ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
SATuRDAy, FEBRuARy 19, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Solving
the state’s
child care
conundrum
W
e would like to see more action
on increasing the supply of child
care in this legislative session.
Gov. Kate Brown has proposed $100 million
in additional funding for child care. Consid-
ering the extent of the child care shortage
in Oregon, this is not enough to make a big
impact, but at least it’s a start.
The pandemic has exacerbated the
pre-existing shortage of child care for
infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Parents
of young children have had to leave the
workforce or cut back their hours when
child care providers have had to temporarily
— or in many cases, permanently — close.
Most Oregonians have become familiar
with the term “child care desert” and under-
stand this is not just a problem for families
with young children. It has become a major
workforce problem for businesses and orga-
nizations throughout the state. Lack of child
care makes it difficult to recruit and retain
employees, and is a big reason for employee
absenteeism.
There is a wealth of research proving that
economic investments in high-quality child
care and early childhood education pay divi-
dends in the short term as well as the long
term.
Most brain development occurs in the
first five years of life, so it’s important for
very young children to have a lot of expo-
sure to new experiences — reading, talking,
singing, playing — and to be nurtured by
their caregivers who are responsive to their
physical and emotional needs.
There is no doubt that children enrolled
in high-quality child care and preschool
programs do better in kindergarten and are
more likely to graduate from high school.
They are more likely to earn higher wages
as adults and less likely to end up in jail.
To have a dramatic positive effect on the
child care shortage, the Oregon Legislature
is going to need to come up with more than
$100 million.
Consider this: All kindergartners in the
Pendleton School District attend school at
the Pendleton Early Learning Center. In
2014-15, the cost to remodel Hawthorne
School to transform it into PELC was $13
million (funded by a bond local voters
passed). The price would be far higher today
due to increasing construction costs.
In comparison, the nonprofit Pendle-
ton Children’s Center estimates it will cost
about $6 million to acquire and renovate
property to create a center to care for 150
children age 5 and under. The organization
is dependent on donations and grant fund-
ing.
If the state of Oregon is serious about
building child care capacity in communi-
ties where there is a demonstrated shortage,
$100 million wouldn’t go far.
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
River Act a step in
right direction
Like many of our North-
eastern Oregon friends
and neighbors, we support
the River Democracy Act
proposed by Oregon Sens.
Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.
Meaningful action
addressing life-threatening
climate change is overdue.
Our waterways pay a heavy
price for our drive to squeeze
every last penny from natu-
ral resources. Centuries of
destructive practices have
damaged every ecosystem on
earth and threaten planetary
life itself.
Our full-speed-ahead
enterprise destroys plant
and animal species at mass
extinction rates, canceling
them from our intricate web
of life. In light of climate
change and biodiversity
collapse, destructive “busi-
ness as usual” practices
are worse than senseless.
We know better. Passing
the River Democracy Act
is a modest, yet important,
step towards protecting and
restoring our natural world.
The River Democracy
Act does not “lock up” our
public lands. They remain as
accessible as ever. Wild and
Scenic designation allows
restoration of these water-
ways and protects them from
future degradation. Wyden
and his staff have carefully
listened to stakeholders and
specifically addressed their
concerns in the bill.
Maps abound: A state-
wide map depicting all of
the proposed stream reaches
is found at tinyurl.com/
rdamap. The River Democ-
racy Act itself forms an
atlas, its stream names and
geographic details easily
found on any map or GPS
device. Acquiring ourselves
a detailed map of Killamacue
Creek, we find its reach
length is indeed 4 miles,
contrary to a public official’s
complaint it was but 2 miles.
We need long-range
thinking to protect the natu-
ral systems on which all
life depends. Two years ago
local citizens, businesses
and organizations answered
the call for nominations, did
their homework and made
their recommendations, since
reduced to protecting just
4% of Oregon’s waterways.
The River Democracy Act
represents local knowledge
and expertise in managing
local resources for a sustain-
able future.
Thank you, senator. Now
is the time to pass the bill.
Our kids, grandkids and
future generations will thank
you, too.
Mike Higgins
and Mike Beaty
Halfway
What happened to
cattle was unethical
As a retired cattle rancher
from the Snake River coun-
try, I know how important it
is to get cattle out of the high
country by snow time.
What happened to the
Dean Ranch cattle was
unethical, in my opinion.
Three important things
in ranching are: 1) good care
of your livestock; 2) good
care of your land, because
without good grasslands you
cannot have good livestock;
and 3) good ethical animal
husbandry.
What’s the meaning of
ethical? It is honesty, integ-
rity, impartiality, fairness,
loyalty, dedication, responsi-
bility and accountability. It is
also the practice of protect-
ing livestock welfare.
In ranching, livestock is
your bread and butter. They
are your main income, so you
have to do all you can to keep
them alive and healthy as
possible. To have a success-
ful operation, you have to
have respect for livestock.
Every season, every
month and every day has its
own set of tasks when ranch-
ing.
While you may get away
with putting off undesirable
tasks in the world outside of
ranching, it doesn’t work like
that when you’re a rancher.
Failure to be ethical and
to plan ahead is a recipe for
disaster.
Casey Tippett
Joseph
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 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