Opinion
4A
Thursday, May 7, 2020
The Observer
OUR VIEW
Underlying
conditions make
COVID-19 worse
E
veryone who has died in Oregon from
COVID-19 has had an underlying med-
ical condition. So, it was vital that the
Oregon Health Authority release the data showing
what those conditions have been.
After the EO Media Group — the company
that owns The Observer — published an editorial
online last week calling on the OHA to do so, it
told us it was planning to do so.
The OHA made the data public Tuesday.
Cardiovascular disease was the cause associ-
ated the most — in nearly 59% of the deaths. That
was followed by neurological conditions with
49%, a category that includes cancer and other
conditions with 42%, and diabetes at 33%. There
are other categories, including being a former
smoker at nearly 25%. The numbers add up to
more than 100% because some people have more
than one underlying condition.
The data is based on an analysis of 73 of
the more than 100 people who have died from
COVID-19 in Oregon. It is consistent with the
warnings from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention about who is at higher risk of the
disease. You can see the full chart on the OHA
website.
Most people do not experience severe symp-
toms if they contract COVID-19. It’s not by
any means pleasant, but it’s primarily fever and
cough. Some people don’t have any symptoms. If
an infected person is older or has an underlying
medical condition, though, it can make it harder
for their bodies to combat the infection. The dis-
ease can trigger the immune system to over-
react, leading to devastation to the lungs and other
organs.
The message to take away is this: The dis-
ease does hit people harder who are older. But
anyone who has an underlying medical condition
is at more serious risk. So, if you have a family
member or a friend in those categories, please do
what you can to help them stay healthy.
Remember, it has killed children in the United
States, too. Keep them safe. Follow the precau-
tions you know by heart by now. Government offi-
cials in Oregon are planning cautiously to gradu-
ally reopen the state. It’s up to us to work together
to ensure that succeeds and people stay healthy.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Donald Trump:
The White House, 1600 Penn-
sylvania Ave., Washington, 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. Salm-
on 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 Washing-
ton Ave., La Grande, OR 97850;
541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-
2402; walden.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown: 254 State Capitol, Sa-
lem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111;
www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasur-
er Tobias Read: oregon.
treasurer@ost.state.or.us;
350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100,
Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-
378-4000.
Oregon Attorney Gen-
eral 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.oregonlegislature.gov/
hansell. Email: sen.billhan-
sell@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.oregon-
legislature.gov/barreto. Email:
rep.gregbarreto@oregonlegis-
lature.gov.
OTHER VIEWS
Experience with homeschooling reveals challenges
D
ear Ms. Beardsley,
by some language in the book, but my
I hope you’re doing well. I
parents helped me understand that its
miss seeing you and my class- painful words and thoughts remind
mates at school every day, but homes- us of what people in our country did
chooling is working out well for me.
wrong in the past, so we can better
Mommy and Daddy are doing the
focus on how to do things right, now
best they can to make sure my sib-
and in the future.
lings and I con-
That makes
tinue to learn
perfect
sense to
TOM PURCELL
during the
me. So I was sur-
SYNDICATED
prised to learn
covid-19 pan-
COLUMNIST
demic. They make
that some schools
sure we stick to
have banned the
a schedule like the one our school
book because it might cause some dis-
comfort. But isn’t that the point? Isn’t
follows.
literature supposed to open our eyes
But they aren’t getting along as
and make us think?
well as they usually do. Every night,
My siblings and I are doing really
they hit the box wine harder than they
well at our math, science and English
ever did before.
I suppose that’s because Mommy is lessons. But Mommy and Daddy say
a lawyer and, since her work has been that the thing we most need to learn is
the ability to think for ourselves. They
impacted by the virus, she’s home a
want us to use reason – not emotion
lot. Daddy has a construction com-
pany but his projects are on hold, so
– to make sound decisions. They call
he’s home a lot, too.
this “critical thinking.” They worry
We’ve never spent so much time
that too few people are thinking
in the house together, and that has its
things through these days and that
challenges.
that is dangerous for our country.
Anyhow, though they aren’t pro-
So I was disappointed to learn that
fessional teachers like you, they’re
a Harvard law professor argues that
helping me learn interesting things I
homeschooling should be banned.
never thought about before.
Professor Elizabeth Bartholet said in
Besides my regular lessons, they
Harvard Magazine that it’s authori-
tarian – that it allows powerful par-
thought I should read classic liter-
ature. The first book they assigned
ents to lord over their powerless
is “The Adventures of Huckleberry
children. She said parents who home-
school their children are overwhelm-
Finn” by Mark Twain. I was shocked
ingly Christian and that some are
“extreme religious ideologues” who
question science and promote female
subservience and white supremacy.
She said that children should “grow
up exposed to…democratic values,
ideas about nondiscrimination and tol-
erance of other people’s viewpoints.”
Well, I agree with her second point,
but her first point is a reach. It appears
she is sharing an emotional reaction to
her stereotypical perception of parents
who homeschool, rather than applying
critical thinking.
The fact is about 4% of U.S. chil-
dren are homeschooled. Several
studies show they score significantly
better on standardized tests than their
public-school peers – regardless of
race or economic background. The
fact is that the majority of homes-
chooled kids go on to flourish in their
lives.
Mommy and Daddy have their
flaws, but they sure are helping me
learn how to reason and think. In fact,
we are all thinking it is best that they
continue homeschooling my siblings
and me after the pandemic ends.
I’ll be sure to visit you often if my
schooling continues at home. I look
forward to seeing you soon.
About the Author
Tom Purcell is a Pittsburgh Tri-
bune-Review humor columnist and is
nationally syndicated exclusively by
Cagle Cartoons Inc.
Your views
No one should be afraid
to report hate crimes
Response to the Q&A with sheriff
candidates:
Why would Boyd Rasmussen say
he will especially defend the First
Amendment? Sadly, this is now code
to permit supremacist groups freedom
to violate the rights of others.
We have laws prohibiting verbal
harassment and intimidation of people
with less power than you. Let’s see
our sheriff uphold those laws. No one
should be afraid to report hate crimes.
Yet I’m sure they are afraid.
Anyone who wished was able to
criticize our governor and post yard
signs. This is what the First Amend-
ment protects. It is not at risk.
Mary Cooke
Cove
District Attorney’s move
politicizes court system
I read Sabrina Thompson’s
recent article in The Observer (“DA
moves to sideline judge,” April
25) with shock and dismay. In it,
she report’s on Union County Dis-
trict Attorney Kelsie McDaniel’s
effort to sideline Circuit Judge Wes
Williams from court proceedings.
How could this be? What were her
motivations?
Reading over her list of com-
plaints I noted a common concern —
Judge Williams had failed to adhere
to local standards. I was deeply
perplexed.
What were these local stan-
dards? How did they come about?
Who authorized them? Was it the
members of the police force and
the DA herself? As a member of
the community and as a citizen of
La Grande, don’t I have a right to
know?
Community standards are typi-
cally derived from the community in
which they apply. I would argue that
the Union County community voted
for its local legal standards when,
knowing Wes’ background and rep-
utation, they elected him as Union
County judge.
Does the district attorney have
the right to seek the recusal of a duly
elected judge who was elected based
on the standards that he has consis-
tently upheld?
Knowing Wes, and being totally
convinced of his integrity and fair-
ness, I contest that his standards
trump McDaniel’s standards, for
they are the standards outlined in
Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution,
which guarantees fair trials and
procedures.
Let’s not politicize our local court
system. Let’s uphold the rule of law
and the principle that one must be
presumed innocent before proven
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
D. Linda Garcia
La Grande