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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2015)
OPINION A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS HermistonHerald VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 3 JESSICA KELLER EDITOR jkeller@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4533 MAEGAN MURRAY SEAN HART SAM BARBEE JEANNE JEWETT REPORTER mmurray@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4532 SPORTS REPORTER sbarbee@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4542 REPORTER smhart@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4534 MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT jjewett@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4531 STEPHANIE BURKENBINE MULTI-MEDIA CONSULTANT sburkenbine@hermistonherald.com 541-564-4538 To contact the Hermiston Herald for news, advertising or subscription information: • call 541-567-6457 • e-mail info@hermistonherald.com • VWRSE\RXURI¿FHVDW(0DLQ6W • visit us online at: www.hermistonherald.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES Delivered by carrier and mail Wednesdays and Saturdays Inside Umatilla/Morrow counties ......................................................................................... $42.65 Outside Umatilla/Morrow counties ...................................................................................... $53.90 The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN 8750-4782) is published twice weekly at Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838, (541) 567-6457, FAX (541) 567-1764. Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR. Postmaster, send address changes to Hermiston Herald, 333 Printed on E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838. recycled A member of the EO Media Group Copyright ©2015 newsprint In praise of big families P ope Francis recently SUDLVHGWKHEHQH¿WVRI big families — that a big family teaches children VHOÀHVVQHVVDQGVKDULQJ ZKLFKEHQH¿WVWKHZKROH of society — and I couldn’t agree more. I was raised as an only ER\ZLWK¿YHVLVWHUVZKLFK was at once a blessing and a curse. When I was 12, the neighborhood bully was constantly picking on me, but I had no brothers WRWHDFKPHWR¿JKW0\ sisters taught me. I looked the bully dead in the eye and said, “You are soooooooo immature!” Despite me having no brothers, my father made me wear hand-me-downs. It wasn’t too bad most of the year, but Easter Sunday was unpleasant. Do you know how hard it is to outrun the neighborhood bully with your pantyhose bunching up on you and your bonnet ÀRSSLQJLQWKHZLQG" Though my sisters loved and doted on me at times, at other times they complained to my parents that my behavior grossed them out. (So I liked to pick my nose. Big whoop!) I longed to have a brother — longed to have someone of like mind and griminess — and almost was blessed with one in 1970 with my mother’s sixth pregnancy. (I had four sisters by then and my mother had suffered one miscarriage years before.) All of us were rooting for a boy. And if the baby was a boy we would name him Edward, after my mother’s father. I had big plans for little Eddie. I’d teach him to play ball. We’d ride bikes together. We’d go down to the creek by the water company and build DGDPDQGFDWFKFUD\¿VK We’d build a shack in the woods! Early one morning, my mother began having contractions. Our neighborhood went into Red Cross mode. Mrs. Krieger tended to my mother, as my father rushed home from work to drive my mother to the hospital. Other neighbors were assigned to watch over my sisters and me. And then Mrs. Clearly showed up with a meatloaf, as she did every time any family in our church had an emergency. I was placed with Mrs. TOM PURCELL Cagle columnist Gillen, since I was buddies with her son, also named Tommy. Tommy and I played all afternoon. But after dinner, Mrs. Gillen pulled me aside. “Tommy,” she said, in a somber tone, “may I talk with you?” “Yes,” I said, feeling suddenly awkward. She put her hand on my shoulder. “Tommy, it is about your mother. It is about her baby. Tommy, your mother had a miscarriage.” The doctor told my father the baby was a boy. We were all saddened by our loss, and my parents would eventually heal. They’d have one more child, my sister Jennifer, almost a year later, and our family would roll along. According to Breitbart, Pope Francis said that “the fact of having brothers and sisters is