OPINION
A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2015
EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
HermistonHerald
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 25
JE66ICA .E//ER
EDITOR
jNeller@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4533
MAEGAN MURRAY
6EAN HART
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newsprint
Ferguson again
F
erguson, Missouri,
has made it back
into the news, this
time because of the ...
let’s be polite and call it
“uncomplimentary” ...
report issued by the federal
Department of Justice
in regard to the ... let’s
be polite and call them
“shenanigans” ... that were
an ongoing part and parcel
of the city’s “justice”
system.
If reports are accurate,
rather than administering
justice, it was actually a
system for obtaining 14
percent of the city budget
from ... let’s be polite
and call them “highly
questionable” ... practices.
The similarly sized city of
Webster Groves is only 7
percent funded by court
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25 percent smaller city of
Hermiston, that number
is (last time I looked)
right around 3 percent
because compliance,
not compensation, is
the ultimate goal of the
Hermiston court.
Two interesting items
out of that report and
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that the comedic social-
comment sorts have
noticed, with predictable
results. For instance, John
Oliver, of HBO’s “Last
Week Tonight,” has an
18-minute dissertation
on the topic of municipal
violations, available on
YouTube for those of
you who (like myself)
don’t have HBO. When
you’ve lost the comedic
social commentariat, you
know you’re in trouble.
Evidence of that trouble is
demonstrated in the recent
resignations of Ferguson’s
municipal judge and chief
of police.
True, Oliver’s
commentary leaves a lot
out in the interest of humor
— but it’s advocacy, not
information. As one local
attorney who’d seen the
video put it, “He never
mentions that people
shouldn’t drive while
suspended and thus get
more tickets.” It also
seems that many of the
defendants seem to have
a universal defendant
problem: not showing up
when they should. Ignoring
a legal problem does not
make it go away.
That said, it may well
be that the courts those
defendants deal with were
Letters Policy
THOMA6 CREA6ING
OFF THE BENCH
Herald columnist
completely unsympathetic,
with “Pay up — or
else” inscribed over the
door in Latin (“Redde,
aut sursum,” for those
interested). Admittedly,
the “or else” can occur
in Hermiston’s court, but
only after a long process in
which a defendant works
hard to demonstrate his
disinterest in obeying the
law or court orders. “Or
else” should not be an only
²RUWKH¿UVW²PXQLFLSDO
violation enforcement
policy.
The second item of
interest is that Oregon
has in the legislative
hopper the previously
mentioned HB3399. That
House Bill has two parts:
7KH¿UVWLVWKDWLWZRXOG
make all municipal and
justice courts in the state
“recording courts,” not to
be confused with “courts
of record,” such as circuit
court. It would require
all court proceedings be
recorded and available
for up to a year after
the proceeding. The bill
would also require that
all judges in the state
either be attorneys or
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National Judicial College
in Reno, Nevada. Although
the bill requires a one-year
course, sponsors have said
that will be changed to a
requirement for only a six-
week course.
In short, the problems
in Ferguson are having a
ripple effect that will cause
a number of problems
— including costs — out
here. Part two of this
column will discuss and
evaluate just what some of
those costs and problems
are, since Oregonians are
going to be on the hook
for paying the costs of that
remediation.
However, that’s just
the ... let’s be polite and
call it an “opinion” ... of
an opinionated guy. Share
your polite — or not —
opinions in response with
letters to the editor or by
email to hermistonherald
offthebench@gmail.com.
Names of the terminally shy
will be withheld on request.
— Thomas Creasing is
the Hermiston Municipal
Court judge and Herald
columnist
The Hermiston Herald welcomes original letters for
publication on public issues and public policies. Submitted
letters must be signed by the author and include the city of
residence and a daytime phone number. Phone numbers
will not be published. Letters may be mailed to the
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main, Hermiston, OR, 97838;
or emailed to editor@hermistonherald.com
Our View: Support BMCC bond May 19
W
hen area voters decide
whether to vote in favor or
against a Blue Mountain
Community College facilities bond,
we sincerely hope they will choose
“yes.”
