The Blue Mountain Translator District sells a product that’s easy to steal.

It’s invisible, is the main issue.

And unlike other TV signals, the district’s aren’t carried by coaxial cable, nor do they require a satellite dish and receiver. All you need is a rooftop antenna.

Trouble is, some people who are using the district’s product don’t get a bill, and so they might not know they’re supposed to pay for the signals they’re using.

But if they don’t start paying, as Oregon law requires, then the district, which supplies network TV signals to about 3,100 homes in Baker and Union counties, might cease to exist.

The Blue Mountain Translator District (BMTD) was started in the 1970s and has catered mainly to people who live outside cities and don’t have access to cable TV.

But with the proliferation of streaming services such as Netflix, more residents, both inside and outside cities, are foregoing both cable and satellite TV.

Yet most of these people can still pull in network stations by way of a rooftop antenna.

In most cases those signals are beamed out through translators that the BMTD maintains. The district supplies these networks: ABC, CBS, NBC (Portland), Fox, NW32, NBC (Boise), NWCN, THIS, PDX and OPB.

As with all maintenance, that costs money.

Yet BMTD’s annual revenue has plummeted from about $150,000 per year 15 years ago, to about $60,000 in the past year.

That’s obviously not sustainable.

BMTD sends a notice to rural residents each year reminding them to pay the $100 annual fee if they use the district’s signals.

The district doesn’t send a notice to residents in Baker City, but they are still legally liable to pay the fee if they use an antenna to access BMTD signals.

This is a simple matter. BMTD supplies a product. If you use it, please send the district a $100 check each year. The district’s address is P.O. Box 901, La Grande, OR 97850. You can learn more about the district at www.bmtd.org, or by calling 541-963-0196 or 541-406-4900.