ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
THURSDAy, MAy 6, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Pass bill
to ensure
COVID-19
transparency
O
regon state Sen. Mike
Dembrow, D-Portland, has
been noisy about the need
for the Oregon Health Authority to be
transparent about the COVID-19 data it
releases.
His bill, Senate Bill 719, would
ensure that transparency. And though
the bill should have long since passed
the Oregon Legislature, it would seem
to be in good hands. It’s in the commit-
tee Dembrow chairs, Joint Ways and
Means.
The central premise of Oregon’s
public records law is that the public
has a right to know what its govern-
ment is doing. Meetings are open to the
public. Government documents and the
data behind them should be open to the
public if requested.
As good as Oregon’s law is, it teems
with exceptions. One is for public health
investigations, Oregon Revised Statutes
433.008. It reads in part: “Information
obtained by the Oregon Health Author-
ity or a local public health administra-
tor in the course of an investigation of a
reportable disease or disease outbreak is
confidential and is exempt from disclo-
sure.” So when journalists and others
have requested information about test-
ing rates by ZIP code, for instance, the
request was denied.
ORS 433.008 doesn’t mean that
the information must be denied to the
public. It means it can be denied. And
when government can deny the public
information, it often does.
Dembrow’s bill simply requires
the Oregon Health Authority or local
public health administrator to release
aggregate information about report-
able disease investigations that does
not identify individual cases or sources
of information after receiving a public
records request. This would not only
apply to COVID-19. It would also apply
to salmonella and E. coli outbreaks.
State officials are trying to encour-
age Oregonians to get vaccinated and
continue to obey COVID restrictions
and guidelines. It would send the wrong
signal for the Legislature to now tell
Oregonians: “Let’s keep the secrecy”
and not pass this bill.
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
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of 400 words or less on public issues and public
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211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
Vaccines and prescribed fire
BILL
ANEY
THIS LAND IS OUR LAND
I
t is prescribed burn season in the
Blue Mountains. Springtime condi-
tions allow land managers to use fire
safely to reduce fuels, improve habitat
and make our forests healthier. Over
the course of my career with the Forest
Service, I loved prescribed burn season,
as it was tremendously fulfilling to see
fire returned to its place in the ecosys-
tem.
I retired from that career several
years ago, and since April 2020 I have
been working with Umatilla County
Public Health to limit the spread of
COVID-19 through contact tracing and
vaccination clinics. It occurred to me
recently that the relationship between
prescribed burning and wildfire is in
some ways like the relationship between
the pandemics and vaccinations. I love
torturing analogies to see if they can
help me think and learn about complex
problems, so bear with me here.
One of the reasons for prescribed
burning is to reduce the risk of large,
destructive wildfires. Much of our Blue
Mountains is at risk of such a wildfire,
with millions of acres overgrown with
small trees and brush. Eventually these
acres will burn, whether by a planned
(prescribed) fire or an uncontrolled
wildfire, and when an acre burns it is
at least for a few years protected from
another fire. Fire ecologists tell us that
when 15-20% of a landscape has been
treated, the remainder of the area is
more protected because fire has less
ability to spread.
That sounds a lot like herd immunity
to me. Epidemiologists tell us that when
70-75% of the population is immune to a
particular disease, there is much less risk
of spread to the unprotected. Individu-
als in the population become immune by
either infection or vaccination. Infection
in my analogy is like wildfire — uncon-
trolled, potentially dangerous, but effec-
tive in building immunity.
Vaccination is like prescribed fire;
more controlled, with fewer adverse
effects, and also effective in building
immunity. Infection combines with
vaccination to build herd immunity just
like wildfire combines with prescribed
fire to better protect landscapes.
No one has the resources to do
enough prescribed burning to eliminate
the risk of wildfire in the backcountry.
Prescribed burning and the forest thin-
ning that is sometimes required to do
this safely requires much more person-
nel and equipment that our agencies can
provide. The prescribed burn windows,
where conditions are right for an effec-
tive yet safe burn project, are limited.
