Small town living is great. Growing up in a population of 200, I enjoyed much freedom to go and come as I pleased. Granted, it was a different time, but we could have it again if all would take precautions.

Support your local sheriff and all who are there to help keep the peace. Avoid large crowds and dangerous neighborhoods. Be aware of your surroundings when entering and exiting your vehicle. The bad people take advantage of the elderly, so check up on those who live alone. Help when you can to support local charities and stores who pay more for transportation of goods.

The payoff? Clean air and water for the most part. Close-knit community connections. Outdoor activities for those who can enjoy them. Kids need exercise.

Help the new administration by reporting crimes and standing with the laws already in place. We can do better than let lawlessness rule our nation. Make America safe again.

Mya Ennis

Mount Vernon

Expected budgetary constraints at the federal level are sure to profoundly affect local budgets. In a nutshell, those generous state and federal grants are sure to evaporate. As debt continues to build and plans in place to borrow more, significant local tax increases can be expected.

In the past, required tax increases have been disguised as “fees” in Pendleton, hence our utility fee, a fee that has doubled since its inception. What new fees are anyone’s guess. With the state’s new recycling mandate, there’s sure to be something there.

Large grants to downtown building owners, purported to be repaid with an increased tax base from improvements, are in fact being repaid with an urban renewal tax added to your property taxes. That debt alone is expected to rise to $15 million.

Another multimillion loan has been approved by the Umatilla County Commissioners for residential expansion street access.

The latest scheme to fund an additional assistant fire chief by extending the repayment for a new ladder truck is sure to increase overall costs. In light of the fire department’s chronic complaint that the funding program for replacing worn out vehicles is sorely inadequate, this makes little sense.

What’s so alarming is that all this accumulating debt is incurring without voter approval. Then there is still that unfunded Oregon Public Employees Retirement System obligation.

Rick Rohde

Pendleton