By NewsRegister.com
Cynics have described the editorialist’s mission as rushing in after the battle to stab the wounded.
It may sometimes seem so. But not this week, not with this editorial.
Our mission here is to commend the combatants in Yamhill County’s Riverbend Landfill expansion battle for a fight well and bravely fought, with honor and wisdom — and to hope for more of the same when the hostilities are renewed, as they inevitably will be after the current truce is lifted.
Commissioner Mary Stern did the right thing when she recused herself due to her husband’s high-level post with Western Oregon Waste. She was morally and ethically bound to step aside, even though the law would have allowed her to continue.
It must have been difficult for her to leave such an important decision to a pair of fellow commissioners with whom she has so often been at political odds. However, they rewarded her faith with a wise and well-reasoned interim decision that puts community interests first.
Commissioners Leslie Lewis and Kathy George did the right thing when they refused to be stampeded into an immediate decision on a matter of such consequence, opting instead to step back and commission a professional study by a neutral outsider.
This fight has been marked more than most with lengthy recitations of “facts” that don’t come remotely close to matching up. It has left community and commissioners alike in a quandary.
The commissioners’ parry to this thrust, which we urged editorially prior to the climactic hearing, was to see what can be done to rectify the discrepancies. We commend them for embracing it.
Opponents did the right thing when they didn’t stop at terming landfill expansion the wrong answer but went on to accept the challenge of evaluating potential alternatives.
Credit is due opposition leaders Ramsey McPhillips, Kris Bledsoe and Susan Watkins, and allies like the Bumper Fuel Group, Yamhill County Soil & Water Conservation District, Yamhill County Farm Bureau, Willamette Valley Wineries Association and Waste Not, for working toward a constructive community solution.
Proponents did the right thing when they displayed flexibility in turn, instead of simply digging in.
Riverbend Landfill and parent Waste Management Inc., ably represented locally by George Duvendack, first cut the proposed height from 260 feet to 200, then to the existing 135. They pressed ahead with plans to make a $10 million investment in a methanol-fired power plant capable of supplying about one-quarter of McMinnville homes. And they offered to re-negotiate a long-term disposal contract whose terms are widely viewed as unfavorable to the county.
Now, we need an outside consultant to do the right thing and provide the two commissioners remaining in the fray with the independent information they need for an informed decision.
The stakes run high and the issues run deep, but the thoughtful tacks taken by the protagonists to date leaves us filled with hope. We’re confident the county can forge an equitable and workable long-term solution in the best interest of the community.
