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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2020)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK Attitude matters during an unusual holiday season A nyone who has had chil- dren, younger siblings or nieces and nephews has probably witnessed some variation of this scene before: A toddler tears the wrapping paper off a Christmas present and, with lots of help from his or her parents, removes a toy from its box. The toy is colorful and shiny. It lights up, or per- Jade haps makes sounds, and McDowell NEWS EDITOR is designed to be both educational and fun. The child’s parents lovingly selected it and purchased it using their hard- earned money. The toddler throws the toy on the ground without a second glance and spends the next 20 minutes hap- pily playing with the cardboard box instead. It’s unfortunate that as we get older, many of us become less con- tent with the simple things in life. “The holidays” as we like to call them — Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s and the rest — can easily end up add- ing stress to our lives as we become convinced that the holiday will be ruined if we don’t make elaborate feasts and check all 17 family tradi- tions off the list. If ever there was a time to let go of that idea, it’s this year. I’m not saying don’t have any hol- iday traditions, but I am advocating for using the Marie Kondo method of asking, “Does this spark joy?” If you’re sewing new matching red Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald A phone records the city of Hermiston’s livestreamed Christmas tree lighting event in downtown Hermiston on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. and green pajama pants for everyone in the family to wear on Christmas Eve because you love doing it, great. If you’re stressing out over when you’re going to fi nd time to make yourself crank them out because “this is what we’ve always done,” stop. Give yourself permission to say, “That was a fun tradition while it lasted, but we can still enjoy time our together as a family even if our paja- mas don’t match.” Most of my family’s holiday tra- ditions were pretty standard when I was growing up, but I’m pretty sure we are the only family in the world that had a tradition of eating at Burger King on Christmas Eve every year. It started as a simple matter of practicality. We always decorated and delivered Christmas cookies to friends on Christmas Eve and after all the baking and packaging and cleaning up my parents didn’t have the energy to cook a meal when we got back home. When we were very young, Burger King was the only restaurant open on Christmas Eve in our small Iowa town. After we had eaten there for a few years in a row, however, it was “tra- COLUMN dition.” Once we moved to a big- ger town and more restaurants were open on Christmas Eve, my parents tried to persuade us to eat somewhere else. But, my siblings and I insisted, it was tradition. Finally, one year, the last of us gave in, and we ate at Den- ny’s that year instead. It turned out that you could still enjoy that magical sense of anticipation about the pres- ents under the tree without eating a Whopper. This year, a lot of community hol- iday traditions in Hermiston look dif- ferent, and I’m sure pandemic restric- tions or self-imposed caution are also requiring adjustments to previous family traditions. Some families are also entering this season with signifi - cantly less money and more stressors than they are used to. So here’s the deal: We can be sour and bitter about it, complain- ing loudly that the pandemic has “ruined” our favorite holidays and setting a negative tone for those around us, including the children who will take their cues from the adults in their lives. Or we can focus on the things that are most important to us and show some creativity in fi nding ways to put those things at the forefront. Like a toddler laughing over a card- board box, sometimes the best mem- ories come from letting go of what an experience “should” be and fi nding joy in the moment. CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES Do you have adequate cash reserves? I ’m sure many have heard the phrase “Cash is King.” Having adequate sav- ings not only protects a busi- ness from unexpected crises like we have been experiencing for the past several months, but can reduce an everyday emer- gency to an easily solvable problem or mere inconvenience. While the COVID-19 pan- demic has neg- atively affected many busi- nesses, this has not been the Greg case for every Smith owner. Some of those we have surveyed report that sales are similar to last year or even record-break- ing sales, and a percentage of those are considering expand- ing their operations. There are several reasons for this. Perhaps they were able to quickly pivot, as in the case of some restaurants that rapidly expanded their takeout capabilities. Other types of businesses shifted to online platforms to maintain or increase sales. Some, like grocery stores, greenhouses, and hardware stores found themselves in the right business at the right time, benefi tting from high demand for their goods and services despite the shutdown. Cer- tainly, the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disas- ter Loan programs provided an important lifeline, as well. In most cases, the num- ber one reason businesses are weathering and even thriving during this storm is because they saved enough money to pay three to six months of their expenses even though sales dwindled. It is more important than ever that cash reserves be established and replenished. To ensure adequate savings, owners should consider it a fi xed expense. The adage “Pay Yourself First” comes into play. Money should be placed in a sepa- rate account and a guide estab- lished to address what consti- tutes an emergency specifying when those funds are to be uti- lized. Savings should always be replenished as quickly as possible to ensure ade- quate cash is available to meet expenses. Owners shouldn’t be dis- couraged when they realize the large sum of money needed to have adequate savings. Even a few hundred dollars saved monthly can add up in a year, and any amount saved is better than none. Those businesses that have seen record sales need to be cautious, because as the econ- omy returns to “normal,” sales may decrease to pre-COVID levels. Owners should cur- tail spending, build up their reserves, and revisit their busi- ness plans monitoring cash fl ow and sales projections. Finally, entrepreneurs con- sidering starting a business should refl ect on the types of businesses and industries that have been successful and the likely reasons they are rebounding during this crisis. Start-ups need to make cer- tain they are not undercapi- talized, and might consider waiting for the economy to sta- bilize prior to launching their business. ——— Greg Smith is the execu- tive advisor for the Umatilla Electric Cooperative Business Resource Center in Hermis- ton, which offers free, confi den- tial advising to area business owners. U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP STATE REP. GREG SMITH, DISTRICT 57 The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 whitehouse.gov/contact/ 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Email: Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us ——— U.S. SENATORS RON WYDEN 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691 • JEFF MERKLEY 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129 ——— VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 48 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536 Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531 Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St. • visit us online at: hermistonherald.com The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457. Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Email: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us ——— GOV. KATE BROWN 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 Email: www.oregon.gov/gov/ Pages/ share-your-opinion.aspx U.S. REPRESENTATIVE GREG WALDEN 185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande offi ce: 541-624-2400 CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint ——— STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL, DISTRICT 29 It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in the online versions of our stories. Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report errors. SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters should be kept to 250 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. ——— MAYOR DAVID DROTZMANN 180 NE Second St. Hermiston, OR 97838 ddrotzmann@hermiston.or.us Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be published. OBITUARY POLICY The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be published at no charge. These include information about services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@ hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, x221.