News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Senator Merkeley visited Sisters last week.
Before a mostly friendly crowd at Sisters City Hall on Tuesday, May 31, Senator Jeff Merkley fielded questions on subjects ranging from health care to a Whychus-Deschutes Wilderness proposal.
In brief introductory remarks, Senator Merkeley emphasized the importance of creating jobs in Oregon, noting that the housing crash affected the timber industry, the lumber industry, and the garden stock industry as much or more than others. He said reform of the clumsy mortgage modification program is essential to recovery in every sector affected by housing.
"The one we have in place has been a nightmare for people who have gone through it," he said.
He plans to push for inclusion of third-party mediation and for the ability to modify mortgages as part of bankruptcy proceedings.
The senator also emphasized the need to develop alternative energy ranging from biomass to solar, wind and geothermal to reduce dependence on foreign oil.
"It's bleeding America," he said. "If we keep our energy dollars here, it will create a lot more jobs," he said.
Public questions kicked off with a student asking how testing benchmarks can measure the capabilities of unique individuals.
Merkeley, who traditionally starts town hall meetings with questions from students, responded that testing needs to follow cohorts of students and measure progress.
"Teachers have said what they need to come out of that testing is how that student is progressing," he said. "I've heard across the state, 'Give us results that we can use to help our students in the classroom.'"
In response to statements on the importance of making health care accessible to the public while keeping costs down, Merkeley emphasized the importance of supporting clinics that work toward prevention and wellness, reducing costs by heading off the need for expensive treatment for illness. Clinics can provide access to the broadest community, "expanding the front door," he said.
Responding to an AARP representative's statement, Merkeley assured the audience that he will fight against what the AARP representative characterized as attempts to dismantle Medicare.
Merkeley criticized ongoing - and expensive - involvement in Afghanistan.
"We are now in a morphed mission that is a nation-building mission that's way off track... that isn't going too well and isn't going to go too well," he said.
That drew a challenge to explain his stance on Libya.
While not taking a definitive stand, the senator said, "I have a lot of concerns about our involvement in Libya. It's very unclear who the coalitions are of various people who are opposed to Khaddafi."
On the other hand, Merkeley noted that it is significant that the Arab League requested intervention.
He also noted that the situation where Khadaffi is facing international military action could lead other strongmen and dictators to the conclusion that they must have nuclear weapons to stave of intervention.
"The message is very clear to the world, and it's not a message that's helpful (regarding) nuclear proliferation," he said.
Members of the Bend Tea Party attended the town hall meeting, but mostly remained quiet.
Merkely got the sharpest prodding of the evening from Dave Klym of Crooked River Ranch, who criticized a Whychus-Deschutes Wilderness proposal, a proposal that had earlier drawn praise from another attendee.
The wilderness designation would affect the lower reaches of Whychus Creek and a portion of the middle Deschutes.
Klym argued that the proposed wilderness is too close to the wildland/urban interface and could create major headaches in dealing with the potential for wildfire.
Merkeley said Klym's points reflected the kind of dialogue that needs to be had on the subject. He noted that no wilderness bill will be passed at the federal level without clear local support, and he urged anyone interested to engage with local officials on the subject.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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