SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Double standard on virus rules sparks meeting of Eastern
Oregon commissioners
“You can protest but we can’t go to church, you can protest but can’t go to a ball game, you can protest
but you can’t have a fair or rodeo”
By David Sykes
Frustrated by Oregon
Governor Kate Brown’s
refusal to enforce her own
COVID-19 rules on the
thousands of protestors
marching daily in Mult-
nomah County, while still
demanding rural Orego-
nians follow her strict virus
edicts, 12 county commis-
sioners from seven different
eastern Oregon counties
met June 11 in Prairie City
to discuss a “battle plan” to
fight against the inequities.
None of Morrow County’s
commissioners attended the
meeting.
The meeting was or-
ganized by Lake County
Commissioner Mark Al-
bertson following a June
5 phone conversation be-
tween the Association of
Oregon Counties (AOC)
and the Oregon Health
Authority (OHA), where
a representative from the
Governor’s office said the
state was not going to en-
force COVID rules on the
thousands of people who
have been marching and
gathering in Portland these
past weeks in response to
the police killing of George
Floyd.
“We are trying to bal-
ance the rights of the pro-
testors and the public health
needs,” said Leah Horn-
er, the governor’s advisor
on jobs and the economy.
“The needs of protestors
are there, and we don’t want
to hinder that,” she said.
The COVID rules in Mult-
nomah County say public
gatherings of more than 10
people are prohibited, so
the thousands of people that
have been gathering daily
since May are grossly in
violation of the governor’s
rules. Simultaneously those
same rules have prohibited
people across Oregon from
attending all kinds of public
gatherings, shutting down
businesses to the point that
some may go under, and
demanding people stay
in their homes. “In other
words you can protest but
we can’t go to church; you
can protest but can’t go to a
ball game; you can protest
but you can’t have a fair
or rodeo. This is absolute
insanity and now the OHA
tells you if you can go to
work or dinner with your
friends,” said Lake County
Commissioner Albertson in
the email invitation he sent
out to 48 different county
commissioners (including
all three Morrow County
commissioners) and other
government leaders, mostly
from eastern Oregon, to at-
tend the meeting. (See end
of this article for complete
unedited email text). Mor-
row County Commissioner
Jim Doherty is the current
president of the Association
of Oregon Counties and
was on the call.
Also on the call was
OHA physician Dr. Paul
Cieslak, who in response
to a question from a coun-
ty commissioner wanting
to know whether, in an
effort to halt the spread of
COVID-19 virus infections
expected from the Portland
protest gatherings, all the
protestors would be tested
for the Coronavirus. The
head of the national Center
for Disease Control, CDC,
has said protestors at the
racial injustice demonstra-
tions need to be tested to
stop the virus spread. Dr.
Cieslak said first he was
not aware of the CDC an-
nouncement, and second
OHA had no plans to do
any testing. “I did not know
this was CDC advice. We
are not contemplating any
testing,” he said. Cieslak
did not deny that the protest
gatherings were causing
a risk of higher infections
among the general public.
“There is a risk obviously
when large numbers of
people get together in close
quarters,” he said.
Cieslak was also asked
if the OHA was planning
“contact tracing” on the
protestors. In public health,
contact tracing is the pro-
cess of identification of
persons who may have
come into contact with an
infected person and subse-
quent collection of further
information about these
contacts in an effort to slow
the spread of the virus. “We
are not advocating con-
tact tracing,” Cieslak said.
“Let’s say we found out
about a case and found out
the person has been to one
of the protests. It’s going
to be almost impossible to
know who was near them
at the protest,” he said.
Cieslak added that with
people moving around a lot
at the protests “a lot” would
not have met the criteria to
instigate contacting tracing
which he says requires a
person “to have 15 minutes
of contact within six feet”
of an infected person. He
also said health authorities
“are not going to be able to
identify who the contacts
were anyway.”
Editor’s note: Follow-
ing is first the original email
sent out to commissioners
from Lake County Commis-
sioner Mark Albertson as
an invitation to the Prairie
City meeting, and then a
reprint with permission of
an article published in the
John Day Blue Mountain
Eagle newspaper about the
subsequent meeting.
Good afternoon
friends, colleagues and
Brothers and Sisters in-
arms!
As you all know the
last three months have been
a trying time for all of
us. We’ve carried a heavy
burden forced upon us by
fear and misinformation.
It’s been a roller coaster
of emotions that has been
a heavy burden for all of
us to carry. We played by
the rules and our freedoms
and civil liberties were
stripped from us without
a shot being fired. When
I was a young man, I was
bullied by three boys to the
point I missed many days of
school because of the fear
of what they would do to
me. My Dad was a man of
few words but one day he
said, “Sometimes you have
to face your fears head on
and you might take a few
licks, but a black eye only
hurts for a while but being a
coward will last a lifetime!”
