OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
A4
EDITOR’S DESK
Don’t ask for more of what you’re not using
I
n all the time I’ve worked as a
journalist covering Hermiston, I
think 2020 is the fi rst year I hav-
en’t had a single person call to tell
me they had heard from a very credi-
ble source that Costco or Winco was
coming to town.
Every time I’ve
reached out to those
stores, they’ve let me
know the rumor was
wishful thinking on resi-
dents’ part.
Jade
I understand the
McDowell
impulse. When I moved NEWS EDITOR
here in 2013, it defi -
nitely felt like Hermiston’s retail and
restaurant offerings had not kept up
with its rapid population growth. A
study commissioned by the chamber
of commerce at the time confi rmed
that Hermiston was “underserved”
by those industries.
The good news is the greater
Hermiston area’s food scene has
greatly diversifi ed since. We’ve
added sushi restaurants, a salad shop,
a bistro, a Vietnamese restaurant,
Mexican-Japanese fusion, a BBQ
food truck and other options that
used to require a trip to the Tri-Cit-
ies in Washington. I suspect people
who say there are no good restau-
Staff photo by Jade McDowell, File
Panda Express, which opened in December
2019, is one of Hermiston’s newer
restaurants. The building replaced an Indian
restaurant that went out of business.
rants here may not have tried all the
area has to offer.
I defi nitely wouldn’t say no to
more options, however. And retail
options have grown less quickly than
restaurants, with the notable excep-
tion of a new Ranch & Home.
So what can we do about it?
I often hear people say, “The city
needs to bring in ... ” but city gov-
ernments have limited control over
what businesses set up shop in town.
They can set rules about what types
of uses are allowed in certain zones.
They can offer fi nancial incentives,
such as tax breaks or grants. They
can try to make property in town
more attractive. But at the end of
the day, the determining factor is
whether a business looks at a town
and says, “We could make some
good money here.”
Large chains people often wish
for have that determination down
to a science. Sites for new stores
must meet criteria that include not
only a certain number of people liv-
ing within a 15-minute drive but also
factors, such as the median income
and number of cars passing by the
lot per day. They also look at similar
stores or restaurants in the area and
the “leakage” of residents who are
spending their money in other towns.
Residents don’t have much control
over their town’s population, other
than completing the census so that
number is not artifi cially low. But the
number one thing all of us can do to
encourage new retail and restaurants
in our community is to shop local.
Believe me, corporations know if
you don’t shop local. Those free apps
you have downloaded on your phone
that let you play games or check the
weather forecast? They’re often free
because the real money is in track-
ing your every move and selling that
information. Retail analytics fi rms
also use your online activity and
debit card use to provide “customer
behavior” data to companies consid-
ering where to expand.
If you want more restaurants and
shopping options in Hermiston (or
Umatilla or whatever town you live
in), eat here more often. Shop here.
Why would Olive Garden go through
the expense of building in Herm-
iston when they’re already getting
your money at their Tri-Cities loca-
tion? Why would Winco build here
when there’s a chance everyone will
just keep driving up to Costco for
their groceries instead? Why would
a Hermiston resident take the risk
to open up a new business in town
when they’ve seen so many other
businesses die from lack of support?
I know it’s hard — options can be
limited here for certain items, and
as good as our local restaurants are
sometimes I can’t resist those Texas
Roadhouse rolls.
But as a member of a struggling
local business I also understand the
other side — wishful thinking is not
enough to sustain a business. When
I started covering Hermiston we had
six reporters and a full-time editor
in Hermiston. Now you get just me,
because Facebook likes do not pay
the bills.
The best way to increase the num-
ber and quality of local businesses is
to support the ones we already have.
COLUMN
Making the most of a learning experience
E
ach new school year is a learning
experience. Teachers and students join
together to create a positive environ-
ment out of a new mix of personalities, skill
sets and abilities. Educators
introduce new technologies
and techniques to make sure
they’re providing a high-qual-
ity and relevant instruction.
Meanwhile, new friend-
ships, milestones, goals and
experiences blend together
to create an atmosphere of
Tricia
Mooney
growth and development. It’s
an exciting and important time.
We are now two weeks into the 2020-
21 school year and have been writing and
executing a whole new playbook across
the district to contend with state guidelines
regarding COVID-19. Many of the bond-
ing experiences teachers have used to bring a
class together have been diffi cult to replicate,
but they have worked hard to deliver the core
instruction to every student.
It is far from an ideal way to educate, and
I’m grateful for the patience of our teach-
ers, staff, students, and parents as we work
through the challenges of online-only class-
rooms. Even when the process has been frus-
trating, we are all working toward a common
goal and are truly in this together.
