The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current, October 25, 2017, Image 4

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The Blue Mountain eagle., October 25, 2017, Page A4, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextA4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 25, 2017 L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Misinformation about 911 ballot measure EO Media Group/Eric Mortenson A worker guides a glulam beam into place Oct. 3 during construction of the First Tech Credit Union headquarters building in Hillsboro. The building, which will be five stories high and contain 156,000 square feet of office space, is believed to be the largest U.S. structure so far built using advanced lumber products such as cross-laminated timbers and glulam beams, posts and flooring. Wood construction becomes sexy again T hese are exciting times for the timber industry. It’s been awhile since that’s been the case in Oregon. Government forest managers and their political bosses ﬁ nally appear to recognize that more effective management of public forests is needed to help prevent future wildﬁ res and reduce their severity. Rep. Greg Walden and Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have all stated their support for legislation that accomplishes those goals — rare agreement between Oregon’s Republican and Democrat leaders. Beyond timber management, however, are innovations that promise new uses for timber in construction. Among them is “mass timber” that is used in “tallwood design.” As an example, a credit union in Hillsboro is using glulam beams to construct its new ﬁ ve-story, 150,000-square-foot headquarters building. Another building planned for Portland will be 12 stories tall and constructed of cross- laminated timber, called CLT. It will dwarf the seven-story building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that is currently the tallest mass timber structure in the nation. To explore the uses and design possibilities of mass timber, the University of Oregon architecture program is combining efforts with Oregon State University’s forestry and engineering programs to create the Tallwood Design Institute. In other words, wood construction is sexy again. Once relegated to home construction and one- or two- story projects, lumber was seen as an excellent material for relatively small structures. Then came cutting-edge projects such as the Metropol Parasol in Seville, Spain. It is among the largest wooden structures in the world. Made of laminated lumber coated in polyurethane to protect it from the weather, the ethereal design of six interconnected “mushrooms” soars 85 feet tall and covers an area that is 490 feet by 230 feet. Built in 2011, it shades the entire city square and houses a restaurant, museum, farmers market and a walkway that allows visitors a bird’s-eye view of the historic city. The future of mass timber is nearly unlimited. Larger mass timber such as CLTs made by DR Johnson Lumber Co. in Riddle, and mass plywood panels made by Freres Lumber Co. in Lyons, offer architects and engineers possibilities that didn’t even exist a few years ago. Better-managed forests, combined with innovative products, designs and structures demonstrate that the timber industry’s future is brighter than it’s been in a long time. 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). • State Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario (Dis- trict: 60), Room H-475, State Capitol, 900 Blue Mountain EAGLE P UBLISHED EVERY W EDNESDAY BY 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. • Pending Bills: For information on bills in Congress, Phone: 202-225-1772. To the Editor: There is a lot of misinforma- tion out there about the 911 ballot measure, and last week’s letters to the editor contained a few notable examples. In the interest of fairness please revisit these points that were in last week’s LTE and cannot be left to stand as true. The city manager did not impose a tax on the whole county. In fact, he deserves kudos for lobbying for the $420,000 grant money from the state used to bridge us to 2019 and bringing the statewide problem of insufﬁ cient 911 taxes to the atten- tion of the legislature from the per- spective of our little corner of the world. Other points erroneously blame the problem on the city of John Day, and its employee beneﬁ t packages. The city has done the entire county a favor over the last several years, shouldering the burden of 911 dis- patch costs when smaller towns simply cannot pay their share due to minuscule tax bases. Pointing to the Public Employee Retirement System as the problem is ridiculous. That is determined at the state level, and any reform on that funding is a different ﬁ ght entirely. We face the same challenges in our schools. The public employees that serve our community, whether teachers, police ofﬁ cers, dispatchers, etc., are valuable assets, not burdens, and are worth the cost, in my opinion, to keep our communities safe, strong and viable. Let’s keep the focus of this elec- tion on the facts – keeping 911 local will improve outcomes in emergen- cy situations, for both victims and responders. I will be voting yes on measure 12-69, rather than gam- bling with the safety of my family and neighbors, while potentially sending dollars and jobs to another county. I hope you’ll join me. Elaine Mezzo John Day Cartoon beneath dignity of journalism To the Editor: I was disappointed upon seeing the cartoon in the last issue of the Blue Mountain Eagle. It is beneath the dignity of serious journalism that prides itself on reporting facts, not engaging in gutter-sniping, divi- sive politics. I would hope to see our weekly paper maintain a level of civility not shown in a mean-spirited car- toon such as this, which demeans the ofﬁ ce of the presidency of the United States. If this is all you can put out, we will cancel our subscription. Walt and Agnes Hall John Day Local dispatch center maintains our independence To the Editor: One of the most attractive as- pects of living in Grant County is the fact that the majority of us cher- ish our independence. One of those aspects is our ability to respond to emergency situations through our local 911 dispatch center. There are those who say the proponents of keeping