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558 N. Main St.,
Prineville, OR 97754
Phone: 541.447.6205 |
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| Good job, Sen. Wyden, on the Millican Road project |
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 | | Editorial cartoon by Ron Raasch | | Thank you Senator Wyden, for helping on the Millican Road. |
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Senator Wyden deserves a big thanks from Crook County for his introduction of SB 2482 which should help get the Millican Road paved from Hwy 20 to the industrial park next to the airport in Prineville.
The bill would give Crook and Deschutes Counties the right-of-way to West Butte Road in exchange for transferring the right-of-way to the George Millican Road to the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management.
In 1965 the Oregon legislature authorized the road as an alternate route between Highways 126 and 20, but since that time the project has been gridlocked by government bureaucracy and it was appearing doomed without the congressional intervention. Wyden, who has been a good friend to Crook County, knew that good transportation links could be a key to helping rebuild the local economy so he introduced SB 2482.
SB 2482 doesn't weaken environmental protection in any way. The bill still requires the counties to undertake extensive environmental analysis. But it allows the counties to move that process along, without having to wait for federal agencies to respond on their timetable
According to Crook County Court Judge Scott Cooper if "SB 2482 is passed, it could provide tremendous economic benefit to Crook County. One ODOR analysis shows that 84 trucks each day will reroute through Prineville in order to bypass the heavily congested highway 97 in Bend and Redmond. Each of those trucks represents a business that could potentially look at some point in the future at a Prineville base. In addition, the route will likely bring some tourists and business traffic through Prineville, and all those dollars spent on gas, food and lodging help Main Street prosper. Finally, the road extends the ability of the Les Schwab Corporation to continue to service its growing tire empire from a Prineville base by cutting down on the amount of time required to reach stores south and east of Prineville. All those things are good for Prineville's long-term prospects."
According to Wyden, the cities of Prineville, Bend and Redmond, along with Deschutes and Crook County have endorsed the improvement of the West Butte Road, as have the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Central Oregon Transportation Commission. Wyden also said it is anticipated that the legislation will now be referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Lands, which he chairs, for further consideration.
Now would be a great time for our other Oregon Senator, Gordon Smith to show us the famous cooperation he and Senator Wyden boast about by endorsing SB 2482 as a co-sponsor. That would demonstrate some real support for Prineville and Crook County and virtually ensure the bill)s chance of passing the Senate.
Another good friend of Prineville, Rep. Greg Walden, might want to consider sponsoring companion legislation in the house to help move the bill along there.
SB 2482 is a win-win-win proposition. It)s good for Crook County, good for Oregon and good for the politicians seeking reelection.
Thank you Senator Wyden for getting the project unstuck. Now if we can just get some help from our other congressmen maybe we can get the traffic flowing.
Follow up on the reader)s poll
We added a reader)s poll to our Central Oregonian web site (www.centraloregonian.com) about six months ago to have some fun and get a totally unscientific sampling of opinions on local subjects.
The way the poll is constructed voters are allowed to vote only one time on each question per computer. We found this generally worked correctly, but after a while we discovered some computers were able to get around the one vote limit and could vote an unlimited number of times. We know of two computers like this and expect there are others with a similar configuration.
This brings me back to our poll from two weeks ago and the question about the recall attempt on the district attorney. We expected a good response on this question, but when the numbers jumped from the normal 30 to 40 to more than 200 we were fairly certain we had multiple voters.
We bring this to your attention to reinforce the fact that the poll is totally unscientific and in no way should be used for other than entertainment. Nevertheless it has come to our attention that someone is using our poll results in an attempt to influence public opinion on the recall. The numbers should not be believed, because their is no scientific basis for there accuracy.
Looking at this week)s poll, there is one very interesting thing: eight percent of those responding took the time to indicate they didn)t have time to vote in the primary election. Those folks had time to cast their vote on this fun poll but say they didn)t have time to mark a real ballot.
Oh, well, we get the leaders we deserve.
This week, the poll asks about your holiday travel plans. Go to www.centraloregonian,com and make your choice. But remember ... it is all in fun! |
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