This year’s ballot measure, 130-06,
which will come up for vote May 19,
features many of the same proposals
as last year’s defeated bond, but there
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appealing, such as a lower price tag.
Unlike the last BMCC bond, the
proposed bond measure will cost $23
million, which equates to 25 cents per
$1,000 of assessed property value for
15 years. According to information
provided by BMCC, the average
Umatilla County Median home value
is $145,000, and the estimated cost of
the bond per year is $36.25. It should
be noted that the asking price this go
round is about $5 million less than the
$28 million voters turned down last
year.
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clear they have heard area voters —
Hermiston residents were largely not in
favor of last year’s bond — and have
tailored the new proposal accordingly.
As BMCC President Cam Preus told
the Hermiston Herald, the current bond
voters are being asked to approve has a
lot of the extras removed. The proposal
does not include building a new facility
in Pendleton — rather the current one
will be renovated — nor will a pool be
added or the theater renovated.
JE66ICA .E//ER
HERMISTON HERALD
Editor
Still included in the proposal is a
precision irrigated agriculture center
in Hermiston, as well as a facility
in Boardman. The project costs are
also much better spelled out this time
around: Construction bond costs for
the facility in Hermiston, for example,
is estimated at a little more than $3.2
million. The workforce training and
early learning center in Boardman
will cost about $4.7 million, and the
renovation of the facility for agriculture
resource management, equipment
and road costs in Pendleton are
approximately $4.2 million.
As well, unlike the previous bond
proposal, the site locations for the
Hermiston and Boardman projects
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not have to be purchased. The Port of
Morrow has agreed to donate up to
four acres of land for the Boardman
facility. Residents of this area of
Umatilla County, however, should be
even more excited about the Hermiston
Agriculture Research and Extension
Center agreeing to allow BMCC to
build the precision irrigated ag facility
at its site at a cost of $1 per year.
As far as lease agreements go, you
can’t do much better than that.
Not only does that partnership save
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BMCC and HAREC. BMCC students
will have a place to not only learn
about precision irrigated agriculture,
but they will get hands-on experience
by participating in HAREC projects.
As HAREC Director Phil Hamm
said recently, this is a win-win
situation. We concur.
One of the biggest arguments in
support of passing the BMCC bond
is the college’s continued effort to
educate the area’s young adults and
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living-wage jobs in the area.
Building a precision irrigated
agriculture facility at the Hermiston
Agriculture Research and Extension
Center will go a long way in
accomplishing this. Agriculture
remains the backbone of industry
in the area, and precision irrigation
agriculture helps make farm operations
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control and moderate all aspects of the
irrigation process, including water and
pesticide distribution.
Training agriculture students in the
latest precision irrigation techniques
and methods at a local site already
dedicated to agriculture will not only
ensure they receive the education
they need, it will make hiring them
that much more attractive to area
agriculture operations.
We strongly support ballot measure
130-06 for all these reasons and
encourage residents to vote yes on the
proposal on May 19’s ballot.
It’s not a war on Easter, but...
A
s my family
prepares to celebrate
Easter 2015, I
feel overwhelmed by the
changes the holiday has
undergone in both religious
and secular terms.
Perhaps it’s the haze of
passing years that prejudices
me, but it seems that the
holiday has declined greatly
in innocence and reverence
since the days I was
hugging my stuffed bunny
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for festive eggs in Granny
Tyree’s front yard.
The White House Easter
Egg Roll has devolved into
the poor man’s version of
“It’s The Great Pumpkin,
Charlie Brown.” (“I got
a chocolate egg.” “I got a
strawberry egg.” “I got a
lemon egg.” “I got tire tracks
from the Secret Service
Agent’s runaway car.”)
