A4
T
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Hear
women
roar
he latter half of 2017 will
be remembered as the
time that women all over
the globe drew a line in the
sand.
No longer will sexual
harassment be endured silently.
No longer will abusers operate
with impunity. No longer will
men dominate discussion and
decision making in board
rooms, capitol buildings and
households across the country.
And no longer will the people
who hear these stories demean
the accusers and pick through
their lives like vultures in
search of rotten meat.
Everyone in this country
remains innocent until proven
guilty. But the onus is now on
those who have been accused
of heinous acts — accused by
people with nothing to gain but
to bring some sense of justice.
It’s an admirable, dangerous
time.
Beware the court of
public opinion. And beware
a moral flattening — where
years of predatory behavior
require the same punishment
as a poor choice of words
or a momentary lapse. Or a
thoroughly reported article is
given the same weight as a
Twitter accusation.
The sword is coming for
people we admire for their art,
or athletic prowess, or their
control of a corporate board
room, or for their political
views that mesh so well with
our own.
Beware then, too, the
desire to make sexual assault
and harassment just another
partisan division. Find no
additional joy from the demise
of an enemy, and do not give
those whom you admire unfair
protection from claims of
abuse. That’s how this issue
became so prevalent and so
powerful in the first place.
Politics certainly did play
a part in the arrival of this
moment. Donald Trump’s
electoral victory, despite
his deeply problematic
relationships with women
and his televised brags of
sexual assault, helped usher
in this age. Charlotte Alter of
Time Magazine wrote during
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
the campaign that “the 2016
election was a referendum on
what women could achieve
and what men could get away
with.”
A majority of Americans
will no longer stand by the
results of that referendum
and want immediate action
to remedy the situation. The
2.6 million-strong Women’s
March the day after Trump’s
inauguration put the pressure
on.
That movement wasn’t just
about sexual harassment and
assault. It’s ultimately about
a fair society in which all
viewpoints are considered, and
women are not held back when
they choose not to play games
with powerful men.
And that has made us look
at our own back yard.
There is a noticeable
dearth of female voices in
Eastern Oregon. Although
Grant County was once led by
County Judge Lorene Allen
— a true Renaissance woman
who was also the county’s civil
defense coordinator, an author,
a pilot, a ham radio operator
and a multi-talented musician
— the county’s current
commissioners are all men.
While women serve on most
city councils and boards, they
are generally outnumbered.
No woman has ever
represented Eastern Oregon
in the statehouse. Oregon has
only elected one female U.S.
senator in its history. And
five of Oregon’s six current
representatives in the U.S.
House are men.
These are deeply distressing
statistics.
There are women in
positions of leadership in
education and business in
Eastern Oregon, but to have
so many levers of power in
the hands of men is dangerous
and limiting. If we only
include half of our population
in important decisions, those
decisions are bound to be half
as good.
Eastern Oregon can do
better. Women across the
region should follow Allen’s
lead, demand their rightful
power and take it.
G UEST C OMMENT
Capital credit payouts
By Sandra Ghormley
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
I am often asked why capital
credits are not paid to Oregon Trail
Electric Cooperative members as
they are earned. Most of these in-
quiries follow directly after OTEC
has mailed allocation notices in-
forming members of their new cap-
ital credit balance.
Capital credits are excess rev-
enues — also called margins —
earned during a business year. Be-
cause OTEC is a nonprofit electric
cooperative, margins belong to its
members who bought electricity
during that specific year, and are al-
located and stored in the member’s
capital credit account.
When OTEC’s financial con-
dition allows — and upon board
approval — capital credits are re-
turned to members on an annual
basis. Capital credits are routinely
distributed in December each year.
This year, $2.95 million will be re-
turned to members. This is the larg-
est amount to be retired in OTEC’s
history.
You may receive a capital cred-
it check if the amount is more than
$15. If the amount is less than $15,
it is applied as a credit on your en-
ergy account. Each time the board
approves a retirement, your capital
credit account balance is reduced by
the amount paid.
You may wonder why your
capital credits are not paid in their
entirety every year, as opposed to
a little each year. This is because
margins are accumulated and rein-
vested in capital improvement proj-
ects for up to 30 years, which keeps
the OTEC system in good working
order so electric service is available
when you need it.
Power lines, poles and a myriad
of other electrical equipment and
devices are essential to sustain re-
liable, affordable service and are a
few examples of items OTEC buys
for capital improvement projects.
Most electric cooperatives acquire
capital this way. What is import-
ant to know is that OTEC reinvests
margins to minimize borrowing,
which ultimately helps keep rates
competitive.
