Opinion
4A
Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020
Other View
The pandemic
has only been
mostly bad
thought trying to write about silver linings during the
COVID-19 pandemic might be akin to searching for
gold in McKay Creek, but if you turn over a couple
rocks you can fi nd them.
For the past several summers our family has been
extremely involved in baseball, and when I say involved,
I mean down
to picking the
stitching on
COREY
the uniforms
NEISTADT
involved. From
PENDLETON CPA
April to August,
our weekends
were fi lled with travel to exciting Northwest destina-
tions like Moses Lake, Medford and the Palm Springs
of Washington, Yakima. The simultaneously good and
bad thing about my son’s baseball team is they are pretty
darn good.
In Little League, we could plan on going to the state
tournament each year. For his Black Sox travel ball
team, it was very likely we would be playing in the
championship game on Sunday nights, which meant a
long trip home in the dark.
This year has been a little different. We haven’t trav-
eled anywhere to play baseball. When Umatilla County
went to Phase 2, we were able to have some Babe Ruth
league games, but the fi nal week was canceled when
Hermiston sent us back to baseline.
I won’t get into the decision to move us to baseline;
while I’m a board-certifi ed Facebook amateur epidemi-
ologist, I just don’t have access to all the data they have
at the state level.
No traveling for baseball this summer meant our
family could go on a real vacation, or as much as the
virus allows. Thankfully, we have an RV, so my wife
and I fi red up the Google machine and planned the
Great America Road Trip to Yellowstone and Grand
Teton national parks.
We took a week and explored both parks with our
bathroom and kitchen tucked safely in behind us. Yel-
lowstone was the most unique landscape I’ve ever wit-
nessed. Around every corner was something amazing to
see. Our fi rst hike was to the Grand Prismatic Springs
Overlook. Armed with bear spray, water, trail mix and
several cameras, we made it to the top. I had seen many
photos, but to see the springs in person was a real treat.
It was probably my favorite area of the park.
Grand Teton was even more beautiful than Yellow-
stone. While I always thought mountain ranges were
formed when God was rolling our planet into a ball and
the mud kind of oozed up between his fi ngers, it turns
out that may not have been how the Tetons were actu-
ally formed. Over millions of years, tectonic plates, the
North American and Pacifi c, crashed into each other,
pushing the Pacifi c Plate over the North American Plate,
and wow, the Pacifi c Plate practically jumped straight
up out of the valley. The Tetons are remarkably steep
and gorgeous. I would dare say they’re among the most
beautiful mountain ranges in the world.
However, it was a bear that made Grand Teton for
me. Completely by accident, we were able to witness
Bear 399 walk out of the trees. She is the most famous
member of Ursus horribilis (which sounds way more
cool than grizzly bear). It wasn’t only her. We were
also able to see her four, yes four, cubs. This bear is 22
years old and has raised 16 cubs. We were very lucky
to see her, as our neighbors at the RV park told us they
were not so lucky. It seems she lived up to that horri-
bilis name and killed an elk just before they arrived at
her little stretch of the Snake River. The rangers said she
would be napping for the next couple days after dining
on her elk.
Pro tip — a pandemic dramatically reduces the
crowds at our national parks. When the shroud of “base-
line” lifts, do all you can to experience the beauty our
forefathers sought to protect for future generations,
safely. Wear your mask, wash your hands and stay 6
feet from people (and a few more than that from bears).
Our cinematography skills don’t do either park justice,
but we posted a few videos showcasing the parks on our
Neistadt Family YouTube channel, and we have a few
more planned.
As I see it, the pandemic has only been mostly bad.
I didn’t even get to K-dramas, home improvement proj-
ects or fi shing. Needless to say, our little family is closer
than ever.
I
About the Author
Corey Neistadt is a certifi ed public accountant at
Newhouse & Neistadt, LLC in Pendleton.
Letters
Grateful for Imbler
community’s genuine
kindness
Last weekend my family was trav-
eling from Baker City to Enterprise
for a junior rodeo that our girls were
entered in. Just as we were rounding
the last corner in Imbler, my husband,
who was pulling an overhead camper
along with our horse trailer, lost the
entire back wheel off the truck. The
girls and I were following behind in
a separate vehicle and a boat — our
own personal parade.
It was almost 8 p.m. and we were
at a loss as to what to do. We were not
there for more than a couple minutes
before the fi rst person stopped to offer
help. Then they just kept coming.
One after the other, what felt like the
whole community of Imbler came by
to offer their help. It was such a heart-
warming experience to see that much
genuine kindness.
J.D. Cant loaded up our horses and
took them to his house. Shortly after
Bryan and Mary Ellen Russell came
and loaded up our camper onto their
truck and moved it out to the Cant
house as well. By the end of the night,
our whole parade was at the Cant
house, staying the night.
We were certain the girls were
Write to us
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going to miss at least the fi rst day of
the rodeo, until J.D. reached out to
family members Chase and Kristi
Williamson, who were also going to
the rodeo. Chase drove from Elgin the
next morning to pick up our horses
and take them to Enterprise for us.
The whole Dalton family wants to
shout out our gratitude to the town of
Imbler, and especially to the Cants,
Williamsons and Russells. You are
good people, and we hope to pay your
kindness forward.
Doug, Jessica, Taylor and
Ashlyn Dalton
Baker City
Community’s efforts can
make in-school education
possible
I appreciate The Observer’s thor-
ough article about what it will take
to get schools open and our children
back into classrooms. If there is any
issue that should get a community to
come together to achieve a goal, get-
ting our kids back into school ought
to be that goal.
I applaud administrators and
teachers for the valiant work they
are doing to try to provide an edu-
cation through virtual learning. By
any assessment, it is not working
very well in terms of student
engagement or achievement, even
for kids in supportive families with
good internet access. I’m not sug-
gesting we give that up if it is all
we have. But I am pessimistic about
throwing more effort at trying to
make virtual learning effective,
especially for our youngest students.
Our effort as a community needs
to be in doing whatever it takes
to keep our COVID-19 rates low
enough that schools can open their
doors. Members of this community:
It is up to you. Wear masks, keep
your distance from others, wash your
hands! Our kids need to be in school,
and it is up to us to make it possible.
Carol Lauritzen
La Grande
Contact your public offi cials
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. Pendle-
ton 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/Athena): Salem offi ce:
900 Court St. NE., S-423, Salem, OR
97301; 503-986-1729. Website: www.
oregonlegislature.gov/ hansell. Email:
sen.billhansell@oregonlegislature.
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.
gregbarreto@oregonlegislature.gov.
State Rep. Greg Smith (57th
District/Heppner): 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@oregon-
legislature.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, 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.