Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2021)
SIX - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, November 3, 2021 ~ Letters to the Editor ~ The Heppner Gazette Times will print all letters to the Editor with the following criteria met: letters submitted to the newspaper will need to have the name of the sender along with a legible signature. We are also requesting that you provide your address and a phone number where you can be reached. The address and phone number will only be used for verification and will not be printed in the newspaper. Letters may not be libelous. The GT reserves the right to edit. The GT is not responsible for accuracy of statements made in letters. Any letters expressing thanks will be placed in the classifieds under “Card of Thanks” at a cost of $10. Email to editor@rapidserve.net or upload to Heppner.net. Collaboration and community give students opportunity to succeed To the editor; Look around the Mor- row County School District and you’ll see more than just our teachers and staff having a positive impact on kids. You’ll find an entire community supporting and encouraging our students with their time and resourc- es, making sure they have abundant educational and growth opportunities. I couldn’t be more grateful for this atmosphere of collaboration in Mor- row County. It gives our students the opportunity to thrive and sets a model for responsible citizenship and giving back. This collaboration takes many forms. Sometimes it’s a local grant to make a school improvement, like the Boardman Chamber of Commerce’s recent funding for new equipment in the Sam Boardman Elementary gymnasium. Sometimes it’s a com- munity partner looking out for the safety of our stu- dents, like the City of Irri- gon’s grant-funded walking path along Division Street to give kids a safe path to get to both schools in the community. Sometimes it’s a club like the Riverside FFA Ad- visory Board raising funds to purchase a greenhouse kit for the high school FFA program or the North Mor- row County Arts Founda- tion staging professional theatrical performances in Irrigon and Boardman to expose younger students to the arts. And sometimes it’s a whole group of generous citizens and businesses donating to a cause, like the countless individuals giving to the Heppner Backpack Food Program to provide take-home weekend meals for kids who need them. The examples are too numerous to list in full de- tail here, but in both small ways and large, the com- munity steps up time and again to help. These proj- ects enrich the educational and development process and wouldn’t be possible without collaboration. I’m particularly grate- ful for our ongoing partner- ships with the Port of Mor- row to create the Amazon Web Services Think Big Space at the SAGE Center. This project brings cut- ting-edge science, tech- nology, engineering and mathematics programs to our students. We’ve been excited to put this space into practice, and this fall our kids have been visiting the labs and had specialist educators come to their classrooms. It’s a next-level educational opportunity that not all school districts have. Brutal subject of religious exceptions To the editor: This column will deal with the “brutal sub- ject” (Commissioner Jim Doherty, G.T. Oct. 27,21) of religious exceptions for the Covid 19 vaccination mandate that “should be based on the law” (Co. Emergency Manager, Paul Grey, op. cit G.T.). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) “protects workers from employment discrimination based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation and transgender status, or na- tional origin or protected activity. Under Title VII, an employer is prohibited from discriminating be- cause of religion in hiring, promotion, discharge, com- pensation, or other “terms, conditions or privileges” of employment and also cannot “limit, segregate, or classify” applicants or em- ployees based on religion” in any way which would de- prive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee. The statue defines “religion” as includ- ing “all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless the employer demonstrates that (it) is unable to rea- sonably accommodate… without due hardship on the conduct of the employer’s business.” Undue hardship is not defined in the statue. The test under Title VII definition of religion is “whether the beliefs are, in the individuals own scheme of things religious. Belief in God or gods is not neces- sary; monotheistic beliefs can also be religious for the purposes of the Title VII exemption as long as they occupy in the life of the individual a place parallel to that filled by …God in traditionally religious per- sons.” The non-discrimi- nation provisions of the statute also protects em- ployees who do not possess religious