OPINION & READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Editor’s Desk: Welcome to the Hermiston Herald
D
ear readers,
Welcome to the new
Hermiston Herald. For some
of you, this is merely a redesign of
a newspaper you have been faithful
to for many years, but
for most of you holding
this paper in your hands
today, it is likely the fi rst
time you have ever read
this newspaper.
For those of you who Jade
McDowell
are new here, a quick
NEWS EDITOR
recap: The Hermis-
ton Herald was founded
in 1906 by Horace Greely Newport
and William Skinner, a year before
the city of Hermiston was offi cially
incorporated in 1907. Over the cen-
tury since, the paper’s journalists
have faithfully recorded the commu-
nity’s history, documenting every-
thing from world wars to social visits.
The newspaper has changed hands
multiple times over the decades, and
in May 2008 EO Media Group pur-
chased it from Western Communi-
cations. EO Media Group, a fam-
ily-owned publishing company
based in Oregon, continues to print
the Hermiston Herald today. I have
served as the paper’s editor since Jan-
uary 2019, after working as a reporter
in Hermiston since 2013.
The past decade has been a dif-
fi cult one for newspapers, and the
industry lost half its employees from
2008 to 2018. The Herald hasn’t been
immune to dwindling newspaper sub-
scribers numbers, and earlier this year
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
The fi nal paid subscription of the Hermiston Herald runs off the press at the East Oregonian
in Pendleton on April 28, 2020. The newspaper has since converted to free distribution to all
Hermiston area residents.
EO Media Group decided to chart a
new course with this paper, compet-
ing directly with free news sources by
becoming a free product ourselves.
Some of our previous offerings, such
as sports and most statewide news,
will become premium content for
East Oregonian subscribers only, but
a variety of local reporting, particu-
larly on business, housing and agri-
culture, will now be freely available
to the community.
I could discuss the ins and outs
of our many revenue streams and
expenses and how we plan to balance
the budget going forward, but I won’t
bore you with the details. Instead, I’ll
just express how excited I am to be
able to provide news to a much wider
audience than before. The research
is clear that increased access to local
news has many benefi ts to local com-
munities, including less corruption
and waste in government, more com-
munity engagement and a better-in-
formed public making smarter deci-
sions about their health and safety.
I’ll admit I’m also a little nervous
about the change. When our CEO
Heidi Wright and publisher Chris
Rush fi rst proposed this to me, I had
three people reporting to me— a full-
time Hermiston reporter, a commu-
nity editor and a sports editor. Those
COLUMN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The ’rona wreaks havoc on routines
I
t’s been nearly a decade since
my husband and I had internet
at home.
After having issues with our
provider, we discontinued service.
One of our backyard neighbors
was gracious enough to share their
password with us, which we used
for several years. However, when
they sold their house and moved
not only did we
lose nice and con-
siderate neighbors,
we lost our internet
hookup.
And about
neighbors, some-
times I think it
Tammy
would be nice
Malgesini
if, like jobs, we
could interview people who are
considering moving close to
us. You know, to see if they are
compatible.
But I digress — after losing my
job because of a workforce reduc-
tion related to COVID-19, I was
faced with fi ling for unemploy-
ment insurance. I want to tell you,
that was not a fun process on my
cellphone.
The instructions clearly indi-
cated to refrain from hitting the
back arrow after completing a
page. I’m a fairly well educated
person and understood this. How-
ever, when I clicked on a ques-
tion mark for more clarifi cation, I
had no idea how to get back to the
“page” I was working on.
After a failed attempt at Jedi
mind control, I fi nally decided to
click the back arrow. And it took
me back, all right — all the way
back to the beginning of the form.
Because of a massive increase
in requests for service, it took
three weeks to fi nally get our
internet hooked up. In addition
to waiting for equipment, we had
to have new underground cables
installed, which required every-
one and their dog coming out and
painting on our sidewalk, drive-
way and lawn before they could
dig for lines.
I know, I know, what’s a few
more days after not having inter-
net for nine-plus years? Really,
though, it’s kinda like putting
candy in front of a kid and telling
them not to eat it. The anticipation
of being able to shop on Amazon
on a screen bigger than my hand
was almost too much to bear.
People have asked how I’m
handling the job loss. Overall, I’m
doing pretty good. In fact, I’m a
bit surprised that my sleep pat-
terns are much improved.
While getting up several hours
earlier than usual, I have learned
that my husband and the dogs
have their own little morning rou-
tine. So, after John provides me
with a Pepsi, I’ve been making
a conscious effort to develop my
own little routine in the confi nes
of my daybed room.
Dare I say it, I might be turn-
ing into a morning person. When
we’re fi nally able to take road
trips again, my friends might be
surprised to fi nd that I’m actu-
ally ready to go. In the past, they
were forced to lie to me about our
planned departure time to make
sure I was up and ready.
I must say the hoarding behav-
iors for some products is some-
what intriguing. Luckily, John and
I had gone to Costco in late Febru-
ary and were stocked up on most
of our paper products and house-
hold cleaners before the panic hit.