the dis- patch center here in Grant Coun- ty are fear-mongering, making statements that if the service is outsourced there will be no one to answer your call. Nothing could be further from the truth. The real issue here is: Do you as individuals want to have that emer- gency call that could mean life or death to a friend or loved one, or perhaps a stranger in an automo- bile accident on the road, answered by a remote center or a person who is knowledgeable and personally invested in the well being of this county and its citizens? If you have ever personally ob- served our local dispatchers here on the job handling a real-time emergency, you will know how deeply their hearts, minds and souls are invested in the critical service they do so well. I guess what I would say to the naysayers is this: If the ambulance is 15 minutes later because of lack of knowledge of our area and Granny doesn’t make it, oh well. She lived a good life. If little Johnny gets run over out on the farm and is bleeding profusely and emergency services from afar are trying to determine where the Hidden Valley Ranch is and the time lost costs him his life, I guess that’s just the price we’ll have to pay for giving up our independence. What is that worth to you? I am a property owner and a taxpayer. I’m voting yes on 12-69. Dan Maynard John Day Vote no on pricey 911 To the Editor: Vote no on pricey 911. The John Day ﬁ re and police dispatcher and the 911 dispatcher are the same person. It doesn’t matter which number one calls; the same person answers the phone. So instead of dialing 911 and paying for it, just put 541-575- 0030 on speed dial and call for free. What difference does it make if 911 gets moved to Condon or Connecticut? We here in the val- ley would still get our ﬁ re and po- lice emergency calls responded to quickly and efﬁ ciently. Richie Colbeth John Day Dayville beneﬁ ts from beef donation To the Editor: I read with interest Carl Samp- son’s article “Ranchers’ donations feed area students.” Dayville School also beneﬁ ted this year with a generous donation of beef by the Mr. Jim Dovenburg’s Wid- ow’s Creek Ranch and facilitated by Mr. Trevor Faulkner. It would be my hope that these gentleman also get the recog- nition for helping the Dayville students. Kathryn Hedrick Dayville Editor must provide more information To the Editor: Sean Hart, editor of the Blue Mountain Eagle, in an article Oct. 18 stated the sheriff met with “oc- cupiers and the president of a mi- litia group” in January of 2016. There were only local people at the meeting besides the three from the refuge. One can only read into the statement there is an organized militia with an elected leader here in Grant County. The editor must provide more information on this “militia” and its president. I hope this is not “fake news” we hear so much about. Ron Ballard John Day Editor’s note: Sheriff Glenn Palmer met in John Day with three people who were occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Jan. 12, 2016. Palmer met in John Day Jan. 15, 2016, with Brandon Curtiss, president of the group 3% of Idaho with the slogan “When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty,” which was provid- ing a “security buffer” around the refuge. The full article, “Groups linked to Burns refuge meet with Sheriff Palmer,” is available to view online at myeaglenews.com and was published in the Jan. 20, 2016, edition of the Eagle, which is available to view at the Eagle office. Ballot measure an effort to keep dispatch local To the Editor: We would ﬁ rst like to thank the Blue Mountain Eagle, radio station KJDY, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Fire Hall Press for pro- viding the voters of Grant County information about Measure 12-69, the 911 tax. This is a very complex issue, and we urge every voter to understand the issue thoroughly before voting. The bottom line: The ballot measure is an effort to keep our 911 dispatch local and to provide time to change the current state funding for 911. We urge you to vote yes on Measure 12-69 and then begin working on our state legislators and governor to adequately fund 911 services in Oregon. Kris and Roy Beal Mt. Vernon Small, temporary dispatch tax ‘more than worth it’ To the Editor: After attending the forum re- garding ballot measure 12-69 on Oct. 18, I am even more con- vinced that this measure must pass. Our local dispatch is a significant advantage in seeing better outcomes for medical and other emergency situations, as well as ensuring responder safe- ty. We’re already at a disadvan- tage due to our remote location and distance from advanced help. Why would we compound that with increased response times and less locally knowledgeable and invested dispatchers? When experts in their fields of emergency medical response, law enforcement, surgery, city management and dispatch said in no uncertain terms that re- gionalized dispatch will increase response times and decrease suc- cessful outcomes, I heard them loud and clear. Dr. Thomas said that minutes and seconds count, and any ad- ditional time before help arrives “adds up to bad outcomes.” From a physician’s perspective, he said this is a “no brainer” and that “whatever system gets us there as fast as we can is what we should be doing.” Furthermore, if we lose this local service, we will never get it back. We’ll be less safe and at the mercy of their costs and manage- ment quality. Future negotiations with an outsourced dispatch will likely cost us more, as we’ll have zero leverage and zero input. This small, temporary tax, which may never be implement- ed and cannot extend beyond ﬁ ve years if it is, is more than worth it. Our community needs this, just like we need strong schools, our hospi- tal and clinics, local police, etc. Either we work together to continue building a strong, safe, viable community, or we watch ourselves dry up and blow away, one strand at a time. When you live in a rural area, it’s a short drive to see plenty of examples of that very thing. Please vote yes with me, and keep our 911 dispatch local. Lindsay Rausch 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 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 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 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