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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2020)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Surprise — grazing can reduce wildfire fuel load T he University of Cal- ifornia Cooperative Extension has issued a timely study showing cattle grazing is an essential tool in reducing wildfire. That won’t surprise a lot of readers, particularly those who live near forest and rangeland overloaded with the fuel that feeds the wildfires now rag- ing throughout the West. Too often, though, the people in charge of policy don’t face that danger and have a hard time seeing the obvious. The study, funded by the California Cattle Coun- cil, focused on conditions in the state of California, but the conclusions are relevant in Oregon, Washington and Idaho as well. Grazing takes place in every county in California, except San Francisco County. Researchers say California’s 1.6 million beef cattle graze 11.6 billion pounds of poten- tial wildfire fuel each year. Without grazing, the state would have hundreds to thou- sands of additional pounds per acre of fine fuels on the land- scape. With that fuel load, this year’s wildfires would be even more devastating. Researchers say cattle grazing is underuti- lized on public and private lands and targeted grazing should be expanded. In the vast open spaces of the West they need to allow more cattle grazing, which has been shown to be an effective way to keep down cheatgrass and other weeds that burn hot and kill the ecosystem. While targeted grazing can greatly reduce the threat of wildfire, it is not the answer in every situation. Critics argue with some merit that a head- long rush to expand graz- ing could do more harm than good. But that it is not the answer in every case does not exclude grazing from being an answer in many cases. As the climate becomes warmer and drier, the threat of fire will only grow. To keep that threat at bay, no tool should be excluded from the toolkit. Grazing works, and where it will do good it should be expanded. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ‘I support Beth Spell’ and not lose your place. Ashley Stevick John Day To the Editor: I support Beth Spell for Oregon House District 60. I wanted a choice in this race. After all, the incumbent walked away (walked out!) from his legislative duties during critical debates affecting our communities. That action left legislation for wild- fire protection undone, after nearly reaching successful compromise between the timber industry and environmental advocates. Beth has been endorsed by the Oregon Education Association and Oregon School Employees, because they know she recognizes education prepares our young people for jobs and life success. I know Beth. And she will not bring adversarial politics to our state government. She will represent all of us. She will work on the issues that divide us in an effort to represent all of us. Leslie Stillwater John Day ‘You can be both’ 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: Dear Grant County: It’s true, I’m not from here. This fact has been pointed out a number of times as though the truth of it should elimi- nate my voice entirely or make my opinion invalid. I grew up in rural, small-town Montana. I raised a pig for 4-H, trained a llama to tackle an obsta- cle course and spent much of my childhood picking wildflowers and exploring old mine shafts. As an adult, I worked to expand health care, including women’s reproduc- tive rights, in conservative, sparse- ly-populated, Eastern Montana. I’m writing today to offer a pos- sibility. You can be both. You can eat meat, own guns, drink whiskey and believe in empathy, equity and goodness. You could even vote for a Democrat. This is a both/and situ- ation; the presence of one does not dismiss the other. I know many who are from Grant County and many who choose Grant County. Those I hold close believe in community, inclusivity and tak- ing care of our neighbors. These are the same values our ancestors likely wouldn’t have survived with- out. And, as contentious as politics can be, these themes are interwo- ven in our humanity regardless of political affiliation. Democrats and Republicans came out for our peace- ful protest in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, and ours had a bigger turnout per capita than New York City. People show up for each other, and our community cares about the well-being of others. These are the prominent themes in the small town I’m from and the even smaller town I chose. There will always be loud outli- ers who claim this as false — those who thrive on hate, fail to meet the call of anti-racism work and live for inserting divisiveness into our lives or possibly just the comment sec- tion on Facebook. They are loud, but they are few. It doesn’t matter where you’re from. It matters how you treat peo- ple. I belong here regardless of my rural roots. And you can vote for a Democrat even if it’s your first time ‘John Lamborn for Grant-Harney circuit court judge’ To the Editor: I am writing to enthusiasti- cally endorse John Lamborn for Grant-Harney circuit court judge. I was honored to serve as Harney County district attorney for 29 years. I had the privilege of working in the courtroom with two outstanding cir- cuit court judges, Frank Yraguen and Bill Cramer Jr. Those two judges shared two attributes — a high level of professionalism and personal integrity. Judges must have a civil and professional relationship with the attorneys who appear before them. Personal conflicts impact