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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2020)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 24, 2020 The COVID-19 crisis isn’t over G ov. Kate Brown used an apt metaphor recently regarding the COVID-19 virus and what may be in store for the state over the next month. “We are going to be step- ping out on the ice,” she said. The statement is indicative of what has become a hallmark of the COVID-19 virus — its utter unpredictability. The respiratory infection is now a part of our lives, a famil- iar signpost as we navigate our way from one day or one week to the next. The COVID- 19 virus signpost is clearly one most everyone would like to avoid or ignore. Except we can’t. That’s because in the wake of Brown’s approval of many counties moving into phase two of a reopening, cases of the virus haven’t declined but increased in many areas of the state. At the tail end of last week, the Oregon Health Author- ity reported 34 new COVID- 19 cases in Umatilla County. Those new positives push the total for the county to 298. Since mid-May, when the state began a methodical reopening process, the number of Oregonians testing positive for the virus has doubled. Oregon’s isn’t alone. More than 15 other states are endur- ing a boost in cases, and, in some cases, shattering daily records. Then there is the peculiar case of Union County. There, the county commissioners last week made an unprecedented decision to move the entity back into phase one COVID-19 restrictions after more than 200 people tested positive for the malady in less than a week. As unfortunate as the sit- uation in Union County is, it should be a red flag regarding what can happen if proper pre- cautions are not in place as the state reopens. The pandemic guidelines — social distancing, wearing a mask, staying home if you are sick — remain just as relevant today as they were two months ago. Yet, in the end, whether we have a major outbreak here will depend almost entirely on local residents. That means we must all heed the warnings and guide- lines from the health authorities at the county and state level. Just because we’ve moved into phase two of the gover- nor’s reopening plan doesn’t mean the virus is gone. In fact, the COVID-19 virus is here to stay. The measures adopted by the governor to stop the spread were fueled by the real fear that hospitals and other care centers could be overloaded if a major outbreak occurred. That hasn’t happened and probably won’t. Local health centers are prepared to meet just such an emergency. Yet, that doesn’t mean we should ignore reality and pre- tend everything is back to normal. It is not. And won’t be until there is a vaccine or treatment. GUEST COMMENT Rural Oregonians need to be at the center of their own recovery By Heidi Khokhar R ural has struggled for decades — Oregon can do better. More than 35 years ago, Ore- gon’s rural communities expe- rienced an economic down- turn of epic proportions when the timber economy collapsed. While state and federal govern- ments responded with significant resources and support for almost a decade, it was not enough. The 2008 Great Recession, again, hit rural places hard. Now, the COVID-19 crisis will likely affect Oregon’s rural and tribal economies disproportionately and have repercussions for years to come. Our history tells us we have yet to invest the needed resources, provide the needed support or allow the needed time for rural recovery after these major eco- nomic downturns. In the past, we failed to create an environment where rural could propel themselves to an equita- ble, inclusive and resilient econ- omy. Then we moved on, leaving them behind and on their own — with adverse impacts to the entire Oregon economy and our ability to work together towards common goals. Rural Has Unique Needs In Oregon, rural places face the same complex challenges as larger population centers, in more geographic isolation, with scarcer financial resources, fewer peo- Oregon moves forward to become better and more resilient than before. Right now, we have an opportu- nity to choose a path forward that creates a stronger future for all Oregonians. This includes invest- ing resources to better understand the specific needs of rural Oregon — focusing on the further dispro- portionate impact on rural Indig- enous, Black and other commu- nities of color — and to develop solutions in partnership with rural people and the rural organizations that support them. Oregon’s legislative leaders must make proportionate invest- ment in rural Oregon to address not only the immediate COVID- 19 needs, but also the larger eco- nomic struggles felt by these com- munities for decades. We implore our state leaders to ensure Ore- gon’s economic recovery specifi- cally includes rural communities, and that rural people and orga- nizations be included in the pol- icy decisions that ultimately affect their own recovery. RDI is com- mitted to advancing these priori- ties, and we look forward to being an active partner with our elected leaders, and others, in making sure all of Oregon recovers to become better and more resilient than before. Heidi Khokhar is the executive director of Rural Development Ini- tiatives. She grew up in a small Southern Oregon town and has worked alongside rural people and communities for over 20 years. ple to do the work, rarer mod- els designed to fit their situation and more confusing or less trusted information sources. The COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic impact and the current social and political cli- mate combine to create a situa- tion on a scale that may eclipse anything we have known. In this moment, we can clearly see the bad — inequities in our systems and the lack of resiliency of our local economies — and the good, shared values from which we can build. Rural Oregonians Need to Be at the Center of Their Own Recovery Rural Oregonians are working hard to recover, sleeves rolled up, helping each other. Their resilient spirit leads them to look for oppor- tunities to act locally, connect to one another and access resources and support. However, they cannot do it alone — and this time, they shouldn’t. Rural Development Initiatives and many other partners have been with rural communities through it all. For decades, we have worked to understand their needs, support their work, provide access to mod- els and resources that work in rural and help them set and achieve their goals. We stand committed to listen, support their economic recovery and play an active role in connecting policy makers and resources to their efforts. Together, we can ensure that LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Keeping the virus at bay 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. • Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900 Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-986-1730. Website: oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email: Sen.CliffBentz@oregonlegislature.gov. • Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503- 986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature. gov/findley. 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 To the Editor: The Emergency Operations Center-Grant County Sheriff’s Office has on its recent record of accomplishments: unnecessary hir- ings (for finding and doling out federal and state money expected for COVID-19, few if any for increased community health care needs); unnecessary purchases for stated purpose; unjustifiable expenditures in view of one sin- gle lone positive; corruption of the county court showing a disturb- ing trend as expressed in Mr. Ham- sher’s June 16 statement that: “Its just like we can approve anything” (BME June 16, 2020). “Anything” then means an addi- tional $125,000 of taxpayer reve- nue. (It now appears the initially planned full EOC budget was “pre- approved” and will be paid; per- haps over Scott Myers’ objection, if we’re lucky, giving the illusion we do have county government of-the-people-by-the-people-for- the-people, rather than one of-by- and-for the EOC-GCSO assembly.) Despite: no further need for the additional personnel hired (their employment contracts should stipulate the likely tempo- rary nature of the job); no need for the wide-ranging purchases in their intended purpose (purchases have a return policy, within 30 to 90 days, not too late!); no need for further emergency measures, rather, maintaining what the popu- lace has successfully practiced the past three months: caution, obser- vance of new rules, watching the rest of the state and nation, and plain common sense. Beginning years back but con- tinuing to figure into the county budget are sheriff’s deputy fur- loughs, arbitrary and unexplained paid leaves, false arrests, refusals to L ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. We must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244. 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 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 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 MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION acknowledge state law and result- ing legal expenses when someone did call it. All at taxpayer expense without corresponding service. True sum total to date? Does any- one know? And even further back, to the infancy of his sheriffhood, court minutes repeatedly show Palmer asking for money, and more of it, and concern over this squeaky wheel by other county employees. Needless to say, I object to most any and all these expenditures and herewith politely but urgently request the county assessor to cal- culate my share of this total sum, and refund me in the upcoming tax year. Taxation without representa- tion is a no-go. And how far would $250,000 have gone toward giving local busi- ness a boost? So, back to the purpose of this exercise: Where (who) is the virus? Vega Nunez Ritter Phone: 541-575-0710 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