A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Public records laws
manipulated by
government officials
T
he ostensible purpose
of Oregon’s public
records laws is both
simple and noble.
The 1973 law reads, in
part: “Every person has a
right to inspect any public
record of a public body in
this state. ...”
This is so sensible as to
be obvious. Public agen-
cies, including cities, coun-
ties and the state government,
produce records using pub-
lic dollars, and the public —
which is to say, all of us —
ought to be able to have a
look at those records.
But the reality, as is so
often the case when it com-
petes against the conceptual,
is neither simple nor noble.
Part of the problem is the
rest of the above excerpt
from the law, the words on
the other side of the ellip-
sis: “... except as other-
wise expressly provided by
ORS 192.338, 192.345 and
192.355.”
Ah, yes. Exceptions. There
are dozens of exceptions to
the public records laws, and
this list has been larded con-
siderably over the past five
decades. The law, as a result,
has been tilting ever more in
favor of public officials being
able to keep records hidden
from the public.
Some of the exceptions
aren’t negotiable, like medi-
cal records or records prohib-
ited from being released by
federal law.
But many of the excep-
tions do not apply if the pub-
lic interest requires dis-
closure in the particular
instance. Investigatory infor-
mation compiled for crimi-
nal law purposes, personnel
discipline actions and inves-
tigations of public safety
employees that do not result
in discipline fall into this lat-
ter category — the public
interest may require their dis-
closure, despite being condi-
tionally exempt.
Grant County officials
have used these conditional
exemptions to block numer-
ous requests from the Eagle
for almost a year — despite
multiple Grant County Sher-
iff’s Office employees being
investigated and placed on
paid administrative leave.
A sheriff’s deputy who has
been paid more than $58,000
on administrative leave since
March was arrested for driv-
ing drunk this weekend. The
Eagle had to fight to get the
county to release any records
at all or even confirm that
the employee was on leave
months ago. Yet, despite
repeated requests, the county
still has not provided any
information about why she
was placed on leave.
Is that not in the public
interest?
But even when pub-
lic officials can’t use any of
those exceptions as the legal
bricks and mortar to put up a
wall between the public and
the records, there are other
methods to withhold public
records.
When the Eagle first
requested the records in
April, Sheriff Glenn Palmer
said the county had some
of the records requested but
said a fee of $1,200 would be
required before they would
even search for them.
A situation happening in
Malheur County is another
troubling example.
The Malheur Enterprise
newspaper in Vale, as part of
its diligent coverage of Mal-
heur County’s effort to build
a multimillion-dollar indus-
trial park, has requested public
records related to the project.
Publisher Les Zaitz said,
after paying a requested $300
fee for the records, Malheur
County officials requested
more money before agreeing
to release the records.
Oregon’s public records
laws provide for agencies
to waive fees in cases when
releasing the records serves
the public interest. It’s diffi-
cult to imagine a topic more
important to the public than
how government officials
are spending, or planning to
spend, public dollars.
In part because pub-
lic records laws lack sig-
nificant penalties for public
agencies and officials who
use the law to obscure rather
than to reveal facts, the sorts
of stalling tactics that Grant
and Malheur county officials
employed are unfortunately
common.
The Eagle will continue to
push for the release of these
records so we can inform the
public how their public offi-
cials are spending public
money, and we’re sure Zaitz
and his staff at the Enterprise
will do the same.
Our success will serve
both as a testament to the
importance of journalism,
but also, sadly, as an exam-
ple of how a well-conceived
law has been gradually bas-
tardized to the point that it
too often serves the interests
of public officials rather than
the public.
BUILDING BLOCKS
Healthy communities
W
hat makes a community
healthy? According to the
Lincy Institute, “A per-
son’s health is a product of their envi-
ronment. As such, a healthy com-
munity is one in which all residents
have access to a quality education,
safe and healthy homes, adequate
employment, transportation, physical
activity, and nutrition, in addition to
quality health care. Unhealthy com-
munities lead to chronic disease, such
as cancers, diabetes, and heart dis-
ease.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary
defines a healthy community as “one
that encapsulates both the health of
people and place, where people can
be physically healthy and live in a
neighborhood that is thriving socially
and economically.”
Grant County is known for its
beauty, Kam Wah Chung Museum
and friendly and supportive commu-
nity. I hear, on a regular basis, Grant
County residents who moved away
returning saying they missed home,
the sun that shines daily, the commu-
nity feel and safety. Let’s hold on to
these characteristics, value them and
protect our way of life.
How do we get better and become
a healthier community by thriving
economically?
1) Get local businesses to coop-
erate and work together for the good
of the town. Sac City, Iowa, popula-
tion estimated at 2,105 and falling,
boasts of its hospital, recreation cen-
ter, two pools, public school, library,
robust day care and the world’s larg-
est popcorn ball attraction despite
the decline in residents. Steve Irwin,
board member, says, “Sac City’s
‘secret sauce’ is people: super-in-
volved citizens, willing to work
together for the good of the town. We
always seem to have a champion for
a project, somebody or some group
that kind of takes the lead.”
