ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
SATURDAY, JANUARY 2, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Tip of
the hat,
kick in
the pants
A
tip of the hat to the Pendleton
Round-Up Association’s Tough
Enough To Wear Pink campaign and
its donation of $11,000 raised in 2020 to help
local cancer support organizations.
The funds were split between St. Anthony
Hospital Cancer Care Clinic and the Kickin’
Cancer New Beginnings program. In an ordi-
nary year, contributions usually come from
generous sponsors, donations, fundraising
events and merchandise sales. But 2020 was
hardly ordinary, and with no 2020 Pendleton
Round-Up there was no Tough Enough To Wear
Pink event. Instead, this year’s contributions
came from two primary sources — the Let’er
Buck Cares Fund and Oregon Grain Growers
Brand Distillery. Kudos to those organizations
for stepping to the plate.
The American Cancer Society says that in
2020, there will be an estimated 1.8 million
new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,520 can-
cer deaths in the United States. So there’s no
question that organizations that provide care
and support for those dealing with the disease
and their families continue to need our financial
help.
A kick in the pants to the agencies respon-
sible for promoting Oregon Health Author-
ity’s free COVID-19 testing event, held
Wednesday, Dec. 30 in the Pendleton Conven-
tion Center parking lot. The lack of public out-
reach was astounding.
There was never any mention of this free
testing event on Umatilla County Public
Health’s website, and the only time it was men-
tioned on their Facebook page was back on Dec.
16. No mention on the Umatilla County Recov-
ery website. Neither the East Oregonian nor the
Hermiston Herald received a press release about
this event from Oregon Health Authority, nor
did OHA approach us about any print or digital
advertising.
In order to get tested on Dec. 30, one would
have had to find the link to www.doineeda-
covid19test.com, and then register in advance
for a specific time between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
OHA required people to download and print out
a voucher — that detail alone deserves another
kick in the pants — and bring it to the test site.
Not surprisingly, there were more than a half-
dozen, PPE-clad health care workers standing
around for five hours, mostly doing nothing.
Only 50 people had signed up for testing as of
the morning of Dec. 30.
In contrast, on Dec. 3, Yellowhawk Tribal
Health Center and OHA held a similar drive-
thru testing event at Wildhorse. It was also free
and open to the public, and well-publicized by
the Confederated Tribes. In six hours, 447 peo-
ple were tested.
A kick in the pants to our country’s
extremely disappointing performance in roll-
ing out the COVID-19 vaccine so far.
The urgency with which scientists worked
to create the vaccine has fallen far short of
the urgency that federal, state and local gov-
ernments in the United States have shown in
administering it. Instead of creating a cohesive
national strategy with dedicated resources to get
shots in arms as fast as possible, the so-called
Operation Warp Speed has essentially told
states they’re on their own in figuring some-
thing out, and states have often told the same
thing to local health departments and hospitals,
which are facing shortages of labor and money.
The result is that a majority of the vac-
cines that have been distributed have yet to be
administered, despite their strict expiration date
looming. On Dec. 30, Oregon Health Author-
ity reported that only 31,382 of the 138,400
delivered to Oregon had been administered.
While we were thrilled to see local hospitals
begin administering the vaccine, we were dis-
appointed to see that they waited until after
Christmas, despite having received the doses the
week before.
At our current pace it will take years for the
United States to reach herd immunity. Officials
have stated their optimism that this slow start is
merely a speed bump and the pace of vaccina-
tions will get much faster as we move into 2021.
Given how much is riding on it, we hope they’re
right.
YOUR VIEWS
A new path to
homeownership gives hope
to region
I grew up in the Walla Walla Valley
in Washington, going to Dixie Elemen-
tary School and Pi-Hi; and graduating
from Wa-Hi in 1972. In Walla Walla, I
worked at Whitman College, Key Tech-
nology, Inland Counseling, and Walla
Walla Community College. This is my
hometown, but living out my retirement
here seems less and less likely.
Currently, mAvy rent alone takes
over 45% of my Social Security check
— and my rent is low by Walla Walla
standards. Add to rent the cost of health
care insurance (which is incredibly
expensive), the rising cost of utilities
and groceries, and I am grateful to get
through each month. I am not alone
in this dilemma. Every single, retired
woman friend I have struggles to cover
her living expenses, and we all know
the trend is unsustainable. I make too
much to be eligible for public hous-
ing assistance, but not enough to qual-
ify for a home loan. I am sure that there
are plenty of others — working and
retired — who find themselves in simi-
lar situations.
As a matter of fact, the statistics are
grim. According to the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, for
a home to be affordable, it should take
up no more than 30% of a household’s
pre-tax income. A household spend-
ing over 30% of its income on housing
is considered “cost burdened.” A high
percentage of renters in our region are
cost-burdened: Prescott (81%); Walla
Walla (57%); College Place (52%);
Waitsburg (52%); Dayton (46%); and
Milton-Freewater (43%). More broadly,
41% of people paying rent or mortgages
in our region are living in homes they
cannot afford.
I started looking for proactive solu-
tions to these affordable-housing chal-
lenges. A friend suggested I contact the
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
Community Council, which is working
with volunteers to form the Common
Roots Housing Trust. I am encouraged
and have joined in the effort.
Common Roots’ goal is to help keep
homes in the region affordable by help-
ing people like me buy a modest home
on land owned by the trust. If you are
interested in learning about Common
Roots, I encourage you to check out
their website at www.commonroot-
shousing.org and register to attend a
free, live Zoom town hall explaining
this important new initiative on Jan. 11
at 6 p.m.
To register, visit https://
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/
WN_V7kZiNm3Qva8PUCwwsQ7jg.
Patricia Divine Wilder
Walla Walla, Washington
Protecting our rivers,
crucial for our future
I have experienced gratitude, peace,
and moments of joy over this most dif-
ficult year by spending time on the
Eagle, Powder, and Grande Ronde riv-
ers. These rivers are not only beautiful,
but essential to our way of life.
I was born and raised in Prineville
and am grateful to now be raising my
own family in Baker City. I’ve spent
many years of my life working in the
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
woods as a wildland firefighter and
educator, and am privileged to have
explored some of the most remote
stretches of our public lands. I now rec-
ognize the importance of those expe-
riences, and see the value of these
wild places, through the eyes of my
daughter.
Our wild rivers and natural places
around them are the lifeblood of our
community. Some think of Eastern
Oregon as an empty sea of sagebrush,
but it’s so much more. Not only do wild
rivers offer a necessary respite from an
increasingly wired-in world, but they
are home to wildlife and the source of
our clean drinking water. Millions of
Oregonians, including those of us in
places like Baker, La Grande and Pend-
leton, depend on our public lands for
their drinking water.
Currently, less than 2% of our state’s
rivers are protected. These rivers,
upon which our communities depend,
deserve greater protection. I encourage
Sen. Ron Wyden to introduce legisla-
tion to protect our state’s Wild and Sce-
nic Rivers, and hope the rivers of East-
ern Oregon are well represented. As
the world changes, it’s critical we act
quickly and boldly to protect what we
cherish about rural Oregon — solitude,
sustenance and joy.
Sarah Cuddy
Baker City