A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Walden
leaves a
lasting legacy
I
n today’s pop culture climate,
politicians rarely receive
much thanks, but the work of
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden stands
out as a classic example of what
an elected leader should do once
he or she reaches Congress.
Walden will close the door
on a long career in January
2021. His successor, Ontario
attorney Cliff Bentz, will step
into Walden’s position with big
shoes to fill.
Walden did not always get
it right, but his best efforts far
overshadowed any miscues.
While in office, Walden was a
champion of property rights,
water rights, farmers and ranch-
ers and those who serve our
nation.
His long political record —
which began as a state law-
maker — paid off often in Con-
gress, which means those he
served in the sprawling 2nd
Congressional District reaped
the benefits.
Occasionally — or fre-
quently, depending from the
individual perspective — our
federal politicians fail and forget
they represent the people. They
ignore the will of those who
elected them. By and large, that
was never a trap that Walden
fell into.
Walden made it a priority to
visit his district as much as pos-
sible. He held town hall meet-
ings in out-of-the-way places
across rural Eastern Oregon,
but, maybe most importantly, he
listened.
Walden listened to the voters.
He paid attention. He delved
deep into local problems and
sought answers. That type of
commitment from a politician
is refreshing, and Walden did it
year after year.
Oregon is going to miss
Walden on several levels, espe-
cially regarding his seniority
and the know-how he collected
over years as a congressman.
When Walden departs, he will
take with him all the key rela-
tionships he had with other law-
makers that help get things
done. The various coalitions
he made with other politicians
that are often critical for a bill
to pass will also be gone. That
won’t help Oregon in the short
term.
However, Bentz, while not a
Walden protégé, is very much
like the Hood River politician
in his outlook and his concern
for rural values. On water issues
especially, Bentz is well versed.
That will pay off for Oregon
down the road.
Meanwhile, the state will
watch one of its longest serv-
ing federal lawmakers exit the
stage. He can depart with the
knowledge that, for the most
part, he consistently served the
voters of his district and made
sure their priorities were his
priorities.
THE BACKROADS
Here’s
to
2021!
W
hat a year.
I think most of us
would agree 2020 will
be hard to forget, though it’s a year
most of us won’t want to remember.
Not long after we changed our
calendars, we were greeted by the
ugly mascot that took over almost
every aspect of our daily lives: the
new coronavirus that would spread
across the globe, infecting mil-
lions, leaving many in the grip of
a new malady, coronavirus disease
2019 or COVID-19.
Most of us have heard stories
about the Spanish flu and the dev-
astation it caused in 1918, but
a century removed, none of us
can remember firsthand what our
ancestors endured during those
trying times — with far less medi-
cal knowledge, amid World War I.
But those times are not entirely
forgotten, memorialized in the
pages of the Blue Mountain Eagle.
The 1918 flu hit Grant County
as the war was winding down.
Schools were closed. Meetings
were canceled. Even the call for
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
Stand for the flag, kneel for the cross
n my mantle sits a glassed
case holding a flag last
touched by a gloved soldier
and a grieving mother. A flag that
was folded carefully and respect-
fully, honoring the life of a young
paratrooper that was killed in
action in Normandy, France, June
28, 1944. That life belonged to a
great-uncle that died three decades
before I was born — and who lived
only half the years I have. I was
honored when my grandmother gave
me the funeral flag and some of
the personal effects of her younger
brother.
While studying World War II
history with my son for school,
I took the opportunity to explain
about the flag over our mantle and
the soldier who had lain under it. I
pulled out a small brown box from
the War Department addressed to
my great-grandparents, and gen-
tly laid its contents on the desk
between us. A worn, white New
Testament, a parachutist badge, a
cigarette case, some foreign cur-
rency, a few medals and badges and
a smaller box with a Purple Heart
in it. I watched my son reverently
touch the objects owned by a per-
son he’d never known, from a war
that just minutes before had been
ancient dates in a history book.
As he ran his fingers over the dis-
colored badges, I said a prayer of
thanks that those medals can’t talk
— or imagine the ugliness they
could share? Ugliness that I have
been sheltered from because men
and women, like my great-uncle,
experienced it for me — for us —
for America.
