CHEERS! The latest city treasury report is available for view again. [It’s kinda like they put that thing out every month or somethin’]
WHOOPIE for the Corvallis School District! One of the changes they have instituted in our schools is gender inclusive [aka gender neutral] restrooms. We love this idea so very very very much! Let kids have some privacy! Let kids be whoever they are without prejudice and fear! Let kids just f***ing be themselves! Yay! And for those out there who are freaking out about boys and girls sharing the same toilet, might we remind you that this happens every single live long day in our homes. [yep, mom and dad and all the kids using one toilet is sort of the basis of nuclear family life]
JEERS for the Oregon Ethics Committee that chose to not hold former Oregon State University president F. King Alexander culpable for ethics violations. Alexander used OSU attorney Rebecca Gose as his first law consultant when it came out that he would be censured in a report that outed him for sweeping Louisiana State University’s rape allegations under the rug when he was prez there. Can’t we all agree that these allegations should have never involved OSU? That those 2,000+ miles between here and there should have been long enough to have allowed those looking for a new president to have uncovered the fact that Alexander was being spoken of in that matter? Basically, we still have questions.
CHEERS for booster shots. Whether they come in the acronym form of DPT or MMR or COVID, we love those guys. They keep us safe from rusty nails. They protect us from life threatening little red bumps filled with pus. And now they make us safer from being hospital-level sick with SARS-CoV-2 in the several variant forms we know. [Note: we mean COVID-19 here, but our editor gets all pedantic at times – we humor her]
SIGHS over the latest thing we’ve lost to this rassin’ frassin’ pandemic – very late-night bus service. With COVID bounding all over the place causing problems, we have a shortage in commercial drivers. That means we have lost two more bus drivers, and the local bus schedule will suffer for it. No more service after 11:45 p.m. YET if you know someone with a Commercial Drivers License and a nice temperament, let them know that MTR Western [the company who provides our bus drivers] is hiring… please.
FURROWS BROWS over the one-half-of-one-percent of Oregon state employees who chose to not get vaccinated and are now on administrative leave. Our brows are furrowed NOT because we worry that these 203 people will make everyone else sick, and NOT because they are choosing to put their families and co-workers at risk, but BECAUSE they are still being paid. They were given ample time to find a legitimate excuse to not be vaccinated or to, more reasonably, be vaccinated. Most worrisome is that 90 of those workers are part of the Department of Corrections [that means 40% of the total number on leave, or if you’d rather 2% of that department’s workforce]. Almost equally worrisome is that 14 of those people are part of the Department of Human Services. [we sighed above… we’re sighing again…]
ADDITIONAL FURROWED BROWS over Governor Kate Brown’s list of appointed people for state boards and commissions. Not because of anyone on the list, we’re sure they’re all fine and dandy types of people – we’d probably enjoy a cup of tea with them. But why, oh why, are there no people from Benton County on that list? [There are three from Linn!] We’re feeling a wee bit left out over here.
BIG LOUD JUICY WET JEERS for Ammon Bundy and his far-right group. They took over a wildlife refuge in Oregon in 2016 – effectively ruining our day after New Year’s Day hangovers by making them last until February 11, as well as angering Oregon Gem, writer Ursula LeGuin [may she rest in peace]. Bundy has been causing problems throughout the PNW since, and we’ve pretty much had enough of the guy. NOW Bundy’s group has been growing in spite of Facebook removing their posts and Idaho banning him from the Capitol – in fact, they are found in 38 of these United States, and have joined forces with a slew of racist, unvaccinated groups like the Proud Boys and the Tea Party.
We love Oregon and the diversity of opinions and lifestyles incorporated into our world here. We embrace the fact that some Oregonians are more conservative than us, and some are more liberal. We appreciate that we can still listen calmly to the interactions between these groups. These facts make our state and especially our city special. People who feel they deserve the right to take over buildings and hurt others in order to be the loudest at the table are not appreciated. Step up and speak out on behalf of a corner of the country that wants to remain civil and open minded. Tell Bundy to take himself elsewhere.
Do you have a story for The Advocate? Email editor@corvallisadvocate.com