A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
County wise to
revisit pot tax
A
fter possible pro-
cedural errors in
its adoption were
pointed out, Grant Coun-
ty offi cials made the wise
decision to look further into
the marijuana tax ordinance
passed recently.
Although the county may
miss out on a small portion
of the tax while the issues
are resolved, ensuring the
ordinance is passed prop-
erly will ensure the county is
not on the hook to return tax
money collected improperly
— money that likely would
have already been budgeted
and spent.
The problem with the ordi-
nance was not that it imposed
a tax on marijuana. State law
allows cities and counties to
levy up to a 3 percent tax on
pot products, which is what
the county attempted to do.
The problem was that the
ordinance did not refer the
tax measure to voters for
approval, as required by law.
As the Eagle covered the
proceedings, the lack of a
publicized referral to voters
stood out, so we looked into
it further.
We contacted county offi -
cials to get their thoughts,
determined the ordinance
was modeled after one
in Columbia County and
obtained copies of both ordi-
nances. As we read through
them, it was easy to see that
the section that referred the
measure to voters in Colum-
bia County had been replaced
in the Grant County version
with a clause stating the ordi-
nance was being passed as
an emergency to be effective
immediately.
It seemed like we were on
the right track, so we contin-
ued to dig.
We contacted the state
Department of Revenue,
which all but confi rmed what
we believed: Local juris-
dictions can only tax mar-
ijuana with approval from
the voters. The only caveat
was that the DOR communi-
cations operations manager
said she was not sure how
the law applied to emergency
ordinances.
We felt fairly confi dent
voter referral was required
at that point, but we decided
to see what we could fi nd
through a little legal research.
It didn’t take long before
we found two more state
laws that appear to prohibit
this type of ordinance: One
requires all tax-related county
ordinances to be referred to
voters, and the other pre-
vents tax-related ordinances
from being passed in a single
meeting as an emergency.
With that information, it
certainly appeared that this
ordinance did not pass legal
muster.
We reached out again to
county offi cials, letting them
know we believed the ordi-
nance was passed improperly,
and provided them all of our
research. Grant County Dis-
trict Attorney Jim Carpen-
ter, who is transitioning to
also serve as county counsel,
replied within a couple hours,
stating the county would be
looking into it to determine
if it was passed properly and
what the options would be
moving forward.
Ultimately, we believe the
county should pass an ordi-
nance to enact the 3 percent
tax upon voter approval. And
when it does come before
voters, we encourage every-
one to approve the tax to pro-
vide another small stream of
discretionary income to the
county coffers.
But the county must
ensure that it follows the cor-
rect procedures to prevent
this tax windfall from becom-
ing a liability to taxpayers.
Shooting the Breeze: Road trippin’
By Rod Carpenter
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
This time of year fi nds most
of us snug on the couch watching
football or out on snowmobiles
enjoying the snow.
But if you dream of
taking an out-of-state
trip to hunt some
day, you need to start
planning now. Hunt-
ing in other states
does take some plan-
Rod
ning, but it really isn’t
Carpenter
very diffi cult. Many
people think out-of-
state hunts are only
for that once-in-a-lifetime tro-
phy, but that doesn’t have to be
the case. Quality hunts for mature
animals aren’t diffi cult to fi nd and
participate in every couple of years
if you play your cards right. They
can also be a great way to extend
your season.
For example, Idaho has over-
the-counter deer and elk hunts
available. Out-of-state kids can
hunt there almost as cheaply as
hunting here. You could go there
every year. If you faithfully buy
preference points in Wyoming,
you could hunt deer, elk or ante-
lope there every four or fi ve years.
Montana is on the spendy side but
offers good hunting opportunities.
It takes some time to build up the
points to hunt deer in Colorado,
but not long to have enough points
to hunt elk. Also, buying points in
Colorado is pretty cheap.
If you do dream of that mon-
ster bull or buck and keep telling
yourself, “Someday,” you need
to start working toward it now.
