THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 B5
EDITORIALS & OPINIONS
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Heidi Wright
Gerry O’Brien
Richard Coe
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Quotas come to
the wilderness
Y
ou have had to get up very early in recent summers to be
able to enjoy a hike up Green Lakes Trail in the Cascades
without being escorted by a generous flock of fellow
hikers and happy dogs.
It’s one of the most coveted hikes
recreation.gov. The balance will be
around. Rushing water is by your
held on a 7-day rolling window so
side most of the way. If you are am-
people can be slightly more sponta-
bitious and in sufficient shape, you
neous. You can also call for reserva-
can keep right on going and summit tions at 1-877-444-6777 or visit a lo-
the South Sister.
cal Forest Service office,
The hike has been
open.
It’s not hard to if it It’s is not
a sensational bargain.
hard to un-
There has long been a
understand why derstand why the For-
requirement for a park-
Service has forced
the Forest Service est
ing pass and a wilder-
the public into quotas
ness permit. But buying
has forced the for access to the wilder-
a seasonal parking pass
ness areas. The trails
public into quotas are popular. Access is
was a simple-enough
hurdle, and the permits
close to a wil-
for access to the relatively
were free.
derness-hungry popula-
This summer, it
wilderness areas. tion. And some people
changes — for sure —
treat the areas alongside
The trails are
the U.S. Forest Service
the trail with less re-
announced this week. It
popular. … Could spect than a trash can
will still be a relative bar-
or a bathroom in their
the Forest Service home. Could the Forest
gain, but you won’t be
able to go unless you can
Service have stepped up
have stepped
snag one of the limited
enforcement, instead?
permits. “Beginning Fri-
up enforcement, That would take a very
day, May 28 and ending
like level
instead? That unwilderness
on Friday, September 24,
of security.
2021 day-use permits
We still can’t stop feel-
would take a very
will be required for 19
ing a sense of loss, be-
unwilderness like cause there is loss. Ac-
out of 79 trails in the Mt.
Jefferson, Mt. Washing-
to the wilderness
level of security. cess
ton, and Three Sisters
has become more exclu-
wilderness areas,” the an-
sive. People with time
nouncement read. A day-use permit and money are less likely to suffer
is only $1 per person per outing. An much of an inconvenience. It could
overnight permit is $6 per person
lead to diminished appreciation
per outing .
of the wild spaces close by — even
Some permits will go on sale
though they will be more protected
starting at 7 a.m. on April 6 at www.
than ever.
Historical editorials:
Mail run by children
e e
Editor’s note: The following editorials originally
appeared in the Jan. 27, 1905 edition of what
was then called The Bend Bulletin.
B
y a change in the mail sched-
ule up the river, designed
to avoid a Sunday layover
there, there is a layover of two days
instead of one, as formerly. This
mail route seems to be the toy of a
bunch of kids. Changes are made
without regard to the public inter-
ests involved, without much no-
tice and without sense, as a result
of which some part of the route is
continually and needlessly “balled
up.”
…
Let us not be too much harrowed
by displays of domestic infelicity,
such as has occupied attention here
in the past week. People of acute
sensibilities do not get into such
troubles and it is useless for those of
finer feelings to imagine how they
would suffer in such circumstances.
Dramatic acting is not suffering. It is
pretty clear that these people knew
each other before marriage, knew
the traits which must inevitably lead
to just what has happened in one
form or another. The harvest is not
pleasant, of course, but we do not
gather figs from thistles nor grapes
from thorns. No sensible person ex-
pects it. There is one great law, none
can fool or escape from, it would be
well to remember in these kind and
kindred matters: As ye sow, so shall
ye reap.
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.
Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press
My Nickel’s Worth
Protect our rivers
While fishing along the Lower De-
schutes last fall, I stopped at a high
point above the water and watched a
pair of salmon spawn. As they hov-
ered over a shallow gravel bar, the
female used her tail to sweep depres-
sions in the river bed to deposit her
eggs. The male seemed more preoc-
cupied with chasing rival males away
than spawning.
