Opinion
A4
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
OUR VIEW
Something
at OHA not
adding up
W
hen you read the details of Josh Bar-
nett’s story on A1 about trying to
right the record on his mother’s
apparent COVID-19-related death, something
doesn’t add up.
But not from him — from the Oregon Health
Authority.
As far as we (and he) can tell, his mother, The-
resa Malec, who died in mid-December, is the
woman listed by the OHA as the 14th COVID-19-
related death in Wallowa County.
His family is the fi rst that we are aware of in
the county to refute COVID-19 having a role in a
loved one’s death. The death certifi cate, and Bar-
nett, both state the cause of Malec’s death was
liver cancer.
Barnett off ered to share the certifi cate with
the Chieftain. Following an interview, he gave us
permission to publish the cause of death informa-
tion and that portion of the document.
And after looking at what was provided by
Barnett and speaking to him, and then looking
at what OHA has given, Barnett’s case is much
more compelling than the state’s.
For one, Malec’s passing occurred more than
four months after her positive COVID test in
August, which, by Barnett’s account, she had
fully recovered from. Even OHA’s own doc-
uments say for a passing to be counted as a
COVID-related death, the time limit from an
individual’s fi rst known positive test or symptom
onset to their passing is 60 days.
OHA also counts a COVID-19-related death
if the death certifi cate lists specifi c COVID-re-
lated codes. Yet the death certifi cate for Barnett’s
mother has no such code listed, and the only
mention of her COVID history on the document
states there were two negative tests.
(Interestingly, while it doesn’t seem to apply
here, the other criteria for a COVID-19-related
death is “Death from any cause in a hospitalized
person during their hospital stay or in the 60 days
following discharge and a COVID-19-positive
laboratory diagnostic test at any time since 14
days prior to hospitalization.” Does that not strike
anyone as odd?)
To be fair, we cannot be 100% certain that the
woman in the OHA report is Malec, as OHA has
not — and said it cannot — provide identifying
information. The entity also could not confi rm if
Barnett’s mother, when given her name, was the
individual. And yes, Barnett said it was OK for us
to ask the OHA that question, as well.
But when you look at the timeline for Malec’s
passing, in a county as small as Wallowa County,
it’s pretty easy to put two and two together.
More details are needed to get to the bottom of
this particular case, but at the moment, Malec’s
passing — and Barnett’s account and docu-
ment — raises some serious questions about the
validity of OHA’s data in this case, and could
weaken its overall credibility.
This is not written to discredit the losses felt
by people who have been severely impacted by
COVID. There is no doubt it’s real, and many
have died from it.
But as you look a little deeper into OHA’s data,
it’s clear something does not add up.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of The Observer editorial board.
Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions
of the authors and not necessarily that of The Observer.
YOUR VIEWS
No consequences
for false accusations?
The “Our view” editorial of Feb.
1, 2022, on the La Grande-Glad-
stone racial slurs incident is naive.
“...it is over.” Nope. This will
stick with the falsely accused for a
long time.
Ryan Clarke, the reporter for
The Oregonian who broke the
story, has made a cottage industry
of reporting on allegations of
racial slurs and the like at high
school athletic events. Perhaps he
senses a Pulitzer waiting for him.
Those kinds of stories are gold
for politicians like Tina Kotek,
Rep. Barbara Smith Warner and
Rep. Janelle Bynum, who can
virtue signal and burnish their
anti-racist bona fides by piling on
those allegations. No need to wait
to see if they are true.
Wasn’t there something men-
tioned back in the day about
bearing false witness?
Just a little digging, and you see
how common these kinds of accu-
sations are. As long as there are
SEND LETTERS TO:
letters@lagrandeobserver.com
or via mail to Editor, 911 Jeff erson Ave., La
Grande, OR 97850
no consequences for making false
accusations, they will continue.
Steve Boe
La Grande
Leave Marcus Whitman
statue alone
I read the article about the con-
sideration of removing the Marcus
Whitman statue. This is very upset-
ting. Marcus Whitman and his wife
left a footprint in the history of the
then-known Oregon Territory. He
was not the fi rst settler in the region.
The Hudson Bay Company was
the fi rst, and was still there when
Whitman had his mission. This
leads me to ask: Why is Whitman
being blamed for the outbreak of
measles? He may have had nothing
to do with its outbreak. Look at us
now, and the fl u that began in China
and transported here.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton offi ce: 541-278-1129
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford offi ce: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
STAFF
SUBSCRIBEAND SAVE
Subscription rates:
Monthly Autopay ...............................$10.75
13 weeks.................................................$37.00
26 weeks.................................................$71.00
52 weeks ..............................................$135.00
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
NEWSSTAND PRICE: $1.50
You can save up to 55% off the single-copy
price with home delivery.
Call 800-781-3214 to subscribe.
Then there is the comment on
how he is dressed on the statue.
Let’s face it, clothes wear out, and
material for clothing was some-
thing that was not available. So
what do you wear? You make your
clothes out of what you can fi nd:
animal skins.
I respect the Native Americans,
but this issue reeks of “cancel cul-
ture” and, worse, “critical race
theory” (which many say is not a
theory). I was taught this in col-
lege and rejected it, not based on
my race, but because it’s a fl awed
theory.
I have gotten off my subject, but
we can’t keep removing statues
because someone does not agree
with its subject matter. All the
issues stated by the CTUIR for the
uprising of the Cayuse (property
encroachment, immigration of set-
tlers and illnesses) would have hap-
pened anyway, so why blame it on
just Marcus Whitman? I say keep
the statue as is, where it is, and
don’t touch it.
Gail Baker
La Grande
Anindependent newspaper foundedin1896
www.lagrandeobserver.com
Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, Oregon 97801
Published Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
(except postal holidays) by EO Media Group,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR 97850
(USPS 299-260)
The Observer retains ownership and copyright
protection of all staff-prepared news copy, advertising
copy, photos and news or ad illustrations. They may
not be reproduced without explicit prior approval.
COPYRIGHT © 2022
Phone:
541-963-3161
Regional publisher. ...................... Karrine Brogoitti
Home delivery advisor ......... Amanda Turkington
Interim editor ....................................Andrew Cutler
Advertising representative ..................... Kelli Craft
News clerk ........................................Lisa Lester Kelly
Advertising representative .................... Amy Horn
Reporter....................................................Dick Mason
National accounts coordinator ...... Devi Mathson
Reporter............................................Davis Carbaugh
Graphic design .................................. Dorothy Kautz
Multimedia journalist.........................Alex Wittwer
Page design .......................................... Martha Allen
Toll free (Oregon):
1-800-781-3214
Email:
news@lagrandeobserver.com
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to:
The Observer,
911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
A division of