OPINION
A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015
EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
HermistonHerald
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 27
-(66,&$.(//(5
EDITOR
MNHOOHU#KHUPLVWRQKHUDOGFRP
541-564-4533
6$0%$5%((
6($1+$57
.,0/$3/$17
JEANNE JEWETT
SPORTS REPORTER
sbarbee@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4542
OFFICE COORDINATOR
NODSODQW#KHUPLVWRQKHUDOGFRP
541-564-4530
REPORTER
smhart@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4534
MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT
jjewett@hermistonherald.com
541-564-4531
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• VWRSE\RXURI¿FHVDW(0DLQ6W
• visit us online at: www.hermistonherald.com
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
'HOLYHUHGE\FDUULHUDQGPDLO:HGQHVGD\VDQG6DWXUGD\V
,QVLGH8PDWLOOD0RUURZFRXQWLHV ......................................................................................... $42.65
2XWVLGH8PDWLOOD0RUURZFRXQWLHV ...................................................................................... $53.90
7KH+HUPLVWRQ+HUDOG8636,661LVSXEOLVKHGWZLFHZHHNO\DW+HUPLVWRQ
+HUDOG(0DLQ6W+HUPLVWRQ25)$;3HULRGLFDO
SRVWDJHSDLGDW+HUPLVWRQ253RVWPDVWHUVHQGDGGUHVVFKDQJHVWR+HUPLVWRQ+HUDOG
(0DLQ6W+HUPLVWRQ25
3ULQWHGRQ
recycled
$PHPEHURIWKH(20HGLD*URXS&RS\ULJKW
newsprint
Ferguson fallout Why not women in combat?
P
art one of this two-
part series was a
short description of
several proposed Oregon
laws that, if not directly
related to the problems
discovered in Ferguson,
Missouri, sure seemed
coincidentally related
to the (in)justice system
the city was running, one
which preyed (and may
still be) on its own people
as sources of revenue.
Part two was a
discussion of some
economic costs those laws
might impose on cities and
counties. Here in part three
(yes, of a two-part series)
we’ll cover some of the
non-economic costs that
may well be forthcoming.
One of those costs has
been described — a
slowdown in court
services. For instance, at
some point, Judge Spicer,
the Morrow County justice
of the peace, will retire.
Without other attorneys
in the county, Morrow
County will need to
appoint — or elect — a
non-attorney judge. The
county will have to send
that judge to the judicial
education college, paying
tuition, room and board.
An ambitious candidate
could take the course prior
to running and campaign
as “shovel ready,” but
how many residents of
Morrow County will spend
thousands of dollars to
enhance their education
resumes that way?
Particularly if those costs
will be paid for them, and
they will earn a salary while
attending school, if elected.
Rather than pay that
cost, Morrow County
may well decide to close
its justice court, in which
case the cases handled
daily there will go to
circuit court. Circuit court
normally sits once a week
in Morrow — but if it has
to pick up the caseload
from a closed justice court,
then a judge may have to be
there two or even three days
a week. Which slows cases
in Umatilla County —
unless Oregon adds another
judge to the 6th Circuit.
Justice courts in other
eastern Oregon counties
could be in similar
circumstances — no
attorney and no budget for
training (or the recording
system), which means
circuit courts have to
handle those cases. Slower
case resolution equals
aggravated parties.
Worse is the social cost
of the corrosive effect that
the Ferguson debacle has
had on public perceptions
Letters Policy
7+20$6&5($6,1*
OFF THE BENCH
Herald columnist
of local courts. Disgruntled
defendants frequently
believe that police and
courts are “just in it for
the money.” Ferguson’s
court was evaluated by
the city administration
EDVHGRQLWVSUR¿FLHQF\
in extracting cash from
defendants, so now other
courts have a much more
GLI¿FXOWDUJXPHQWWRPDNH
in that regard. Couple that
with all of the political
“backscratching” that
was occurring between
administrators and
court personnel, both in
Ferguson and with other
cities, and it’s no wonder
that people are cynical
about their governments.
As a famous writer once
said, “Government only
occurs with the consent of
the governed.”
To the extent that cities,
counties, states, provinces
and nations are believed
— or worse, proven —
to be more interested in
plundering their people
for personal gain (and
doing favors for friends)
rather than protecting
people’s rights — which
that same writer said is
the purpose for which
governments are formed
— those governments will
¿QGWKHLUDXWKRULW\VOLGLQJ
away. The harshest police
VWDWHFDQQRWSXWDQRI¿FHU
behind every citizen, and
even when there are plenty
of soldiers and police,
there’s no guarantee that
they won’t side with
the anti-government
actors. Ferguson, and
all the similarly situated
governments that just
haven’t been called out by
the Department of Justice
yet, is like acid on the
social bonds that should tie
people together. Recovery
is possible — but only if
it’s wanted. It may be that
the legislation in Salem,
despite the imposed costs,
is a right step, but only
time will tell if the cure is
worse than the disease.
But that’s just the
“three of two” opinion
of a math-challenged,
opinionated guy. Share
your opinions in response
in 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 Hermiston’s municipal
court judge and a 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
S
hould women serve
in combat? Right
now the military is
answering that question
ZLWKD¿QDOYHUGLFW
scheduled to come down
from Defense Secretary
Ashton Carter in January
2016. This will inevitably
become a political
question — and thus
particularly useless in
producing a satisfactory
answer — but until then
it’s useful to understand
that the military sees this
question differently than
you and I do.
It’s too easy for me,
a politically minded
civilian whose military
experience is limited to
paintball and Boy Scouts,
to see the question of
women in combat through
a fairness lens. When I
look at this, I see women
following in the footsteps
of African-American and
LGBT troops as the latest
generation to achieve equal
opportunity in the military.
