Opinion
LABEL
4A
Saturday, April 11, 2020
The Observer
MY VOICE
Pandemic, policy
and politics
A
s I was nearing the conclusion of my
first legislative session in May of 2013,
someone asked me what my plans were
for the interim. That caused me to pause. I had
never even thought about it, because in my entire
working life, I had never had an interim. But I
quickly figured out the answer, which was to keep
on serving the citizens of my Senate District, in
any way I could.
Had someone asked me in February 2020,
“What are my plans for a pandemic?” I would
not have had an answer. But I sure do now. So far
in this interim, the COVID-19 pandemic is front
and center in
everything we
BILL HANSELL
legislators are
STATE SENATOR
doing. Most
all of what I
am doing falls into three categories of focus: pan-
demic, policy, and politics.
I have learned more about this pandemic, this
disease, this plague then I ever imagined. But to
formulate good policy you should know what you
are fighting and what you need to fight it.
The last pandemic was the Spanish flu of 1918
over a century ago. The one thing about the
COVID-19 virus, that seems to be universally
agreed upon, is the primary method of spreading
is through breath droplets. Masks and physical
distancing really do work, which I have been
trying to do.
When it comes to policy development and
resource allocation, this is where the bulk of my
time has been being spent. I would never have
guessed that I would be on hours and hours
of daily conference calls. But such is life in a
pandemic.
One of my high priorities and policy focus has
been keeping our rural health care facilities func-
tioning. Decrees from Salem, while probably good
for the most part, have had serious impacts on
rural hospitals and health care. I have made phone
calls, I have worked with my colleagues, I have
both authored and signed on to letters to the gov-
ernor and other officials about the dire straits rural
health care is facing. I believe funding, both state
and federal, is beginning to be available, but it
hasn’t been without its drama.
The politics is the most frustrating. Why can’t
we come together across the aisle to do what is
best for the citizens of Oregon? The COVID-19
virus is not a Republican or Democrat nor does
it pick and choose its victims by party affiliation.
This pandemic has made for strange bedfellows
at times. From my perspective, the Senate Repub-
lican Caucus has been more aligned with Gov.
Kate Brown much of the time than the other cau-
cuses including her own.
But at the end of the day, this pandemic battle
would be a whole lot easier and more effective if
we could leave politics out of the game plan both
on the national and state level. However, until that
time comes, it will be part of what I need to do, to
make sure rural Oregon does not get the short end
of the stick. The stakes are too high.
Our office has been and will continue to help in
any way we can. Please feel free to contact us. if
you have issues with which you need assistance.
The best way, since we are all working from
home, is by email at sen.billhansell@oregonlegis-
lature.gov. We will do all we can to be of help.
In the meantime, stay safe, be smart, and mask
up in public.
About the Author
Bill Hansell is state senator of Oregon District 29
and from Athena. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
he is spending most of his time in his home on Third
Street.
Your views
An Easter prayer
of joy and comfort
As we celebrate Easter, April 12,
we praise our risen savior and give
him all the praise and glory that he
solely deserves for all he has done
and is doing for us. Rest assured, our
loving, gracious, merciful heavenly
father is in charge of all that is going
on now, and he is with us every step
of the way.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path” (Psalms
119:105).
“For God so loved the word, that
he gave his only begotten son, that
whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16).
What an awesome God we serve.
May our loving, gracious, merciful
heavenly father bless each of you this
Easter with his joy, peace and comfort
and keep you in his care. This is my
Easter prayer.
Janice Roberts
La Grande
The pleasure of
anticipation — snail mail
to the rescue
Snail mail to the rescue. We’ve
all seen numerous suggestions on
how to creatively fill time while we
are under what I call house arrest.
Minus the global positioning device
fastened to our ankles. A few years
ago, my adolescent granddaughter
and I decided to reinvent the wheel
with a little handwritten snail mail.
Not typed and printed, not emailed,
not Facebooked, and not tweeted …
whatever that is. I wanted her to feel
the excitement of checking the mail
each day, waiting for a letter from
Grandpa, or a decoder ring, or a Betsy
McCall cut-out doll, or news from the
Buck Rogers fan club. Did I just date
myself?
In this new world of instant grati-
fication, we might be missing out on
something that was ordinary, and spe-
cial: anticipation. During the reinven-
tion, which was intended for Mya, I
found that, unbeknownst to me, I was
running a little short of anticipation
myself. I loved getting those four or
five lines of news with backward S’s,
crossed-out words and a drawing of
me (I think). I found myself walking
a little more briskly to the mailbox
wondering if there might be a letter
from Hermiston, with a smudge, a
handwritten address and a crooked
stamp.
Try it, if you don’t need to be
instantly gratified. These are the good
old days.
