A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Don’t panic,
but take virus
seriously
I
f there was any doubt
we are now living in
a new, vastly changed
world, those misgivings
should have been appropri-
ately vanquished during the
weekend.
That means all of us
should be carefully con-
sidering how we are going
to move forward under the
cloud created by the new
coronavirus. There contin-
ues to be an undercurrent of
doubt about the seriousness
of the coronavirus, a kind of
it’s-not-that-bad type of atti-
tude, and while no one can
accurately gauge the out-
come of this new malady,
it is important that all of us
take it seriously.
How serious does the
government take it? In a
nearly unprecedented move,
the Federal Reserve slashed
interest rates on Sunday to
nearly zero. It also said it
will purchase $700 billion
in Treasury securities. What
that means in the big picture
is federal officials believe
the coronavirus pandemic
carries the real potential to
severely slam our economy
— an economy that has, for
the most part, been hum-
ming along for years.
School districts across
Eastern Oregon have closed,
and Gov. Kate Brown
decided Monday to close
the state’s bars and restau-
rants and ban gatherings
of more than 25 people in
response to the coronavirus.
The governor faces a nearly
insurmountable challenge.
On one hand, she must do
all that is necessary to pro-
tect Oregonians but, on the
other, also must know that
thousands of small busi-
nesses could be in jeopardy
if measures prove to be too
draconian.
But this virus may force
the governor’s hand, and the
longer she waits to develop
a way forward, the more
dangerous the situation will
become.
More than anything,
though, we must all remem-
ber not to panic. That is
becoming, apparently, an
increasingly difficult concept
to sink in, judging by the
empty shelves at local gro-
cery stores. President Don-
ald Trump urged Americans
to “calm down” in his press
conference on Sunday, and
we agree.
There is no need to rush
to local stores and buy hun-
dreds of dollars of goods.
The American supply system
— as robust as any in the
world — continues to func-
tion. That means there aren’t
going to be widespread
shortages of food and other
items if we all act with some
sense.
We may run the risk of
becoming a broken record
regarding the need not to
panic. We’ll take that risk.
That’s because the only
way we are going to over-
come this major and mas-
sive challenge will be to act
in a reasonable, clear-headed
manner.
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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
GUEST COMMENT
Thoughts on water quality and ag’s future
By Jim Bahrenburg
G
rant County ranchers and
the Department of Agri-
culture from Salem met at
the airport a week ago to discuss
water issues and water quality.
Many good questions were asked
by ranchers, and the Department
of Agriculture answered many of
them. There were about 70 or more
ranching men and women attend-
ing, and the Department of Agri-
culture will be returning again in
each of the next three years.
A concern that I realized was
not addressed that should be a
concern for all of us is about the
unknown affects of climate change
and if warmer winters are the new
normal. Most ranchers attending
have experienced 4-foot or greater
snow packs and 20-30 degrees
below zero temperatures over the
last 50 years. We are all dependent
on snow and rain at the higher ele-
vations and in the national forest.
If in 10 years we experience a 25%
reduction in our 8-inch to 14-inch
expenses remain the same, and
paying those expenses contribute
to the economic stability of Grant
County.
What also concerns me is that a
young couple with one or two chil-
dren or a young man or woman
who wants to ranch or farm can’t
afford to buy a tractor, let alone a
ranch or farm, and add to that the
yearly operating costs. Without the
40 or 50 years of ranching/farm-
ing experience in both good and
bad years that each one of us has
and the knowledge of how to han-
dle tough situations, it seems to me
there needs to be a lot of thought
to addressing this issue while we
have all the valuable experience
and know how that was in the
room at the airport.
It’s hard to tell, but it’s possible
that in 2030 our country may need
many young men and women who
are willing to work hard 10 or 12
hours a day outside in the fresh air,
12 months of the year.
Jim Bahrenburg is
from Kimberly.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
What is the back
story behind
emergency
management
coordinator
resigning?
To the Editor:
I am happy to see that the
Grant County Sheriff’s Office
Search and Rescue agency is on
top of the coronavirus situation,
and serious about protecting the
citizens of our county. The way
this came about, however, seems a
little underhanded. If it was neces-
sary to bypass the county Office of
Emergency Management for the
responsibility of taking the lead,
we all deserve to know why, and
I hope someone will come for-
ward with the information leading
to the decision. If the reasons were
sound, great. If we just lost a good
emergency management coordina-
tor for no good reason, I don’t feel
quite so safe. So please, what is
the back story here?
