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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2020)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Transparency, accountability require public meetings A good opportunity to debate and seek solu- tions regarding the impact of Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 restrictions in Eastern Oregon was missed last week when top elected leaders from seven counties staged an unannounced meet- ing in Prairie City. Ostensibly, the meeting was labeled an “informa- tion seminar” and was orga- nized by Lake County Com- missioner Mark Albertson. At its base, the aim of the meeting — to discuss what is perceived as a disconnect between Brown’s admin- istration, the state health care authority and rural res- idents — was a good one. Clearly there does exist a chasm of misunderstand- ing between the governor’s actions regarding COVID- 19 and how those decisions impacted rural communities. Elected lawmakers should, indeed, convene to discuss and debate the concerns of their constituents. The problem — and make no mistake, it is a problem — is the session was essen- tially planned and, initially, executed in secret. The meet- ing was not announced to the public. There was no agenda released through area news- papers informing voters of the purpose of the meeting. That means, then, that duly elected leaders — regardless of their motives — thought it proper to meet and dis- cuss important issues without allowing their bosses — the voters — know about it. For most on the lunatic fringe of the political spec- trum across our nation — and in Eastern Oregon — such niceties are not that big a deal. Who cares, the think- ing may go, if a group of elected leaders meet in secret and discuss issues that are pertinent? If the problem gets solved, it doesn’t matter. The challenge to that type of thinking is it doesn’t fit the philosophy of a demo- cratic government. Regard- less of the issue, despite what may or may not splash across the front pages or the televi- sion screen, democracy and its rules endure. Democracy does not pardon secrecy with elected officials. The two members of the Grant County Court at the meeting constituted a quo- rum, and they were deliber- ating on matters of county business. Oregon law is clear: “All meetings of the governing body of a pub- lic body shall be open to the public … (and) a quorum of a governing body may not meet in private for the pur- pose of deciding on or delib- erating toward a decision on any matter…” For the Grant County commissioners, this pri- vate meeting follows other missteps regarding pub- lic meetings in response to COVID-19. The commis- sioners approved a budget of $125,000 for the Emergency Operations Center with a plan to reassess in 45 days, but the EOC spent almost $200,000 before going back to county court well after the 45 days were up. We know this because public meeting laws require minutes be kept, and this is documented in the official minutes. The commissioners voted that EOC expenditures over $200 would need to be brought before the county court for approval. Again, this is in the required meet- ing minutes. However, thou- sands of dollars in expenses over $200 were autho- rized without approval by the county court. The pub- lic missed the opportunity to hear deliberations about these expenditures. The commissioners said it was an emergency, but that does not negate the need to follow public meeting laws. The law addresses emer- gency situations and allows emergency meetings, but it still requires a good faith effort to provide notice. It specifies that minutes must still be taken at an emer- gency meeting, and if one is held with less than 24 hours notice, the minutes must “describe the emergency jus- tifying less than 24 hours’ notice.” The law outlines that tele- phone or online meetings can also be held, but they must follow all of the other pub- lic meeting requirements, and the public must be given a place where they can listen to the meeting at the time it occurs. When Oregon’s public meeting laws were drafted, the legislators knew the governing bodies would face emergencies, and they allowed flexibility to deal with them. Given that the laws address emergencies, citing an emergency is not a great excuse for ignor- ing these important laws that ensure public access. For transparency in gov- ernment actions for the pub- lic, and for holding govern- ment officials accountable, public meetings are abso- lutely essential. Public meet- ing laws ensure the public can be informed and partici- pate in their government. As the foundation of democracy, we hope our pub- lic officials will remember the public when planning future meetings. Blue Mountain EAGLE Published every Wednesday by FARMER’S FATE In the Stinky Room (Sung to the tune of The Tiki Room.) But you won’t have enough for show and tell. ll the bears share squares It’s a two-holer Kholer with a delightful view. With a delightful perfume They’re six feet apart, don’t let that worry you. In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room A wee bit of distance makes for good social pals Cha chagachuka, cha chagachuka when you’re dealing with such private locales. Cha chagachuka, cha chagachuka In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room Welcome to our outdoor hideaway In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room Brianna You lucky people, you Where the yellow jackets are attracted to Walker There’s plenty of paper, so wipe away In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room. In our own little blue canoe It’s a happy place, and I think you’ll agree. In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room It’s a palace that fills one with pleasure and glee. In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room But while sharing is nice and a kind thing to do All the bears share squares with a delightful perfume I’m OK without #sharing a square with you. In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room When it comes to my TP, I’m a bit boorish. This corona pandemic is like a dirty word I don’t want my pretty paper squares to squish. makes a sneeze something