ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
THURSDAy, APRIL 15, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Progress in
improving
child welfare
in Oregon
T
he reports from the Department
of Human Services Critical Inci-
dent Review Team are some of the
most heartbreaking things that the state of
Oregon produces.
The team reviews child fatalities when
there is a connection to the state’s child
welfare department within a year of the
death. The CIRT reports aim to under-
stand what happened and consider what, if
anything, can be learned.
A CIRT report from 2020 looked into
what may have been a suicide or accidental
overdose by a 16-year-old in December.
Rewind back to 2016. DHS received a
report about the child. The child was then
12 and struggling with mental health and
self harm. That investigation was closed
because no evidence was found of parental
abuse or neglect.
Then in December 2019, DHS received a
report when the child was 15. The allega-
tion: The child was struggling with suicide
and it was not being adequately addressed
by the parents. There was also information
that the parents let the child drink at home.
The parents initially denied the case-
worker access to the home. Later, the case-
worker was able to meet with the parents
and learned they were aware of the child’s
problems. The mother told the caseworker
that the school had contacted her with
concern about a social media post from the
child in December 2019. The mother said
she stayed home with the child to ensure
the child’s safety.
The family had no health insurance.
They did have resources through the child’s
school to access counseling. The case-
worker interviewed multiple other people
including school staff, family members
and the child’s therapist. They did not
report concerns. Based on the investiga-
tion, the allegations of neglect were ruled
unfounded. The parents seemed to be
taking appropriate action. A year later the
child was dead of suicide or accidental
overdose.
In child abuse and neglect, there are
often missed chances to intervene or help.
It’s hard to point fingers and know for
certain what more could and should have
been done in this case, at least from the
detail in the report. It doesn’t really answer
that.
Some, perhaps most, child abuse is
preventable. What can make a difference
is giving families in need the support —
economic, mental health and more — they
need to stay together and prevent children
from being harmed.
A twinkle of hope comes from the
Family First Prevention Services Act.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat,
worked on and got it passed in 2018. Child
welfare advocates had long complained
that the federal government was getting
child welfare funding wrong. Federal
money was available, though the major-
ity of it was only available once a child
was removed from a family. Shouldn’t the
government put more effort into giving
families what they need to succeed? The
act enabled Oregon and other states to get
reimbursed for services outside of foster
care.
The state of Oregon just received
permission from the federal government to
move ahead with its version. That is very
welcome news. Oregon’s plan includes
offering families programs for mental
health, addiction and recovery, resources
for pregnant and parenting teens and resi-
dential treatment requirements. Will it
prevent more child abuse? We don’t know.
We hope so.
There is more work to be done by
Oregon’s DHS to ensure it succeeds and
that fewer CIRT reports must be written.
The SKyWARN spotter — seeing things radar can’t
ED
TOWNSEND
EYE TO THE SKY
A
ll weather data has value, but
some types are more valuable
than others. For a meteorologist,
a spotter report, or what we refer to as
“ground truth” data, is extremely valu-
able. A spotter report is crucial when
it comes to aiding our warning deci-
sion-making process.
When making these decisions our
office relies heavily on radar, satellite,
surface observations and weather models,
but it’s important to realize that they all
have their own individual limitations. So,
as we move into spring and our convec-
tive season, we are reaching out to our
community in search of volunteers will-
ing to become SKyWARN weather spot-
ters. Why? Because when it comes to the
limitations of our available data, we know
that spotters can help us fill the gaps to
make lifesaving warning decisions.
As you may know, one of our most
used tools in the warning decision process
is radar. Though radar is immensely valu-
able, it does have a few limitations. First,
the radar beam increases in altitude as it
moves away from the radar. Which means
that by the time the radar beam gets to
Central Oregon, the beam has ascended
such that the lowest radar scan is exceed-
ing 10,000 feet above ground level. As
such, at these distances we are no longer
sampling the lower portion of a storm.
Second, the width of the beam is also
increasing in size as it travels away from
the radar. The end result is that we can
have identical storms some distance apart
that appear quite differently to the radar.
For example, the storm farther away will
appear weaker as the beam spreads while
the closer storm will appear stronger.
While these limitations mean there are
additional challenges when it comes to
interrogating storms, we can mitigate
these challenges by leveraging all of our
other tools, including spotter reports.
In addition to radar, surface observa-
tions are another valuable tool that we
have at our disposal. They provide the
information on the ground level where
we want it. However, the role of scarcity
comes into play when it comes to surface
observations — specifically, the number
of stations and their distribution across
Northeast Oregon and South-Central
Washington.
