OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
A4
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Simpson
gains
consensus
on dam
removal plan
I
n crafting his plan for the
removal of the dams on the
lower Snake River, Rep.
Mike Simpson has managed to
forge consensus between farm,
shipping and environmental
interests on his idea. They all
hate it.
Blessed are the peacemak-
ers. They may be children of
God, but often fi nd surpris-
ingly little support at home.
Simpson, R-Idaho, has not
proposed legislation, but on
Feb. 7 released a $33.5 billion
concept for salmon recovery,
which includes removing the
Lower Granite, Little Goose,
Lower Monumental and Ice
Harbor dams on the lower
Snake River in 2030 and 2031.
It is a bold plan, a grand
compromise that seeks to
address the competing needs
of those who want the dams
removed and those who
depend on the status quo
for their livelihoods, electri-
cal energy, transportation and
irrigation.
In short, Simpsons plan
would:
• Require that the electrical
power generated by the dams
be replaced, and that the new
infrastructure would be oper-
ational before the dams are
breached.
• Provide money for river
restoration, the development
of transportation infrastruc-
ture to replace barge traffi c,
economic development for
communities impacted by the
breaching, watershed projects
and irrigation infrastructure.
• Require that all other
dams in the Columbia Basin
that generate more than 5
megawatts of electricity be
granted an automatic 35-year
license extension.
• Prohibit for 35 years any
litigation related to anadro-
mous fi sh within the Columbia
River system under the Endan-
gered Species Act, National
Environmental Policy Act or
the Clean Water Act, and stay
any ongoing litigation.
As we said, a grand com-
promise, but one that none of
the major stakeholders will
accept.
Despite promises that their
concerns will be addressed,
farmers and ranchers worry
about whether they will get
the water they need, or will be
able to ship product. Electric
utilities worry they won’t have
a reliable source of power and
barge interests worry about
their jobs disappearing.
Environmental interests
love the idea of breaching the
dams, but leaving the others
unchallenged for 35 years is
crazy talk. And fi ling lawsuits
is their raison d’etre.
A group of 17 environmen-
tal organizations says Simp-
son’s plan would speed up
salmon extinction and harm
human health, calling it
“untenable.”
In releasing the plan, Simp-
son said he didn’t draft legis-
lation because an ambitious
concept such as he pro-
posed needs to involve all the
stakeholders and the states
impacted.
We don’t think the plan as
proposed ever had a chance,
but Simpson should be given
credit for starting a conver-
sation. Does anyone want to
talk?
We know what everyone
doesn’t want and what they
won’t accept, but what do
they want and what will they
accept?
EDUCATION CORNER
United States history
O
ver the last several months
we have witnessed his-
tory happening in our coun-
try that has not happened since the
Civil War. It is United States his-
tory in the making. Now is a good
time to refl ect on our U.S. his-
tory from when we were in school.
Do you remember your U.S. his-
tory classes? In Oregon, U.S. his-
tory is usually taught in fi fth grade
and again in high school. How well
do you know the Constitution and
amendments and what they stand
for? Yes, there are those who do
understand really well and those
who think they know them, and
those who really don’t know. What
does the First Amendment really
mean?
In many schools dealing with
remote learning, especially at the
elementary ages, the teaching
of social studies has sadly taken
a back seat. Understanding the
schools are doing their best in these
unprecedented times, now is a great
time to review for all of us what
our founders felt would make us a
leading country. The United States
is a network of people and cultures
working together for the betterment
of the world and was designed 246
years ago knowing the country
would grow and change. Have we
taken it for granted?
This is a great time for us as
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@
cityofl ongcreek.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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
Reaching out to
a Prairie City
acquaintance
to give — and soon.
Lou Patzer
John Day
Police more
important than
projects
To the Editor:
Really? The city of John Day
can aff ord to do all these “maybe
someday” projects, but they cannot
aff ord our police department? Oh
yeah — there may be a grant for
that! Seems like something has got
‘Don’t take your
guns to town’
To the Editor:
Recently, I went to town to get
vaccinated, and I was amazed to
notice some cultural messaging
that was put in my face whether I
wanted it or not. From Mt. Vernon
to John Day there were large signs
that declared far-right wacko mes-
saging. One in particular jumped
out at me — wanting to move all
of Eastern Oregon to Idaho. A
much simpler solution would be
for these radical individuals to just
move to Idaho.
On my way to the cemetery
above Canyon City to visit my par-
ents’ gravesites, I passed another
sign that is continuing to spread
the “Big Lie” by stating that
Trump did win the election.
When we returned to the fair-
grounds for the vaccination, I
found myself in line and being
crowded by a deliberately off en-
sive little man wearing a handgun
and a face mask with an ugly mes-
sage. The large letters said “IDIOT,”
and I thought, “Well, you got that
one right!” But when I read the
small print it was referring to our
governor. He had a right to his opin-
ion, but he didn’t have the right
to thrust that in everyone else’s
face, especially while displaying a
weapon.
When we returned home, my
wife turned on the news to another
mass shooting in Colorado. It
seemed like a sorrowfully fi tting
conclusion to the rest of the day.
I have always been and always
will be supportive of the right to
keep and bear arms. What has
changed for me is that I am 100%
against private citizens owning
assault weapons that were designed
only to kill other humans. You’re
welcome to all your hunting and
home protection guns; but when
packing, keep handguns out of sight
where they are not intimidating
others.
When I was a kid, Johnny Cash
had a song titled, “Don’t take your
guns to town.” I’m saying, “Don’t
display your guns in town.”
Let’s be less hostile and less con-
frontational. (My wife says, coming
from me, my last statement seems
pretty hypocritical.)
Terry Steele
Ritter
L
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
the Bill of Rights? Who were the
authors and why? Do they still apply
today? How? https://www.ducksters.
com/history/us_bill_of_rights.php
Amendments: What are amend-
ments? Who and how can you make
an amendment? How many amend-
ments are there? You hear peo-
ple say, “It’s my First Amendment
right.” What does that mean? https://
www.ducksters.com/history/us_con-
stitution_amendments.php
How do the Constitution, the
Bill of Rights and the amendments
impact our daily lives? Do they
really mean what you assumed they
did? What are some ways you might
be able to support our government?
We are a diverse country made of
multiple cultures each having its
own perspective and understanding.
Over the last couple of months has
our government been in jeopardy?
These are all questions we should
refl ect on as Americans, United
States citizens, and how these issues
could be peacefully addressed.
Dr. Scott Smith is a Umatilla
County educator with 40-plus years
of experience. He taught at McNary
Heights Elementary School and
then for Eastern Oregon Univer-
sity in their teacher education pro-
gram at Blue Mountain Community
College. He serves on the Decoding
Dyslexia — OR board as their par-
ent-teacher liaison.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
In 1971 I attended a National Sci-
ence Foundation summer program
at Purdue with Cathie Sanderson
of Prairie City, then in high school.
I was her roommate’s boyfriend.
I have recently been in touch with
others from that program, and every-
one has wondered what happened to
her. If anyone knows and could give
her my address so she could contact
us, I would really appreciate it: 3320
Dover Drive, Boulder, CO 80305.
Paul Melanson
Boulder, Colorado
WHERE TO WRITE
adults to refresh
ourselves and bring
our children into
the discussion of
what it means to
be a United States
citizen. Below are
Dr. Scott
some general ques-
Smith
tions along with
general resources
you might consider when locating
and fact-checking yourself. There
are many ways of using the inter-
net to search and locate informa-
tion. Engaging with your children
on this quest will help them have a
stronger understanding of just how
to locate and discuss information
about questions that develop during
their life.
Our government is built on three
areas; the Constitution, the Bill of
Rights and the amendments. Under-
standing them and discussing why
they were written might provide for
a better understanding of just why
our government operates the way
that it does along with what our
responsibilities are as United States
citizens.
The Constitution: When was it
written? Who were the authors?
Where was it written? How many
parts are there in the constitution?
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/
article/constitution/352996
The Bill of Rights: What is
Phone: 541-575-0710
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