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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2020)
ELECTION 2020 MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, October 7, 2020 A3 OREGON HOUSE DISTRICT 60 OWENS wants to represent the people, protect the rural way of life SPELL hopes to give people a choice, vows to listen to everyone Incumbent Crane farmer says bipartisanship is important for a successful representative Third-generation Grant County resident seeks new jobs to keep younger generations around By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle By Rudy Diaz Blue Mountain Eagle After being appointed as representative for Oregon’s House District 60 in Janu- ary, Mark Owens said he has worked to listen and be a voice for the people in the district and plans to continue that if re-elected in November. Owens, who lives in Crane, said Harney County is what allowed him and his family to live the American dream. He met his wife and started his family in Harney County and bought his own farm there. He said, while trying to make a living became harder due to a changing society, it drove him to get into public service. “I got on the school board, I got on the planning commis- sion and a lot of boards, and I started to feel that I could help with the correction to make Oregon more business friendly,” Owens said. When the state representa- tive position became available, Owens, who was a Harney County commissioner at the time, said the position would give him a chance to develop as a leader and be a voice to the community and possibly make change, which is why he pur- sued the position. He said an important aspect of being a representative is being a voice to the 73,000 people in House District 60 and making sure he can artic- ulate their concerns during dis- cussions on policy. “My primary job as rep- resentative is to represent the people, maintain our custom and culture and try to protect our way of life,” Owens said. Some of the concerns expressed by constituents in District 60 were fires and the need for better land manage- ment, bringing money and jobs into the economy, government and state agencies running out of control, unemployment issues, permitting and licens- ing and lifting restrictions on schools, according to Owens. He said the concerns are widespread and that House District 60 submitted 33 legis- lative concepts on concerns. “It’s been interesting, and it’s a broader perspective than I thought it was originally going to be,” Owens said. “A lot of it stems back to the desire and needs to have accountabili- The Eagle/Rudy Diaz Mark Owens, R-Crane, is the incumbent in the race for represen- tative of Oregon’s 60th House District. ties in our agencies, make sure small businesses are not penal- ized and we become more business friendly.” COVID-19 presented another trial that raised con- cerns. Owens said COVID-19 is a real disease that needs to be taken seriously. However, he said Oregonians have allowed COVID-19 to run their lives through policy and action. “We need to learn how to live with COVID and not have COVID live our lives,” Owens said. He said children and small businesses have been the most affected by the policy actions and restrictions. Owens said kids should have the chance to get back to school build- ings, and it should be easier for small businesses to reopen. “We still need to pro- tect those that are vulnera- ble and those that are con- cerned,” Owens said. “We still need to take precautions, but we’ve got to get back to some normalcy.” The partisan environment at the state capital does provide challenges, Owens said. He said, by nature, he is not a par- tisan person and was a county commissioner in a nonpartisan environment. As commissioner he worked with many other com- missioners and never knew if they were Republicans or Democrats. “It didn’t dawn on me until the first emergency session, we were down there and we had bipartisan support of lia- bility coverage for schools,” Owens said. “We had 10 Dem- ocratic representatives write a letter to the speaker, asking for the amendment, and the Republicans supported it. We had the votes to get it through the house ... but (Gov. Kate Brown) decided to pull it to leverage it for later.” Good policy needs to be bipartisan and needs public participation, Owens said. “Bipartisanship is huge, and it’s probably the number one thing that would make me suc- cessful as a representative of Beth Spell has lived in Grant County all her life, with the exception of college and the beginning of her marriage, and she’s now campaigning to be representative of Ore- gon’s 60th House district as the Democratic nominee. Spell’s father and grand- mother lived in Grant County all of their lives. Spell’s great-grandparents moved to Grant County in the late 1860s. “I am Grant County, born and raised, and very much feel that this is the land that I’ve been called to live in and try to make it as good a place as possible for people to live in,” Spell said. ELECTION 2020 OREGON HOUSE DISTRICT 60 the district,” Owens said. “You need to represent every per- son in your district regardless of their party affiliation, and in order to get that done, you’ve got to leave that partisanship at the door and become bipartisan in order to work successfully with everyone.” There are exceptions for bipartisanship such as spe- cific moral and constitutional issues. He said he is pro-life, supports the Second Amend- ment and freedom of speech and said there are no grey areas for these topics. Owens said people should vote for him because he is ded- icated to serving the commu- nity of House District 60, he can continue to learn to be a voice of the community and he has the personality and tools to affect positive change. “I think I can be successful in that environment in Salem more so than a lot of people, and if I didn’t think I could promote positive change, I wouldn’t be here,” Owens said, “I have a real passion and desire to see our communities do better.” Spell was a school teacher for a number of years and was on a negotiating team for her union when contracts were