That said, the surface observations
we get, especially from our Automated
Surface Observing System network,
are reliable and of very high quality. In
addition, we have access to other surface
observation networks, including home
weather stations, that we can utilize to
help provide a better picture. Though
useful, the limiting factors of surface
observations is that there are a set number
of them, they are unevenly distributed,
they can’t move and they only detect what
is occurring at that singular location.
As you can see, the benefit of a
SKyWARN spotter starts to become
clear, especially considering our rugged
and rural terrain. Spotters are the eyes and
ears in the community and in the field;
and a short training session will prepare
MORE INFORMATION
The date and time of the next storm
spotter class, along with spotter
resources, can be found by visiting
www.weather.gov/pdt/spottertrain-
ing.
you to provide accurate and useful infor-
mation. During the training we will
review the spotter’s role, basic safety,
storm structure and storm feature identi-
fication.
We want to make sure that you not
only know what to look for (for flash
flooding: is the water level rising, stay-
ing steady, or falling?) but what you are
looking at (is that a funnel cloud or a scary
looking cloud?). Once you know what to
look for, contacting us with information
is easy.
Ultimately, radar, satellite, and surface
observations are all tools that aid us in our
mission of protecting life and property.
A storm spotter can make a difference
as they can see things radar, satellite and
surface observations simply cannot.
Therefore, if you’re interested in help-
ing report hazardous weather for your
community, which includes everything
from hail, damaging wind, flash flood,
heavy snow and any other hazardous
weather phenomenon, please join one of
our training sessions being offered this
month and early next month.
———
Ed Townsend is the science and oper-
ations officer for the National Weather
Service in Pendleton.
YOUR VIEWS
Citizens need to stand up
for what we believe in
For those not familiar with the
second paragraph of the Declaration of
Independence, this is what is said: “We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-
ness.
That, to secure these rights, govern-
ments are instituted among men, deriv-
ing their just powers from the consent of
the governed. That, whenever any form
of government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the right of the people
to alter or to abolish it, and to institute
new government, laying its foundation
on such principles, and organizing its
powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their safety
and happiness.”
Well, methinks that our leaders are
all professional politicians. Not states-
men. That being said, the pandemic is a
tragedy. It has exposed issues in Amer-
ica that endanger the freedom and order
that we take for granted: the extortion
of power; unilateral decrees closing of
churches, restricting movement, closing
businesses, directing behavior, suspend-
ing schools, and indefinitely stopping
basic freedoms.
By the way, I spent 34 years on active
and reserve time in the military. I once
would give my life for this country
for what I believed our country stood
for. At this time, I will give my life to
protect my family from what this United
States has become.
LETTERS DEADLINE FOR MAY 18 ELECTIONS
The East Oregonian does not run endorsements of more than 400 words.
The East Oregonian will institute a deadline for letters to the editor, so we can be fair
with all the letters we receive and allow for responses before Election Day, if necessary.
We run the letters on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please submit your endorsement letters to the editor by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7. You
can email them to editor@eastoregonian.com, or mail them to East Oregonian, c/o
Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801.
We will publish our last letters on Saturday, May 15. Any letters received after the dead-
line will not run. Election Day is May 18.
I am not professing to overtake this
country, but I am saying it is the time for
all good men to stand up.
Roesch Kishpaugh
Pendleton
Spencer will do the right
thing for students
The spring/summer of 2020 forced
many of us to evaluate and prioritize our
political, social and practical activity.
Consequently, when activism driven by
social injustice collided with COVID-19
restrictions and conservative mindsets,
the results manifested as civil unrest
and/or personal resentment across many
parts of the state and nation.
As I reflect on the aforementioned
time in the city of Pendleton, I appreci-
ate the fact communication and respect
were not compromised by emotion as
they were in more urban areas. One
of the pivotal people in the Pendle-
ton experience was Pendleton School
Board candidate Briana Spencer. Albeit
Spencer’s motivation is/was to bring
attention to disparate national, state
and local trends surrounding cultural
diversity, inclusion and equity — she
readily acknowledged the importance of
honoring processes and differing points
of view. Her willingness to appreciate
the totality of circumstances and engage
others in constructive conversation not
only served as indicators of her charac-
ter, but also as catalysts to a favorable
outcome.
I firmly believe fundamental char-
acter cannot be learned, which is why
I wholeheartedly trust Briana Spencer
will do the right thing even when it may
not be the most desired or comfort-
able choice. Rest assured, any vote or
decision Briana Spencer makes will be
weighed against the interests of need,
contemporariness, history, culture and
bias, which are exactly the consider-
ations school board members should
contemplate before setting precedence
or memorializing policy.
This letter is an endorsement of
Briana Spencer and should not be
misconstrued as denunciation of Patrick
Gregg, whom I do not know personally.
Stuart Roberts
Pendleton