ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Be safe
during the
holiday
season
T
he holiday season is a time for
reflection and the gathering of
relatives, but it also can deliver an
unwelcome circumstance — crime.
Every holiday season there is no short-
age of scams and other criminal activity
that can impact families and ruin what
ordinarily would be a fun Christmas.
While the local area isn’t consumed
with a crime wave, area residents
should be aware that even the simplest
actions can lead to an unfortunate situ-
ation where valuables and other items
purchased for the holidays disappear.
Social media is a great resource for
many things, and its power is unlim-
ited. Yet social media also can become
a fertile hunting ground for criminals.
Many of us like, when we go on vacation,
to post photos of our time away. We want
our friends and relatives to know where
we are and the fun we are having. The
trouble is that criminals also mine social
media for information and posting photos
and long storylines of your vacation is a
clear signal to someone intent on thievery
you are not at home — which means your
home could be unguarded.
Another favorite trick of criminals is
“porch piracy.” This occurs when pack-
ages are delivered to an individual’s
home, and a criminal is following the
delivery truck at a discreet distance. As
soon as the delivery truck departs —
leaving your packages at the front door
— the criminal moves in to steal the
merchandise. Again, such activity isn’t
common locally, but it is never a bad idea
to be aware such activity can occur.
The best defense, of course, to crim-
inal activity is to not post photos of
your vacation on social media. As far as
package deliveries go, homeowners can
avoid a theft by scheduling the deliver-
ies to arrive when they are home or have
the items brought to their workplace or a
neighbor.
Finally, we need to look out for each
other. That means if you see something
out of place with your neighbor, call the
police. Local law enforcement can be
swift to check out suspicious activity.
The holidays should be a great time
for everyone. Let’s all take some basic,
common-sense measures to ensure it
stays that way.
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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to withhold letters that address concerns about
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Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
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or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
YOUR VIEWS
Street repair, too much,
too fast?
In a recent edition of the East Orego-
nian, Pendleton City Councilor Dale
Primmer gave residents a comprehen-
sive update on the progress the city has
made this last year in its efforts to bring
the city’s infrastructure, specifically our
streets, up to par, including future plans.
Progress, to say the least, has been
slow. Delays have put the completion
date months behind schedule and qual-
ity is bound to suffer because of the
weather. Curing time for concrete and
asphalt is significantly degraded by
cold weather. It sounds like Pendleton
Public Works Director Bob Patterson is
taking so much heat over the delays that
he’s lost confidence in his own staff and
asking the city council to approve hiring
an engineering firm to develop the street
maintenance program his staff is unable
to deliver.
Is it time for the city manager to
consider making some overdue staffing
changes?
Future plans include spending $14.7
million on streets in the next three
years, with the bulk of that provided by
the good folks at the Pendleton Devel-
opment Commission for streets in the
Urban Renewal District and financed by
loans from Banner Bank. Once repay-
ment begins, over half the PDC budget
will be required for debt service and to
cover administrative costs.
The big question that everyone
should be asking is: What is the city
planning to do when the PDC money is
exhausted? This was briefly discussed
at the last November council meeting,
but the consensus of both the mayor and
city council was to take a “wait and see”
position. Can we really afford to wait?
Here’s an update on those replace-
ment vintage lampposts on Main Street.
Homeless individuals will no longer be
relegated to city parks to charge their
phones and other devices as the new
lampposts have outlets added at ground
level, kudos to public works.
So, what about an expanded camera
system on the Pendleton River Park-
way requested by residents? The
public works director has deemed the
current system obsolete, but a replace-
ment would be pretty expensive. In
lieu of that, Charles Denight, Pendle-
ton Urban Renewal associate director,
has proposed a comprehensive camera
system for Main Street merchants to
evaluate their business volumes during
promotions sponsored by the Pendleton
Downtown Association.
Evidently, they are unable monitor
their sales using traditional bookkeep-
ing methods.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
Republicans only now care
about the national debt
Well, here we are again: a battle over
the debt ceiling and funding to keep the
federal government operating that will
bring us to the brink of a government
shutdown, or over the edge into a full-
blown catastrophe.
After four years of profligate spend-
ing and tax breaks for extremely
wealthy individuals and big corpora-
tions, suddenly Republicans are horri-
fied by the size of the national debt.
Here are some facts, as outlined in a
ProPublica piece recently:
• The national debt rose by almost
$7.8 trillion during President Donald
Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly
twice as much as what Americans owe
on student loans, car loans, credit cards
and every other type of debt other than
mortgages. Candidate Trump promised
to pay down the national debt in eight
years. Instead, he presided over a 40%
rise in just four years.
• The growth in the annual deficit
under Trump ranks as the third-big-
gest increase, relative to the size of
the economy, of any U.S. presidential
administration, according to a calcula-
tion by Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of
the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
Two other presidents, George W. Bush
and Abraham Lincoln, had larger
growth rates, both due to war spending.
Trump? He just shoveled money out of
our pockets (by “our” we mean resi-
dents of this county) into the pockets of
hedge fund managers, CEOs of finan-
cial institutions and insurance compa-
nies.
Arguing over the debt limit legis-
lation will bring Medicare payments,
Social Security payments and infra-
structure spending to a grinding
halt. Of course, that’s their objective.
Here’s the thing: If the Republicans
retake Congress in 2022, be prepared
for whiplash as these same spending
hawks pass bills cutting taxes even
more for those least in need. It won’t
help the national debt any, but it will
sure gut the Build Back Better Act,
with good things such as protection for
families with children, affordable day
care, help with their hearing for Medi-
care recipients, paid family leave, and
addressing the climate needs (many
times greater than the help included
in the Build Back Better Act, but it’s a
beginning).
So have at it, newly-minted deficit
hawks. Just keep fiddling while the USA
— and the entire earth — burns.
Dan and Jan Blair
Joseph