A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
OUR VIEW
Commissioner’s
job draws
passionate, able
candidates
rant County residents have an important job to fi ll in the
May 17 election. County Commissioner Sam Palmer
has thrown his hat in the ring for the Republican nom-
ination in the U.S. Senate race, a decision that will leave a seat
on the Grant County Court open when Palmer’s term expires at
the end of the year.
Fortunately for all of us, three solid candidates are campaign-
ing for the open county commissioner position.
John Rowell is a Marine veteran who is retired from a career
in the lumber business and lives in John Day.
Prairie City resident Scott Knepper is retired after a 40-year
career with the U.S. Postal Service.
And Mark Webb, a Mt. Vernon resident, is the executive
director of Blue Mountain Forest Partners and previously served
as Grant County judge from 2007 to 2013. (Webb missed the fi l-
ing deadline, so his name will not appear on the ballot; he’s run-
ning as a write-in candidate.)
All three have strong ties to Grant County and are passion-
ate about making it a better place. Their commitment was on full
display at the Blue Mountain Eagle’s candidate forum Wednes-
day, April 20, at the Grant County Regional Airport, where they
all gave well-reasoned, thoughtful answers to questions posed
by the newspaper, the people in attendance and those watching
the live video feed on our website and Facebook page.
It seems clear from their responses (some of which you can
read about in a story on page A1 of this week’s edition) that all
three men have devoted considerable time and energy to evalu-
ating the issues facing our county and that all three would make
valuable contributions on the County Court.
In addition to the county commissioner race, many Grant
County residents will also have the opportunity to vote on a $4
million bond measure to fund a new community pool at the Sev-
enth Street Sports Complex in John Day. That issue has gener-
ated quite a few letters to the editor from both sides – so many,
in fact, that we’ve added a second Opinion page to this week’s
paper to get as many as possible into print before ballots start
showing up in local mailboxes.
If you don’t see your letter in this week’s Eagle, be assured
that we’ll get it in the paper as soon as possible. Any election-re-
lated letters received too late to make the print edition will be
posted on our website.
And whatever your preferences in the coming election, be
sure to make your vote count by turning in your ballot before
8 p.m. on Election Day.
G
FARMER’S FATE
Party of one, please
like to party. And by party I
mean a slumber party for one
with plenty of books to read.”
This is a sign my mom and I both need
right next to our welcome mat.
What candy was to other kids,
books were to me. My mom would
take me to town once a week and let
me spend my limit — at the library.
From those books I let my hair fl y
while riding with Nancy Drew in her
convertible or Chet Morton’s jalopy
as he and the Hardy Boys solved their
mysteries. I tasted fresh maple syrup
with Laura Ingalls while she still lived
in the Big Woods, and my cheeks
burned with embarrassment as Anne
and I got Diana Barry drunk off “rasp-
berry cordial.”
I remember the day when I was
fi nally able to write small enough to
get my very own library card. The
librarian had told my mom it was
perfectly fi ne if I just wrote my fi rst
name, but my mom was adamant that
my entire name must be written on
the line or no card. I was one proud
4-year-old that day walking out of the
library with my stack of books and a
brand new pink laminated card. I trea-
sured that card. It was like my fi rst
passport.
By the time I was in the seventh
grade I had read all of the Clive Cus-
sler and Robin Cook books our local
library had, and was constantly on
the lookout for new authors. I never
stayed in just one genre; I simply read
whatever pleased me at the moment
and I’d take away from it whatever
impressed itself at that time, without
any set purpose.
I would read books in the bath-
room, in the bathtub, over my bowl of
breakfast cereal, often during recess,
and in bed — under the covers, of
course, because I was supposed to be
sleeping.
One night when I was around 10,
I had a Phyllis Whitney novel under
“I
the covers. That was
one night I should
have just gone to bed.
I don’t remember the
name of the book,
I don’t remember
the plot of the story.
Brianna
What I do remem-
Walker
ber is such fright I
could barely hold
the fl ashlight steady. The protagonist
had discovered a warning note and a
dead canary on her pillow. My heart
pounded and my eyes dashed from
word to word. I wanted to go to sleep.
But I couldn’t shut my eyes until the
villain was forever locked away in the
last chapter of the book, and I could
be safe.
While my classmates were dis-
cussing the latest episodes of
“Friends” and “Mad About You,” I
was at a loss, because I had been bet-
ting on horse races in England with
Dick Frances, assisting James Herriot
on veterinary calls in Yorkshire, and
committing espionage in Austria with
Helen MacInnes.
Books were my passport to the
universe. I loved the look and feel
of them, even the smell. That evoc-
ative mixture of paper, ink, glue and
dust never failed to take me on adven-
tures. Anyone who says they have only
one life to live must not read books! A
well-written book can make you feel as
if you were right there when Sir Ernest
Shackleton and his crew camped on
ice fl oes in Antarctica, or feel as if you
were really watching Dorian Gray’s
picture get uglier the more immoral its
subject became.
I hope my kids grow up to love
books the way I do, but I doubt my
husband will ever come to that appre-
ciation. Every time spring cleaning
rolls around, he is quick to volunteer
my books for the thrift store. He likes
to tease that had I come across the Ore-
gon Trail, my team of oxen would have
died under the stress of my books.
That may have been one of the only
situations where I would have taken
an e-reader. I am aware of their advan-
tages: less storage, fewer trees, and
adjustable font. But I prefer books that
don’t need batteries. How does one
press fl owers in an e-book?
Stepping into a bookstore wouldn’t
smell the same if it was fi lled with
shelves of little computers instead
of the beautiful, musty smell of old
leather and worn pages. I agreed with
a sign that read “be a hardback in a
world of e-books.” I take comfort in
the look, the feel, the smell, and of
course the old friends tucked just under
the cover of books.
