COMMENTARY
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
What’s the perfect
gift for the woman
that gave you life?
W
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vote Lindsay for
Morrow County Judge
We are writing this letter
in support of Melissa Lindsay
for Morrow County Judge.
Melissa is the right choice for
this position; she has a lot of
passion and energy for mak-
ing good things happen in
Morrow County and will do a
great job in working with the
other commissioners to repre-
sent the county well.
We have known Melis-
sa personally for years, she
comes from a family of Long-
time Morrow County resi-
dents and wants to do her part
in helping Morrow County
continue to grow. Melissa is
someone that you can count
on to help get things done.
We have worked with her on
a professional capacity as
well, whether it was when she
helped us to get a loan for our
home or working on commit-
tees, clubs or coordinating
events.
Please join us in voting for
Melissa Lindsay for Morrow
County Judge.
JIM AND BECKY KINDLE
HEPPNER
Stanfield not losing
identity with new fire
district formation
I have been a volunteer
firefighter for 43 years and
on the board of directors for
36 years in Stanfield. I can
tell you that the forming of
the Umatilla County Fire Dis-
trict #1 is not a takeover of
the Stanfield Fire District by
Hermiston Fire and Emergen-
cy Services. The idea to join
both departments together
was started in conversation
by the chiefs of both depart-
ments. HFES will not be able
to continue to provide the area
with the level of service that
has come to be expected and
Stanfield’s number of volun-
teers is slowly dwindling to
all-time lows.
With the reformation the
new district would have a
new tax base that would al-
low tor the growth of the
department to keep up with
the growth of the area. This
would be done by hiring new
personnel that would start
Station 2 (Diagonal Road)
with a 24/7 response crew.
This would make quicker
response time on the east,
north, and southeast parts
(Stanfield area) and relieve
the in-town responses to
manageable numbers. With-
out it HFES continues to see
record number of calls and
in some instances sees a de-
lay in response because of
multiple calls at one time.
With a yes vote on the ref-
ormation, supplementing the
low number of volunteers in
Stanfield would be huge for
fire response in our areas. The
same time we get dispatched
for a fire, so would on-du-
ty crews from the Hermiston
area. Most of the time when
we get a call there might only
be one or two of us in dis-
trict to respond and having all
these resources tied together
as one would enhance that
greatly. The only other option
if you don’t agree with this is
come on down and become a
volunteer on your local fire
departments — even Herm-
iston could use more volun-
teers.
As far as people thinking
we are losing “our” fire de-
partment, that is simply not
true. We will still have a 4th
of July celebration and all the
other things the fire depart-
ment does in the public and
will have more help doing it.
The Stanfield equipment is
going to remain in the Stan-
field station with a different
name (Umatilla County Fire
District #1), serving the Stan-
field area, or something to
that effect.
Please vote yes on all bal-
lot measures associated with
this reformation and increase
the value of our local emer-
gency services.
hat will you be giving
your mom for Mother’s
Day? Or, if you are the
mother of one or more adult
sons, what do you hope to
receive for Mother’s Day?
I am looking for gift ideas I
can borrow — or steal.
Gift giving is not one of my
better attributes. I
never know what
to give for gifts for
birthdays and holi-
days, especially for
Mother’s Day.
How do you
choose a thoughtful,
Gary
meaningful
sym-
L. West
bol
of
affection
for
SHADES
OF GRAY
someone you care
greatly about?
I had a girlfriend once who
was good at choosing gifts. I
know the mechanics of how she
did it. She would pick up hints,
even when I wasn’t trying to
hint at anything. We were just
talking, and she would make
note of things and file them
away for later use.
I have never mastered that
skill. I need overt hints, di-
rection on what sort of thing a
friend or family member would
like as a gift.
But the best gifts aren’t nec-
essarily found in “gift stores” or
the seasonal promotional aisles
at local or chain stores.
Maybe I just don’t pay enough
attention to those little moments
in conversations where people
share things about their likes
and their interests. Or maybe
my mental filing system is just a
mangled mess.
ELDON MARCUM, ASSISTANT CHIEF
AND BOARD VICE CHAIRMAN,
STANFIELD FIRE DISTRICT BOARD
Support new ire district
We have been residents
of the Hermiston area since
1975. Over the years I’ve not
only seen the excellent work
and dedication of the local
emergency services but have
been the recipient of their re-
sponse and emergency care in
both fire and medical situa-
tions.
They are asking voters to
allow them to form a new fire
district that will allow them
to increase their tax rate a to-
tal of 55 cents per $1,000 of
assessed value. As the cost of
doing business rises this in-
crease in revenue is necessary
to keep up with personnel and
equipment needs. The facts
are available on the website at
www.hermistonfire.org.
The new district will help
meet future equipment costs
and add needed personnel to
staff the station on Diagonal
Road 24-hours a day. To make
this happen we must vote to
dissolve the existing fire dis-
trict and to form and fund the
new district, Umatilla County
Fire District #1. I’m voting
YES on both and asking you
to do the same.
BRYAN & LOU ANN WOLFE
HERMISTON
Whatever the case, when
gift-giving time comes along, I
never seem to be able to come
up with ideas for appropriate, let
alone great, gifts.
Besides, just how does an
adult son go about choosing a
gift that says: “Thanks for all
the sacrifices you made over my
lifetime, and for all the things
you continue to do for me?”
Like looking in on my cat
while I am out of town on busi-
ness for a few days.
I feel ill-equipped to show
my love and appreciation. Per-
haps that is not uncommon. But
I have reached an age where
increasingly more of my peers
have lost a parent and do not
have their mother or father to
celebrate with this Mother’s Day
and Father’s Day. And it seems I
should do a better job of trying.
Happy Mother’s Day, to my
mom, to my daughter’s mom,
to the mother of my daughter’s
mother. Happy Mother’s Day
to my aunts, to my daughter’s
aunts. Happiest of Mother’s
Days to all of the women who
give so selflessly to their chil-
dren and are so deserving of the
most precious jewels. May you
know the love that we, your fal-
lible children, struggle to show
and share, not just on Mother’s
Day but every day.
Gary L. West is editor of the
Hermiston Herald and Herm-
iston editor for the East Ore-
gonian. Reach him at gwest@
hermistonherald.com or follow
him on Twitter @GaryLWest or
on Facebook at www.facebook.
com/journalist.glwest.
I Love You Mom!
Many years ago on
this date you became
a mother.
How fi tting it is I get
to thank you for that
- and the years since -
on Mother's Day!
I love you,
Your Daughter
N
Nancy Storms
To a Wonderful Mom!
Who enjoys power shopping, the mother/
daughter weekends (need to do more), and
an occasional cup of tea to talk about stuff.
I love you to the moon & back plus infi nity.
Love, Your awesome daughter Dana
Happy
Mother's Day
Nana
Love you- Brad,
Marcy y & Family
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Yvonne Bunker
Mom to the world you
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are the world.
Happy Mother's Day
Love Kelly
To my dearest Mom!
You have been my best
friend, my
confi dent and my Mom.
To a special
Mom on a
special day!
Love you!
To the b best t mom out
there...
We love you always!
From all your
kiddos!
Happy y M
Mother's
ot
Day Grandma.
I love you very much!
-Carrie
Faye Hamman
Wishing you a very special
Mother's Day, may your day be
fi lled with happiness!
Love Ric
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