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

Richter, Lamoreau, Petersen, Farmer, Gentry, Haddock and teammates, Marcum, Hines, Hawkins, Ballard, Stone

I found an interesting remark by David Broder published in the Feb. 13 Observer.

He mentioned presidential candidate Ron Paul as an eccentric. Webster states that eccentric means “deviating from an established pattern or from accepted usage or conduct.”

Yes, he believes deviating from an established pattern set up in the last 16 years and much of the same pattern exists among the presidential candidates presently running for office. A few items deviating from the rest includes the following.

• He never supported any bill that violated the Constitution of the United States.

• Never votes to raise taxes.

• Never voted for an unbalanced budget or to raise congressional pay.

• He wants to stop the looting of Social Security, stop unconstitutional spending, stop financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia and others.

• Secure our borders and end illegal immigration. End birthright citizenship for illegal aliens.

• End the IRS and wants to bring all our troops home from all countries, saving us $1 trillion.

He fights to defend and restore the Second Amendment. I could go on and on but these are only a few of the changes he would strive to deviate from the present accepted conduct within our government today.

Yes, he certainly is “eccentric” to want to make such positive changes.

I. Richter

Elgin

Ross Bingaman presented a thoughtful letter regarding the proposed county purchase of the Mount Emily land tract. I agree with him — the public is better served when they are allowed to fully participate in major county decisions.

I have received many calls concerned that this project could be similar to other county acquisitions that have obligated county funds through loans. While using county funds was never the intent, county audits report county money has been used to help pay debt at the golf course. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when the county faces the loss of federal timber receipts which in large part has funded the county road department.

The Mount Emily project is different. The majority of funding will come from a grant, not a loan, provided by the Oregon State Parks ATV division. These funds are generated from gasoline taxes paid by ATV users and from the sale of ATV permits. Private grants are being sought for the additional funds needed.

Morrow County, which has 12,000 residents, operates a similar and even larger park also purchased with ATV funds. They have a viable business plan in operation. The question is: If Morrow County can operate their park without a negative impact to their budget or a reduction in basic county services, why can’t we? (For more information on the Morrow County park visit http://www.morrowcountyparks.org and select the OHV Park link.)

The local land in question has been accessible to county citizens for as long as anyone can remember. Sold to an out-of-state buyer, we are all but certain to see “No Trespassing” signs.

This will be a major decision for the county. Let’s let the public decide through a visible process. County government should and can be more transparent and participatory.

John Lamoreau

La Grande

El Nino, La Nina. Some say the ocean currents are getting warmer. Others say they are getting colder. Thirty years ago it was assumed the world was getting colder. Maybe even an ice age was coming. Then some said there was a hole in the ozone layer and it was getting bigger and we all might get radiated. Now we are told the earth is getting hotter and the ice caps might melt and flood our cities. On and on and on and on.

Nuclear power might cause an accident. Putting natural gas through a pipeline might disturb the grass in someone’s back yard. Drilling for oil might disturb the caribou or dislodge a fish. Building an oil refinery might look bad for the decor in the community. Burning coal might have two parts per billionth of pollutants.

When I was a child my mother used to read a story about Henny Penny living in a barnyard. At times Henny Penny would jump up, wings flapping and run all over the barnyard saying, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” She also read about King Rat. He lived in a dingy den and only came out after dark.

There are some environmentalists who would like us to move into a tree and eat bananas. No thanks.

I am not interested in hearing their speculations and ill-conceived messages of doom. Leave it alone and stop scaring old people and kids. God promises that long after you and I are gone, this earth will still be around. He is in control, and will definitely handle it. Trust Him.

John Petersen

La Grande

Mitt Romney, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Guiliani, Fred Thompson and Ron Paul all turned the Republican primaries into a Ronald Reagan look-alike contest. They praised Reagan as a political demigod who would never compromise his conservative principles. Reagan would never “walk out of Iraq,” would say “no way” to amnesty for illegal immigrants and would insist on lowering taxes and cutting spending.

We need to review the factual record instead of listening to this Republican fairy tale. In 1987, with Reagan as president, nearly 1.4 million illegal aliens met a May 4 deadline for applying for amnesty under a new federal policy. On Islamic militancy, in 1983, Reagan “cut and ran” out of Lebanon after militants destroyed a barracks killing 241 U.S. Marines.

