A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Legislators should
clearly state what
bills would do
S
tate Senate President
Peter Courtney held a
news conference before
the 2021 legislative session
to announce steps to keep the
legislative process accessible
to Oregonians.
“We have never seen a ses-
sion like this before. We need
to keep members and staff
safe,” he said. “Legislative
staff worked hard to come up
with a plan that is safe and
transparent. Every session,
Oregonians make their voices
heard on issues they care
about. We need these voices.”
But if you don’t know what
the Oregon Legislature is
talking about it’s hard to voice
your opinion. Consider Court-
ney’s Senate Bill 846. It’s a
model of translucency, not
transparency. The bill shifts
money around. It also poten-
tially reduces the kicker tax
refund.
Does the language of the
bill clearly state that it poten-
tially reduces the kicker? No.
Does it even mention the
kicker? No.
Shouldn’t a bill that poten-
tially reduces the kicker
clearly state that? Yes, we
think so. Do you?
Now if you are fl uent in
the budget-speak of the Leg-
islature you could fi gure it
out from the language of the
bill — maybe. What the bill
does, in part, is repeal trans-
fers to the general fund of $15
million from the state’s insur-
ance fund and from an operat-
ing account of the Department
of Justice. The money stays
where it is, at least temporar-
ily. It just doesn’t get shifted
over to the general fund.
That matters because it
eff ectively reduces the general
fund by that $15 million. That
aff ects the kicker. The kicker
is Oregon’s unique law passed
by voters. It occurs if state
revenues exceed forecast rev-
enues by 2% or more over a
two-year budget cycle. If that
happens, the excess, includ-
ing the trigger amount, gets
returned to taxpayers.
No fi nal determination has
been made if there will be a
kicker for the 2019-21 bien-
nium. But the kicker is on tar-
get to kick, according to the
latest revenue forecast. And
because Senate Bill 846 is
moving forward, the amount
returned to taxpayers would
be less.
Look, legislators need to be
able to move money around,
such as in this bill. They need
to be able to balance the bud-
get and line money up how
they want to spend it. They
also should be transparent
about what they are doing
and clearly state in a bill if it
would reduce the kicker.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Sunrise sojourn
I
n a group discussion, a question
arose.
“Why would someone get up
in the dark of night in order to be
somewhere by sunrise?”
For my dad when I was young,
that meant he ventured out early to
be ready for the best locations for
trout fi shing or pheasant hunting.
For my mom, a pre-dawn depar-
ture with family might mean the
gift of a trip to the coast or the
mountains.
For some, the sunrise is not
an outing or activity. The sunrise
itself is the gift.
While visiting Morocco, a small
group of us camped in tents at the
edge of the Sahara Desert. Our
leader made an announcement.
“Tomorrow morning members
of the Berber tribe will lead you
on a hike to the top of tallest sand
dune to watch the sunrise.”
The Berbers arrived in the pre-
dawn darkness. They asked us who
needed assistance hiking up the
dunes. I was determined to travel
on my own eff orts. I’d seen those
TV nature specials where explor-
ers walked on top of the sand.
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,
oregonlegislature.gov.
• Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale — 900 Court St.
NE, S-301, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-986-
1730. Website: oregonlegislature.gov/fi ndley.
Email: sen.lynnfi ndley@oregonlegislature.
gov.
• Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane — 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-986-
1460. District address: 258 S. Oregon St.,
Ontario OR 97914. District phone: 541-889-
8866. Website: oregonlegislature.gov/fi ndley.
Email: rep.markowens@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.
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D — 516 Hart Senate
Offi ce Building, Washington D.C. 20510.
Phone: 202-224-5244. Email: wayne_kinney@
wyden.senate.gov. Website: http://wyden.
senate.gov Fax: 202-228-2717.
• U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D — 313 Hart
Senate Offi ce Building, Washington D.C.
20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. Email: senator@
merkley.senate.gov. Fax: 202-228-3997.
Oregon offi ces include One World Trade
Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St., Suite 1250,
Portland, OR 97204; and 310 S.E. Second St.,
Suite 105, Pendleton, OR 97801. Phone: 503-
326-3386; 541-278-1129. Fax: 503-326-2990.
• U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R — (Second District)
1239 Longworth Building, Washington D.C.
20515. Phone: 202-225-6730. No direct email
because of spam. Website: walden.house.
gov Fax: 202-225-5774. Ontario offi ce: 2430
SW Fourth Ave., Suite 2, Ontario, OR 97914.
Phone: 541-709-2040. Medford offi ce: 14 N.
Central Ave., Suite 112, Medford, OR 97501.
Phone: 541-776-4646. Fax: 541-779-0204.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
Attend John Day’s
town hall April 8
To the Editor:
Curious about what you read,
hear or see with the city of
John Day? Do you have ques-
tions that aren’t being answered?
I am inviting the residents of
John Day to a town hall meeting
at the newly remodeled Trow-
bridge Pavilion at the Grant
County Fairgrounds. It will be
at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.
We will have some refreshments
available and plenty of seat-
ing. We will also have it avail-
able by Zoom, or you can write
us your questions beforehand.
It is important that we gather as
much input from our residents as
possible before we put together
our 2021 budget.
We will have presentations
available, and all of the coun-
cilors and staff will be avail-
able to answer questions. We try
to keep you all informed, but we
still hear the “I didn’t know” or
“Why can’t they fix the streets?”
comments, and this will be a
great way to hear the facts from
us directly. Everything is on the
table from streets, pool, treat-
ment plant, downtown revitaliza-
tion, housing, police and more.
Put together your comments
and please show up. I know it is
short notice, but this is import-
ant, and this is an opportu-
nity to see us face to face and
help make some very important
decisions.
Ron Lundbom
John Day
Please keep active
To the Editor:
I have a dog who is overweight.
She’s a short heeler mix and
spayed. I’m tall and 69, and over-
weight by a few pounds. OK, 25,
but who is counting? For the past
10 years I’ve had a regime of tak-
ing morning walks along the river,
by the pond at Clyde Holliday State
Park. I take said dog (age 6) along
as she is a couch potato and wants
nothing to do with being outside
(unless there’s a fl y inside — can
anyone explain this phobia?). After
I helped my husband of 50 years
work at feedlots and on various
Eastern Oregon (remote) ranches,
I miss the active lifestyle. Jim left
for his heavenly home last Octo-
ber, but we enjoyed two years walk-
ing the trails together. Lots of wild-
life can be seen, even in winter. A
particular joy was watching an otter
family (six in all) eating fi sh from
the pond. This lasted for two days,
and they disappeared into the river
system. Geese, ducks of all kinds,
some bald eagles, blue herons and
osprey are seen often. Deer are usu-
ally present. Britches and I avoided
one buck in particular, who was fol-
lowing a doe — we turned around
when he put his eyes on us! So far,
no sighting of cougar or bear, but
I did see an elk or two in the past
few years. If I miss a few days I can
really feel it! My legs get heavy and
feet burn, so I try and go at least six
times a week for 30 minutes each.
When it warms up I will go lon-
ger. I was grateful the snow wasn’t
too deep, but put on good boots.
I always carry a cell as one never
knows and I’m sometimes alone.
COVID-19 lockdowns aside, this is
one freedom I don’t plan to give up!
Mya Ennis
Mt. Vernon
L
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I turned from the sunrise,
scanned the dunes behind us and
spotted a camel train in a valley as
they plodded across the landscape
like a moving necklace across the
neck of a dune.
The camel train view hangs in
my mind like a framed photograph.
That excursion wasn’t the last I
heard from Abraham “who saved
my life.”
“Hey, lady, I have souvenirs to
sell you.” Abraham pulled a leather
bag from his robe, and spread out
the contents of the bag on a cloth.
“Ancient fossils… I make you good
price.”
We’d been cautioned about coun-
terfeit goods. I bought a piece, not
sure if it was authentic or manufac-
tured. There is an area rich with fos-
sils — it could be real. No matter.
My fossil choice — what looks to
be a fossilized shrimp. A small price
to pay for someone who “saved your
life.”
The author, a Grant County res-
ident, was able to view a Moroccan
spectacular sunrise from the coun-
tryside pre-dawn launch of a hot air
balloon.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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@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.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca 97873.
Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email:
senecaoregon@gmail.com.
Well and good
until I hit the area
of the steepest
climb. The travel-
ers hiking ahead
of me mushed up
the sand until it
Jean Ann
was so soft I sank
Moultrie
to my knees with
each step.
The other travelers reached the
top. The Berbers shouted encour-
agement down to me, and acted as
though some dire consequences
would strike me if I didn’t make it.
Finally, Abraham loped down the
dune to my side.
“Sure, I’d like some help.” I
reached out my hand so he could
pull me out of the sandy quagmire.
He grabbed me by the arm and
before I could scramble to get my
feet under me, he dragged me up
the dune and dropped me at the top
just as the sun inched up. Was I
deeply moved by the beauty? I was
so thirsty I thought I might perish
from dehydration. I gulped water
that Abraham scrounged up for me.
The sunrise? Not as spectacular as I
thought.
Phone: 541-575-0710
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