Due to my allergies, I did have
to buy some tissues. I was a bit
amused that the advertised sale
price was three boxes for $5.
However, store restrictions only
allowed me to purchase one box.
I will admit that I have a
heightened awareness of how
much Pepsi I have on hand. But
it’s not all that different than
usual, as I always have a little pyr-
amid of pop in the garage. Believe
me, this pandemic wouldn’t
be pretty if I ran out of Pepsi.
#staysafe
———
Tammy Malgesini, the former
Hermiston Herald community edi-
tor, enjoys spending time with her
husband and two German shep-
herds, as well as entertaining her-
self with random musings.
Letter: Make the Herald your own
To the editor:
Congrats to the Hermiston Herald on its newfound print audi-
ence! I was thrilled to learn that the paper will be delivered to
every household in town beginning this month. This is a great
publication and community asset, and knowing that it will reach
more people than ever before is a good thing for all of us.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Jade McDowell since
she fi rst moved to Hermiston, and she’s the kind of editor you
want running a local paper — focused, creative, empathetic and
curious.
I encourage everyone reading this, especially those who are
holding this paper for the fi rst time (or the fi rst time in years), to
make time each week to actively engage with the Herald. Read
the news and features and get to know more about your town, and
then write or call in with story suggestions, letters to the editor, or
even just a word of encouragement.
Hermiston is an incredible and diverse community and
deserves a voice that represents those values. The Herald can be
that voice if we all get involved.
Daniel Wattenburger
Hermiston
Letter: Educate young people on COVID-19
To the editor:
A few days ago, I went to get some items at a local convenience
store. When I pulled up there were a group of children congregated
around the entrance. I don’t think they meant to be rude about
social distancing; they just didn’t understand.
But as I entered, a teenager, noting I was wearing a mask,
thought it would be funny to cough in my face on the way in. It
was clearly purposeful, as he laughed and joked with his compan-
ion afterward about the “dude wearing a mask.”
I have to interact with two elderly people and my wife is a
nurse. I do not wear a mask to protect myself, but to protect others.
I sincerely hope that parents will educate their young people about
how serious this crisis is. As an educator, it breaks my heart that
these young people were so thoughtless.
Joseph Brusberg
Hermiston
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 18
Chris Rush | Publisher • crush@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2669
Jade McDowell | News Editor • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
To contact the Hermiston Herald for news,
advertising or subscription information:
• call 541-567-6457
• e-mail info@hermistonherald.com
• stop by our offi ces at 333 E. Main St.
• visit us online at: hermistonherald.com
The Hermiston Herald (USPS 242220, ISSN
8750-4782) is published weekly at Hermiston
Herald, 333 E. Main St., Hermiston, OR 97838,
(541) 567-6457.
positions have since been eliminated
due to budget shortfalls caused by
COVID-19, and so a very large por-
tion of this project now falls to me,
with some help from the staff of the
East Oregonian.
I hope that you, dear readers, will
help with that by being proactive in
contacting the newspaper with news.
Organizers of community events who
in years past have gotten multiple
reminder calls from community edi-
tor Tammy Malgesini to turn in infor-
mation about their event will have to
get used to the fact that if they don’t
take the initiative to send information
unsolicited, they may miss the oppor-
tunity to be listed in the roundup of
Veteran’s Day events or Christmas
bazaars.
If you have questions, feedback,
letters to the editor or story ideas, you
can contact me at editor@hermiston-
herald.com or 541-564-4536.
Community news such as
announcements of a service club’s
donation or an upcoming event can be
emailed to community@eastorego-
nian.com.
If you want to advertise in the
paper (reaching about 14,000 local
households) you can contact Jeanne
Jewett at jjewett@hermistonherald.
com or 541-564-4531.
Thank you for your patience as we
launch this new endeavor, and I hope
you enjoy getting the news in your
mailbox every Wednesday and online
at www.hermistonherald.com seven
days a week.
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Delivered by mail Wednesdays
Digital + e-Edition .............................. $39/year
Full Access (print and digital) ............. $49/year
Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR.
Postmaster, send address changes to
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2020
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as
soon as they are discovered. Incorrect information will be
corrected on Page 2A. Errors commited on the Opinion page
will be corrected on that page. Corrections also are noted in
the online versions of our stories.
Please contact the editor at editor@hermistonherald.com or
call (541) 564-4533 with issues about this policy or to report
errors.
SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters Policy: Letters to the Editor is a forum for the
Hermiston Herald readers to express themselves on local,
state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer
letters should be kept to 250 words.
No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person.
The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
length and for content.
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers.
Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include
a telephone number so they can be reached for questions.
Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
OBITUARY POLICY
The Hermiston Herald publishes paid obituaries. The
obituary can include small photos and, for veterans, a
fl ag symbol at no charge. Expanded death notices will be
published at no charge. These include information about
services. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper
punctuation and style.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at
hermistonherald.com/obituaryform, by email to obits@
hermistonherald.com, by fax to 541-276-8314, placed via the
funeral home or in person at the Hermiston Herald or East
Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or
1-800-522-0255, x221.