Innocent children’s songs
about hippity-hop rabbits
are on the verge of being
shanghaied by hip-hop
ARTISTS. (I understand
good ol’ Peter is about to
forget the bunny trail and
instead get the spotlight in
“I like big cottontails and I
cannot lie...”)
Remember when the
DANNY TYREE
TYRADES!
Cagle columnist
important question was
who got to bite the ears off
the chocolate bunny, not
who got to BEHEAD the
chocolate bunny if it was
found in a car with a male
other than a family member?
Casual Friday at work
has segued right into casual
Sunday. Fewer and fewer
people care about looking
spiffy for Easter. Instead of
an Easter bonnet with all
the frills upon it, we have a
parade of Easter butt-cracks
with all the frills upon them.
Cable channels
have done way too
many historical expose
documentaries riding the
coattails of Easter. What will
we hear next, “Judas Kiss
Or Judas Lap Dance: You
Be The Judge”?
If da Vinci were painting
today, his masterpiece
would probably contain
product placement and be
called “The Last Supper
Before Next Exit.”
Facebook has shot down
its “Feeling Fat” status,
but I hear that “Feeling
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wings.
Remember when sunrise
services could be conducted
without side issues such
as carbon footprints?
(“Sunrise services: where
we’re reminded that solar
panels are the reason for the
season. Don’t forget your
‘God loves windmills this
much’ poster.”)
I understand the next
“Fast and Furious” movie
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parking lot immediately
after Easter services. (“See
ya at Christmas!”)
It used to be so much
simpler to deal with
resurrection skeptics at
Easter. Now proselytizing
gets met with “So Jesus
really gave up a man cave
like that? You are pulling
my leg!”
It used to be so
comforting to think that
Jesus Christ came to
save everyone. Due to
recent “private server”
developments at the State
Department, scripture is
being rewritten to say,
“Everyone can be saved
— except the people my
staff has looked over
and decided aren’t worth
saving.”
Remember when
“coming out” meant
emerging from the tomb,
not coming out to your
parishioners? (“Since
there’s not a single feline
mentioned in the Bible,
you’ve probably wondered
why I’ve had the choir
director do all those show
tunes from ‘Cats’...”)
I am cautiously
optimistic about NBC’s
Easter presentation of
the early-church drama
“A.D.” — but I fear that
its inspiring moments
will soon be negated by a
documentary with a promo
that blares, “Pontius Pilate
washed his hands of the
whole matter — or DID
he? Hidden-camera footage
shows Pilate NOT washing
up before sending Christ to
his death, or before going to
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burgers.”
— ©2015 Danny Tyree.
Danny welcomes email
responses at tyreetyrades@
aol.com and visits to his
Facebook fan page “Tyree’s
Tyrades.” Danny’s weekly
column is distributed exclu-
sively by Cagle Cartoons
Inc. newspaper syndicate
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Vote yes for BMCC bond
Editor,
For more than 50 years, Blue
Mountain Community College has
provided students, young and old,
the opportunity to increase their ed-
ucation and improve their value to
local employers through a variety of
programs, from diesel mechanic to
dental assistant to nursing and more.
The college is now looking to expand
its programs to include a precision
irrigated agriculture center in Herm-
iston and a workforce training and
early learning center in Boardman.
Funding of these centers, along with
essential improvements for safety,
security and other building upgrades
is included in the proposed BMCC
bond, ballot measure 130-06.
Providing these programs will
allow our students the educational
opportunity they need to prepare for
employment in these growing indus-
tries in Morrow and Umatilla coun-
ties. The economic impact of educat-
ing our students multiplies as they
settle in to careers, invest in housing
and raise their families in our com-
munities.
While we may not have children
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programs, we recognize the value of
providing these opportunities to oth-
er students. Please join us in voting
“YES” on ballot measure 130-06 to
support the students of BMCC.
STEVE AND JANET WILLIAMS
HERMISTON