Many of the trophy units in Utah,
Contributed photo
Out-of-state hunting can extend the season, but planning ahead is
important to acquire preference points.
Wyoming or Colorado take 15 or
more points to draw. Start build-
ing our points now while you’re
saving your money for the trip. If
you have a kid that loves to hunt,
start building points for them now.
Most states offer deep discounts
for kids, making it easy to build up
their preference points.
Going about it can be a little
tricky. The Oregon regulations
make me feel like I need a law-
yer to interpret them. Other states
aren’t any easier, and each has its
own unique quirks. But with some
time and effort, it can be done.
There are services like Cabela’s
TAG service that can do it for you.
For a fee, of course. Two maga-
zines I know of that offer good
advice and walk you through the
application process are Eastmans’
Hunting Journal and Huntin’ Fool.
Neither are cheap, but they both
have great information on each of
the Western states’ drawing sys-
tems. You actually have to sub-
scribe to the magazines to get the
info. Newsstand copies don’t have
it.
However you do it, now is the
time to start. Wyoming, Arizona,
Utah and Montana all have dead-
lines in the fi rst three months
of the year. Start building your
points now. I can’t afford a Utah
elk hunt now but hope to be able
when I’ve accumulated my 20
points. In 10 years, you may have
the money, but if you don’t have
the points to get the tag, it isn’t
going to matter.
Email your comments to shoo-
tingthebreezebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a husband,
father and hunting fool.
How to make easy resolutions
By Green Shoot Media
WHERE TO WRITE
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: 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@
cityofl ongcreek.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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
Tired of making resolutions that
you’re never able to keep? Next
time around, pick a few easy goals
that only take a few minutes a day
and are easy to work into your rou-
tine and may be fun to do.
Here are some suggestions.
• Meditate for a few minutes.
Livestrong suggests fi ve to 20
minutes a day of meditation — sit
quietly, breathe deeply, get rid of
distractions, allow yourself to stop
worrying about tasks. If you have
an offi ce at work, shut your door
and take a mid-afternoon break.
You don’t have to empty your
mind, just allow yourself a few
minutes of calm.
• Floss daily. According to
USA Today, fl ossing every day
is a 90-second task that can help
reduce gum disease and tooth loss,
which can make your semiannual
visit to the dentist a much less
painful or stressful experience.
Keep your fl oss next to your tooth-
brush as an easy reminder.
• Go to bed earlier. Depend-
ing on how busy you are (or how
young your kids are), this sugges-
tion from Livestrong may not be
easy, but it’s well worth the invest-
ment. Even an extra 15-30 minutes
a night can help your immune sys-
tem, memory, mood and so much
more. Schedule your bedtime, and
stick as close as possible to it.
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
• Schedule all your doctor’s
appointments for the year. Good
Housekeeping suggests setting
up appointments for screenings,
eye appointments, dental clean-
ings and anything else you know
is coming up. You can sched-
ule appointments for kids and
pets too while you’re at it. Put
the appointments in your cal-
endar online and don’t worry
about it.
• Get a houseplant. According to
Good Housekeeping, indoor plants
can lower stress levels, and caring
for a plant helps calm the nervous
system and lowers blood pressure.
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Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com
Reporter ...................................................Richard Hanners, rick@bmeagle.com
Community News .................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Sports ........................................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Administrative Assistant ..................Makenna Adair, offi ce@bmeagle.com
Offi ce Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, offi ce@bmeagle.com
Contributed photo
Meditation is an easy resolution that can provide health benefi ts.
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send address changes to:
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Phone: 541-575-0710
Find a plant that fi ts your lifestyle.
There are plenty that don’t need a
lot of water.
• Take the dog for a walk. Even
a quick walk around the block is
good for you and Fido, according
to Livestrong. Take the time for a
solitary ramble, alone with your
thoughts, or invite your partner or
children.
• Turn your phone off. Take a
few minutes of quiet time, check
out from social media and oth-
erwise focus fully on the task at
hand, your book, the person you’re
spending time with or just enjoy-
ing the silence.
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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