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

The third largest wildfire in modern California history raged through Los Padres National Forest. The blaze blackened 336 square miles. More than 3,000 firefighters faced rugged terrain, temperatures in the 90s and low humidity in an area that had not burned in nearly 100 years. It had not burned in nearly 100 years! Does this sound natural to any of you? I hope not.

No, this speaks of an absolutely unnatural situation created by man's misguided attempts at helping nature along. Fires have historically thinned and shaped our forests on a reoccurring cycle, often every three to five years. The native people of America often used fire to promote and revitalize a resource they actually depended on for their continued existence.

We, on the other hand, declared war on fire in 1910 and began a policy of fire suppression. In my opinion, our forest management policy has been far too slow in discovering our error and like everything else in America, efforts have been bogged down in political bickering.

Irregardless of how we got where we are, it is vital for every citizen to understand that we are now reaping the rewards of 97 years of forest mismanagement. Some have called for a policy of returning to nature and came up with the slogan, "Let it burn." It sounds good and easy.

Regretfully, it is not quite that simple. Remember, we created a forest choked with ladder fuels and dead fall that now results in fires so hot that it often kills, not cleans. I have flown over vast tracts of standing dead trees which have no remaining branches and little or no ground cover below because extremely hot fires several years ago sterilized the ground.

This is nowhere close to natural. Thin our forests now!

Dean Varney

La Grande

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I have been reading different information on the Union Police Levy and feel that there are some misleading statements going around, one being that if the levy passed, Union would get 9-1-1 and 24-hour dispatching. Look at your phone bill. We are getting that now.

I don't think the levy will pay for an officer to patrol the schools. I think it would be the school's responsibility to pay for that.

Some are saying the levy would provide rapid response. Listen to a scanner and see how rapid a response you would get from the county sheriff's department.

Yes, we need police for the city of Union, but do we need them at part-time hours (32 hours)? We need a police department that gives us full coverage for all types of calls.

This levy, No. 31-65, does not give us a choice of what kind of police protection we will get.

So think about it and read the measure over very carefully.

We'll pay $1.76 per $1,000 on property taxes for three years, but then what?

The flyers make it sound like we are going to get a big bang for our buck. I don't think so for that price.

This is what you'll receive from the county sheriff department: basic police protection with minimum coverage at part-time hours as needed for emergencies.

Dick Middleton

Union

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As usual, the recent letter from John W. Evans Jr. treats us to his liberal view of the world and a diatribe against all things Republican. In many ways I feel sorry for him. You see he just turned 50.

Tim "Ymmit'' McManus

La Grande

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Contrary to the opinion of the author of a recent letter to the editor, the Hells Canyon Preservation Council does not take litigation lightly and will not challenge a Forest Service project if it is scientifically sound. The critical factor in our determination of whether to litigate is always whether the natural resources, including wildlife, old growth forests and clean, cold fresh water, will be detrimentally impacted by the project and if so, to what extent.

Our staff assesses the impacts of a project by examining the agency's analyses files and discussing the project with scientists from the Forest Service, state agencies, or in the private sector. Usually, when a project is of concern to scientists, it is in violation of public land laws.

Ultimately, we decide not to litigate the vast majority of projects proposed by the Forest Service, including recent timber sales in the Mount Emily, Mount Howard, Spring Creek and Mile Nine areas.

If the project is particularly egregious, however, we will litigate. The timber sale the council is currently challenging, located near Medical Springs, is such a project. The Forest Service is logging in old growth stands without conducting important surveys of the wildlife species using this ancient forest. Staff consulted with two wildlife biologists, both of whom indicated they had concerns with the proposed logging.

With so few old growth forests left in Northeast Oregon, unless the agency can ensure the wildlife dependent on these rare forests will not be jeopardized, the Forest Service should not open these areas to commercial

logging.

Hells Canyon Preservation Council has an impressive litigation record and the reason for the success is because we have the science on our side.

I am proud to be a part of an organization that questions the government's management of our public lands.

