Wednesday, January 5, 2022
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Courage
in the face
of COVID
challenges
T
he COVID impact spotlight has
rested — rightfully — on the
thousands of dedicated men and
women in the state’s medical system
who have remained on the front lines
of the pandemic for nearly two years.
Their commitment has been a
mostly silent one. They’ve gone to
work, completed their work and grap-
pled with the impact of watching peo-
ple become very sick or die from the
COVID-19 virus.
Their courage in the face of unprec-
edented upheaval should not be for-
gotten, but there is another group
— teachers and educators across the
region — who have, in some ways,
escaped notice of the challenges
they’ve faced and overcome since the
pandemic kicked off.
Our teachers, coaches and admin-
istrators have been in the spotlight
as well, but usually for a very differ-
ent reason. At specific times during
the pandemic, the people we trust to
educate our youths somehow ended
up in the middle of a political debate
regarding masks and the very severity
of COVID-19 itself. For reasons that
remain mysterious, teachers, coaches
and administrators were tossed into the
maelstrom of debate about COVID-
19, often becoming the targets for
decisions made at the state level they
had no control over.
Our educators — through no fault
of their own — also were forced to
completely adjust the way they teach
when schools were closed across the
state because of COVID-19.
These men and women at local
and regional schools faced an array
of serious — and often disappoint-
ing — challenges with little room to
maneuver.
The truth is teachers and administra-
tors should never have become focal
points of local angst about vaccines or
whether COVID-19 is serious or even
real.
Their job was a straightforward one
— teach our youths to the best of their
ability.
When the COVID-19 mandates
were handed down by Gov. Kate
Brown, an entire way of teaching —
etched into our collective conscious-
ness for decades — evaporated over-
night. That created huge challenges for
teachers and administrators.
Our educators — just like our med-
ical professionals — were not and
are not searching for praise. They just
want to do their jobs. Yet, it is fitting
and right to point out their contribu-
tions and sacrifices during the past
18 or so months of the COVID-19
pandemic.
We must not forget that our educa-
tors are part of our communities and
deserve support during these challeng-
ing times.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Checklist for
Republican standards
The mid-term elections are only
11 months away. Many of us in Wal-
lowa County might have some uncer-
tainty about which of the upcoming 2022
GOP candidates are really worthy of the
Republican brand. Given the high stan-
dards set by Donald Trump, Jim Jordan,
Marjorie Taylor Greene and, to some
extent, Cliff Bentz, not every would-be
politician could measure up. To aid in
that determination, I’ve put together this
convenient checklist. Our aspiring repre-
sentative should:
• Rail against Fox-fueled culture war
phantoms like critical race theory but say
nothing about the super rich paying their
fair share of taxes.
• Believe the right to infect others
with a lethal disease is a fundamental
freedom.
• Argue against science-based public
health guidelines.
• Promote medical treatments that
have no evidentiary support.
• Fight for the interests of 0.1% but
oppose “elites.”
• Claim that the Jan. 6 MAGA coup
plotters and cop killers were actually
“freedom-fighting patriots.”
• Assert that in spite of losing the
Electoral College and popular votes, as
well as numerous Republican-supervised
recounts, Trump’s 2020 victory was sto-
len by a vast conspiracy of Democrats
and RINOs.
• Insist that suppressing the vote and
nullifying elections are really what the
Founding Fathers intended.
• View foreign dictators, like Rus-
sia’s Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Vik-
tor Orbán, as role models for American
leadership.
Feel free to use this handy checklist
Have a heart for our
animals in the cold
Dear citizens of Wallowa County,
Well, the weather has been the talk of
the county this week. I hope we all can
be aware that our important farm animals
didn’t celebrate the holidays like we did;
in fact, while we were stuffing ourselves
and having good cheer, many of our beau-
tiful horses and cows went to bed without
a roof over their heads.
Wake up, Wallowa County. Build a
barn or shelter, or sell off your herd earlier
in the fall. Have a heart for our dependent,
furry friends.
Dick Rice
Imnaha
CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande office: 541-962-7691
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa County Chieftain editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of
the Wallowa County Chieftain.
LETTERS: The Wallowa County Chieftain 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
P.O. Box 338 • Enterprise, OR 97828
Office: 209 NW First St., Enterprise, Ore.
Phone: 541-426-4567 • Fax: 541-426-3921
Contents copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.
Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
• • •
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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@wallowa.com, or via mail to Wallowa County Chieftain, 209 NW 1st St.
Enterprise, OR 97828
General Manager, Karrine Brogoitti, kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
Editor, Ronald Bond, rbond@wallowa.com
Reporter, Bill Bradshaw, bbradshaw@wallowa.com
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Advertising Assistant, Devi Mathson, dmathson@lagrandeobserver.com
To submit news tips and press releases, call 541-426-4567
or email editor@wallowa.com
SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Member Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association
USPS No. 665-100
Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
to see which local GOP candidates might
deserve our vote.
Stephen Ducat
Joseph
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