September 21, 2009 03:22 pm
After being hunted to near extinction by the 1940s, wolves are making a
comeback in the Pacific Northwest and are in fact being seen in
increasing numbers right here in Northeast Oregon. Because they are
protected by the state’s Endangered Species Act, they no doubt will
continue to flourish.
Naturally, local reports of livestock predation are cropping up,
notably in the Keating Valley in Baker County. Wolves attacked sheep
there in April, and again in August. In all, they killed more than two
dozen head of domestic livestock. Most of what they killed they didn’t
eat.
Earlier this month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife took
steps to destroy the “rogue” wolves that did the depredations. Kill
permits were issued to federal Wildlife Service officials, who tracked
the animals down and did away with them.
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September 18, 2009 02:48 pm
September 18, 2009 02:47 pm
People are hunting at the mall for great bargains and in the mountains
for trophy elk and deer. People are going to school and going to
parties. The nightly news is no longer dominated by bombs bursting in
air, or more likely, today, along a roadside. We’re more likely to see
people screaming about health care injustices than we are people
screaming either for or against battles in faraway, harsh and hostile
lands.
Life goes on.
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September 17, 2009 03:28 pm
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Scottish author Samuel Smiles once said, “We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he that never made a mistake never made a discovery.” So true!
Michael Jordan, recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, was cut from his high school basketball team. Albert Einstein discovered the theory of relativity yet flunked his university entrance exam. We often become stronger through adversity.
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September 17, 2009 03:27 pm
Letters and Comments for September 17, 2009
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September 16, 2009 03:48 pm
Things continue to look up for Eastern Oregon University, which is good news for the university and the community.
After a summer session that saw a 13.5 percent increase in enrollment,
the numbers for fall are looking just as promising. Applications are
up, admissions are up and retention is up.
The university’s efforts to increase enrollment as well as concentrate
on getting students to continue their education from one year to the
next at EOU are paying off big time.
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September 15, 2009 03:28 pm
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Medical care is hard to get these days, especially in rural areas. The brutal fact of life is, people needing care far outnumber those providing it. Here in Union County, a three-week wait for an appointment is the all-frustrating norm.
That’s one good reason why the Union Family Health Center, now operated by a local health district, should have ongoing community support. No question, the clinic fills a vital niche in the local health care network.
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September 15, 2009 03:27 pm
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Letters and Comments for September 15, 2009
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September 14, 2009 03:29 pm
Anti-government zealots are in ample supply these days. And they’ve got
a lot to howl about — tax dollars flushed down the toilet, flagrant
hypocrisy, the entitlement mentality, new and unwanted regulation.
Beyond the bellyachers and the dangerous absolutists, however, are many
ordinary people concerned about whether small businesses can offer
health insurance at a reasonable cost to their employees. There are
people concerned about preserving Social Security. There are people
concerned about jobs that have gone away and jobs that seem in a
precarious state. There are people concerned about getting timber out
of the national forest to support local mills that are standing idle.
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September 11, 2009 03:54 pm
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The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest is going to implement a travel management plan to regulate motorized vehicle use on the forest. Anyone who wants to have a voice in the decision the forest supervisor makes has until Thursday to submit comments.
Supervisor Steve Ellis is faced with a momentous and difficult decision. Choosing between the various alternatives, which were determined after a series of public input sessions over the last couple of years, won’t be easy. Ellis has to weigh and balance ecological concerns with the interests of the public, which range from wide-open use to severely restricted use.
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Opinion 
