ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
SATuRDAY, FeBRuARY 27, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Tip of
the hat,
kick in
the pants
A
tip of the hat to those recognized
at the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce’s Distinguished Citi-
zens Awards.
In any community, there are people
who do a disproportionately large amount
of the work. Some have an extensive list
of committees and volunteer leadership
positions to their name, others haven’t
held as many official titles but work tire-
lessly behind the scenes to take care of the
details and people that would otherwise slip
through the cracks. All are making a crucial
difference to those around them, and it
is nice to see a few given their deserved
moment in the spotlight each year.
Man of the Year Ken Huber, Woman
of the Year Cindy Middleton, Business of
the Year M&M Potato and Merit Award
winner Doug Alvarez deserve a round of
applause for their contributions to Hermis-
ton, each as unique as the winners them-
selves.
We also tip our hat to Hermiston
School Year’s educators of the year, who
were recognized via video at this year’s
banquet. It has been a difficult year for
teachers and other school staff, but the
praise heaped on the 10 educators recog-
nized by their colleagues shows many are
still going out of their way to connect with
students.
A tip of the hat to the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation, the National Guard, and all
who were involved in this past week’s
COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic. The
clinic added hundreds of area residents to
the rolls of those vaccinated, helping protect
all of us.
A tip of the hat to all Umatilla County
residents who did their part to help the
county qualify for a move from extreme
risk to high risk for COVID-19, allowing
restaurants, gyms and other businesses to
start the reopening process. Lower COVID-
19 rates have also helped schools reopen.
Bringing COVID-19 numbers down so
significantly in what has been Oregon’s
hotspot for most of the pandemic has not
been easy, and we’re grateful for those who
have made a concerted, good faith effort to
follow scientists’ guidance to get the county
where it is now. We’re also grateful to the
Oregon Health Authority for recognizing
that a state error in not reporting a set of
old test results until last week should not
count against Umatilla County’s reopening
efforts.
Let’s not let students and businesses
down by hosting risky gatherings or letting
other safety measures slide that would jeop-
ardize these reopenings.
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
The city should
work for all of us
Why doesn’t the city of Pendleton
clear all of our sidewalks of snow? Not
once in 15 years has the city of Pendle-
ton shown “us” residents that they work
for “us.”
We have had more than two big
snowstorms. My husband is 84 and I am
77 years old. I’m sure there are many
more of “us” around these ages.
Clearing the sidewalks would be
great for the “all of us” and we could see
where our property tax goes.
Joyce McKee
Pendleton
Life on Mars still a
questionable theory
We are back on Mars with NASA’s
newest rover, Perseverance. This
mission is tasked with answering the
age-old question of whether Mars has
ever harbored life. We should remem-
ber that all the previous robotic visi-
tors since the 1970s have had this same
objective.
The theory of abiogenesis or chem-
ical evolution, that biologic systems
evolved from nonbiologic chemicals,
is strongly embraced by most of the
theorists and designers of the Martian
rovers. Their mission, in part, is to vali-
date the theory of evolution. Beyond
accessing the geologic history of Mars,
the rovers, using onboard spectrome-
ters, search for the molecular vestiges
of past life on Mars. In doing this, they
look for chemical signatures that can be
made only by biological processes.
For example, what is true on Earth
is true on Mars. On Earth the aver-
age natural abundance of carbon 12 to
carbon 13 is 90 to 1. But if you were to
analyze the residue from something that
was once alive, the ratio would be 92 to
1, a definite biosignature. Think about
this: Had there been even microbial life
on Mars in its past, molecular evidence,
like the carbon biosignatures it left
behind, would be discoverable in the
airborne dust found everywhere.
Their absence should be more than
enough to lead secular scientists to
conclude that chemical evolution of life
is an invalid hypothesis for Mars, and
that the “message from Mars” should
lead to the same conclusions for Earth.
Pastor Kent Knight (retired)
Hermiston Seventh-day Adventist
Church
Both sides are necessary
for democracy to thrive
It is disappointing when our side
loses. Because of this, we tend to
believe it when people say we’ve been
cheated. This is called confirmation
bias, and politicians on both sides of
the aisle are very aware of it. Recent
letters to the editor have reflected the
effect. Whether you are a Republican or
a Democrat, you should not allow your-
self to be manipulated by politicians.
It is an objective fact that there was
no widespread fraud in the presiden-
tial election. The “what about” queries
that have been raised by well-meaning
contributors on these pages have all
been thoroughly debunked by officials
from the right as well as the left. There
would be no controversy if self-serving
politicians had not saturated the media
with false allegations and stirred up
divisions.
As Americans, we owe a huge debt
of gratitude to those who are inclined to
conservatism. Without that inclination
we would be less powerful economi-
cally and less connected to our roots.
We also are indebted to progressives;
they have helped instill values of fair-
ness, adaptation, and equity.
If we begin to speak to each other
and compromise again, America’s
greatest days are before her. If we keep
demonizing, sadly, our “Grand exper-
iment” will fade. As John Adams
said, “Remember, democracy never
lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts,
and murders itself. There never was
a democracy yet that did not commit
suicide.”
Please notice that Adams says “yet.”
Joseph Brusberg
Hermiston
School taxes still necessary
for online education
I was disturbed by a recent letter
to the editor suggesting we should be
refunded our tax dollars designated
for education. I do not currently have
school-aged children, but am providing
“Nana School” (online school) in my
home for as many as five grandchildren
while their parents work.
First, let me say that I agree this is
not ideal — it is difficult, awkward and
sometimes downright frustrating. Obvi-
ously, for most children/young adults,
in-person learning is best. But suggest-
ing we are being cheated out of our
education tax dollars is shortsighted.
Are we asking teachers to teach
for no pay? Or suggesting we just not
provide any kind of learning at all this
year? Asking custodial staff to stay
home and not maintain the buildings/
campuses in which we have invested
millions of dollars? The nicest word I
can think of to describe such action is
silly.
I have listened in on my littles’
online learning sessions, and must say I
am impressed. Can you imagine trying
to hold the attention of as many as 30
school-age youngsters via video? Let
alone trying to maintain any kind of
discipline when kids are in homes with
siblings, parents, pets or televisions? I
say, “good job, and thank you” to these
teachers and staff who are having to
work in a whole new way.
Let’s be a little more supportive and
appreciative and a little less critical,
shall we?
Ginger Linkel
Hermiston