OPINION
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
An ode to the opossum
LETTERS
Moving on
to a new
community
To the editor:
Aft er 44 years of living
in Hermiston I have
made the hardest de-
cision of my lie. I have
sold my home and will
be moving to Newberg
to be near my grand-
children.
I came to run the
Hermiston Day Care
Center. Th ree months
later we started fund-
raising and I began to
see what really made
this community work.
It is a community of
givers and volunteers.
Since 1976 I have seen
dozens of additions to
Hermiston put together
by the community, the
local service clubs and
its many citizens.
My dad told us that
when we moved into a
rental we should make
it better than it was
when we moved in. It is
my hope that in my 44
years here I have left a
mark to better Hermis-
ton in some small way
because I know it has
given me a lifetime of
memories.
I was very apprecia-
tive of Tom Harper in
allowing me to write
some grant requests
to get Victory Square
Park started. I have
served 20-plus years on
the library board and
am thrilled to see our
library grow. My heart
will always be with the
Altrusa Club of Herm-
iston and my fi rst trip
back here will be for
our annual fundraiser.
I’m sure there will be
a feeding frenzy at the
over two dozen food
trucks to choose your
dinner before you begin
to bid on live and silent
auction items all do-
nated by businesses in
Hermiston. Mark your
calendars for Oct. 26.
Th ank you all who
have helped me along
the way. My phone will
remain 541-571-3440.
Call me when you
come my way.
Kay Burns-Bennett
Hermiston
Growing school
district needs
our support
To the editor:
A school district faces
all kinds of challenges.
I’ve had a front row seat
as a Hermiston school
board member for the
last eight years as we’ve
navigated uncertain
state funding, shift ing
initiatives and man-
dates, budgetary con-
straints due to increas-
ing PERS costs, and an
ever-growing student
population.
Th rough it all, the
school board has always
asked one question
fi rst: What is best for
our students?
Adequate classroom
space is a huge factor in
delivering a high-quali-
ty education. While the
state provides funding
for additional educators
as our student enroll-
ment grows, it doesn’t
pay for the classrooms
for them to teach in.
Th at’s why the school
board is asking voters
to approve Measure
30-130. It will fund the
construction of two
new elementary schools
and an annex at the
high school to make
sure we have the room
we need to grow. Th e
district will also be able
to purchase land for
future growth, because
we know Hermiston
isn’t going to slow down
anytime soon.
Th anks to the work of
the facilities committee
and an aggressive pay-
ment plan on previous
debt, we can present a
bond that accomplish-
es this goal without
raising the property tax
rate.
My time on the school
board is over, but I’m
proud of the work the
school district has done
and encourage a Yes
vote on Measure 30-
130.
Dave Smith
Hermiston
Making room
for more
students every
year
To the editor:
Th ere are more than
5,766 reasons for
Hermiston voters to ap-
prove Measure 30-130.
Th at was the student
enrollment for the
2018-19 school year,
and the number is
expected to increase
by about 9% by the
start of the 2022-23
school year, passing the
6,000-student mark.
The most valuable and respected
source of local news, advertising and
information for our communities.
www.eomediagroup.com
Thank you to the following businesses for supporting
If you’ve been around
Hermiston for a few
years, those numbers
won’t surprise you.
We’ve been growing as
new jobs have been cre-
ated and new housing
has been built.
Th e school district’s
facilities are already
beyond capacity, and
without building more
classrooms, the district
will soon have to buy
or lease more modular
classrooms. Th at’s an
ineffi cient way to spend
limited taxpayer mon-
ey.
By approving the
school bond, voters can
make sure we’re keep-
ing up with growth in a
cost-effi cient way. Th e
facilities committee and
school board selected
an $82.7 million bond
package that will be
funded by leveraging
the city’s growth. Indus-
trial, commercial and
residential property
taxpayers who build or
expand in Hermiston
over the life of the bond
will be added to the tax
rolls and help cover the
cost, allowing current
taxpayers to keep the
rate that was recently
lowered when Herm-
iston paid off previous
debt.
It’s the right time to
make this investment
in Hermiston’s students
and say Yes to Hermis-
ton Schools.
Delores Piersol
Hermiston
verybody seems to
have an opossum
story. My favorite is
we thought it was an ugly
cat until we tried to put a fl ea
collar on it.
I have dealt with many
opossum and their prob-
lems and have found them
somewhat amiable and
seemingly a clueless wan-
derer. Their search for free
meals brings them closer to
humans. Feeding pets out-
side, especially canned cat
food, is inviting them to take
up residence. They usually
maintain and mark out small
ranges and develop attitudes
like an old bear’s — “You
do not mess with me and I
will not bother you.”
Opossum can be destruc-
tive to yards and spread
harmful parasites. However,
they are known to eat ticks,
not be aggressive, and are
active only at night. They
are more interesting than the
average neighborhood pest.
Their bad smell and death
trances as a defense mecha-
nism are well known. They
are one of the oldest mam-
mals in existence at 65 mil-
lion years.
Males are called jacks,
females are jills and
young are joeys. They are
extremely adaptable and
dine on pretty much any-
thing. They never get big-
ger than the average cat and
have a gestation time of 13
days. Opposable thumbs and
prehensile tail makes diffi -
cult climbing and fruit pick-
ing a snap. They are not sus-
ceptible to rabies and snake
bites and are quiet except for
hissing and teeth snapping
when attacked.