And of course, there is a limit to public
tolerance for smoke from the hundreds
of thousands of acres of burning that
would be required each burn season.
So, land managers prioritize. What
areas are most vulnerable to wildfire
spread, and where would the conse-
quences of a wildfire be greatest? Should
they prioritize treatments near homes
and communities? Or lower elevations
where fuels are drier and the winds
blow stronger? Or near valuable natu-
ral resources like remnant stands of
old growth ponderosa pine or salmon
spawning streams?
This reminds me of how health
authorities had to prioritize the early
vaccination efforts, recognizing that
we could not vaccinate everyone at
once. Health care providers and teach-
ers were vaccinated early because they
are most exposed to the virus, and we
could reduce future spread by protecting
these people. The elderly and those with
underlying conditions were also vacci-
nated early because they are at greater
risk of severe effects from the virus.
There is at least one key difference
between the tools of prescribed burning
and vaccinations. The vaccine is now
available to nearly all adults in the U.S.,
but an alarming number of people are
choosing not to get the vaccine. I want to
be absolutely clear about this: In doing
so, we are surrendering to the epidemic.
It will continue to spread, like wildfire,
until we reach herd immunity through
infection (and suffering, hospitalization
and deaths). In the meantime, we are
prolonging the time of mask-wearing,
social distancing, travel restrictions, and
the impacts on businesses, schools and
churches. This is lunacy, as we have an
alternative, much safer way to protect
each other through vaccination.
So this spring, when we see smoke
rising from prescribed burns in the Blue
Mountains, be gladdened to know that
land managers are doing their part to
manage the real risk of destructive wild-
fire. In the same way celebrate when our
friends and neighbors make the respon-
sible choice to get the vaccine, as they
are doing their part to help us reach herd
immunity through vaccination instead of
infection.
———
Bill Aney is a forester and wildlife biol-
ogist living in Pendleton and loving the
Blue Mountains.
YOUR VIEWS
Gomez would be
a valuable asset to
Hermiston schools
I have had the pleasure of knowing
Lili Gomez and her family for the past
two decades and it is because of this
connection that I know Lili is an excep-
tional choice for Hermiston School
Board Position 3. Her background
in education, knowledge of business
management and cultural competence
makes her ideally suited to serve our
district’s diverse community.
Education has always been a high
priority in Lili’s life. The daughter of
immigrant parents, she had been in the
Hermiston School District’s English as
a Second Language program through
middle school. Her enthusiasm for
improving the educational experience
for others started during this time while
serving as a tutor for younger students.
As a first-generation college student,
she has since earned a degree in busi-
ness administration, and continued
on to work as a teaching assistant and
English language teacher.
With over half of the district’s
students coming from Hispanic/Latino
families, Ms. Gomez’s education and
experience would make her a valuable
asset on the school board. She has the
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 local letters of endorsement 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.
passion, understanding and cultural
awareness needed to work with the rest
of the board members as they guide our
staff, students and their families moving
forward.
Please join me in voting for Lili
Gomez for HSD Board Position 3.
Michelle Kane
Hermiston
Support the first responders
that support you
I’m proud to be part of an area that
cares about our first responders. And
now is a time we can show our gratitude
for what they do as we create a safer
community.
Bond Measure 30-148 funds critical
and necessary equipment for our fire-
fighters and EMTs. Budget shortfalls
impact their ability to safely do their
jobs, and this bond will alleviate that.
Emergency personnel are on the
clock 24/7, and having adequate hous-
ing for both men and women and an
upgraded alert system will make sure
they’re prepared to their jobs. The bond
will also replace vehicles in the emer-
gency fleet that need to be phased out
so responders can meet the needs of a
growing region.
Umatilla County Fire District No. 1
leaders wrote this bond to prioritize the
most necessary investments, and has
committed to an oversight committee to
ensure the dollars are spent as intended.
For all these reasons, I’m voting in
support of Measure 30-148. Please join
me in supporting our first responders.
Ginny Holthus
Hermiston