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
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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
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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
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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