A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
OTHER VIEWS
We must
secure our
water future
O
regon agriculture continues to persevere amidst histor-
ic drought conditions, worldwide supply chain issues,
burdensome and unnecessary regulation and global food
insecurity at a level not seen in recent memory.
As an industry we can do a lot, but it’s time to recognize that
things must change. As droughts increase in severity and intensity,
we must position ourselves to be resilient and adaptable when it
comes to changing conditions.
Our members are consistently looking for innovative new ways
to get the work done in an effi cient and sustainable manner while
continuing their signifi cant role in feeding and clothing the world
and making substantial contributions to the statewide, national
and global economy.
If we are going to continue to be part of the solution, it is essen-
tial that we are able to access our most basic need: water.
Recently, our organizations partnered together to form the Ore-
gon Agricultural Water Alliance, which will focus on strategic
water investments and common-sense policies to promote sound
water management and agricultural sustainability throughout our
beautiful state. The need for this work has never been greater.
Collectively, our organizations represent a broad spectrum of
individuals and entities that serve nearly 600,000 irrigated acres
and represent over 14,000 producers of food and other agricultural
products in Oregon.
The future of irrigated agriculture and the survival of fami-
ly-owned and -operated farms and ranches in Oregon is at risk
like never before. As organizations with diverse memberships
throughout the state, we can no longer aff ord to work separately
if we hope to bring much-needed change to the state’s water man-
agement. We recognize that together we are stronger, and this is
how we will operate as we look ahead to a critical legislative ses-
sion and key election cycle in the months to come.
Our state cannot risk continuing down the path of disinvest-
ment in water storage. State and federal agencies must be account-
able for eff ective and effi cient water management. Oregon needs
outcome-focused partnerships, not regulatory roadblocks that
penalize creative problem-solving. As opportunities arise, we
need to be prepared to leverage federal funding for state and local
infrastructure projects.
Moreover, the state must facilitate opportunities as part of
its own water resources strategy. Unfortunately, we are already
behind on this front.
As an alliance, we will work to shift state water policy to pri-
oritize maintaining an adequate, safe, and aff ordable food supply,
creating more water storage both above and below ground, creat-
ing drought-resilient programs and projects, increasing interstate
cooperation in water supply and management, demanding more
agency accountability, and reducing costly and unnecessary state
agency litigation.
Together, we plan to create positive change by developing via-
ble pathways for water projects implementation, advocating for
needed changes to agency processes and administration, conduct-
ing tours for legislators and agency staff to highlight opportuni-
ties to improve or create water projects, and proactively support-
ing innovation.
We believe it is critical that the public be informed about the
importance of irrigated agriculture for the state’s future health and
prosperity. A recent poll asked Oregonians about the importance
of the agriculture and livestock sectors to Oregon’s economy; a
whopping 70% of Oregonians, across a wide range of ages, politi-
cal parties, and geographic areas, responded that the industries are
“extremely important.”
Without the proper investment in water storage, and a shift in
water policy and management, it will be a matter of time before
we lose signifi cant portions of our distinctive and diverse agricul-
ture industry — a critical piece of what makes our state the excep-
tional and unique place that it is.
To learn more about the alliance, please visit: www.oawa.info.
Signatories to this column are: Todd Nash, president of Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association; Mike Miranda, president of Oregon Dairy Farm-
ers Association; Angi Bailey, president of Oregon Farm Bureau; Josh
Robinson, president of Oregon Association of Nurseries; Jake Madison,
president of Northeast Oregon Water Association; Rex Barber, president
of Water for Life Inc.; and Brian Hampson, president of Oregon Water
Resources Congress.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
Flour mill fi re sparks memories
lames fi lled the structure in
the photo a friend sent.
News of the fi re at the
Pendleton fl our mill followed.
My response: shock and sadness
to see this over 100-year-old land-
mark structure in fl ames. A thankful
note — no injuries reported.
I recall my visit to the fl our mill
years ago. At that time, the mill
accommodated retail customers.
I was deep into my interest about
wheat, grains in general, and bread
baking. At the mill offi ce, I met a
staff person I considered the ultimate
expert on wheat fl our. The list of
available fl ours included several dif-
ferent blends just for making bagels.
I learned about hard red winter
wheat (good for breads), white spring
wheat (grown in the Northwest) and
durum wheat (grown in Montana
and popular for making noodles and
pasta).
Pallets held sacks with a vari-
ety of fl ours. After getting a shrink-
wrapped covering, the bundles of
fl our were loaded into railroad cars
— the train tracks visible in photos of
the fl aming mill.
At the mill, I chose fl our blends to
purchase. The trunk of my car sagged
when I left. Later I heard that the
mill stopped selling retail. Perhaps it
was a time issue — customers mull-
ing over sacks of grain like shoppers
debating additions to their summer
F
wardrobes.
My earlier inter-
est in wheat and
bread-baking devel-
oped when our chil-
dren still lived at
home. My goal:
fi x tasty, nutritious
Jean Ann
meals, and bake
Moultrie
wholesome bread
for the family, the aroma of loaves
fresh from the oven pulling the fam-
ily together at the kitchen table.
My fi rst attempts at bread bak-
ing — the bread possessed the tex-
ture and taste of hockey pucks.
Skilled bakers off ered me baking
tips. I didn’t get the hang of baking
bread until a friend shared an instruc-
tion sheet put out by a yeast company
of how to bake bread complete with
ink-drawn illustrations and time-
worn enough that the stove pictured
was a wood-burning model.
I needed more practice. I wasn’t
working outside the home. New
goal: bake all the bread and grain
products for our family of seven
children for a year. That included
many types of breads, muffi ns,
cakes, calzones, noodles, etc. My
bread never advanced to county
fair, blue ribbon status. I shifted to
attainable goals — no one eating
our meals or my bread developed
scurvy, rickets, etc.
