A8 The BulleTin • Thursday, FeBruary 4, 2021
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Oregonians don’t
need more secrecy
about vaccinations
T
he new model for Oregon’s vaccination policy is a dose
of secrecy. The Oregon Health Authority cut the public
off from Tuesday’s meeting of the Vaccine Advisory
Committee.
The committee has made recom-
mendations about who should get
the vaccine next. It’s a critical ques-
tion. The public has a right to know
what it decided and how it made
those decisions.
Every meeting of the committee
has been streamed live to the public.
Agendas, public comments, back-
ground materials and recordings
have all been available. Not Tues-
day’s meeting.
Why?
The committee “has completed its
official duties and fulfilled its pur-
pose of making recommendations”
about vaccination order to the Or-
egon Health Authority, spokesman
Rudy Owens said in an email to The
Oregonian on Tuesday. “OHA is
now working on planning for im-
plementation of the committee’s rec-
ommendations. OHA will conduct
an evaluation with VAC members of
the committee process.”
That’s one way to spin it. An-
other would be that a committee
that is recommending state policy
is holding another meeting and we
don’t want the public to see what it
is doing.
The recommendation that the
committee made was that the state
should next vaccinate people with
underlying health conditions, front-
line workers, people in jail or prison
and seniors and low-income people
in group housing.
But if you watched the commit-
tee’s meetings that were accessible to
the public you will know that there
was considerable, polite friction
about the recommendation. For in-
stance, several members of the com-
mittee emphasized again and again
that Oregon must do more to ad-
dress health equity for communities
of color. In the end, the committee’s
recommendation made no specific
request to prioritize vaccinations for
communities of color.
We would sure like to know what
the committee discussed Tuesday.
What is an evaluation of “the com-
mittee process?” Did committee
members backtrack on their recom-
mendation or express doubts about
how they arrived at it? Oregonians
will not know.
This is the second dose of secrecy
that OHA has pulled on Oregonians
in just a few weeks. It had decided
it would stop releasing basic infor-
mation about each person killed by
COVID-19. It was too much work,
OHA said. Gov. Kate Brown for-
mally backed the decision.
The timing seemed odd because
it could obscure the outcome of
Brown’s policy choice to vaccinate
educators before educating more se-
niors. The new policy also seemed to
devalue individual deaths, burying
them in a lump of statistics. Brown
ended up reversing the OHA deci-
sion — after news articles about it.
If Gov. Brown wants the public to
trust the government’s decisions, she
needs to compel OHA to prioritize
transparency, not more secrecy.
Should government require
diversity on corporate boards?
H
aving women and minorities
on corporate boards is smart
for businesses. But should
the state of Oregon dictate the
makeup of corporate boards?
House Bill 3110 would give the
state of Oregon that power. “If the
board of directors has four or fewer
members, at least one director must
be female and one must be a mem-
ber of an underrepresented commu-
nity,” the bill says. The requirements
tick up as the size of a board of di-
rectors increases. The definition of
underrepresented communities in
the bill includes minority groups,
people of mixed race and people of
low income.
The law would apply to publicly
traded corporations. Businesses in
violation would face fines of at least
$100,000 a year. The secretary of
state would also be required to pub-
lish a list of companies that comply.
The goal of diverse leadership is
unimpeachable. But isn’t the most
important characteristic of serving
on a corporate board relevant busi-
ness knowledge, skill or talent? And
why is being diverse so limited? Isn’t
this effort to be inclusive being ex-
clusive? What about religious pref-
erence? What about sexual prefer-
ence? What about different schools
of economic thought? Why don’t
they matter?
Diversity on corporate boards
is not a burden. It can be a lever
to success. The state of California
passed a similar law last year. Such a
law in Oregon could improve busi-
nesses here. It could also cause some
to question how much more the
state of Oregon will meddle in cor-
porate decisions. Tell your legislator
what you think or email us a letter
to the editor at letters@bendbulle-
tin.com.
