OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
A4
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
OUR VIEW
Some changes
are coming, in
print and online
H
ere at the Blue Mountain Eagle, we take pride in
bringing you a wide variety of content. Most of the
stories and photos you see in our pages are produced
by our newsroom staff , which consists of two reporters and one
editor. In addition, we have half a dozen or so local columnists
who produce “Grant County Seniors,” “Shooting the Breeze,”
“Off the Beaten Path” and “Farmer’s Fate.” And of course we
also draw on some of our sister EO Media Group newspapers,
such as the East Oregonian out of Pendleton and the La Grande
Observer, for stories and commentary on issues that aff ect our
region.
For many years we have broadened our off erings still further
with a pair of national publications that are inserted in the paper
on a monthly basis: Relish, a food-focused periodical packed
with recipes and cooking tips, and Spry Living, a compen-
dium of health, wellness and lifestyle advice mixed with inspi-
rational stories. Sadly, both publications are going away. The
Arena Group, which publishes both titles, recently informed us
that they will no longer be produced after this month. We know
that many of our readers are fond of Relish and Spry, and we’re
sorry that we will no longer be able to provide these periodicals
as part of your Blue Mountain Eagle subscription.
There is a silver lining to this dark cloud, however: The
Arena Group’s announcement also carried the news that it was
transitioning Parade, the well-known national lifestyle and
entertainment magazine, from print to digital-only distribution.
And while the Eagle does not carry the print version of Parade,
we will be able to provide our readers with the digital version
as the transition moves forward. According to information from
The Arena Group, Eagle subscribers should start seeing Parade
in our online e-Edition starting Nov. 23.
We know many of you will miss Relish and Spry Living,
but we hope the digital version of Parade will help make up for
the loss. And of course we’ll continue to deliver all your local
news, sports and feature stories in print and online, as well as
our weekly GO! Eastern Oregon supplement and a rotating
assortment of special sections such as last week’s Grant County
History section, the Grant County Hunting Journal, the Kick-
off prep football preview and Explore Grant County, our annual
glossy visitors guide.
A word about letters
Letters to the editor make a lively addition to our Opinion
page, and we love seeing the variety of views expressed by our
readers. But sometimes a reminder about publication guidelines
is in order.
We recently received a letter that ran considerably beyond
our 350-word length limit. Fortunately, we were able to contact
the author, who graciously agreed to send us a shorter version.
Another recent submission was dropped off at the offi ce with
no signature, return address or contact information of any sort.
Like the vast majority of newspapers, we do not print anony-
mous letters. We also ask that letter writers include their phone
number and mailing address — not for publication, but for veri-
fi cation purposes.
Other rules of the road: No personal attacks — challenge
the opinion, not the person. No thank-you letters, please. No
petitions. No more than two letters per person per month. And
deadline is 5 p.m. Friday (although sooner is always better).
The full policy appears on the Opinion page when space per-
mits and can also be found on our website.
So please keep those letters coming, and please keep these
guidelines in mind.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
USPS 226-340
Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper
Email: www.MyEagleNews.com
Phone: 541-575-0710
John Day, Oregon
MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
E DITOR Bennett Hall, bhall@bmeagle.com
R EPORTER Tony Chiotti, T chiotti@bluemountaineagle.com
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S PORTS sports@bmeagle.com
P AGE DESIGNER Randy Wrighthouse, rwrighthouse@eomediagroup.com
M ARKETING R EP Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com
O FFICE A SSISTANT Alixandra Hand, offi ce@bmeagle.com
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY BY EO Media Group
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John Day, OR 97845-1187
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COMMENTARY
M114 would leave you defenseless
N
o matter where you stand on guns,
the simple fact is someday, some-
where, you may have to pro-
tect yourself. And you cannot rely on the
police. Under Ballot Measure 114, you
could literally wait forever for permis-
sion to purchase a home defense fi rearm.
The measure requires a “class” with
live fi re training before a person can
apply for a permit to purchase a fi rearm.
There are virtually no facilities that will
be available for this training. For fi rst
time gun buyers, this could well require
that you have a gun before you can get a
permit to buy a gun.
The measure only allows those
approved by police to provide the
required “training” to apply for a permit.
Police in Oregon are underfunded and
understaff ed. There is no plan in place to
actually provide any training and virtu-
ally no police have the facilities to pro-
vide classes. Police in urban areas are
already not responding to most crimes.
Police in rural areas rarely have the facil-
ities for the required class.
