Opinion
4A
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Th e Observer
OUR VIEW
Oregonians can help build on the success of fi ghting COVID-19
O
regon successfully
fl attened the curve
of the spread of
COVID-19. It has one of the
lower transmission rates in the
country. But there was still
a horrible price in lives lost,
lives disrupted, people who
lost jobs and businesses lost.
Oregon must build on the
success and ensure the losses
were not for nothing. Testing
is the key.
We don’t know how preva-
lent COVID-19 is in Oregon.
Most people who get tested
have symptoms. But some
people have it and don’t have
symptoms. And some people
don’t get tested if they do
have symptoms.
To understand the problem,
Oregon needs good data to
make decisions. People and
policymakers can debate the
right way to deal with the
pandemic. But we need good
data.
That’s why the Key to
EO Media Group
Oregon is looking for 100,000 residents to participate in a study to bet-
ter understand the coronavirus and its scope. Participants commit to
submitting confi dential information about any symptoms each day for
a year, including their temperature
Oregon study is so important.
It is looking for 100,000
people who are willing to
submit daily, confi dential
information about their symp-
toms and also be tested for
COVID-19. Positive tests for
COVID-19 would, of course,
be shared with the state’s
public health system. That’s
mandatory in Oregon.
The study is a one-year
commitment, according to the
invitation to participate, and
takes about 10 minutes each
day. Particpants will take their
temperature and answer seven
questions, enter their results
and send them off using a
web-based application, said
Jackilen Shannon, a professor
at the Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University-Portland State
University School of Public
Health who is head of the
OHSU Community Research
offi ce in Bend. Anonymous
results from the study will be
regularly posted on a website
and used to track the disease.
The study is a coopera-
tive effort between Oregon
Health & Science University,
and OHSU-PSU School of
Public Health, working with
the Oregon Health Authority.
Studies like this typically take
a year to plan out. They have
scrambled to get this going in
weeks.
If we’ve done a good job
writing this, you might be
ready to sign up. But you can’t
volunteer. To do this study
right, it must be random-
ized. They sent out letters to
150,000 Oregon addresses,
inviting people to participate.
One might have arrived in
your mailbox. If it’s there, we
hope you participate. Some
2,500 people had agreed
to participate in the Key to
Oregon study as of Thursday.
The testing could func-
tion like an early warning
system, said David Bangs-
berg, the founding dean of the
OHSU-PSU School of Public
Health. It could alert public
health offi cials where they
need to make greater efforts
to control the disease. The
study is also making an extra
effort to ensure it gets data
from all aspects of Oregon’s
population, including among
minorities and people who are
lower on the socio-economic
scale. It will not effectively
capture data among the home-
less or in prisons.
The virus will be with us
until an effective vaccine is
available and deployed. The
Key to Oregon study will help
keep Oregonians safe and
open up the economy as fast
as possible.
gregbarreto@oregonlegislature.gov.
State Rep. Greg Smith (57th
District): Salem offi ce: 900 Court
St. NE., H-482, Salem, OR, 97301;
503-986-1457. Heppner offi ce: P.O. Box
219, Heppner, OR 97836; 541-676-5154;
Website: www.oregonlegislature.
gov/smithg. Email: rep.gregsmith@
oregonlegislature.gov.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative
documents and information are avail-
able online at www.leg.state.or.us.
City of La Grande: Mayor Steve
Clements, City Manager Robert
Strope; P.O. Box 670, La Grande, OR
97850; 541-962-1309; fax 541-963-3333.
Union County Commissioners:
Donna Beverage, Matt Scarfo and Paul
Anderes; 1106 K Ave., La Grande, OR
97850; 541-963-1001; fax 541-963-1079.
Wallowa County Commission-
ers: 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 Al-
lan Duffy, 501 N 11th St., 541-437-1016,
mayor@cityofelginor.org; Mary West,
260 N 5th Ave., 541-805-0443, council-
or3@cityofelginor.org; Kathy Warren,
PO Box 697, 541-786-9611, councilor6@
cityofelginor.org; Risa Hallgarth, PO
Box 525, 541-437-9462, councilor2@
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@cityofel-
ginor.org; Ryan Martin, councilor5@
cityofelginor.org.
La Grande City Council: Mayor
Steve Clements, Gary Lillard, Nicole
Howard, Corrine Dutto, Mary Ann
Miesner, Jim Whitbeck, Justin Rock;
through the city manager’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.
Your views
Buoyed by the
kindness of neighbors
I need to be in Portland for a
medical treatment every 28 days.
When news of the pandemic came
to Oregon and we were advised
to stay home and not travel, I
remained in Portland.
With our wet spring, greenery
has thrived in Union County. This
is a good thing. When I fi nally
traveled back to my farm in Union
on Memorial Day weekend, I
found about three acres of jungle.
Friends and neighbors mobi-
lized a big crew of all ages
arriving with tools and equipment
to cut much of the jungle back and
cut paths so I can maneuver. What
a welcome gift of kindness.
I had been feeling pretty low
but I have been reenergized.
Thank you, neighbors!
Susan Boyd
Union
Apologies for
recent error
In my recent letter to the editor,
published in The Observer’s May
25 edition, I discussed a hearing
that Union County District
Attorney McDaniel claimed took
place on Jan. 1, 2019. I stated:
“McDaniel included a tran-
script to support her claim — but
it was a transcript from a hearing
on Oct. 8, 2019, and of a different
issue.”
That was erroneous.
In reality, the hearing purport-
edly held on Jan. 1, 2019, was one
of 33 referred to in McDaniel’s
legal memorandum for which she
provided no record or transcript to
support her claim.
I apologize for the error.
Anne Morrison
La Grande
Write to us
The Observer welcomes letters to
the editor. Letters are limited to 400
words and must be signed and carry
the author’s address and phone
number (for verifi cation purposes
only). Email your letters to news@
lagrandeobserver.com or mail them
to the address below.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Donald Trump: The
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania 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.
offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce Build-
ing, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.,
20510; 202-224-3753; fax 202-228-
3997. Portland offi ce: One World
Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St.
Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204;
503-326-3386; fax 503-326-2900.
Pendleton offi ce: 310 S.E. Second St.
Suite 105, Pendleton 97801; 541-278-
1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C.
offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510;
202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717. La
Grande offi ce: 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 Dis-
trict): D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn Offi ce
Building, Washington, D.C., 20515,
202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. La
Grande offi ce: 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 State Treasurer Tobias
Read: oregon.treasurer@ost.state.
or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100,
Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen
F. Rosenblum: Justice Building, Sa-
lem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
State Sen. William S. Hansell
(29th District/Pendleton): Salem
offi ce: 900 Court St. NE., S-423, Salem,
OR 97301; 503-986-1729. Website:
www.oregonlegislature.gov/ hansell.
Email: sen.billhansell@oregonlegisla-
ture. gov.
State Rep. Greg Barreto (58th
District/ Cove): Salem offi ce: 900
Court St. NE., H-384, Salem, OR 97301;
503-986-1458. Website: www.oregon-
legislature.gov/barreto. Email: rep.