KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Issues remain
after deadline
pushed back
T
he news that more than half of
Oregon’s state employees will get
an extra six weeks to get inocu-
lated against COVID-19 was welcome,
but the question of what happens after the
deadline remains unanswered.
Gov. Kate Brown pushed back the
earlier October deadline and set Nov. 30
as the final date state employees must be
vaccinated. The decision affects more
than 20,000 workers.
Yet many people — including many in
the health care industry — have no inten-
tion of getting vaccinated for a variety
of reasons, and that could mean the state
will face a new crisis on top of an already
spiraling COVID-19 surge.
Now, more than a quarter of all
health care workers in Umatilla, Union
and Morrow counties remain unvacci-
nated. All those workers would be fired
or forced to resign under the governor’s
vaccination mandate.
Dr. Jon Hitzman, Umatilla County’s
public health officer, said last week the
situation is like a game of chicken.
“Who’s going to relent first?” he asked.
That we’ve reached this point in what
is a once-a-century pandemic is beyond
troubling. It is sad.
Yet, here we are. If neither side budges
— and so far, the governor hasn’t indi-
cated she plans to back down — then
the small towns scattered across Eastern
Oregon will encounter a new medical
emergency because there will be fewer
qualified people to attend to those with
the virus and people injured or in need of
serious care.
In a sense, the area’s hospitals are
caught in the middle — a not uncommon
situation since the pandemic began — as
they must comply with the state mandate
but, at the same time, need qualified
people to operate effectively.
Ultimately, much of the final conse-
quence of this situation is out of the hands
of residents of the region. We can sympa-
thize with health care workers, or we can
feel they should all follow the governor’s
mandate but, in the end, it will be an
individual decision thousands of workers
have to make.
So, the real question is what measures
and fail-safes are elected leaders across
the region proposing to overcome a
sudden loss of thousands of qualified
workers? What will be the state’s role if
the region faces a mass exodus of health
care workers? Have local elected lead-
ers reached out to state leaders about the
issue? If so, what plan is in the works?
We can’t afford to wait around and
see who blinks first. We need actionable
plans in case we lose a great number of
workers.
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.
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SEND LETTERS TO:
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Learning from each other’s stories
REGINA
BRAKER
OPINION
I
t was intermission at a concert
some years ago at our rural state
university in La Grande. A former
colleague greeted me with a big smile
and asked, “Did you buy our house in
Pendleton? My mother asked if I knew
the people who bought it. I told her I
don’t know everyone here.”
I’ve thought back to that conversation
as we’ve made changes in the house, the
most recent to remove a heavy loud-
speaker from the attic when we installed
a new fan for better air circulation in
this summer’s heat. My husband and I
laughed at the likely fright caused by
sound effects emanating from under the
roof on spooky Halloween nights.
It connected with my friend’s sense
of humor and enthusiasm for bringing
others into the circle with a lively smile,
or by sharing a joke from their phone.
They’re the kind of professor who looks
for ways to support the weakest student
in class, even as the strongest work on
tasks that challenge them as well.
I experienced their expertise at a
summer seminar for teachers where I
was invited to participate, as it aligned
with my interests as a language profes-
sor whose curriculum included second
language acquisition strategies and the
development of intercultural compe-
tence. My friend brought people into the
complex work of developing cultur-
ally sensitive curricula, signaling to us
that there is always more to learn about
those around us as we hear their stories
and share our own.
And I am struck by the resilience
and wisdom my friend so easily brings
to interactions with others. The expe-
riences of a difficult life and optimism
in the power of education pave entry
with those who see little promise for
themselves, extending support and
confidence to develop new possibili-
ties for them. This professor started life
with many challenges, the first being
adoption when birth parents lacked the
resources to keep their child. Gradually
other doors opened because people were
willing to offer stability, new possibili-
ties and bigger dreams.
Early on, the elementary school prin-
cipal approved my friend’s continuing
attendance despite a series of changes in
residence. School offered respite from
upheaval and experiences of poverty,
bringing so many positive experi-
ences. Excellence at school as a path-
way toward a better future was a lesson
enhanced when their mother joined the
eldest daughter in attending college.