When I was younger, the school
days began by facing Old Glory
and reciting the Pledge of Alle-
giance. I took pride in repeating
an oath that great
men for genera-
tions before me
have stood tall and
vowed. Watching
the stars and stripes
fly, it made me feel
Brianna
pride in knowing I
Walker
was a part of this
nation — related
to the great people who have sacri-
ficed so I could enjoy it’s liberties.
During Reagan’s presidency he
said the flag “signifies the qualities
of the human spirit we Americans
cherish. Red for courage and read-
iness to sacrifice; white for pure
intentions and high ideals; and blue
for vigilance and justice.”
The flag means different things
to different people, and while it
seems to be an unpopular opin-
ion, I am so proud of our grand old
flag. Whether it is flying high in the
breeze, or folded tightly on some-
one’s mantel, the emotions that it
evokes from me are patriotism and
pride. Our country’s past is not
pristine — which country’s is? It’s
striped — just like our flag. But
also like our flag, there are stars
on the horizon that we keep reach-
ing for — striving for. Because we
are Americans. Because we are the
home of the free and the brave — a
nation united under God.
Not everyone believes that,
though, and that is their right — a
right given to them by soldiers who
were buried under flags just like the
one sitting on my mantle. But being
able to disagree with people while
still supporting their right to a dif-
ferent opinion is one of the many
things that makes America great.
Growing up in a big, boisterous
family meant that there were often
loud, intense disagreements. There
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
Online: MyEagleNews.com
Phone: 541-575-0710
were discussions about Fords ver-
sus Chevys, and John Deeres versus
Masseys. There were also members
on both sides of political parties,
which always kept things riveting,
especially around elections — but
the adults in our family showed us
cousins how to disagree (often vehe-
mently) without being disrespectful.
So when it comes to taking a
knee during our National Anthem,
I can’t help wondering how many
folded flags rest sad and proud on
mantles across the United States?
I’ll defend your right to disagree
with me to the death — disagree,
but not disrespect. This is a coun-
try that my family, along with many,
many others, have died for, and
those fallen soldiers and their fami-
lies have sacrificed enough without
having the pride of serving this great
country taken from them as well.
In today’s world, conserva-
tive values are often scorned as
being redneck. And maybe they are.
Because at the end of the day, when
my family comes home, dirty after a
long day of farming in the sun, our
necks often have a touch of red —
and it’s not entirely skin deep. My
husband and I both grew up know-
ing what the sound of a belt being
pulled through denim sounded like.
We learned the Ten Command-
ments, called our elders “mister”
or “missus” and learned the proper
respect for guns. We celebrate the
Fourth of July, we remember 9/11
and we believe that Christmas is
more than Santa. If that makes us
redneck, then I guess I’m OK with
that, because my family will always
stand for the flag — and save our
kneeling for the cross.
Brianna Walker occasionally
writes about the Farmer’s Fate for
the Blue Mountain Eagle.
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
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
to grow. Grant County pulled
together and remained strong.
The fact we are here today
is a testament to our ability to
overcome obstacles — not let-
ting ourselves be defined by the
difficulties we face, but defin-
ing ourselves by how we face the
difficulties.
Like our ancestors before us,
we will beat this pandemic. We
will soon be able to look back on
these trials and tribulations know-
ing they only made us stronger.
We will persevere.
In 100 years, when someone is
flipping through the pages of the
Eagle archives, they will read the
stories of our resilience.
Thank you for reading the
Blue Mountain Eagle and for your
efforts to help us all move beyond
this pandemic and into a better
future.
Let’s make 2021 a year worth
remembering.
Sean Hart is the editor and
general manager of the Blue
Mountain Eagle.
FARMER’S FATE
O
WHERE TO WRITE
men to register
for the draft was
rescinded.
Nationwide,
the debate raged
over personal
freedoms ver-
Sean Hart
sus public health
amid calls to wear
masks to reduce the spread.
Many died. More were
infected. The pandemic impacted
everyone.
Fortunately, the death toll from
the current pandemic won’t be as
bad as the Spanish flu, but many
parallels exist, even 100 years later.
And as the arrival of vaccines
provides hope that 2021 won’t
be entirely consumed by the pan-
demic, perhaps the most import-
ant lesson to learn from the tragic
losses of the 1918 flu is that we
overcame it — in the county, as a
country and across the globe.
Despite the difficulties,
humanity persevered. The United
States weathered the storm,
emerged from it and continued
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