THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
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EDITORIAL
Counties
should set
vaccine
priorities
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown should give counties fl ex-
ibility in how they administer COVID-19 vaccines.
For Baker County, that means allowing the county
to make older residents a priority for the limited
supply of doses, along with teachers and other school
employees.
The state’s current vaccination guidelines — which
Nancy Staten, director of the county’s health depart-
ment, said the county must follow — do not refl ect the
situation in Baker County, or the relative danger the
virus poses to older residents.
Brown announced last week a signifi cant change in
the state’s vaccination priorities.
Previously, the plan was to offer vaccine doses to two
groups starting Jan. 23 — Oregonians 65 and older,
and education workers.
The governor said that proposal was based on a
pledge from the federal government that it would in-
crease states’ weekly allocations of vaccine doses. State
offi cials were anticipating about 128,000 additional
doses this week, said Jonathan Modie, a spokesman
for the Oregon Health Authority. That number was
an estimate based on “public messages” from federal
offi cials, who didn’t give the state a specifi c number of
doses to expect, Modie said.
Regardless, the additional doses aren’t coming this
week, Brown said.
As a result, she announced a scaled back vaccina-
tion schedule. Education workers will remain the top
priority, with inoculations starting Jan. 25, while older
residents will have to wait. Vaccinations for people 80
and older will start Feb. 8, Brown said, followed by
people 75 and older on Feb. 15, those 70 and older on
Feb. 22, and ages 65 and older starting March 1.
It’s reasonable to make school employees a high
priority for vaccinations. Those workers have made it
possible for Baker School District students from kin-
dergarten to sixth grade to return to in-person classes,
full-time, since Oct. 14. And they teach and work with
Baker Middle School and Baker High School students,
who have attended in-person classes one day per week
since Nov. 9.
But the evidence shows that the school district’s
precautions have prevented the virus from spreading.
The handful of cases among students and staff were
tied to events outside school.
Inoculating teachers looks to be a necessary com-
ponent for resuming in-person classes in Portland
and some other urban school districts. But that’s just
not the case in the Baker School District, which has
proved that it can have in-person classes without
exposing teachers or students to a higher risk of infec-
tion compared with the situation outside schools.
What is beyond dispute, both here and statewide,
is that COVID-19 is dramatically more dangerous
for people 60 and older. In Oregon, 91% of the 1,800
COVID-19-related deaths were people 60 or older. Yet
that age group accounts for just 18% of the COVID-19
cases. The fi ve Baker County residents whose deaths
are related to COVID-19 infection were ages 82, 83, 85,
90 and 95.
The governor should allow Baker County health
offi cials to offer vaccinations to residents older than 65
so long as doses are available, even as the county also
tries to vaccinate teachers and other school employees.
Given how heavy a toll the virus has taken on older
residents, both in Baker County and elsewhere in Or-
egon, the state should not force that group to wait for
more than two weeks, in the case of those 80 and older,
and more than a month, for those between 65 and 70,
to have a chance to receive what could be a lifesaving
inoculation.
— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor
Biden’s daunting challenges
By Gromer Jeffers Jr.
When Joe Biden was inaugurated
Wednesday, Jan. 20, as the 46th presi-
dent of the United States, he faced a
nation torn by deep political and social
divisions, and a coronavirus pandemic
that has killed almost 400,000 Ameri-
cans and hurt the economy.
Biden’s challenges are more daunt-
ing than those faced by any president
since Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had
to lead the nation through the Great
Depression.
In 2009, Biden was sworn in as vice
president under President Barack
Obama, and the new administration
had to steady a country racked by an
economic crisis. But that doesn’t com-
pare with America today, where the
coronavirus pandemic is claiming lives,
tearing at the economy and leaving
many Americans without jobs.
And Biden is following one of the
most controversial presidents in his-
tory. The country is only two weeks
removed from an insurrection, where
marauders stormed the U.S. Capitol
looking to do harm to lawmakers and
Vice President Mike Pence.
As Biden takes the reins of govern-
ment, he’ll also have to deal with the
vestiges of Donald Trump’s term,
including a second impeachment trial
in the Senate.
“My fellow Americans, the deci-
sions we make in the next few weeks
and months will determine whether
we thrive in a way that benefi ts all
Americans, or whether we stay stuck
in a place where those at the top do
great while economic growth for most
everyone else is just a spectator sport
— where America’s prospects dim,
not brighten,” Biden said in unveil-
ing his pandemic rescue plan. “They
will determine whether we reassert
American leadership and outcompete
our competitors in the global economy
or whether we watch them catch up
and pass us by.”
Here are three things that Biden
must tackle during the early days of
his administration.
Get control of the pandemic
The last year of Trump’s administra-
Your views
I support our new
Congressman, Cliff Bentz
I am writing in support of
Congressman Cliff Bentz. I have
known him for many years. He
is a decent, honest, hard-working
person who has successfully
represented our District in Oregon
for many years and will continue
to do so as our representative in
Congress. He has my total support.