Mike Hayden
Cove
Union County can count
on Mike Barry
I was mayor of Joseph from 2009-
2019. During that time I worked
closely with Mike Barry, who was the
go-to person for the Small City Allot-
ment grants that all small cities count
on to help with their street paving
needs. Mike fought for Northeast
Oregon against the other regions to
ensure we got our fair share.
Mike was always aboveboard, and
you could count on him to do what he
said he would do.
I urge everyone to vote for Mike
for Union County Commissioner. He
knows the county and he knows how
to work with Salem.
Dennis Sands
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Bill Miller’s leadership
skills would elevate
quality of UCSO
As a former circuit court judge,
prosecutor and police officer, I sup-
port Bill Miller for sheriff of Union
County.
During my tenure on the bench,
I had the opportunity to work with
Bill in his capacity as a detective with
the sheriff’s office. I found him to be
competent, honest, hardworking and,
most important, fair in his investiga-
tions. When he appeared in court, he
brought those same qualities.
I believe Bill has the leadership
skills to elevate the quality of the ser-
vices provided by the Union County
Sheriff’s Office. I also believe Bill’s
dedication to the job and his sense of
fairness will improve the morale of
the men and women he will lead.
Brian C. Dretke
Union/Wallowa Circuit Court
Judge, retired
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Donald Trump: The White
House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washing-
ton, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1414; fax 202-
456-2461; to send comments, go to www.
whitehouse.gov/contact.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office:
313 Hart Senate Office Building, U.S.
Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-
3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office:
One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon
St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-
326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Pendleton
office: 310 S.E. Second St. Suite 105,
Pendleton 97801; 541-278-1129; merkley.
senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office:
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244;
fax 202-228-2717. La Grande office: 105
Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850;
541-962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.
senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd District):
D.C. office: 2182 Rayburn Office Building,
Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730;
fax 202-225-5774. La Grande office: 1211
Washington Ave., La Grande, OR 97850;
541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.
house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State
Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111;
www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F.
Rosenblum: Justice Building, Salem, OR
97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
State Sen. William S. Hansell (29th
District/Pendleton): Salem office: 900
Court St. NE., S-423, Salem, OR 97301;
503-986-1729. Website: www.oregonlegis-
lature.gov/ hansell. Email: sen.billhansell@
oregonlegislature. gov.
State Rep. Greg Barreto (58th
District/ Cove): Salem office: 900 Court
St. NE., H-384, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-
1458. Website: www.oregonlegislature.gov/
barreto. Email: rep.gregbarreto@oregonleg-
islature.gov.
State Rep. Greg Smith (57th Dis-
trict): Salem office: 900 Court St. NE.,
H-482, Salem, OR, 97301; 503-986-1457.
Heppner office: P.O. Box 219, Heppner,
OR 97836; 541-676-5154; Website: www.
oregonlegislature.gov/smithg. Email: rep.
gregsmith@oregonlegislature.gov.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative docu-
ments and information are available online
at www.leg.state.or.us.
City of La Grande: Mayor Steve Clem-
ents, City Manager Robert Strope; P.O. Box
670, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-1309;
fax 541-963-3333.
Union County Commissioners: Don-
na Beverage, Matt Scarfo and Paul Anderes;
1106 K Ave., La Grande, OR 97850; 541-963-
1001; fax 541-963-1079.
Wallowa County Commissioners:
John Hillock,Todd Nash and Susan Roberts;
101 S. River St., Room 202, Enterprise, OR
97828; 541-426-4543, ext. 11; fax 541-426-
0582.
Elgin City Councilors: Mayor Allan
Duffy, 501 N 11th St., 541-437-1016, mayor@
cityofelginor.org; Mary West, 260 N 5th Ave.,
541-805-0443, councilor3@cityofelginor.
org; Kathy Warren, PO Box 697, 541-786-
9611, councilor6@cityofelginor.org; Risa
Hallgarth, PO Box 525, 541-437-9462, coun-
cilor2@cityofelginor.org; Rocky Burgess,
800 N 14th St., P.O. Box 854, 541-786-2417,
councilor1@cityofelginor.org; David Reed,
1011 Detroit St., PO Box 368; 541-975-3306,
councilor4@cityofelginor.org; Ryan Martin,
councilor5@cityofelginor.org.
La Grande City Council: Mayor Steve
Clements, Gary Lillard, Nicole Howard,
Corrine Dutto, Mary Ann Miesner, Jim Whit-
beck, Justin Rock; through the city manag-
er’s offi ce, 541-962-1309.
City of Cove: Mayor Del Little, 503-508-
6727, 504 Alder St., P.O. Box 8, Cove, OR
97824; City Recorder Donna Lewis, 541-
568-4566.