Marie Bryant
Prairie City
Controversial
‘emergency’
meeting during
crisis – why?
To the Editor:
When Sheriff Palmer strate-
gized to create a task force to deal
with the coronavirus threat to
Grant County, he blindsided our
Emergency Management Coor-
dinator Ted Williams — and the
public. The commissioners and
the sheriff called an “emergency”
meeting to take control of the cri-
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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Administrative Assistant ..................Christy Smith, office@bmeagle.com
Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
snow and rain, and in stream and
river flows, can we adapt and pre-
pare for how we raise crops and
livestock? This change in weather
may not happen, but I see the For-
est Service and BLM in somewhat
of a bind. Under forest health man-
agement there is a need to reduce
fuels and open forest stands to
reduce severe fire damage. If trees
are spaced out and the slash and
fuels are burned or removed and
the forest soils lose the organic
matter and their water holding
capacity, springs and streams may
dry up and we may lose the late
season flows in the rivers. It seems
that the hydrologists, silvicultur-
ists and soil people need to address
this issue.
What concerns me most is that
most of the ranchers, both men
and women, attending this import-
ant meeting may not be ranch-
ing or farming 10 years from now
in 2030. In a good year ranchers
make money, and we buy things
we need. In bad years we don’t
make money, but our operating
Online: MyEagleNews.com
sis by installing a deputy to “coor-
dinate (the) stakeholders.” But
that is the role of the emergency
manager! There are two big ques-
tions that the sheriff and county
commissioners need to answer.
Why was Williams blindsided by
their plan to override his authority
and hand it to the sheriff depart-
ment? And, as important, why
was this done through an “emer-
gency” meeting — preventing not
only Mr. Williams from know-
ing of it in advance, but also pre-
venting citizen attendance or input
about their decision? The sheriff’s
department is known for lack of
transparency. Now, are we to won-
der about the county court?
When did things shift from
a reasonable expectation to use
Search And Rescue (to assist our
emergency manager) to SAR over-
riding Williams’ established plan
for a pandemic? The lead deputy of
SAR had met with health profes-
sionals the day before the so-called
“emergency” meeting. Did he
announce then he would be tak-
ing control? Why was our emer-
gency manager not informed? This
was planned far in advance of the
hastily called county court meet-
ing that should have been sched-
uled out 24 hours ahead with the
required 24-hour public notifi-
cation. Through declaring it an
“emergency” meeting, the commis-
sioners bypassed the 24-hour noti-
fication rule, avoiding any pub-
lic input or questions about their
planned approval of the sheriff’s
department’s power grab.
How sad that during a crisis
the sheriff and the commissioners
took this action that fosters divi-
sion in our community. Neverthe-
less, given the determination of
Grant County residents to muster
support in times of crisis, we can
work with one another and sup-
port our SAR leadership operating
the emergency operations center.
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Reconsider
emergency
management amid
coronavirus
To the Editor:
I am writing to strongly object
to the appointment by the county
court of a sheriff’s deputy as coor-
dinator of the county’s emergency
response mechanism, essentially
negating functioning of the estab-
lished emergency management
team headed by Ted Williams who
resigned as a result thereof.
At the very least, this is a dupli-
cation of efforts, a waste of tax-
payer funds and an open invitation
for disaster, given the documented
history of the sheriff’s office’s
unwillingness to engage in cross
agency collaborative efforts.
As an elderly resident and land-
owner in Grant County, living
remotely, I am keenly interested
in a capable, willing and impar-
tial emergency response. A power
grab is woefully out of place here,
as is territorial expansionism at
the cost of the county’s most vul-
nerable, in the case of COVID-19
virus, the elderly.
I urge you to reverse the
appointment of Deputy Dobler
and the creation of a new task
force and return to the status quo,
hoping Mr. Williams will recon-
sider his resignation.
Vega Nunez
Ritter
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POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Phone: 541-575-0710
But when this is over, commis-
sioners and the sheriff owe Wil-
liams an apology, and owe us
a review of when “emergency”
meetings are warranted — if they
wish to rebuild public trust in their
leadership.
Kay Steele
Ritter
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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