In 1986-1987 he was involved in the sale of weapons to the regime of Iran. Later that same year, an Iraqi missile killed 37 sailors on the frigate U.S.S. Stark in the Persian Gulf. Saddam Hussein called this an accident.

On taxes and spending we must question his reputation as a conservative revolutionary. Federal spending doubled during his presidency; he raised the annual deficit from $73 billion to $153 billion. Our national debt rose from $997.9 billion to $2.6 trillion.

Sorry, conservatives, but rather than using Ronald Reagan to return to “memory lane,” let’s look to the future. How about Barack or Hillary Boulevard?

Michael B. Farmer

Wallowa

Many people in Union County are facing critical decisions where they have to choose between paying for medication, housing or food. These are choices that no one should have to make. Medication is critical for most people to survive and many are going without.

The Dollars for Life Prescription Assistance Program was started in July 2003. It began with a collaboration of Center for Human Development and Community Connection of Northeast Oregon. It was apparent to both agencies that there was a gap in services for community members who are uninsured. Since inception of the program it has gone through some changes, with additional community agencies and local professionals collaborating to make the service a stable solution.

There are countless people in our community struggling to find a primary doctor let alone maintain medications that they have been previously prescribed. This program can’t solve the physician shortage but it can relieve some stress of the cost of medications.

The program is structured to stretch every dollar we get donated. The guidelines are: Applicants must have no medical insurance, a $3 co-pay per medication is requested, the program doesn’t help with narcotics and the limit is up to two medications per year depending on cost and funding availability.

This program is completely funded by donations from local people, which puts funding limitations on how much we can help.

A letter circulated to local physicians was released a month ago letting them know about the program and how to refer uninsured patients to the program. We are collecting donations to help people with this vital gap in community services.

If you are interested in donating to this program, assisting with fundraising efforts or just want additional information, call 963-7532, ext. 12.

Carmen K. Gentry

Community Connection

La Grande

On behalf of the 2003-04 Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team, we would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the 2007-08 EOU women’s basketball team on their outstanding season and for keeping the tradition alive.

This is their sixth Cascade Conference regular-season championship, as well as their fourth NAIA National Tournament appearance — all done in eight years under the watchful eye of Anji Weissenfluh.

Coach Weissenfluh continues to carry the torch for the Lady Mountaineers in leading them all the way to Sioux City, Iowa. With the many injuries and hardships that the team has endured, many thought they didn’t stand a chance. However, with the support of the team, coaches, community and alumni, the Lady Mountaineers showed how much heart they have in putting all of it into their season!

We are proud to be Lady Mountaineers and to be a part of the EOU family. The ladies continued to show their true colors fighting for a championship and respect, and they truly deserve it.

Congratulations, ladies. May all the accolades and congrats be headed your way. And congratulations, coach, on another successful season. The Eastern Oregon women’s basketball team is a class act.

Thrive on this season, as it is the end of EOU basketball for six of you. Let’s get a win at nationals and start a whole new tradition.

Congrats and best of luck at nationals. We will be cheering you on from the Northwest!

Tricia Haddock and teammates from the 2003-04

Lady Mountaineers

On Feb. 20, between 6:30 and 7 a.m., something on the radio disgusted me. I’m compelled to write this letter, not with any malice but out of a sense of moral and civic duty because of the casual attitude displayed toward a serious issue. The two DJs at 98.7, the KUBQ, here in La Grande, were discussing a female teacher who has been convicted of molesting her students.

They commented that she had just changed her hair from blonde to brunette and looked just as “hot.” I suspect this person to be Debra Lafave, the woman who pleaded guilty to having sexual relations with a 14-year-old student. They were talking about her as if what she had done was OK. They just kept reiterating that she was “so hot” and how they would have liked to have a teacher like her and if one was teaching here, they would join her class.

The woman committed a disgusting crime against a child, one which should result in censure from the public, not stardom. The more they talked, the angrier I became. This woman stole the innocence of a young boy. She was in a position of trust and authority and abused her position, and because of her perversion, she has been made into something of a sex symbol or a star by some. These DJs displayed no discretion or sense of morality, not only to be speaking of these things, but in a public forum.

I am fed up by the increasingly cavalier attitude society has toward sex crimes and also the double standards the courts seem to have toward men and women offenders. They all should be taken out of society.

Sherry Marcum

La Grande

If we think of Mount Emily as a presence during this process, what would she say, think, want and experience?

