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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2019)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, May 15, 2019 Time will tell if Republican strategy will pay off O regon voters watched Monday as political drama took center stage in Salem when Republican members of the Senate returned after a week-long walk out. The result was the pas- sage of the Student Suc- cess Act, a multi-tiered piece of legislation that will fun- nel money into schools but boost taxes. Two other controversial bills — each opposed by Republicans — evaporated, seemingly part of the deal to bring Senate GOP members back to the Capitol. Voters, though, should remember that the Sen- ate GOP walkout was never about funding education. Republicans have consis- tently stated on the record that they support giving more funds to Oregon’s schools. No, the walkout was a move of desperation, prompted by the lack of urgency from Democrats to work with their GOP col- leagues. With a supermajor- ity, Democrats hold supreme power in the Legislature. The sentiment seemed to be that if Republicans were not going to play political ball, then Democrats would just go ahead and greenlight their legislative priorities. Except even with a super- majority the old fundamen- tal of democracy — work- ing along a bipartisan route to solve problems — reigns. Even if it means Repub- licans walking away for a week. In the end, GOP senators, including Cliff Bentz who represents Grant County, had little choice but to evacuate the capital and deprive Dem- ocrats of the needed quorum to vote on the education bill. Time will tell if the tactic will pay off. Now, it appears to have been only margin- ally successful. Yes, Repub- lican did gain some political traction — the vaccination and gun bills were dropped — and more funding for schools is now a reality. Yet at least one major ele- phant — the cap and trade bill — is still standing on the Oregon political porch. House Bill 2020 is con- troversial across the east- ern side of the state and for good reason. GOP lawmak- ers, most notably Bentz, have worked hard this ses- sion to put the brakes on the carbon emission legislation — if only to develop a bet- ter, more equitable plan in the future. So far, his Dem- ocratic colleagues don’t appear to be listening. We hope that changes. In the end, the walkout, while politically unseemly, did produce more funding for our local schools. No matter what one’s political persuasion, producing more money to educate our chil- dren is always a good idea. And sometimes good ideas can be a rare species inside Oregon’s Capitol. GUEST COMMENT Why I hate wolves By Reg LeQuieu To the Blue Mountain Eagle W olves kill in packs, driving, exhausting, surrounding and ter- rifying until they have singled out an animal — infant, healthy or aged, it really doesn’t mat- ter. Then they close in, snap- ping and snarling, tearing fi rst at genitals and bellies, mutilat- ing and ripping, spilling intes- tines that will be dragged, stepped on and seized by jaws that tear the life right out of the victim from the inside out. The term “gut-wrenching” takes on a whole new meaning here. It becomes a horrifying death, both frantically fast and agonizingly slow. These predators frequently settle in to feed before the vic- tim succumbs. I have to question the prem- ise that we want to preserve this — even reintroduce and increase this — as the fate of more and more animals. Unlike predators, the sports- man kills from a distance; there is the striking absence of eye- ball-to-eyeball impact and the indescribable horror of claws and teeth tearing the living fl esh and crushing bone. There is always the desire for a humane, quick kill; there is usually that result. With predators there is never the desire for a humane, quick kill; there is seldom that result. Predators put on their hor- ror show year-round, terrify- ing daily, killing indiscrimi- nately. Wolves, especially, raise the stress level of the prey spe- cies exponentially, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The sportsman, by vivid contrast, hunts from afar, only during two months in the fall, and kills dis- criminately — selectively. The benefi t to the prey species is obvious — and profound. To prefer the “natural” inhu- mane and cruel treatment of ani- mals to man’s less natural but more humane benefi cial treat- ment just does not make ethical sense. It is legitimate for man, the hunter, to largely supplant the role of the predators when we multiply and fi ll a geographic area. If we are going to partake of this natural bounty and utilize it for some of our own food and recreational needs, we do have to reduce the predators. That we can manage the resource and harvest humanely is a huge bonus to the resource. If they could, they would thank us for it — and curse us for the reintro- duction of wolves. The pioneers who eliminated the wolf did so not because they misunderstood the wolf, but because they understood the wolf intimately. They witnessed the wolves’ idle cruelty and wanton killing; they saw the waste and experi- enced the loss of their own live- stock. They learned to hate the wolf because that is what the wolf taught them to do; they responded to what they wit- nessed as any rational per- son would. They were the true friends of animals. Our shared hunting heritage is tied up with values that lead to improving the human, as well as the animal, condition. What the proponents of predators desire will be worse for both the hunter and the hunted — and the unin- tended consequence will also be reduced opportunity to view wildlife for the non-hunter. I hate cruelty; you should too! Reg LeQuieu lives in Mt. Vernon. GUEST COMMENT Why deny the Democratic majority a quorum? By Herman Baertschiger Jr. and Cliff Bentz To the Blue Mountain Eagle L 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. • 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: governor.state.or.us/governor.html. Blue Mountain EAGLE Published every Wednesday by egislators should use every tool available to protect their constituents. When the majority party pro- poses laws that place Oregonians at risk, one of those tools is the refusal to provide a quorum. The requirement that a “quo- rum” be present before a body can act is to assure that action is based on more than just a few opinions. In the Senate, a body of 30 people, a quorum con- sists of no fewer than 20 sena- tors. There are 18 Democrats and 12 Republicans in the Oregon Legislature. of your money into a bucket with a huge PERS hole in it. Yes, if ever there were a time to step out and say “stop,” it is now. The Republican senators’ decision to walk out should be understood for what it is: a pre- dictable response to legislation that is seriously fl awed. Or, to quote our Democratic governor, Kate Brown, who was the Sen- ate Democratic Leader in 2001 at the time of a Democratic boy- cott: “Under certain circum- stances, it’s fair to say we would use all tools available to us and stage a similar boycott.” Baertschiger, R-Grants Pass, is the Senate minority leader. Bentz, R-Ontario, is a state senator rep- resenting District 30. 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. 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper Publisher............ ......................................Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com 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 MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION This tactic is justifi ed because the Democrats’ corporate activity tax and cap and trade tax are ineq- uitable, regressive Oregon Sen. and damaging at Cliff Bentz every level. Other bills brought by Democrats restrict personal free- doms and are equally extreme. Topping this off is the Demo- crats’ willingness to pass a $2 billion gross receipts tax before stopping the real harm that the Public Employees Retirement System continues to wreak upon Oregon children’s educational opportunities. Essentially, the Democrats are pouring $2 billion Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Online: BlueMountainEagle.com Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 Phone: 541-575-0710 Copyright © 2019 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. 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