>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

Patterson, Gribling, MacLeod, Carter, Rynearson, Clark, Fisher, Kohler, Gipson, Donnell, Dick, Hubbell, Richter, Garoutte, Porter, McCracken, Cooke

Governments must prepare and adopt an annual budget and that time is now here.

City budgeting is a joint effort between the people affected by the budget and the appointed and elected officials responsible for providing the services. I would like to take this opportunity to urge Union residents to come out and be part of the city’s budget process. Come see how $1.57 of your $1,000 assessed value is spent, or better yet come help decide how that money should be allocated.

Learning the budget process gives an amazing insight to how city government operates. The City of Union has one of Oregon’s lowest tax bases, set in the 1950s. It’s quite amazing what Union’s elected officials can offer their residents with this kind of funding.

Come learn how Union squeaks by while other communities have more to work with such as John Day, which gets $2.99 per $1,000 assessed value; Enterprise, which gets $5 per $1,000 assessed value; and one of our neighbors, Elgin, which  gets $6.93 per $1,000 assessed value — all while Union gets $1.57 per $1,000 assessed value. Whereas these communities differ in infrastructure and economics, we have two things in common: We have a comparable population, and we are all located in Eastern Oregon.

On that note, I plead with the community of Union to offer their suggestions to help budget the little money our community gets. If you have ever questioned or commented on the financial state of the city, this is your time to address it.

The city of Union’s Budget Committee has three open seats and meetings are always open to the public. We need to work together to make Union the best it can be. Educate yourself — one person can make a difference.

Sandra Patterson

Assistant city administrator

City of Union

Grandma Chipmunk, when asking for help, forgot there are more voters in Detroit than in Meacham.

Also, unless it is an election year, nothing exists east of Highway 97 other than rattlesnakes and jackrabbits.

Gordon Gribling

Elgin 

The Union County snow plow people are doing a great job of keeping up with all this snow!

I really appreciate it. We live in Summerville (I saw an old map that listed our neck of the woods around Hunter Road as “Winterville” — they got that right), and some of our roads drift shut practically every night and the crew is right back at it in the morning.

I'm sure they are putting in long, long hours, too. I want to thank all of them.

Al MacLeod

Summerville (Winterville)

Mount Emily will be sold to people with a lot of money. They will most likely fence it off. You won’t be able to hunt there anymore — neither will your grandchildren or their grandchildren. We will bring in a new group of people who don’t know you or me, but have a lot of money. And they will own property, a lot of property. They will be able to do whatever they want with this property. Cut down all the trees, fence it solidly with locks.

If we can make this investment, we are investing in our future. People will come visit and walk around Mount Emily, or ride their horse or ATV. They will eat in our restaurants and shop in our stores, and then they will go home.

Admittedly, Mt. Emily Recreation Area coalition is looking at the positive side of the issue. But they are looking to the future. If it doesn’t work out, we can sell it. It will be worth more in the future. We will make money. But we have to try to have it for Union County’s coming generation, our children, our recreation opportunities.

Please support it.

Linda Carter

Owsley Canyon Road

La Grande

There seems to be either misleading or incorrect information with regard to the purchase of property located on Mount  Emily by the Mt. Emily Recreational Coalition. Bart Barlow and Gene Erwin are saying the property tax on the said proposed acquisition is only $1,900. If they are only intending on buying 1,157.43 acres, that would be the case. If they are buying 3,639.76 as they have advertised, the property tax is $6,637.84.

Doesn’t it make you wonder what other information has been given to the Union County commissioners that is not correct? And why didn’t the commissioners verify that information?

I signed the petition to have a vote on the issue whether Union County should support a special interest group (MERC) and become involved in real estate and timber transactions.

Is that really what Union County should be doing?

As per The Observer, it was perceived at the informational meeting at the Blue Mountain Conference Center that there is overwhelming support for the county to get involved. I am not sure how that could have been established as any opposing information was not allowed.

My issue is not that MERC buy the Mount Emily property. My issue is any involvement by Union County.

All Union County taxpayers need to let the commissioners know their concerns.

Marcia Rynearson

Owsley Canyon Road, La Grande

This letter is in response to the letters from Joe Garlitz of Elgin regarding carbon dioxide and other natural substances.

Sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide are natural chemicals just like carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a pollutant when it is present in our atmosphere in excess amounts. The biosphere can only process a certain amount of the chemical before it becomes a pollutant. The problem is exacerbated as carbon dioxide-processing organisms, such as trees and phytoplankton, continue to disappear as a result of human activity.

Water is certainly not a pollutant, but if you put too much of that natural substance in the system of your body, you will become poisoned and die.

The Earth, like our bodies, needs a natural balance to survive. Excess will lead to destruction. That is the root of our problem.

