A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Voters are
trying to get
Gov. Brown’s
attention
T
he efforts to put a
recall of Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown
on the ballot is a visible
sign of the rural-urban
divide.
There are two separate
efforts underway — one
sponsored by the Oregon
Republican Party, the other
by a self-proclaimed grass-
roots organization that goes
by the descriptive moniker
“Flush down Kate Brown.”
To get a recall on the bal-
lot, either group needs to
collect 280,050 valid signa-
tures from registered vot-
ers by Oct. 14. Realistically,
either effort will need well
over 300,000 signatures to
survive challenges.
Our colleagues at the
Oregon Capital Bureau
talked with people signing
the petitions at the Oregon
State Fair.
The majority of those
interviewed at the fair strug-
gled to specify why they
wanted to recall Brown,
and seemed to be doing so
based on a gut feeling. Most
commonly, people brought
up cap and trade — a failed
effort by the Legislature
that Brown backed to curb
greenhouse gas emissions.
“My understanding is
that a lot of people just
don’t think Salem cares
about them right now,” said
Linn County GOP Chair
Adam Keaton.
Indeed. Many Orego-
nians feel that political
leaders such as Brown have
not only abandoned them
but are actively working
against their interests.
Kate Brown is not a
wildly popular governor.
As secretary of state, she
ascended to office when
John Kitzhaber resigned
in 2015. She barely won
a majority of votes in the
special election to fulfill
Kitzhaber’s remaining term
in 2016 and won just 50%
of the vote in 2018 when
she was elected for her own
four-year term. A recent
poll found her to be one of
the least popular governors
in the country.
Recall efforts are a long
shot, even with officials
of marginal popularity. In
the absence of actual cor-
ruption or malfeasance, we
question the wisdom of try-
ing to overturn legitimate
elections either by recall or
impeachment. It’s a clumsy
way to reconcile policy
differences.
Still, we understand the
frustration that farmers,
ranchers, loggers, truck-
ers, fishermen and other
working Oregonians —
rural and urban — are feel-
ing. They think they have
no other options left but to
replace Kate Brown with
the next officer in the line
of succession — state Trea-
surer Tobias Read, a Dem-
ocrat who is at least as lib-
eral as Brown.
What they really want
is for Brown and other
urban leaders to hear their
concerns and take them
seriously.
Do they have her atten-
tion now? We can only
hope.
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Wolf sightings
W
olf sightings have
become increasingly
more common here in
Oregon. Several years ago, a local
resident mistakenly shot a wolf in
Logan Valley. At the beginning of
August, the Blue Mountain Eagle
reported camera confirmation of
wolves at Keeney Meadows. Love
them or hate them,
they are here and
probably here to
stay. While I am
not a fan of the
wolf introduction
program, I have
come to accept it
as the reality we
Rod
Carpenter
live in.
It hit closer to
home when a friend told me about
a local family that had a close
encounter with an aggressive wolf
while huckleberry picking. The
very next day the news broke that
a wolf had ripped into a tent and
attacked a family in Banff National
Park in Alberta, Canada. With the
aid of another camper, they were
able to beat the wolf off.
While those two experiences are
a little unnerving, I’m not trying to
sell fear here. Over 4 million peo-
ple visit Banff every year. There
have been fewer than 50 reported
wolf attacks in the U.S. in the
last 100 years. You have a greater
chance of choking to death on a
gummy bear than being attacked
by a wolf. That being said, taking
some precautions when you head
into the woods is never a bad idea.
Every day you jump into your
rig and drive to work, the store,
your mother-in-law’s — without
even realizing you are gambling
with your life. More people are
killed or injured in vehicle acci-
dents each year than all outdoor
activities combined. Hopefully
when you drive you take some pre-
cautions: Wear a seat belt, carry a
spare, pay attention to signs and be
more alert in busy traffic.
When you venture into the
Contributed photo
Rod Carpenter assists a wildlife control agent with wolf management on
Brundage Mountain in Idaho in 2010. The female wolf was collared and
released.
recommends that if you are trav-
eling with dogs in potential wolf
country to keep the dog close, have
a bell on its collar and make some
noise.
In Oregon, wolves are still pro-
tected. You can kill a wolf in pro-
tection of your own life, but you
are not allowed to kill a wolf
attacking your dog, cattle, sheep
or pet gerbil. (East of highways
395, 78 and 95, the Oregon Wolf
Conservation and Management
Plan does allow ranchers to kill
wolves on private property if
caught in the act of biting, wound-
ing or chasing livestock and
working dogs, but that’s a narrow
exception.)
Fear of injury or attack should
never keep you from enjoying the
outdoors. Overall, it is a very safe
place to be as long as you give it
the respect it deserves.
Tell us what you do to stay safe
in the woods at shootingthebree-
zebme@gmail.com.
Rod Carpenter is a husband,
father and hunting fool.
woods, you should take some
precautions as well. I talked in
this column a while ago about
the basics like a knife and fire
starter. I also think a firearm or
bear spray is not a bad idea. As
they say, “It’s better to have it
and not need it than need it and
not have it.” Incidentally, Alaska
Fish and Game studies show
that bear spray is more effec-
tive than a firearm. Sorry, guys.
And, just like when you are driv-
ing, you should be aware of your
surroundings and pay attention
to the signs around you. Are you
berry picking? Bears like berries
too. Pay attention to the tracks
and animal sign you are see-
ing. Don’t become so focused on
the task at hand that you fail to
pay attention to what’s going on
around you.
You need to exercise some cau-
tion when you are outdoors with
your dogs. Wolves are very terri-
torial and have wiped out entire
packs of hounds. The Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Cow Fire response to render and keep submissive.” Pinchot, the national forests are
When I monitor, I observe or
made for and owned by the peo-
unacceptable
ple; they are not made to give
watch the clouds of smoke this
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@
cityoflongcreek.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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
To the Editor:
This letter is written in refer-
ence to the article concerning the
Cow Fire and the response by
the Forest Service when ques-
tioned about the Cow Fire.
I have heard one upper eche-
lon fire management individual
say, and I quote, “Yes, we know
about that fire; we’re monitoring
it.” I believe this to mean we are
observing and watching it.
The article in the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle of Aug. 21 was titled
“Fire Staff using new technol-
ogy to manage fire.” Manage is
defined as “to control and direct,
the officers in charge of them a
chance to work out theories; the
officers are paid by the people to
act as their agents; it is the users
themselves who can be of chief
assistance in doing away with bad
methods.
The folks responsible who are
in charge know who they are. It’s
not the people on the line. Per-
haps those in charge have forgot-
ten their role, which is to “Care
for the land and serve the peo-
ple.” Prairie City, keep your nose
in the wind and your eye on the
skyline.
Michael R. Christensen
John Day
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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Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
fire is producing by the con-
sumption of my public land. I
think just maybe by the Forest
Service’s new Remote Auton-
omous Observation System it
may be seen they have allowed
the escape of an unsubmissive
monster.
Further in this article it is
stated, “As long as conditions
are favorable the Cow Fire will
be allowed to continue function in
its natural role on the landscape.”
The natural role of fire is
destructive burning as of a house
or forest. That is according to
Webster.
Paraphrasing forester Gifford
Online: MyEagleNews.com
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