness.
Congress should also remove bar-
riers that prevent advanced practice
nurses from making full use of their
skills.
In Alabama, a nurse practitioner
must have a physician present 10
percent of the time to practice. When
nurse practitioners in Missouri treat a
new patient, that patient is required to
see the collaborating physician within
two weeks.
There’s ample precedent for roll-
ing back such regulations. Last year,
the Department of Veterans Affairs
amended its rules to allow advanced
practice nurses to do everything their
training and certifi cation empowers
them to do in any VA facility. Con-
gress should follow the VA’s lead and
override onerous state restrictions, al-
lowing advanced practice nurses full
practice authority.
Not all health care reforms need
to inspire partisan confl ict. Com-
mon-sense reforms to avert a nursing
shortage deserve the support of both
parties — and are essential to cope with
our coming demographic upheaval.
Sheldon D. Fields, Ph.D., RN,
FNP-BC, FAAN, is dean of the School
of Health Professions at New York In-
stitute of Technology.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
A little common sense
To the Editor:
I was going to write a rather
lengthy letter in response to Mr.
Wuerthner (the ecologist) about his
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 ICHARD H ANNERS , RICK @ 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 . COM
guest comment of last week: “Cli-
mate drives fi re, not fuel.”
I’m not an ecologist, but one
thing I do know. When I want to
make a bigger, hotter fi re at home,
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I put more wood on it. That comes
from common sense.
Ken Koser
Prairie City
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