One special condition allows a
capital credit balance to be “cashed
out” or returned before the 30-year
maturity date. When notified of a
member’s death, OTEC’s bylaws
allow the surviving spouse or exec-
utor of the estate to apply for early
retirement of all balances. Please
note, joint memberships are not
eligible for early retirement unless
both members are deceased.
There are three options for the
spouse, executor or heirs to consid-
er:
• Wait for the capital credits to
be processed through the normal re-
tirement schedule, which may take
up to 30 years.
• Apply for early retirement
of the deceased member’s capital
credit account.
• Donate the capital credit bal-
ance to the OTEC scholarship fund.
Each year, OTEC awards more than
twenty $5,000 scholarships to local
students who want to advance their
education or training beyond high
school.
Please contact our office for
more information on early retire-
ment of a deceased member’s cap-
ital credits. You may also find more
information, including examples, at
otecc.com/members/capital-credits.
During the past 25 years, OTEC
has returned more than $33 million
in capital credits to its members
— a sign your electric cooperative
is financially healthy, stable and
working for your best interest. Cap-
ital credits are just one of the many
benefits of being a member-owner
of Oregon Trail Electric Coopera-
tive.
Thanks for asking, and keep
those questions coming!
Sandra Ghormley is the director
of member and program services
for Oregon Trail Electric Coopera-
tive. She can be contacted at 541-
524-2822.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Voter rights and
representation
To the Editor:
The Blue Mountain Eagle re-
ported that the John Day City Coun-
cil voted “to organize an interagen-
cy task force to dissolve the current
dispatch center and to negotiate a
transition plan for a new 911 juris-
dictional plan to become operation-
al by 2020.”
Upon reading that excerpt, I
feel it is necessary to share words
that reflect the opinion of many
Grant County residents who do not
fall within the assumed “affluent
self-appointed enlightened resi-
dents” that are represented by the
John Day City Council:
“My first response when read-
ing this Blue Mountain Eagle arti-
cle was ‘What?!’ Still no answers
to questions, but regurgitating the
same non-responses/excuses to
questions raised. It seems that the
John Day City Council chooses to
keep the bit in their teeth and con-
tinue with the runaway process
— determined that they and they
only will be the deciders of what
direction the 911 service and the
broadband internet service will go.
A better option would be to have a
countywide, 911 User Board to re-
search the options.”
“Well you know those ‘internet
trolls’ want facts, not fear mon-
gering, they want real, sustainable
solutions not taxes. They want ac-
countability not passing the burden
and blame. They want truth not mis-
information. That’s all the city and
911 local page did was try and use
fear and people’s emotion and mis-
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
information to try and pass this.”
“The same cohorts are now de-
veloping the same narrative regard-
ing broadband service, expecting to
once again label fiscal conservatives
who are urging a cautious, deliber-
ate and collaborative approach to
expanding local broadband service,
as ignorant mountain folks (internet
trolls) who don’t know what’s best
for themselves. Yet, once again, no-
body is suggesting that we shouldn’t
have high-speed internet, but rather
are raising issues with yet another
city-designed initiative with poten-
tially substantial risks and costs to
the greater county.”
The residents of Grant County
apparently have no say in extrav-
agant county spending. The “we
are the governing body, we call the
shots” county duo will decide that.
What happened to voter rights and
representation of all county resi-
dents?
Judy Kerr
Canyon City
Wolves harm big
game populations
To the Editor:
In America, one is presumed
innocent until proven guilty unless
a wolf is involved. For nearly 300
years a bounty on wolves existed
throughout the country. Once the
wolf was extirpated, livestock dep-
redations ended and big game flour-
ished.
Since the Canadian wolf was
introduced and rapidly spread in
some Western states, livestock have
been killed and elk and moose pop-
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ulations have been decimated.
According to armchair experts,
wolves will not harm humans.
However, animals the size of moose
and buffalo are prey to wolves and
sometimes to only a single deter-
mined wolf.
Those who believe in yelling and
pepper spray, by all means use it if a
wolf comes charging in. If a firearm
is used in defense and you weren’t
there, then your opinion does not
count for much. The person that felt
they were in danger and the intent
of the wolf is all that matters.
When in danger, when in doubt,
run in circles, scream and shout.
Unless you have a gun and use it
effectively.
Dave Traylor
John Day
Going the extra mile
To the Editor:
Thanksgiving morning, I found
out I had no internet service. I called
the after-hours number, which is lo-
cated in Utah. A very helpful lady
tried to help doing the computer
things. After maybe 30 minutes,
she told me that the problem would
have to be corrected at the local
level. Oh, great, no internet until
Monday, if then. Thursday evening,
during a big rainstorm, the Ortelco
repairman shows up and does his
thing outside, and my internet was
back and running. I was more than
impressed with Oregon Telephone
sending a repairman out on Thanks-
giving in a storm.
Eddie Smith
Prairie City
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