Editorials reflect the views of The Bulletin’s editorial board, Publisher Heidi Wright, Editor
Gerry O’Brien and Editorial Page Editor Richard Coe. They are written by Richard Coe.
My Nickel’s Worth
Bentz should follow Kinzinger
As a newbie, Cliff Bentz would be
well served, just as a freshman in high
school does, by looking up to and
learning from one’s upperclassmen
and upperclasswomen.
Making stupid and avoidable mis-
takes early on tends to haunt you.
To learn the ropes, it’s not very
likely that Bentz will seek guidance
and wisdom from any House Dem-
ocrats, like his colleagues from Or-
egon, so my suggestion is for Bentz
to ask fellow Republican, Rep. Adam
Kinzinger, R-Illinois to be his mentor.
Kinzinger, a veteran legislator, re-
cently underscored his commitment
to his Constitutional oath and bravely
voted to impeach former President
Trump, breaking from the feckless
Republican crowd that included Mr.
Bentz. Courage over cowardice.
I offer this advice as a former and
proud Oregon Republican voter in
the mold of and admiration for many
of Oregon’s notable Republican lead-
ers like Hatfield, McCall, Atiyeh and
Paulus.
Even today as a registered Demo-
crat, I believe in a just, honorable and
honest Republican Party. Those of
us in Oregon’s 2nd District, regard-
less of party, would be better served
by someone of the character of Rep.
Kinzinger.
Mr. Bentz, in the high school ver-
nacular, it’s time to man up.
— Brian Bell, Bend
Who does Bentz represent?
The Oregon Republican Party re-
cently passed a resolution condemn-
ing the 10 Republican U.S. House
members who voted to impeach Don-
ald Trump.
The resolution compared them to
the traitor Benedict Arnold, assert-
ing that the Republicans voting for
impeachment “repeated history by
conspiring to surrender our nation
to Leftist forces seeking to establish
a dictatorship void of all cherished
freedoms and liberties,” and stating
that “there is growing evidence that
the violence at the Capitol was a ‘false
flag’ operation designed to discredit
President Trump, his supporters, and
all conservative Republicans; this
provided the sham motivation to im-
peach President Trump in order to
advance the Democrat goal of seizing
total power.”
The Oregon GOP resolution is
utter nonsense, but it begs a critical
question. Since newly-elected Rep.
Cliff Bentz did not vote for impeach-
ment and I believe has yet to repudi-
ate the Big Lie that the election was
stolen from Trump, and since he be-
longs to the Oregon Republican Party,
does he intend to represent the GOP,
or the citizens of the 2nd Congressio-
nal District?
— Eileen Harrington, Bend
More than impeachment
As I write this, more than 430,000
Americans have died as the result
of the COVID virus. Many of these
deaths are directly attributable to the
previous administration’s constant
stubborn denialism, breathtaking in-
eptness and callous disregard for hu-
man life.
I wonder if it’s time to stop think-
ing about the impeachment process
and start thinking about charging the
head of the previous administration
with manslaughter and criminal neg-
ligence?
— Jeffrey Richardson, Bend
Commit to truth
I was moved by the compelling ar-
ticle in Friday’s Bulletin in which 10
Oregon House Republicans rejected
the Oregon Republican Party’s lead-
ership’s claim that the Jan. 6 riots at
the U.S. Capitol were a “false flag” of
Democrats. As a progressive-lean-
ing centrist, I am moved to strongly
commend the 10 House Republicans
who had the guts to stand up to the
Oregon Republican Party leaders, and
spoke truth against the party’s gross
distortion of facts. Healing of the huge
political divide in our country must
begin with both parties commitment
to truth.
—Tom Hartrich, Bend
County got vaccination right
I had my first COVID vaccina-
tion this past Friday at the Deschutes
County Fair & Expo Center. It was
extremely well organized, quick and
felt very safe. From the front gate,
through the registration line, receiv-
ing the shot and waiting for 15 min-
utes before leaving it was a total of 25
minutes. There was an air of excite-
ment and good feelings through the
entire process.
