A4
Blue Mountain Eagle
Local voice at
unique debate
encouraging
Opinion
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
G
Buehler will share the stage
rant County should be
with Independent candidate
proud one of its youths
Patrick Starnes. Perhaps the
has been selected as
inclusion of a third candidate
a questioner for next week’s
will inspire true debate on the
gubernatorial debate.
Grant Union senior McKeely issues that matter to voters,
rather than the typical back-
Miller will represent the
and-forth negativity that
county, rural Oregon and the
dominates most campaigns.
highest ideals of democracy
Inviting youths from across
as she joins 15 other young
the state should also make for
people to ask questions of the
a better debate. The young
three candidates for governor
questioners are from Portland,
at Roosevelt High School in
Salem and Tigard
Portland
but also Prineville,
at 7 p.m.
To watch
Pendleton and
Tuesday,
The debate from 7-8 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 2, will be broad-
John Day. It is nice
Oct. 2.
cast live by KOIN 6 and online
to see a couple
The
at KOIN.com.
voices will be
debate,
representing rural
sponsored
Oregon, as the
by Pamplin
urban perspective all too often
Media Group, Children First
overshadows important issues
for Oregon and KOIN 6, will
east of the Cascades.
be unique.
Pamplin Media Group
The young panelists, ages
Executive Director John Schrag
12-19, will ask their own
said in a statement the youths’
questions. The candidates
interests were impressive.
will not know the questions
“The candidates should
beforehand.
brace themselves,” he said.
It will be interesting to
“Their young constituents will
hear the questions the youths
not be pulling any punches.”
developed and hopefully more
The stage is set for what
so to hear how the candidates
should be a great debate. And
respond. Perhaps the format
that’s great for democracy.
will encourage more candid
Hats off to McKeely Miller
answers than the typical
for participating in our system
political posturing.
of self-government.
And all three major party
We’re sure you’ll represent
candidates plan to attend.
Grant County and rural Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown and
well.
Republican challenger Knute
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@
centurylink.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:
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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, Monu-
ment 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-
2025. Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.
net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt. Ver-
non 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax:
541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ortelco.net.
USPS 226-340
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F ARMER ’ S F ATE
The flying muskrat
By Brianna Walker
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
Designer stubble, my husband
calls it, stroking his ever-grow-
ing beard. I have always preferred
a 5 o’clock shadow and a goatee
to a smooth face — but lately my
husband’s shadow is more like
midnight on a moonless night and
the goatee has become a muskrat.
Some people measure time in days,
weeks or months, but around here
time seems to be measured in beard
length: baby muskrat, full grown
muskrat and please, someone, put
that old, decrepit muskrat out of its
misery!
Minnie Pearl once said, “Kiss-
ing a man with a beard is a lot like
going to a picnic. You don’t mind
going through a little bush to get
there.” More power to her, because
I’m afraid that picnic would be full
of ants — aren’t muskrats loaded
with lice and fleas? Maybe even
rabies?
As summer progresses, the
nights get shorter, the harvest gets
busier and the muskrat grows. One
afternoon, I was in the swather,
when I saw the landowner standing
at the end of one of my rows. He
was holding an envelope. I assumed
it was a power bill or a lease docu-
ment. I climbed down, and he hand-
ed it to me.
“I’ve been meaning to give this
to you for a while,” he said.
It was lighter than I expected,
and lumpy. I was startled to see
my name on the front, not my hus-
band’s. At the bottom it said, “From
your readers at the Blue Mountain
Eagle,” a newspaper I write for in
John Day. The landowner was grin-
ning from ear to ear as I cautiously
tore the paper. Inside was a razor.
Months before I had written a col-
umn entitled “When I Said ‘I Do,’ I
Meant ‘I Don’t.’”
When those vows were spoken,
there must have also been some
unspoken clause that said shaving
is no longer a priority. Before the
vows, shaving oc-
curred nearly ev-
ery time we saw
each other. After
the vows, however,
it became weekly
for church. Then
Brianna
for special church
Walker
functions.
Then
only for the holi-
days. And now? I’m not even sure
he knows where his razor is. The
silver lining, though (besides what’s
on his face), is that I have almost
forgotten how to clean whiskers out
of the bathroom sink!
I laughed the rest of the after-
noon. I could hardly wait to give
the green and white razor to my
husband. I handed him the enve-
lope, telling him who had given
it to me, but not what was in it.
Without missing a beat, he said, “I
can’t use this. There’s no shaving
cream!”
I don’t know what possessed
me, but I decided to look it up on-
line. “Here’s a survey that says men
spend 45 days of their lives shav-
ing,” I exclaimed to my husband.
He picked up his phone, and I won-
dered if he was even listening.
Suddenly he blurted out, “That’s
1,080 hours! Or 64,800 minutes
just shaving. Real men have better
things to do with their time!”
The muskrat escaped yet another
firing squad. Soon, I was afraid, it
would be part of the family, getting
regular brushing and taken for eve-
ning walks.
Ever notice when men are not
otherwise engaged, they are almost
always busy stroking their beards,
pulling their mustaches or smooth-
ing their goatee? My husband says
it is how ideas are born. But I’m
not sure growing a beard acquires
wisdom. My goats have fine beards
— but Plato they will never be. Un-
less running around the pasture with
their head stuck in a bucket is an
outward display of wisdom. May-
be I’m just splitting hairs, but even
Aesop once wrote: “If you had half
as much brains as you have beard,
you would have looked before you
leaped.”
Just when I think I’m final-
ly starting to win this battle, and
muskrat stew is on the menu, one
of the vendors at the local farmer’s
market (we’ll call him John) decid-
ed to join my husband in raising fa-
cial rodents!
John tried to convince me it
wasn’t laziness producing this
muskrat pelt, rather it was to give
Santa a little break for Christmas
this year. I’m just imagining the
chaos that will ensue as the girls cry
and the boys wonder how best to
display “the Pelt.”
With John helping fuel this cra-
ziness, my husband’s beard kept
growing. Unfortunately for him,
though, it didn’t grow on me. He
may have the razor, but I hold the
hair clippers. No shaving? No hair
cuts.
“Did you know my muskrat can
fly?” my husband asked at break-
fast.
I gave him a blank look. He
pulled at the hair over his ears and
smirked “Check out my wings!”
I picked up an old tattered book
dated 1902 and began to read an ex-
cerpt:
A little girl looking at pictures
of angels turned to her mamma and
asked: “Mamma, why are there no
men in heaven?”
“There are men in heaven,” re-
plied her mother.
“Then why,” asked the child, “do
we never see pictures of angels with
whiskers?”
The mother paused thoughtfully
before replying, “There are men, but
they only get in by a close shave.”
“It is time for the muskrat to die
— whether it flies or not! It’s for
your own salvation.”
Not a single tear was shed at the
muskrat’s funeral. I’m just praying
it doesn’t have nine lives!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR
Candidates’ job
interview
To the Editor:
A debate between the candidates
for a public office is like a job in-
terview. It gives county residents
an opportunity to essentially “in-
terview” the candidates. The job of
county commissioner is so import-
ant to the economy of our county,
that a “job interview” in the form
of a debate is essential. When I’ve
hired a new employee, an inter-
view is the first step. Grant Coun-
ty citizens are “hiring” someone to
manage our county. So logically, a
debate is in order, organized by an
impartial group with a non-biased
moderator, and the same questions
are asked of each candidate on is-
sues that are important to the people
of Grant County. I, for one, would
be interested in hearing both Gor-
don Larson’s and Sam Palmer’s
views on the challenges facing the
county and, more importantly, for
their ideas of solutions for the fu-
ture in job creation, the local econ-
omy and rural healthcare. The ques-
tion is — are they both willing to
rise to the challenge of a debate?
Tom Winters
Bear Valley
‘Only the highest
qualified should hold
the position’
To the Editor:
We are now facing the final elec-
tion for a Grant County commissioner.
With the political turmoil our county,
the state of Oregon and the United
States are in, it is imperative that we
make the intelligent choice for com-
missioner. I consider both Sam Palm-
er and Gordon Larson as personal
friends, but one should vote for the
person with the highest qualifications.
Why can’t these two candidates
have an intelligent public debate to re-
solve many issues before the election?
Only the highest qualified should
hold the position.
John Aasness
John Day
Measures, ordinance
problematic,
improper
To the Editor:
In response to Ms. Kerr’s letter
last week: Ordinance 2013-01 and
the U.N.-free measure are subject
to judicial review per Oregon Re-
vised Statute (ORS) 203.060. Arti-
cle I, Section 10, Article II, Section
2, Article IV, Section 3, and Article
VI, clause 2, of the U.S. Constitution
taken together preempt them, and
consequently render each legally in-
valid per ORS 203.035.
County counsel holds a similar
view (or did). As evidence, I encour-
age folks to read county counsel’s
opinions, which I shared with the
editor for online posting. I marked
some pertinent sections but encour-
age folks to review the opinions in
full. After doing so, you might won-
der why the county court directed
county counsel to defend measures
and an ordinance he considers prob-
lematic and improper.
Ms. Kerr believes the U.N. will
take over Grant County and confiscate
our guns and lands if the U.N.-free
measure disappears. I disagree. This
hasn’t happened anywhere else in
the U.S., is not the U.N.’s mission
and isn’t allowed by the U.S. Con-
stitution.
Ms. Kerr also believes the public
will lose access to public lands if Or-
dinance 2013-01 disappears. I disagree,
for two reasons. One is that the Malheur
National Forest has closed many miles
of road since the ordinance was adopt-
ed and nothing happened. That is, the
county court and sheriff didn’t enforce
the ordinance. So, there’s no reason to
keep it on the books.
Another is that federal law requires
the Malheur National Forest to main-
tain an “adequate road system” that
meets its multiple use mandate to sup-
port a variety of management actions
(including timber harvest), along with
public access to public lands for a vari-
ety of reasons now and into the future.
That is, Ordinance 2013-01 is useless
because federal law regulates what the
Malheur can do and limits the roads it
can close so that public access to fed-
erally managed lands is ensured now
and into the future.
So, who would benefit from the
disappearance of the 2002 measures
and 2013 ordinance? Everyone in
Grant County, Ms. Kerr, except those
scaremongering individuals who
spend their days peddling misinforma-
tion among county residents.
Mark Webb
Mt. Vernon
Editor’s note: Correspondence
between Grant County counsel Ron
Yockim and the Grant County Court
regarding these issues is included
with the online version of this arti-
cle at myeaglenews.com.