A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Celebrating
progress
M
any local peo-
ple have spent
countless hours
on projects to better our
communities, and we be-
lieve that focusing on these
achievements will inspire
more while bringing peo-
ple together.
To recognize all of the
positive changes and the
people making things hap-
pen, the Eagle is working
on a new special publication
this year: Progress. It will
be its own section in the
June 26 newspaper.
In the section, we plan to
include a variety of articles
showcasing progress made
in the various communi-
ties and in areas such as the
forest, tourism and busi-
ness. We plan to reach out
to each city to learn about
the projects they’re working
on, their goals and the chal-
lenges they’re facing.
In addition, we’ve solic-
ited contributions from
the Grant County Cham-
ber of Commerce, Grant
County Economic Develop-
ment, Grant County Educa-
tion Service District, Blue
Mountain Hospital District
and other organizations to
build up the package even
further.
The end result will be a
section stuffed with arti-
cles about positive progress
being made from a vari-
ety of different angles, from
one end of the county to the
other.
We’re excited to debut
this new section next
month, and we think it will
be one of the best sections
we’ve ever published.
Whereas our annual vis-
itor guide is more catered
to tourists, this section is
mostly for locals, tout-
ing our accomplishments
and supporting our com-
munities, so it’s a great fi t
for advertisers to showcase
accomplishments they’ve
made.
Doing so also supports
this effort to recognize and
promote local progress, and
we hope to have the sup-
port to continue doing this
in future years because we
think something like this
will help bring the commu-
nity together.
This is also a great
opportunity to show your
support for your commu-
nity, the people making
things happen and the prog-
ress being made.
Although there may not
be very many people in
Grant County, many people
here have done great work
to move the county forward.
We thank them for their
dedication, and we hope
their progress will continue
to inspire more.
FARMER’S FATE
Learn, live and hope
I
n life, every one of us draws
a circle. Inside of it are our
people — the people we
love, fi ght for and protect no mat-
ter what. As we get older, our cir-
cles get smaller. People grow up
(or they don’t), they get married,
they move, their values and priori-
ties become different from our own
— and slowly, one by one, they
fall away from our lives. But a
few stay — through thick and thin,
migraines and harvest and every-
thing in between. Those are the
people you want with you in the
trenches.
This month our circle got
smaller. One of our friends felt the
burdens of life were just too much
to bear. It came as a shock, as he
was one of the most upbeat and
positive people I know. The kind
of person who doesn’t just call
when he has time — but he makes
time to give you a call. Standing at
his funeral while person after per-
son, young and old, wealthy and
poor, took the microphone and told
their story of how this young man
had helped them — it was pretty
evident that many people had felt
his kindness. He had repeatedly
taken out the trash at his favor-
ite restaurant, he baby-sat for the
simple pleasure of playing with
the kids, and he was always just a
phone call away. It was no differ-
ent for us.
My husband likes to tell sto-
ries about when they were little.
My husband was about 12 years
old when he was carrying our
friend (then about 2) on his shoul-
ders. Walking around during a
church potluck, they were stand-
ing next to a little
old lady, her head
just inches away
from the 2-year-
old fi ngers. Sud-
denly, with ninja
speed, those lit-
Brianna
tle fi ngers reached
Walker
out and plucked the
hair from her head
like feathers off a turkey! I wasn’t
there, but I am sure his 2-year-old
cuteness was the only thing keep-
ing him from a swat from the little,
old — and now bald — lady.
Sometimes on his way home
from work he’d stop by our house
just to play with our kids. He’d
tease them and chase them, throw-
ing them into the air amid lots of
laughter and squealing. He’d tickle
them until they could barely gasp
“uncle,” then he would just laugh
and say he was “toughening them
up, like their dad had done to him
when he was little.” Sometimes
when seeing him come up the side-
walk, the kids would lock the door
and then dance in the window and
giggle watching his great theat-
rics attempting to get to them —
and they ate up every second in
anticipation.
