A4
Opinion
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Oregon’s leaders
need long-term
strategies
I
n the words of State
Economist Mark McMullen,
Oregon’s economy “is still
pretty hunky-dory.”
The current period of
economic growth is on its
way to becoming the longest
on record, with little chance
of a recession within the next
year. As a result, the state is
collecting far more in taxes
than previously projected.
But if any legislators and
other state officials are making
plans for spending that extra
dough, forget about it. Here are
three reasons:
First, the most obvious is
Oregon’s unique kicker law.
It could result in more than
$550 million being returned to
taxpayers as rebates on their
2019 personal income taxes.
The kicker remains popular
with taxpayers, although
a strong argument can be
made that voters eventually
should funnel that money into
government rainy-day reserves
instead. Historically, some
Oregon recessions came on the
heels of big kicker payouts.
Second, we know good
economic times cannot
last forever, which is why
economist McMullen referred
to Oregon being in a “pre-
crisis” mode.
It appears the state will enter
the 2019-21 budget period
with $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion
in reserves, which might be
unprecedented. “However,”
says the Oregon Economic and
Revenue Forecast issued this
week, “such reserves would
barely be sufficient to withstand
a typical recession’s impact
on state revenues, let alone
account for the increase in
public services and programs
during downturns.”
Third, our state government
still has no overall strategy
of economic, educational,
environmental, social and
related goals; or, how
financial decisions — taxing
and spending — can most
effectively achieve those
priorities. Instead, the state
budgets incrementally —
department by department,
program by program, crisis
by crisis. What is urgent
overwhelms what is most
important.
Meanwhile, the global pace
of change intensifies each
day. Oregon lags in affordable
housing; an adequate, timely
transportation network;
worker retraining in the face
of inevitable automation; and
other areas. Each of those will
have an economic impact, pro
or con.
It’s long past time for the
Legislature, state leadership
and the public to set long-term
strategies to ensure prosperity
for the state and its residents.
F ARMER ’ S F ATE
Raining on the Wicked Witch
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
“Eighty-two degrees with a 12
percent chance of rain and 4 mph
wind” read the weather forecast.
“Better count on a cold, rainy,
windy weekend,” I told my husband.
He double checked the statistics.
“It looks like it’ll be nice.”
“Well I say it’s going to rain —
might even have a thunderstorm.”
“Look.” He held out his phone
so I could see the forecast myself.
He was right. It looked like love-
ly weather. But we had cut hay this
week, and we had a camping trip
coming up. A camping trip that
would include tents.
“ — and we all know that rain
clouds will go hundreds of miles out
of their way to drizzle on tent can-
vas.”
My husband rolled his eyes. After
all, he was looking right at a lovely
weekend weather forecast.
“I know what it says, but we
could make a sign that reads, ‘Hay
cut — check. Hay raked — check.
Hay dried — check. Baler ready —
check. It’s raining.’”
I know that the weather is based
upon satellites, weather patterns,
barometric pressure and lots of
computer models and statistics, but
sometimes I think the rheumatism in
Granny’s bones was almost as accu-
rate.
If I was to create a weather pre-
diction technology, it would take
the information
gleaned from the
computer, add in
some arthritis and
maybe a little rheu-
matism along with
the following daily
Brianna
questionnaire:
Walker
1. Will you or
your neighbor be
washing your car or patio today?
2. Will you or your neighbor
be cutting hay any time in the next
week?
3. Is there a Scout group going
camping in the next week?
For each yes answer, calculate an
additional 33 percent chance of rain.
For each maybe answer, add 15 per-
cent. If you answer yes to all three,
then you best test your lightning rods
and make sure your hail cannons are
working.
We checked the weather periodi-
cally as the days got closer. Each time
the numbers were a bit lower, but it
still wasn’t forecasting rain. I was
hopeful — but not optimistic. Less
than a week before the camping trip,
with many acres of hay on the ground,
Granny’s rheumatism seemed to be
acting up. The animals were agitated,
and the morning air felt heavy.
The smell of rain drifted off and
on throughout the day. By evening,
the sky looked a bit dark, and I wasn’t
surprised to see big rain drops mak-
ing patterns on the dirty windshield.
Then came the thunder and lightning
and loss of electricity.
The dog paced back and forth,
the hot tub lid went crashing across
the yard, the neighbor’s sheep shel-
ter went visiting the adjoining pas-
ture, some of the pretty rows of hay
also went visiting and what didn’t
got a good bath. It wasn’t a twister
by any form of the imagination, but
as branches scraped the windows,
I couldn’t help but think of Kansas’
own Dorothy and our upcoming
camping trip.
