A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A vote for pool is a
vote for the future
To the Editor:
I believe in the future of Grant County
and John Day. For families. For kids.
For everyone who works hard to make it
an amazing community. I am writing to
encourage votes for the pool bond.
Before moving to John Day I had
heard about the pool. Our friends shared
about amazing summers their children
had at the pool and on swim team. As
our three kids grew up they learned to
swim at Gleason Pool (and Best West-
ern) — they loved the pool. Summers on
the swim team were a highlight — early
morning workouts, friends, camping for
swim meets. I loved watching the kids
cheer on each other — older kids cheer-
ing young’uns who could barely fi nish
one lap. I can still hear the cheering and
see the smiles as I write this.
Small towns are about coming
together, developing community, honor-
ing the past while building a future. Glea-
son Pool was part of that. Now there is a
chance to create that future. Yes, it costs
money to build a new pool — less than
$5 per month for over half the property
owners. A bond for $4 million would
bring $2 million state Legislature fund-
ing — a huge win for Grant County. As a
physician I daily encourage my patients
to increase their physical activity — for
emotional, spiritual and physical well-be-
ing. A pool is one important option for
all of us, including our kids, especially
during the warm summers.
As people visit Grant County they
would see the community pride — new
projects, a new pool, the improved Kam
Wuh Chung site. Future families will
look for a community that believes in
itself, that invests in the future.
Even though I only get to return occa-
sionally, I know the incredible value of
a pool to this community. I encourage
you to believe in the future, invest in the
future, work together to create the future
in Grant County. Vote yes for the pool
bond.
Andrew Janssen, MD
Hillsboro
Editor’s note: Dr. Janssen was a
physician at Blue Mountain Hospital
from 2005 to 2015 and continues to pro-
vide ER coverage at the hospital.
Don’t be gullible,
vote no on pool bond
To the Editor:
Oh, joy ...
Now that we local peons no longer
can aff ord a police department, or funds
to repair main roads, and our local swim-
ming pool was sold out from under us,
we now can vote ourselves some new
property taxes to provide a new pool, as
well as the attached higher cost to main-
tain it. Property owners can enjoy signifi -
cantly increased taxes, and renters can
enjoy that cost passed on to them by their
landlords. We have all been faced with
rising costs, now we can all enjoy the
addition of new tax-related costs of gro-
ceries and an endless fl ow of goods and
services passed on to consumers. No, we
can’t aff ord basic services, like a police
department, local 911 call center, or a
decent road up to the airport — but we
can vote, pay for and enjoy that luxurious
new pool. There’s a name for all that —
gullible suckers.
Gary Davidson
Canyon City
Time to invest in
new generation
To the Editor:
We are writing in support of the
bond for the swimming pool! My hus-
band and I have both lived in Grant
County our entire lives. We were swim-
mers when we were young. Our children
spent thousands of hours at the pool, as
did our grandchildren. Unfortunately, our
great-grandchildren were just getting to
the age where they were old enough to
enjoy the pool and it was closed due to
COVID and then because of maintenance
issues and the sale of the pool.
Sadly, that means that our
great-grandchildren and the other chil-
dren in the community will not be con-
fi dent in or near the water! It means that
the hundreds of people that come to
swim meets won’t spend money in our
community. It also means kids don’t have
many options for things to do in the sum-
mer. A pool can be used by the children
for recreational swim, lessons and swim
team and used by adults for recreational
swim, exercise, and physical therapy and
many other things.
We need people to move here who
buy homes and pay taxes. People looking
at areas to move are looking for access to
good hospitals, schools, and community
off erings. What community off erings do
we have? We have art programs, walk-
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
ing trails, a beautiful parks and recreation
area, and I don’t know what else. Don’t
you think a pool is an important add to
that? There are millions of reasons to vote
yes for the pool.
To those of you who are nay-sayers,
please put aside your feelings regarding
the city or Parks and Rec or whatever it is
you are disagreeing with and think about
the kids. For those of you who are on a
fi xed income, I am too. But this is a small
cost to pay for a great opportunity.
Our parents did this for us! We really
need to invest in our younger generation!
Please vote yes on the pool bond.
Doug and Judy Hudson
Canyon City
Change in ballots
upsetting to voter
To the Editor:
I was extremely disappointed to see
our election ballots are no longer secret.
I looked through the envelope twice
looking for the secrecy envelope. Then
of course I read the insert telling me
there was no longer one included. I was
assured that the signature envelope had a
printed security weave on the inside that
protected my privacy. What a joke.
