A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Travel ban
should stay
on the shelf
T
he idea of a travel bans,
because of COVID-19,
briefly floated across the
state radar screen not long ago
before it seemingly vanished,
and that is probably a good
thing.
Readers may recall the idea
of restrictions on travel were
on the debate table earlier this
month, but eventually the gov-
ernor’s office told lawmak-
ers such mandates were not
impending.
Charles Boyle, a spokes-
man for Gov. Kate Brown, said
the governor’s office was dis-
cussing “issuing safe travel
guidelines with other Western
states so travelers across our
region are receiving the same
information.”
Travel restrictions or tempo-
rary quarantines are not excep-
tional in the COVID-19 pan-
demic. Some states, such as
Hawaii, already require people
who travel there to quarantine
for 14 days. Massachusetts and
Alaska have similar guidelines.
Quarantines are — to some
extent — a justifiable measure
if they are backed by the best
available medical science, but
instituting travel restrictions on
interstate travel would be dif-
ficult to enforce and costly at
a time when Oregon is already
suffering serious financial
blows because of the virus.
Travel restrictions are also
tricky, legally. For one, indi-
vidual rights must be protected.
That means any kind of travel
ban must adhere to very spe-
cific guidelines or the state will
end up in court.
Any kind of travel restric-
tions — or bans — will impact
rural Oregon the hardest. The
region already suffers from
tough economic woes and a
ban or restriction that could
impact commerce would be a
huge hit for the area.
Finally, it isn’t clear the state
is to the point in the COVID-19
crisis where travel restrictions
or bans would be necessary.
Should the governor have
a travel restriction or ban plan
ready in case the COVID-19
crisis suddenly becomes much,
much worse? Yes. That is just
common sense. No one knows
which way the COVID-19 epi-
demic is going right now, so
being prepared is prudent. The
governor’s office and state offi-
cials should have a plethora of
different plans to meet many
possible scenarios. Planning
pays off.
However, unless the current
COVID-19 situation in Ore-
gon grows acute, plans for a
travel ban or for travel restric-
tions should remain just that
— plans. Plans that are readily
available to pull off the shelf,
but otherwise left untouched.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ing and loving parents out there.
‘We are the most
Maybe getting out of the “for-
inclusive place’
ward” thinking cities and back to
To the Editor:
I’m afraid too many have
bought into the lie of it’s all
about “race” — we are the most
inclusive place! How many dif-
ferent races live and work in
America? How many still come
here, despite all our corrup-
tion and anti-God rhetoric? I
want to believe there are still
good, God-fearing, hard work-
the rural counties, where it’s not
all about the mighty dollar, would
change a whole lot of ideas about
what’s really important.
A side note — quit mark-
ing down “suspected” COVID-
19 where people have other com-
plaints! You are cheating our
already strained system. A sore
knee or foot is not a virus!
Mya Ennis
Mt. Vernon
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
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FARMER’S FATE
Matcha do about nothing
M
ark Twain once said, “I can
always tell which is the front
end of a horse, but beyond
that, my art is not above the ordinary.”
I feel the same way. I enjoy horses,
grew up around horses, had my own
horses — and I am pretty confident
that, like Twain, I can always tell the
front side from the back. My son,
however, feels differently, which led
to him getting his own horse last year.
They quickly made friends, and often
in between work or school, my son
would be seen either riding, brush-
ing or just talking to his new buddy,
Almond. Almond enjoyed the atten-
tion, but after having been a pas-
ture ornament for the last six or more
years, he wasn’t sure he enjoyed
someone telling him where to go and
when. More often than not, after a few
circles around the pasture, Almond
would stop, and my son would get off
and then continue to lead him around.
When it was clear that this was not
just a passing interest with my son, we
decided that Almond could use a little
refresher course at the trainers.
My son was extremely saddened
by the idea that he wouldn’t be able to
see Almond every day, but the trainer
kindly offered to let him come visit
anytime, and when Almond started
shaping up, he was welcome to come
ride him in the arena as well.
After a couple of weeks, we drove
out to see how Almond was doing.
It was amazing. Almond looked like
a new horse. I hadn’t even realized
he had gotten so plump until a strict
grass-only diet, as well as working
every day had really made him slim
down and tone up. He was quick to
turn his head when he heard us walk
up, but then, just as quickly, ignored
us. Of course I couldn’t really blame
him, if someone had made me go on
a grass-only diet, I would probably
ignore them too.
It wasn’t long before he was all
saddled up, and my
son looked so happy
to be riding his friend
again — and I just
couldn’t help but
admiring how much
better he looked —
Brianna
even his coat was
Walker
beautifully shiny. I
was remarking to a
friend later that evening about how
good Almond had looked. “Makes me
almost want to go spend a month at
the trainer’s myself.”
“Are you allowed a plus one?” she
asked, and we both laughed.
Later — thoughts of diets and
working out long forgotten — I found
myself in the ice cream department
of the grocery store. There, amid all
the brands I was familiar with, was a
new one in bright, flamboyant pack-
aging. Yellow and black splashes all
over bright orange and blue contain-
ers were quite eye-catching. I’m usu-
ally pretty predictable in my ice-cream
selection — bunny tracks or rain-
bow sherbet — but something about
those containers made me stop to take
a closer look. The flavors were quite
unusual: turmeric chai and cinnamon;
milk and honey; matcha and fudge;
and lemon graham. I was intrigued,
and they were on sale, so I bought one
of each variety. That night, after sup-
per, I pulled out the four small con-
tainers and four spoons, and we began
tasting each flavor.