better not seen or heard. But here in our outdoor hideaway, Normally we’d grab a tissue and sneeze away there’s no need to share, at least not right away. enjoying spring pollen in a pretty bouquet, We’ve got Sears and Roebucks along with the news But in the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room and we’ve increased the circulation for three other reviews. In the stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky room So while the bears shake their hiney and dance a tune The Charmin bears may share squares with Cottenelle Rest assured we’ve got you covered in the stinky room. A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Fix Northwest Fourth and Fifth streets To the Editor: I’m a local resident here in John Day for over 40 years. I must say I’m appalled at how bad the road is on the Northwest Fourth and Fifth loop road. The pot- holes are huge. They’ve been that way for over four years. What’s up with that? It’s the worst road in John Day. I bet if a department of transportation worker or a council member lived on this road, it would be fixed. We pay good tax dollars, we should get nice roads to drive on. There are grants out there for these things. Heck, a dump truck full of gravel isn’t costly. How about some chip sealing? It’s getting costly, I’m sure, for the residents who do live on North- west Fourth and Fifth streets. Shocks, front end alignment — heck, tires are costly. Let’s pull together and get these roads fixed. Lelan Lee John Day ‘When it comes to protests’ To the Editor: I have never been, nor do I believe I will ever be, someone who would protest. I do believe we all have the right to protest, but rioting only hurts the innocent, and that is never right. I am finding our gover- nor a bit two faced when it comes to protests. When the Malheur pro- test was going on to bring to light the overreach of our BLM, Gov. Kate Brown ordered it stopped by any means! She sent in the feds, the state cops, etc., to stop a pro- test that wasn’t harming anyone. I read they were cleaning the Mal- heur refuge buildings up, but then I read where they created a mess too. We shall never know the truth of that, but they were not physically hurting anyone. Did I agree with 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 Reporter ...................................................... Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com Sports ........................................................sports@bmeagle.com them occupying the refuge, no! I did understand they were taking a desperate measure to get atten- tion to government overreach of ranchers. I did appreciate the fact they remained peaceful. Did they carry firearms, yes! They did not use them; you can be armed and not use your firearm. You can also be unarmed by the means of fire- arms and still deal destruction by arming yourself with bricks, base- ball bats, explosives, etc., and deal a lot of harm to innocent people and businesses as we see happening across America right now. So why is one OK and not the other? A man was killed standing for his beliefs because Kate Brown ordered it stopped by any means, and he never once threw a brick, damaged a busi- ness or hurt a human being. Now because most of our government leaders are looking for any way to tear America apart, physically and mentally, so they can have things their way, it’s all of the sudden OK to endorse the abuse going on. I watched in horror, as almost every- one has, the senseless killing of George Floyd, and I found it hard to believe those officers involved were not arrested on site. We need to stop destroying the freedoms and the America our ancestors worked so hard to gain for us. All lives matter. Rusty Clark Monument ‘Department heads are responsible for knowing the details of their approved budget’ To the Editor: Wow! $75,000 over-budget. The Emergency Operations Cen- ter made $75,000 of unauthorized expenditures. Department heads are responsible for knowing the details of their approved budget, and any restrictions placed on it. In this case, no purchases over $200 were allowed without the court’s 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Online: MyEagleNews.com Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com Phone: 541-575-0710 approval. Apparently the requests for these purchases never came before the court. Commissioner Sam Palmer, Sheriff Palmer’s brother, is listed as the EOC pub- lic information officer. Commis- sioner Jim Hamsher is listed as the court liaison to the EOC. They are also members of the county Bud- get Committee. Were they making decisions on additional expendi- tures outside of court public meet- ings? These decisions should not be made behind closed doors. EOC says they have applied for a grant but have not heard yet if they are going to get it. This is gambling with our tax dollars. Eleven computers? When the pandemic is over, will these be given to the other departments that have been operating for years with antiquated equipment? For- mer EOC Incident Commander Dave Dobler is one of Sher- iff Palmer’s deputies. Will Sher- iff Palmer now claim all the pur- chases belong to his department? And why were Jim and Sam dep- utized? People are usually depu- tized to make decisions and act on behalf of the sheriff. Jim and Sam already have authority through the county court to make decisions for the county. I thought the EOC was separate from the sheriff’s depart- ment. The water here is getting mighty muddy. We’re talking your tax dollars — in a time of austerity. People are on furlough or have lost their jobs. Income tax dollars are not coming into the state coffers as anticipated. Oregon sends some of these mon- ies back to Grant County. There are not going to be as many dollars to share. The county is going to have to make adjustments. And now the county has $75,000 more in bills to pay that were not anticipated. Will the grant, if it comes through, cover all those? The budget of every depart- ment in the county will be impacted in one way or another. If services have to be cut, we will be impacted also. Eva Harris Canyon City Copyright © 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews
