OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
A4
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
OUR VIEW
Greater Idaho
movement not
going away
I
f nothing else, the organizers behind the Greater Idaho
movement are persistent.
The group, which is seeking the ultimate goal of moving
part or all of more than 20 Oregon counties into Idaho (which
they say is a better cultural match than Western Oregon) has
taken the next step to try and gain approval in Wallowa County.
Last week, it was announced they had received the OK to gather
signatures for a petition to get on the November ballot.
The measure, as has been reported previously, fell by a slim
margin — just 41 votes — in November 2020. That could have
derailed supporters of the movement, but instead, it appears it’s
only emboldened them. The new ballot measure being proposed
is slightly diﬀ erent than the previous one, requiring county com-
missioners to meet just twice annually as opposed to three times.
That, combined with there being more information organizers
can share about the movement, has them hopeful that the second
time will be the charm.
The movement, as unlikely as its ultimate goal seems, is
gaining traction. Eight counties (including Grant) have already
approved measures similar to the one signature gatherers will be
hoping to put on the November ballot. Three more are slated to
vote next month on it. At least two other counties are in a similar
position to Wallowa County and are either at or nearing the peti-
tion phase. Conceivably, more than 63% of the counties orga-
nizers are seeking to be part of the movement could be discuss-
ing the move to Idaho by the end of November. That’s a pretty
decent chunk in less than three years.
Should this get to the Wallowa County voters — and we see
no reason why it won’t — it will be very interesting to see how
they respond this time. Will there be more disgruntled among
those who said “no” last time who switch their vote? Will the
group that staunchly wants to keep Oregon as it is keep its edge
and win out? Will the minor adjustment to the measure text and
more information make a diﬀ erence?
Regardless of what happens in November, there is a long way
for proponents to go, even if they eventually manage to get all
22 counties on board. The states would ultimately have to agree
to it, as would Congress.
Is it a long shot? Absolutely.
But the fact that we are still talking about it is evidence that
the movement isn’t going to die oﬀ anytime soon.
The organizers clearly believe that their persistence will, in
the end, pay oﬀ .
THE FARMER’S FATE
Of oxygen masks and ﬂ ags
“M
om, that’s a problem,”
my oldest said as we
began pulling the equip-
ment out of the shed.
He was pointing to the tattered and
sun-bleached ﬂ ags on the tractors. He
reveres that ﬂ ag so much. I watched
him climb up the ladder and gently take
down the worn Stars and Stripes from
each tractor and piece of machinery.
We folded what was left of them and
set them aside to have a proper disposal
ceremony when time allowed.
Later that evening, both boys were
excited to put up new ﬂ ags. Stand-
ing back watching, my heart swelled
as I watched their faces so proud of
their work. I must admit, watching
Old Glory wave over green tractors
working a ﬁ eld is a sight that ﬁ lls my
spirit with a little bit of old-fashioned
Americana.
It wasn’t that many years ago it
seemed every house had a ﬂ ag in front,
the schools all began with the pledge of
allegiance, and everyone removed their
hats during “The Star-Spangled Ban-
ner.” Now to ﬂ y the ﬂ ag of our country
is seen as political instead of patriotic.
When did loving one’s country become
selﬁ sh?
When a ﬂ ight attendant gives the
steps of what to do in an emergency,
you are instructed to put on your oxy-
gen mask before you assist others.
Counselors instruct couples to focus
on their marriage before their children.
Loving your country ﬁ rst does not
mean hate for others.
I believe the ﬂ ag is so much more
than ink and cloth. It’s a living symbol
of freedom and it unites all Americans,
from every walk of
life, who gather under
it and salute. It is our
history. It is our future.
It isn’t perfect — it
never claimed to be.
But what it is, is ours.
Brianna
Our republic, formed
Walker
of great men and
women who make
up “we the people.” Our country was
formed from the ground up, meaning
local action equals national results.
My family loves traveling. We love
visiting new countries, making new
friends in new places — but when it
comes to the United States, I feel a lit-
tle bit like Scarlett O’Hara at the end of
“Gone with the Wind.” There is some-
thing I love more than traveling — it’s
my own Tara, my own little chunk of
the United States.
Saluting the ﬂ ag doesn’t have to
mean your support for the politicians
or the government. Instead it is an out-
ward show of respect for all the men
and women who lived, served and died
under it — for us. As Mark Twain once
said, loyalty to country always, loyalty
to government when it deserves it.
This winter has been tough and
has brought up many deep conversa-
tions about what we want out of life,
what we want for our kids, and what
we want for our country. Harry Truman
once said that America was not built on
fear. America was built on courage, on
imagination, and an unbeatable deter-
mination to do the job at hand.
How does one go about instill-
ing courage, imagination and deter-
mination into their kids? I don’t know
— but I know it starts with my hus-
band and I. We have to secure our oxy-
gen masks ﬁ rst. When people yell
“xenophobia” because we proudly dis-
play our country’s ﬂ ag, we don’t take
it down in embarrassment. We just
square our shoulders and remember the
brave people that have fought and sac-
riﬁ ced for the opportunity of living the
American dream.
I never thought we’d need to have
courage to ﬂ y the American ﬂ ag. I
never thought we’d need courage
to carry our Bible to church. I never
thought we’d need courage to say the
girls’ bathroom is on the left and the
boys’ is on the right. But here we are,
and it’s time to stand for our faith; stand
for our family; stand for our freedom
— for if we don’t stand up now, our
children will inherit a world where they
can’t stand up.
I want my kids to learn how to take
the proverbial bricks others are throw-
ing and use them to build a solid foun-
dation of their character. I want my
kids to take their hats oﬀ for the ﬂ ag,
never set items on a Bible, and give up
their seats on a bus for an elder. I want
them to be proud of their country and
productive in their community. A com-
munity that is made up of young and
old, black and white, bald and pur-
ple-haired — united together under that
striped ﬂ ag that makes us all Ameri-
cans. I am securing my oxygen mask,
raising up our ﬂ ag and asking that God
bless America, my home sweet home!
Brianna Walker is a Grant County
resident who occasionally writes about
the Farmer’s Fate for the Blue Moun-
tain Eagle.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Move over
in that foxhole
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
USPS 226-340
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Email: www.MyEagleNews.com
Phone: 541-575-0710
John Day, Oregon
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
E DITOR
R EPORTER
S PORTS
M ULTIMEDIA
M ARKETING R EP
O FFICE A SSISTANT
Bennett Hall, bhall@bmeagle.com
Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com
sports@bmeagle.com
Alex Wittwer@awittwer@eomediagroup.com
Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Alixandra Hand, oﬃ ce@bmeagle.com
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
Copyright © 2022 Blue Mountain Eagle
Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and
additional mailing oﬃ ces.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
One year ..................................................$51
Monthly autopay .............................. $4.25
Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery
POSTMASTER — send address changes to
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
covered by the copyright hereon may be repro-
duced or copied in any form or by any means —
graphic, electronic or mechanical, including pho-
tocopying, taping or information storage and
retrieval systems — without written permission
of the publisher.
www.facebook.com/MyEagleNews
@MyEagleNews
To the Editor:
There is a rule regarding letters to
the editor that seems unreasonable. I
believe it was adopted by the last edi-
tor. It is the current policy to limit let-
ter writers to only one letter per month.
However, there are situations that arise
that need to be commented on sooner
than later. If one must wait weeks to
reply, the subject can become cold and
die.
I know this is the era of social media
and online communication, but there
are still a few dinosaurs like myself
who live, in part, on the pages of the
Blue Mountain Eagle. We used to have
ongoing exchanges about issues, but
under this restriction it is diﬃ cult. The
more that the editors insert themselves
into this process, the more diﬃ cult dis-
cussions become. It would be very
appreciated if the current letter submis-
sion policy could be revised to permit
writers to participate more frequently.
