OPINION
A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015
EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
HermistonHerald
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 23
-(66,&$.(//(5
EDITOR
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newsprint
The looming water
crisis: Cry me a
river (please!)
A
ll day I faced the
barren wastes without
the taste of water... —
The Sons of the Pioneers
In case you missed it
while washing the car,
watering the lawn or taking
a long shower, the recent
United Nations World
Water Development Report
extrapolates current trends
and predicts that the world’s
water supply will fall 40
percent short of water needs
in a mere 15 years.
81RI¿FLDOVKDYH
publicized the report
because water shortages
could be devastating to
agriculture, ecosystems,
economies, health and —
most importantly — the
wet T-shirt contests they
research while in New York
&LW\ÀDXQWLQJGLSORPDWLF
immunity.
The hardest-hit areas
would be sub-Saharan Africa
and Southeast Asia, but,
closer to home, a separate
NASA Observatory analysis
indicates that by the end
of the century, the worst
drought in 1,000 years could
hit the Great Plains and
southwestern United States.
And of course we’ve
heard of the mandatory
water restrictions and other
emergency measures in
drought-stricken California.
But long-term hope springs
eternal. Desalination plants
cost a fortune, but just a
few of them could provide
practically limitless fresh
water — and nearly enough
salt for the snacks at one
Super Bowl party.
The U.N. says many
factors have contributed
to the global problem, but
unchecked population growth
is cited as the main culprit.
Let me get this straight: the
best way to save water is to
encourage MORE COLD
SHOWERS. Only in Am ...
well, only on planet earth.
I know I’ve been luckier
than most, but I have had a
little experience with water
issues. For 16 years my “day
job” has involved working
at a farmers cooperative,
so I know of the effect of
inadequate rainfall on crops
and pasture. And during the
winter of ’94, my wife and I
had running water only one
day out of a 15-day period
(thanks to frozen pipes and
— after a one-day reprieve
Letters Policy
'$11<7<5((
TYRADES!
&DJOHFROXPQLVW
— a downed power line that
idled the pump at the spring).
Thank goodness we were
able to keep some modicum
of romance in our lives.
(“How do I love thee? Let
me count the deodorants.”)
Water shortages will be
an annoyance to some, a
catastrophe for others — and
D¿QDQFLDOERQDQ]DIRUWKH
lucky few. For instance,
makers of veterinary anti-
nausea medicines. Because
all those water-skiing squirrel
videos will soon feature
hapless squirrels riding
tumbling tumbleweeds.
It will take a lot to get
people to take this issue
seriously. For one thing,
folks have faith in American
ingenuity. They assume
technology will take care of
the problem. You know, like
a super-hero exoskeleton
capable of KICKING THE
CAN FURTHER DOWN
THE ROAD!
If we don’t get a handle
on this situation now, we
will live in a frightening
new world. People will
VLWDURXQGWKHFDPS¿UH
singing, “Michael, Drag The
Boat Ashore.” Youngsters
in swimming trunks will
replace “Cannonball!” with
cries of “Tentative toe dip!!!”
Right-wing talk-show hosts
will rant about “redistribution
of perspiration.”
Philosophers will ask, “Is
the glass half-empty or ...
half-way to the next county
after armed robbers hijacked
it???”
Research the issue. Start
out with some relatively
painless ways to conserve.
Really, in a hundred years,
who is going to care if you
had the lushest lawn on the
whole &^%$# block?
Well, OK, maybe Betty
White. But she’ll be too busy
procuring bootleg water for
a wet T-shirt contest to say
anything.
— ©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
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
Ferguson’s woes, our costs
P
reviously, we
looked at some of
the problems the
Department Of Justice
found regarding the
city of Ferguson and its
treatment of residents as
mere cash cows to fill
city coffers. Whether
the DOJ will continue
its focus on problem
municipalities, or if the
issue will die quietly, is
unknown. The national
focus on municipal
issues may have more
immediate effects for
Oregon, however.
Mentioned last time,
the Oregon Legislature
is considering HB 3399,
a bill which would
require municipal and
justice courts in the state
to become “recording
courts.” Recording
courts would not be
courts of record like
circuit court, but rather
would be required
to record criminal
proceedings and retain
those records for at least
a year. While HB 3399
may not be directly
related to Ferguson,
there is little doubt that
the events in Ferguson
and the DOJ report will
add a momentum to the
bill. So what costs will
there be?
The most obvious
cost will be the
cost of recording
equipment cities will
need to purchase. The
quality and technical
specifications of the
required equipment
are still unknown, but
recording courts will
7+20$6&5($6,1*
OFF THE BENCH
Herald columnist
likely not be able to just
slap a pocket recorder
in the middle of the
courtroom and call it
good. The simplest
systems cost in the
$4,000 to $7,000 range,
and I’ve heard $17,000
quoted for some higher-
end systems.
