A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Staying
vigilant out
in the forests
ires have ravaged the
western part of our great
state, displacing thou-
sands, while smoke continues
to linger in our county and
elsewhere in Oregon.
Without a doubt it has
become a heart-wrenching
experience for the rest of the
state to view the destruction
wrought across Western and
Southern Oregon, but the trag-
edy unfolding there should be
a stark reminder to the rest of
us that the same type of mod-
ern disaster could occur here.
That’s because the fire dan-
ger across Eastern Oregon
remains high. Though our
region has, blissfully, avoided
major wildfires this year — so
far — now is not the time to
let down our guard.
The images emerging from
the fires in Western, South-
ern and Central Oregon under-
score how fast a wildfire can
ignite and how quickly those
blazes can move.
A million acres are
scorched in our state and there
are already plenty of pundits
lining up to label the blame
and seek a name to our collec-
tive pain.
Climate change.
Forest mismanagement.
Misplaced government
priorities.
Reasons abound. The truth
is probably more in the mid-
dle — as it often is. Climate
change, forest mismanagement
F
and skewed priorities all play
a role, but no single factor is
the cause of the tragedy.
Truth is hard to come by
now, but one factor that can’t
be overlooked is the contin-
ued mismanagement of our
forests that has created tinder-
boxes ready to explode with
the slightest spark. Instead
of developing a broad-based,
multi-use blueprint to manage
our forests, our nation’s judi-
cial system is often where key
decisions are made regarding
forests.
Forest management plans
developed are quickly tied
up by lawsuits. And anything
even remotely connected to
logging is almost a guarantee
of a court battle.
That’s not how we should
manage our forests, but, unfor-
tunately, that is the new nor-
mal. All of which means it is
even more important for all of
us to take precautions while
we are in the forest or out on
our desert steppes. A momen-
tary lapse in safety could mean
the creation of a giant mael-
strom that consumes thou-
sands of acres.
Voters apparently do not
have a say in how to manage
our forests, nor carry a voice
in a courtroom where the lat-
est lawsuit in forest manage-
ment is played out, but we all
can make sure that when we
do recreate we ensure that we
remain vigilant and careful.
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
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
GUEST COMMENT
Pivot plan critical for Oregon
small business survival
W
hen people describe
entrepreneurs and
small business own-
ers as resilient, there has never
been a time when that has been
truer than this year.
As small businesses in Ore-
gon deal with unforgiving wild-
fires on top of the impact felt
by the coronavirus pandemic,
businesses need to rethink and
retool how they do business in
order to survive. A pivot plan is
critical.
Being a small business
owner can often feel lonely,
with the world, clients and
employees weighing on their
shoulders. The U.S. Small Busi-
ness Administration and the
Oregon Small Business Devel-
opment Center want one mes-
sage to ring clear for businesses
figuring out a pivot plan: You
are not alone.
The SBDC network is the
largest resource partner funded
by the SBA and provides one-
on-one business advising at no
cost to entrepreneurs. Whether
it’s creating a resiliency plan,
navigating options for financ-
ing, reworking a marketing
plan or establishing new oper-
ations systems, SBDC-certified
advisers walk business own-
ers through their options so they
can confidently make tough
decisions about their business.
Right now, there are three
things every small busi-
ness must do to successfully
pivot and move their business
forward:
• Don’t panic. The resources
for small business are some of
the greatest in history and you
are not in this alone.
• Look for opportunities.
Business pivots and changes
in consumer behavior provide
opportunities toward innova-
Jeremy Field
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Why not call local firefighters? failed to call out firefighters in John Day and two units
To the Editor:
Is this true? Rumors are flying that Gov. Kate Brown
were ready to go. Why?
Annetta Huffman
John Day
L
ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Mark Gregory
tion, new market strategies and
operational efficiency.
• Negotiate well. We are all
in this together and whether
negotiation involves lease
agreements, established con-
tracts or future business, strate-
gic negotiation is a cornerstone
of successful businesses.
SBDC advisers are actively
helping Oregon businesses
recover from wildfires and
the pandemic with these three
things already. In fact, more
than 5,200 small businesses
have received technical assis-
tance from the Oregon SBDC
since March.
Plus, Oregon small busi-
nesses have been approved for
more than $9.2 billion in Pay-
check Protection Program
loans, SBA COVID-19 Eco-
nomic Injury Disaster Loans
and EIDL Advances, thanks in
part to SBDC advisers.
Thanks to the CARES Act,
the SBA provided the Oregon
SBDC with additional funding
to expand the Oregon SBDC
Capital Access Team. Com-
posed of business advisers
with financial backgrounds and
retired bankers, these experts
participated in numerous webi-
nars with clients, partners,
banks and public agencies.
CARES Act resources have
also allowed SBDC centers
across the state to expand advis-
ing support to nearly twice
as many clients served com-
pared to the previous six-month
period.
Working together with local
partners, SBA staff and SBDC
advisers have educated small
businesses about the financ-
ing programs and helped guide
business owners through the
process. And both of our orga-
nizations continue to guide
businesses through the PPP for-
giveness process and other
coronavirus business support,
along with disaster prepared-
ness and recovery resources
related to this summer’s
wildfires.
Looking forward, new state-
wide advising services focused
on restaurateurs are under-
way. This is utilizing restau-
rant advisers from the Oregon
SBDC along with new advisers
through an agreement with the
Oregon Restaurant and Lodg-
ing Association. Survey assess-
ments of both restaurants and
travel industry businesses con-
tinue through collaboration with
Business Oregon, the Oregon
Restaurant and Lodging Associ-
ation and Travel Oregon.
This is not the first obsta-
cle small businesses have had to
face. It will certainly not be the
last either. One thing is for cer-
tain, though: For decades, the
SBA and Oregon SBDC have
been there to empower small
businesses to weather the storm,
and we’ll continue to do so
through every stage of a busi-
ness’ life cycle.
Jeremy Field is the regional
administrator for the U.S. Small
Business Administration Pacific
Northwest Region, which serves
Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
Alaska.
Mark Gregory is the state
director of the Oregon Small
Business Development Cen-
ter, an SBA-funded resource
partner.
Phone: 541-575-0710
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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