A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Critical to earn
readers’ trust
tion fits a political outlook.
If the “facts” don’t fit that
political view, then they are
bogus.
As depressing as that is,
we in the local and regional
news industry must do more
to earn trust from our readers.
It is simply not just a good
idea but, in some ways, it is
a crucial act of self-preserva-
tion. The good news from the
study is that 79% of Amer-
icans find their local news
organizations covering issues
that impact their daily lives.
That is heartening.
The overarching issue,
though, boils down to cre-
ating and building trust to
ensure democracy thrives.
Residents — voters — can’t
make informed decisions
about important matters if
they don’t have the informa-
tion. We at the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle are the crucial
link between voters and their
elected leaders regarding
information flow. Without the
information, members of a
democracy are no more than
a mob.
Our job, then, is to work
hard to be as value-free as
possible regarding the pre-
sentation of news. Because
we are human, that is a tall
order. Humans makes mis-
takes. Humans are fallible.
But readers need to know
that we will do all we can,
always, to deliver balanced
information in our stories.
We believe it to be criti-
cal that we earn our readers’
trust. And we do that by pre-
senting information in a fair
and professional manner.
A
recent study pro-
duced by the Knight
Foundation and Gal-
lup probably didn’t grab the
attention of a lot of county
residents, but it sure caught
our gaze.
The study “State of Public
Trust in Local News” carried
some good news and some
bad news for the print media
in America.
One conclusion the study
delivered was that Americans
tend to trust their local report-
ers more than the national
news.
For many of us in the con-
servative heartland of Eastern
Oregon, that probably isn’t
much of a surprise. But other
results of the study were less
heartening for reporters and
editors striving to work in
rural areas like Grant County.
One key result from the
study: About 45% of Amer-
icans have either a “great
deal” or “quite a lot” of trust
in local news compared with
31% for national news. At
first glance that stat may
seem cause for celebration,
especially in the newspaper
industry.
But it isn’t.
That’s because the statis-
tic means more than half of
Americans don’t trust their
local press. Even fewer,
obviously, trust our national
counterparts.
Much of that could be put
squarely on the shoulders of
the current political climate
we now inhabit, like it or not,
in the United States. Facts
tend to be whatever informa-
Water questions in
search of answers
In the West, few resources evoke
more passion than water. The rea-
son is obvious: Everything comes
down to the quantity and quality of
water.
That’s well illustrated across
Oregon. In the Klamath Falls
region, the periodic shortage of
water is well-known, as are the
many demands placed on it.
Analogous stories can be found
in many areas east of the Cascades,
as agriculture, urban growth, res-
idential and industrial uses, fish
and other environmental concerns
collide.
Even on the west side of Ore-
gon, where ample precipitation is
the rule, its seasonality and lim-
ited storage put stress on cities and
farms. Protected fish and other spe-
cies also have a major impact on
the quantity of water available at
any given time.
Because of the critical impor-
tance water holds for every aspect
of life, it’s surprising that Oregon is
just now developing a plan for man-
aging it in the years to come. More
clearly, the state does have a strat-
egy, but has done little to put it into
effect.
That could change in the near
future, as state water managers,
in conjunction with their regional
counterparts, put together a plan to
better manage surface and ground
water.
During the course of developing
this “Water Vision” managers have
asked for comments, and we have
some. We also have questions. For
example:
• Why are people in regions such
as Klamath Falls left fighting for
their livelihoods, often as the result
of state actions, or inactions?
• Why don’t cities such as Salem
and Portland get their water from
the Willamette River, which runs
through them? Instead, Salem gets
much of its water from the North
Santiam River 20 miles away, and
Portland gets some water from the
Willamette but most of it from any-
where else. Wouldn’t it make more
sense for those and other cities on
the river to clean it up instead of tak-
ing water from other sources?
• The video introducing the the
“Water Vision” refers to providing
clean, affordable water to Orego-
nians. Why is it that some residents
of small towns are paying nearly
$100 a month for water and sewer
service, while other cities, whose
overloaded sewage systems some-
times empty directly into the Willa-
mette, pay much less?
• The video also says the state’s
water infrastructure has been pretty
much ignored for the past 50 years.
Why is that? Is it a case of misplaced
priorities? Storage, including dams
and aquifer recharge, continues to be
the ongoing need in Oregon, yet lit-
tle has been done at the state level to
maintain or develop it.
• The Columbia River — one of
North America’s great waterways
— flows along much of the north-
ern border of Oregon, yet it is barely
mentioned as a source of water.
Why is that? Wouldn’t it make sense
to tap the Columbia as a source of
water for municipal use and irriga-
tion, as Washington state has?
These and other questions rep-
resent the “elephant in the living
room” as water managers look to
the future, but they can also repre-
sent solutions.
Our hope is that all sources of
water will be “on the table” as Ore-
gon’s leaders plan for the future.
— The Capital Press
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
SHOOTING THE BREEZE
Animals on the run
M
y all time favorite story
about shooting at run-
ning game took place
before I was born. My dad had a
pronghorn tag and was itching to
go.
In those days his only hunting
rifle was a Savage 99 in .300 Sav-
age. On the wide open ground he
was attempting a stalk on a small
bunch of ten with two billies and
eight nannies.
Being as the eyesight of your
average pronghorn is some
six times better than the aver-
age human, the engaging hunter
was busted and in a single file at
forty something miles an hour the
bunch took off.
Dad, ever confident in his
old Savage took aim at the big-
ger buck running out in front
and quickly calculating a lead,
squeezed off a shot.