In response to the letters from Mr.
Meis, Mr. Reindl and Mr. Cimon,
I must fall back on my Southern
heritage. Anyone from the South
will know what this truly means,
“Bless their hearts.”
Brenda Holly
Baker City
tion was marred by the emergence of
COVID-19.
Thanks in part to Operation Warp
Speed, there are now vaccines avail-
able to help bring the pandemic under
control. But the distribution of the vac-
cines in many states has been trouble-
some, and more Americans are dying
of COVID-19 than at any point of the
pandemic.
Biden’s fi rst job is to fi x problems
with the distribution of the vaccine.
The sooner Americans are inoculated,
the sooner the economic and employ-
ment outlook will improve.
So much of the current vaccina-
tion plan relies on state offi cials who
aren’t qualifi ed to run such a massive
program. It would be nice to develop
public-private partnerships to speed
the process because private industry is
much better at supply chain manage-
ment and other logistical issues.
Biden has proposed a $1.9 trillion
COVID-19 rescue plan that, among
other things, would provide an ad-
ditional $1,400 in direct payments to
most Americans, raise the minimum
wage to $15, provide a $400 per-week
unemployment benefi t through Sep-
tember and produce $350 billion in
state and local government aid.
The new president must also
make sure that the nation is ready
to respond to future pandemics, and
along the way bolster the need to trust
science and logic.
Restore the nation’s reputation
around the world
It’s diffi cult for American leaders
to preach the virtues of the nation’s
democracy when it appears so fl awed
to the rest of the world.
Biden must make sure America is
leading the way on the issues facing
the world, including the economy, cli-
mate change, trade, human rights and
combating terrorism.
That means not only getting our
house in order, but developing consis-
tent policies.
Trump’s move to reevaluate some
trade agreements and the details of
other alliances were necessary to make
sure such contracts were in the best
interest of the American people. But
there are other areas of foreign policy
measures that Biden will have to
tackle, including foreign interference
in our elections and keeping a proper
check on Russia.
Biden also will have to assess our
lingering presence in Afghanistan
and Iraq and stay vigilant in the fi ght
against terror, both abroad and at
home.
The new president also is expected
to work with European allies on a uni-
fi ed China policy.
Healing a divided nation
The most obvious and toughest chal-
lenge facing Biden is bringing together
a fractured nation.
Nearly half the country didn’t vote
for Biden. Worse, there’s a nasty divide
between Democratic and Republican
voters that’s unhealthy and counter-
productive.
Biden campaigned on healing the
nation, and he’ll have to use the rela-
tionships he’s developed in his more
than 40 years in politics to remind
folks that we have more in common
than what separates us.
It won’t be easy.
Trump’s Senate impeachment trial
will make it diffi cult for Biden to ap-
peal to Trump voters. And if Trump
becomes a martyr, the country could
remain hopelessly divided for years.
In politics, a divide is not prob-
lematic when there’s an avenue for
compromise.
If the promise of Biden’s presidency
is realized, he’ll be able to work across
party lines to break gridlock, even if
it’s only for the most important issues
facing the nation.
Biden has already set an example
by appointing a diverse Cabinet. He
must strive to show Americans that
diversity is not a threat to anyone, but
an asset for a great future.
Once he takes offi ce, Biden should
always look ahead and not get trapped
in revisiting Trump’s fractious term.
Gromer Jeffers Jr. is a political writer for
The Dallas Morning News.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. offi ce:
313 Hart Senate Offi ce Building, U.S.
Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-
3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce:
One World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon
St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-
326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Baker City
offi ce, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-278-
1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce:
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax
202-228-2717. La Grande offi ce: 105 Fir St.,
No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-
7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District):
D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn Offi ce Building,
Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730;
fax 202-225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 1211
Washington Ave., La Grande, OR 97850;
541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.
house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State
Capitol, Salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111;
www.governor.oregon.gov.
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street,
P.O. Box 650, Baker City, OR 97814;
541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City
Council meets the second and fourth
Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers.
Councilors Lynette Perry, Jason Spriet,
Kerry McQuisten, Shane Alderson, Joanna
Dixon, Heather Sells and Johnny Waggoner
Sr.
Baker City administration: 541-523-
6541. Jonathan Cannon, city manager; Ray
Duman, police chief; Sean Lee, fi re chief;
Michelle Owen, public works director.
Baker County Commission: Baker
County Courthouse 1995 3rd St., Baker
City, OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets the
fi rst and third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.;
Bill Harvey (chair), Mark Bennett, Bruce
Nichols.
Baker County departments: 541-
523-8200. Travis Ash, sheriff; Noodle
Perkins, roadmaster; Greg Baxter, district
attorney; Alice Durfl inger, county treasurer;
Stefanie Kirby, county clerk; Kerry Savage,
county assessor.