He knew something was
up even though I didn’t
tell him, I was ashamed of
my fear and didn’t want to
tell him. It wasn’t a week
later at a basketball game
the ring leader snapped me
in the mouth with a towel
and I knew at that moment
it was time to stand my
ground! I took the first two
on and knocked them to
the ground and the third
one ran out the back door
of the locker room. Was I
bloodied and bruised? Hell
yes! But I never had any
more trouble with those
three. I promised myself at
that moment I would never
let fear control my destiny.
I’m telling this story of
my childhood for a reason.
We’ve been fearful of the
unknown, of losing out on
dollars for our communi-
ties, of not getting reelect-
ed, of the health of our
community and a plethora
of other demons that whis-
pered in our ear. We’ve lost
sleep, drank too much and
isolated ourselves from the
madness.
Today in a conference
call with the AOC (Associ-
ation of Oregon Counties)
the OHA (Oregon Health
Authority State of Oregon)
director stated that he want-
ed to protect the protesters
and they didn’t have to
follow the guidelines that
we do! You can request the
transcript from the AOC if
you don’t believe me. In
other words you can protest
but we can’t go to church,
you can protest but can’t
go to a ball game, you can
protest but you can’t have
a fair or rodeo. This is ab-
solute insanity and now the
OHA tells you if you can go
to work or dinner with your
friends. Who gave them the
authority to tell us how to
live our life? YOU! Me, you
and our fear. As for me the
time has come to face the
bullies that are abusing the
ones I love, it’s time to rise
up and do the job that the
helpless and fearful can’t
do. I’m asking you to join
with me for a face to face
meeting at noon at 254 NW
Front Street Highway 26,
Prairie City to talk about
how we will draw up our
battle plans. We can either
live dying or die living!
Tough times don’t last
but tough people do!
Mark Albertson
Lake County Commis-
sioner
Eastern Oregon county representatives
fed up with governor’s COVID-19
reopening plan
Lake County commissioner: ‘We’re oppressed by our
state’
By Steven Mitchell Blue
Mountain Eagle
Jun 12, 2020
Those in attendance
at the meeting: Lake
County Commissioner
Mark Albertson, Grant
County Commissioner
Sam Palmer, Deschutes
County Commissioner
Tony DeBone, Wallowa
County Commissioner
Susan Roberts, Wallowa
County Commissioner
John Hillock, Harney
County Commissioner
Kristen Shelman, Union
County Commissioner
Donna Beverage, Union
County Commission-
er Matt Scarfo, Union
County Commissioner
Paul Anderes, Jefferson
County Commissioner
Mae Huston, Jefferson
County Commissioner
Kelly Simmelink, Grant
County Commissioner
Jim Hamsher
A group of Eastern Or-
egon county commissioners
met unannounced Thursday
in Prairie City to share
common frustrations over
Gov. Kate Brown’s clo-
sures amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
Fed up with Brown’s
unilateral authority to re-
open the state and control
of how federal aid money
will be disbursed, represen-
tatives from seven Eastern
Oregon counties strate-
gized about getting their
voices heard in Salem and
discussed what the conse-
quences of standing up to
the governor might be.
Commissioners from
Grant, Lake, Deschutes,
Wallowa, Harney, Union
and Jefferson counties
agreed county health de-
partments should determine
when counties are able to
open and establish local
guidelines.
Dubbed an “informa-
tion seminar,” organized
by Lake County Commis-
sioner Mark Albertson, the
event was not announced to
the public or the media. The
Eagle and Oregon Public
Broadcasting negotiated
their way into the event as
some of the representatives
were reluctant to enter the
Prairie City Visitors Center.
“We did not know the
press was showing up,” Al-
bertson said. “It’s spooky,
and it’s, to be honest with
you, it’s spooky because
all of us have been burned.”
Grant County Commis-
sioner Sam Palmer said af-
ter the meeting he believes
rural people and viewpoints
are often mocked in the
press and not taken serious-
ly, much like he believes
Morrow County 4-H/FFA showcased
The cancellation of
Morrow County Fair will
not stop local 4-H and FFA
members from entering and
displaying their livestock
and projects for 2020. A
showcase of Morrow Coun-
ty 4-H/FFA livestock and
static projects will proceed
August 16-22 at the Mor-
row County Fairgrounds.
At this time, it is not a pub-
lic event, but will be live
streamed for viewing.
“The 4-H and FFA
members in our county
have worked hard with
their respective projects,
despite the Covid-19 pan-
demic, and we are working
diligently to make sure
they have the opportuni-
ty to show and sell their
animals and present their
talented works for view,”
said Morrow County 4-H
educator, Erin Heideman.
“The Extension Office, FFA
Advisors, 4-H Leaders, Fair
Board and Livestock Grow-
ers Association have all
contributed in the planning
stages of this effort.”
A formal exhibition
schedule will be distrib-
uted once all the moving
pieces are in place, but
for now, the general plan
is to have one day species
shows, similar to a jackpot
show. Exhibitors will bring
their livestock in the night
before, show all day the
next day and then go home.