2) Support and expand exist-
technical and academic institutions;
streets lined with trees and other veg-
etation that help improve the pedes-
trian and driver’s environment while
absorbing rainwater and improving
water and air quality.
4) Ensure a wide range of housing
types that are affordable to different
income levels. If a city does not have
enough appealing neighborhoods
including attractive streetscapes and
storefronts, it might not attract work-
ers and businesses. Housing should
contribute to a sense of place and
neighborhood identity, helping retain
existing residents. If housing costs
are higher than the income of the res-
idents, workers and businesses will
not be sustainable.
5) Strategically focus on com-
mon goals. 1. Make the distinc-
tion between “growth” and “invest-
ment.” 2. Be tactical and strategic.
3. Be focused. 4. Start where there is
already momentum. 5. Find the right
partners for specific goals. 6. Com-
municate and coordinate.
Let’s take a look at Grant County.
Does our chamber of commerce have
a community event calendar promot-
ing events that is utilized to support
and collaborate with one another?
Are Grant County downtowns thriv-
ing? Do Grant County leadership and
city leadership have a focused strat-
egy to promote healthy communi-
ties? What about the citizens of Grant
County? Are you involved with com-
munity collaboration, revitalization
of downtown, supporting downtown
business, schools and health care?
Does Grant County have affordable
housing and housing types to meet
our need?
Let’s join together to become
a healthier, thriving Grant County
community.
Dorothy Nestlerode is a Grant
County resident, mother and local
author.
ing businesses,
attract new busi-
nesses, encourage
entrepreneurship,
expand and diver-
sify the tax base and
improve quality of
life with new ser-
Dorothy
vices and ameni-
Nestlerode
ties. The U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency Smart
Growth Economic Development pro-
gram states, “Many communities are
finding economic success by culti-
vating a competitive advantage by
using their unique assets to attract
new investment and support exist-
ing businesses. These place-based
assets might include residents and
their skills; local architecture and
infrastructure; academic, technical,
and medical institutions; local and
regional business and employment
concentrations; cultural, natural, and
artistic resources; and general qual-
ity of life. What distinguishes smart
growth economic development from
conventional economic develop-
ment is this emphasis on building on
existing assets, rather than on pur-
suing jobs or tax base growth with-
out particular regard for location
or synergies with existing assets.”
For more information, visit epa.
gov/smartgrowth/framework-creat-
ing-smart-growth-economic-develop-
ment-strategy.
3) Support quality of life. A vari-
ety of factors can improve qual-
ity of life, such as a thriving down-
town with retail shops and services
with a focus on nutritious and afford-
able foods, medicine and essential
items and restaurants; options for
walking, biking, driving and pub-
lic transit; artistic, cultural and com-
munity resources such as museums,
public art, community centers, reli-
gious institutions and other commu-
nity gathering spaces; and medical,
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Thankful for
ranchers who feed
daily
To the Editor:
Since I moved here in 2007, it has
been a joy to live through the chang-
ing seasons, especially as it pertains
to the cattle ranches between Prai-
rie City and John Day. There are the
baby calves in the spring, cattle being
moved out to pasture for the summer,
watching the hay being put up for
winter, cattle brought back after the
grass freezes and the wonderful scene
of them being fed every day by those
faithful folks who care for them well
while they wait for the calving season
once again.
And then there are a few who
darken the joy of the season by just
getting by, feeding as seldom as pos-
sible, keeping their hay in a stack,
instead of in the cattle’s bellies, mak-
ing them hungry for two or three
days, before they get fed again.
It is hard to listen to them bawl
after the second day, wondering
when they will get any hay again, and
makes one doubly thankful for the
ranchers along the highway who let
their cattle eat every day, much like
they themselves do.
Mary Brown
Prairie City
‘The climate is
changing’
To the Editor:
I caught my first fish in the head-
waters of the John Day in 1952 near
family property. The changing cli-
mate has caused changes we all
should be aware of. Smaller aver-
age snowpacks, salmon kills due to
warm water conditions, larger fires
like the Canyon Creek Complex that
burned more houses and barns than
any fire ever in the state. The climate
is changing, and we all need to do our
part to slow it down for the sake of
our kids and grandkids.
Timber Unity just staged a protest
in Salem mostly over diesel prices.
I remember when diesel prices used
to be much less than gasoline. Once
it became a major export, the prices
rose to about the same as gasoline, a
significant increase. Look at a chart
of our oil exports, they are increas-
ing dramatically. If the oil compa-
nies have their way, we will someday
be paying $7 a gallon like they do in
Norway. That’s nice for oil company
profits, not so good for the environ-
ment, ranchers and loggers.
I didn’t hear any proposals by
Timber Unity to help solve our cli-
mate crisis. It’s time we all did our
share, and the industrial polluters will
have to be a big part of that solution.
Craig Lacy
Bend
L
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