We opened the turmeric chai and
cinnamon first. It was a deep cur-
ry-yellow color. I loved it, my oldest
said it was okay, my youngest liked
it, my husband said it was tolerable.
The second one was milk and honey.
It was light in color, and pretty light in
taste, especially after the turmeric. The
third one we opened was the matcha
and fudge. I didn’t know what mat-
cha was, but I figured it had fudge in
it — how bad could it be? (That was
my first mistake.) The lid came off
to reveal a gorgeous deep green ice
cream. My husband pulled them tub
closer to him — he loves anything
mint, and this looked promising. He
took a big bite and started gagging.
He pushed the tub toward me, mak-
ing horrible faces — and for a sec-
ond I wasn’t sure he was going to be
able to swallow. After a reaction like
that, I wasn’t sure I wanted any — but
I reminded myself that he hates toma-
toes, onions, peppers, black licorice
— many things I enjoy, so his reaction
didn’t completely ensure my dislike.
(My second mistake.) I took a scoop
and put it in my mouth. That was a
moment that I wished that I learned
better from others’ mistakes without
having to make my own. I squinted
my eyes and swallowed hard against
my tongue and esophagus. It tasted
like regurgitated sheep’s breath. Only
instead of hot and steamy, it was cold
and sliding down my throat. It wasn’t
until later that I learned how trendy
matcha is becoming. For anyone like
me who didn’t know what it is, it is
basically crushed leaves that are dried
and ground into a bright green pow-
der to be added to food and drinks. I
read all about the health benefits or it
— but I stand by my assessment that it
tastes like the breath from a ruminat-
ing ovine.
After that ice cream moment, I
thought back to the trainers and a
month of just eating grass. I’ve no
doubt it’s healthy — I’ve seen how
great Almond looks. But I don’t think
any amount of beautiful tresses and
sleek muscles are worth that “mat-
cha-buse” to my taste buds. As long as
people can still tell my front side from
my back, then I’ll take my less sleek
tresses and leave the grass to the diet-
ing horses!
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for the
Blue Mountain Eagle.
GUEST COMMENT
Tips for navigating the PPP forgiveness process
T
hose businesses that received
Paycheck Protection Program
funds are no doubt aware that
all or a portion of the loan is forgiv-
able if funds are utilized according to
program requirements.
The following information comes
from a webinar I participated in
hosted by a Small Business Adminis-
tration lending specialist, and I want to
emphasize borrowers should always
check with their lender or CPA for
specific answers pertaining to their
individual situation.
To begin with, borrowers will sub-
mit an application for forgiveness to
their lender. The Paycheck Protection
Flexibility Act extended the amount
of time for submission from eight
weeks after the date you received the
proceeds to 24. There are two differ-
ent applications: form 3508 and form
3508 EZ. The EZ form is considerably
shorter, but not all businesses qualify
to use this.
You are eligible for the EZ form
if you:
• are a self-employed borrower
with no employees and did not include
any salaries in the calculation of your
monthly payroll when determining
your eligible loan amount.
• didn’t reduce wages by more than
25% and didn’t reduce the number of
employees or average paid hours of
employees.
• weren’t able to rehire/hire simi-
larly qualified employees.
• didn’t reduce wages by more
than 25% and were unable to operate
at the same level of
activity due to gov-
ernment restrictions.
(i.e. from OSHA
or another similar
agency)
The lender will
Greg
review the applica-
Smith
tion and confirm:
• appropriate
documentation has been submitted to
validate the information.
• the borrower’s certifications are
true and correct.
• your mathematical calculations
are accurate.
The lender has 60 days for the pro-
cess to be completed and then will
issue a decision to SBA along with
the required documents. The portal
for submission by lenders to the SBA
is targeted to be available on Aug.
10, but this could change. The lend-
er’s decision will fall into one of these
categories:
• Approval (in whole or in part)
• Denial
• Denial with prejudice due to
pending SBA review
Examples of supporting docu-
ments to be included with the for-
giveness application for payroll costs
include bank statements, tax forms,
receipts and cancelled checks.
For allowable non-payroll costs
you must prove the service or obli-
gation was in place prior to Feb. 15
(with bills and invoices) and provide
proof of payment. For example, if you
started new internet service on Feb.
15 or after, it would not be an allow-
able utility expense. For such things
as mortgage interest payments, rent or
leases, you will likely need to produce
an amortization schedule, lease agree-
ments, copies of cancelled checks, etc.
If using the 3508 form, you will
need to include the loan forgiveness
calculation form, the PPP schedule A
and documentation showing the aver-
age number of FTE (full time employ-
ees) on your payroll during the refer-
enced time periods.
Should you be required to pay
back any portion of PPP funds, no
payment will be due for 10 months.
Ask your lender about additional
terms and conditions or refer to your
loan documents.
While there is justifiable angst sur-
rounding the forgiveness process,
SBA emphasizes simply approach-
ing it with honesty and integrity. With
careful record keeping and align-
ing the use of funds with allowable
expenses, you should have little dif-
ficulty being able to produce neces-
sary documentation for forgiveness.
Rely on the expertise of your CPA and
always reach out to your lender first as
they are the ones who will be recom-
mending to SBA whether the loan is
forgivable, either in whole or in part.
Greg Smith is the director of the
Eastern Oregon University Small
Business Development Center at
1607 Gekeler Lane, Room 148, in La
Grande. For free, confidential busi-
ness advising, call 541-962-1532 or
email eousbdc@gmail.com.