KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
State, port
need to
partner to
address
water issues
T
he list of issues voters should
be interested in is a long one,
and as events occur across
our region the need for more over-
sight of local and state government
by residents increases monthly.
A good example is a recent special
report by the Oregon Capital Chronicle
regarding how thousands of Oregonians
near Boardman live near or on an aquifer
that is contaminated by farming chemi-
cals making the water unsafe to drink.
State officials apparently knew about the
contamination for decades as did one of the
sources of the contamination — the Port
of Morrow — yet little was done about it.
The report outlined a dismal scenario
where the Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality knew nitrate pollu-
tion in groundwater potentially put
the health of a largely low-income,
Latino population at risk. The report
also outlined how very little was done
to hold the port accountable except for
fines and pacts that were violated.
That nitrates can and do infiltrate aqui-
fers in an area where the main industry is
agriculture isn’t a news flash. The ground-
water in Morrow and Umatilla counties
has been polluted with nitrates for a long
time, and a majority of it comes from
farms. Yet, for years the port illegally
pumped wastewater containing nitrogen
in excess of safe levels by the state from
its industrial complex to area farms. The
port’s excess disposal is alleged to have
made the water even more contaminated.
The port already has been fined by
the state and certainly there appears
to be a realization by officials at the
state and local level there is a problem.
That’s a good sign, but the next big ques-
tion is: Where do we go from here?
The area’s agriculture indus-
try is a multi-million-dollar mecha-
nism that powers the local economy.
Suddenly shutting down farms isn’t
practical, realistic or very sensible.
No, the port and state regulators who
are supposed to keep a close watch on
such issues should be called to task on
this issue and as soon as possible.
Moving forward, the state and port
officials should be working in concert
to discover how to avoid such a circum-
stance in the future. These discussions
need to be public and the residents should
have the opportunity to give input. The
area’s state lawmakers also should get
involved and questions for them should
center on what they knew about the prob-
lem, how long they knew and what they
are going to do to help solve the problem.
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
Too much all at once
ALEX
HOBBS
PASTURES OF PLENT Y
T
his spring has been brutal. We
experience the joys of 80 degrees
only to have the sun whisked
away, tucked behind a sheet of slate for
weeks at a time. It snowed on Mother’s
Day. I watched the sky let loose its fluffy
white contents and thought bitterly
that its charm wore off a month ago.
Despite wrathful skies, we see
spring’s transitory treasures emerge
anyway. Balsamroot blossoms
unfold from their buds, the goslings
down at the river rest in their moth-
er’s wake, marmots stand sentry
at their dens. Honey bees fly hast-
ily into their hives, their legs laden
with various hues of pollen.
This one carries a load of golden-
rod, the other deposits scarlet gran-
ules. Which flower have you been
rooting around in, little bee? Will we
detect hints of lupine and Colum-
bia lily when we jar your honey
in the fall? One can only hope.
We know that eventually autumn
and winter will reclaim them all.
After all, what novelty would
beauty hold if we beheld it daily?
In John Steinbeck’s “Travels with
Charley,” he posits a similar senti-
ment: “What good is the warmth of
summer, without the cold of winter
to give it sweetness?” Every year we
say goodbye to the beautiful some-
things: people, bees, flowers.
We do so without resentment because
we trust something else beautiful will
return in their stead. Or at least, return in
some variation because interwoven into
the repetition of our seasons is chaos.
Keeping Nature in such lovely balance.
My sons and I are studying the
Middle Ages and recently set up camp
in the Heian period in Japan. A culture
fixated on beauty, courtiers in the
Heian considered handwriting to be
an extension of the soul and well-writ-
ten poetry to be the pinnacle of status.
Yet, amid their attempts to carefully
hone their environments, the literature
that emerges from this period conveys
an acute understanding of the bitter-
sweetness of fleeting beauty. That
what blossoms will eventually wilt.
One such story is the “Tale of
the Bamboo Cutter.” It goes some-
thing like this: Long ago, a lonely, old
bamboo cutter encountered a stalk
of bamboo glowing with light. He
sliced it open only to find a baby girl
nestled inside. The baby grew into
a woman of surpassing loveliness
and bestowed her earthside parents
with riches beyond imagination.
They called her Princess Moonlight
for her otherworldly pewter glow.
Soon, the moonlit woman attracted
suitors from all over Japan. To secure
her hand, she gave each an impos-
sible task, though not out of cruelty.
