August Update by Lynn Mcclintock, Chair

Harney County Democratic Central Committee
Monthly Meeting
August 12, 2019
6:00 PM~7:30 PM
Hines City Council Room
The watercolor painting of the donkey was offered to the HCDCC by David Keim, Terry Keim's brother. When asked if HCDCC could use his painting, his response was, 'the donkey wants to work, go forth and serve!'  Those words resonate well,  since we as rural democrats, want to serve the greater good of humanity and our community. According to the Democratic Party of Oregon mission statement, Oregon Democrats believe that rights and responsibilities go hand in hand. It is up to all of  us to work for a present and future society that treats every individual with dignity and respect,  provide for the health and education of future generations, grow Oregon businesses and local economies, safe guard our civil liberties and democratic rights, and protect the natural environment in which we all live. So with that said, Rural Democrats UNITE and go forth to do the hard work that it will take to build a community of peace and harmony.  

As our local democratic committee moves into the latter months of summer, there is plenty of work to do.  The above pictures were taken to show our Adopt-A-Highway signage on Highway 78. A great tribute to our presence  in Rural Eastern Oregon. The picture on the left depicts the sign view looking west. This sign is located just east of the the fishing pond. The sign on the right, is looking east, near the veterinarian clinic on Highway 78.  Although there was still water in the drainage easements, on July 13th a few members of HCDCC cleaned up the trash along our designated section from the clinic toward the Grange Hall and 205.   It was good to see that the job done last year really made a difference as we collected fewer bags of trash. However, it was a revelation that we appeared to have missed a section of our highway commitment. From 205 near the old Grange building, to the fishing pond, where our second sign is posted, has never been cleared of trash; therefore, the committee needs to schedule another highway clean up later this year before the big freeze to focus on this section of highway. A date will be discussed and set at the August meeting. We are obligated to the State of Oregon to do this job. 

In regards to our August meeting, HCDCC will present a certificate to Burns High School graduate, Christian Boyd, the recipient of the HCDCC 2019 Scholarship. Steve Quick, Harney County School District 3 Superintendent will be our guest speaker.  Please join us to hear about the expectations for the future of our education system in Harney County. Bring your questions, concerns and accolades for this discussion. 

September is the annual Harney County Fair Rodeo and Racemeet. For the past three years, HCDCC has had a booth to promote the presence of rural democrats with a friendly, smiling face. This is a huge "time commitment" for you, our members, over the course of three days.  Set up of our display must occur Wednesday,  September 4, 2019 by 8:00 pm and remain intact until Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 4:00pm. Our display must be open from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm  on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sunday. This endeavor will cost our committee insurance fees and a fee for the booth. The Fair Committee set  the following schedule.  Don Greenfield is the contact for this schedule.  Two people are needed for each slot and each slot is a three hour time block.  Don Greenfield and John Thelen will set up the booth on Wednesday, 9/4 and take down the booth on Sunday 9/8.  Here are  the open slots. Please consider sitting with a fellow democrat at this event. Consider this as a friendly political action voice that speaks volumes in our rural community. If three people feel better working together, please do so. Don will put you on the schedule. PLEASE contact Don at 541-589-4214 or you can email him via his wife's email address at the following;
greenfielddebbie21@gmail.com. Thank you for your commitment. 

Thursday September 4

• 10AM until 1 PM  Don Greenfield NEED ONE MORE 
• 1 PM until 4 PM NEED TWO PEOPLE 
• 4PM until 7 PM  NEED TWO PEOPLE 

Friday September 6

• 10AM until 1PM NEED TWO PEOPLE
• 1PM until 4PM NEED TWO PEOPLE 
• 4 PM until 7 PM NEED TWO PEOPLE

Saturday September 7

• 10 AM until 1PM NEED TWO PEOPLE
• 1 PM until 4 PM NEED TWO PEOPLE
• 4 PM until 7 PM Need TWO PEOPLE

Sunday September 8

• 10 AM until 1PM NEED TWO PEOPLE
• 1PM until 4 PM Don Greenfield NEED ONE PERSON 

In September we will be meeting with our state representatives,  Lynn Findley and Cliff Bentz. However, before our meeting, both are having town hall meetings around Eastern Oregon in the next several months. Mr. Bentz just finished a tour in The Dalles and Sisters.  Mr. Findley will be at the Harney County Economic Development meeting on April 6. That meeting starts at 5:30 in the Harney County Chamber Community Room. Mr. Findley will also be at Bella Java for his Town Hall, Monday morning,  September 9 at 8 AM. He will be at our meeting that evening. 

Our September HCDCC meeting will be Monday September 9. Unfortunately, our meeting is the Monday after a long weekend of fair activities. Please plan to attend this meeting. It is important that we listen and question the plans set forth by our representatives to tackle climate policies in the state of Oregon. We have a voice and need to be heard. Some points that were expressed on Mr. Bentz's recent newsletter about his Town Hall meetings include: 

• Is Cap and Trade right for Oregon? 
• What Oregon should do about climate change? 
• How can Oregon's 4 million people be "climate relevant" in a world of 7.5 billion people? 
• Are the people of Oregon ready to pay to reduce CO2, and if so, how much? 
• Should parts of Oregon's economy be sacrificed so that CO2 can be reduced more quickly? 
• Are there more efficient ways of addressing CO2 reduction than those found in HB 2020?

Julie Weikel, HCDCC Vice Chair, shared the following op-ed with the environmental committee.  This article was printed in the Register~Guard, July 25, 2019; Rural voters must care about climate, by Tim Palmer. Palmer is the author of Rivers of Oregon and other books about Oregon and the environment. He lives in Port Orford. Here are some excerpts of that piece, "Republican politicians used fear about unaffordable gasoline prices to win the support of rural residents. But HB 2020 evolved through years of compromises that would offer tax credits to offset gas prices for financially stressed people, exempt farm and forestry use and prioritize multiple rural investments with money the program generates. To no avail; opponents of climate change action wouldn’t even show up at the Capitol and let the next generation have a shot at a decent future here in rural Oregon."  "Climate change benefits forest pathogens and the invasion of exotic species, reducing timber productivity and making forests more flammable with nuisance plants like gorse. Drier, hotter summers make regeneration difficult, with prospects of whole forests becoming brushy chaparral instead."  
To read more of this article, please go to the following link; 
http://registerguard.com/opinion/20190725/rural-voters-must-care-about-climate.

Stay active and stay informed. We need your help on furthering the agenda of Oregon Democrats. 2020 Presidential elections are just around the corner. It will a be along haul but we are up to the challenge. Stay calm and carry on as the Brits say. We can do this if we work together.