Watching them reminded me of
how rare and fragile this spectacle
has become, and how fortunate I
am to have the opportunity to wit-
ness it. It also reminded me of how
connected these fish are to the wider
landscape around them. The water
in the Deschutes drains from the east
slope of the Cascades, flows from al-
pine meadows in the Ochocos, and
bubbles up from the porous rocks of
Central Oregon. Those salmon re-
minded me that unless we as a society
value them and protect their habitat
through legislation like the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act, they won’t be able
to survive.
If clean water and healthy habitats
are a value to us, then it’s time to de-
clare it by expanding our inventory
of protected waterways. Sen. Ron
Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley’s new
rivers bill does just that. Passing this
bill will not only help salmon and all
the other plants and animals that de-
pend on those habitats. It will also
help each of us fulfill our responsibil-
ity to our children and grandchildren
by leaving them a landscape where
they too can marvel at this great natu-
ral spectacle.
— Ed Putnam Bend
Not such a great job
Listen to Gov. Kate Brown’s press
conference last week? Under the im-
pression the state is doing a bang-up
job administering COVID-19 vac-
cines? Sunday’s Oregonian headlines
and accompanying stories tell a differ-
ent story.
Front page “State warns of ‘chaos’
for seniors.” “Starting Monday, Ore-
gon will become one of the last states
in the country to make seniors 80 and
older eligible for the vaccines.” The
state admits there are not enough vac-
cines to meet the demand. But they
proudly announce a weekly rollout
for seniors 65 and older, adding to the
chaos.
Page 12: “Hundreds of large care
homes yet to receive coronavirus
vaccine” and “The governor errone-
ously claimed all residents had gotten
a shot.” According to her, “We have
gone through and vaccinated every
senior who’s wanted a vaccine that
lives in assisted living, that lives in
congregate care and in skilled nurs-
ing.” Facts, “as many as 307 of the
state’s 588 assisted living homes state-
wide have not been offered a first
round of the vaccines” and the same
for “more than 1,200 of the state’s
1,400 adult foster homes.”
Facts: “77% of Oregon’s 2,019
COVID-19 deaths occurred in Or-
egonians 70 and older.” Gov. Brown
chose vaccinating teachers before se-
niors in a “push to re-open schools.”
But schools have been slow to reopen,
fearful of face-to-face instruction.
“Federal officials have said schools
can safely re-open without vaccinat-
ing teachers.” The Page 13 headline
“State expected to begin vaccinating
inmates this week.” Explain to vul-
nerable seniors why “Governor Kate
Brown has authorized the Oregon
Health Authority to provide the state
prison system with 10,000 doses of
the Moderna vaccine for its inmate
population beginning this week.”
Thank you, Gov. Brown for telling
us you are doing such a great job.
— Jim Hannah, Redmond
Stop coyote killing contests
Coyote killing contests are bar-
baric and cruel! I would like to thank
Reps. Brad Witt, Rob Nosse, Sheri
Schouten, Janeen Sollman and Marty
Wilde for their support and spon-
sorship of House Bill 2728. I’m ask-
ing all representatives to vote for HB
2728, and put an end to these gro-
tesque coyote killing contests. There
is overwhelming support, across the
state of Oregon, to stop this awful
practice; it simply does not represent
the majority of Oregonians and their
support for science-based, humane
and ethical wildlife management pol-
icies.
Studies have shown that the killing
contests do not reduce coyote popu-
lations, but instead can cause splin-
tered packs, and increased reproduc-
tion rates. These contests have also
not proven to be an effective means
to reduce conflict with livestock or
increase game species. Please follow
suit with Washington, Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona, Massachusetts, Cal-
ifornia, and Vermont, and finally stop
coyote killing contests and pass HB
2728!
— Renee Espenel, Portland
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Why people who work in nursing homes aren’t getting shots
BY ASIF MERCHANT
Special to The Washington Post
I
n almost two decades working in
nursing homes, I’ve never been
through a time as dire as last
spring. Facilities like mine, in the
greater Boston area, were working
with minimal to no protective gear,
very little infection-control training,
limited laboratory services and con-
stantly changing public-health guide-
lines. Residents with COVID-19 de-
teriorated so quickly that they’d crash
right in front of me, before we even
got their test results.