Jeff D. Clark

La Grande

In December 2007, I contacted Barbara Harris about possibly obtaining help from her organization, Great American Harvest, for a local family. Ms. Harris assured me she would do whatever she could to make sure the family had a food box for the holiday season.

Ms. Harris did deliver, not only on her word to me, but a large food box to the family with over 100 pounds of canned goods, a turkey, a ham and a beef stick to name a few.

Ms. Harris also contacted local businesses to sponsor the family’s children. They provided them with new coats, boots, hats and gloves for the season, along with a Christmas tree of their own. I know that she truly made the holiday season a special one for the family.

It was a wonderful blessing knowing that a family which had fallen on hard times was being well cared for during the holiday season due to the diligent efforts of Barbara Harris and the amazing Great American Harvest. I know this cannot be an easy accomplishment.

It must take the organization many volunteer hours to achieve such wonderful feats and I really admire Ms. Harris and the numerous volunteers for their time, diligence and caring attitudes. It takes someone very special to engage in an undertaking such as this with such a beneficial outcome to others. The Great American Harvest’s statement, “We Are The World We Live In,” gives us words to live by.

I appreciate Barbara Harris and Great American Harvest for all of their nonstop efforts. I sincerely hope that Great American Harvest will be able to continue in similar future endeavors for a long time to come.

Lisa Fisher

Malheur County

As I read the Feb. 6 front page article by Charlene Davis, memories came back to me of our life on a 1,700-acre ranch above Telocaset. We wondered at times why our father wanted to live up in the mountains without electricity or phone, but over the years we have recognized that many of our life’s lessons were learned on that ranch.

The roads were never plowed up our lane, so Dad built a sled, pulled by his beloved horses who stood, hooked to the sled while we drove to Union County to do our shopping or attend church. We parked the car on the plowed-out country road and rode the sled back up to the house. Dad loved the horses and cattle and they seemed to have the same devotion to him.

The wind farm has put Telocaset on the map, but I think the governor didn’t know where Telocaset was when I was growing up and we never had a mayor either.

I want to thank Davis for the delightful sharing of her experience this stormy winter.

Ellen Kohler

La Grande

A recent incident involving the Southern Dixie Belles Umbrella Girls compels me to write this letter.

On Jan. 6, 2002, after a decade of entertaining, the Southern Dixie Belles Umbrella Club disbanded and the Umbrella Girls retired from performing.

No permission has been given for any person or persons to assemble the Belles for any appearance or performance; to use any material created and reserved for SDBC use; to resurrect this now defunct club; or to assume the leadership thereof.

All routines, materials and activities created and used by the SDBC are the sole property of the club. No portion may be copied, used or performed without written permission.

Zella Gipson, leader

Southern Dixie Belles Umbrella Club

La Grande

Big government, rife with hard-hearted “bean counters,” assume more authority than should be allowed. They make life difficult for those depending on their decisions.

Case in point: The Feb. 9 Observer article by Mardi Ford about “Grandma Chipmunk” of Meacham trying to get the public access road snow plowed — a 15-minute job for the operator who normally plows a short distance from their property.

This winter our neighbor cleared our driveway when it disappeared under drifts. When we were younger, we shoveled out others. No big deal. This was just the American way and the Eastern Oregon way. The spirit of helping neighbors is still alive here, but it isn’t in some of the government offices in Salem.

What bothers me most, is that those who lived in Meacham for years and are avowedly tough, independent seniors couldn’t get help. Because Grandma contacted the governor’s office and the The Oregonian newspaper, The Observer and a reporter from Portland interviewed her. A government official suggested they move out of their home, and then told her they should spend time and money living elsewhere.

What an abuse of government authority! No assistance in a time of need, threatened forceful removal from a home of 15 years or so, and complete ignoring the fate of animals dependent on them. Had this request come from a wealthy visitor from western Oregon, I wonder what the response would have been.

I want to thank Mardi Ford for writing an excellent article. I hope those of us who take care of our problems (except in emergencies) will start writing, telephoning and e-mailing Salem. Maybe some arrogant public employees will realize we pay their salaries and won’t stand for threats of forceful eviction from our homes just because we contacted public media to tell our story.

Evelyn Donnell

La Grande

The scanners told the story of the last month and the job that was done by OSP, ODOT and our county road crews.

Anyone who has lived in this valley for any length of time knows that the east-west roads blow in first.

My daughter lives in the Summerville area, so I know that the county did plow on Sundays.

I listened to the crews try to coordinate help for people that were stuck on all the roads whether it was county, state or the freeway. Many times an OSP officer said he would be out of his car, “giving someone a push.”

Why is a disgruntled person always the first to write when we had already talked about thanking the crews?

