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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2019)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, July 31, 2019 Move government closer to the governed R ecently, media re- ports have said that the Trump adminis- tration has decided to move the headquarters of the Bu- reau of Land Management from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colo. The Interior Department, the parent agency of the BLM, has yet to confirm the news, but the administration has made moving the head- quarters to a Western state a key part of its plan to reorga- nize the department. A bipartisan coalition of members of Congress from Western states put forward legislation last year to man- date such as move. Interior Department offi- cials have said they were considering Grand Junction as well as Denver; Albuquer- que, New Mexico; Boise, Idaho; and Salt Lake City for the new headquarters. Whether Western Col- orado or some other city becomes the BLM’s new home, we support the move. As we said when the idea was first floated last year, the logic of moving the BLM west isn’t hard for people in the West to understand. Ninety-nine percent of the 250 million acres managed by the BLM is west of the Mississippi River. Its deci- sions impact the livelihoods of people who populate rural communities but those deci- sions are made far from the forests, grasslands and high deserts they call home. Not everyone is in love with the idea, particularly members of the ruling class and the special interests that court influence inside the Washington beltway. Critics say the BLM and other agencies need to be headquartered in the capi- tal to be included in budget and policy discussions. But having all those discussions in Washington is part of the problem. That’s better for K Street lobbyists and the special interests, but not so good for the people those policies impact. While it’s true that less than 5% of the bureau’s 9,000 employees are sta- tioned in D.C., they have more say and less access to the national treasures they administer than their col- leagues in the field. The BLM isn’t the only agency the administra- tion seeks to move out of the greater District of Columbia. There are also plans to move the Eco- nomic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City. The elite hates that idea, too. They proffer the same arguments in both cases. It will cost money to move these agencies out to the countryside, and proba- bly won’t save any in the long run. They say valu- able employees will be lost if forced to move from the beltway. All of these moves will cost money, and we’ve yet to see the government do anything that actually saves any money. We have a harder time believing that we will lose a huge amount of human capital if agencies are moved from Washing- ton. It is probable there are a great many people who would find government ser- vice more rewarding if it carried with it an affordable duty station outside D.C. We think the real value of these plans is to keep the government close to the governed. That scares the ruling class the most. FARMER’S FATE Air horn epiphany W e dragged into the house, tired, dirty and exhausted. It had been one of those days. It had started with a jolt, a little after 4 a.m., when an air horn blasted repeat- edly as an unknown truck sped down the road near our house. Our feet hit the floor, wonder- ing what animal had found his way through the fence and hop- ing everything was still alive. I fashionably slipped rubber boots over my pajamas. A quick check revealed nothing out of place. We never discovered who or why the air horn had blared, but by now, there was no point in going back to bed just to shut off the alarm in a few minutes. The day was filled with one air horn after another. A parts run produced the wrong item, and the correct ones were a day out; the clamp on the telehandler broke while picking up round bales; a glass plate shattered coming out of the microwave; I lost my favor- ite red bandana sometime during the day; and my phone fell in the toilet. It was with great relief that the day finally ended. It was even better to see that we had made it in before midnight for the first time in a week. I stared at our dirt-streaked faces. As much as I wanted to just fall into bed, I knew we’d sleep better without sharing that bed with all the dirt, hay and dog slobbers we’d accu- mulated throughout the day. My grandmother always use to say “the family that bathes together, stathes together,” so I drew a bath and sent our less- than-excited boys into it, with strict instructions to scrub good behind their ears. I had just re-bandaged my hand from the screwdriver I had rammed through my palm a few I whispered. “Too little, too scratchy, too many buttons — and then too big? Ahhhhh.....” I let out a big sigh. “He has two whole drawers full of perfectly good shirts. If he isn’t wearing them, then why are we storing them? We should just get rid of them.” My husband walked over to my dresser, and opened my two drawers of jeans. “How many of those do you wear?