Staff members got sick, and oth-
ers stayed home because they were
scared to get sick. While many
doctors stopped going into nurs-
ing homes out of fear for their own
safety, my team of physicians and
nurse practitioners felt it was our
duty to continue seeing patients ev-
ery day. The need was so great: Units
that usually had one certified nurs-
ing assistant for every eight to 10
residents suddenly had one person
in charge of 30 to 40; we were also
short on nurses. People weren’t get-
ting their meals or personal care on
time; they suffered from dehydra-
tion, bedsores and social isolation. It
was a heartbreaking time. I lost over
100 patients.
As we learned more about the vi-
rus — treatments, proper infection
control — conditions improved.
Then the vaccine offered our first
real hope that this pandemic would
eventually end. I got my shots in Jan-
uary, as soon as I could.
But I soon realized that not every-
one shared my enthusiasm. About
half the staff in the four facilities
where I serve as medical director said
they would not take the vaccine. This
might seem shocking: We work in
the medical field, and we saw some
of the worst ravages of this disease
up close. And yet, despite the misery
we’d witnessed, my colleagues were
wary of the one intervention that of-
fered a light at the end of the tunnel.
Health authorities across the coun-
try have reported widespread vac-
cine hesitancy among nursing home
staff. Uptake among residents is
high. But a national survey of certi-
fied nursing assistants late last year
found that nearly 72% didn’t want
to be vaccinated. The governor of
Ohio reported in late December that
around 60% of his state’s nursing
home staffers had elected not to take
the vaccine yet. Last month, a union
representing nursing home staff in
Maryland and D.C. estimated that
up to 80% of its members opted not
to be vaccinated in the first push at
their facilities. One Miami health
system found that only half its em-
ployees wanted to get vaccinated im-
mediately; about 15% said they were
not interested in getting vaccinated
at all.
Those statistics are much less
surprising when you consider who
works in nursing homes. A lot of the
certified nursing assistants I work
with are people of color. Their mis-
trust has deep roots: The United
States has a long, ugly history of doc-
tors experimenting on Black people
without regard for their consent or
needs. And working with the elderly
— another population our society
marginalizes and neglects — has
done little to shore up my colleagues’
faith that the government is acting in
their best interests. Nursing homes
were among the first and hardest-hit
settings in this pandemic, and we
never had enough N95 masks or
even simple surgical face coverings.
So when nursing home employees
are informed that they’ll be among
the first to get the vaccine — that
they’re in the highest- priority group
— they’re skeptical. It doesn’t help
that many of the most widely avail-
able educational materials about the
vaccine are produced only in English,
shutting out my co-workers who
primarily speak Spanish or Haitian
Creole.
I started running town halls, in
person and over video, to talk to the
staff in various Massachusetts nurs-
ing homes about the vaccine. Some
people come with questions about
their specific situations: autoimmune
conditions, allergies to food or medi-
cine, pregnancy. I’ve heard more lurid
worries, too. Some people thought
the shot had a GPS tracker in it that
would allow the government to fol-
low their movements. Others claimed
that the vaccine changed your DNA
and that any future children could in-
herit the mutation.
No matter how outlandish some
fears seem, I can’t shrug them off.
People’s concerns aren’t totally ran-
dom; it’s counterproductive to just
dismiss them. Instead, I try to figure
out where their understanding went
wrong and to offer an explanation
for that misunderstanding.
I also talk about why I took the
vaccine: I see COVID-19 patients
every day. I got the shot to protect
myself, of course, and to protect my
family members — especially my
parents, who are elderly and live at
home with me. I also want to keep
my nursing home residents and
co-workers safe; I have a responsibil-
ity to my community. And, I add, I’m
tired of all the precautions that have
become life-or-death necessities in
the pandemic. We all want normalcy.
Vaccine uptake is our ticket there.
e e
Asif Merchant is a geriatrician who serves on
the COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Group for the
governor of Massachusetts.