A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
New pool would
bring many beneﬁ ts
To the Editor:
Pool bond. I am an old lady liv-
ing on a ﬁ xed income. I am all for
a new pool and I hope it is for an
Olympic-size pool. A pool of such
size could increase the usage of coun-
ties for miles around, increase visitors
and city income. The ability to swim
will last a lifetime.
“OK, you’re from John Day! Then
you know how to swim. Welcome to
the gang.”
I have lived in John Day for over
20 years and within walking distance
of the now-current pool. Never been
there. We need to have all our chil-
dren learn to swim and maybe just
do it.
Jennie Roller
John Day
Sutton Mountain
worth protecting
To the Editor:
We have an opportunity to fur-
ther protect part of the John Day Fos-
sil Beds National Monument with the
Sutton Mountain and Painted Hills
Area Wildﬁ re Resiliency, Preserva-
tion, and Economic Enhancement
Act.
Sutton Mountain — less than
10 miles from the Painted Hills in
Mitchell — is the main target of
the act. It’s an undeniably special
place, but, apart from locals, it is
little-known.
Hiking up to the 4,694-foot sum-
mit, you can see a wide range of Ore-
gon’s natural gems, including the
Painted Hills’ signature colorful rock-
side and the Ochoco Mountains. You
can even catch a glimpse of Mount
Jeﬀ erson or Mount Adams of the
Cascade Range.
Apart from the views, many
plants and animals make their homes
on Sutton Mountain. Soaring bald
eagles, swooping hawks, bounding
elk and prancing pronghorn ante-
lope all roam the area. Vibrant wild-
ﬂ owers blanket the grassy hillside on
Sutton Mountain’s eastern side; pic-
ture deep purple lupine, bright red
Indian paintbrush and crisp white
Peck’s milkvetch (a threatened plant
species).
Passing the Sutton Mountain and
Painted Hills Area Wildﬁ re Resil-
iency, Preservation, and Economic
Enhancement Act will protect this
unique landmark — along with sev-
eral surrounding recreation areas —
from new mining claims. Created in
consultation with Wheeler County
community members, grazing would
be allowed, preserving the heritage of
Wheeler County. This type of collab-
oration blazes the trail for future fed-
eral conservation plans.
Locals and federal oﬃ cials agree:
It’s time to protect Sutton Mountain
for current and future generations to
appreciate.
Kristine Meader,
Environment America
Portland
Swimming is good
for your health
To the Editor:
I am writing today to voice strong
support of the John Day Canyon City
Parks and Rec pool bond. As a health
professional who grew up in John
Day, I am acutely aware of the diﬀ er-
ence that a healthy lifestyle, includ-
ing exercise, can make in people’s
lives. It would be unfortunate for cur-
rent residents of all ages not to have
access to the same beneﬁ ts that a
community pool provides that I once
did. Passage of the bond will pro-
vide critical funding to ensure this
happens.
I wanted to highlight some of the
health beneﬁ ts that water-based ﬁ t-
ness can have. Swimming has been
associated with improved quality of
life and less overall disability in older
individuals, improved bone strength
in women, and improved mood and
less anxiety in others with chronic
health conditions. It has been linked
to improved mental health, cognition,
and motor coordination in children
with ADHD. Water-based exercise is
a particularly good option for indi-
viduals with arthritis or other chronic
musculoskeletal pain for which exer-
cise on land may be diﬃ cult and can
lead to reduced pain levels in those
individuals.
A community pool may be the
only or best option to engage in
these activities for many, and a lack
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
of access for those who could beneﬁ t
may very well contribute to preventable
health decline in a friend, neighbor, or
family member. The cost is relatively
minor compared with the beneﬁ ts that
a community pool will bring for many
years to come. Please invest in commu-
nity health and vote yes!
Jason Cronin, MD
Eugene
Pool will beneﬁ t
entire community
To the Editor:
We talk about attracting more
young families to Grant County, put-
ting their children in our schools,
reversing population loss. Families
want things for their kids to do. Not
all kids are ballplayers or runners or
horsemen. Some are swimmers.
