Blogs

Hello Democrats!

The Union County Fair begins Wednesday, August 3rd.  In lieu of our regular monthly meeting, I hope everyone will take some time to come by the Democrats' booth.  Participate in the issues straw poll.  Buy and take home a newly designed t-shirt or bumper sticker.  Sign up to get active with your fellow Democrats!

We will have an impressive presence at this year’s fair thanks to the efforts of Gray McGuire and Suzann Chapman.  Gray has seen to it that the booth is freshly painted and decorated.  Suzann has insured we have volunteers in the booth throughout Fair week.

Hello Fellow Democrats...
 
I hope that you enjoyed your 4th of July! 

To mark the holiday, I took a bit of time to reread the Declaration of Independence.  I was reminded that these United States began as a bold experiment with no guarantee of success.  I was also reminded that this experiment requires our work and participation to survive and thrive. 

I am writing (late, I know) to invite you to our next gathering.  We will meet from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6, at White House Coffee, 1702 Fourth Street in La Grande.
 
Here's a preview of our agenda.  As always, your participation and input is welcome.
 
      Union County Fair Booth
      Fund Appeal Results
      Fundraising Next Steps
      Strategic Planning Next Steps    
 
      And More...
      
Please plan to attend - get involved for positive change with your fellow Democrats.
 
Your help is needed and appreciated - I look forward to seeing you!
 
Sincerely, 
 
Glen Scheele
Chair, Union County Democrats

Union County Democratic Central Committee
Meeting Minutes for June 1, 2011

Minutes include:

• Meeting Called to Order
• Present
• Introductions
• Treasurer's Report and Minutes Approval
• Adopt a highway
• DPO OFA Grassroots Volunteer Training
• Union County Fair
• SCC State Central Committee
• Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee May 24th
• Wyden Town Hall
• Adjourned

Click to download/view Adobe

Union County Democratic Central Committee
Meeting Minutes for June 1, 2011

Minutes include:

• Meeting Called to Order
• Present
• Introductions
• Treasurer's Report and Minutes Approval
• Adopt a highway
• DPO OFA Grassroots Volunteer Training
• Union County Fair
• SCC State Central Committee
• Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee May 24th
• Wyden Town Hall
• Adjourned

Click to download/view Adobe

Union County Democrats spent a pleasant Spring morning cleaning their adopted section of Highway Highway 82. A group of Democrats met in town and carpooled out to their assigned 2 ½ mile stretch of Highway 82, just past Pierce Lane to Market. All went well in spite of the rain.

Our friends at ORA, Grande Ronde Transition, and EOU Students in Free Enterpirse are bringing internationally renowned writer and speaker Nicole Foss to La Grande.

Nicole will present "A Century of Challenges" at 7 pm on Sunday May 29 in Huber Auditorium at Badgley Hall on the EOU campus. Her lecture will focus on the economic dislocations stemming from Peak Oil and rapidly rising energy costs. Foss will also show that strong communities and localized, sustainable economies can answer the challenges posed by the end of cheap fossil fuels.

Admission is free and open to the public.  Don't miss this important event!  For more information go to http://granderondetransition.com

Hello Fellow Democrats!

You are invited to our next gathering. We will meet from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, at White House Coffee, 1702 Fourth Street in La Grande.

Here's a preview of our agenda. As always, we welcome your participation and input!

• Precinct Committee Person recruitment/appointments
• Adopt-a-Highway project update
• Strategic Planning
• Reports from
• Tax Day/BoA Rally
• Vanishing of the Bees film
• Mad As Hell Doctors
• DPO/OFA Volunteer Training May 7
• And More...

Please plan to attend - get involved for positive change with your fellow Democrats.

Your help is needed and appreciated - I look forward to seeing you!

Sincerely,

Glen Scheele
Chair, Union County Democrats

Do you ever feel frustrated with politics as usual?  Does it seem to you that the media pundits and Washington DC elites have lost touch with the concerns of everyday people?  Do you sometimes think that the voices of common folks are drowned out by the big money of special interests?

If so, you have an opportunity to do something about it!  The Democratic Party of Oregon and Organizing for America are teaming up to host an intensive half-day training on community organizing and leadership skills.  The training will be held on Saturday, May 7, from 10 am to 3 pm in Hoke Hall Room 301 at Eastern Oregon University.

The training will cover everything you need to become an effective community leader, volunteer, and grassroots activist.  The purpose is to empower people to organize in their own communities to better their lives and the lives of those around them.  Topics include principles of organizing, building effective teams, tapping into social networks, recruiting and retaining active volunteers, crafting effective messages, and reaching out to other constituencies.

Better still, the training is FREE!  But space is limited and going fast.  So please register now at http://bit.ly/EasternOregonTraining. 

For more information, please call Nikki Javurek at 503.546.0413.  Or e-mail Glen Scheele at chair@union.oregondemocrats.org.

The Affordable Care Act signed into law last year by President Obama has already delivered significant benefits.  You can no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions, it bans the practice of rescission (dropping your coverage when you get sick), and it eliminates lifetime caps.  These benefits are just a few that are already in force... more will come into play as additional facets of the law are phased in.

But the ACA left in place the fundamental dynamic of a health care system delivered through private insurance plans.  We know that private insurance companies absorb one out of every three dollars spent on health care in the US.  So 30% of our health care spending goes to private insurers for overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing... not to mention huge profits and exorbitant executive pay. 

By moving to single payer, those dollars can be recaptured to deliver quality health care for everyone.  When the patchwork of policies and insurers is replaced, massive efficiencies can be gained.  The bargaining power gained by such consolidation can bring real savings in health care delivery.

Oregon Rural Action and Physicians for a National Health Care Program are sponsoring a free presentation and discussion on the benefits of single payer.  Join the traveling Mad As Doctors on Tuesday, April 26th from 7 to 8:30 pm in the Mount Emily Room at the Grande Ronde Hospital at 900 Sunset Drive. 

For more information contact Bill Whitaker, bill@oregonrural.org, 541-805-5681.  Or visit the PNHP website at www.pnhp.org.

Spring has been wet and cold, but the trees are beginning to bud here in Cove.  Soon the cherry orchards will be in bloom.  Before long we'll see beekeepers trucking in their hives to insure the trees are pollinated and later bear fruit.

Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables.  It is an industry that is responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelons, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables.

But honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives.  Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon is a grave threat to our food supply and to our agricultural livelihood in Union County.