Opinion
A4
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
OUR VIEW
Council makes
right decision
on censure
here is little doubt sitting on a local elected
board can be a hard job. Hometown pol-
iticians do not get paid much and they
receive, at times, plenty of criticism.
Sometimes, even, basic decorum can fade as
appears to have been the case in Joseph. Recently
the Joseph City Council removed city councilor
Kathy Bingham from offi ce as mayor pro-tem,
pulled her committee assignments and forbid her
to interact with city employees as part of a move
to censure her.
The censure has its roots in several diff erent
areas, including fi ve letters of complaint asserting
Bingham acted inappropriately in her role as a
city councilor.
One complaint the council considered the most
serious was a claim from a local businessman,
Gary Bethscheider, that Bingham accused him
of “fl ipping her off ” during a February council
meeting. Other claims against Bingham revolved
around alleged harassment of city employees and
violations of executive session privacy.
Finally, Bingham did not act appropriately
under council rules.
As far as the censure goes, the council did the
right thing. Just the violation of council rules
should be enough to deliver some type of rebuke
from the rest of the sitting members of the elected
board.
One of the inherent strengths of our political
system is ordinary Americans can be elected to
positions, such as a city council slot. One of its
weakness is that these people are — obviously —
not professional politicians.
That means democracy is almost always
messy, as was the case in Joseph. Whether local
politicians like it or not, when they are elected
they must adhere to a certain kind of acceptable
behavior.
Another problem rural politicians often run up
against is the one of transparency. The challenges
the Joseph City Council faced, and how they dealt
with them, were and are public record. The voters
have a right to review every decision made by
any elected board anywhere in the United States
at any time.
The Joseph City Council appears to have made
the right decision. Now their task will be to move
forward and leave behind the obvious dysfunction
of the past.
We ask a lot of our local politicians, that is
true. But they freely sought their offi ce. Once
they are elected, they have a responsibility to act
appropriately.
T
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Looking forward to bett er days ahead
JEREMY
DAVIS
OTHER VIEWS
ack in March of 2020,
the best defense against
COVID-19 was to limit
exposure. There was no offi cial
cure and no eff ective treatment.
Less than 18 months later, we
have a variety of coronavirus
treatment options and new vac-
cines. We are experiencing a
downward trend in the numbers of
COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations
and deaths.
The best news may be that as
of June 30, most of Oregon was
able to fully open. Health care,
however, is one of the indus-
tries excluded from the lifting of
restrictions.
We at Grande Ronde Hospital
ask for your patience as we comply
for your protection and that of our
workforce.
Approximately 36% of Union
County residents are now vacci-
nated with many more in prog-
ress. We understand there are con-
cerns about the new vaccines. We
encourage you to discuss concerns
with your provider. Your provider
knows your history and health
issues and will best understand
B
and respect your concerns about
COVID-19 vaccines and treatment
options.
Unfortunately, the mental, phys-
ical, and fi nancial fallout from the
pandemic is still impacting our
nation’s eff orts to move forward.
One example is in the health
care industry, as “COVID fatigue”
is trending as a reason some health
care workers, nursing staff in par-
ticular, are opting for something
other than hands-on patient care.
We saw this trend coming and
have proactively worked to ensure
we provide the best care for our
patients.
Of bigger concern is the
national trend of pandemic-de-
layed routine health maintenance
— the best way to stay physically
healthy to fi ght viruses or diseases.
Sadly, health professionals
across the nation are seeing
patients put off regular health
maintenance appointments, diag-
nostic testing and screenings, only
to fi nd they now may need surgery
or hospitalization. Delayed care
costs you money and impairs your
health.
Please be vigilant about your
own self-care and contact your
provider with concerns. If you
are a GRH clinic patient and have
MyChart, you can securely mes-
sage your GRH provider with
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. SENATORS
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
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questions or request an appoint-
ment to discuss them.
We are here to care for you. For
a year and a half, our employees
have navigated the changes to pro-
viding care, protecting patients
and serving our community
under often contradictory and
ever-changing guidelines and
regulations.
Our frontline and support staff
have weathered concerns and
complaints while continuing to
show up each day with a smile.
Our patient care staff has cried
at the bedside of COVID patients
who did not get to go home, and
cheered enthusiastically for those
who did.
Our vision statement reads,
“Quality health care is our mis-
sion. Patients are our passion.”
We did not come up with that
statement in the board room. We
did not hire a public relations fi rm
to craft it. We asked our employees
what they thought.
We do not think of ourselves as
an institution. We are your com-
munity hospital. We’re your neigh-
bors and friends. And we are
moving on to better days ahead
with you — side by side.
———
Jeremy P. Davis is the president
and CEO of Grande Ronde Hospital,
La Grande.
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