ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
SATURDAy, NOVEMBER 14, 2020
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Tip of
the hat,
kick in
the pants
A
big tip of the hat to all veter-
ans who have served our coun-
try, including those still serving
in the armed forces today.
All signed up for military service
knowing that they could pay the ultimate
sacrifice as a result, and those still liv-
ing made other sacrifices — their health,
their peace of mind, their time, their
relationships.
It’s a tragedy that after so much sac-
rifice, too many of our veterans are still
struggling in the face of unemployment,
homelessness, untreated health problems
and more. They deserve better.
Thank you to those who chose to serve,
for both your choice and for the work you
did in making us safer and defending the
freedoms that are so important to all of
us. We owe you a debt of gratitude that no
amount of parades will ever repay.
A tip of the hat to Cliff Banister, fea-
tured in our pages this week for his efforts
to keep flags flying atop grain elevators
throughout the county. The flags make for
a nice adornment to the rural countryside,
and Banister spends a lot of his own time
and money to keep them up.
All too often, well-meaning flag fly-
ers violate parts of the U.S. Flag Code
by allowing flags to become frayed and
faded, not lighting them at night or oth-
erwise not following rules meant to show
the flag proper respect. But Banister puts
in the effort to properly light the flags and
replace them about every three months
when they begin to show wear and tear.
Our communities benefit from people
like Banister — the often unsung heroes
who see a small way they can improve
their community and take up the mantle
without being asked. We tip our hat to all
of them.
A tip of the hat to the drivers who
take inclement road conditions — and all
driving — seriously. As rain, snow and
frost have begun to take hold in parts
of Oregon, the state saw a rash of fatal
crashes over the last week.
With everyone more used to virtual
events and working from home than ever
before, there is no reason people should
feel pressure to drive in unsafe conditions
for a meeting that could be reasonably
held over video chat.
Now is the time to check the condition
of your tires and get in the habit of check-
ing road conditions before you travel. If
the road isn’t bone-dry, adjust your speed
and following distance accordingly. Give
yourself the extra time you need to react
by keeping your eyes firmly on the road
and only driving when you’re wide awake
and sober.
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily
that of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters
of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and
on our website. The newspaper reserves the
right to withhold letters that address concerns
about individual services and products or
letters that infringe on the rights of private
citizens. Letters must be signed by the author
and include the city of residence and a
daytime phone number. The phone number
will not be published. Unsigned letters will not
be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
YOUR VIEWS
Protect the beavers
For too long, Oregon’s lack of beaver
management has ignored sound science.
Current hunting and trapping guidelines
frame beavers as a nuisance species,
which ignores overwhelming evidence
of their key role in creating and main-
taining aquatic ecosystems.
Beavers are a keystone species, a
species that other wildlife depend on.
Humans also need beavers to improve
our water quality, provide healthy
streams for endangered salmon, mitigate
pollution from wildfires and stem the
effects of climate change.
In September, conservation groups
sent a petition to increase the size of pro-
tected public lands throughout Oregon
for beavers. This petition, which would
amend current hunting and trapping
rules, leaves half of the Beaver State
open to trapping and hunting, while
allowing beavers to thrive on federally
managed public lands where the benefits
of their presence would be maximized.
This petition, if adopted, would
require the Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission to honor its own mission
statement regarding indigenous spe-
cies, and begin monitoring beaver pop-
ulations so that we can make informed
management decisions.
By permanently closing commercial
and recreational beaver trapping/hunting
on federally managed public lands and
the waters that flow through them, we
allow these creatures to provide essential
ecosystem services for the 4.2 million
residents throughout the Beaver State,
in addition to creating and maintaining
homes for aquatic life.
Sristi Kamal
Portland
The lies just keep coming
Donald Trump and his collaborators
have taken fake news to the extreme.
They spew it incessantly, with deadly
consequences.
Trump’s lies about the pandemic, and
his disdain for people who believe in
science and facts, doomed our nation’s
response. We now lead the world in
COVID-19 cases and deaths, and in mis-
information about the virus and how to
best fight it.
Now, the tidal wave of lies hopes to
wash away a legitimate election. As The
New York Times noted, there have been
close, contested elections in the past. But
none featured what we see now: a com-
pletely manufactured controversy based
on no evidence whatsoever, purely to
maintain power, and to overturn a legiti-
mate election.
The Times surveyed top election offi-
cials in every state, and Republicans and
Democrats alike touted a clean election
— none reported any serious issues of
fraud.
But the lies keep coming, from our
reprobate president, his cabinet and his
conscience-impaired Senate supporters.
Hillary Clinton and Al Gore lost much
closer elections but had the civic strength
and decency to concede and congratulate
the winner. If only Trump and his min-
ions had the character to do the same.
But character has never been a strong
point for this group.
I can imagine a disillusioned youth
asking the adults around him: “Why
did you vote for a man who does all the
things you tell me I shouldn’t do? He
lies, cheats, sleeps around on his wives,
mocks the handicapped, badmouths
women and veterans, takes no responsi-
bility for his mistakes, shirks his debts,
fakes religious conviction, bullies people,
thinks only of himself, champions racists
and revels in his ignorance. Why do you
put up with it?”
Good question. Last week, more than
77 million voters said they’d had enough.
Hal McCune
Pendleton
Confederate street stamps
belong at museum
I read with interest, and then dismay,
your recent article about Pendleton’s his-
toric street names. I learned that many
of our early settlers were rebel veter-
ans from the Civil War, that they named
Pendleton for a pro-slavery politician,
and that those early street names memo-
rialize other figures from the Confeder-
acy who fought to maintain slavery, like
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Though I see those stamps often as
I walk through our city, I knew none of
this.
Those street-name stamps have been
removed from the sidewalks in the Byers
area as part of the road’s reconstruction.
What shall become of them? Pendleton’s
Historic Preservation Commission wants
them to be put back near their original
position because, per Commission Vice
Chair Kate Dimon, “it reminds us of
another time and tells a different story.”
I agree that they should be saved and
their story told. Simply replacing them
does not accomplish that. I did not know
— and several others I asked did not
know — this story. A better job could be
done. I suggest that these stamps be reset
as a group in an area near the Heritage
Station Museum, along with the appro-
priate educational information. A nod to
our racist past, our awareness of it, and
our resolution to do better, to be better.
If they are reset in place, then I sug-
gest that they be surrounded by a frame
stamped into the concrete with appropri-
ate educational words. Something like,
“This is a street name from our racist
past. We are changing.”
Because we are not free of rac-
ist attitudes and behaviors yet. And we
certainly do not need to set them in
concrete.
Jill Johnson
Pendleton