Will Oregon settle
for something less
sophisticated? It may
WDNHOLWLJDWLRQWR¿QGRXW
As a result, HB 3399
will put courts out of
business. Smaller cities
are not going to want
to invest thousands of
dollars in a court that
operates once or twice
a month for a dog or
weed case. This doesn’t
mean that lawlessness
will reign in those cities,
but crimes charged into
justice court or circuit
court will slow down the
justice system — and, as
they say, justice delayed
is justice denied.
Worse, court handling
of civil matters, like
small claims and
divorces, will slow,
as criminal actions
have priority. Do
overburdened justice and
circuit courts need a new
influx of cases? Smaller
cities may decide to
contract with larger ones
for judicial services —
traffic citations from
Echo are handled by
Stanfield — but that
still adds a burden to
other courts. And there’s
no guarantee that even
justice courts, in some
counties, will want to
pay for the systems —
not when there’s a nice
court of record right
next door.
Then let’s look at
HB 2571, which may
require an unusual level
of records retention
for officer body cams.
Hermiston may well
have to figure out how
to store more than
100 hours of recorded
material per day That
would be 50 daily DVDs
if data compression is
not allowed. Times 365
days in a year. Times 10
years that public records
need to be kept.
At about 20 DVDs
per inch, the city would
need to make room (and
feel free to correct my
math) for approximately
three miles of shelving
to store all the material!
Or a lot of multi-terabyte
disk drives. At the
moment, the thoughts on
HB 3399 and HB 2571
are only middle-worst
case guesstimates, and
I’ll be pleased if the
final requirements prove
me wrong. There are
other costs than money
and space, though. In
part three of this two-
part series, we’ll take a
look at the costs related
to people.
But that’s just the not-
so-costly opinion of an
opinionated guy. Share
your costly — or not —
opinions in response,
particularly if you reach
a different math result
for the camera content
storage! 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 a Hermiston resident,
municipal court judge
and Herald columnist
At about 20 DVDs per inch, the city would need to
make room (and feel free to correct my math) for
approximately three miles of shelving to store all the
material! Or a lot of multi-terabyte disk drives.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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exceeding expectations
Editor,
Several weeks ago, I was privi-
leged to watch two of Hermiston’s
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failing at their job, I think it’s im-
portant to recognize that many police
RI¿FHUVDUHTXLHWO\H[FHHGLQJH[SHF-
tations in their very stressful and dif-
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responded quickly to a call. They
were both professional and gave the
caller respect and validation for the
FDOO7KHRI¿FHUVGHWHUPLQHGWKDWDW
this point in time, there was not the
evidence needed to proceed. Then
they encouraged the caller to call
again immediately when and if this
occurred again.
You might think that this is where
the conversation ended. Howev-
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with the caller regarding how this
type of incident may be avoided in
the future. Rather than exacerbate
the situation, they showed their un-
derstanding of the caller’s unspoken
cry for help, of deeper-seated prob-
lems. With respect and insight, they
asked pertinent questions, actively
listened and offered positive sugges-
tions based on what they heard. The
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a look at what part they may have
played in the incident.
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Department as a whole. I believe that
our police department sees its role as
providing safety and protection. Do
they get it right every time? Most
likely not; they are human. After
VHHLQJWKHVHWZRRI¿FHUVLQDFWLRQ,
EHOLHYHRXUSROLFHRI¿FHUVDQGSROLFH
department get it right more often
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Department.
RHEA FARMER
HERMISTON
ELECTED OFFICIALS
STATE
District 29: Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Umatilla Co., 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-423, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1729. 101 S.W. Third St., Pendleton,
OR 97801 (541) 278-1396. E-mail:
ssen.billhansell@state.or.us.
District 30: Sen. Ted Ferrio-
li, R-John Day; 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-223 Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1950. 750 W. Main, John Day, OR
97845, (541) 575-2321. E-mail: ferr-
ioli.sen@state.or.us.
District 58: Rep. Greg Barreto,
R-Pendleton; 900 Court St. N.E.,
H-480, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1458. 2126 N.W. 21st., Pendleton,
OR 97801, (541) 276-2707. E-mail:
rep.gregbarreto@state.or.us.
District 57: Rep. Greg Smith,
R-Morrow, 900 Court St. N.E.,
H-280, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1457. P.O. Box 215, Heppner, OR
97836, (541) 676-5154. E-mail:
smith.g.rep@state.or.us.
FEDERAL
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
Sac Annex Building, 105 Fir St.,
No. 201, La Grande, OR 97850;
(541) 962-7691. E-mail: kath-
leen_cathey@wyden.senate.gov;
(Kathleen Cathey, community repre-
sentative); 717 Hart Building, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20510, (202) 224-5244.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
One World Trade Center, 121 SW
Salmon Street, Suite 1250, Portland,
OR 97204; (503) 326-3386; Dirksen
6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ 6'%%
Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-
3753.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd
District)
843 E. Main St., Suite 400, Med-
ford, OR 97504, (541) 776-4646,
(800) 533-3303; 2352 Rayburn
+RXVH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ:DVKLQJWRQ
D.C. 20515, (202) 225-6730