beliefs or engage in religious practices. In a nutshell that is the “brutal subject of the law” on religious exemptions from Covid mandated vac- cinations. According to Title VII employees are protected against religious discrimination and must reasonably be accommodat- ed unless there is an undue hardship on the conduct of employer’s business. Is there an undue hard- ship upon Morrow County if they honor Title VII re- ligious exemptions from mandated Covid vaccina- tions? The CDC has docu- mented that each and every Covid 19 vaccination does not prevent recipients from contracting Covid 19 or prevent them from trans- mitting the disease. “Fully vaccinated individuals with breakthrough infections have peak viral load sim- ilar to unvaccinated cases and can efficiently trans- mit infection in household settings, including fully vaccinated contacts.” (peer reviewed journal, Lancet Infectious Diseases, Oct. 29, 21, by Joe Calabrese) This is the reason fully vaccinated Commissioner Don Russell contracted Covid 19 and had to be quarantined so he could not spread the disease. The question that Mor- row County and any em- ployer in Oregon and Amer- ica must answer or face a lawsuit is: How can you claim granting a religious exemption from a forced mandated vaccination will cause an undue hardship when the mandated Covid 19 vaccination offers no At the high schools it’s supplemented by initiatives like the Student Internship Program, which brings to- gether business partners in Morrow County to allow students to explore career opportunities through paid internships and earn cred- its all while building their résumés. After all, the future is what it’s all about. We’re always keeping in mind the kind of place we hope Mor- row County will be decades down the line and how we can help our young people become the leaders they’re meant to be. The COVID-19 pan- demic will be far in the rearview by then. But the growth and development opportunities our students are experiencing now will stick with them. I’m ex- tremely proud of our class of 2021 for finishing strong and maintaining a 92 per- cent graduation rate, even under difficult circumstanc- es. Once again, I want to thank all of the commu- nity partners who make this possible and give the students ofn the Morrow County School District the best opportunity to succeed. Dirk Dirksen, superin- tendent Morrow County School District. evidence of protection from either contracting the disease or spreading it? Furthermore, how can Morrow County or any public or private company mandate a Covid 19 vacci- nation when breakthrough cases of Covid 19 in some nations equal the percent- age of those unvaccinated? “Israel was the first country on earth to fully vaccinate a majority of its citizens against COVID 19. Now it has one of the highest daily infection rates…an average of 750 confirmed cases a day… Nearly one in every 150 people in Israel has the virus.” (Highly Vaccinated Israel. Dramatic Surge, npr. org) “Fifty nine percent of Covid 19 patients in Israel in August 2021 were fully vaccinated.” (www.becker- hospitslreview.com) There is a common sense solution to the “bru- tal” problem caused by a senseless mandate. Honor the law and grant the re- ligious exemption for all who apply for relief from a brutal mandate. Stuart Dick, Irrigon Look back into history Let’s look back into history, Germany 1933. Hitler became chancellor, or prime minister of Ger- many. Nazis ‘temporarily’ suspend civil liberties. And books with ideas consid- ered dangerous to Nazi beliefs are burned. (Today’s world: we are deleting his- tory: books, statues, block- ing what you are allowed to research). 1935: Jews are de- prived of their citizenship and other basic rights. The Nazis intensify the per- secution of political peo- ple that didn’t agree with his philosophy. (Today’s world: you are considered a domestic terrorist; you are not “allowed” to speak up in a public forum without paying the consequences of retaliation, you are not “allowed” to question the science behind anything, do not question the president’s or governors’ authority) 1936: Jews no longer have the right to vote. (We have not lost our right to vote, yet, but our voting system is being changed regularly to allow fraudu- lent voting, or voter control) 1938: Jews must carry ID cards and passports are marked with a “J.” They can no longer attend plays, concerts, etc.; all Jewish children are moved to Jew- ish schools, must hand over drivers’ licenses and car registrations, must be in certain places at certain times. (Today’s time: Their “J” card is now our “V” card, we are dangerously close to having to show our “V card” to obtain our basic rights. LA county is already demanding you have your “V” card before shopping, dining or attending events. And with this new vaccine out for our children, soon if you do not vaccinate your child against a disease that has a survival rate of .009 percent with a vaccine that is only been around for one year, your child is in danger of not only the un- known long-term effects, but not being allowed an education) 1939: Jews must follow curfews; (Today’s world: we are not allowed to have a restaurant open past 9 p.m. (the virus knows if you are out late), wear your mask in, but not while your seated, you must make sure you are home safe and sound, you must keep your social distance, you must follow all the “allowed guidelines”.) 