Editorial

How we vote

Deschutes County Commissioner Position 2: No endorsement.

Ballot Measure 9-25 -- Sheriff Three Year Split-Rate Operating Levy: Yes.

We are encouraged to hear that Commissioner Dennis Luke is committed to finding a means of permanently funding the sheriff's office. There has to be a better way of funding sheriff's services in Deschutes County -- permanently and with the burden shared fairly between rural and urban residents.

In the meantime, county residents should support the three- year split-rate levy. The increased rate -- 82 cents per $1,000 (urban) and $1.60 (rural) -- will indeed add to residents' overburdened tax bills, especially for rural residents, who pay the higher rate.

But the cost of not funding sheriff's services is too high.

One rural resident told the editor that "rural folks take care of their own; it's called dogs and shotguns."

Fair enough. But dogs and shotguns won't evacuate Tollgate or Crossroads in the face of a wildfire or rescue a hiker on South Sister or investigate a burglary at your home or office.

A fast-growing, tourism-dependent community like Deschutes County needs top-quality, professional police services and we have to be willing to pay for them.

It's true that we're not getting more for our money -- but it doesn't make sense to ask for less. The stakes are high. If the levy fails, most of the deputies who serve Sisters and the rest of the county will have no choice but to look for other jobs.

When we decide we want to have a sheriff's department again, we'll have to build one from scratch with massive costs for rehiring and training personnel.

A bigger tax bill is hard to swallow. But we'll pay more later if we turn it down now.

Judge of the Circuit Court 11th District, Position 6: Thomas M. Spear, Jr.

Deschutes County is rapidly becoming more metropolitan -- and metropolitan crime rates are sure to follow. Thomas Spear has the leadership qualities and commitment to change and reform necessary to press for changes in the circuit court to make it operate at the highest level of efficiency as the challenge of coping with increased caseloads grows.

Spear has a tough road to travel in seeking to unseat the experienced and widely respected Judge Ed Perkins.

Yet we believe that Spear's experience as a District Attorney and his no-nonsense, take-charge approach will bring fresh energy and dynamism into the court that will benefit the justice system in Deschutes County as the region grows and faces the challenges of big-city crime rates.

Jim Cornelius, Editor