In my house books are everywhere:
in bookcases, the bathroom, under the
beds, and in the vehicles. Some have
special places on the mantle, others are
used as decorations, while still others
help hold up a broken leg on the couch.
Books are many things to me. I
have old friends and heroes, enemies
and lovers, all tucked neatly between
covers both new and old. Sometimes
opening a book brings back memories
that aren’t even about the characters.
I can’t see a copy of “1001 Nights”
without craving pie dough. For it was
while reading that book as a kid that
my mom showed me how to mix up
individual cups of pie dough and roll
them in sugar. I read about thieves seal-
ing themselves in oil jars trying to get
at Ali Babba’s treasure while nibbling
on sugar-encrusted dough.
With World Book Day just around
the corner, I invite you to join me in
mixing some pie dough, pouring some
“raspberry cordial,” grabbing your
favorite book or maybe a new author
or three, and hosting your own slumber
party for one!
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
Willing to pay for
community benefi t
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
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Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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John Day, Oregon
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To the editor:
We have followed the planning and
eff orts to construct a new swimming
pool complex in John Day.
In discussions and informal conver-
sation, there has been a wide variety of
opinions, from support to angry rejec-
tion. In more than 40 years of living in
Grant County, with few exceptions, we
have enjoyed the community compat-
ibility and unity. We have also faced
numbers of proposals which required
bond or tax initiatives. Running a small
farm has required, for us, strict frugal-
ity. Nevertheless, when proposals could
improve the quality of living for every-
one, we never failed to support them
and pay our share.
For those who say, “I’d never use the
pool, so I’ll vote no,” I might suggest
that some benefi ts could be hidden there,
beyond using the pool themselves. On
a hot summer afternoon, a swimming
pool full of happy, active children is a
joy to them and us. Happy, active chil-
dren do better in school and have stron-
ger relationships with their peers. They
are less likely to engage in mischief than
if they are bored and lonely. Their posi-
tive behavior is an asset to the commu-
nity, and people who will vote for the
pool are providing the means.
Vic and Zola Pike
John Day
Vote to restore
American values
To the Editor:
Recently the newest Supreme Court
justice said she could not defi ne what
a woman is because “I’m not a biolo-
gist,” and I started thinking.
While in a large Democratic-run
city two years ago, and I saw people
tearing down statues, spraying graf-
fi ti everywhere, attacking federal and
police buildings, and looting and burn-
ing businesses. At the time, I thought
this was criminal activity; now I’m not
sure. I’m not a criminologist.
A couple of weeks ago I was out-
side and something was falling from
the sky, and I got wet. I think it was
rain, but I’m not sure. I’m not a meteo-
rologist. Yesterday, I was outside and I
stepped in a pile of something; at fi rst I
didn’t know if it was a pile of rocks or a
pile of poo. Then I remembered — I’m
a geologist! I’m sure it wasn’t a pile
of rocks; rocks are never that soft, or
smell that bad.
I now realize that our president
and many of our government lead-
ers have been stepping in piles just like
that too. But instead of cleaning them-
selves up, they are tracking it all over
the place; into many of our schools, our
city, county and state governments, and
especially in the halls of Congress.
Bob Dylan, an American Nobel
Prize winner for literature, immortal-
ized a phrase long ago: “You don’t
need a weatherman to know which way
the wind blows.” I think he’s right! And
we don’t need leaders who insult our
intelligence, and tell us good is evil,
and evil is good. Most rational peo-
ple have come to the conclusion that
current levels of government spend-
ing, infl ation, immigration, crime, cor-
ruption, and other problems promoted
by the current administration and their
enablers in Congress are unsustainable.
A lot of our “emperors” have no
clothes at all, and it is up to us to point
that out to them. We can’t buy or spend
our way out of this. We need to do our
due diligence and, as informed voters,
vote like our lives depend on it. And elect
new leaders that will restore our nation
and its core values. No one else can do
this for us; we must do it ourselves.
Mark Lysne,
John Day
Please cast your
vote for pool
To the Editor:
My family needs a pool. Please vote
“Yes” on ballot measure 12-80.
We are a water-loving family. We
boat and swim in Magone Lake and the
John Day River. All of us swim except
our youngest. She fl oats. She does not
take off her life jacket. She took multi-
ple swim lessons every year at the pool
until it was closed, but she was still too
young to have water safety and swim-
ming mastered. She needs a few more
years of lessons by an instructor (not a
parent) and to have lifeguards watching
to be safe in water.
Summers are hot in Grant County.
Swimming will happen. Let’s vote
“Yes” to allow that learning time to be
a safe and fun time as well.
Thanks for voting “Yes.”
Ryan McKnab
Canyon City
New pool will be
worth the cost
To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in hopes
that more people in Grant County will
really step back and look at the ben-
efi ts of what a pool does for a small
community. When I moved here, my
parents’ co-worker had several chil-
dren on swim team and it piqued my
curiosity and so I went for it. I loved
the weekend meets, both in Grant
County and surrounding areas, and
being able to participate defi nitely
kept me out of trouble.
By having a pool in John Day it
will help keep kids occupied and those
that want to be on swim team will
have that ability to participate, and
also with swimming lessons and life-
guard training, recreational swim-
ming, these are all assets to a small
town bringing revenue, jobs and a
lifetime of memories.
I can honestly say from experience
that this is so important to have in this
community. I realize some people are
upset by increased taxes, but don’t we
all buy coff ee or go out to eat? Seems
like a small price to pay for the kids
and families to have something to do.
Vote “yes” for a pool, it will be
worth it!
K. Pike-Howard
Seminole, Texas
Editor’s note: The author is a
traveling nurse who spends part of
each year in Grant County.