good for you: the sons and daughters of a large family are more capable of fraternal communion from early childhood.” He said that “each family is the cell of society, but the large family is a richer, more vibrant cell ... .” I found this to be true. My parents’ house is still a raucous place where people come and go at all hours. The laughter and drama common to big extended IDPLOLHVKDV¿OOHGPH with an incredible sense of joy and camaraderie. It has been great to be WKHRQO\ER\ZLWK¿YH sisters and, when we get together, we laugh as hard as we ever did. Still, I wonder how different my life would have been if I had a little brother. We could have teamed up to really gross out our sisters. And we’d surely be best buddies today. That’s why I still get sad, now and then, at the loss of little Eddie. — ©2014 Tom Pur- cell. Tom Purcell, author of “Misadventures of a 1970’s Childhood” and “Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!” is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Re- view humor columnist and is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Car- toons Inc. G What to expect in 2015 ood-bye and good riddance to 2014. As we move into 2015, what can we learn from how 2014 ended and how we’re now “trending” in various areas? Here are a few items to watch: • Look for signs of President Barack Obama’s REAL intentions. Not only were the results of the 2014 Congressional elections a “shellacking” for Democrats and Obama, a major paint job — with four coats of black and blue paint. Now the question is whether Obama intends to spend his remaining two years nurturing compromises where he can get them, or looking for ways to embarrass, check-mate, thwart and weaken the Republicans who’ve spent his term stalemating his agenda, trying to destroy his legacy and demonizing him. By December 2015 who will have had the last laugh? • Will the Tea Party tail continue to wag the Republican dog — or is the Republican dog now the Tea Party’s tail? There are already signs that House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are headed into a political buzz saw in their dealings with Congress’ most conservative members who favor confrontation, political brinksmanship and power politics over compromise, consensus and bipartisanship. Will JOE GANDELMAN INDEPENDENT’S EYE Cagle columnist Boehner and McConnell prove to be leaders who direct party members on a political path, or fearful followers and panderers obsessed with not losing support? • Notoriety means big ER[RI¿FH1RUWK.RUHD and its hacking buddies’ attempt to keep Sony Pictures from releasing the comedy “The Interview” featuring a story involving the assassination of North Korea’s very much alive leader Kim Jong-un utterly EDFN¿UHG%\KDFNLQJ Sony and allegedly being responsible for making terrorist threats against movie theaters which subsequently pulled the movie, North Korea KHOSHGWKHÀLFNVKDWWHU online movie sales records. Add its almost certain release on DVD, cable and overseas showings, and North Korea turned a reportedly lame and inept comedy into ... big B.O. Get ready for some studio to announce a movie about a team of Navy Seals assigned force ISIS leaders to eat pork chops. • Hollywood may get more daring. Never underestimate Hollywood’s ability to grind out predictable sequels, formula action pix and cookie-cutter kids’ movies. 2014 gave us the ¿OP³%LUGPDQ´IHDWXULQJ a comeback-generating performance by Michael .HDWRQ¿OPHGWRPDNHLW appear to have been shot in one or a few continuous takes, with an ending that left moviegoers debating and guessing. It started off in limited release and immediately soared, with more theaters quickly added. Acceptance of the TXLUN\¿OPLVDVLJQWKDW Americans don’t only yearn for (God save us) more Adam Sandler movies. Another sign came in early 2015 with WKHKLWUHOHDVHRIWKH¿OP adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods.” While Sondheim’s famous complex scores that often seem to be ÀHHLQJWUDGLWLRQDOPHORG\ may make theatergoer’s swoon, they’re more of an acquired taste to others. • The pizza revolution will continue. Pizza remains one of the biggest offenders when it comes to unhealthy fast food. But consumers are now demanding more than just sauce and cheese on crust, and they’re often getting it. Frank Peppe Pizzeria, the 90-year-old top ranked pizzeria from my home city of New Haven, has started to add restaurants in New York and Massachusetts. Pizza Hut revamped its menu with some unusual and often weird new ÀDYRUV:KHQ,ZHQWWR Colgate University from 1968-1972, local pizza in the town of Hamilton, New York was terrible to tolerable. Today, Hamilton’s pizza places offer r-e-a-l world class SL]]DÀDYRU • Will those mistreating ZRPHQ¿QG]HUR tolerance? 