KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TueSDAY, FeBruArY 22, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
It’s time to
review what
worked and
what didn’t
T
he mask mandate sparked by the
COVID-19 pandemic for K-12
schools is set to expire at the end of
March, marking a turning point of sorts.
But while lifting the restriction will be
welcome, the world, and the nation proba-
bly will not see the end of the infection for a
long time.
Yet there is no doubt with cases from
the latest omicron variant surge declining,
a slight amount of breathing space now is
evident regarding the pandemic.
Now is the time for state elected lead-
ers and health officials to examine how the
pandemic was handled and how to respond
the next time there is such a malady or
another surge.
Let’s face it, since the pandemic began
the state and the nation has been in a
reactive mode. The COVID-19 virus has
dictated how elected and appointed leaders
responded. The restrictions developed at the
state level have been on and off and while
there seemed to be an overall plan it was
often marred by conflicting information.
What needs to happen now is a full-
fledged after-action review with public
involvement at the state level. A process
where all the decisions that were made
to face the pandemic are evaluated. That
includes an in-depth review of the effective-
ness of the various COVID-19 restrictions
that were enacted and whether they proved
to wise.
The review — perhaps completed
by a bipartisan Oregon House or Senate
committee — could collect as much infor-
mation as possible in an even-handed way
to answer any lingering questions about the
impact of the pandemic.
This committee should not conduct a
witch hunt to find fault but a methodical,
precise exercise. More importantly, such a
committee can develop best practices that
can and should be used the next time the
state faces such a horrific challenge as the
pandemic.
Because the future isn’t going to wait,
and we will face another pandemic in the
future. We need, as a state, to have a good
understanding of what worked and what did
not so the next time such a crisis appears on
our shores we can face it with the know-
how developed from hard-earned experi-
ence.
Such a task won’t be easy, and it would
surely create some controversy just because
of the political age we live in now, but it is
absolutely necessary for the future. The
state faced some difficult challenges during
the pandemic, and we must learn from
them and apply them the next time.
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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Unsigned letters will not be published.
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or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Waiting at the bus stop
REGINA
BRAKER
ANOTHER MILE
T
he phone rang. My brother and
I were together visiting our
mother in her assisted living resi-
dence. He recognized his ring tone and
answered. It was his daughter, calling to
check on how her grandmother (Oma)
was doing.
“Still asleep in spite of all efforts by
the nurse to wake her up,” he reported,
and added that we weren’t sure if she
had eaten any breakfast. A nurse had
stopped in to administer medications.
He filled his daughter in on all the details
he had just shared with me, and ended by
telling her that Oma was waiting at the
bus stop for the bus that would take her
away from us.
I’ve thought about that metaphor
since then. Throughout the last several
weeks, all of us who spent time with our
mother, grandmother, great- and even
great-great-grandmother spent time
waiting with her at that bus stop. At first
there were stories she told us, some at
great length, and there were songs we
sang with her.
After a week, the conversation was
up to us to carry on, with only a word
or phrase from her now and then, and
often only in German, her first language.
A week later she no longer spoke any
words to us. By then we texted status
reports to one another while she slept or
someone stopped in to care for her, as we
stayed as much as possible in her pres-
ence to tell the stories we would share
again at her funeral yesterday.
A month ago, a diagnosis of a mortal
condition if untreated led to hospice
intake for a woman who lived a long and
rich life, and was not shy about telling
most people she knew that she was ready
to go home. She set me straight once in a
restaurant when I misunderstood where
“home” was, assuring her we would go
as soon as we paid the bill.
Knowing her wishes allowed us to be
supportive of her and one another as we
scheduled our visits. And these became
even more meaningful when staff
members at intervals stopped to talk
with us and share some story we didn’t
know. People around her seemed in tune
with her needs, sensing the urgency for
a last time to speak in a loud voice to
her or converse with us to draw out our
stories, so that she could hear them one
last time.
It was still morning when the hospice
chaplain came by, a woman who had
only met my mother 18 days before.
Chaplain Jennifer had heard about some
of the life experiences of this woman
who had come to this country a refugee
from her home during World War II,
gaining some idea of what our mother
valued. She addressed her first, then
talked with me, and then offered a bless-
ing that brought a sense of calm to us
both.
Within a span of three hours that day,
my sisters joined me as we reminisced,
a nun came by to offer a prayer, and staff
sent us from the room to make comfort
adjustments. When we returned, our
beloved mother had gone.
