Opinion
4A
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
From the Editor
We’re rolling
— finally —
at full staff
or the first time in months The Observer’s news-
room is operating with a full staff.
Diligent sports editor Ronald Bond left in
October 2020 to take the helm of one of our sister
papers, the Wallowa County Chieftain. Soon after, we
had Kaleb Lay here and cranking out stories, but he
then departed Feb. 5 for other endeavors. We had other
changes in between those events.
But we hired Alex Wittwer on Feb. 8. His pho-
tography skills
made an imme-
diate improvement
PHIL
WRIGHT
to the look of the
OBSERVER EDITOR
newspaper.
But the rub is,
the EO Media Group, our parent company, hired Alex
as a multimedia regional journalist who would pro-
duce content for all our related publications in Eastern
Oregon. We’ve not been able to move him into that
role because our newsroom was one reporter shy.
That is changing with the arrival of Davis
Carbaugh.
He started working as The Observer’s newest
reporter on Friday, May 7, after driving all the way
from Virginia Beach, Virginia, for what amounts to
his first real newspaper job. Davis has a bachelor of
arts in communication from Virginia Tech, where he
spent the two years before coming here as the sports
editor for the university’s independent, student-run
newspaper, the Collegiate Times.
So he has some sports reporting chops.
I know there are readers looking forward to more
sports coverage, and now we have a reporter with the
ability to deliver that content. You can check out his
coverage of the La Grande-Baker baseball game in
today’s paper. But Carbaugh is not just going to be a
sports reporter. He will cover a variety of topics, from
local governments to summer events and whatever else
we throw his way.
We however are not going back to the days of
lengthy game recaps. We will have some recaps, but
they will be shorter and punchier. Our sports reporting
will continue to focus on features rather than game
play.
Still, we now will have local, fresh content for
sports in the paper and the website, www.lagrandeob-
server.com.
Some of our newsroom members, though, remain
constants.
Lisa Lester Kelly continues to be the newsroom
clerk, a job title that belies all she does — copyediting,
putting in obituaries, handling letters to the editor, pro-
viding content for the paper and GO! Magazine.
And of course the venerable Dick Mason still
cranks out more news stories than just about any
reporter I can think of.
With more than half our newsroom new at this
place (I’m still rather new here), we’re taking steps to
deliver a more consistent news product. To that end,
I’m implementing a fact-checking protocol. You might
think those are given in newsrooms today, but they are
not.
And we now have our first iteration of a style and
format guide for The Observer. We are a member of
The Associated Press, and we follow AP style overall.
But like community newspapers everywhere, we have
a bundle of organizations, local governments, events
and more that we need to be consistent with reporting
on and identifying. Having and adhering to a style
guide is another step to delivering consistency.
That was a major goal of mine when I took this job
about 18 months ago. Consistency, however, is not
something we just obtain. Rather, it’s a goal we work
toward in every edition. With our staff and procedures
now, I’m more confident we can up the quality of what
we provide to you, our readers.
F
Other Views
Senate Bill 499 should become law
EARL BAIN
SB 499 PROPONENT
or over six years of my life, I
was wrongfully incarcerated
in an Oregon prison. I was
convicted in Malheur County of a
crime I did not commit and falsely
labeled as having abused my own
child. I was living a nightmare, but I
couldn’t wake up.
Last year, Gov. Kate Brown
granted me a pardon on the grounds
of my innocence, the first time she
has issued a pardon on that basis. I
no longer carry the labels of “felon”
or “sex offender” but the problems
stemming from my wrongful con-
viction are far from over.
Due to my conviction, I lost the
good career I had in the military and
can’t go back to it. I am a combat
veteran who served my country in
Afghanistan, but that didn’t count for
anything when the state took every-
thing from me and sent me to prison.
Since returning to the commu-
nity, I have spent thousands of dol-
lars on polygraph tests, which my
parole officer repeatedly forced me
to take, assuming I was lying when
I said I was innocent.
The greatest loss, though, was
F
time with my daughters while they
were growing up. During my time
in prison, I was not allowed to see
or talk to them at any time. I wasn’t
even allowed to send them a letter.
Trying to overcome all of this
has been a tremendous struggle for
me and my family. The stigma of
my wrongful conviction is such that
every time I meet someone new, I
have had to worry about what they
are thinking about me. I have had to
try to find words to explain that I’m
not who my conviction said I was.
I’m free now, and my innocence
has been recognized, but I’m still
trying to rebuild my life. I had to
start over when I got out of prison
and the challenges I face have not
come to an end just because I no
longer have the wrongful conviction
on my record.
People like me are just asking for
a fair shot. We lost everything and it
was the criminal justice system that
took it from us. I believe it’s time for
Oregon to recognize exonerees and
address the harm that has been done
to us. I am an innocent man, but
those are just words. How can the
state be allowed to take everything
away from me and shrug its shoul-
ders after I am exonerated?
Fortunately, there’s an oppor-
tunity for Oregon to do the right
thing. A bill currently being consid-
ered by legislators, Senate Bill 499
by Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer,
would provide a fixed amount of
$65,000 in compensation per year of
wrongful incarceration to exonerees
who meet certain criteria, as well as
$25,000 for years spent on parole,
post-prison supervision or the sex
offender registry.
Our neighbors in Idaho passed
similar legislation this year, and
the governor recently signed that
bill into law. If Idaho can do it, so
should Oregon.
Seeing SB 499 become law
would mean more than just finan-
cial compensation that would allow
me to get back on my feet and give
me a chance to support my family
the way I should have been doing all
those years I was locked up.
This bill represents the state
of Oregon admitting they some-
times get it wrong. And for wrong-
fully convicted people like me, that
means more than words can say.
———
Earl Bain was wrongfully con-
victed in Malheur County in 2009
and spent six years in prison. After
the complaining witness in his case
recanted her story, with the help of
the Oregon Innocence Project he
was pardoned on the grounds of
innocence by Gov. Kate Brown in
August 2020.
tently spread weeds.
Now Union County voters have
an opportunity to intervene. Please
vote yes for the five-year weed
control bond. Help stop the alien
invasion.
Ann Brown
Union
a complete article that with paper
in hand we should be able to go out
and check out these trees, and fur-
ther appreciate them.
Teresa Gustafson, I am grateful
for your continuing work, pushing
ahead to plant trees this year. It con-
tinues to amaze me what a differ-
ence trees make, especially this time
of year. La Grande is so beautiful
right now.
Jo Carmichael
La Grande
Letters
Help stop the alien plant invasion
Have you ever stopped to pull
and toss a sticker out of your
socks? Or pulled a burr or stick-
tight out of your dog’s haircoat?
Kicked off your boots, or emp-
tied pant cuffs or pockets into the
wind? Transported livestock? Car-
ried home bedding plants? Hauled
animal feeds? Pulled a trailer out
of a weed patch and headed down
the highway? These are just a few
of the ways you may have inadver-
Trees make La Grande beautiful
I enjoyed The Observer’s front-
page feature article May 1 about the
trees of our community. It was such