A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Here’s why
public records
laws matter
T
here couldn’t be a
clearer case about
both the value and
fl aws in Oregon’s public
records law than the current
one in Douglas County.
The Oregonian, having
spent about $2,000 to obtain
records of how the county
spent some $43,000 in fed-
eral Secure Rural Schools
Act funds, reported this
week on what it found. The
newspaper has since been
billed another $693.77 to
have a county offi cial spend
13 hours reviewing it so the
county could answer ques-
tions about records the
newspaper received.
The newspaper found
plenty. Some of the $43,000
went to pay a $75 fee to
Sunriver Resort to allow
Douglas County Commis-
sioner Tim Freeman to keep
a dog in his room. Another
$205 went to the Brix Chill,
a Roseburg cocktail lounge
and restaurant. The receipt
was not itemized, as county
policy requires, making it
impossible to tell if he had
purchased alcohol as part of
the meal. County policy for-
bids the purchase of alco-
hol with public funds. Free-
man also fl ew fi rst class to
Washington, D.C., in 2019
because he was invited on
short notice to hear a speech
by President Donald Trump.
Federal funds paid for part
of the upgrade from the stan-
dard coach seat that Ore-
gon offi cials usually use. A
county spokeswoman said
no coach seats were avail-
able for the fl ight.
If private businesses want
to spend their money that
way, it’s one thing, but for
public offi cials from a poor
county in rural Oregon to do
so, it’s unconscionable.
We don’t know what vot-
ers in Douglas County will
do about the situation, but
one thing is clear. Had it not
been for this state’s public
records law and The Orego-
nian’s willingness to spend
nearly $3,000 getting infor-
mation that’s supposedly
available to the public, vot-
ers may never have found
out about the commission’s
free-spending ways.
That brings up a prob-
lem with the current law. It
allows a requester — in this
case, The Oregonian — to
appeal proposed fees to the
local district attorney, Rich-
ard Wesenberg. Wesenberg
refused to reduce or can-
cel the fees, arguing that the
newspaper’s parent com-
pany could well afford them.
That’s despite the law, which
says reducing fees is what
should be done if making
the record public benefi ts
the general public. It’s hard
to see how spending of gov-
ernment funds doesn’t qual-
ify as information that meets
that test.
Lawmakers may not have
time to change the law so
that getting records is both
fast and relatively inexpen-
sive in the coming 30-day
session. If not, it should be
put at the top of the 2021
to-do list. The law does not
require means testing to
determine if fees should be
waived, and public inter-
est, not a requester’s fi nan-
cial statement, should be
the standard by which the
request is judged.
GUEST COMMENT
Stalking: Know it, name it, stop it
By Gregory Goebel
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
S
talking: Know it, name
it, stop it — a power-
ful theme that challenges
communities around the nation
to take action and prevent a
dangerous crime through edu-
cation and awareness. January
is National Stalking Awareness
Month, a time to reflect on a
crime that touches families and
people across our community
and nation.
Stalking is defined as “a
pattern of behavior directed at
a specific person that would
cause a reasonable person to
feel fear.” The kind of behav-
iors that can constitute stalking
include: harassment, following
the victim, unwanted phone
calls, leaving threatening mes-
sages and spying on the victim.
Stalking is estimated to
affect between 6-7.5 million
Americans each year. Stalking
is a crime that affects every-
one, with one in six women and
one in 17 men experiencing it
during their lifetime. Young
adults are at the greatest risk
of being a victim of stalking.
Roughly half of all stalking vic-
tims are under the age of 25.
Over 75% of victims know or
are familiar with the person
who is stalking them, and for-
mer intimate partners comprise
a large portion of that number.
In 2018, over 2,063 indi-
viduals reported to Ore-
gon sexual and domestic vio-
lence programs that they had
been the victims of stalking.
Unfortunately, many vic-
tims of stalking do not report
the crime. In fact, only five
instances of stalking were
reported in Grant and Harney
counties in 2018. The underre-
porting of stalking in our com-
munity speaks to the need for
greater awareness of this crime
in our community.
If you or a loved one are liv-
ing in fear due to the actions
of another, there are programs
and resources available to you.
