OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
A4
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Volunteers
save lives
T
he incident had all
the earmarks of a
daring rescue. A
woman fell off a cliff. A
group of emergency re-
sponders just happened to
be near and quickly de-
ployed to save the day.
That scenario played out
recently when Jacki Mulhair
fell from Indian Rock Over-
look in Union County.
Mulhair stepped too close
to the edge of a cliff and
then fell 86 feet, suffering
numerous serious injuries.
Luckily, about two miles
away personnel from the La
Grande Rural Fire Protection
District and Union County
Search and Rescue were
wrapping up training when
Mulhair fell. The search and
rescue team eventually res-
cued Mulhair. She is now
in a Richland, Washington,
hospital recovering from
serious injuries, including
broken ribs and nose and a
broken leg.
But she is alive, thanks
to the quick action of the
search and rescue personnel.
Granted, a lot of things had
to go right in this incident
and it was very fortuitous
that the search and rescue
squad was relatively nearby
and could react quickly.
The incident appears to
be one of those “what ifs,”
where a lot of things could
have gone wrong but didn’t.
The incident, though, also
highlights one of those key
facts about our emergency
service personnel that often
is overlooked. The members
of the Union County Search
and Rescue team are volun-
teers — as they are here in
neighboring Grant County.
They were not getting paid
to go out and rescue an indi-
vidual who was in a life-
and-death situation. They
were there because each one
feels a sense of duty to the
larger community.
Volunteers are a key
strand in the fabric of all our
communities. Without them
many events and other com-
munity enhancement efforts
simply would not occur.
Without dedicated men and
women who choose to take
time out of their own busy
lives to give back, some-
one like Mulhair might have
ended up in a far worse
situation.
Mulhair’s case is signifi-
cant and out of the ordinary.
Someone trapped and seri-
ously injured after falling
off a cliff isn’t a day-to-day
event. However, when such
emergencies do occur it is
up to people who volunteer
to help.
We are all busy and we all
have other priorities — jobs,
children, etc. But volunteer-
ing your time for any event
or agency — such as search
and rescue — isn’t just the
right thing to do but a noble
endeavor.
Communities across the
region need more volunteers,
more people that choose to
step forward and help out
their communities.
Sure, devoting a chunk of
time to the community isn’t
easy. It takes commitment
and courage. But, in the end,
volunteering is a rewarding
act that pays off.
GUEST COMMENT
Rural advocacy calls for creativity
I
n 1900, roughly 60 percent of
Americans lived in a rural set-
ting. The results of the most
recent U.S. Census, conducted in
2010, show that number has sunk
to less than 20 percent. A recent
study from the Carsey School of
Public Policy at the University of
New Hampshire found that of 746
counties across the nation experi-
encing depopulation, 91 percent
of them are rural.
When the results of the next
decennial census (just around the
corner) are in, we’ll likely see
that the trend of rural population
decline continues.
These changing rural demo-
graphics underscore how import-
ant it is for rural residents —
farmers, ranchers and others — to
engage with their legislators and
build relationships. In the legisla-
ture itself, fewer and fewer law-
makers represent the interests of
rural communities. That is why
they sometimes band together in
voting blocs to ensure that the
concerns of their rural constitu-
ents are addressed.
For grassroots advocates in
rural America, engaging with
urban lawmakers who have lit-
tle or no rural ties is challenging.
There is no perfect solution, but
some organizations have made
great progress.
One example is the University
of Arizona’s “AdvoCats” program
(the school mascot is the Wildcat).
As the state’s land-grant institu-
tion, the traditional base of sup-
port in the state legislature came
from rural lawmakers who were
farmers and ranchers. In recent
years, there have been just a hand-
ful of such legislators at the state
capitol in Phoenix.
That is why the AdvoCats got
creative a few years ago when
engaging lawmakers who weren’t
their typical base of support.
Most grassroots associations
host one advocacy day a year at
the legislature. The AdvoCats
hosted one every week. Each
Wednesday became known as
“Wildcat Wednesday” at the state
capitol, during which a handful
of trained advocates accompanied
government relations staff to tar-
geted meetings with lawmakers.
The AdvoCats didn’t rely on
the same people either, but instead
built each week around a specific
constituency who could deliver
the same message, but from a dif-
ferent perspective. One week
included AdvoCats who were par-
ents of students. Another was stu-
dents, then alumni and finally
community partners.
The AdvoCats were success-
ful in 2016, when university offi-
cials made plans to start the state’s
first public school of veterinary
medicine. The AdvoCats deep-
mined their network to find out-
side voices to express support at
the capitol, including a pediatri-
cian who visited with legislators
and discussed the intersection of
animal-borne diseases and human
medicine.
By the end of the session, more
than 100 advocates had completed
500 volunteer hours in legislative
meetings during nine consecutive
weeks at the state capitol.
But the work didn’t begin
during the legislative session.
In the summer and fall of 2015,
the AdvoCats hosted a series of
backyard barbecues to meet with
legislators in their hometowns.
