KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
THURSDAY, JUlY 28, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Finding
solutions
to public
records
access
I
t’s one thing to be frustrated with
how costs block the public’s access to
public records in Oregon. That’s easy.
Editorial writers are good at that.
Figuring out how to solve it is another
matter.
Oregon’s Public Records Advisory
Council is working on solutions. Next
week it’s going to be tackling a host of
issues about making public records reform
a reality. The policy questions include:
If fees are eliminated for public records,
there’s much less reason for people to limit
the size of their request. How could that
work?
If media should get a discount for fees,
who defines what media is? Is a blogger?
Is someone who writes a newsletter for a
group?
If other individuals or groups should get
a fee discount because a request is in the
“public interest,” who decides what is a
public interest?
Many records retained by govern-
ments in Oregon are not easily search-
able. Should that be a requirement moving
forward when governments in the state
upgrade technology? Related to that issue
is that often personal information that is
not supposed to be publicly released is
commingled in government data with
other information that can be released.
Should forms and databases be revised
to make separating such information
simpler?
You can email the public records advo-
cate with suggestions at PublicRecordsAd-
vocate.PRC@PRA.oregon.gov.
life is better
with Q&As
W
e like it when government
makes government easy to
understand. And the state’s
task force coming up with a health care
plan for people who bounce in and out of
health care coverage has made it easier.
Staff prepared a series of questions
and answers. There’s little you can do to
simplify the jargon of Medicaid waiv-
ers but the Q&A format sure makes the
policy issues much more accessible to the
public. You can see it here: tinyurl.com/
ORBridgeqna.
The state task force is trying to come
up with a program to cover about 55,000
people who fall into a health care gap.
Their employment status may change and
suddenly they go on or off health care,
being it the Oregon Health Plan or private
insurance.
The lack of continuity of health cover-
age can mean they are less likely to get
regular preventive care or health care
when they should be getting it.
The Q&A marches through what is
known about the population, what some
of the policy options are and the impli-
cations for the state budget. But it puts it
altogether in an easier to digest format.
Why don’t state committees do this more
often? We hope they will.
Friendship clicks with fellow shutterbug
TAMMY
MALGESINI
INSIDE MY SHOES
S
hortly after I started working for the
East Oregonian I periodically tried
to convince a friend to let me inter-
view her for a story.
Sometimes I sought Carol McIntosh
out because I knew she would add some-
thing interesting to the story. Other times
I was in a time crunch and was hopeful
she would help bail me out.
She always turned me down. And then
when she was quoted in a Tri-City Herald
article, I jokingly gave her a bad time.
“I got caught up in the excitement,”
she told me about being interviewed
during an Operation Thank You event. “I
will say yes to you someday.”
That day never came. Carol McIntosh,
81, died on June 24.
Carol and I became acquainted with
each other through our spouses. My
husband, John, and her husband, Jack,
both taught at Umatilla High School.
Our friendship further developed
through a shared interest in photogra-
phy. In fact, about a decade ago, I thought
Carol would jump at the chance to partici-
pate in a feature story I was writing about
amateur photographers.
Throughout the course of our friend-
ship, sometimes months would go
by between contacts with each other.
However, each year as it drew closer to
the Umatilla County Fair, we always
connected. We talked about everything
from where we could get mats for our
entries to what photos we were planning
to enter.
Carol used to get so giddy with
excitement. She could hardly wait to find
out how many ribbons she won. And on
some occasions, she didn’t wait.
At the old fairgrounds, she would
park her car on Orchard Avenue and
“sneak” into Price Hall late in the after-
noon on the Monday of fair week. With
judging wrapping up, Carol was able to
get a peek.
One time I asked her if she had
noticed how my photos did. Focused on
not getting caught in the building, Carol
said she wasn’t able to. However, she
convinced me to sneak in — it’s a snap,
she said, giving me pointers on how to
appear inconspicuous.
Evidently, I lacked the appropriate
skills. Calling her after my thwarted
attempt, she urged me to try again. I
changed my shirt and put on a different
hat — only to be turned away again.
We shared many laughs about that
through the years. However, from 2006
through 2019, when I served as a judge
in the fair’s photography department is
when the fun really began.
After finishing up with my fellow
judges, I would search for one of Carol’s
entries that had been awarded a ribbon.
Flipping it back, I would take a selfie
with her photo and send it to her. Despite
Carol nearly begging, I wouldn’t tell her
how many ribbons and what places she
earned.
Jack called me the day Carol died. He
didn’t want me to find out via an email
from the mortuary.
And in an ironic twist, despite Carol’s
reluctance to have her name in the news-
paper, Jack wanted to make sure her
death notice was placed in both the EO
and Hermiston Herald.
I’ll miss my friend’s infectious
laugh and the sparkle in her eyes that
expressed kindness along with a hefty
dose of mischievousness. Hopefully, she
will forgive me for putting her name in
the paper. Rest in peace, Carol.
———
Tammy Malgesini, the East Oregonian
community writer, enjoys spending time
with her husband and two German shep-
herds, as well as entertaining herself with
random musings.
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
phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned
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