1940: Jews are forced into ghettos. Nazis begin the first mass murder of Jews in Poland. Jews are put into concentration camps. (Today’s world: Australia, in August 2021, began its concentration camps for the unvaccinated, they are being arrested and detained for “their own good.” Do you think America is that far away? They have divid- ed our country already into hate. Hate your neighbor, hate your family, hate your best friend if they don’t share your beliefs, this con- centration camp would be easy if we all “tattle” on each other.) 1941: Jews may not leave their houses without permission from the police. They may no longer use public telephones. (Today’s world: quarantine, you are presumptive positive, you may not leave your home for a minimum of 14 days, you may not even have the novel Coronavirus, but we assume you do. Stay away, your child or yourself has a sniffle and someone around you gets concerned, you are immediately banned from your daily routine and quarantined, segregated from society, lose pay or lose schooling time, over a sniffle. And if someone touches anything we must sanitize behind you, don’t touch my belongings or you may get me sick.) 1942: Nazi officials discuss the ‘Final Solu- tion.’ Their plan is to kill all European Jews, to the government officials. Jews are forbidden to subscribe to newspapers; keep dogs, cats, birds, etc.; keep elec- trical equipment including typewriters; own bicycles; buy meat, eggs, use pub- lic transportation; attend school. (Today’s world: if we don’t abide by the vaccination rules, we lose our jobs, we cannot pay our bills, we cannot pro- vide a home, we cannot enter a grocery store to buy our essentials, we cannot get an education for our children or further ours. Is today’s world version of “Kill The Jews,” in the form of a vaccine for a virus that has a .009 per- cent survival rate, with unknown long term side effects. Is this what Fauci and Gates meant when in 2011 said, “Depopulation through forced vaccination. The zero-carbon solution.” Gates quoted, “The world population (2011) has 6.8 billion people. That’s head- ed up to about nine billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we lower that by perhaps 10-15 percent.” A typical vaccine develop- ment timeline takes five to 10 years, sometimes longer, to assess whether the vaccine is safe and ef- ficacious in clinical trials, (CDC website) but here we are threatening to bring this to our most vulnerable generation, our children, after one year. The cost of developing a new vaccine can be several billion U.S. dollars prior to the scale up of manufacturing facilities. Whose dime paid for that. The Nazi government fostered and promoted prejudice. According to the dictionary definition, prejudice is comprised of “unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, es- pecially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social or religious group. (The unvaccinated). The Nazis scapegoated the Jews, blaming them for every societal problem in German society. They published an enormous quantity of propaganda that blamed the Jews for the wrongdoings, mistakes or faults that plagued “civili- zation;” and declared Jews and others sub-human. (The unvaccinated). Don’t know about all of you, but this sounds like history is repeating itself, one small step at a time. I am not anti-vax or anti-science. I believe in freedom of choice, I was raised with common sense, and stand proudly with oth- ers that feel the same about freedom. My next meeting will be held November 7 at 3 p.m. at Two Old Hags Pizza. We can and must stay loud and stand proud. We cannot let history repeat itself this time. Dawn Brosnan Io n e C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h 4 7 0 E M a i n S t r e e t , I o n e , O r e g o n Church School & Adult Study at 10:00 am Worship at 11:00 AM “Y o u w i l l s e e k M e a n d f i n d M e , w h e n y o u s e a r c h f o r M e w i t h a l l y o u r h e a r t . ” - J e r e m i a h 2 9 : 1 3 Join Us in the Search Ladies Night Dinner Thursday, Nov. 4 6 pm Ribs Beans & Rice Corn Bread Dessert Cooking by Missy Lindsay Members and guests HEPPNER ELKS 358 ALL NEWS AND ADVERTISEMENT DEADLINE: "WHERE FRIENDS MEET" MONDAYS AT 5:00 P.M. 541-676-9181 142 N MAIN ST