They are North Amer-
ica’s only marsupial and
females do carry their young
with them. Native to the East
coast and properly called
Virginia opossum, they
were probably introduced
to the Northwest by South-
ern immigrants. Much like
exotic fi sh in the Columbia
River, they were brought in
and released as food. Every-
one remembers the Beverly
E
and possum sweet potatoes.
They naturally reside in
densely vegetative swampy
areas. They do not hiber-
nate and are increasing their
range as urbanization and
climate change temperatures
increase. I have seen them
across all climates except
deserts.
My latest opossum
encounter was counting
them on Umatilla River
Road. I have seen the OPM
(opossums per mile) go
as high as 4. This usually
counts dead ones and the
running joke is: Why did
the chicken cross the road?
To show the opossum that it
could be done. They prob-
ably use roads to eat other
road casualties and are sus-
ceptible to fast moving,
blinding traffi c.
After trapping a live one
I was in the position of dis-
posing of it. To compromise
with my co-workers, I trans-
ported it to a wildlife area
and released it. Relocating
problem pest usually only
transfers the problem. The
next morning I saw the dead
opossum as road-kill next to
the wildlife area.
One morning an adult
opossum was laying in our
yard with our Chihuahua
barking at it. I concluded
that it passed out from alco-
hol-laced rotting peaches. It
is unknown whether opos-
sum are tolerant to alcohol.
I soon realized that I had
just fallen for playing opos-
sum when I poked it with a
shovel. It moseyed under-
neath the deck. From then
on we teased the dog about
his special friend under the
deck.
Get use to encountering
opossums. They are tough
with good memories for
problem solving and toxin
avoidance. Their cleanliness
is maintained by their con-
stant grooming despite their
rumpled appearance. After
the initial surprise, you may
want to put a fl ea collar on it.
Wes Stonecypher is a
biologist and Umatilla
resident.
DEAR DRIVER,
YOUR RIDE HAS ARRIVED. GET IN AND LET’S GO!
SAFE TRAVELS, TOYOTA
Newspapers in Education
Their generous support of the Hermiston Herald NIE program helps provide copies of the newspaper
and unlimited access to HermistonHerald.com and the e-Edition to schools throughout the community.
Gas or Hybrid!
2019
0.9 % APR OR 1,500
1090 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston, OR
$
for 60 Months
541-567-8229
JeremyJLarsonDMD.com
1739 N. First St.
Hermiston, OR
541-564-0264
OldWestFCU.org
Delgado’s Beauty Salon
& Medical Massage
1150 W. Hartley Ave. #D
Hermiston, OR 97838
541-571-3629
620 E. Main St.
Hermiston, OR
541-567-3908
Bert's Auto
Salvage & Towing
DuPont Pioneer
Hermiston
541-567-1860
pioneer.com
2212 SE 9th St. Hermiston, OR 07838
Starvation Ridge Farming
Umatilla Electric Cooperative
750 W. Elm Ave. Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-6414 • UmatillaElectric.com
79937 S. Edwards Rd.
Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-5842
SR5
Excludes TRD Pro
BertsAutoSalvage.com
30775 Baggett Ln.
Hermiston, OR 97838
541-567-1042
corteva.us
For more information on the NIE Program, visit HermistonHerald.com/hh/nie. To make a donation, call 800-522-0255.
Due at Signing
5 USB Ports
Seating for up to 8
2019 NHTSA 5 Star
Overall Safety Rating!
AWD
LEASE A NEW 2019
2019
AWD
XLE
$ 2,999
$ 0 Security
$ 329 mo.
Deposit Due at Signing
36 mos.
YOUR
BUSINESS HERE:
1705 E. Airport Rd.
Hermiston, OR 97838
541-289-9800
eotechermiston.com
$ 2,999
Gas only.
Hybrid models
slightly higher.
$ 2,899
$ 0 Security
$ 239 mo.
Deposit Due at Signing
36 mos.
541-567-5050
QUIZNOS.COM
1565 N. FIRST ST. #9
HERMISTON, OR 97838
Call Today & Donate!
800-522-0255
$ 0 Security
Deposit
LE
3.5-liter V6
direct-injection
engine
LEASE A NEW 2019
$ 269
1055 S Hwy 395 Ste 313,
Hermiston, OR 97838
mo.
36 mos.
LEASE A NEW 2019
TRD
RE/MAX
(541) 289-5454
$ 349
4X4
980 SE Columbia Dr,
Hermiston, OR 97838
Rick’s
Car Wash
LEASE A NEW 2019
Our patients are the very
heart of our practice
541-276-1260
BLUECC.EDU
Cash
Back
mo.
36 mos.
Off-Road Double Cab
Excludes TRD Pro
$ 0 Security
Deposit
$ 2,999
4X4
Due at Signing
buyatoyota.com
All new Toyotas are covered by ToyotaCare. Toyota's no cost
maintenance plan for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes
first. 24 hour roadside assistance is also included for two years.
All financing on approved credit through TFS. All
vehicles subject to prior sale. All prices plus tax and
title. Dealer doc fees vary by dealer. Offers end 9/30/19.
For more details call 1-888-79-TOYOTA.