For the first time ever, I felt a touch
of sympathy for the Wicked Witch of
the West. She probably never experi-
enced the joy of camping: campfires,
guitars, hikes, roasted hot dogs and
s’mores. Which meant she also nev-
er experienced hiking blisters, ticks,
aching bones from sleeping on un-
level, rocky ground — and, of course,
the rain. Rain which causes wet tents,
wet sleeping bags, wet dogs and wet
socks.
One last glance at the weather
forecast showed the highs plunging
lower and the precipitation percent-
ages increasing. I looked down at my
fingers holding the phone. Did I see
just the slightest tint of green? I think
I’m coming down with witchitis. It’s
probably just a matter of time before
it covers my whole body!
Perhaps I’ll skip the rainy camp-
ing trip. I’m feeling the need for a pair
of powerful red shoes — something
worth melting for!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
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.
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).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
P UBLISHED EVERY
W EDNESDAY BY
(For updates on bills, services, capitol or
messages for legislators) — 800-332-2313.
• Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900
Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301. Phone:
503-986-1730. Website: www.oregonlegis-
lature.gov/Bentz. Email: Sen.CliffBentz@
oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: www.oregonlegislature.
gov/findley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
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 Office 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 Office Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email:
senator@merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-
228-3997. Oregon offices 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 office: 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.
Proud of Grant
County Democrats
and McLeod-Skinner
To the Editor:
In April I had the pleasure of
meeting with Grant County Dem-
ocrats, a dedicated and growing
group of Oregonians working to-
wards positive change in Novem-
ber’s elections by building grass-
roots programs and raising both
money and awareness throughout
rural Oregon.
Despite being outnumbered,
Grant County Democrats are en-
gaged because they believe in Ore-
gon values, where we work together
to care for our families and commu-
nities. They want government to
support economic and educational
opportunities for everyone. Some-
times they take issue with urban
Democrats, but we share the com-
mon belief that people, not corpora-
tions, are our most important asset.
These rural Democrats have
worked to get access to, and an-
swers from, Congressman Greg
Walden, but he for too long has
ignored the needs of his constitu-
ents. He now sides with corporate
interests and the Trump White
House — supporting irresponsible
tax cuts that now threaten funding
for programs like Social Security,
pushing trade policies that risk the
economic future of our agricultural
communities and leading the effort
to “repeal and replace” the very
law that has helped to build our
rural care system. His policies are
hurting us all.
Eastern Oregon Democrats have
now found a superb candidate to
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
P UBLISHER ............ ..................... C HRIS R USH , CRUSH @ EOMEDIAGROUP . COM
E DITOR & G ENERAL M ANAGER ... 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
take him on in Jamie McLeod-Skin-
ner. For the past year, Jamie has
traveled tirelessly throughout the
district, building a volunteer and
supporter network that shows what
can be done without expensive me-
dia buys. She wears her family’s
Eastern Oregon roots proudly and
speaks to those values on the cam-
paign trail. It’s a measure of the re-
spect she has earned that the other
primary candidates are now rallied
behind her campaign. Your local
Democrats are teaching the wider
Democratic Party in Oregon lessons
in how to stand up for Oregon val-
ues and be true to the values of rural
communities. I am proud of county
parties like in Grant and candidates
like Jamie. Expect to see more of us
in this pivotal election year.
Jeanne Atkins
Chair, Democratic Party of
Oregon
Arming teachers
To the Editor:
The topic of arming of our teach-
ers have varying opinions. Howev-
er, one is seen as the first line of
defense for our children.
Is arming teachers the only solu-
tion? No, but it is one part of a more
thorough solution.
Many feel that, if a student
shows signs of abnormal behavior,
he can be treated psychologically.
However, that is another part of a
more thorough solution.
Another part of the solution
would be to set up an avenue of
communication for students to
advise designated staff of any dis-
plays of violent speech or behavior
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as well as any comments regarding
harming themselves or others.
Access control and physical se-
curity are the most important things
in keeping an outside attacker from
gaining access onto school grounds.
During school hours and events,
there should only be one way in,
one way out and restricted.
Inside school grounds, a re-
source officer is only as good as his
or her training and their location
during an incident, and they would
be the only line of defense.
If we arm teachers, there would
have to be extensive initial training
as well as regular training. One con-
cern is funding. Hopefully schools
could get grants to cover some or all
the costs.
Weapons training is the most im-
portant part. They would have to be
proficient in the handling, care and
firing of the weapon they carry. The
weapon does not have to be visi-
ble or locked in a safe; it could be
strapped to their ankle.
The second most important part
of arming teachers is tactics and
crowd control. How they approach
a shooter alone or with multiple
other teachers, i.e. cover and cross-
fire, could be a great success or fa-
tal. Also, when to fire if there are
students around.
These are just a few things that
must be taught and should receive
continual training. Adrenaline will
be a factor. However, on-duty po-
lice officers experience adrenaline
in these situations as well.
Keep something in mind; we
cannot put a price on the lives of
our children.
Charles Bennett Jr.
La Quinta, California
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