ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
PHIL WRIGHT
News Editor
JADE McDOWELL
Hermiston Editor
TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Making
informed
vaccine
decisions
T
here never seems to be much good
news regarding the COVID-19
pandemic, but the information that
new data shows the infection continues a
gradual decline in the county should be
encouraging.
State health officials reported cases locally
have dropped for six consecutive weeks until
the week ending June 13. After that a slight
boost in cases was reported, but nowhere
near the numbers we reached earlier this
year.
That’s all good news, but more people
need to get vaccinated. Vaccination remains
the only reliable method to combat the virus.
Of course, no one — not the state or the
federal government — can force anyone to
get a vaccine if they don’t want one.
There remains plenty of people who
remain skeptical about COVID-19 vaccines
and no doubt are reluctant to get inoculated.
We believe everyone should be able to
make their own choice regarding whether
to get the vaccine. We also believe, though,
that critical decisions such as a choice to get
inoculated should rest on information, good
information.
There are a host of conspiracy theories
out about the vaccine and lots of misinfor-
mation. The key item for residents here —
and anywhere else — should be to be able
to make the best decisions possible with the
information at hand.
There are a host of places — such as the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and your own health care provider — where
a resident can go to acquire accurate infor-
mation.
The sources are out there, and they contain
the most up-to-date information available
regarding COVID-19 vaccines.
Once a person does the research and
contemplates the information, they are then
armed appropriately to make a decision on
getting a vaccine.
Misinformation, of one type or another,
proliferates across the nation and has for
many years. The advent of social media
doesn’t make trying to get accurate informa-
tion out any easier. Rumors spread on social
media and then become “facts” all before
a single piece of information can be double
checked for accuracy.
That happened in the last two elections
and is happening now with the vaccines.
Every person in the United States should
be able to make a decision on their town
about acquiring a vaccine. Yet, they should
do so from a position of knowledge, not
rumor and social media hype.
Doing the research is hard work some-
times and time consuming. But it is essential
in this day and age when information often
is touted as “facts” but in reality is just more
nonsense.
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
Nurturing hope out of heartbreak
REGINA
BRAKER
ANOTHER MILE
E
astern Oregon is a place where
connections with other people
abound across the expanse of
several counties. Early on as I was getting
to know Wynelle, we were talking about
where we had come from and worked.
She named her sister-in-law and asked
if I knew her. As so often is the case,
having worked at our rural university
in La Grande, I did know her, and was
surprised at this random connection to
my fellow soprano in the choir we sang
in.
Making new friends in a commu-
nity often starts with shared interest
groups, and gradually lead to discovery
of other things in common. That has not
been so easy this year for newcomers to
Pendleton, as they post queries on social
media about how to gain a foothold here.
Wynelle was welcoming to me as some-
one who herself had moved to Pendle-
ton years ago and appreciated those who
helped her gain insights into this commu-
nity.
A nurturer by inclination, she reaches
out to those around her, recognizing
something valuable in those whom she
supports and hopes to see flourish. And
I am still thankful to her for the house-
warming gift of primroses she left on our
front porch along with an invitation to
meet for lunch.
Wynelle and her husband have made
a deeper commitment beyond what
many of us see in our daily responsibili-
ties at home with family, in our occupa-
tions and in the community. Her story
is remarkable for the lives she and her
husband have touched, as they adopted
several children over the years, both inde-
pendently and through the state. Just over
the last four years they’ve welcomed 40
children into their home as foster parents.
In that role they provide a reliable, calm
and stable environment for children who
too frequently have experienced chaos,
neglect and trauma. Wynelle’s expertise
in medical care is essential, as is her belief
in the power of love to heal damage and
build resilience.
An adult lifetime in Pendleton with a
brief stint in Central Oregon came about
as the result of a commitment to help out
with a local church struggling to build its
congregation. With professional creden-
tials allowing Wynelle and her husband a
sense of wide-open possibilities for their
livelihood, they came to Oregon from
the Gulf Coast without personal connec-
tions and built their lives here. And as the
years progressed their family grew out of
a response to the immediacy of emergen-
cies that placed infants and older children
in their care — the first, a newborn baby,
in response to a call by their pastor. Their
children came to them at a week old and
then ranging from 3 to 12 years. Wynelle
told me, “God kept bringing them to us.”