If MERC is a coalition, then Mount Emily, her physical form being a mountain — a place to grow trees, to hold water, rocks and beauty — must be considered a primary player.

What are her needs in all of this dissension and how is it affecting her? Might she feel like a child in a custody fight? And who is representing the child?

Can you imagine that Mount Emily wants to be allowed to be what she is — a diverse area offering abundance to all? She supports the trees and knows they are important to the little critters that fly, run and play and make her smile. She would probably have no problem with some thinning or grazing if it weren’t hurting something else.

She would like to see people enjoying her, as long as she didn’t end up with contaminated soil that would hurt who lives there. She could feel quite saddened at the arguing, dissension and the me, me, me attitude of so many. We all want something that meets our needs.

Money, corporations and development have for years gotten worse votes in what goes on than anyone else. If we can wrap around the concept that we are caretakers and not owners, this can be resolved with regard to all, especially Mount Emily.

What a model of practicing long-term stewardship this could be. And wouldn’t it be more fun to work together in kindness than following our own political agendas? Perhaps, she could see us as some of the critters enjoying this earth, and we can make her smile.

Smile at her throughout this process. She needs love, too.

Maxine Hines

La Grande

We are writing to comment on the proposed recreation area. Our schedule was such that we could not attend the informational meeting Jan. 29. This is an important decision for the county to be owners of this approximately 3,700 acres, which is approximately 5 square miles.

We felt from the beginning that such an important decision should be made by the voters of the county and not just three commissioners. This is something the county will have to live with forever. There are too many “if”s and unanswered questions such as policing, litter control (both legal and illegal), weed control, sewage, public restrooms, road and trail maintenance (federal and state are closing roads because they are too costly to maintain), dust control (off- and on-road), fire protection and general liability.

All of these will put a real strain on our tight budget by taking more county man-hours from their present obligations. We have already been strapped with payments and supervision of a golf course and railroad, which are not self-supportive according to articles in the local paper.

We are strongly in favor of a vote of the people.

Sherman and Hazel Hawkins

La Grande

I am real curious about the approach taken by Wallowa County and Baker County regarding the Travel Management Plan of the Wallowa Whitman National Forest.

The Baker Committee recommends closure of about 50 percent of the total number of miles of road in the WWNF (in Baker County), and Fred Warner (Baker County Commissioner) says, “I think we’ve come up with a really good plan.”

Giving up half the roads before we ever get to the table is not a good plan. I wonder what he thinks a bad plan would look like.

Wallowa County Commissioner Mike Hayward says, “If they don’t do this travel management plan, come 2010 all roads on the national forest will be closed: ML1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.” Sounds like Chicken Little: “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” They will not close 2, 3, 4 and 5 roads. There is no deadline for this travel management plan. Where in the world are our commissioners getting their information or should I say misinformation? Maybe they both need to read the Federal Registry.

If we would have circulated a petition in Eastern Oregon that stated, “I am for giving away half the ML1 roads in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest,” how many people do you think would have signed it?

We have a petition that states, “I am against any further road, trail or usage restrictions in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest” and have more than 6,000 signatures. Looks to me like we should all remember come elections, which commissioners actually listened to the people. Thank you, Union County, for listening.

Tork Ballard

Baker City

John Petersen’s letter mocking serious environmental concerns prompted me to share another perspective. He said “environmentalists would like us to move into a tree and eat bananas.” He assured us that God is in control, will handle Earth’s problems and we should just trust him.

In one of my favorite jokes, a man is warned that the river is rising and he should prepare to leave his home. He replies, “I’m not worried, God will take care of me.”

As the water rises, he stays put, even though neighbors float by in a boat, urging him to leave the house and get in the boat to row to safety. “I’m not worried,” he says. “God will take care of me.”

The water rises higher and higher, and he is forced on to the roof to get above it. Rescuers arrive in a helicopter and dangle a basket for him to climb into so they can haul him to safety. “No thanks,” he assures them, “God will take care of me.”

Well, the water swept his house away and he drowned. He goes to heaven, where he meets God and asks, “Why didn’t you take care of me?”

God replies, “I sent a warning, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you expect?”

Perhaps Petersen and other nay-sayers should consider the ozone hole, melting icecaps and pollution concerns to be our warning.

Denise Elizabeth Stone

La Grande