Letters to the Editor
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:02 AM PST
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| Jeff Koterba cartoon for 2/20/09
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Move it and move us closer
to a world free of MS
Editor,
I live in New Plymouth and I am one of millions of people who have joined the movement to end multiple sclerosis, and I’m writing you to ask for your help in changing the lives of the more than 1,800 people our chapter of the National MS Society serves in this community by publishing the following letter.
Every hour someone is diagnosed with MS, a chronic disease of the central nervous system for which there is no cure. Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Many have trouble imagining what their lives would be without the ability to move, but I know the effects of MS; I have MS.
MS Awareness Week takes place March 2 through March 8. I encourage people to join the movement to end MS and help people with MS move their lives forward.
It’s easy to get involved. It only takes a few minutes to make a difference in the lives of the millions of people worldwide who live with this disease. My involvement with the society has given me so much hope.
Some simple things you can do:
— Visit nationalMSsociety.org to learn more about MS.
— Tell 10 people that MS Awareness Week is March 2 through March 8 and ask them to tell 10 people they know.
— Sponsor a walker or cyclist in a walk MS or bike MS event, or participate yourself!
Joan Webster
New Plymouth
Idaho Power should consider all factors regarding proposed power line
Editor,
The following letter was sent to Administrative Law Judge Arlow regarding the Idaho Power Company “Addendum” to 2006 IRP as a show of support for those trying to get the power line rerouted.
In discussion is a 2009 addendum to a 2006 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that was updated in 2008, which aims to justify the need for a 500-KV power transmission line between Boardman, Oregon, and the Sand Hollow area of Idaho, proposed by the Idaho Power Company (IPC).
I ask that you reject this submission because it does not consider the changing dynamics of the national economy, the potential for adding “green energy sources” to IPC’s base load considerations and, above all, it does not consider alternatives to the 500-KV transmission line, which will spoil the valley in which I reside.
As a lay person, it is difficult for me to get my mind around all of the factors you must consider in arriving at the correct decision in this matter. I certainly recognize the need for electrical power. However, I’m suspicious of this multi-plan approach by IPC.
It appears that by updating the updates, intentions can be concealed or misrepresented by giving opponents hundreds of small targets to shoot at, but making it improbable that the goals of the larger project can be altered.
My suspicions are heightened by the less than candid approach IPC has taken in the process of developing the IRP, including not involving the people of this valley through which the power line will leave a terrible scar, should it eventually materialize.
Additionally, the missing information causes me to wonder if IPC is not loading up its system with low-cost power from Oregon, while selling off the power it generates to the southwest area of California, Nevada and Arizona for substantial gains, especially during peak demand cycles.
In this time of economic depression and unprecedented spending by governments to conserve energy and to develop new sources from wind, solar, geothermal and hot-rock technologies, it seems imprudent to proceed with last century methods until these other processes shake out.
As for local demand for power, it is difficult to perceive of even a marginal increase in the near future. Malheur County has a declining population.
It is also more likely it will lose existing businesses and food processors before getting new high demand power users to locate in this area because of excess capacity and overbuilding in other areas.
My greatest personal concern, however, is the potential for the 500-KV power line to cross our valley. Malheur County is 94 percent rangeland, with 72 percent of all land belonging to the Bureau of Land Management.
That which is neither of the former, except for town sites, is zoned exclusive farm use (EFU).
Our valley, made up of the communities of Ontario, Vale, Nyssa and Adrian are the mother’s milk of the county, in that they survive from intensive and diversified farming, irrigated primarily from six rivers that flow together to form what is known as the Western Treasure Valley.
Great vistas greet those entering the valley from any direction. The valley stretches as far as one can see, punctuated by a dormant butte that is a sort of reference point for everything and everywhere, that stands to be spoiled by draping power lines from 15 story towers, while the tallest structure in the county is four stories.
This being said, the county competes for last place in Oregon in terms of economic prosperity, with per capita income being roughly one-half that of the remainder of the state.
Almost all of the county residents reside in the 6 percent or so of land that is arable; it is the very same land through which IPC proposes to route the 500-KV line, which will not only destroy the vista but also impact the productivity of that small piece of the county that makes life here possible.
Taken together, the non-productive land available and the impact the power line will have on farming, as well as the esthetic impact the line will have on the valley, the route selected by IPC defies comprehension.
Judge, I have no dog in this fight. I’m a 71-year-old native of Ontario. I own no land or property that will be directly impacted by your decision, be it one way or the other.
However, I do have a concern for the greater community and the overall feeling that it is being exploited by a utility that is acting in an imperialistic fashion because it can, and because it realizes that we’re an almost forgotten sector of Oregon that seems to be without representation in this matter.
I ask that consideration be given to all of these factors in the process of making your final determination. I also invite you to visit our community and stand in our boots for a few minutes.
Until that time, I thank you for your consideration and remain,
Ray Dickerson
Ontario
