Opinion
A4
Saturday, June 11, 2022
OUR VIEW
A tip of
the hat to
the Tigers
J
arett Armstrong probably said it best in a
story in this newspaper earlier this week
“It was pretty great, to be honest,” he said.
Armstrong, of course, was speaking about the
triumph of his team — La Grande High School
varsity baseball — at the OSAA Class 4A base-
ball championship.
In a spectacular show of off ensive fi repower
and defensive prowess, the Tigers defeated
Hidden Valley 10-1 to claim the state crown.
The victory caps another great season by the
Tigers and should fi rmly place them in the pan-
theon of great prep diamond squads in the history
of the state.
We often spend a great deal of time focusing
on issues that seemingly transcend our local area
and that is why is it is a pleasure — from time to
time — to stop the news train, so to speak, and
take stock of a feel-good tale such as the big win
by the Tigers.
In a way, the win by the Tigers signifi es a vic-
tory for the entire town. For a brief moment, we
can all put aside the worries and hopes of our
lives and simply refl ect on a story that is pure in
its simplicity.
The La Grande win allows us to remember,
if only for a moment, the days when practical
items — such as winning a state championship
baseball game — took center stage. We can all
bask in the prep glory of the Tigers’ triumph and
remember that, occasionally, small things really
do mean a lot.
The players and coaches deserve a great deal
of credit, but so do the parents who stood by
their players and supported them throughout the
season. The administrators and other school offi -
cials behind the team should also be lauded for
lending their support.
The Tigers’ victory was very much about a
team with a dream coming together at a crucial
time. Teamwork paid dividends for La Grande
and helped it earn a huge win. We hope this suc-
cess is remembered because it was a unique tri-
umph, not easily achieved.
Our collective hats are off to the LHS baseball
team. Great job!
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Walter Cronkite, we need you
ANDREW
CUTLER
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
A
s the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives opens its investi-
gation into the Jan. 6, 2021,
attack on the Capitol I can’t help but
remember a similar series of hear-
ings during the past 50 years over
other such high-profi le issues as
Watergate and the Iran-Contra arms
sale controversy.
As I refl ect on these simi-
lar-in-scope controversies I am
reminded of how much has changed
in our lives and why that impacts
how we as a nation absorb such
episodes.
The Watergate scandal pretty
much needs no introduction or
explanatory analysis. The scandal
brought down President Richard M.
Nixon and sent the nation off on a
diff erent trajectory we are, in some
ways, still on today.
The Iran-Contra aff air was a big,
big deal in the mid-1980s. It was, in
essence, another political scandal
where, between 1981 and 1986,
senior Reagan administration offi -
cials secretly cleared the way for the
sale of weapons to Iran to hopefully
use the profi ts to fund the Contras in
Nicaragua. At the time the Contras
were a guerrilla group supported by
the U.S. who were trying to over-
throw the Nicaraguan government.
Both scandals rocked the nation
and created a tremendous amount
of controversy. Now, as the House
begins its live hearings the item
that resonates the most with me is
how much our media landscape has
changed and how these new hearings
will be presented.
Now, more than ever, the hear-
ings are inside a new level of contro-
versy and partisan bickering. Many
Republicans don’t think the hearings
will even be fair. Fox Network won’t
carry the hearings live.
The entire episode will, it
appears, evolve into yet another
political quagmire with no real
results except for more partisanship.
In short, there will be no single
“honest broker” to come forward and
present a factual, nonbiased view for
the American public. Instead, our
news media will be — as it has been
now for almost a generation — in its
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Andrew Cutler is the interim editor of The
Observer and the regional editorial director for
the EO Media Group, overseeing The Observer,
East Oregonian and four more newspapers in
Eastern Oregon.
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
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
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
STATE 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
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own particular silos.
Fox will cater to a certain group.
CNN will too. Other networks will
pander to who they believe are the
most important. The truth? Well,
forget about it.
That, I think, is the real shame.
We no longer have a Walter Cronkite
who can come on the screen and
give us a simple just-the-facts report
that lets each of us make our own
decision. That type of reporting
is something I push very hard for
in my position with the EO Media
Group. I want that type of just-the-
facts reporting to be our hallmark.
As long as I am able, I will continue
to do so.
Yet, as I look across the broad
media landscape and I review the
hearings that began June 9, I have
to admit I feel a bit disappointed. I
wish we could, as a nation, do better.
I am, in the end, left with only a
single sentiment: Walter Cronkite,
where are you now when we need you?
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