2014 was a bad year for politician and celebrity sex harassers, offenders and exhibitionists in the U.S. and in Canada. Will 2015 HQGLQWKHGH¿QLWLYH implosion of comedian Bill Cosby, who is reportedly hiring private investigators? • Can several big FRUSRUDWLRQVVWD\DÀRDW" Will 2015 end with a big “buh-bye” to the greatly- ailing JC Penny and to Radio Shack? • Species going extinct: The Siberian Tiger and 14 other species may be gone by the of the year, mostly due to human negligence or aggression. The black rhino is almost extinct. The Republican RINO is extinct. — Copyright 2015 Joe Gandelman, distribut- ed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote for newspa- pers overseas and in the United States. He has appeared on cable news show political panels and is Editor-in-Chief of The Moderate Voice, an Inter- net hub for independents, centrists and moderates. He also writes for The Week’s online edition. He can be reached at jgandel- man@themoderatevoice. com COMMUNITY APPRECIATION Family thanks agencies for rescue effforts Editor, This is a letter of appreciation to all who participat- ed in the rescue of Marie (Pat) Earle from the Umatilla River in Hermiston on the morning of Dec. 21. Included LQWKHUHVFXHZHUHWKH8PDWLOOD&RXQW\6KHULII¶V2I¿FH 0RUURZ&RXQW\6KHULII¶V2I¿FH+HUPLVWRQ)LUH'HSDUW- ment, EMTs, City of Umatilla police, Med Star chopper and others who helped. A special thank you to the good folks from the Country Church at Hermiston for their prayers and expression of concern. BILL AND PAT EARLE HERMISTON Thank you for Matheny Project support Editor, Thank you, from Sandy Matheny and Doriz Pitzer to all who continue to support the Matheny Project: those who buy the CDs, the East Oregonian and the Hermiston Herald for the informative articles and all who have do- nated their time. 3URFHHGVIURPWKH&'SXUFKDVHVJRWR¿QGVSLQDOFRUG research through OHSU. Special thanks to Walker’s Furniture in Hermiston and Murray’s Drug Store in Heppner, where CDs are available. For more information or to order online, go to www. mathenyproject.com. DORIS PITZER Balance beam is great addition Editor, To Hermiston High School and its wood shop: Thank you for a beautiful balance beam for learning to ... balance! Thank you! LITTLE DRAGONS OF MASTER LONEY’S SCHOOL, AND TOM AND MIKE LAIN HERMISTON ELECTED OFFICIALS STATE District 29: Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Umatilla Co., 900 Court St. N.E., S-423, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986- 1729. 101 S.W. Third St., Pendleton, OR 97801 (541) 278-1396. E-mail: ssen.billhansell@state.or.us. District 30: Sen. Ted Ferrio- li, R-John Day; 900 Court St. N.E., S-223 Salem, OR 97301, 503-986- 1950. 750 W. Main, John Day, OR 97845, (541) 575-2321. E-mail: ferr- ioli.sen@state.or.us. District 58: Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton; 900 Court St. N.E., H-480, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986- 1458. 2126 N.W. 21st., Pendleton, OR 97801, (541) 276-2707. E-mail: rep.bobjenson@state.or.us. District 57: Rep. Greg Smith, R-Morrow, 900 Court St. N.E., H-280, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986- 1457. P.O. Box 215, Heppner, OR 97836, (541) 676-5154. E-mail: smith.g.rep@state.or.us. FEDERAL U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden Sac Annex Building, 105 Fir St., No. 201, La Grande, OR 97850; (541) 962-7691. E-mail: kath- leen_cathey@wyden.senate.gov; (Kathleen Cathey, community repre- sentative); 717 Hart Building, Wash- ington, D.C. 20510, (202) 224-5244. U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley One World Trade Center, 121 SW Salmon Street, Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; (503) 326-3386; Dirksen 6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ 6'%% Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224- 3753. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd District) 843 E. Main St., Suite 400, Med- ford, OR 97504, (541) 776-4646, (800) 533-3303; 2352 Rayburn +RXVH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ:DVKLQJWRQ D.C. 20515, (202) 225-6730