The end of life does not offer us all
an easy journey, but it is one we all will
make. This one brought so much to
cherish: a time to claim last moments,
to respond to one another’s needs, to be
open to the love of strangers, and just
be in the moment. Many of us in our
communities are experiencing this kind
of loss.
And yet, for a greater number, the
loss is complicated, unexpected, far too
early for those left behind. For far too
many, the support systems are not fully
in place to help us in this journey. These,
our neighbors, need whatever solace we
can offer.
To those who have had to step up to
fill some gap in the past few years, and
to those who have long worked in this
overstressed field, I am grateful and
wish them replenishment of their inner
strengths for this work. They too deserve
our support in kindness and love.
———
Regina Braker, of Pendleton, is a
retired educator with journeys through
many places and experiences who enjoys
getting to know people along the way.
the virus? Follow the money to see who
wants what.
So I ask, is this vaccine even neces-
sary when we have any number of effec-
tive treatments for the virus?
Mark Barber
La Grande
significant differences between counties
as to who participates in these inquests,
such as independent parties, including
local veterinarians and county sher-
iffs, as well as possible deficiencies in
the state’s evidentiary standards. The
Izee case summary contains no record
that the eyewitnesses to the wolves seen
feeding on the cow were ever inter-
viewed.
until we are able to review the
complete case report, we recommend
all Grant County landowners remain
extra vigilant against what is sure to be
additional destruction of your private
property and be fully aware of what
your rights and responsibilities are when
wolves enter your private lands and
attack your livestock. We also ask that
you seriously consider who is allowed
to enter your property and for what
purpose.
Grant County landowners and graz-
ing permittees own and manage much
of the critical habitats vital for both the
wolves’ survival and the big game upon
which they depend, at little to no risk
or cost to the state or wolf advocates.
Our high-quality stewardship deserves
and demands that deference be given
to the private landowner when there is
any purported uncertainty in mortality
determinations — regardless of predator
species.
Anything less than that, or any devi-
ation from objectivity and fairness in
these investigations, will all but guaran-
tee the end of voluntary landowner coop-
eration with all state wildlife programs.
Shaun W. Robertson, president
Grant County Farm Bureau
YOUR VIEWS
COVID-19 vaccine:
Follow the money
to see who wants what
I am glad to see more people are
having the courage to question our
government’s reaction to the virus and
what they are asking, or mandating, us to
do. Is any of this really necessary?
Why is a shot that won’t prevent you
from getting, transmitting or dying from
the virus called a vaccine? I understand
that it might reduce a person’s symp-
toms, but is that what a vaccine is for?
Why are people we called heroes for
nearly two years all of a sudden a danger
to society and selfish people? What
changed?
Why isn’t the importance of things
like nutrition, supplements and building
one’s immune system being more widely
encouraged to lessen the severity of the
virus if contracted?
Since early on there have been doctors
who have been successfully treating
people with the virus, yet this informa-
tion seems to be hidden from the public.
These doctors and their treatments are
vilified and/or ridiculed by the media, the
pharmaceutical companies and many of
those in our government. The so-called
“fact checkers” on social media dispute
anything that doesn’t fit the proper narra-
tive. Facts don’t matter as long as they fit
the proper agenda.
Personally I have a lot more faith in
people who are actually treating and
healing people than I do in corpora-
tions and people who have an agenda.
Are they more interested in pushing a
shot or in actually treating people with
State should share
wolf attack records
The recent possible attack on live-
stock by wolves in the Izee area has,
justifiably or otherwise, confirmed
the suspicions of many Grant County
producers that they are unlikely to
receive equitable treatment when
government decides predator depre-
dations on livestock. Those decisions
determine whether the property owner
is entitled to the minimal compensa-
tion available and whether action can be
taken against repeat-offending predators.
The Grant County Farm Bureau was
among the first to receive the news of the
reported attack, and we are diligently
conducting our own inquiry into the
protocols used to investigate and deter-
mine livestock predations.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-
life has requested we ask for detailed
information on its investigation through
Oregon’s public records law; we assert
that every investigation report should
be automatically filed with the respec-
tive county Wolf Depredation Advisory
Committee and made readily available
to all landowners.
regardless, ODFW’s published
summary of the Izee incident raises seri-
ous questions with what appears to be