No stranger to adoption, Wynelle grew
up in a sibling group of six children, two
of whom were adopted. And even though
her father struggled as a functional alco-
holic, his strong work ethic and support
of his children’s education beyond high
school, with three graduating college,
convinced her of the power of his legacy:
Support children’s strengths for them to
thrive. And so, even where there may be
seemingly insurmountable obstacles,
Wynelle’s children have had opportunity
to address what challenges them, while
nurturing their passions and talents.
Where there was loss and a late start,
that journey is not easy, but the hope and
promise that come from the investment
of compassion and love is powerful. Her
own children thrive and struggle and live
their adult lives, sometimes still needing
structure and encouragement where it can
be found.
The road Wynelle and her family
travels reminds us all of struggles we’ve
known in our own circumstances. During
this last year, COVID made the jour-
ney more difficult, and Wynelle and her
husband survived infection. They’ve
decided to transition toward respite care
and emergency response for foster chil-
dren going forward. Wynelle’s doctor
suggested she could retire, but parents
and grandparents don’t retire from their
roles. Where there still is the possibility
of being available where there is need, of
giving someone parental support who is
missing it, stepping away completely is
not yet an option, and I am grateful to her
for it.
———
Regina Braker, a retired educator with
journeys through many places and expe-
riences, enjoys getting to know people
along the way.
istration has recently stopped any more
construction on Trump’s wall, thankfully.
Trump also famously said that we
veterans who served and fought in the
Vietnam War were “suckers and losers.”
By clear inference, Trump also is holding
that the 58,000-plus Americans who died
in Vietnam are the biggest suckers and
losers.
At any rate, it is beyond me to compre-
hend the obvious support that many
veterans, and millions of non-veterans,
have for Trump, whose numerous legal
problems are just beginning.
Bob Shippentower
Pendleton
because of disease. The economy tanked
and not enough goods were produced to
keep businesses going.
The government, in order to prevent
a serious economic depression, provided
subsidies for furloughed, laid off or
disabled workers to keep the people
from doing without their basic needs.
While receiving assistance to meet their
needs, families survived and the econ-
omy began to show the possibility of
improving.
To the surprise of many capitalists,
unemployed workers are not eager to
return to work for the low-wage salaries
they were barely surviving on before
the pandemic. Apparently, the potential
employees are reluctant to go back to the
low-paying jobs. They are unwilling to
accept jobs producing goods they cannot
afford to buy.
Now our American capitalists
conclude that government must become
involved. Because they are not getting
their workers back, employers are
demanding the government stop paying
subsidies to help families survive. CEOs
and business owners want the govern-
ment to force workers back to work for
less than sustaining wages.
So my question is, if capitalism works
for pricing goods, why is it not useful for
paying workers to produce the goods?
Could not the economic theory of supply
and demand apply here?
Evelyn Swart
Joseph
YOUR VIEWS
Veterans supporting
Trump doesn’t make sense
On television news I saw some veter-
ans sporting a Veterans for Trump cap or
T-shirt. This brings up a few interesting
points about former President Donald
Trump, veterans and the military.
First of all, I wonder if these Trump
supporters are aware that he literally
bought his way out of military service.
When the Vietnam War was at its height,
Trump shopped around for a doctor
who, for the right price, wrote a letter to
the local draft board claiming Trump
had “painful” bone spurs in his feet and
should get a medical deferment from
service. The scheme worked, and Trump
successfully evaded military service.
In my opinion, in consideration
of his draft evasion, it was blatant
hypocrisy that then President Trump,
also commander-in-chief, gave the
commencement address to the 2020 grad-
uating class at the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point, New York. As commander-
in-chief, he probably just bullied his way
into having this honor.
Also, as president, Trump hijacked
hundreds of millions of dollars that
Congress already approved for much-
needed maintenance and improvements
on housing for military families, both
here and abroad. Trump then applied
these funds to his pet project — his
racist and shameful wall on our south-
ern border. However, the Biden admin-
American capitalism
at work
The American capitalistic system
is based on the theory of supply and
demand. When there is not enough
product to supply the number of people
who want and can afford it, the prices
increase. When there is more product
than people want or can afford, prices go
down.
Supposedly, this creates a balance
that benefits both consumers and
producers. According to the theory,
there is no need for the government to be
involved in this system.
Because of a global pandemic,
production has been low. Workers were
furloughed, laid off or unable to work