ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
PHIL WRIGHT
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
THUrSDAY, JUNE 17, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Problems
with state
accounting,
again
T
he Oregon Secretary of State’s
Office audits tell us what we
know but need to be reminded
about: State government makes
mistakes with money.
Every year there’s a roundup of
these mistakes. And it’s clear it’s
necessary. For the fiscal year 2020,
state auditors found $6.4 billion in
accounting errors. That’s right, $6.4
billion.
Those were unintentional mistakes.
It’s not like somebody was trying to
abscond with $6.4 billion. They were
mistakes. Basically, numbers were put
in the wrong column and later caught
thanks to state audits. It does make
you wonder what wasn’t caught.
What can be more important is
when the audits uncover weaknesses
in the policies for handling money.
For instance, the Department of
Consumer and Business Services is
a state agency dedicated to consumer
protection and business regulation. It
failed to properly follow new account-
ing rules required for fiscal year 2020.
Other state agencies got it right. The
department misinterpreted the new
rules and reported about $400 million
incorrectly. That department also
failed to have required documenta-
tion explaining how it made decisions
about handling money in two areas,
such as determining what is uncollect-
ible money.
And there’s more. When state audi-
tors tested some spending to ensure
proper procedures are followed so
federal funds may be used to pay for
them, it found mistakes. The biggest
problem was in the child care and
development fund. That is a federal
grant program that helps provide child
care services for low-income fami-
lies and improve child care over-
all. Auditors found $4.2 million in
errors. Numbers were miscalculated,
provider copays were off, there was
a lack of documentation to back up
payments and more.
New report. Similar conclusions.
Without state auditors peering over
the shoulders of other state agencies,
even more mistakes would be made.
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
Are you prepared for wildfire evacuation?
MARY
WISTER
EYE TO THE SKY
icture this: You’re sitting at home,
enjoying dinner with your family,
when you look outside and see
smoke billowing from a short distance
away. You walk outside and join your
neighbors, who are curious about the
source of the smoke. The wind has
picked up and the sky quickly turns to
an ominous gray.
Where’s the fire? Fire engines
quickly pass by, but it’s obvious the fire-
fighters have no time to stop and answer
questions. You grab your phone to call
911 when your neighbor states there is a
Level 3 Evacuation, and everyone needs
to evacuate immediately. A wildfire is
heading toward your neighborhood.
Are you ready?
The National Weather Service,
Emergency Management and first
responders frequently discuss the
importance of creating emergency kits.
You can find graphics on social media
with a list of items necessary for an
P
emergency. In fact, you can probably list
at least several of these essential items
yourself — flashlights, batteries, cell-
phone chargers, important documents
and prescription drugs. You also may
state that you know exactly where to
find these items.
The prescription drugs always are
sitting on the bedside table. All the
important documents are in the safe
along with your valuable items. The
flashlight and batteries are stored
together in the laundry room. The
phone charging station is on the kitchen
counter, and there’s always food and
water in the pantry.
That’s great to be organized and
know where your belongings are, but
can you gather these items in a matter of
minutes?
On your next weekend off from work
or school, devote that weekend to some-
thing so simple but so important that
you will wonder why you never did it
in the first place. Prepare for a wildfire
evacuation.
There are excellent resources avail-
able for wildfire preparedness. By
simply typing ready.gov into your
favorite browser, you can find detailed
information for evacuation plans due
to a wildfire. Using these instructions,
commit yourself to make a plan and
stick to it.
First and foremost, you and your
loved ones are on the top of that list.
Make sure everyone knows that nothing
in that house is more important than
their own safety. If they have to leave
immediately, then leave.
It shouldn’t take more than two full
days to prepare your home and family in
case of an evacuation. Put this on the top
of your list of things to do on your week-
end, and you’ll be glad you did. That
fishing or camping weekend can wait for
another time. Does the car really need to
be washed on your next day off? Those
weeds will just return as fast as you pull
them, so why bother? I think you get the
point.
Don’t put this on the back burner any
longer. Make a plan.
———
Mary Wister is a meteorologist and
fire weather program manager at the
National Weather Service in Pendleton.
Wister serves as an incident meteorolo-
gist when large wildfires or other natural
hazards necessitate an Incident Manage-
ment Team’s quick response to protect life
and property.
YOUR VIEWS
City a contributor to
urban blight
Are you familiar with House Bill
3115? That’s the one that requires
cities and counties to rewrite their
laws to allow homeless camping on
public lands. Individuals must be
allowed to sit, lie, sleep and keep
warm and dry on public lands.
Warm and dry means tents. Guess
who’s the largest property owner in
Pendleton? Yup, is the city itself. So
don’t be surprised if you see a tent
pop up in your neighborhood.
The city of Pendleton has made
a few feeble attempts to rid the city
of excess public property. Perhaps
this will give our city officials an
incentive to really address the issue.
An example? How about that old
Oregon Driver & Motor Vehicle
Services building that was last used
as a temporary warming center? It’s
empty and most likely doesn’t even
comply with any current building
codes, yet there it sits, the city’s
contribution to urban blight.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
Scholarship drive builds
community
Hats off to the Good Shepherd Commu-
nity Health Foundation for hosting its annual
Drive for Scholarships event on June 11. It
was so refreshing to see so many people that
I haven’t had the opportunity to see for 18
months, or more, while supporting such a
worthy cause.
I look forward to many more great events
that build community and remind us of the
greatness we can accomplish together.
Mark Morgan
Hermiston
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us