Swim meets bring other fami-
lies and their kids to compete. They
spend their money in our motels,
restaurants, and shops. During these
events money is generated to support
our economy. The pool gives children
the opportunity to learn the life-sav-
ing skills of survival in water. This
is not just a John Day beneﬁ t. It is
a Grant County beneﬁ t. Swimming
pools are used for physical therapy
after injuries and for the elderly to
maintain mobility. And some adults
have never learned to swim and
would like to in a safe place.
Please join me in supporting the
levy for a new swimming complex.
The pool will be part of our economic
health as well as the health of our
kids and adults of all ages.
Eva Harris
Canyon City
Pool would have
therapeutic beneﬁ ts
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of bond
measure 12-80 to fund a new pool in
John Day. A public pool is not just
for children. In 2018, I was in a seri-
ous car accident and my back was
broken in three places. For months,
I wore a brace and the only type of
exercise that my doctor allowed was
swimming and exercising in a pool.
Thankfully, due to hard work, skilled
professionals, and many prayers, I’m
doing well.
People of all ages can beneﬁ t
from low-impact water exercise. I’ve
learned that water increases mobility,
so pool-based exercise helps ﬁ tness
without joint damage. Many people
use pool-based therapy after knee or
hip replacement surgery. Nearly all
muscles are used during swimming,
so you can get a full-body workout.
I know that some people do not
agree with every project the city has
undertaken in the past few years. I
hope those folks will consider their
vote on the pool separately from
opinions they may have on other city
projects. Everyone, regardless of age,
income, or background, can beneﬁ t
from this new pool. Imagine a reli-
able, accessible pool that beneﬁ ts our
entire community!
Please join me and vote yes to
the JDCC Parks and Rec pool bond.
Thank you.
Chris Cronin
John Day
Excited about
getting new pool
To the Editor:
First of all, I am very excited to
be a new member of the community
of John Day and am encouraging you
to vote yes on ballot measure 12-80.
Joy! My authentic self comes alive in
a pool with peace and the feeling of
belonging to a community of people
who believe in being healthy by heal-
ing the physical and emotional part of
ourselves.
I am in full support of a new pool
because the 64-year-old Gleason is
in rough shape and is not ADA-com-
pliant for people with disabilities.
I was paralyzed in 1992 with Guil-
lain-Barre and still have severe resid-
ual numbness and pain in my extrem-
ities and once I splash into the pool,
pain can be replaced with freedom!
At times my pain and inability to
enter the pool using a ladder or steps
keeps me from entering a pool with-
out the access of a handicapped chair
to enter the pool with ease. I am cur-
rently involved with a community
that supports a year-round pool and
sees the beneﬁ ts, including swim-
ming and water safety lessons for
all third-graders because we are sur-
rounded by rivers and lakes that take
children’s lives each year. A new pool
could also oﬀ er aqua power sessions
for all, including seniors, and there
could also be master swim classes
and swim team opportunities that
bring other communities in for com-
petitions. All these programs provide
returns on investments.
This opportunity for a new pool
invites a new and exciting presence
and is vital for the thriving commu-
nity of John Day. I sure hope you and
others are thinking of the long-term
beneﬁ ts.
Please vote yes on bond measure
12-80.
Lorie Dix
Klamath Falls
Editor’s note: The author is in
the process of relocating to John Day.
Beneﬁ ts outweigh
cost of pool bond
To the Editor:
I would like to draw our com-
munity’s attention to an important
opportunity. On May 17 we have the
opportunity to pass ballot measure
No. 12-80; this measure will pro-
vide our children with a safe location
to gather, learn survival skills, pro-
vide employment opportunities, as
well as a location for unity and health
for our whole community. Accord-
ing to the CDC, “More children ages
1-4 die from drowning than any other
cause of death except birth defects.”
“For children ages 1-14, drowning is
the second leading cause of uninten-
tional injury death after motor vehi-
cle crashes.” In some case studies
they have found “Participation in for-
mal swimming lessons was associ-
ated with an 88% reduction in the
risk of drowning in the 1- to 4-year-
old children.” This data is alarming;
our county is covered in far too many
bodies of water to ignore the facts,
and the pivotal reason for voting yes
on ballot measure No. 12-80.
I am a past lifeguard, swim lesson
instructor, swim team member, and
swim team coach. I lived my sum-
mers at the Gleason Pool from the
time I was 9 years old until 22. I can
attest to the positive attribution that
the Gleason Pool had on my life and
so many others. This bond does come
at a cost, but I can promise the ben-
eﬁ ts that having a pool can provide
to our community far outweigh this
ﬁ nancial cost. This is the time that
we can pull together, and make a dif-
ference and create an asset for our
community now and for the future
generations.