Jennifer Schemm

Hells Canyon Preservation Council Board Member

La Grande

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Many small cities are opting to contract for police protection with their county sheriff's department because it is more cost effective. It could be a good compromise for Union. Equipping a small city police department with quality personnel just requires more budget money than is available.

The Union City Council reached this decision because of cost efficiency. As I understand the proposal, the sheriff's department will provide not less than 32 hours per week of patrol time for the city. The sheriff's office will be responsible for the considerable paperwork required for the police department. Also, the sheriff's department will take care of training officers, provide all the equipment necessary (which can be a big expense) and cover patrol time during officer training and vacations.

The Union City Council proposes to contract with the sheriff's department as a cost-saving measure. If Measure 31-65 passes, the proposal is to use funds budgeted for the 2007-2008 budget year to contract with the sheriff's department for one officer for the remainder of the year. When the levy funds are available for the 2008-2009 budget year, the plan is to then contract for a second officer using the combined funds from the levy and the city general fund budget for police. The city council proposes to include animal control enforcement in the contract for an additional amount of money.

My personal opinion is that funding a police chief position in the city of Union was an inefficient use of funds for the city. The way I see it, Union ends up with more patrol time and less overhead time when they contract with the sheriff's department.

I urge voters in Union to make an informed decision when they vote on the Union Police Levy, Measure 31-65.

Evelyn Merriman

Union

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When excessive credit is used in the hopeless task of trying to satisfy wants instead of needs, it becomes just another popular form of greed.

Now the only difference between the greed of the rich and the greed of the poor are in quantity, quality and taste!

Bill Dougherty

Enterprise

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Mr. Willard Bertrand spoke informally with several members of Post 4060, Veterans of Foreign Wars, some time ago regarding proposed Measure 31-65, which addresses a levy intended to fund police services for the city of Union.

There was discussion, with some members in favor and some opposed, and some who stated no opinion. He then asked whether he could have our permission to include a statement in his pamphlet that VFW supported the measure.

Mr. Bertrand was told not once but several times that the VFW is not a political organization, and neither opposes nor supports political issues.

It appears that he chose to disregard our position, and to publish this misinformation. It further appears he chose to describe a similar approval on the part of Union Emergency Services, also without their approval. One can only wonder about his intentions.

In your consideration of voting for or against this measure, please understand that the Veterans of Foreign Wars as an organization does not support or oppose the measure, but encourages each individual to make up his or her own mind.

Gary Keenan, Adjutant

VFW Post 4060

Union

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David Brock wrote to complain about a purported lack of scientific expertise at the Hells Canyon Preservation Council. I have little to do with HCPC, except for paying my dues, but I support them.

However, I have two bachelor of science degrees, an master of science degree, and Ph.D., all in the biological sciences, so I think that Mr. Brock would admit that I'm qualified to speak on this topic — interestingly, Mr. Brock didn't mention his qualifications.

His argument against preservation is economic (and political). Yet Mr. Brock derides the HCPC staff for having degrees in political science and economics, commerce and agricultural economics. Given his economic argument and that forests are usually managed as crops, those degrees seem perfectly reasonable for the HCPC staff.

Mr. Brock also misstates that "decisions about how land is used belongs (sic) to the people that actually use the land...." National forests are owned by all U.S. citizens. Benefits derived from those forests spread well beyond local communities — for example, healthy forests include healthy streams supporting healthy salmon populations which are caught by fishermen downstream, thereby supporting their communities.

Humans, as a species, are doing very well — 6,000,000,000 strong and growing exponentially! Given the amount of land that is lost daily to societal "progress," we need not worry about "preserving society," as Mr. Brock advocates. He probably means preserving jobs (specifically his?), which are being lost ultimately because of the success of our society and burgeoning population. We should worry more about limiting population growth and preserving the environment. Global warming is a real issue that must be addressed.

Considering that we all depend on a healthy environment, it is safe to say that doing good for the environment, is doing good for society.

Tim Hoffnagle

La Grande