The number of doses for Deschutes
County has been pulled back for the
coming week because it is ahead of
other counties in Oregon. It seems to
me that the Oregon Health Authority
is penalizing a group that has been ex-
celling in this process instead of hold-
ing them up as a positive example.
Wouldn’t it make more sense for rep-
resentatives from other areas in Or-
egon that are not getting the vaccine
out as quickly to visit and learn from
the model in Central Oregon?
Let’s spread the great work that
these people are doing at the De-
schutes County fairgrounds, give
them kudos for being successful and
share that knowledge with the rest of
Oregon. Let’s get everyone vaccinated
as soon as possible!
— Gerry Sharp, Bend
Letters policy
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Fax:
541-385-5804
GUEST COLUMN
The state’s ‘progress’ on foster care may be misleading
BY JENNA APP
S
ince the start of the pandemic,
official reports to child pro-
tection agencies have declined
across the United States by 20%–70%,
and the 22 member organi-
zations of the Oregon CASA
(court appointed special
advocate) Network, all of
which work with children
who have experienced abuse,
are concerned. This concern
stands in sharp contrast to
the Oregon Department of
App
Human Services, Child Wel-
fare Division’s recent news release on
Jan. 27 that “despite the challenges of
the global COVID-19 pandemic and
historic wildfires… the Division was
able to reduce the use of foster care to
a historic low.”
This assertion misses a funda-
mental point made with compelling
evidence by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the National
Institute for Health, and the Ameri-
can Pediatric Society: The pandemic
itself is the cause of the reduction in
numbers of children enter-
ing foster care – and this is
due to the simple fact that
children and families are
more isolated than ever be-
fore, making child abuse
and neglect harder to detect
and prevent. Nearly every
evidence-based publication
dealing with child abuse
and family violence has sounded the
alarms bells because the dramatic na-
tional drop in children entering foster
care means that vulnerable children
are not receiving the help they need.
Yet the Oregon Child Welfare Divi-
sion cites the statistic as evidence of a
positive accomplishment.
Studies have revealed that pan-
demic-related challenges, such as so-
cial isolation, loss of a job, financial
hardship, parenting stress, increased
alcohol/illicit drug consumption, and
emotional distress can significantly
increase the risk of family violence,
including child abuse. However, be-
cause of the pandemic-related restric-
tions, professionals (like teachers,
coaches, social workers and other
providers) who are trained to rec-
ognize and report child abuse cases
have limited access to children and
their families.
While overall reports of abuse are
down, many hospitals have reported
a sharp rise in child admission due to
severe injuries from family violence.
These findings indicate that the re-
duced number of child abuse reports
observed in data across the county is
due to underreporting and not due
to an actual reduction in child abuse
incidence.
Given the significant and
well-studied impacts of financial
hardship and psychosocial stress on
child maltreatment, many researchers
suggest that child welfare agencies, as
well as health care providers and edu-
cators, should be more vigilant about
detecting possible child abuse signs
during their online visits to children.
The real problem with the Oregon
Child Welfare Division taking credit
for the reduction in children entering
foster care is that it is celebrating what
is likely the opposite of a success story,
and in doing so is ignoring the need
for more action. Child abuse is pre-
ventable; implementation of strategies
including strengthening household
economic supports, better and more
equitable access to mental health pro-
viders, and creating family-friendly
work policies and support systems can
reduce stress during difficult times
and increase children’s opportunities
to thrive in safe, stable, and nurtur-
ing households. Importantly, orga-
nizations like the CDC are warning
providers to prepare for an influx of
children entering foster care as schools
begin to reopen, and the cumulative
impacts of abuse are realized and re-
ported. Is the Oregon Child Welfare
Division putting into place the re-
sources needed for the predicted surge
in need, or is the agency instead too
focused on issuing rose-colored press
releases?
The Oregon CASA Network is con-
cerned that in seeking an easy “win,”
the division may be failing to prepare
for what is likely a very difficult time
ahead for Oregon children.
e e
Jenna App is the director of the Oregon CASA
Network.