A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Special session
fiasco highlights
legislative
dysfunction
G
ov. Kate Brown
missed an excellent
opportunity when she
declined last week to call for
a special session of the Leg-
islature to amend Senate Bill
1013, a new law that revises
the crime of aggravated mur-
der and tightens which crimes
carry the death penalty.
In a classic example of unin-
tended consequences, lawmak-
ers passed the law during the
last legislative session believ-
ing the new law would not be
retroactive. That means they
believed the law would only
apply to crimes going for-
ward, not to individuals already
in prison facing a sentence of
death.
As soon as the law passed,
though, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Justice said the law
could very well apply to peo-
ple already on death row, cre-
ating the possibility many of
their original sentences could
be modified.
Many law enforcement and
state district attorneys never
liked the bill to begin with, and
some lawmakers — including
Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena —
didn’t vote for it. The dilemma
the law created is a serious one,
and a great deal of confusion
remains about the impact of the
bill.
There was enough gray area,
then, to make a special ses-
sion to revise the bill necessary
and prudent. That the governor
has declined to do so raises its
own set of questions that voters
should be able to get answers
to.
The new law always left a
lingering sense of unease to
anyone committed to democ-
racy in Oregon. That’s because
such sweeping adjustments to
the criminal code should be
decided by the people. After
all, it was voters — not law-
makers — who originally
agreed to amend the state con-
stitution in 1984 to legal-
ize capital punishment. Voters
should make that difficult call
because the ramifications of
the death penalty are extremely
serious and long lasting.
On this bill, lawmakers sim-
ply didn’t get it right. They had
the opportunity to do so but
failed. The legislation, like so
many other bills, was overshad-
owed by the big debate regard-
ing the state’s effort to create a
byzantine law to address carbon
emissions. The bill deserved
more attention and it didn’t get
it, and now voters are left with
few options other than to, once
again, shake their heads at what
is becoming more and more of a
dysfunctional legislative system
in Oregon.
The special session could
have promptly, and effectively,
addressed the issue, made the
necessary modifications to the
bill and been done with it.
Instead voters have another
legislative mess to try and
clean up.
Surely, we can do better than
this.
GUEST COMMENT
Businesses need disaster plan
T
he data is staggering: An
estimated one in four busi-
nesses won’t reopen after a
major disaster.
The economic impact is crip-
pling: The loss in revenues, inven-
tory, property, wages and even jobs
has an incredible ripple effect on
local economies and global supply
chains.
The human impact is devastat-
ing: The stress and loss that comes
from a disaster can be overwhelm-
ing, to say the least.
Yet, studies show an estimated
two out of three small businesses
— or in some studies as high as
three out of four — don’t have an
emergency plan in place. As we’ve
experienced firsthand in Oregon
— from droughts in some parts
of the state to severe flooding in
other parts — it’s not a matter of if
a disaster will strike, it’s a matter
of when.
Being prepared for any kind of
emergency means a business will
rebound sooner with less impact
to its financial reserves. Since Sep-
tember is National Disaster Pre-
paredness Month, there is no bet-
ter time than now to take steps to
prepare:
• Review your hazard and flood
coverage to ensure your policy is
in effect before a disaster strikes.
• Keep your insurance pol-
icy information, phone numbers
for your insurance agent and the
claims department
handy.
• Know who
you can call to
help you clean or
rebuild your busi-
ness and have a
Jeremy Field restoration plan
in place so you
can focus on the task of quickly
reopening your business.
• Keep an updated list of all
your employees’ contact num-
bers and email addresses to ensure
safety, as well as keeping every-
one in the loop about the recovery
progress.
• Obtain a line of credit or have
enough cash to run your business
for at least three months.
• Move your important business
records, personal memorabilia and
anything that’s irreplaceable to an
offsite location. Save as much as
you possibly can to the cloud.
Preparedness cannot be stressed
enough, but once disaster hits, the
SBA Office of Disaster Assistance
has staff on the ground within days
to coordinate federal, state and
local recovery efforts.
Many people I talk to are sur-
prised to learn that in the wake of
a declared disaster, the SBA assists
in the rebuilding and economic
recovery of a community by pro-
viding affordable, timely loans to
businesses of all sizes, nonprofits,
homeowners and renters to cover
uninsured losses.
For businesses of all sizes and
private nonprofit organizations,
the SBA provides up to $2 million
to repair or replace damaged real
estate, leasehold improvements,
furniture and fixtures, inventory
and machinery and equipment.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans
are also available to small busi-
nesses, small agricultural cooper-
atives and most private non-profit
organizations that have suffered
economic injury caused by a disas-
ter. These loans provide working
capital to a business or organiza-
tion until normal operations can
resume.
While a key component to the
SBA mission is to help small busi-
nesses recover following a disas-
ter, we also want to mitigate that
loss. I urge Oregon small busi-
nesses to not become a sobering
statistic. Take the time this month
to put an emergency plan in place
using the many no-cost resources
at your disposal. It’s an investment
of your time that will have expo-
nential returns.
Jeremy Field is the regional
administrator for the U.S. Small
Business Administration Pacific
Northwest Region, which serves
Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
Alaska. The SBA empowers entre-
preneurs and small businesses with
resources to start, grow, expand or
recover.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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.
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.CliffBentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/findley. 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
More families
lament the
loss of Raddue
Campgound
To the Editor:
The Moores, the Reeds and the
Medlins homesteaded in the Fox
Valley in the late 1800s.
With all seven generations of
our family, we have regarded Rad-
due as our melting pot destination.
Raddue was a place for hunt-
ing, fishing, picking huckleberries,
the fiddle and guitar music play-
ing around the campfire and a safe
haven for everyone to come and
enjoy our heritage.
This year was intended to gather
all of our family at Raddue and cel-
ebrate our lives and a special birth-
day for a family member.
The Raddue Campground was
inaccessible to everyone that trav-
eled so far, and a promise of a
birthday wish was not kept.
Let’s put into perspective what
is really important to us. Our her-
Sheriff costing
taxpayers tens
of thousands of
dollars
To the Editor:
I hope the 1,065 voters that
re-elected Sheriff Palmer are pay-
ing attention to how much he is
costing taxpayers. Tens of thou-
sands of dollars have been paid
by taxpayers in lawsuits resulting
from the sheriff’s failure to obey
the law. I thought the sheriff was
supposed to enforce the law, not
ignore it.
Now the county has paid more
than $18,000 to an office deputy
on administrative leave that is also
married to the undersheriff.
Concurrently it appears Under-
sheriff Mobley was also placed on
administrative leave on March 18.
Meanwhile county attorney Car-
ollo states he was back “actively
employed” by April 25, yet
refused to provide the actual dates
the undersheriff was on leave. So
is this Grant County’s example of
transparency in government?
It also appears the sheriff has
a problem in his hiring practices.
Although innocent until proven
guilty, sheriff’s office deputy
Tyler Smith, also on administra-
tive leave, has been arrested by
Oregon Sate Police on “multiple
charges of attempted adult rape,
child neglect and fourth-degree
assault.” Is this the picture Grant
County voters want their law
enforcement to reflect?
Perhaps it’s time for voters
to take a short pause for another
“reality check.”
Fred Fitzgerald
Monument
L
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Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
itage, our family and the sacred
places our generations have been
able to enjoy.
Cheryl Renner
Boise, Idaho
Online: MyEagleNews.com
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