But someone with a
military mindset doesn’t
care what is fair, only what
is best for the mission.
7KDW¿QDOO\FDPHFOHDUWR
me when I asked my friend
Kyle Dearing, a Marine
who served in the Al Anbar
province of Iraq in 2006,
for his opinion of women
serving in combat.
“Honestly, if they can
do the job as well as their
male counterparts, I have
no problem with it. None
-$62167$1)25'
&DJOHFROXPQLVW
at all,” he said. And all that
seems fair, but that’s when
he peeled back the curtain
on his perspective. “If their
inclusion involves reducing
standards so that they can
participate, it’s no longer
about what’s good for the
Corps, it’s about what’s
good for females. The
individual doesn’t matter
in the service, the mission
is the only priority.”
A new book coming
out this week indicates
that the military is in the
process of accepting the
obvious: Some women are
perfect for combat and in
fact add another layer of
effectiveness. “Ashley’s
War” by Gayle Tzemach
Lemmon tells the story of
the women of the Cultural
Support Team. These were
women trained for combat
and assigned to special ops
teams in Afghanistan.
Sending an all-male
combat force into a country
with sexist attitudes
towards women limited our
military’s effectiveness. It
was considered culturally
rude for our male soldiers
to talk to local women,
but they knew what was
going on in their villages.
We needed our women to
talk to their women to get
that intelligence without
offending the hearts and
minds of the locals.
Before the special ops
guys created the CST
program, many military
XQLWVZHUH¿JXULQJWKLV
out on their own. A friend
of mine who served in
the Army infantry told
me that they just took
nurses on their missions.
Female interpreters were
particularly prized because
male insurgents never
considered that they were
intelligent and sometimes
openly implicated
themselves in bombings.
Next stop, Gitmo.
But as far as the military
admitting what it was
doing, Cultural Support
Teams were the beginning.
Pick up “Ashley’s War.”
It’s a great read and a
compelling account of
what the head of the
Army Special Operations
Command, Lieutenant
General John Mulholland,
called “a new chapter in
the role of women soldiers
in the United States Army.”
,W¶VKDUGWR¿QLVKWKH
book without seeing
through the military’s
eyes how the women of
the CST made our special
ops teams more effective
at catching the bad guys
and avoiding trouble.
Whether or not it was fair
seemed irrelevant. This
only worked because they
served the mission.
Considered from that
point of view, it’s even
harder to argue that women
should not be allowed to
try out for combat units.
The results will be
necessarily mixed. A
two-and-a-half-year-
long experiment with the
Marine Corps Infantry
2I¿FHU&RXUVHHQGHG
without a single female
graduate. But preliminary
results at the Army’s
Ranger School in Georgia
were so encouraging that
this last weekend women
began formal training
alongside the men.
Until the Secretary of
'HIHQVHPDNHVKLV¿QDO
decision early next year,
any graduates of Ranger
School who happen to
be women won’t be able
to serve in the Rangers
with their male graduates,
regardless of how they
may help the mission. In
the end, that and not the
arbitrary criteria of gender
should be the only answer
to a question that we’ve
been asking for far too
long.
— © Copyright 2015
Jason Stanford, distrib-
uted exclusively by Cagle
Cartoons newspaper syn-
dicate. Jason Stanford is a
regular contributor to the
Austin American-States-
man, a Democratic
consultant and a Truman
National Security Project
partner. You can email him
at stanford@oppresearch.
com and follow him on
Twitter @JasStanford
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Passing BMCC bond will
Support students by voting
improve lives, communities for BMCC bond passage
Editor,
9HU\ VRRQ ZH ZLOO ¿QG WKH
May Election Ballot in our mail box-
es. This is our opportunity to voice
our opinion for issues facing our lo-
cal communities. In this ballot you
ZLOO¿QGWKHUHTXHVWIRUDQHZ%OXH
Mountain Community College bond.
We believe that investing in
BMCC will bring a change in lives
as well as in our communities.
Ultimately, the BMCC bond is not
about me. It’s not about BMCC. It’s
about what our friends and neighbors
need to empower their community to
create positive change for the future.
Join us in voting “YES” for the
Blue Mountain Community College
bond.
BRYAN AND LOU ANN WOLFE
HERMISTON
Editor,
In the many years I worked for
Blue Mountain Community Col-
lege, I watched students pursue
their dreams with affordable, ac-
cessible post-secondary education.
For over 50 years, BMCC has pro-
vided quality instruction and train-
ing for local jobs and occupations
in eastern Oregon. The majority of
BMCC students remain in the area
and contribute positively to our
communities.
Technology changed dramatically
during my years at the college and
continues to become more sophisti-
cated. In order to provide students
with the current technology and
infrastructure the bond on the May
ballot will help fund these essential
upgrades. Also, the buildings at all
campuses are aging and some are in
critical need of heating, plumbing
DQG HOHFWULFDO UHWUR¿WWLQJ (TXDO-
ly important are security and ADA
compliance, which will also be im-
proved with bond funding.
The bond will fund three facili-
ties in Hermiston, Boardman and
Pendleton to offer new workforce
training programs. A renovated ag
center, precision irrigated ag cen-
ter and an advanced manufacturing
workforce training and early learn-
ing center will prepare students
for jobs in our agriculturally based
economy. BMCC serves 10,000 stu-
GHQWVHDFK\HDUDQGIRXURI¿YHVWD\
to live and work here. Let’s provide
them with quality and relevant train-
ing leading to family wage jobs.
Please join me in voting “YES”
for the BMCC bond.
MARGARET SAYLOR
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. E-mail: rep.gregbarrento@
state.or.us. Website: http://www.ore-
gonlegislature.gov/barreto
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