CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Editor
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2020
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Program an important stopgap measure
I
t looked like the White House and
Democrats in Congress were closing
in on a deal Sunday to restock the
popular program to help small business.
That’s good news, because the nation
cannot afford to waste any time to
replenish the Paycheck Protecting Pro-
gram. The more than $300 billion pro-
gram ran out of money last week, a stark
reminder of just how serious the eco-
nomic impact from the COVID-19 virus
outbreak is.
Lawmakers must move quickly to
solidify a deal and get the program back
up and running.
That impact from the virus isn’t going
to evaporate any time soon, either.
The new relief package will earmark
$300 billion for the Paycheck Protec-
tion Program along with $50 billion for
the Small Businesses Administration’s
disaster relief fund. Money will also be
allocated for hospitals and testing.
The money is crucial for small busi-
ness across the nation, but it is espe-
cially critical for merchants in rural
areas of the state, such as Umatilla and
Morrow counties. While not a perma-
nent solution, the money will keep peo-
ple on payrolls and, hopefully, cut down
AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
Jovita Carranza, administrator of the Small Business Administration, speaks earlier this
month about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House
in Washington, D.C., as Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump listen. Dem-
ocratic leaders and the Trump administration were close to a deal Sunday to replenish the
Paycheck Protection Program to help small businesses weather coronavirus shutdowns, the
latest step in sweeping government efforts to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.
on the number of workers in the unem-
ployment lines.
The Paycheck Protection Program is
— for obvious reason — hugely pop-
ular. Within 10 days of the start of the
program more than 4,600 lenders made
more than a million loans to the tune of
$247.5 billion.
At any other time in our history such
a huge outlay of debt would seem to be
foolhardy. Now, the nation clearly faces
an unprecedented set of circumstances.
Such a huge outlay of money will also
clearly create new challenges down the
road in terms of who pays and when.
Those are good questions, questions that
deserve ready answers from lawmakers.
Yet for right now, the focus must be
on the small businesses of this nation,
our state and our county. Small busi-
nesses are, in a real way, the heart of the
American success story. Their existence
underpins our democracy and without
them the nation will face myriad new,
and yet, unforeseen problems.
The corner shop in a small rural town
is more than just a place to buy goods
but is part of our collective culture. Each
deserves the chance to survive, and that
is what the Paycheck Protection Pro-
gram is all about. Is the program a cure-
all? Of course not. It is a stopgap mea-
sure, but it is one that can provide an
important part of our economy a decent
interval while the COVID-19 virus out-
break rages.
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE
Between blindness and frenzy
W
YOUR VIEWS
Provide PPE to businesses so
they can open again
Closing and segregating businesses,
often based on misinformation or opinion, is
not beneficial for helping the local economy.
The advancing and improving of workplace
safety and health for all workers in Ore-
gon is the objective of Oregon Occupational
Safety and Health Administration, yet it has
become ignored as a tool to get businesses
back online.
How many companies are required to
follow extreme safe protocols of cleanli-
ness and personal protective equipment as
part of the allowance to operate under state
safety regulations? I believe we are missing
the opportunity to open many businesses
by employing use of PPE, by not only the
employees but also the customers, as a
requirement to enter any business. Rather
than employ a negative way to address solu-
tions, should we be more solution-oriented
and use scientific methods proven by many
companies already?
Perhaps Gov. Brown might consider
assisting the businesses by providing the
PPE rather than giving it away?
Richard Weaver
Milton-Freewater
Hats off to local educators
The current health crisis has turned our
world upside down, wreaking havoc on our
daily way of life in ways we never could have
envisioned. Yet, it has also created opportu-
nities, and demonstrated how our neighbors
and communities can rise to a challenge.
In particular, I would like to extend a sin-
cere thank you to the employees of our pub-
lic schools — this crisis has highlighted how
crucial our public schools are to our com-
munities and sense of well-being. The role of
public education is vast — classroom instruc-
tion, meals, band concerts, transportation,
athletics, mental health, as well as the social
component — and the recent events have
made me appreciate and applaud how quickly
our school staff have responded to ensure our
kids get the support they need.
A sincere “tip of the hat” and thank you to
all of our public education employees.
Scott Rogers
Athena
e are all dealing with a threat that
bioweapons. I suppose even a scapegoat as
few of us have the knowledge or
large as a cellular network or a nation could
skills to combat directly. Helpless
feel less overwhelming than a random, invis-
ible, mutable virus; the chain of cause and
dread is an unbearable feeling. What do we
effect seems simpler. We all like to strike a
do?
blow at feeling helpless. But that’s not where
Fear is meant to affect our systems. We
are to freeze or energetically deal with palpa- these blows ultimately landed. People have
ble physical threats that are the focus of fear. been hurt. A reaction gone way too far.
Why have we not been taught more about
Our bodies feel some degree of fear now —
how our fear works — and how we might
of the virus, the illness, the uncertainty or
make it work for us? Fear, like all of our
the socio-economic upheaval. Yet, no phys-
ical flight, fight or freezing can help us here.
emotions, is information about our situation
and should be heeded as such. And fear, like
We are to keep calm and carry on. Still the
all information, needs to be fact-checked and
fear acts on our system. And it can show in
put in context.
our thinking patterns.
As much as we would like to
Denial is a sort of a mental
take direct action and make this
freeze. We conserve our energy by
threat go away, we don’t yet have
stating that the problem is not that
the tools to effectively fight this
big or perhaps doesn’t even exist.
novel coronavirus. In the current
Conserving our energy, not stress-
ing excessively, can serve a pur-
context, our success will be just
pose, keep us cool. Sadly, it hasn’t
making as little happen as possi-
ble. The reactive part of our brains
remained that simple. We’re seeing
V ikiirna
— ask your kids about “Sur-
fellow citizens become so attached
W enzel
vival State” — can’t understand
to their denial that they’re expend-
COMMENT
ing energy to prove how much they
this lack of action; but our prob-
lem-solving Executive State can.
deny. People have congregated
together, carelessly or carefully, to show their We can fortify our executive state with good
exercise, good music, deep breathing, prayer,
disregard for caution. Some have sickened
meditation, dance, family hugs, all those arts
or even died as a result. Their illness endan-
gered, burdened and grieved their loved
and crafts you excel at and other techniques
ones. A natural reaction gone too far.
you already have. Keep calm and carry on.
There’s yet one more active inactivity that
Sometimes people are rather energized by
fear. Good effects of this energy has been the may help. Foldingathome.org is a distrib-
uted computing project for simulating pro-
community support organizations springing
up, the creation of new ways to be neighborly tein dynamics. Volunteers let software run
simulations on their personal computers that
and the flood of lovingly sewn cloth masks.
can help medical researchers find the weak
It seems to me that most people have chan-
neled their energy within this measure. Sadly points of the coronavirus. It’s running in the
we’ve also seen some frenetic extremes: food background of my computer with no harm
hoarding; bleach gargling; fistfights for toilet done. We can even form local teams, letting
paper. In a panicky desire to feel control over the Pendleton-Hermiston rivalry ride again
uncontrollable circumstances, some ener-
— for a good cause. Check it out at https://
gized minds have latched onto conspiracy
foldingathome.org/covid19.
theories. Some have acted on them.
———
Vikiirna Wenzel is a learner and a
People have attacked individuals of Asian
teacher, somewhere in the middle of East
heritage, burned cellphone towers and pub-
licly accused everyone else of manufacturing Umatilla County.
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