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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Lyme Warriors Fight Back ... Mail Tribune 100, Jan. 10, 1916 ... Occupiers at Oregon wildlife refuge turn away armed group ... Lyme Warriors Fight Back ... Mail Tribune 100, Jan. 10, 1916 ... Occupiers at Oregon wildlife refuge turn away armed group ... FROM THE COUNCIL From the Council: Opportunity knocks for Medford on November ballot By Clay Bearnson MailTribune.com By Clay Bearnson Posted Jan. 10, 2016 @ 12:01 am By Clay Bearnson Posted Jan. 10, 2016 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Finally, the Medford City Council gets a little reprieve from discussing marijuana. Am I happy with the recent decision to pitch retail sales to the November ballot? Not really. Mainly because voting on something that has already been approved by voters seems a little redundant. I also feel that it is kind of counterproductive to not allow the one type of licensee that can contribute dollars to our community through a 3 percent retail sales tax. So long as the council doesn't change its tune between now and the deadline for ballot submissions, the citizens of Medford are going to be presented with two separate, although related, ballot measures. One will ask whether to allow recreational retail sales in the city limits, and the other will ask if we should impose a 3 percent tax on those sales. Where that tax revenue goes, in my opinion, is a golden opportunity that awaits our community. For as long as I can remember, politicians have run on the promise of investing in our youth and restoring adequate funding to our schools. Unfortunately, for as long as I can remember, school budgets have consistently been chiseled down. So, what I propose to the council and the citizens of Medford is to permit recreational sales, impose the 3 percent tax, and invest it in our youth, whether it be used to financially assist children of low and moderate income families with the costs of participating in extracurricular activities, offering college scholarships, matching federal dollars to build another aquatics facility or skate park, providing resources to help mitigate our teen homeless population, or developing the Wesley Howard property into a place for youthful activities. Because my father was a truck driver and my mother was a waitress for the majority of my childhood, I quickly learned about socioeconomic barriers that inhibited participation. I was recently reminded of those barriers when my girlfriend's daughter told us that she wanted to be a cheerleader. Sticker shock would be the term I'd use to describe that moment. Fortunately, after weighing her desire to cheer and what we would be sacrificing to facilitate it, she opted not to pursue cheerleading. Even more fortunate, she also learned about socioeconomic barriers at a young age. Not only did it sadden me to break the news to her, but it also struck a nerve and reminded me of the countless times that I experienced those feelings of helplessness and inferiority because of my family's socioeconomic status. No child should have to experience those feelings of inequality. If the city can offer grants or subsidies to help kids participate in extracurricular activities with their more affluent peers, then it's a win-win-win situation. The child wins because endless opportunities arise, and that divisive wedge between the chjld and his or her peers is removed. The peers win because their team or squad is stronger because of the talent that this child contributes to the whole. The community wins because the children grow up into adults that are capable of seeing through the perpetual struggle between the haves and have-nots. What about public safety? Thanks for asking. Children with an education that occupies their time with constructive activities are statistically less like to engage in criminal behavior. I find it disgraceful that in a city of nearly 78,000 people we have only one public swimming pool. In fact, the failure of the pool levy is what persuaded me to get involved with local politics. To me, it seems more than obvious that if a child is spending his/her summer afternoons swimming in a public pool, that is less time for them to be tempted to vandalize, steal people's personal property, or turn to drug and alcohol use. In my opinion, this is an opportune chance for us, as a community, to help those less fortunate. Whether people have a favorable opinion about marijuana should not impede their inherent duty to be their brother's keeper. People who choose not to consume alcohol seem to be OK with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the Oregon general fund. Why not support a revenue stream that is derived from the sale of a substance that will, in time, be proven to be more innocuous than alcohol? This is a chance for opponents of marijuana to turn those sour lemons into lemonade. Lemonade that could make a lot of tax revenue that could enrich the city of Medford. Clay Bearnson is a member of the Medford City Council. The views expressed in this piece are the councilor’s and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of the City Council. By Clay Bearnson MailTribune.com By Clay Bearnson Posted Jan. 10, 2016 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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