I really never liked the mail in ballot
system because there is no way to truly
tell who fi lled out the ballot. But now the
secretary of state has formally approved
no secrecy envelope. In my mind, this
leaves the door open even more to under-
mine the integrity of our elections.
My vote is my vote. It’s nobody’s
business how I vote. But it doesn’t mat-
ter how many security weaves there are
on the inside, the envelope has my name,
signature and address on the outside and
all you have to do is open it and see how
I voted. I don’t like it.
Calvin Clark
John Day
Asking neighbors
to vote for new pool
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of the JDCC
pool as a resident of Canyon City, as your
neighbor, and as a father to a disabled
child who loves the water and meeting
anyone who will say hello.
In this community, there are few
things that have the potential to bring so
many of us together like a modern place
to cool off and get some exercise, and
in the case of my little family, to get a
chance to see our child socialize and play,
a child who has had and will continue
to have trouble fi nding any sort of social
experience outside of what his mother
and I are able to generate.
A safe and well-designed aquatic
space like the proposed pool allows peo-
ple with low to no mobility to experience
a much-needed place to get up and out
that they simply cannot get otherwise and
will greatly improve the quality of life of
anyone who bothers to give it a go.
And hey, remember the crazy heat
last year? When many of us were essen-
tially forced into hiding while the old
pool moldered? Now we have a chance
to complain to each other about the hot,
hot weather from the cool water of a
good pool. Our own pool. Vote yes, and
let’s gripe together the way good neigh-
bors should.
Jeremy Mothershead
Canyon City
Cast your vote
against pool bond
To the Editor:
I hope that everyone gets out and
votes. I am voting no on the swimming
pool. My belief is the people voting
should only be the people that are being
forced to pay for it. The property own-
ers are the ones paying for this issue. It’s
coming from their property taxes. There
are many senior citizens living on Social
Security and cannot aff ord this pool. Vote
no!
Jon Meiling
John Day
Knepper a champion
for 2nd Amendment
To the Editor:
Of all our constitutional rights, I con-
sider the right to keep and bear arms the
most important of all. That’s why, for
county commissioner, I’m voting for a
candidate with a proven record of Second
Amendment advocacy: Scott Knepper.
Last year, Scott — a member of
the National Rifl e Association — was
a leader of the Grant County team that
worked to overturn the gun lockup bill
passed by Kate Brown and the Dem-
ocratic Legislature. At the county fair
and elsewhere, Scott spoke with Grant
County voters and helped collect hun-
dreds of signatures on a “veto referen-
dum” petition that aimed to put the bill
to a public vote. Statewide, in the short
90-day window they had to do so, ref-
erendum advocates failed to collect the
required number of signatures. But the
Grant County team collected the signa-
tures of almost one in 10 county residents
— a far higher percentage than that col-
lected by referendum advocates in any of
Oregon’s other 35 counties. In fact, had
other counties’ teams collected the same
percentage Grant County’s did, the veto
referendum would have qualifi ed for the
statewide ballot with more than twice the
number of signatures needed.
Without Scott Knepper’s time, energy
and leadership, Grant County would not
have led the way. So remember this when
you cast your ballot: To protect your Sec-
ond Amendment rights, Scott put his own
“skin into the game” to fi ght Kate Brown
and Salem’s gun-hating Democrats.
As your county commissioner, he’ll
do the same. “One of my driving pas-
sions in this race is to protect county res-
idents’ Second Amendment right to keep
and bear arms,” Scott said at a recent
campaign forum, “a right embedded in
the very fi ber of our rural area and central
to the liberty of our nation as a whole. ...
I applaud the Grant County Court, which
passed a Second Amendment preserva-
tion resolution in 2019. And as your com-
missioner, I will explore ways and seek
to establish networks that will protect and
expand your Second Amendment rights
even further.”
Join me in voting for Scott Knepper
for county commissioner.
Richard F. LaMountain
John Day
Pool is a vital part of
community
To the Editor:
We would like to express our support
for a community swimming pool. Our
reasons are likely the same as most others
have voiced but we would like to add our
support to the project.
There are a number of reasons, none
much more important than another, but
on the whole they make the decision
to have a pool and recreation center a
no-brainer.
First, closing the existing pool with-
out replacement would be another exam-
ple of John Day losing recreational activ-
ities and one less reason for families to
stay here. For a lot of families, summer
days at the pool is the defi nition of sum-
mer. Parents and kids meet to socialize
and play. It would be a huge hole to have
that opportunity vanish. John Day has
been losing population; losing the pool
would certainly contribute to the continu-
ance of this trend. We must invest in our
own community if we want it to thrive.
