Letters to the Editor for July 24, 2009

A few marred Miners Jubilee

To the editor:

What a success this year’s Miners Jubilee has been! Congratulations all around to the Baker County Chamber of Commerce, the Eastern Oregon Mining Association, parade participants and civic leaders for once again bringing us an exciting and very entertaining celebration of the rich history of this sparkling gem of a little town set amongst such amazingly beautiful natural scenery. A special pat on the back and kudos also for every smiling face and kind greeting extended to visitors by the people of Baker. I am so proud of  the residents of our town.

I am reminded as to how valuable these festivities are for our community. I know some people like to just get out of town this week and some might forget that the direct infusion of wealth into local businesses benefits each and every one of us fortunate enough to reside here, and this comes both in the form of wages and taxable revenue going into city and county coffers. Plus outsiders see what a great place Baker is and repeat visitors create additional wealth here as our reputation expands.

Moreover, the warm reception extended to our visiting guests, patrons and sundry revelers is a reflection of the inviting spirit and core values of this town. So it was with considerable sadness that I witnessed a demonstration of uncouth and rude behavior in the extreme late on Saturday night into Sunday morning as a steady stream of young people, quite demonstrably inebriated, staggered past Geiser-Pollman Park after the watering holes closed, all the while screaming obscenities as forcefully as their lungs allowed. While I wish the over worked Baker constabulary would make a periodic sweep of the area to suppress this vocal enthusiasm, especially during Miners Jubilee if this is impossible, I beg of these young people: Please either lower your voices, or do something to improve the paucity and monotony of your creatively challenged swearing. The same old expletive adjective plus expletive gerund coupled with expletive noun become so boring and the sheer predictability of it all just keeps visiting guests from returning to sleep.   

John Harmer

Baker City