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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 2020)
OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded in 1906 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK COVID-19: Where do we go from here? I felt a strong sense of déjà vu last week when I had to scramble to post information about a sudden, late-night announcement from Gov. Kate Brown about Umatilla County being sent back to the “stay home” phase of the pandemic. It felt like March, when we had a constant parade of new restric- tions to announce. I don’t think anyone suspected that fi ve months later we Jade would be back to square McDowell NEWS EDITOR one, but here we are. In many ways, we’re actually in a worse position now, with more people sick and no rush of sudden fi nancial help from Con- gress for closed businesses and laid- off workers. The Hermiston Herald survived the plunge in advertising revenues last time by cutting four of our seven remaining positions. I worry about what the future holds in this newest round of shutdowns, but I know many of our advertisers and readers are in an even worse position as “nonessential” businesses. We are working on plans to help with that, including free listings for businesses impacted by the shutdown. Like most people, I have com- plaints about how some elected offi - cials, from the governor to county commissioners, have handled aspects of this. It was frustrating to see week Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File Masked shoppers leave Walmart in Hermiston on Monday, July 6, 2020. Wearing a mask is one of the ways health experts across the world have said can help reduce the spread of COVID-19. after week of troubling numbers for Hermiston with little real action to proportionately step up the response, only to slam the brakes on our econ- omy overnight. Whatever people’s opinions on whether a shutdown is the right action, however, this is the reality we live in. We were told if we didn’t han- dle reopening responsibly and our numbers started increasing too fast that reopening would be reversed. That’s exactly what has happened. We also know what will come next: Three weeks from the shutdown date, offi cials will evaluate a wide range of metrics for our county, such as the percent of COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive (this keeps counties from trying to cheat the sys- tem by testing fewer people). If our numbers have improved enough, we get to move back to Phase 1. If not, restrictions stay in place. No amount of venting on Facebook about how much you hate the gov- ernor will help reopen a single busi- ness or school in Umatilla and Mor- row counties. The only thing we can control is our own actions in helping us get to a place where businesses can legally reopen and customers will feel it is safe to return. Do whatever you think will help to get us there. Keep your interactions with people not living in your house- COLUMN hold to a minimum, and outdoors where possible. Work from home if you’re able. Wear a mask and keep it securely on the whole time you’re in contact with others. Be vigilant about hygiene and cleaning. Get tested if you think you might have COVID- 19, and quarantine until the results are back. Cooperate with contact tracers. Commit to being a patient voice of reason and a good example. I’ve lived in Hermiston seven years as of next month, and I’ve stayed so long because I’ve enjoyed my time here. Overall, this is a good commu- nity with good people in it. But our continued position as the coronavi- rus capital of Oregon is an embarrass- ment. No one in the rest of the state is talking about Hermiston’s generosity or our can-do attitude. They’re specu- lating why we have been particularly bad at protecting our nursing home residents and essential workers, and calling us ignorant. Other former COVID-19 hot spots have reformed. New York City, once the face of COVID-19 for the United States, got the virus under control and is seeing a fraction of the cases they were this spring. The same is true of Italy. We can do this. But we can’t expect to keep going exactly as we have been and somehow see a differ- ent outcome. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Interning amid a pandemic Shutdown is tough, but necessary Governor’s education priorities to contain coronavirus contradictory hen I fi rst arrived in Hermiston three owners that I had the opportunity to talk to — months ago as an eager Snowden but there were times where I didn’t always feel intern, I didn’t know what working like I fi t in. as a reporter for the Hermiston Herald and the Watching residents warring over wearing East Oregonian would look like amid a masks, or hearing some residents and pandemic. county commissioner candidates say The usual reporting I would have out loud that systemic racism does not done, such as talking to people face-to- exist— in those moments I felt I was the face, was no longer the routine. It was, farthest from belonging here. instead, replaced with phone calls and At the same time, though, I found email exchanges and distant tele-con- protesters in the same community Sat- versations. Loneliness set in, and I urday after Saturday march in the sun to Nada found myself missing the familiar. fi ght against systemic racism. I talked to Previous mentors told me the best Sewidan people who sewed masks for their fel- way to learn about a community is to low neighbors, and just as there were step into it, to walk around in the city and moments where I felt isolated, there were greet its residents and business owners, to more moments of community. Some residents intently listen to people’s stories and watch trusted me with their stories, some cried on the the way their expressions shifted throughout phone to me, while others passionately spoke conversations. of their businesses, friends and families. Instead, when I arrived, the streets were I believe the most important part of this sum- mostly empty. Most of the stores were shut- mer is that I learned about people who I never tered or looked equally as abandoned. I under- would have known. To connect with strangers, stood the pandemic had changed the landscape a reminder that sharing stories will always be of the city, but it looked very different in a one of the most important modes of discovery. small town than in a city like Portland. This is what I believe I’ve built here in the I’d given myself a crash course on the his- past three months, these countless moments of tory of the county, and tried to quickly under- connection. Not simply a resume or a portfo- stand its complexities and struggles, as well as lio of clips for future positions, but real, human its nuances and uniqueness. But no matter how connection and understanding despite a diffi - much I read search results about the city on cult time. Google, I did not fully come to know these cit- I’ve dedicated so much of my time to jour- ies until I lived among their residents. nalism, and I’m excited to do the work that I My reporting then became centered around love and respect deeply in the future, but one discovering and understanding as much as I thing I know — I will always take my experi- could through the articles I wrote and the con- ence in Hermiston and Pendleton with me. versations I had. The past three months demonstrated, in Although I couldn’t report much face-to- remarkable and extraordinary ways, that face, I spent countless hours on the phone despite uncertainties, there will always exist speaking with business owners, city offi cials this humanness. and residents. I heard the worry in their voices I’m left thinking about one important piece whenever we talked about unemployment or of advice my mentors have given me over the the pandemic, but I also heard stories of joy years: humanity in stories, fi rst and always. and community. — — — I enjoyed the time I spent here in the city Nada Sewidan is the Hermiston Herald and — the friends I made, my co-workers whom East Oregonian’s summer intern. She com- I called for advice, the residents and business pletes her internship on Friday, Aug. 7. In his recent open letter to Gov. Kate Brown, Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann questioned Brown’s deci- sion to return Umatilla County to “baseline” from Phase 2 of reopen- ing. Drotzmann admitted to “a surge” in COVID cases after reopening, but claimed we should not “fl inch and shut everything back down.” The county reports a 1,500% increase in total cases since we went to Phase 2 on June 5. That’s quite a “surge,” and it clearly doesn’t meet even the Phase 1 metrics of “declining disease prev- alence” and represents “a signifi cant increase in cases.” Drotzmann celebrated the fact we “only have 314 active cases,” but according to the recent study con- ducted by OSU, as many as 3,000 Hermiston residents may have COVID, representing 17% of the city’s population. Drotzmann also dismissed our county’s death count at “only ... 23 deaths.” That number means Uma- tilla County has suffered 7% of all the COVID deaths in Oregon, despite hav- ing less than 2% of the state’s total population. Mayor Drotzmann is correct that we need more and quicker testing in our county, but he may be pointing his fi nger in the wrong direction. It is well known that there is a nationwide testing crisis that desper- ately needs competent leadership from the federal government to solve. Test- ing and shutting down is not an either/ or proposition. We do need expeditious testing and better contact tracing, but we also need to shut down until we actually do fl atten the curve — because that has not happened yet. William Webb Hermiston W CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 30 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673 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. 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. What Gov. Kate Brown meant during her education announcement: • “There is clear evidence that chil- dren receiving instruction and support in school is far better for them academically ... fosters our students’ social and emo- tional well-being, their overall health, and often their physical safety,” but ... • “Providing nurturing in-person rela- tionships and learning to our youngest children is absolutely critical to develop- ing the reading and language skills and social development necessary for their long-term success,” but ... •”Equity has to be at the forefront of our decision-making,” but ... • “I will push, I will cajole and I will demand nothing but excellence from our districts and our educators,” but ... • “Students are harmed by lost instruc- tional time,” but ... • “Distance learning cannot fully replace in-person instruction, especially for our youngest students,” but ... • “We know that brain development and learning in the earliest years occurs primarily through nurturing and respon- sive interactions with adults and other children,” but ... • “Many families across Oregon will struggle to make that (online learning) work not because they don’t want to, but likely because all available adults work jobs with less fl exible schedules, they are essential workers and or their work requires them to leave their home,” but ... • “As I’ve said before, all options are on the table to restrict the transmission of the virus, but it is really in the hands of Oregonians,” but ... “I will be closing schools and mak- ing unrealistic requirements for opening schools.” Thank you for my fi rst unit of study on our doublespeak governor. Daniel Sharp 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.
