ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
SATuRdAY, JuNe 11, 2022
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
A tip of
the hat to
the Lady
Bucks
H
oo-ray for the Lady Bucks
softball team!
As readers probably are
aware, the Pendleton varsity soft-
ball team defeated Wilsonville last
weekend to claim the Class 5A state
softball title.
The narrow 2-0 victory gave Pend-
leton the championship trophy and
certainly created a legacy for future
teams to emulate.
The win, though, is all about team-
work and individual commitment,
two values that need to be reflected
upon by all of us.
America likes to fashion itself as
a nation of individualistic triumphs.
We celebrate the rugged individual-
ism that harkens back to the moun-
tain men who traversed the West in
the early 1800s. We applaud those
who seemingly single-handily over-
come steep challenges and remember
and honor their victories.
Yet very little in life is accom-
plished successfully without team-
work. From the family to large
organizations, people working
together toward a common goal is the
defining demarcation line to success.
Our military is considered —
rightly — one of the finest in the
world, but its accomplishments are
built solidly on a platform of team-
work. Victory indeed is not an
orphan, but it also is not a product on
a single person.
No, the triumphs in life we look
back on almost always are rooted in
the framework of a team. Perhaps the
team is a man and wife or two part-
ners or a family. Whichever way, the
road to success is one that is paved
with cooperation and teamwork.
That’s why team sports are so
wonderful and why the victory by
the Pendleton varsity softball team
should resonate.
The Lady Bucks didn’t achieve
their great win through the actions of
a single person. In their state cham-
pionship victory, no single piece of
the team was greater than the sum,
yet each individual played a key role.
The same is true of the parents and
school officials who supported the
team on its road to the big win.
Without everyone working
together toward a common goal,
victory would be far more difficult if
not totally elusive.
When a local prep team achieves a
great victory, it should be lauded but
there always must be the realization
that the win was a product of a lot of
people with different perspectives
working together to active something
extraordinary.
The Pendleton varsity softball
team showed that working together
really does work. Good for them!
YOUR VIEWS
Reflecting on
Pendleton’s 2020 Black
Lives Matter protest
In 2020, mostly as a result of
George Floyd’s death by police
in Minneapolis, the Black Lives
Matter movement was in the national
consciousness and the headlines and
other forms of media almost every day.
BLM also showed up here in Pendle-
ton via an event at the Roy Raley Park
in August of that year. I attended the
event, but unlike many others, I never
did publicly comment on it, until now.
To their credit, the BLM organiz-
ers of the event in the city park kept
their supporters very disciplined and
orderly while practicing their constitu-
tional rights of protesting the reckless,
and lethal, actions of an out-of-con-
trol police force. However, the same
cannot be said for the armed group
across Southwest Court Avenue in the
parking lot of a convenience store that
day.
It was clear and obvious this armed
group was trying to goad and taunt
the peaceful protesters into a phys-
ical confrontation that afternoon.
Some of the youth in this group were
no more than 12 or 13. Their “lead-
ers” had these young people taunting
and insulting the BLM group with
the obvious intent to compel them to
react in kind. However, to their credit,
the BLM group did not overreact, but
maintained their composure and kept
“their cool.”
A legitimate question now, even
almost two years later, is why did
some feel the need to bring the deadly
weapons to a peaceful and legal
protest? Also, if the BLM supporters
had reacted to the insults and jeers,
would those carrying deadly weapons
have used them? And where and what
would that have left us?
Bob Shippentower
Pendleton
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
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
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
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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 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
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letters will not be published.
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
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801