negotiated with the school board. She said this experience helped her find the ability to sit down and work with somebody who had a contrary position. The conversations would not be contentious as she worked to keep the discussion in the middle ground, she said. She also served on several dio- cese-wide committees for her church, the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon. She said she developed a lot of mediation and discussion skills with peo- ple of varying positions. Spell decided to run because she said people need a choice in deciding a representative. “It’s not an election unless they have a choice, and for a number of years, our represen- tative has been selected mid- term by a group of commission- ers and other county officials, and rarely does anybody ever run against them,” Spell said. “They’re really in that posi- tion without receiving a man- date from the people.” Contributed photo Beth Spell, the Democratic nominee for Oregon House District 60, decided to run because she said people need a choice. Spell said, as she goes fur- ther into the race, there have been a lot of issues that have been ignored. She said, by offering people a choice, she is offering them a different perspective. Spell said the needs of Eastern Oregon don’t seem to be communicated very well, and the prominent difference between the eastern and west- ern sides of the state are their thoughts on what makes life livable. “We need to develop a strat- egy and a style of communica- tion so we can work with those people that are a majority of the population so our needs are met and we can meld the two differ- ent cultures to work together,” Spell said. Spell said Eastern Ore- gon needs family wage jobs so younger generations can stay and raise their families. New technology and new ideas would help make this possible, she said. “We can’t keep trying to move backwards to the way things were when I was being raised in the ’50s and ’60s,” Spell said. “Those jobs are gone, and they’re probably not coming back just like the jobs we had 100 years ago — those are gone too. We need to look to the future.” Spell said, if elected, she will look at and investigate the concerns of the people regard- less of their political affiliation because her job will be to rep- resent everyone in District 60. Spell said there has been significant conflict in Eastern Oregon regarding how to deal with COVID-19. “I think people need to lis- ten to the scientists and the doc- tors and follow their recom- mendations and be careful,” Spell said. “In a position of leadership, a leader should be encouraging people to follow guidelines and be careful and not take unnecessary risk.” She said almost everybody has a fragile person in their life, and to flaunt guidelines for personal freedom is putting friends and family in jeopardy. She added that the resistance has also prolonged the need for restrictions and mandates from the state. “We can shorten the influ- ence of the pandemic if we were more careful,” Spell said. Spell said she knows peo- ple are tired of the influence that COVID-19 has had on life, but the longer people fight it the longer the problem will persist. Spell said people should vote for her because she will stay in the room during legisla- tive sessions, and if the discus- sion gets hard, she is not going to leave because she is going to represent everybody in her dis- trict. She said she’s a good lis- tener determined to talk and work cooperatively with every- one. Spell is also the Work- ing Families Party nominee. She said this party focuses on workers: child care opportuni- ties, affordable housing, family wage jobs and more. “Those are the things we need to work towards to make our community viable for the future,” Spell said. Flu Season is coming! In 2020/2021 Flu vaccines are more important than ever to protect yourself, your family and your community from flu. In 2019/2020 740,000 people were hospitalized in the US. Another 20+ million were diagnosed during a medical visit. YES, you can have the Flu and COVID-19 at the same time! COVID-19 Medical Core Group C L A R K’ S The Public Health Department Director, Manager, Public Health Nurse, Contact Tracer, County Commissioner, County Emergency Manager and other staff are working 24/7 to provide you with the most current news and services. S208917-1 TRANSFER STATION Wednesday–Saturday 9am to 4:30pm Office Hours: 11am to 2pm Monday–Friday Long-term care and assistive living facilities, Strawberry Wilderness Community Clinic, Health Department Primary Care Center, School Districts, Local Community Advisory Council and others are involved in meetings to prepare and respond to the pandemic. Questions may be directed to the Health Department, 541-575-0429 Flu Shots are available from: Len’s Pharmacy on a walk-in basis OR from your primary care provider with an appointment. S206633-1 NEW HOURS STARTING NOVEMBER 1ST The Blue Mountain Hospital District, the Hospital CEO, Emergency Services, Physicians, Director of Infection Prevention & Control, Health Department Primary Care and others are prepared to collect and test specimens, treat COVID- 19 symptoms for your safety. S209978-1 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 541-576-2160 YOU ARE INVITED! John Day Street Fair- for All DISPOSAL 541-575-0432 A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com OCT 16TH| 5-9 PM | FREE TO ATTEND| GC FAIRGROUNDS HERITAGE BARN| FREE BURGERS| LIMITED OCCUPANCY | FACEMASKS REQUIRED| S209985-1 He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! An event to celebrate life in the city of John Day, Oregon Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 Now on its 2nd year, this event is for everyone. Just another night full of Vendors, Free Burgers (Courtesy of our Emergency Service Officers) Music, Costumes, Cocktails and Great Company. Catering Services Available Breakfast & Lunch Daily Specials Harvest Festival, Saturday from 8:30-1:30 at the fairgrounds. Kids costume contest, free pumpkins, and pumpkin painting contest, games, prizes, candy, music, and vendors. Follow us on Facebook S209976-1 S210175-1