As the lumbering 150 grain
bullet made its way across the dis-
tance, nine of the 10 antelope ran
past, unscathed. The 10th, luck-
ily also a billy, was not so lucky
and took the bullet squarely in the
heart. Though he was aiming at
the first, his bullet hit the last.
For years I struggled to hit run-
ning game. But after reading some
classic literature and receiving
some sage advice I began con-
necting. There are really three
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
a bid. I felt like they knew
Frivolous spending submit
Appreciation
the answer to that already, and of
on courthouse roof course I said no because of prior of Veterans Day
obligations.
support
On Nov. 6, I returned from elk
I encouraged the court to get at
camp to attend an “emergency”
meeting about the roof of the
Grant County Courthouse. As the
meeting began, we were informed
that the Court was declaring a
state of emergency for the roof,
and they were going to hire a con-
tractor based out of Pendleton to
do the work for $180,000. Because
it is a “state of emergency,” Judge
Scott Myers said they were not
required to get multiple bids for the
work.
The courthouse does not have
a very large roof. I gave my back-
ground in commercial roofing and
suggested the bid was very high,
that other bids should be taken and
the court could save up to 30%.
Judge Scott Myers said “it is not
about the money.” I asked relevant
questions about the roofing compa-
ny’s offer regarding materials and
process.
Judge Myers said they have had
leaking roof issues since the ele-
vator was put in years ago. He
also said that he had personally
thought the roof was going to cost
$150,000 prior to consulting any
roofing professional, suggesting
he is a “licensed roofing contrac-
tor.” I felt he was suggesting that
my experience and knowledge was
insignificant.
I was soon asked if I could start
the roof on Nov. 11, if I were to
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Publisher............ ......................................Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com
Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com
Reporter ...................................................Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com
Community News .................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Sports ........................................................Angel Carpenter, angel@bmeagle.com
Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Administrative Assistant ..................Christy Smith, csmith@bmeagle.com
Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
ing your moving game animal by
a prescribed distance and firing
your bullet in front of them so that
they both intersect at the exact
right moment can be trickier than
it sounds. But with practice, you’ll
pick it up.
In general the smaller it is and
faster the animal moves, the more
difficult it will be to hit. And how
the animal moves also comes into
play. Rabbits hop, deer bound, elk
prance, and bears amble.
Some animals are shifty while
others run in straight lines. The
angle of their escape and whether
the shot presented is at the vitals
or not must also be evaluated.
Don’t mistake me for espousing
some Elmer Fudd-esque notion of
flinging lead at every come what
may shot opportunity. That is
foolhardy at best.
The bottom line is, through
a lot of practice you’ll develop
aspects of all three of the preced-
ing schools of thought. You’ll
learn to follow through, to lead
and very importantly when to not
shoot.
Any tips to share for shoot-
ing at running game? Write us at
shootingthebreezebme@gmail.
com!
Dale Valade is a local country
gent with a deep love for hand-
loading, hunting and shooting.
schools of thought
regarding shooting
at moving game.
The first school is
to just never do it.
Some I know
consider it
Dale
unsportsmanlike to
Valade do so as the chances
of merely wounding rather than
a quick clean kill go up consid-
erably. There are shots we just
shouldn’t attempt, especially on
moving game. That being said,
it’s up to each of us to decide it’s
morality. This should be based
solely upon the individual oppor-
tunities that present themselves
and our own abilities as shooters.
The second school of thought
is called the follow through. These
folks are primarily shooting birds
with shotguns.
Aerial targets are a much dif-
ferent three dimensional dynamic
versus a four-legged animal run-
ning on the ground. The follow
through is very self explanatory,
while drawing a bead you follow
the expected trajectory of your
target with your swinging barrel,
but aim where you want to hit and
keep following through even after
the trigger is pulled and the shot
has left the barrel.
The third school of thought
is the lead (lead not lead). Lead-
Online: MyEagleNews.com
least one other bid from a company
in Baker that had offered to come
give a bid, according to Judge
Myers. They made a motion to
give the other roofer an opportunity
to bid and hold another court meet-
ing on Friday to decide on award-
ing the bid. They voted yes, unan-
imously. I was relieved that they
were going to at least get another
bid. I left the meeting. I was later
informed that after I had left, they
changed their mind on the other bid
and simply decided to hire the con-
tractor out of Pendleton.
I have lost sleep over this,
because I know very well the cost
of materials, dump fees and labor
for such a project. If any one per-
son was managing their own
money, I feel they would responsi-
bly look for ways to use it wisely.
I am uncomfortable with know-
ing our County Court uses their
funds so frivolously. I am very
disappointed in the management
of our County Court and the way
I was spoken to by a non-bias
elected official. I am looking for
more responsible representatives
to step forward next election that
we can put our trust in to take care
of such issues in a timely manner
with the County’s spending being
managed wisely.
Darrell McKrola
Mt. Vernon
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Two sides to
‘Dissent’ story
Since when did the front page of
our newspaper become a forum for
personal rants? Refer to the incred-
ibly biased “The High Cost of Dis-
sent in Grant County.”
I certainly hope the other side
of that discussion receives equal
space.
Rozanne Mullin
John Day
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This past Veterans Day saw
many acts of kindness and
appreciation to our veterans.
Too many to list all, but free
meals from restaurants, meals
and recognition from students
at schools, handmade Quilts
of Valor given to vets, handi-
work on homes and firewood
delivered.
Again, so many acts of help
and recognition to our veter-
ans show the great appreciation
from our Grant County citizens
for their freedom and secu-
rity. May God continue to bless
America.
Dave Traylor
John Day
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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