Letters to the Editor for Sept. 2, 2009

Open letter to

Senator Merkley

To the editor:

Senator: I’m sure you are going to hear about health care when you come to Baker City on the 4th of September, so I want to let you know about a couple of other issues that are on my mind. Listening to my concerns, which are shared by others, might just avert an armed insurrection.

I see on CNN that gun control is getting to be a hot topic again in Chicago. You might tell those eastern urban senators when you get back to D.C. that the best way to avoid gun violence is to refrain from trying to confiscate them. Such a move will be much worse than Chicago gang violence.

Recent census figures show that the United States is 38 percent minority, 48 percent under age 5, and soon we will be 20 percent Muslim because of Middle East immigration. That and the open Southern border and lack of anything resembling border control is driving the U.S. population through the roof. I have a newsflash for you: These statistics show that the invasion of my country still goes on and it doesn’t have to. Different vested interests profit from this situation by getting cheap labor, customers, soldiers for the empire and possibly future voters. But enough is enough. The United States is overpopulated now and projected to grow to 450 million if we end immigration now. It is long past time to do just that. Support the E-verify system and the border fence.

I see no indication that government elites ever plan to restrict immigration, legal or illegal, but I do see indications that the practice of restrictive zoning, which you were a part of in the Oregon Legislature, will continue and get worse in an attempt to mitigate the damage. I can see a national Oregon plan coming soon. Locally we are faced with road closures because there are just too many people trying to enjoy our outdoor freedoms, and we are told that we just have to have a huge power line to turn on the lights for our growing numbers. Who will be the lucky ones to get it in their back yard?

Steve Culley

Baker City

Thanks for offer to help market

To the editor:

I have been on vacation with my husband so did not read all the papers until we got home. I certainly did not intend to ruffle so many feathers with my letter about the Farmers Market. I don’t know any of the people who wrote back to give their accounts of my letter. Mr. Jason, however, to you I say, get a dictionary and look up the word slander before you accuse anyone of it. It’s a serious charge.

Thank you all for the invitation to come volunteer. I spent a career working with volunteers in 13 well-child clinics set up in the county I worked for. I’m good at it and tend to take over. So, you really do not want me to come volunteer. When I finally retired, I really retired and left that all behind. Thank you for the invitation, though.

My letter expressed my own opinions and that of the vendors I spoke to. I got the distinct impression that if they told the board or the manager the truth about what they felt was slowing down the market, then there would be some sort of reprisals. They all told me with a whispered voice and actually looking over their shoulders to see who was nearby. If I’m wrong, then those I spoke to (you know who you are), need to correct my impression.  

Iva Mace

Baker City

Council should exert its authority

To the editor:

Last week, the Baker City Herald opined that, at least for the selection of a City Manager, the “Council Needn’t Rush.” 

The Herald says that the current squabbles will cause a lack of confidence “about the stability of this job.” Guess what? Everyone, except perhaps the Herald, already knows that the job is inherently insecure due to the language of our City Charter.

You may remember that when the last City Manager was summarily asked to leave, (Gordon Zimmerman, current City Administrator of the City of Oakridge), he graciously said, “When the council says it’s time to go, it’s time to go ... There comes a time when the council wants to choose their own man.” Apparently his wisdom is wasted on the Herald and other discontented parties.

Unfortunately, the Herald is promoting the idea that manipulations by three disgruntled Councilors and 6 percent of our population negate the power of our elected officials. The present Councilors were elected by the people, and they still serve. They have the right as our elected representatives to make decisions for as long as they serve. This despite the divisive, disabling and destructive recall initiated by the friends of the nearly forgotten City Manager, speculating real estate interests, some self-interested City employees, and a few childish Councilors. Should we allow these same people to diminish the power of two duly elected Councilors, and the functioning of the Council, just because they came out on the short end of the stick on a single decision? Do we expect the Council to stop making decisions before and after November elections just because the political balance may change? Is allowing the discontented few to disrupt City government a precedent that should be set? I think the answer to these questions is no.

Mr. Zimmerman has also said: “Some cities alternate leadership between different political adversaries which causes whiplash across the community.” Is Baker City going to continue the tradition of divisive “whiplash,” caused by the spats of these adversaries, to continue, or are we going to face an uncertain future together?   

Christopher Christie

Baker City