There are laws and protec-
tive orders that can be utilized
to ensure your well-being and
safety.
Oregon allows for victims
of stalking to file a petition for
a Stalking Protection Order. If
the Stalking Protection Order
is granted, the perpetrator will
immediately lose their right
to possess firearms and must
immediately turn over any fire-
arms that they possess. Addi-
tionally, stalking is a criminal
offense under Oregon law and
is classified as a Class A mis-
demeanor. Stalking can be ele-
vated to a Class C felony if the
individual has a prior convic-
tion for stalking or if they have
previously violated a court’s
stalking protective order.
If you would like more infor-
mation about stalking, or are
interested in filing a Stalking
Protective Order, please contact
the Grant County Victim Assis-
tance Program at 541-576-4026
or Heart of Grant County at
541-620-1342.
Gregory Goebel is the
Grant County deputy district
attorney.
GUEST COMMENT
An Olympian’s guide to the boardroom
By Michael Wilson
To the Blue Mountain Eagle
I
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@
cityofl ongcreek.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.Cliff Bentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/fi ndley. 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
’ve hit rock bottom more
times than I can count.
As a gymnast, I overcame
injuries that would have ended
many other athletes’ careers
— only to watch my Olympic
dreams slip out of reach. As a
businessman, I built a successful
start-up — and then lost it all.
The main thing I’ve learned?
Setbacks can be productive if
you’re willing to learn from
them. Today, as I lead a success-
ful company, I constantly inform
my decision-making with the les-
sons I learned as an athlete and
entrepreneur.
First, never give up.
When I was 12, I trained under
gymnastics coach Ralph Reeves,
the toughest coach I ever had. I
would spend hours perfecting my
craft — getting up on the pom-
mel horse as I tried not to look
down at my cracked and bloodied
hands. Upon fi nishing each rou-
tine, Coach Reeves would utter
one word, “Again.”
As the Junior Olympic Games
approached, it looked like my
hard work was about to pay off.
Then, I blew out my knee and
tore my ACL, MCL and menis-
cus while training. Refusing to
ing my Olympic dreams. I moved
on to compete as a businessman.
And I didn’t vow revenge on my
ex-partner, I forgave him.
Finally, trust but verify.
As an athlete, I had to trust and
listen to my body, my doctors,
my coaches and trainers to over-
come my injuries. After my expe-
riences, I’ve learned to pay very
close attention to what people are
saying — and, more importantly,
what they aren’t saying — in the
boardroom. Reading body lan-
guage and getting to know people
before you do business with them
is just as important as studying
their qualifi cations on paper.
Today, as I lead a business, I
spend countless hours strategiz-
ing for and planning out my board
meetings. Sometimes my prepa-
ration lasts three times as long
as the actual meeting. But as I
learned throughout my athletic
experience, preparation is the best
way to ensure success.
If you’re an entrepreneur, you
will eventually experience a busi-
ness setback. It’s inevitable. But
the next time you do — pause,
make a game plan and think to
yourself, “again.”
Michael Wilson is the CEO of
Healthcare Highways. This piece
was originally published on Inno-
vationMap.com.
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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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
let my injury determine my fate,
I went on to win my fi rst national
championship.
I eventually graduated from
the University of Oklahoma as
a fi ve-time All-American and
NCAA champion with a spot on
the Olympic roster. But due to
President Jimmy Carter’s boycott
of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, I
never got a chance to participate.
I was devastated, but I picked
myself up — again — and tran-
sitioned to the business world.
More setbacks awaited.
Second? Forgive others.
In the mid-1980s, I started my
fi rst company. But before I knew
it, the relationship I had with my
business partner soured, and I
found myself broke, divorced and
living in a tiny apartment on a
loan from my ex-father-in-law.
That episode would have been
enough for a logical person to
never open another business.
Call me illogical. After this
incident, I went on to build and
sell multiple successful compa-
nies. I say this not to brag, but
merely to prove my bona fi des to
other entrepreneurs who are just
starting out and facing their own
challenges.
It’s crucial to forgive your col-
leagues, your subordinates, even
yourself. I didn’t dwell on los-
Online: MyEagleNews.com
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