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
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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
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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
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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