ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Local centers
add valuable
services to
fight addiction
T
he local area learned of some
good news last week when three
drop-in peer centers opened,
adding another layer of services that will
make a difference in the future.
The Oregon Washington Health
Network drop-in centers in Hermiston,
Pendleton and Milton-Freewater are
designed to offer support and guidance
from peers who can help people seek
addiction assistance.
Amy Ashton-Williams, the network’s
executive director, said the grand open-
ing of the Hermiston drop-in center was
monumental and we couldn’t agree more.
The drop-in centers are a grass-
roots way to help tackle addiction. The
services are free, which is another big
plus. The centers can offer a low-key type
of assistance to help those in need, and in
a perfect world there would be far more
such center than currently exists.
Addiction is one of those community
challenges that needs more attention from
us all. If we have not been touched by
addiction challenges — either person-
ally or with a loved one — it can be hard
to relate to the impact such problems
can generate. Addiction touches not just
the individual but those around them
and, often, impacts public safety. Police
spent a huge amount of time dealing with
addiction – in one form or another — so
the advent of a resource such as the peer
drop-in centers is good news for every-
one.
Addiction is a subject that can be easily
dismissed by those who have not been
touched by it. It shouldn’t be dismissed.
Drug and alcohol addiction costs millions
in taxpayer dollars every year. If a viable
method can be found — such as the
drop-in centers — to help it should be
embraced by all.
Ashton-Williams said in a story in this
newspaper that her organization already
had helped about 50 people in the past
few months. The new offices mean even
more people will be able to access addic-
tion services.
The centers are an investment in the
future in a real sense. They will provide
a key piece of infrastructure to help our
area combat addiction — in all its forms
— and hopefully, ultimately help make a
real difference in our collective future.
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
YOUR VIEWS
If you don’t feel well stay
home to stop the spread
Your editorial regarding individ-
ual responsibility and COVID-19 is
applauded but misses the mark. Indi-
vidual responsibility does not start with
masking and social distancing. It starts
with if you do not feel well stay home.
In my humble opinion, a venue
such as the Pendleton Round-Up was
squeaky clean of any variant of COVID-
19 until the first well meaning but
misdirected person with COVID-19
stepped on to Round-Up Grounds and
from there it went wild. COVID-19 may
well be here to stay so the world needs
to change its view from “Oh it is just a
mild cold, so I can go out,” to “I do not
feel well, I am staying home.”
The expectation of all kinds of
folks need to change, from bosses who
compel their workforce to be at work to
the friends who compel friends to party.
Carl Culham
Athena
Bi-Mart has let our
community down
Bi-Mart has let our community
down. With little notice they sold their
pharmacies, including the one in Herm-
iston, to Walgreens, which decided to
close it immediately. This has nega-
tively impacted many people, the
remaining options are limited. Walmart
is already extremely busy and has huge
crowds with long waits for service, and
difficulty managing complex medica-
tion issues.
RiteAid is seriously understaffed.
Recently their pharmacy has been
closed. People can neither obtain their
medications nor have them transferred
since other pharmacies can’t contact
them. That is an unsafe situation for
patients.
Safeway is trying to pick up the
slack but it is overwhelmed by the
huge numbers of people abandoned by
Bi-Mart and RiteAid. Also, they have
no seating, so people with mobility
issues are limited. If there is no riding
cart available, Safeway is inaccessible.
With many insurance plans, these are
now the only approved pharmacies in
town. The other two available choices
are not covered by many plans. They
are, however, both good pharmacies.
Hermiston Drug has a reputation for
excellence. They are, however, difficult
to access. It is almost impossible to park
on Main Street and the parking lot in
back is some distance from the door and
treacherous due to its poor maintenance.
Good Shepherd Medical Center is
very capable and more accessible, but
costly if not preferred by insurances
(such as mine).
Bi-Mart’s ill-conceived and harm-
ful decision has negatively affected our
community. I will remember that in the
future when deciding where to shop.
Shelley Wilson
Hermiston
Urban Renewal District is
the future with drawbacks
A column extolling the virtues of
the Pendleton Urban Renewal District
suggested by the mayor and written by
City Councilor Kevin Martin, chairman
of the Pendleton Development Commis-
sion, recently appeared in the East
Oregonian.
Successful projects mentioned in that
article included new facades on some
of our historic downtown buildings
and additional apartments intended to
meet the demand for additional hous-
ing. These projects achieved the goals of
increasing the tax base on which prop-
erty taxes are computed and ultimately
should increase available revenue to the
city and pay for the program.
Residents were elated to see the
city finally addressing the deplorable
condition of our streets. Most of those
are in the URD. Unlike streets on the
North Hill and other parts of town
that are being repaired using gas tax
and utility fee revenue, streets in the
URD are funded with bank loans and
must be totally rebuilt to qualify for
PDC funding. Navigating a new street
through these neighborhoods gives you
the opportunity to switch your atten-
tion from dodging potholes to the urban
blight that continues to be a problem.
Southwest Eighth Street is a prime
example and reflects directly on city
management’s failure to act responsi-
bly to protect neighborhood property
values.
According to the city officials, the
URD program is self-supporting, and
repayment of the loans for projects
will be through property tax increases
resulting from a larger tax base. That
is not exactly the case. A rather large
detail that has a major impact on every
property owner, a detail that city offi-
cials conveniently are reluctant to
admit in plain English, is that a portion
of every property tax payment that
would normally go to the city’s general
fund to maintain city infrastructure
is diverted to fund the PDC budget,
and a major portion of that tax reve-
nue in the near future will be needed
to cover overhead and repayment of
those loans plus interest. Once those
payments commence in 2024, don’t
be surprised to hear those calls once
again from city hall to raise the utility
tax, water rates, and establish a gas tax
as repayment of those loans begins.
City officials will once again complain
of a shortfall in revenue to support
expanded city operations.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
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
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646