Anyone who might abuse this privilege
could be dealt with personally with-
out limiting the beneﬁ t of all to hear full
responses to topics under discussion.
The Eagle’s opinion page has histori-
cally been an important place for Grant
County neighbors to address issues and
share ideas.
Recently, there were two diﬀ erent
letters to the editor basically denounc-
ing Democrats. The second letter was
exceptionally ugly, and as a Demo-
crat I would have liked to answer it in
a timely way. Unfortunately, I had used
my one letter per month submission
weeks earlier on a diﬀ erent topic, so I
did not qualify to respond to the cur-
rent discussion. At this late date, I still
have a desire to respond to the writer of
that second letter who knows me well
enough to know I am anything but a
coward. My message to that person is
that people who are emotionally con-
demning of all Democrats should, to be
L
fair, move away from extreme feelings
and realize there would be plenty of us,
as Democrats, ﬁ ghting alongside him
in his foxhole. I would also say that the
more radical people become with their
political views, the more apt they are to
make fools of themselves.
Terry Steele
Ritter
Editor’s note: Mr. Steele makes
a reasonable case for raising the fre-
quency limit on letters to the editor.
We’ll try raising the limit to two letters
per month from the same writer and see
how it goes.
Grant County
needs a new pool
To the Editor:
As many of us do, one afternoon I
took my young son ﬁ shing down the
John Day River. In an instant, what
was a good day turned into every par-
ent’s worst nightmare. My son got a lit-
tle too far in the water and within sec-
onds, he was caught in a rip current. In
a ﬂ ash his head was underwater, and
he was gone. I immediately jumped in
after him, thinking I could save him,
but I couldn’t do it alone. It took two
grown men to pull my 8-year-old son
out of the water that day. Had he not
taken swim lessons and learned what to
do in that situation, I am certain my son
would have drowned.
On May 17, residents of the John
Day/Canyon City Parks and Recre-
ation District will ﬁ nally get the chance
to vote and decide for themselves if
they want a pool in Grant County.
Gleason Pool was important to peo-
ple of all ages in Grant County, includ-
ing myself and other parents who relied
on swim lessons to teach their children
about water safety. Drowning is one of
the leading causes of injury and death
in children, but formal swimming les-
sons can signiﬁ cantly reduce the risk
of drowning. This community needs
a pool and, whether we like it or not,
Gleason Pool is gone.
The value a pool will bring to our
community cannot be measured by tax
dollars. The nominal increase in taxes
is worth every penny. I want to know
my grandsons will be safe ﬁ shing with
their father on the same river that he
ﬁ shed with me. Having local access to
a swimming pool where my grandsons
can learn to swim gives me reassurance.
Swim lessons saved my son’s life.
Thank you, JDCC Parks and Rec-
reation, for advocating for my right to
vote. The future generations of Grant
County are worth it.
Lynn S. Burton
John Day
McQuisten understands
needs of rural Oregon
To the Editor:
We are supporting Kerry McQuis-
ten for governor. We have known Kerry
since she was in grade school at Burnt
River/Unity. Kerry is a seventh-genera-
tion Oregonian. She grew up on a cattle
ranch in Eastern Oregon, so she under-
stands the rural part of Oregon. She
had the opportunity to live and work
overseas before returning stateside to
complete her education at Willamette
University. She has had a chance to
experience both city and rural living.
Kerry is now back in Baker City,
where she owns her own publishing
company, is mayor of Baker City, and
is raising her two daughters.
Kerry has campaigned in all 36
counties in Oregon to listen to the con-
cerns of all Oregonians. She cares!
If you want someone who has good
common sense with conservative val-
ues, and someone who will stand up
and ﬁ ght to get our Oregon back, then
Kerry McQuisten is just the candidate
for you!
Patty Trost
Unity
ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues.
Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank-
you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must
be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for
questions. We must limit all contributors to two letters per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters by email to editor@bmeagle.com; by
mail to Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or by fax to 541-575-1244.