Safety for our children is vital. Learn-
ing to be a confi dent swimmer early in
life is a valuable gift to a child and could
save their life or another’s someday.
Additionally, the opportunity for ath-
letics cannot be overlooked. For some
this might be the only competitive athlet-
ics they participate in. We cannot over-
look the value in our ability to host swim
meets in town, bringing in new faces and
revenue to businesses.
The additional recreation space
and activities will also be a welcome
improvement for all ages. Our aging pop-
ulation will benefi t greatly from low-im-
pact water-based fi tness activities.
John Day’s eff ort to be an attractive
place for families hinges on economic
and recreational opportunities. As a busi-
ness owner I have seen little eff ort to
improve in these areas before the idea of
a pool and river-based park. This project
would be a shining example of the resi-
dents’ commitment to a vital and lively
community.
Jim and Stacie Klusmier
John Day
Grant County needs
community pool
To the Editor:
As a teenager I worked at Gleason
Pool for four summers as a lifeguard
and swim teacher. I witnessed kids from
all over Grant County use the pool as it
served as a safe and secure place for kids
to be during the summer while their par-
ents worked. Along with all of the health
and safety benefi ts of a community
pool, I see a community pool as a posi-
tive place for kids to hang out. As some-
one who works with at-risk youth, having
a place for kids to spend their summer
months is imperative in substance mis-
use prevention, physical health, social
interactions, and staying out of trouble in
general.
I also saw how ineffi cient, wasteful
and repair-ridden the pool was — keep
in mind, this was over 20 years ago! Not
to mention the benefi ts to the community
with the new Kam Wah Chung interpre-
tive center. A new community swimming
pool will be a great addition to a commu-
nity that needs amenities for people of all
ages, from toddlers to seniors.
My grandmother, in her 80s, who has
suff ered with hip and back pain, began
water aerobics more than a decade ago.
It has been life-changing for her. She
exercises to strengthen her body, and the
social component is as important for her
mental health.
Vote yes. Support a positive and safe
community resource.
Haley Hueckman
Baker City
New pool is
a healthy choice
To the Editor:
Please join us in voting yes for
the new pool facility. As members of
the Grant County Community Health
Improvement Coalition board, we believe
in “working together for a healthy com-
munity.” We are elated at the possibility
of a new facility that will improve com-
munity wellness!
Over the last month, we have wit-
nessed people from all sectors come
together to advocate for a new pool in
Grant County. From the youngest of chil-
dren who want the opportunity to learn
to swim and recreate, to our retired adults
who desire a low-impact exercise option
or enjoy watching their great-grandchil-
dren swim. No matter what the reason,
we know that both physical and mental
health can be improved by swimming.
We have spent many hours in and
around Gleason Pool, watching our chil-
dren learn to swim, competing on the
swim team and participating in family
swim nights. Each year, we were more
aware that Gleason was at the end of
usefulness due to imminent and costly
repairs. A new pool would be required
in order to continue to off er these much-
loved activities. Even more benefi cial,
it will be located at the Seventh Street
Complex, where so many other commu-
nity events take place.
In addition to the new pool, we are
excited about the sale of Gleason Pool to
the Oregon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment. The new Kam Wah Chung Inter-
pretive Center will bring an economic
boost to Grant County as visitors come to
experience this unique, world-renowned
heritage site.
We invite you to stand with us in
working together for a healthy commu-
nity by voting yes on the May 17 ballot
measure 12-80.
Katrina Randleas
Grant County Community Health
Improvement Coalition board chair
Sheila Comer
Grant County Community Health
Improvement Coalition board
member
Don’t let beliefs
obscure reality
To the Editor:
Yes, “You don’t need a weatherman
to know which way the wind blows.”
So, regardless of any personal posi-
tion about our present administration, we
all know which way the wind blows from
Putin and his allies, both here and abroad.
The question in these next elections, this
year and in ’24, is, can we read the hand-
writing on the wall as to how Putin wants
the U.S. to vote?
Do we vote for the continuation of
the practice of this democracy, with all its
stresses and freedoms, or do we vote for a
new experimentation with oligarchy and
its loaded and locked mentality against its
own people by feeding them alternative
facts and beliefs.
Yes, our emperors often have no
clothes, and we are allowed to say so
when we see that fact, without fear of
15-year prison terms. And when even our
own democracy gets uppity and hurts its
people, it also has the stop guards of pro-
test and courts to attempt to make things
right. Sometimes very successfully and
sometimes not so well, but at least the
wins are there.
