Photo essay of local graduations | A6
TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022
146th Year, No. 73
NORTHEASTERN
OREGON
Vets air
concerns
at virtual
town hall
Sen. Ron Wyden says
Eastern Oregon vets
need to have say in
changes to VA service
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Veterans
in Northeastern Oregon raised
a number of questions and
issues Saturday, June 4, during
a virtual town hall meeting
to discuss possible Veterans
Administration changes to
delivering health care in the
area.
This was the fi rst of three
virtual meetings Oregon Sen.
Ron Wyden, D, is holding for
veterans to give input in the
wake of vets at a recent Union
County town hall express-
ing concerns over a proposal
to move some VA health care
services from Walla Walla to
Spokane.
“The veterans who partic-
ipated were particularly trou-
bled about what they felt
was the direct touch that’s so
important for veterans health
care was just going away from
the rural part of the state,”
Wyden told those attending the
June 4 event.
Following the Union County
meeting, he said, he contacted
Dr. Teresa Boyd, network
director for VISN 20, the VA
Northwest Health Network,
and Scott Kelter, medical
center director of the Jonathan
M. Wainwright Memorial VA
Medical Center in Walla Walla,
where many veterans in North-
eastern Oregon go for services.
They both agreed to participate
in the three town halls.
Wyden said local veterans
are “troubled by a whirlwind
of hasty changes, involving a
new electronic health record
system, delays in delivery of
care and recommendations to
move VA care further away
from Eastern Oregon.” He
added he was concerned East-
ern Oregon veterans did not get
enough voice in the changes
and proposals, and he wanted to
make sure the Veterans Admin-
istration was not making “some
shortsighted cost cutting” at the
expense of veterans.
Wyden then opened the
fl oor to questions for Boyd and
Kelter.
See Vets, Page A9
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
MEMORIES and
PERSEVERANCE
Pendleton High
graduates 210 in
Class of 2022
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
P
ENDLETON — The Pendleton High
School Class of 2022 trod across
turf soggy with recent rains as they
stepped into the next phase of their
lives.
The wet grass didn’t bother them
one bit.
As senior speaker Melinda Cramp would
point out, these 210 Buckaroos made it through
much more to earn their diplomas Saturday
morning, June 4.
Pendleton High’s 130th commencement
ceremony began in the Pendleton Round-Up
Arena with words from Principal Pat Dutcher.
“It’s a day many of you looked forward to
for a long time, and also a day many of you
thought would not happen,” he told the class
and their families and friends looking on from
the arena stands.
None of them made it this far alone, he
said, a theme Senior Class President Kyle
Liscom echoed.
Photos by Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
A Pendleton senior acknowledges the crowd before collecting her diploma on Saturday,
June 4, 2022, during commencement at the Pendleton Round-Up Arena.
See PHS, Page A9
A Pendleton
graduate exults
after getting
his diploma
on Saturday,
June 4, 2022, during
commencement
at the Pendleton
Round-Up Arena.
5A STATE SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Savoring
the moment
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Winning a state
championship is a once-in-a-lifetime
moment for most athletes. The Pendle-
ton softball team is going to soak up every
minute of its state title.
Pendleton (28-2) defeated Wilsonville
2-0 on Saturday, June 4, to win the 5A state
title in Eugene.
Bucks senior right fi elder Chloe Taber
was still trying to process the win a day
later.
“It was just crazy,” she said. “There
were so many emotions. Oh, my gosh,
we just won a state championship. For us
seniors, it was ‘we are graduating in like 5
minutes.’ ”
Graduating at home plate is something
the players look forward to, Taber said.
“In Pendleton, if you play sports, it’s one
of the most iconic things that can happen,”
Ben Lonergan/For East Oregonian
See Softball, Page A9
Pendleton players hold up the Oregon School Activities Association Class 5A state softball trophy Satur-
day, June 4, 2022, after defeating the Wilsonville Wildcats at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene.