OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Let’s make this pandemic easier for everyone
A
s I have written doz-
ens of stories about
COVID-19 over the
past two months, I’ve heard a
wide variety of opinions on the
pandemic during
my interviews.
One conclu-
sion I’ve drawn
is that there are
not two “sides”
to this issue, but
Jade
rather a contin-
McDowell
uum of opinions
NEWS EDITOR
that posts being
passed around
social media have lumped into
caricatures — the people who
want to take away everyone’s
rights because they’re scared
of getting a cough, versus the
people who would rather see
their grandparents dead than go
another week without a haircut.
Let’s acknowledge that there
is more common ground here
than people want to admit.
Someone in a high risk cate-
gory for COVID-19 complica-
tions may be more focused on
the threat to their health, while
someone who is about to lose
their business might be more
focused on the economic devas-
tation, but the truth is most peo-
ple are worried about both to
some degree. I don’t know of a
single person who hasn’t been
negatively affected by this pan-
demic in some way.
So this week, I’m challeng-
ing everyone to do less arguing
and more coming together for
what we can agree on.
The fi rst point that would be
hard to dispute is that far more
families and individuals in the
greater Hermiston area have
fallen into the category of “in
need” in the past three months.
If you’re one of the lucky
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A sign along Highway 395 in Hermiston advises drivers to remain hopeful amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic.
ones who hasn’t lost any
income, consider what you can
do to help. If this time of year
would normally see you partic-
ipating in fundraiser dinners,
auctions and raffl es, seek out
those organizations and fi nd out
how to donate online or mail
a check. A few ideas include
Agape House, CAPECO, Des-
ert Rose Ministries, United Way
and American Red Cross.
You could work on a smaller
level too, such as sharing some
of your extra supplies with a
neighbor, making masks for
those who can’t afford them or
paying for a stranger’s meal in
the drive-thru line.
Second, I think we can all
agree that most businesses are
struggling right now, partic-
ularly small “mom and pop”
establishments.
There are lots of ways to
help, such as buying gift cards
from those that offer them in
order to provide them the cash
fl ow they need now to con-
tinue paying their rent or other
expenses. Some businesses are
also offering ways to order their
wares online or over the phone,
then pick them up or have them
delivered.
If you’re not in a fi nancial
position to make many pur-
chases right now, you can still
help by sharing your favorite
businesses’ social media posts,
and talking them up online and
by word of mouth. You might
even have skills you could
donate, such as website design,
photography, banner-making
or helping install sneeze guards
and other upgrades needed to
reopen.
Third, we’re all concerned
about the negative mental and
physical health impacts of
social distancing.
The fi rst thing you can do
there is take care of your own
health. It can be hard right
now to push yourself to exer-
cise, cook healthy meals or tear
yourself away from the endless
stream of bad news on cable
television, but it’s important.
COLUMN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Senior citizens miss socializing
W
ho are senior citizens? There
is no clearly defi ned age
when an American becomes
a “senior.”
Senior citizen generally refers to
someone who is at least 60
or 65 years of age. Some-
times you realize you are
a senior citizen when you
go from being called a
“miss” to a “ma’am” ... it
happens to all of us. Some
are switching to using the
term “older people.” Now Judy
Fordice
days a “senior citizen”
conjures images of nursing
homes, walkers and dentures.
Once we moved to our new build-
ing in September 2018, the Harken-
rider Senior Activity Center, curiosity
brought people in to look around. Yes,
we have a beautiful building that is for
seniors only. The use of our facility is
restricted to senior citizens ages 60 years
and older as required by the Community
Development Block Grant funding.
The center had been serving meals
in-house fi ve days a week and deliver-
ing Meals On Wheels twice a week. It
also offered exercise classes four days
a week, pinochle, tea time, cooking
classes, four different study groups, arts
and crafts, game day, coffee, conversa-
tion groups and meetings. The center
was a great source of meeting old and
new friends, and socializing.
However, because of the virus, every
activity has been canceled. Meals are
restricted to take-outs only on Tuesdays
and Thursdays by calling before 11 a.m.
Meals on Wheels are available by call-
ing before 10 a.m.
The number of hot meals being deliv-
ered has tripled since March 13. The
take-out orders increase daily.
The kitchen staff has expanded
the menu to include the food dona-
tions received from local businesses.
The offi ce staff is available three days
a week; taking orders for meals, calling
our clients to chat with them and make
contact.
One of our clients said she has
always lived in the best isolation area
possible: her home. Another called, cry-
ing and in a panic because she heard
the center was closed; she relies on the
Meals on Wheels. One of our offi ce staff
has a schedule of calling our clients on
a rotating basis just to visit with them a
few minutes, send cards and acknowl-
edge birthdays.
Many of our clients are homebound
and some do not drive. Some do not
have computers and are not connected
to social media. In many instances, our
Meals on Wheels volunteers are the only
contact seniors have every week. Our
drivers are very aware of anything that
looks “out of the ordinary,” and have
been credited with saving a life.
The lack of not being able to come
together, share a meal and a cup of cof-
fee is devastating to our seniors. Social-
izing is essential for their mental and
emotional health, to have an over-
all feeling of connecting to society and
companionship with others. Our staff
will continue to prepare meals and stay
in contact with our clients in the hope
that they are safe and avoid the virus.
The Hermiston Senior Center is
located in the Harkenrider Senior Activ-
ity Center at 255 NE Second St., Herm-
iston. Contact us by phone at 541-567-
3582 or e-mail at hsc@hermiston.or.us
and like us on Facebook!
———
Judy Fordice is the secretary of the
Hermiston Senior Center.
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 19
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.
If those tasks seem daunting,
think of baby steps you can take
instead, like spending a few
minutes breathing the fresh air
on your porch if you don’t have
the energy to go for a walk.
If you’re feeling in a good
place, consider what you can do
to help others. See how many
things you can check off on this
list:
• Post a positive quote,
happy news or something
else uplifting on social media.
• Mail a card or letter to
someone who might be feel-
ing lonely.
• Reach out to a friend you
haven’t talked to since the
pandemic started and ask
how they’re doing.
• Make your home a
brighter spot for passersby
using sidewalk chalk, win-
dow paint, drawings hung in
windows, fl owers or some
other method.
• Organize a game night
over video chat
• Offer to read someone’s
children a story over video
chat
• Call your grandparents, or
if you are a grandparent, call
your grandchildren.
• Give
someone
a
compliment.
• Share your talents in some
way, such as posting a video
of you playing an instrument
or mailing someone a draw-
ing you made.
• Email me about something
good that happened to you
recently, at editor@hermis-
tonherald.com, and I’ll com-
pile the submissions into a
story to share with everyone.
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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
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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.
Everyone needs to take coronavirus seriously
To the editor:
How is attending a drinking party, getting drunk
and ending up killing someone in an accident differ-
ent from going to a COVID-19 party, getting the dis-
ease and exposing someone who subsequently dies?
The death rate for the COVID-19 patient is cer-
tainly higher than the death rate caused by drunken
drivers. The simple math procedure to determine the
death rate of the COVID-19 patients can be found
daily by dividing the number of deaths by the num-
ber of people who have had the disease. This number
has been running a consistent 5.9% for several weeks.
Unfortunately, there seem to be no statistics available
for people who drive drunk and cause the 30 deaths
per day in auto crashes.
For those who think this 5.9% rate is not serious,
let’s examine some events we have considered seri-
ous. The Veterans Administration lists the wartime
mortality rates for all our military confl icts. The rate
for military personal who were deployed in World
War II was 2.5%. For the Vietnam War it was 1.7%,
and for the Iraq/Afghanistan confl ict it is running
0.3%. Another comparison would be the common sea-
sonal fl u, which has a death rate of 0.1%.
Don’t listen to those who are telling you it is not
serious. And for those of you who say it only kills old
people, I am appalled. You too may someday become
old.
Carlisle Harrison
Hermiston
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.