As a mother and fellow home-
owner in the tax district, I implore
you to please review the facts of this
ballot measure. This is an opportu-
nity for all of us to increase our safety
and health of an entire community.
We can bring back to this community
a vital recreation entity. Please, vote
yes on ballot measure No. 12-80!
Laci Wheeler
Canyon City
Please support
measure 12-80
To the Editor:
I am a retiree living on a ﬁ xed
income and will vote yes on bond
12-80. I’ve done the math and have
determined the monthly ﬁ nancial
impact personally will exceed the cost
of a fancy cup of coﬀ ee and pastry.
My reasoning breaks down to 2 fac-
tors: (1) The hospital bond is paid and
no longer part of my property tax bill,
and (2) I place a premium on quality
of life — for me and my fellow cit-
izens. As the former is self-explana-
tory, I will focus on the latter.
Being a patron of the Seventh
Street Complex, I see kids, families,
young adults, and retirees daily mak-
ing positive use of excellent ame-
nities. They’re bicycling, running,
walking, hitting/kicking balls, assem-
bling, throwing discs, dog training,
picnicking, etc. While individually
the activities are unique, collectively,
those engaging in such are building
community and strengthening critical
bonds that support a higher quality of
life for everyone. Swimming is a nat-
ural ﬁ t in this context and location.
While not initially part of the com-
plex, the Gleason Pool, as treasured
as it was, no longer remains a viable
alternative.
Back to quality of life … I don’t
have children currently enjoying ball-
games, but my civic happiness meter
raises every time I pass by a game/
match in play and see the grit, deter-
mination and pure joy tied to such.
Similarly, I won’t have children
swimming, but I look forward to hear-
ing the rhythmic chants of “Go! Go!
Go!” as youth are rallied by their
friends and families during meets.
Simply put, as a retiree, I realize satis-
faction and an elevated quality of life
by supporting my greater communi-
ty’s safety, health, and well-being.
Having been raised under modest
ﬁ nancial circumstances, I know well
how to budget, sacriﬁ ce, and priori-
tize my spending; I naturally consider
the bang-for-buck ratio of such. In this
instance, I am conﬁ dent my limited
funds as a retiree would be well spent
on the construction of Grant Coun-
ty’s only public pool. Please join me
in casting your yes vote.
Elizabeth R. Aleman
John Day
Do your part by
voting for pool bond
To the Editor:
As longtime residents of John
Day, we are writing to encourage a
yes vote on ballot measure 12-80.
Beth had the privilege of growing up
in John Day; she was there to swim
the ﬁ rst day Gleason Pool opened,
we met there, our children learned to
swim there as did many of our grand-
children. We have seen ﬁ rsthand
the many beneﬁ ts to a community a
swimming pool can oﬀ er.
After over a decade of researching
and planning, we have been oﬀ ered a
plan to replace an antiquated, costly,
and irreparable facility with a basic
facility that can be enhanced in the
future if growth and funding make it
possible. This facility will be opera-
ble within the existing budget of the
John Day/Canyon City Parks and
Recreation District.
We are more than happy to spend
the $8.83 a month for the construc-
tion bond to ensure that the children
and families in our community have
a place to learn to swim, in addition
to all the added recreational and reha-
bilitation opportunities that this facil-
ity will provide to the entire commu-
nity. This cost will be much less than
what we were paying on the recently
retired hospital bond.
To have a viable, attractive com-
munity, we must all do our part. Vote
yes for a safer, healthier community.
Vote yes on ballot measure 12-80.
Jim and Beth Spell
John Day
New pool for
a new generation
To the Editor:
As one of the tour guides for Kam
Wah Chung, I am excited to se what
the excavation of the Gleason Pool
site will ﬁ nd. The area of the pool
and the surrounding area was China
Town from around 1862 until the
early 1900s. Several residents have
found relics from that day in their
own ﬂ owerbeds and donated them
to the interpretive center for every-
one to enjoy. Did you know that the
land that the pool was built on was
donated to the city by the Wah fam-
ily, who are Dr. Ing Hay’s family?
