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First, whether right or wrong, most of them where voting for not sending their tax dollars to be used by the "west side." There has always been an us vs. them attitude on both sides of the Cascades. Your comments reinforce this. So, what is your suggestion as to what should be done? I am hearing from you; let the schools fail, let the people that live there lose their jobs, let all of the rural areas of Oregon dry up, they were asking for it. I guess they could all move to Portland and live in a condo but, you probably wouldn't want those "reds" around. While I agree that rural communities have historically made decisions that are hurting themselves now, one only need to look at the businesses that moved into Island City as opposed to La Grande to see the defeatist policies of the local government, what can be done to solve the problem? Now is the time to be creative in solving the problem, not sweep it under the rug.

posted 4 years ago
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You're right Mr. Toohey.  The last thing we want in our society are people pushing the boundries of what is thought possible.

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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My main issues with this happening are; the precedent that this sets by the legislature that it is okay to take money from the culture trust when they need it, the statement made by this act by the legislature that “the arts” are expendable, and the belief that only artists are affected by taking money away from the arts.

I work for what could be termed an art supply manufacture, and the livelihood of the people that work there depends on artists needing the materials.  If we continue to cut funding for the arts or stop supporting the arts, they will stop buying materials.  That leads directly to job loss in our community. 

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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I have high hopes that not only Merkley but, the entire Senate acts maturely with the power they have been given.

I voted for Smith, not for myself but, for equal representation of the rest of the state. For as many years as I can remember, there has been resentment of the I-5 corridor by the rest of the state and in some cases for good reason.

Jeff, please consider the views of rural Oregonians and work to bring us all together. We all love the state we are from and we all need to help each other in these tough times.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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