Through this series of events, they
found supporters who would open
their homes as hosts and help iden-
tify alumni, unaffiliated individ-
uals and local elected leaders in
the community. Legislators were
invited as the guests of honor.
The university president gave
a short talk about what the insti-
tution was doing in the commu-
nity (as a land grant, this primar-
ily centered on the Cooperative
Extension mission), then the law-
makers gave brief updates on their
work. Guests were able to spend
time mingling in a relaxed set-
ting, far from the distractions of
the capitol.
These events served multiple
purposes. First, they allowed the
university to build relationships
with lawmakers outside of the
capitol setting. Second, they gave
lawmakers a chance to engage
with constituents who had a
stake in the future of the univer-
sity, despite minimal ties between
that district and campus. Finally,
advocacy staff from the univer-
sity were able to network with
and identify new individuals to
become future advocates.
This is just one example of
how an organization with an
advocacy program is thinking out-
side the box to meet the challenge
of increasingly urbanized legisla-
tive bodies. There will never be a
silver-bullet solution, but as urban
populations swell, rural advocates
at Farm Bureau and other orga-
nizations who dedicate their time
and innovate as they build grass-
roots coalitions will be successful.
Michael Sistak is director of
grassroots program development
at the American Farm Bureau
Federation.
Michael Sistak is director,
grassroots program development,
at the American Farm Bureau
Federation.
GUEST COMMENT
Coordination ordinance must be modified to be legal
T
La Grande Rural Fire Protection District Photo
Union County Search and Rescue and La Grande Rural Fire Protection
District used illumination from car headlights to rescue Jacki Mulhair,
who had fallen 86 feet at Indian Rock Overlook on top of Mt. Emily
outside of La Grande.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
USPS 226-340
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Email: www.MyEagleNews.com
Phone: 541-575-0710
John Day, Oregon
he Grant County Court
should publicly address
two matters as it readies its
“coordination ordinance.”
First, the court should clearly
describe how this ordinance falls
within the “matters of county
concern” state law permits it to
exercise authority over (ORS
203.035). This will include mak-
ing county counsel’s opinion
about the matter public. Chances
are that as drafted the ordinance
is legally invalid because federal
law preempts it. Or legally useless
because it doesn’t add anything
new to existing law to avoid fed-
eral preemption. Hence the court
should explain how the ordinance
is legally valid and useful.
Second, as required by state
law, the court should explicitly
address county ordinances that
pertain to the subject matter under
consideration. Measures 10 and
12-38 are two such measures.
Measure 10 was approved by
voters in 1995. It refuses “to rec-
ognize federal authority over any
land not listed in Article I, Sec-
tion 8, Clause 17 of the U.S.
Constitution.” U.S. Forest Ser-
vice and BLM lands are not
listed therein. Therefore, the pro-
posed ordinance cannot legally
“establish coordination between
the county and federal agen-
cies” until the court recognizes
the authority of these agencies to
manage Forest Service and BLM
lands within Grant County. The
court will have to invalidate or
otherwise amend Measure 10 to
permit this.
Measure 12-38 was approved
by voters in 2002. It authorizes
citizens to “participate in stew-
ardship of natural resources on
public lands within the county”
per Grant County’s Custom and
Culture document. As described
therein, this “participation” is not
subject to county court, USFS,
or BLM authority. Therefore, the
proposed ordinance cannot legally
“establish coordination between
the county and federal agencies”
until our stewardship rights have
been extinguished or modified
by the county court. It will have
to invalidate or otherwise amend
Measure 12-38 to permit this.
Addressing these matters
responsibly will put the county
court in a better position to
approve the proposed coordina-
tion ordinance. It will also instill
greater confidence among the
public that it is putting county
resources to good use rather than
catering to a misinformed and
vocal minority.
Mark Webb
Resident
Mt. Vernon
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Grant County
warm and
welcoming
To the Editor:
My daughter Tammy and her
husband, David Hoherz, moved
from North Dakota and purchased
their new ranch just three miles
east of Dayville and are raising
Black Angus cattle.
David is a real cowboy, and
Tammy is a rancher’s wife, sci-
ence teacher and photographer.
As her father, I travel the coun-
try in my RV filming and photo-
graphing wildlife and landscapes.
Recently I filmed and photo-
graphed Dayville’s Fourth of July
celebration from the ground and
the air to help promote the town as
I did for the small town I lived in
North Dakota.
This 18 minute video/pho-
tos can be seen on my web-
site at americaalloveragain.
com/oregon-1 and at vimeo.
com/346544305.
Since July 13, the video has
been viewed over 900 times in
16 different states indicating that
the people in and around Dayville
have a following.
I have found the townfolk,
including those in Grant County,
warm and have welcomed my kids
into their community with grace
and overwhelming friendliness.
On a lighter note I came from
Grant County, North Dakota —
small world.
I will leave soon but will be
back for sure as I can now call
Grant County and Dayville, Ore-
gon, my new home.
Gregory Bruce
Dayville