A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
OUR VIEW
For the latest
election results,
see our website
B
y the time you hold this copy of the Blue Mountain
Eagle in your hands, the dust will have settled (for the
most part) on the May 17 primary election. Republican
and Democratic voters will have chosen their parties’ nominees
for governor, senator and congressional representative. Locally,
Grant County voters will have expressed their preferences in
the three-way race for county commissioner, and those who live
within the boundaries of the John Day-Canyon City Parks &
Recreation District will have determined whether they’re willing
to support a $4 million bond to pay for a new community swim-
ming pool.
Sadly, because we go to press at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and the
polls don’t close until 8 o’clock Tuesday night, we were not able
to get the results of the election into this Wednesday’s print edi-
tion, and because we are a weekly newspaper, we will not be
able to do so until next Wednesday’s paper on May 25.
But here’s the good news: This is the internet age, and we
have a website.
If you’re still wondering how the elections turned out, put
down this paper right now and go to www.bluemountainea-
gle.com on your smartphone, tablet or other internet-connected
device.
You’ll fi nd a special tab for election stories in the navigation
bar at the top of our home page.
Blue Mountain Eagle reporters were stationed at the Grant
County Clerk’s Offi ce on Election Night, so they could get the
local election results as soon as they were announced and fi le
stories to our website as soon as possible after the polls closed.
Also on our website you will fi nd stories about the outcomes
of the biggest statewide races contributed by our partners at the
Oregon Capital Bureau, a consortium of news organizations
from around the state that includes our parent company, East
Oregonian Media Group.
And because timely access to trustworthy election news is
so important, we are dropping our paywall — the feature on
our website that limits how many stories you can read online
for free — for our coverage of this election. (Of course, if you
want unlimited access to all our content online, you can always
become a subscriber.)
We’re a small newspaper with a small staff , but that doesn’t
mean we have to think small. Here at the Blue Mountain Eagle,
we will use every resource at our disposal to get you the news
you need in the timeliest possible manner.
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.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email:
senecaoregon@gmail.com.
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.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Heart-pounding herpetology
SSSNAAAKE!
My younger brothers chased
me around the yard with a large,
venomous snake. Or so it seemed.
Actually, the snake was a garter snake
about the size of a yellow school pen-
cil. I knew I shouldn’t have resorted
to running. I thought of squaring my
shoulders, facing the foe and showing
an interest in the snake.
“What a cute critter,” I’d say. “That
dry, scaly skin. Perhaps later I’ll hold
him. For now, look how he’s curled
around your arm — he’s bonded with
you.”
Instead, I screamed and scram-
bled to get away. My actions armed
younger brothers with ammo against
their older sibling, the ammo consid-
ered harmless, and more interested in
insects than in a panic-fi lled sister.
Through the years, I avoided
snakes. I carried a stick while on hikes
to tap on rocks to scare away snakes.
A pollster with a clipboard took a
poll in a mall parking lot of what peo-
ple fear. Poll results — most feared:
Snakes, mice and rats, thunder and
lightning storms, plane rides, spi-
ders, clowns, large spiders wearing
clown suits, heights, cabbage and kale
casseroles, aggressive birds, fourth-
grade long division, and pollsters with
clipboards.
My luck avoiding snakes seemed
to run out while visiting a remote
farm after dusk. I strolled out towards
S
a barn while fam-
ily visited with the
locals on the porch.
In the dark, I stum-
bled over some
debris, then heard
the dreaded sound
— rattle, rattle. I
Jean Ann
Moultrie
froze. The sound
stopped. I took a
couple more steps. Rattle, rattle. With
each pause — silence. With each step
— a rattle sound.
When I spotted a yard light illu-
minating a corral fence, I took a run-
ning leap and scrambled up the cor-
ral poles. I noticed a looped piece of
baling twine hooked around my boot
and trailing a branch of dried leaves. I
kicked off the twine and dried leaves.
No more rattle, rattle.
The ultimate fright occurred at a
relative’s chicken/egg-laying opera-
tion. On a visit, I wandered around
the yard bordered by chicken coops.
Out of the brush, a snake did a slow,
U-shaped slither. About the size of an
infl ated fi re hose, the snake’s body
kept coming and coming. I wondered
if he had gone from dining on rodents
and on to feasting on small dinosaurs,
given the dinosaur fossil research in
the area.
My heart pounded. I trembled as
sweat dripped from my forehead.
I’d moved from cautious fear to full-
blown phobia. I stumbled into the
OUR VIEW
Let Postal Service ship booze, wine
F
edEx can do it. UPS can
do it. Why not the U.S.
Postal Service?
We are talking about ship-
ping booze and wine directly to
customers.
The answer to the why not
question is: There is a federal
prohibition in place banning the
Postal Service from being able
to do it.
Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley,
a Democrat, introduced leg-
islation to change that. The
ban would be over. If a cidery,
a brewery or a winery had a
license, it could ship directly to
someone of legal drinking age
through the mail.
One important caveat: No
preteen would be able to check
the mailbox and start sipping
on the latest from the wine of
the month club selection before
mom and dad got home. Merk-
ley wanted appropriate pro-
tections in place. The bill says
the recipient of the delivery
“shall be an individual at least
21 years of age, and shall pres-
ent a valid, Government-issued
photo identifi cation at the time
of delivery.”
Dr. Reginald Richardson,
executive director of the Ore-
gon Alcohol and Drug Policy
Commission, sent a letter this
month to Merkley urging him
to drop his sponsorship of the
bill, as reported by Willamette
Week. Richardson wants Merk-
ley to think about the downside
of improving people’s access
to alcohol. Alcoholism can ruin
lives and families. Excessive
drinking can lead to a host of
problems.
The increased revenue from
the ban might mean $180 mil-
lion a year in additional rev-
enue for the Postal Service.
Richardson says alcohol harm
causes Oregon $4.8 billion a
year.
The ban for the Postal Ser-
vice stretches back to the Pro-
hibition era. If it’s now fair to
ship through FedEx and UPS,
it’s fair for the Postal Service.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Eliminating privacy no name or signature on the actual voter’s choices. The privacy enve-
ensuring your vote is secret
lope separated the voter’s name
envelope a bad idea ballot,
and private.
from the ballot choices.
To the Editor:
Eliminating the privacy envelope
for mail-in ballots in Oregon was a
mistake. All states have used secret
ballots since 1891, and it is now
common practice in much of the
world. In Oregon’s mail-in system,
a name and signature is required on
the outer postal envelope but not on
the ballot itself. Even if you voted
in person, you would be required to
identify yourself but there would be
What separates the postal enve-
lope and the ballot in Oregon’s
mail-in system used to be a privacy
envelope. Election workers could
open the outer postal envelope and
confi rm who the voter is, then set the
ballot inside the privacy envelope
aside for later opening and insertion
into the ballot counting machine.
Without the privacy envelope, the
person who opens the outer postal
envelope could theoretically glance
at the ballot and link the name to the
I happen to personally know and
trust the Grant County election offi -
cials, so my concern is a theoreti-
cal one. Voting in the United States
is regulated by the states and con-
ducted at the local level. I don’t
understand why the privacy enve-
lope is no longer used — was it a
money-saving measure? Protecting
privacy should be a government’s
goal, particularly with elections.
Richard Hanners
John Day
L
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.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
(including online access)
Editor ........................................................Bennett Hall, bhall@bmeagle.com
One year ..................................................$51
Monthly autopay .............................. $4.25
Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60
Reporters .................................................... Steven Mitchell, steven@bmeagle.com
Justin Davis, jdavis@bluemountaineagle.com
Sports ........................................................sports@bmeagle.com
Page Designer ...................................................... Randy Wrighthouse, rwrighthouse@eomediagroup.com
Subscriptions must be paid
prior to delivery
Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
Online: MyEagleNews.com
Periodicals Postage Paid
at John Day and additional
mailing offi ces.
POSTMASTER
send address changes to:
Blue Mountain Eagle
195 N. Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845-1187
USPS 226-340
Offi ce Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, offi ce@bmeagle.com
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
house, packed and left.
Years later, grandchildren men-
tioned a science event at a science
museum. I’m invited.
The theme: herpetology. An audi-
torium fi lled with snakes in cages. A
fun-fi lled time where visitors get to
hold actual (non-aggressive) snakes.
A time where a grownup with snake
fears can pretend to enjoy holding
a snake on her towel-covered lap to
show budding, science-minded grand-
children what fun science can be.
What fears we hide for the sake of
children!
A couple years ago I spotted a small
snake about the size of an al dente lin-
guine noodle near my front porch.
I wasn’t sure about his markings. A
neighbor came over, shovel in hand.
“Nope, not a rattlesnake. That’s a
bull snake. I’ll move him out of your
way.”
My own “pet” bull snake dines on
earwigs and potato bugs. While mow-
ing, I noticed my favorite snake weav-
ing through the grass, heading towards
open ground. A hawk circled above as
though he’d spotted lunch. It’s chal-
lenging to herd a snake to the safety of
a rockpile.
Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant
County writer. The author reports that
“snake scientists” who bring research
projects home sometimes prefer to
call themselves herpetologists on dat-
ing sites.
Phone: 541-575-0710
Copyright © 2022
Blue Mountain Eagle
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication covered by the copyright
hereon may be reproduced or copied
in any form or by any means — graphic,
electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, taping or information
storage and retrieval systems — without
written permission of the publisher.
facebook.com/MyEagleNews
@MyEagleNews