A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
The state
of our state
H
ow is Oregon doing as
a state?
Gov. Kate Brown
answered that question only
in the broadest sense during
her State of the State speech
this week: “Oregon’s rising
economic tide should be
lifting all boats. Yet many
hardworking families are still
under water.”
Her answer is a plan
she dubbed “Future Ready
Oregon,” including:
• Focus the state’s economic
development efforts on people
of color and rural Oregonians.
• Address Oregon’s housing
shortage for working families.
• Make it easier for
construction workers to start
their own business, especially
if they will build low-income
housing in rural areas.
• Invest more in career-
technical education and hands-
on learning.
• Expand apprenticeships
in good-paying jobs that
need workers — information
technology, health care,
advanced wood manufacturing
and high-tech manufacturing.
• Make it easier for
individuals to enter the health
care field, enabling them to
train for various health-care
sectors at once.
These goals are worthwhile,
and align with Eastern
Oregon’s interests and
needs. Anyone making these
statements at the opening of a
legislative session should be
applauded.
Rural Oregonians and people
of color were left behind
amid the economic boom
experienced in Portland and
other metro areas. Meanwhile,
much of Oregon suffers from
a shortage of housing for low-
and middle-income residents.
And certainly, Oregon’s
education and training systems
should better align with
projected job opportunities.
As Brown said, “The goal is
to close the gap between the
workforce that we have and the
workforce that we need to fuel
Oregon’s economy.”
She went on to say, “Over
the course of the next year,
through a series of executive
actions, policy positions and
legislation, Future Ready
Oregon will build these
pathways for adults to get the
right skills for the right jobs of
Oregon’s future.”
Brown spoke in broad terms
that left many people in the
Oregon Capitol, including
some of her fellow Democrats,
wondering what she had in
mind. And despite Brown’s
calling her plan “a new way of
thinking about the economy,”
previous governors, education
officials and business leaders
have said similar things.
That’s where Brown must
distinguish herself, and show
rather than tell. It’s an election
year and she would like to
keep her job come November.
Serving the greater good of
all Oregonians won’t be of
much interest to her urban
Democratic base, but will
define her credibility with the
rest of us.
This was not a bold speech.
But it was a pragmatic speech.
Oregon — both rural and urban
— will benefit if Brown can
make these ideas stick.
G UEST C OMMENT
Businesses support fossil beds
By Grant County Chamber
of Commerce
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
As the voice of local businesses
throughout Grant County, the Grant
County Chamber of Commerce is
writing in support of the John Day
Fossil Beds National Park, and
urges our federal elected leaders to
support a dedicated funding stream
to address the estimated $11.3 bil-
lion in deferred maintenance needs
that currently exists in the National
Park Service.
The Fossil Beds are more than
a stunning backdrop, an amazing
place for recreation and a world
class record of our plant and animal
past. John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument is an economic power-
house for our region, as businesses
throughout the county can attest. It
is a major tourism draw, and those
visitors to our region spend mon-
ey in John Day stores, hotels and
restaurants.
How much do they spend? This
past May, the Blue Mountain Eagle
published a story titled “Fossil Beds
generate $10M in economic ben-
efits in 2016.” The article showed
that over 210,000 Fossil Beds vis-
itors spent $9,995,400 in communi-
ties near the park and that spending
supported 153 jobs in the local area.
2017 numbers are likely to be even
greater, given the influx of visi-
tors that flocked to the Fossil Beds
during the eclipse.
Local businesses know that vis-
itors who come to our part of Or-
egon are likely to come back. The
trick is getting them here, and the
Fossil Beds is one of the best draws
we have. It makes sense to ensure
that its critical infrastructure, such
as trails, roads, buildings and water/
sewer/electrical systems, can keep
up with the demands of increased
visitation. As the Eagle’s recent ar-
ticle pointed out, there is a critical
backlog of infrastructure repairs in
the National Park System: $11.3
billion nationwide, $105.5 million
in Oregon and $1.5 million for the
John Day Fossil Beds National
Monument. It is the responsibility
of our leaders in Congress to make
sure that these parks have the re-
sources necessary to keep the lights
on and keep the visitors safe.
The bipartisan legislation intro-
duced in Congress to give parks the
funds they need to tackle repairs
is called the National Park Service
Legacy Act. It does not raise any
new taxes, does not divert funds
used by local or state governments
and expressly prohibits funds from
being used for new land acquisition.
This is about supporting John
Day businesses that benefit from
Fossil Beds tourism. This is about
supporting jobs in our cities and
our counties. The 153 jobs support-
ed by the John Day Fossil Beds is
not insignificant. That number can
grow if we address this problem, as
contractors and tradespeople would
be needed to make infrastructure
improvements.
Any business owner knows that
preventative maintenance is easier
on the budget than letting an asset
decay to the point of replacement.
We support giving the National
Park Service the funds it needs to
maintain critical infrastructure for
the John Day Fossil Beds. Let’s
keep the visitors coming and com-
ing back to John Day and Grant
County.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
‘The sorry condition
of the roadside’
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@cityoflong-
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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
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
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.
To the Editor:
I drive between Mt. Vernon and
John Day daily and have watched
the accumulation of litter and trash
along the road that John Day Taxi
has responsibility for under the
Adopt-A-Highway program. The
last several years, the same area
was kept clean on a regular basis.
The area is what visitors first see
entering John Day from the west.
The littered condition in the ditches
is a shame and an eyesore. I will be
contacting the Oregon Department
of Transportation about the sorry
condition of the roadside.
Ron Ballard
John Day
In compliance with
Adopt-A-Highway
To the Editor:
In response to complaints about
the John Day Taxi’s participation
in the Adopt-A-Highway program,
I adopted mile 160-161, roughly
from the golf course to Mill’s Lum-
ber Supply on Highway 26, about
a year ago. My crew and I have
picked it up four times since then.
The issue I have here is that the lit-
ter patrol refuses to pick up my ad-
opted mile, which creates commu-
nity discord due to litterbugs who
do not love our beautiful communi-
ty as much as we do.
My contract with ODOT re-
quires me to pick up litter four
times a year. Despite what the
misinformed complainant in the
letter to the editor wrote, I am not
responsible for keeping the road-
side clean of litter and trash. I don’t
know the frequency that the lit-
ter patrol cleans it up, and I’m not
aware of a rule that says they are
not required to maintain adopted
miles.
So we’ve got a challenge here:
In order to keep our community
looking good for tourists, busi-
ness folks thinking about locating
here and our neighbors, we need to
keep our streets clean and looking
good. I understand this. That’s why
I adopted the mile. I don’t need the
advertising. My little section of the
road really requires daily attention
due to litterbugs and wind. I can’t
do it, and apparently, the litter pa-
trol won’t.
Richie Colbeth
John Day
Standing up to
bullies, abusers
To the Editor:
I believe that most of us
Americans have been victims
of bullying and/or some form
of abuse at some time in our
lives.
As a former counselor and
therapist, I worked with and tried
to help many victims of “everyday
bullying” as well as various forms
of abuse.
Their biggest problem and
issue was that they did not
stand up to their bully and/or
abuser.
The best question that I have
ever heard a counselor/therapist
ask a client/patient relative to this
was, “What parts of yourself don’t
you love and like that allows you
to let this bully/abuser to continue
to mistreat you and abuse you like
this?”
This
question
prompted
many people to finally make
some serious changes in their
lives and to finally walk away
from and leave their bully/
abuser.
Stewart B. Epstein
Rochester, New York
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 offices.
POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Copyright © 2018 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