A July 26th letter to the editor went too far for me. On the first reading, the words appeared to draw a partisan circle, and in that circle the author placed two policies that are important to him. Then, using a series of cartoonish country expressions, it seemed as if he was disparaging everyone outside of his circle.

Now, I don’t think the author meant it that way. It was only my first reading. The second time I picked up more nuance, including these suggestions: (1) Please don’t disagree with a proposal until you understand the evidence. (2) Let’s not make everything about “us” and “them.” Many would agree with those points, if I interpreted them correctly.

However, for those who didn’t read this particular polemic twice, and found themselves acid-washed by its sarcasm, I would offer two comments in response.

First, most people in our community are good, smart, hard-working, and welcoming. I come from a family of Montana homesteaders, so I cringe at the outlandish rural stereotypes in the July 26th letter. They are just not OK. They don’t apply to our community. They make people feel “less than” and “othered.” They dig deeper partisan trenches in a time that we need to be making peace.

Second, the train horn quiet zone is non-partisan. It is not in anyone’s partisan circle. But even if it was, I think it would be labeled conservative, not liberal. Train horns are imposed by the federal government, yet they have been proven harmful and unnecessary. Therefore, the quiet zone process allows Baker City to take local control over an overreaching federal mandate. That is why hundreds of towns have established quiet zones across the country, including our neighbors in La Grande. (By the way, if you like the horns, that’s OK. You will still hear them in the distance and even in town when the train engineer thinks they are necessary.)

Exercising our local rights, we will exceed the safety standards for the quiet zone; we will make our children safer at South Baker School by reducing the painful 110-decibel horns in the playground; and we will improve the quality of life for everyone who lives, works or plays in earshot of the train horns. The Baker City Council decided to pursue the quiet zone in 2019, and twice in 2022. Over 50 businesses and over 400 residents signed a letter of support. Citizens and schools have raised $70,000 for the project, and we will keep at it until the project is fully funded. This summer, City staff are completing steps toward the final notice of intent and formal application. We are all making strong progress.

Baker City is a great community full of good and smart people, and the train horn quiet zone is a good and smart project. We can do this together, so let’s finish what we started.

Peter Fargo

Baker City