Through the years, I paid more
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Courage in the face
Grant County does need a pool. fee (John Day), $25,000 condi-
And
law enforcement. And a whole tional use permit & preliminary
of opposition
design, $20,000 SDAO Consulting
lot of other things. What we don’t
To the Editor:
Charlene Morris, an active mem-
ber of the Grant County Conser-
vatives PAC that campaigned in
opposition to the pool ballot mea-
sure this spring, has fi led a recall
petition against Lisa Weigum, a
longstanding Parks and Recreation
District board member.
The basis for this petition is
Mrs. Morris’s claim that Ms.
Weigum violated public meeting
laws and public records laws.
Here’s the nice thing about liv-
ing in the United States in the 21st
century, as opposed to 18th century
France. We don’t have public exe-
cutions by guillotine just because
Madame DeFarge has knitted
your name on her political kill list
(and has an insatiable appetite for
revenge).
Lucky for us, Mrs. Morris has
not been appointed judge, jury,
and executioner in this matter. The
only body determining whether a
violation of public meetings law
occurred is the nine-member Ore-
gon Government Ethics Commis-
sion appointed specifi cally for that
purpose — and they have made no
such ruling.
We are better than this.
I’ve had a few policy disagree-
ments with Ms. Weigum myself.
Some of them included a bit of
voice infl ection and some salty
language that would make a sailor
stand up and take notice.
But here’s the thing about Lisa.
She has integrity. She’s an unpaid
volunteer who contributes her time
(hundreds of hours a year) to serve
on numerous boards and commit-
tees. And she has been unfairly
treated and targeted for having
the courage to stand behind her
convictions.
need ... is more of this.
Targeting public offi cials
by weaponizing public records
requests, fi ling recall petitions, and
obstructing them in the conduct of
public meetings may be in vogue
in certain circles, but in reality, it
accomplishes nothing. This recall
petition says more about the per-
son who fi led it than the person it
was fi led against.
Send a message to the Grant
County Conservatives PAC to class
it up a bit. Don’t sign this unwar-
ranted petition.
Nick Green
John Day
Facts and fi gures
about pool bond
To the Editor:
The city of John Day and the
John Day/Canyon City Parks
and Recreation District was
approached by the Yes to JDCC
Swim Center political action com-
mittee to place the $4 million pool
bond back on the November gen-
eral election.
Some facts are appropriate
to clarify the issue: An undated
“Draft 7th Street Aquatics Cen-
ter – Capital Construction Bud-
get” by the city identifi es income
of SB 5534 $2,000,000, city of JD
$200,000 Gleason Pool sale pro-
ceeds, city of JD $350,000 cash
from interim fi nancing (i.e. line of
credit), city of JD $450,000 in-kind
site improvements (streets, utili-
ties, broadband), Parks & Rec Dis-
trict $3,000,000 general obligation
bond net proceeds subtotal income
$6,000,000. Expenses: $20,000
grant admin. & construction mgmt.
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
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Phone: 541-575-0710
Services, $550,000 architectural
design and engineering, $25,000
community survey, $150,000 SDC
connection fees, $50,000 city of
John Day interim credit facility
costs, $140,000 parking lot land
acquisition/building demolition &
site prep (city) in-kind $450,000,
$4,570,000 aquatics center capital
construction. Yes, this is a draft!
However, the SB 5534/HB 5006
grant will not be available until
2023 and money has already been
spent (i.e. community survey, con-
ditional use permit, architectural
design and engineering).
Other concerns: The meeting
prompting the city’s July 26 letter
to JDCC Parks and Recreation Dis-
trict voicing support for a second
pool measure was hosted by the
city and as such limited the public
comment to one minute. It is ques-
tionable if the appropriate notifi -
cation was given to the tax-paying
residents of Canyon City and rural
areas of the district were provided
an agenda and comment limitations.
One participant identifi ed discrepan-
cies for ORS 192.620 public meet-
ing notifi cation.
The OPM (Other People’s
Money), i.e. Yes to JDCC Swim
Center group did not voice a con-
cern when the city voted to demol-
ish Gleason Pool because that made
repair a moot issue. The community
survey that resulted in a 16.8% par-
ticipation had 58% in favor of the
levy and 57% of the eligible voters
in the district (1,604 of 2,785) cast
votes. This tends to indicate 1,181
voters either did not cast ballots for
or against the measure or just did
not choose to vote on this specifi c
issue.
John Morris
John Day
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
attention to fl our products on trips
on my VLB (very low budget) travel
plan. In Finland, a family farm-
house still stands. A Swedish-speak-
ing great-grandmother baked her rye
bread in a wood-burning brick oven.
The fl at loaves, with a center hole
about the size of a donut, were strung
on wooden poles that nestled in ceil-
ing-high wooden slots.
In a rural village in Italy, a mother
and adult daughter served up the fi n-
est pizza from a wood-fi red brick
oven. A Hungarian homemaker gave
me a lesson on spaetzle, the noodle
dough shaved through what looked
like an over-sized carrot grater.
This week, with the fl our mill fi re
on my mind, I pulled out ingredients
to concoct an original bread to honor
the Pendleton fl our mill.
Disclaimer: Should there be an
unintentional error in the above, the
author notes that the “original rec-
ipe dough” she vigorously kneaded
turned out to be the size of an over-
infl ated basketball. By the time the
author fi nished kneading, she may
have developed low oxygen levels
impacting cognition.
Jean Ann Moultrie is a Grant
County writer. Readers need not
fear the author’s original bread rec-
ipe turned loose on the public. The
author didn’t write the recipe down.
She looks forward to a successful
rebuild of the fl our mill.
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Blue Mountain Eagle
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