Because teachers and students are used
to quickly acclimating to new situations, we
have seen many successes. Our attendance
rate this fall with Comprehensive Distance
Learning has been much higher than in the
spring when we were forced to quickly shift
to online learning. Making these daily con-
nections will help bridge the gap until we are
able to meet in person again.
When exactly that will be is among the
biggest questions we’re facing right now.
Safely reopening schools is the number
one priority of the Hermiston School District.
The Oregon Department of Education has set
up guidelines for when students can return,
including two very specifi c benchmarks —
the number of new weekly cases and the test
positivity rate countywide.
In order to bring all students back into
our buildings, Umatilla County must have
no more than eight new COVID-19 cases a
week for three weeks in a row. Bringing just
K-3 students back into the classroom can be
achieved at 24 new cases a week. The county
must also have a positive test rate of less than
5%.
As a comparison, the county has averaged
about 87 new cases for the past three weeks
with a positive test rate of about 15%. We still
have a ways to go, and it will take communi-
ty-wide effort to stop the spread of coronavi-
rus, reopen, and stay open.
And that’s our goal. As much as we’ve
learned about delivering online education, the
person-to-person communication, class man-
agement and accountability are impossible
to replicate online. We have many students
who desperately need that connection with
a teacher, and we won’t be satisfi ed until we
can offer that to every student.
As we continue to do our part to protect
against the spread of coronavirus, we are busy
planning for the future.
Using information collected from a series
of public surveys, the school board last week
chose Loma Vista Elementary as the name for
the new school to be built on Theater Lane.
This keeps in the tradition of naming Herm-
iston elementary schools after local geo-
graphic features. Bidding on the construction
of both Loma Vista and Rocky Heights, proj-
ects approved by voters in 2019, will begin in
early 2021.
The Hermiston High School softball facil-
ity project will break ground on Tuesday,
Sept. 29, and includes two fi elds, additional
parking, concession stand, restroom, and a
storage building. The fi elds will give the girls
sports teams equitable access to a high-qual-
ity playing fi eld at the school and have been a
long time coming. We’ll announce a time for
the groundbreaking soon.
Through this challenging experience we
are still feeling the support of this amazing
community has for its students, teachers, and
schools. It will be an unusual fall, but together
we will make the most of it.
Dr. Tricia Mooney is superintendent of
Hermiston School District.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Greg Smith listens
Greg Smith is my friend.
Our mutual interest in Stephen R.
Covey was the beginning of our twen-
ty-fi ve year friendship.
One of Covey’s Seven Habits,
for which he became internationally
renowned was, “Seek fi rst to understand,
then to be understood.”
Understanding is the result of inten-
tional listening.
Greg listens.
He listens to his brilliant wife, Sherri.
He listens to his friends.
He listens to trends.
He listens to his constituents.
He listens to his colleagues.
He listens to his employees.
He listens to his employers.
He listens to his partners.
He listens to those who testify in com-
mittee meetings.
He listens in council meetings.
He listens in commission meetings.
He listens in session and out of session.
Our most recent conversations have
been about the next three biennia. The
economic impact of the pandemic, fol-
lowed by the devastating fi res has created
unprecedented state revenue shortfalls. He
has been gathering information so that he
will be prepared to manage expectations
and prioritize the greatest needs for all
Oregonians.
He rarely sleeps.
He serves others.
He tells the truth.
I trust him.
He’s my friend.
Kim B. Puzey
Hermiston
You can’t complain if you don’t vote
On Nov. 3, we will have what I believe
to be the most important election in the
history of the United States. We will be
given the choice between the free enter-
prise system and socialism.
Free enterprise will give us the choice
to achieve the lifestyle we want if we are
willing to do what is required to get it. It
is up to you, not the government or some-
one else. You will get to keep what you
earn for your work.
Socialism will be the government run-
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 37
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
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ning your life and deciding what you need
to live. It won’t be your choice. Every-
where it has been tried, it has failed and
usually ends up a totalitarian dictatorship.
It is up to you to decide what you
want; if you don’t vote, you can’t com-
plain. Pay close attention to what the can-
didates say: Is it the same to all groups or
do they change to fi t the group they are
talking to? Listen to the words they use
closely so you can really understand what
they really mean. In the case of incum-
bents, have they voted like you think they
should? If not, you may want to vote for
someone else.
Be an informed voter and cast an
informed vote.
Phillip Jarner
Hermiston
Letters must be original and signed by the writer or writers.
Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include
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Only the letter writer’s name and city of residence will be
published.
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Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at
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