Home life changed in positive ways, and
the occasional days of tagging along
to lectures were highlights in seeing
greater possibilities in the teaching
profession. It’s funny what we remem-
ber, for my friend the campus coffee
shop’s ginormous cookies.
After the family moved to Pendle-
ton, a local attorney who presented the
Rotary exchange program at the high
school became a key mentor, suggesting
that my friend apply. An internship at
his law office brought the financial assis-
tance necessary to a successful applica-
tion to the program, and the following
year my friend was off to Mexico for a
life-changing experience.
Perhaps even more important than
the positive adventure of “learning
Spanish, meeting amazing people and
falling in love with the Mexican people,
language,and culture” were the inev-
itable challenges. In their words, “for
the first time in my life I was not a
straight-A student and there were many
challenges with language, communica-
tion and culture shock.” These expe-
riences confirmed the wish to become
a teacher, the way forward now clear
in a desire to teach Spanish. Follow-
ing opportunities to work in ESL and a
teaching position in Spanish, graduate
studies culminated in hiring as a profes-
sor of Education.
My friend is now paying it forward,
directing the Oregon Teacher Pathway
program in its mission to diversify the
teacher workforce by paving smoother
high school to college transitions, and
bringing professional development to
preservice and in-service teachers and
community members as director of the
Center for Culturally Responsive Prac-
tices.
Their work extends to community
service and outreach through volunteer
activities, including advising students in
the Education Club at EOU in its work
with local food banks, and providing
tutoring and mentoring of local chil-
dren. My friend has come full circle,
and the wide ripple effect from their life
to others continues to expand, even as
another academic year begins.
———
Regina Braker, of Pendleton, is a
retired educator with journeys through
many places and experiences who enjoys
getting to know people along the way.
of Hermiston and Umatilla. They were
so supportive of the event, in so many
ways. Of course, without the close and
professional collaboration of the Luis
Palau Association, and their dedicated
and capable staff, the event just would
not have happened. Andrew and Wendy
Palau were amazing.
In addition, we appreciated the
support of Hermiston Police Chief Jason
Edmiston and his officers for helping to
keep the event safe. Umatilla Electric
Cooperative and Good Shepherd Health
Care System provided needed park-
ing. The Hermiston Parks and Recre-
ation staff were very helpful. Plus, over
300 volunteers served in many posi-
tions to help the events of the week run
smoothly. Actually, there are so many
to thank, for their contributions of time,
their skills, or equipment, we would fill
up a page acknowledging them. Thank
you.
Lastly, an event free to the public,
with nationally known artists and
entertainers, and all the technical
personnel that goes along with an
event of this magnitude, requires
significant funding. We want to thank
all those who financially contributed
to make the event happen. They appar-
ently understood the opportunities and
benefits that an event like this brought
would bring to region.
We hope that this is just a start of
greater community involvement by our
churches. We already have the “I Love
My City” activity in Hermiston. Hope-
fully that movement will expand, not
only in Hermiston, but into other local
cities across the region. We also know
that hundreds heard and responded to
the message of hope that our world so
desperately needs.
We are humbled and grateful to
belong to such a caring and generous
region who values hope for everyone.
Mary Corp and Phil Hamm
CityFest co-chairs
Hermiston
YOUR VIEWS
CityFest thankful to be
a part of Eastern Oregon
The Greater Hermiston CityFest was
an amazing event. The event had three
objectives: bring regional churches
together, 63 churches and organizations
participated; learn how local churches
can better serve their communities; and
provide a message of hope.
Nearly 5,000 people attended the
event at Butte Park in Hermiston to
enjoy the events, which included activ-
ities for kids, a BMX demonstration,
amazing motorcycle jumping with aero-
batics, national known entertainment
and a message of hope from Andrew
Palau.
Events leading up to and including
festival week involved another 1,500
people.
An event of this caliber would not
have happened without the tremendous
support from many. We thank the cities