His visits weren’t always just
for fun, though. He gave the best
massages I’ve ever had in my life
— and sometimes when a head-
ache got too much, he would get
a sad, pathetic phone call or text,
pleading for his assistance. Never
once did he say he couldn’t —
most times coming right away
regardless of what he was currently
doing. Once, on the sixth day of a
migraine, my husband called ask-
ing if he could come help. I had
spent the last few days being sick
on the bathroom fl oor. He quickly
set up his table in the living room,
and half-dragged-half-carried me
onto it. My nausea was bad, and
he grabbed a bowl and put it under
the table, holding my hair and gen-
tly rubbing my shoulders as I dry-
heaved. Much later that evening,
when the pain started subsiding,
I realized I had vomit all in my
hair — and he hadn’t said a word.
He could have teased me about it
later — but embarrassing someone
wasn’t his style.
All these stories and more
crashed into each other as I real-
ized these moments had changed
from normal life to memories. I
wanted to shout, “You are loved.
Your life matters!”
As our days go round and
round, some days we laugh, some
days we cry, but on the days we
have to say goodbye, we recognize
one universal truth — life is diffi -
cult, always and for all of us.
Einstein once said, “Learn from
yesterday, live for today, hope for
tomorrow.” My challenge (to you
and myself) is to learn to be as
kind as our friend, to live a life that
makes people dance with antici-
pation when they see you strolling
up the sidewalk, and hopefully one
day, to be the friend who loves you
even when you have day-old vomit
stuck in your hair. God may not
have called our friend home, but I
have no doubt he’ll be there with
open arms to welcome him in.
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate
for the Blue Mountain Eagle.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Stand or comply
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.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(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:
oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email:
Sen.Cliff Bentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/fi ndley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
• The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20500; Phone-comments: 202-
456-1111; Switchboard: 202-456-
1414.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
To the Editor:
Just one Grant County citi-
zen writing in appreciation of our
county court and their recent res-
olution in defense of our constitu-
tional right to keep and bear arms.
We seem to be in an ongoing
battle of resolutions, regulations
and government intrusion. What
we choose to defend determines
our future and who we are. This
is true as shown by our county
court’s recent stand on this issue.
“America will never be
destroyed from the outside. If we
falter and lose our freedoms, it
will be because we destroyed our-
selves.” — Abraham Lincoln.
Michael R. Christensen
John Day
No wisdom from a
position of hate
To the Editor:
Reg LeQuieu wrote the May 14
commentary “Why I hate wolves.”
It is hard to understand why he
thought anthropomorphic hysteria
could lead to considered discus-
hunters is just wrong. Should the
wolf be managed? Yes — this is a
reality of co-existing with wildlife
in modern times. However, I have
to question the premise that man
has adequate judgment to deter-
mine that wolves or any predators
should be eliminated from nature.
Without predators, deer and
elk, for example, would over-pop-
ulate the carrying capacity of
the land. This could increase
the spread of diseases and cause
undernourished herds. Meanwhile,
hunters would wish to target the
biggest and best of bucks and
bulls, so the strength of the gene
pools of herds would be dimin-
ished over time — producing even
less healthy populations.
Serious study and reasoned dis-
cussions must address the issues
involving wolves — not hysteria.
The natural world is “inhu-
mane,” according to LeQuieu.
What an unfi tting characteriza-
tion! Think about the fact that the
natural world (including preda-
tors) is God’s creation. Is it wise
to think man knows better than
God, himself?
Kay Steele
Ritter
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.
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
sions. I immediately dismissed his
arguments, as there was nothing
an emotional rant against wolves
offered to cause a person to pause,
think or to take seriously. If one
follows his rationale, you can list
a whole lot of predators that like-
wise deserve condemnation. He
may as well have called for the
eradication of the African lion, all
leopards, mountain lions, jaguars,
mink, jackals, hyenas, crocs, alli-
gators, eagles, bears, great white
sharks, tigers, Komodo dragons,
orcas (killer whales!), piranha and
sea lions. Are you getting the pic-
ture? If Noah, himself, embraced
LeQuieu’s mindset, I’m afraid his
ark would have been half empty.
Confl icts between the natu-
ral world and the human-cen-
tered world will always be with
us. Good arguments can be made
questioning the wisdom of rein-
troducing wolves to domesticated
areas where private ranches, for
example, have genuine losses due
to predation. But there are limited
locations in Oregon that could and
should support a limited number
of wolves. To say that it is “legit-
imate” or “ethical” to “supplant”
natural predators with human
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