The “permitting agent” can demand
“any additional information” to issue the
permit, opening up endless opportunities
for abuses.
The Oregon State Sheriff s’ Associa-
tion has estimated that if a person some-
how could complete the required train-
ing, the permitting process would cost
sheriff s almost $40 mil-
lion annually. There is
nothing in the measure
that provides funding,
and the fees included
would not come close
to covering the costs.
Kevin Starrett The estimate of costs
to local police is $51.2
million the fi rst year and $47.5 million in
subsequent years.
While the measure caps the cost
for a permit, there are no caps on
the costs for the required training,
which is unlikely to be available.
The measure requires that a sher-
iff or local police department issue a
permit within 30 days after a back-
ground check has been completed by
the Oregon State Police. But there is
no limit on how long the state police
can take to complete the background
check and no penalties if they do
not complete it. There are no esti-
mates of the cost of these checks to
the state police. The “permit” does
not even authorize you to purchase
a fi rearm. It only allows you to ask
for permission a second time when
you actually try to make the purchase.
And once again, the state police can
literally take forever.
The measure requires a public list of
persons who attempt to purchase fi re-
arms. Victims of domestic violence
will be at risk for all their private infor-
mation being made public along with
their eff orts to purchase a fi rearm for
self-defense.
The measure creates a whole new
category of victimless crimes at a time
when the police are grossly underfunded
and real criminals are being released
onto our streets.
M114 removes the one safeguard that
protects gun buyers if the state police do
not complete their background check.
State and federal law allow the trans-
fer of a fi rearm if the state police don’t
complete a background check in three
business days. This measure removes
that safeguard. So a single mom with
threats against her and her children could
literally wait forever to get permission to
get a home defense fi rearm.
The ballot measure fl atly outlaws
almost all home defense shotguns, but it
also outlaws the most common shotguns
used for trap and skeet events. Many of
the people competing in these safe and
sanctioned events are young people who
were introduced to safe gun handling
through these competitions. Please see
stop114.com for more information.
Kevin Starrett is the director of the
Stop 114 Committee and the executive
director of the Oregon Firearms Federa-
tion. Starrett lives in Canby.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Time is right
to invest in new pool
To the Editor:
I don’t know how many thousands
of hours I spent at Gleason Pool through
early swim lessons, swim team, open
swim, and more swim team. And then
working as a lifeguard, Red Cross swim
instructor, and swim coach. That time
at Gleason Pool shaped me, challenged
me and charted my future in unexpected
ways. All that happened because decades
ago a community said yes to a pool.
Beyond my story, I’ve witnessed what
a pool has meant to the community. I saw
kids learning to swim and acquiring vital
water safety skills, infants snuggling close
to a parent in their fi rst moments in a pool,
adults having a place for healthy exer-
cise and physical therapy during the dog
days of summer, or just breaking through
decades-old barriers and learning to swim
for this fi rst time. And, of course, there
was countless kids having great, safe sum-
mer fun even on the hottest of days.
I remember coaching kids of all ages
and seeing their joy and sense of accom-
plishment when they were able to swim
faster than they might have ever imag-
ined. I remember hundreds of kids and
their families fl ocking to John Day for the
annual John Day Invitational swim meet.
And of course, that meant all the down-
town festivities and the church pie social!
All this was possible because many
decades ago a community came together
and decided people of all ages deserved
a swimming pool. Gleason Pool served
the community well, but now it’s time for
a new pool. It’s time for voters to make
another investment for the kids, and for
the future. The Seventh Street Complex
is a special place with so many healthy
opportunities for so many. It has been a
long-term labor of love by the community.
A new pool would be a remarkable addi-
tion and such a meaningful statement for
the kids and the future. I encourage you
all to vote yes on Measure 12-85.
Shane Spell
Seaside
Editor’s note: The author is a former
Grant County resident who is now the
coach of the varsity swim team at Seaside
High School.
Missing swim meets
at John Day pool
To the Editor:
On behalf of the Lakeview Swim
Team, we would like to express our sup-
port for a swim pool in John Day. Our
community has fully supported our swim
pool and shown how important it is for
our children’s, as well as adults’, health
and well-being; it is utilized by people of
all ages.
Our swim team has brought at least
30-plus swimmers and their families to
John Day each summer for a three-day
swim meet. Some years it’s twice in the
summer. Our families really enjoy com-
ing to John Day, staying at the park or a
motel, eating at the restaurants, shopping
at the stores.