And, of course, the museum itself
was donated to the city with the
intent that it be used as a tribute to the
Chinese history of the area.
This being said, how do I feel
about the pool? Well, I have always
been afraid of water, but my sib-
lings and I learned to swim there and
spent the majority of our summers at
the pool, even into high school. My
daughters learned to swim there and
spent a lot of time there. My brother
was on the swim team. I loved Glea-
son Pool and want to see other kids
have the same opportunities we did.
I am sure my parents did not want
to see their taxes go up in the ‘50s
and I do not enjoy seeing my taxes
go up, but I am willing to pay my
share so our community can have the
beneﬁ ts of such a beneﬁ cial facil-
ity. I am now retired and, as they say,
on a ﬁ xed income. I would probably
not use the pool — being caught in a
swimsuit is a no-no for me. This will
be for your kids and grandkids now,
and I will gladly help foot the bill.
Leslie Traylor
John Day
Thankful for ‘no’
vote on city budget
To the Editor:
My hat’s oﬀ to Sherrie Rininger
for reading the current John Day
city budget so carefully and decid-
ing to vote against it.
We must live within our means!
I’m sure Sherrie will be as care-
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Cast an informed
vote on pool bond
To the Editor:
Let’s make sure we are
informed before voting on the pool
bond on the May ballot. To that
purpose, I’d like to address some
inaccuracies in last week’s letters
to the editor.
A writer suggested renting the
pool at the Best Western. This
is no longer an option — they
stopped renting their pool last
year, and it’s unlikely it will be
rentable anytime soon. There are
no other pools in this county avail-
able to rent.
Unlike other Oregon towns that
have closed their public pools to
save costs — Nyssa or Sandy —
we are not 10 or 20 miles from
public pools in Vale or Gresham.
Bussing children three hours
round-trip to the nearest pools in
Burns or Baker for frequent swim
lessons is unlikely at best.
Some would prefer an indoor
pool or a more scaled-down
design. The city found that oper-
ation and maintenance of any
indoor pool would cost hundreds
of thousands of dollars annually,
an ongoing expense that is not fea-
sible given the current tax base.
The new pool design is modern-
ized and eﬃ cient but not extrava-
gant. Operation and maintenance
would be similar to that for Glea-
son, well within the current budget
of the parks and recreation district.
The pool design we are voting on
is a thoroughly researched and rea-
sonable compromise.
Costs are going up for every-
thing and, like you, I am con-
cerned about continuing to aﬀ ord
food, fuel, and housing for my
family. But I know I can ﬁ nd $10
for the pool bond in my monthly
budget because, until this year, I
paid almost $30 a month for the
hospital bond. The average prop-
erty owner will pay even less at $6
a month. If our community could
ﬁ nance our hospital at three times
the tax rate of the pool, especially
during the great recession, I am
certain we can do it now for the
pool.
Our grandparents came together
to pay for Gleason Pool 60 years
ago. We can come together again
to invest in each other and our
children’s future. Please vote yes
with me on measure 12-80.
Jessi Brunson
Canyon City
We are what we
choose to defend
To the Editor:
In the Blue Mountain Eagle
of April 27 there was an inter-
esting article submitted by Rich-
ard F. LaMountain concerning the
namesake of our county, the com-
manding Union general during the
American Civil War and former
President Ulysses S. Grant.
Grant is quoted as saying:
“There are but two parties now:
traitors and patriots, and I want
hereafter to be ranked with the lat-
ter and, I trust, the stronger party.”
We can hope that Grant was
right, but ultimately it is up to
our free choice. What we choose
to defend distinguishes who we
are. According to our Constitu-
tion, we still have that option. One
patriot is quoted as saying, “Force
used tyrannically is our common
enemy. Why align ourselves with
it in whatever shape or fashion?”
— Audie Murphy
Mike Christensen
John Day
Rowell will
represent all of
Grant County
To the Editor:
Cast your vote for John Row-
ell for Grant County commissioner.
He has honesty, ethics, and a strong
belief in doing what’s right for
Grant County. He will represent all
of the county from east to west. And
north to south. Vote John Rowell.
Jim Jerome
John Day
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Oﬃ ce Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, oﬃ ce@bmeagle.com
ful next year and vote correctly as
she was this year. Thank goodness
for such volunteers!
Ron Phillips
John Day
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