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s different. Some are for particu- lar occasions, some are long and need to be worn with heels, and others are just a little tighter than I’d like, and maybe by the end of summer —” He interrupted me, “In other words, they are scratchy, have buttons, are too small or too big...” I gave him my best pretend glare, knowing I’d lost. But the next morning, as I was going about my morning chores, I sud- denly had a mental air horn going off in my brain, waking me as it were, for the second morning in a row. I looked at the miscellaneous machinery sitting around col- lecting dust, the car that hasn’t been driven in years, imple- ments whose cobwebs haven’t been disturbed in even longer — and in that moment I discov- ered a strong connection between machinery and jeans. Women don’t throw out jeans, that (if we were being perfectly honest) we’ll never wear again, because of some crazy sentimental attach- ment. I think men have that same affection toward cars they’ll never drive and implements they’ll no longer pull. Brianna Walker occasionally writes about the Farmer’s Fate for the Blue Mountain Eagle. days prior, when the boys emerged from their bath. My oldest wear- ing pajama pants — and the same dirty shirt he’d just peeled off! Brianna “Why didn’t Walker you put on a clean shirt?” my husband asked sharply. “I don’t have any. This one is OK. I shook most of the dirt out.” “It’s filthy!” I exclaimed, then added, “You have two drawers full of shirts.” “No, I don’t,” he stubbornly insisted. “I know you do. I just put them there,” I said, getting up to look myself. Sure enough, two drawers full of nicely folded, clean shirts. “But they don’t fit,” he argued. He started pointing, “too small, too small, too tight...” “What about this shirt?” I asked pointing to an orange one. “... scratchy ... it has buttons ... I can’t sleep in a collar...” He had a reason why each of the shirts in his drawer were less appropriate than the filthy one he was currently wearing. I picked up a light blue one with Donald Duck on the front. “Here. Wear this.” “It’s too big,” he said, a look of complete seriousness on his face. “Too big? How can a pajama shirt be too big? That’s practically the definition of pajama!” I said, a touch of exasperation in my voice. He grudgingly took the shirt I held out, and somewhere in the house the clock struck 12. “So much for being in bed before midnight,” I grumbled as I walked into our room where my husband stood apparently listen- ing to the clean shirt tête-à-tête. “Did you hear all that?” LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Hazardous fuels funding should be spent within wildland-urban interface 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. Blue Mountain EAGLE Published every Wednesday by To the Editor: I was surprised to see my name mentioned in the Blue Mountain Eagle (July 10). The words attributed to me were incorrect and careless. It wasn’t a comment I pre- sented to Greg Walden at his town hall; it was a plea. What I discussed with the con- gressman was the federal bud- getary process, something Greg would understand. Congress allocates money to reduce hazardous fuels on federal lands, but often it goes to under- funded programs, such as large fire suppression or timber sale support. Thinning dense stands of tim- ber does reduce potential fire behavior, but the location was 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, office@bmeagle.com Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Online: MyEagleNews.com often in the back country. Where the bigger trees are. Forest resil- iency, restoration and improve- ments to anadromous fish habitat are wonderful goals I support, but calculating their value is difficult. The lessons of the Canyon Creek fire, or the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, last year were tragic, painful but obvious. Fires will impact communities. But there won’t be any new hazardous fuels money allocated to federal land managers. The amount currently appropriated must be spent in the right loca- tion, which is within the wild- land-urban interface and to pro- tect other critical infrastructure. This is something a congress- man can do, specify that hazard- ous fuels money be spent within the WUI. While I believe 100% should be spent doing the hard work protecting homes, businesses and infrastructure, any legislative increase will help. It will help save lives. It’s not about wasteful spending. 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Chamber of Commerce looks great To the Editor: Kudos to the many volun- teers who did an excellent job in improving the landscaping around the Grant County Cham- ber of Commerce. First impres- sions are important to the many visitors coming through John Day and Grant County. Tourism con- tributes to our communities in many different ways. The Cham- ber of Commerce headquarters looks great. Chris Labhart John Day 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 Phone: 541-575-0710 It’s about doing the greatest good for the greatest number, for the longest time. Scott McDonald Mt. Vernon Copyright © 2019 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. facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews
