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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2018)
A4 Opinion Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, December 5, 2018 Make a plan to do a good deed G ood deeds don’t happen by accident. Some are jump- started by coincidence — a need presents itself and a well-meaning person responds. But most are the result of careful thought and planning, of addressing a need not as a single incident but as a confluence of circumstances that will rear their heads again and again. The needs become a calling, and people rally together to address them. We see the work of nonprofits year round. It takes on many forms, from feeding hungry people to sheltering neglected animals, from offering grief counseling for hurting families to fighting illness and disease, from helping a local child learn to read or play a sport to sending gifts across an ocean for a child in poverty. And the work is hard because the need is great. This is the giving season, for both philanthropic and practical reasons. Because of the blessings in our own lives, we’re reminded of misfortune in the lives of others and often moved to make a gift. And many are looking at their year- end accounting and looking to do some charitable giving. Whatever the motivation, the money enables these organizations to pay their staffs and rent and buy the goods and services to accomplish their goals. But the money isn’t enough. Writing a check helps an organization balance its own bottom line, but what most of these groups will tell you is they need dedicated volunteers. There is much more to do. We thank all of our readers who use their time to make their communities better places to live, and encourage any who have not found a place to donate and serve to consider it this holiday season. 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. S HOOTING THE B REEZE Armchair hunting By Rod Carpenter For the Blue Mountain Eagle If you are like me, this is the time of year that you sink into a dark funk. Pretty much all the hunt- ing seasons are over except for the odd cow elk and bird hunting. Weather is crummy and days are short. Now is the perfect time to go on an African safari or Rod head to India for a tiger hunt, not liter- Carpenter ally of course. Most of us will never be able to afford Af- rica — and I don’t care how much money you have, you are never go- ing to get to hunt a tiger — but the pages of a good book can take you anywhere. If you haven’t already discovered the hunting section at the Grant County Library, you need to check it out. They have “how to hunt” books for deer, elk, Cape buffalo, sheep, birds and other furry and feathered game. You literary giants can hunt the green hills of Africa with old Er- nie Hemingway. Although, person- ally, I can’t stand the guy — chronic case of Little Man’s Syndrome in my opinion. Fred Webb was a world-re- nowned outfitter of the Arctic. Join him on some really hairy adven- tures, including having to be chop- pered off a quickly disappearing iceberg. The library also has several of Jim Corbett’s books. He lived Contributed photo The hunting section at the Grant County Library features a variety of topics. in India and had the job of hunting down many a man-eating tiger and leopard. Some of his hunts lasted for months in order to bring down the killers. Dream of Africa? You should re- ally check out J.A. Hunter and Bun- ny Allen. Hunter was an ivory hunt- er early in the 20th century. Bunny was a professional hunter, guiding hunters all over the continent. If you want to be completely stunned, you need to read “Born to Hunt” by Gary Ingersoll. That dude has hunt- ed just about everything this world has to offer. You should at least flip to the pictures of his trophy room. That alone is worth the trip to the library. After you have exhausted the supply, talk to the nice librarians there, and they can help you get more from the interlibrary loan. If paper books are not your entertain- ment medium, have no fear. Many of the great outdoor writers now have books you can download and listen to. Amazon or Safaripress. com are good places to start look- ing. Still not your thing? If you have Amazon Prime, they have many great hunting videos, includ- ing Eastmans, who I think make the best Western hunting videos out there. And, last of all, don’t forget Youtube. Years of hunting, shoot- ing and archery entertainment are at your fingertips. Whichever avenue you choose, you can still experience the thrill of the hunt while we all count the days until we can head back out hunting ourselves. We welcome your thoughts and ideas at shootingthebreezebme@ gmail.com. Rod Carpenter is a husband, fa- ther and hunting fool. L ETTERS TO THE E DITOR Calf thinks he’s a dog To the Editor: A rancher bought a white steer calf at the Vale auction Nov. 28. I was told this calf acted differently in the auction ring, and people were questioning why. Norman was a leppy calf — his mother died short- ly after giving birth as he was too big for her. None of the other cows would have anything to do with him and vice versa, in spite of numerous attempts and applications of “Or- phan No More.” Norman was raised with our dogs and fed by bottle. He still doesn’t fully realize he is a cow — he thinks he is a dog. He comes when his name is called, loves neck rubs and hugs and likes to wrestle and play with our dogs. He is curi- ous and gets into everything. When it was time to be branded, tagged and banded, the cowboys did not want to do him as he was peaceful- ly hanging with the kids that were there. He did not bawl or try to run away during the process, and when it was all done, he just wanted his hugs and loves. Ranching is a busi- ness, and he was taken to auction — in hindsight, we should have bought him ourselves. Hope this in- sight helps you, but if you find you want to sell him, please contact us. We will gladly take him back. Nikki Morgan Hines ‘Signs are not illegal’ To the Editor: The “sign” has caused a furor with a citizen that wrote in, so I will ex- plain how it came to be. When the terrible Benghazi de- bacle occurred, the nation lost some fine men, with one having ties to Grant County: Tyrone Woods. Ty and teammates heroically set out to rescue Ambassador Chris Stevens but were killed in the effort. Later, when questioned about the lack of security and support, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded about their deaths with the callous statement, “What difference does it make?” That prompted the sign and the heading, “Remember Benghazi.” That will not bring back those gallant men, but at least they are not forgot- ten. Prison was a take-off from the president I saw on a bumper sticker. The sign went up to immediate honks and waves from those passing by. Over the past three summers, several hundred people from all over the U.S. have stopped by to take pictures of the sign, stand by it for photos, shake hands and almost invariably say, “I love that sign.” Some have even gone further and said, “I would love to see her in jail.” No one said they hated Hillary or wished her harm, just justice and jail. However, from con- versations that ensued, it was evident Hillary was not on anyone’s Christ- mas list. So I’m perplexed that someone would refer to an identified “love” sign as being hateful. But, of course, to each their own. One doesn’t have to look at the sign as they pass by. I too am con- cerned that some “crazy” might do something “stupid.” In spite of the corrupt and treasonous acts Hillary has committed, there are some that still support her and would vote for Clinton if she were to run for dog- catcher. Signs are not illegal. The First Amendment still “Trumps”! Dave Traylor John Day 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 ............ ..................... 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 A DMINISTRATIVE A SSISTANT ........ M AKENNA A DAIR , OFFICE @ BMEAGLE . COM O FFICE A SSISTANT .................... A LIXANDRA H AND , 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