Some gave up, some died and none
won her hand. Their overtures were
in vain as the princess knew she had
to return to her celestial home on the
moon. She is ushered skyward on
a storm cloud, but not before refus-
ing a potion to wipe her memory. She
wished to remember her time on earth.
I often go walking in the light of
the full moon, its silver glow reveal-
ing things unseen during the day. Like
the catkin of a hazelnut tree, it is with
us for such a brief moment and I don’t
want its light to go to waste. The lesson
each turn of the moon — each virides-
cent spring — attempts to teach us is
simple: to accept the transition of our
own something beautifuls, and to appre-
ciate the bittersweetness left in their
absence. The relationships sent adrift,
children released back out into the wider
world, a sentiment left unspoken.
In turn, I imagine these moments,
these relationships, like the moon at
its fullest. Overflowing with light,
mantled in the twinkling firmament of
a clear night sky. They cast shadows
where once there were none and bring
attention to the moon-shaped holes in
all of us. But they’re ephemeral, ulti-
mately unsustainable. Too bright, too
lovely. Too much all at once. Tempera-
tures dip back to freezing, the bees
return to their hives to sit out the winter,
and their honey finally runs dry.
———
Alex Hobbs is a former educator
turned full-time homeschooling mom.
She has a degree in political science from
Oregon State University.
in all disciplines, including math,
chemistry, English, biological and
social sciences. There have been thou-
sands of very successful Blue Moun-
tain agriculture students in a variety
of careers ranging from horticulture
to high school agriculture instruc-
tors to veterinarians. Most now live
and work in our local communities
and help to build the economic base.
There have been students selected for
the prestigious “who’s who” among
university students. Some of these
local agriculture instructors have
gone on to become administrators
in their own respective schools.
“We have only one good name” is a
truth applicable to colleges and people.
As the college board deliberates and
makes critical decisions, I strongly
encourage members to not lose sight
of the directive given many decades
ago to maintain core academic courses
in tandem with vocational programs.
Paul Davis
Pendleton
abstract and so on. More is not needed.
All photographs are “manipulated.” A
photographer chooses variables, camera
body, distance, lens, shutter speed, ISO,
aperture, filters, gels, strobes vs. ambient
light, etc. There is no precise defini-
tion of “significantly manipulated.”
Cameras in cellphones change
photographs taken with them.
Do people applying “effects”
consider that “manipulation”?
Photography in and of itself
is: The art or process of produc-
ing images by the action of radiant
energy and especially the “manipu-
lation” of light on a sensitive surface
such as film or an optical sensor. A
photograph is not necessarily “done”
when it comes out of a camera.
I think photographs should be
judged at face value. Tagging them
“manipulated” is confusing. When
you look at a picture you know what
you like and do not like, we all do.
Throughout history “the arts” have
always alluded to free expression. That
which had never been imagined was
created by free thinkers. There was no
criteria for the “how” of the creation,
simply an awe of what was presented.
The category called “significantly
manipulated” results in confusion for
everyone and serves no legitimate purpose.
Michael Gove
La Grande
YOUR VIEWS
‘We have only
one good name’
In the planning and formation of
Blue Mountain Community College
the first president, Wally McCrae, said
residents of Umatilla and Morrow
counties made it clear they wanted the
college to offer courses that would be
transferable to colleges and universities
and to provide vocational programs.
Over time “old blue” has kept that
covenant with our constituents. Blue
Mountain is often called a “gem” and
“the college.” Much could be written
about why Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College has enjoyed such strong
support and has earned that reputation.
I write from the “old blue” perspec-
tive that I know best. For 30 years
it was my privilege to teach animal
science courses at BMCC. Our agri-
culture department offers courses
that transfer to colleges and univer-
sities as well as vocational hands-on
classes and labs. Between 1976-80
the Blue Mountain ag department
established transfer agreements with
Oregon State University, Washing-
ton State University and the Univer-
sity of Idaho. To date, the success of
BMCC ag students has earned them
bachelor’s of science and advanced
degrees from at least 12 universities.
Students credit their success to the
advising and academic rigor at BMCC
‘Significantly manipulated’
photography is confusing
The category of “significantly
manipulated” applied to photogra-
phy in some exhibits today is confus-
ing, I philosophically disagree with its
premise. I believe photographs could be
divided by things like portrait, scenery,