So, facts and due diligence must also
include which way the wind is blowing,
and just what kind of tornado we might
stir up if we are led to believe otherwise,
when in our hearts we know better.
Remember, beliefs are only beliefs,
not necessarily reality.
Jim Bay
John Day
Will a swimming
pool benefi t you?
To the Editor:
I am writing to encourage all voters
to consider the benefi ts to each and every
one of us in having a swimming pool in
our community. Literally, from infancy to
seniors, I submit that we all benefi t.
I learned to swim at a very young age
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Pool bond process
leaves public in dark
To the Editor:
Most of the recent letters to the editor
regarding the bond levy have focused on
the benefi ts of a swimming pool and the
emotional memories of Gleason Pool.
We are not against a swimming pool.
We had or still do have a swimming pool.
We are against the JDCCP&R meet-
ings that have violated the public meet-
ings law. We are against the lack of trans-
parency. We are against the conspiracy
look to the planning, plotting, schem-
ing without any public involvement. We
know that all the meetings are public,
if you know when they are, but there is
much that goes on behind the scenes that
the citizens are not privy to. Did the John
Day City Council ask the citizens if they
wanted to sell the Gleason Park and Pool
to the state? Why don’t the citizens have
a say? Mostly because it happens without
our knowledge unless you take the time
to go to a meeting. Because we do not go
to meetings, local authorities assume that
everyone is OK with the planning.
We have supported the JDCCP&R
District since its inception. This is
diff erent.
It is not our fi scal responsibility to
provide anyone with a $6 million swim-
ming pool no matter what the usage
would be. Take responsibility for your-
self, teach your own children to swim.
There are many everyday things that par-
ents do to teach them safety. Hunting,
fi shing, using scissors or a knife, riding
a bicycle, building a campfi re, wearing a
helmet. Do you spend your own money
to teach your children to play baseball,
soccer, ski, basketball, hockey or ride a
horse, the list is endless? Purchase a pool
and fi ll it with the same water as a public
swimming pool would be and teach your
child how to swim.
Public recreation in its entirety is not
profi table. You can research any recre-
ation budget, national, state or city, and
you will fi nd the resources do not equal
the expenditures. Public recreation relies
upon tax dollars to balance budgets.
Swimming pool advocates, where
were you when the city was talking
about selling and destroying Gleason
Pool beginning in about 2019? Before
COVID, before a bond was even being
discussed, why weren’t you standing up
and speaking out? We, the people, have
become a citizenry of being disengaged
and disinterested in the political princi-
ples of our community, county, state and
federal governments. We do not have
time, do not want to be involved, do
not want the negativity that comes with
speaking up.
Honesty, integrity and accountability
has gone by the wayside.
John and Charlene Morris
John Day
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and throughout my life I have had the
privilege of being involved in the instruc-
tion of water safety: swimming lessons,
lifeguarding, swim team skills and a vari-
ety of exercise classes. I have experi-
enced the happiness on young faces as
they learned to navigate themselves with
confi dence in the water.
As a water safety instructor and the
pool manager at Black Butte Ranch, I
saw the danger of lack of water skills
in assisting people who panicked in the
water, and the calm assurance of life-
guards who were trained to help them. As
a young mother, I instructed “mom/tot”
classes, teaching parents how to intro-
duce their infants to water.
I’ve witnessed so many health ben-
efi ts to water exercise: aerobics and
strength training classes, stretching, to
name a few. Water buoyancy is very ben-
efi cial to many areas of rehabilitation, i.e.
arthritis, joint replacement, post-surgi-
cal procedures for all ages, especially for
older adults. I have taught many senior
classes, and now as a senior myself I
know that water exercise is one of the
best therapies, as water reduces impact
on joints, improves cardiovascular health,
strength and balance.
The idea of eventually having year-
round access to a pool facility greatly
enhances these benefi ts long term. Being
confi dent around water while fi shing,
boating, etc. brings even greater enjoy-
ment to these activities. Not to mention
being in the water greatly reduces tension
and anxiety at any age!
I am happy to pay 70 cents per thou-
sand as a homeowner knowing the poten-
tial benefi ts to everyone, especially our
youth!
So again, I pose the question: Will a
swimming pool benefi t you? If you are
on the infancy to senior spectrum, the
resounding answer is a yes vote on May
17.
For you. Your family. Your neighbors.
Your community!
D.J. Bloom
Canyon City
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