Our kids enjoy their time with their
summer swim team friends from diff er-
ent towns. There are also families that
stay longer and have a family vacation in
the area, camping and rafting. We have
missed coming the past three summers
and hope to come back soon.
Annette Shullanberger
Lakeview
Editor’s note: The author is presi-
dent of the Lakeview Swim Team board of
directors.
Keep Grant County
a great place for kids
To the Editor:
Citizens of Grant County, let’s invest
in our children and in our community; this
new pool project is something that we can
do locally to benefi t ourselves. The abil-
ity to swim is a critical life skill and we
would be setting our children up at a dis-
advantage by denying them this opportu-
nity. Vote yes for the pool because Grant
County is a great place to raise children
and we all want it to stay this way.
Erik Romstad
John Day
Grant County kids
deserve a pool
To the Editor:
We will be voting yes on the pool
bond measure. Here are our thoughts con-
cerning a very important measure for our
county.
Owning a small business in Harney
County for 40-plus years, we were strong
supporters of our youth and community
both fi nancially and with our time. Involv-
ing ourselves through 4-H, school board,
CASA, school activities, swim team,
mentoring young minds through clinic
youth employment and job shadowing
has given us a clear view that our youth
deserve safe and structured activities
along with infrastructures they can attend
to learn, socialize, laugh, play and grow
on their way to productive adulthood.
Adequate infrastructures in our rural
towns are essential to grow communi-
ties that off er a wide variety of modern
updated facilities that look to the future
for growth and prosperity.
Growing up 30 miles from town on
the 96 Ranch in Bear Valley, my parents
saw that I (Susan) had a year of swim les-
sons. I can swim but not very well and I
am uncomfortable around bodies of water.
While boating with friends, rafting the
Rogue River or river fi shing, I wished my
swimming skills were fi ne-tuned, not only
for safety but also for enjoyment. My hus-
band, Leon, grew up in a small southern
Idaho town swimming at the local public
pool and is a strong swimmer and loves
the water.
Retiring to Grant County and becom-
ing senior citizens, we are honored to
support Grant County youth and sup-
port growth and prosperity within our
communities.
If you do not know the precise cost
of your share of the tax bond, go to
https:www.swimcenter.vote. A helpful
tool is provided to calculate your obli-
gation. If this is a fi nancial burden, your
“no” vote is respected.
This summer, midafternoon, driving
past the pool in Harney County, our hearts
soared with the sight of children playing
and shrieking with laughter and giggles.
Please consider a yes vote so we can hear
the same shrieks and laughter from our
Grant County children.
Leon Pielstick, DVM
Susan Lemcke Pielstick
John Day
It’s time to stop
ignoring the obvious
To the Editor:
First we lost the police. Not that it was
necessary. Mr. Green had COVID funds
($180,000) that could’ve been spent on
the police to cover the $150,000 “short-
fall.” At the time, no one knew he’d
received those funds. Wonder why he
didn’t tell anyone?
Next, a vote to increase taxes to bridge
the $150,000 police funding shortfall
occurred; thus, a special election — keep
in mind, the COVID funds would’ve eas-
ily kept the JD police going until the reg-
ular voting cycle was scheduled. Increas-
ing taxes, even though not necessary,
might’ve even passed if the special elec-
tion was held during the normal voting
cycle. Sadly, the funds existed and the
vote was unnecessary, but the JD police
were dissolved expeditiously.
Then Mr. Green received the
$375,000 police funding grant. Yet his
rush to dissolve the JDPD eliminated any
option of those funds being applied.
Was it by chance, maybe “coinci-
dence,” the police went away (as one
JDCC member exclaimed about the pool
being demolished as just “coincidence”
before the vote on the levy)? Does it
strike you as, maybe, “engineered” and
not “coincidence”?
Weirdly, there will now be a third(!)
vote on the pool, yet nothing on the
police. Ask yourself, “Who is doing this
engineering of the electorate’s vote?”
What are their priorities? The electorate’s,
or their bonus?
Now we have JDCC members who
have exclusive benefi ts of advertising on
the Discover John Day web page; not one
other local business is listed on that web-
site. Ask yourself, Why? And one who was
awarded, as well, the single choice lot for
their new facility on the John Day River
without it ever having been competitively
bid on. Sweetheart deal, or what? Sadly,
these people (and one’s paid quite hand-
somely), attack those who have a diff erent
opinion. Clearly, they don’t work for us,
they work for themselves. It’s high time to
take back our city of John Day.
Dwaine H. Winchester
John Day