If you live on one of the secondary roads, please carry a shovel as my daughter does, as it is impossible to plow when the wind is still blowing and the snow is still coming down.

Kay Dick

Island City

I want to heartily applaud the Union County Road Department and ODOT.

Their maintenance of our county roads this winter has been exemplary. Starting work extremely early and working late into the evening. Day after day. So that we can go about our day’s activities.

The wind and snow have been relentless. Nevertheless they are out there working. You can no more stop a snow drift from accruing than stop the sun from rising.

As someone who drives approximately 800 miles a week on our county roads, I want to say thank you to the Union County Road Department and ODOT.

Chris Hubbell

La Grande

After reading letters regarding road crew plowing, I will agree with Hazel Alexis that the snow plow drivers do have a highly responsible job. However, they are experienced to perform this type of work and are paid to keep our county roads cleared.

Being that they have a responsible job does not give them an excuse to only work four 10-hour days rather than staggering five eight-hour days during the heavy snow months so that we have roads plowed seven days a week as suggested by Mr. Lowe.

Over the years, I have seen some very hazardous road conditions on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Palmer Junction Road alone. (We joke about the fact that if it is going to snow a lot you can count on it snowing on Friday.)

As a comparison, I always think how tough our electrical linemen have it. When our electricity goes out they cannot say “we aren’t working today.” They must climb poles in blizzard conditions, wade through three feet of snow and drive treacherous roads. They are there answering the call of power outages 24-7.

Personally, I feel sorry for the mail person, the school bus driver, delivery people and those people who must go to work on roads not plowed continually during heavy snow conditions.

Ivan Richter

Elgin

I would like to comment on the recent letter from Zachary Lauritzen. I totally agree with his assessment of the global warming situation.

I believe that of all the things on this earth that are cause for concern, and there are many, I believe that global warming is the most pressing and the most serious. If we don’t leave this earth to the next generations in a livable condition it won’t matter if we solve all the many problems we have, if there is no habitable world to live in.

As fast as the glaciers are melting and various parts of the world are being depleted of their natural environments, and all the pollution that is being pumped into the air, the scientific community is saying it won’t be too many years before we will have a planet that is uninhabitable.

The solution has to come from us, the inhabitants of this wondrous planet. We need to take responsibility and be good stewards of our mother earth. I believe it behooves us all to call or write or leaders, whatever branch of the government they are in, to keep this issue in the forefront. I would also like to hear more from the presidential candidates on this vitally important situation.

As Mr. Lauritzen said, we don’t want it to be said that “this was the generation that abused the environment beyond repair.” I would hate to think we were leaving things in a much worse condition than they already are for our children and grandchildren.

Mary Helen Garoutte

La Grande

Monday, on a trip to give a presentation in Milton-Freewater, my companion and I noticed a young man driving beside us, insisting we pull over. His body language indicated that this was a crucial step to make.

When we pulled over to the side of I-84 past Perry, he jumped out of his truck and headed back to us. Sure enough, our left rear wheel was flatter than a flounder. He was right to worry about us.

He cheerfully asked us for the spare tire and tools and went to work. In 15 minutes he had us back on the road and would not take any money for helping us. He said he was just glad to help.

We did get his name and wanted others to know that Jarrett Johnson (spelling is a guess!) is a fine person.

What a lesson in charity!

Sharon Porter

La Grande

Linda Pereira’s One Dollar Donations Week offers each of us the opportunity to join in her battle to overcome both leukemia and the daunting challenges of Medicare.  A single dollars seems such a drop in the bucket’ when considering the $50,000 still needed for the operation. But most of us have seen how quickly a leaking faucet or roof fills a bucket, one drop at a time.

Drop-off locations were listed in the Feb 8 Observer, or send donations to Cove Community Assn. Cancer Fund, 70177 Ponderosa Lane, Cove 97824. Get together with friends to make the most of your stamp!

Locals donate to http://AfricasTomorrow.org that sponsors young people from rural Africa for four years at EOU. Others support the Mount Emily Project in an effort to provide common land for public recreation. 

True community thrives through uniting around local agriculture, businesses and efforts such as these that achieve goals beyond the reach of single individuals.

As Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently expressed it, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.”

Mary McCracken

La Grande

Thank you, Rudy Candler, for your letter knocking the winter doldrums right out of me. Suddenly, I was hiking a sunny mountain trail, stepping around that stuff your horse leaves behind.

I’ve never really complained about this, but now that you brought it up, I wonder why nobody enforces the pack-it-in, pack-it-out rule. The Forest Service should provide biodegradable bags for collecting horse manure, then owners of the horses would deposit the bags in a composting bin.

When the bin gets full, I’ll come and get it for my garden.

Mary Cooke

Cove