the ability to evaluate facts and legal arguments in the impartial and unbiased way that our judicial system requires. It is absolutely critical for judges and law- yers to work collaboratively to ensure and enhance the dignity of the pro- fession of law, thus furthering pub- lic trust and confidence in the system. Both Judge Yraguen and Judge Cra- mer demonstrated the ability to work professionally and civilly with all parties who appeared before them as well as court staff. The Oregon State Police con- ducted a background investigation of Mr. Raschio as part of his unsuccess- ful attempt to be appointed to fill the vacancy created when Judge Cra- mer retired on Jan. 1, 2020 (https:// drive.google.com/file/d/1hWr_BNe- HcgevxGJltNIrVNNAQb8lgqDo/ view). That background investiga- tion raises serious concerns about Mr. Raschio’s ability to deal pro- fessionally with other attorneys and court staff. In fact, the background investigation lists four potential con- flicts of interest for Mr. Raschio: Grant County District Attorney’s Office, Harney County District Attorney’s Office, Grant County Jus- tice of the Peace and circuit court employees in both Grant and Harney counties. More disturbing was the state- ment by Judge Cramer that he felt that Mr. Raschio had “withheld or misrepresented information to the court.” The citizens of Grant and Har- ney counties deserve a choice in this election to elect a judge who has demonstrated integrity and profes- sionalism and will not bring personal conflicts of interest to the bench. John Lamborn is that choice. John Lamborn will uphold the legacy of Judge Yraguen and Judge Cramer that we have come to expect — pro- fessionalism, personal integrity and lack of bias and interest. Please join me in writing in John Lamborn for Grant-Harney County circuit court judge. Timothy J. Colahan Hines Editor’s note: Judge William D. Cramer Jr. told the Eagle the Ore- gon State Police interview “leaves out nuances of the discussion that actually took place,” and trial court administrator Tammy Wheeler said some statements attributed to her in the interview by OSP “were not entirely accurate.” Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Reporter ...................................................Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com Reporter ...................................................... Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com Sports ........................................................sports@bmeagle.com Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Online: MyEagleNews.com Phone: 541-575-0710 Write in John Lamborn for judge To the Editor: The circuit court judge posi- tion has been well-respected, with a well-run court serving Harney and Grant counties over the years. It has been run with law and order, and respect for the judicial systems for many, many years by our two pre- vious judges, retired Judge Frank Yraquen and retired Judge William “Bill” Cramer Jr. The working rela- tionships in the office amongst staff and the judge has always been pro- fessional. This is all part of a sound working team delivering the best service to our counties. There was an opportunity to be appointed to this seat during this interim year following Judge Cra- mer’s retirement. Please take this time to think about why or why not one of the candidates who put his name in for the appointment was not selected. There is a high degree of scrutiny that goes into the deci- sion-making process at the state level. That non-appointment gave me concern. Without an appointment being made, we the people get to choose our next circuit court judge. All voters should be aware, do their research and make an informed decision before marking the box or writing in a candidate’s name. I, for one, will be supporting and writing in John Lamborn as our next circuit court judge for Harney and Grant counties to continue the pro- fessionalism and integrity, which that office stands for. Pete Runnels Burns 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 In response to a question about Rob Raschio misrepresenting infor- mation to the court, Cramer said, “I absolutely did not indicate that Mr. (Raschio) had a problem with hon- esty. That is twisting the questions asked. In the interview I was asked has there ever been a circumstance where you questioned the accuracy of what was presented. First that is an incredibly high standard when someone appears daily before you and is constantly advocating for cli- ents. It is easy to conflate cases and facts. I did relate an incident that happened the month before where I was being asked to continue a case. The defense was filing multiple motions to continue when I denied the first one. I felt I was provided inconsistent facts between two sep- arate motions that followed close in time. I was bothered by that but never got a chance to discuss it with him. I denied both motions anyway. “There are lawyers that mis- state the law or case holdings to me as judge. One is never certain if those are careless mistakes, peo- ple seeing what they hope to see rather than what the case says, or outright misleading. You learn who does this more often than others. As a judge you learn whom you can rely on and whom you have to check. Mr. Raschio was one who was care- ful and one on whom I could rely upon when a case was cited. Please appreciate the broadness of the question and focus on the singu- lar incident stated after 15+ years appearing in front of me.” See Letters, Page A5 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