Members will also have
the opportunity to enter all
other 4-H entries for cook-
ing contests, fashion revue,
photography, expressive
arts, etc.
All market livestock
projects will be able to be
sold through a virtual auc-
tion on Saturday, August
22.
For additional informa-
tion, contact Erin Heideman
at erin.heideman@oregon-
state.edu or 541-676-9642.
state leaders in Salem ig-
nore rural sentiments.
“I guess the main point
is we’re being culturally
oppressed, because, I mean
in rural counties, not one
county in a rural area has
received any money and
very little help,” Albertson
said at Thursday’s meet-
ing. “And none of us have
had direct contact with the
governor.”
The meeting came to
be after months of confer-
ence calls with state health
officials and growing frus-
trations with the governor’s
guidelines to combat the
coronavirus outbreak that
have wreaked havoc on
local economies.
The tipping point, said
Albertson, came after a
recent conference call with
the Oregon Association of
Counties and the Oregon
Health Authority. On the
call, he said, a representa-
tive from a county asked
if protesters, primarily in
Portland, would be contact
traced. According to Albert-
son, a health official on the
call said that the protesters’
cause was just and the state
would not infringe upon
their rights to peacefully
protest.
The demonstrations in
response to the death of
George Floyd — an African
American man who died
May 25 after police officer
Derek Chauvin kneeled on
his neck for nearly nine
minutes — have occurred
in rural and urban commu-
nities across the state. How-
ever, the commissioners
focused primarily on large
demonstrations in Portland
where large crowds violated
the governor’s guidelines
for social distancing.
Wallowa County Com-
missioner Susan Roberts
said an official, whom she
did not identify, told her
the state would “deal with
it” if they saw an uptick in
positive COVID-19 cases
as a result of the protests.
“In other words, you
can protest, but we can’t go
to church,” Albertson said
in an email to the commis-
sioners after the OHA call.
“You can protest but can’t
go to a ball game, you can
protest, but you can’t have
a fair or rodeo.”
Harney County Com-
missioner Kristen Shelman
said the “top-down” ap-
proach of the governor’s
executive order does not
sit well with rural residents.
She said she was specifi-
cally concerned about the
governor’s guidelines re-
quiring a COVID-19 vac-
cine or treatment before the
final stage of opening, and
possible requirements for
vaccination.
“Within that executive
order, we should all be
rounded up and given the
vaccine without our permis-
sion,” she said.
“And it goes right back
to the cultural oppression,”
Albertson said. “That is
definitely culture. Us on
this side of the mountain are
not treated the same.”
Albertson said it is no
different than racism and
religious discrimination.
“We’re oppressed by
our state,” he said.
The commissioners
said having to cancel their
county fairs because of the
guidelines has a big impact
on rural communities.
“The fair is the one
thing that brings all of our
counties together,” Palmer
said.
Roberts said the closure
of parks statewide impacts
the culture in her county.
“They closed parks in
the city of Portland. Why do
they need to close the park
in Enterprise?” she said.
“We have 2,000 people in
the whole town. Less than
a third of them were kids.
They couldn’t go to the
park.”
Other commissioners
pointed to canceled grad-
uations, closed schools
and rules about reopening
businesses, which, they
said, face unique challenges
in rural areas.
Roberts said she wrote
a letter asking Brown’s
office to lift all restrictions
in Wallowa County by June
30. The county leaders went
back and forth on a date
and said each should be
able to determine their own
reopening guidelines.
Hamsher said the coun-
ties should wait a couple
of weeks to see if the wave
of protests would lead to a
surge in cases. He said he
hoped the state did not see
an uptick.
“If we don’t, then we
might have more of a jus-
tification to open back up,”
he said.
According to Oregon’s
phased reopening plans,
many activities can resume
with limited social gather-
ings under Phase 2, which
most counties in eastern
Oregon are in. The third
and final phase of reopening
would bring the state back
to normal, but it is not an
option for any county until
vaccination or treatment is
available under the gover-
nor’s guidelines.
Albertson said he ques-
tions the reporting data
coming from the state’s
health authority. He said he
did the math and the chanc-
es of dying from COVID-19
are very low.
Roberts said the coun-
ties took the pandemic se-
riously and did everything
the state asked them to do.
“We are prepared to
meet the challenge in our
community,” she said. “Our
medical people say they’re
ready, they’re prepared.”
The county representa-
tives said they want their re-
spective health departments
to be the authority, rather
than relying on one-size-
fits-all guidance from the
governor.
Hours after the meet-
ing, the governor’s office
announced that it was put-
ting a hold on reopening
the state after 178 new cas-
es were reported, accord-
ing to the OHA’s website.
Half of those cases were
in Multnomah and Clack-
amas counties. Only eight
of those cases were in the
seven counties represented
at Thursday’s meeting.
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