Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 OPINION READER’S FORUM Founded 1906 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2020 A4 EDITOR’S DESK Time to put our giving reputation to the test I n my years of interviewing peo- SOHLQ+HUPLVWRQWKHUHDUHFHU- tain phrases I hear over and over again. One is that Herm- iston is a “very giving community.” It does seem as if the community punches above its weight when it comes to the amount of money raised each year Jade for charitable causes McDowell and livability projects. NEWS EDITOR 2QHRIP\¿UVWLPSUHV- sions of Hermiston was being in awe of the amount of dona- tions Hermiston School District was DEOHWRUDLVHWREXLOG.HQQLVRQ)LHOG which had its grand opening the week I moved here. $VZHHQWHUWKLVKROLGD\VHDVRQ it seems Hermiston (and surrounding communities) may need that giving spirit more than ever. Not only have mass layoffs and an economic reces- VLRQFUHDWHGPRUHQHHGEXWWKHSDQ- demic has also shut down the normal methods of fundraising to help meet that need. A good example of this is Christ- PDV([SUHVVDSURJUDP+HUPLV- ton Police Department has run for the past 50 years to give out boxes of food and gifts to families and individ- uals in need. The main source of food for Christmas Express is a canned IRRGGULYHDWWKHORFDOVFKRROVZKHUH classes compete against each other to collect the most food. But this year stu- dents can’t bring canned food to class- rooms they’re not attending in person. ,QVWHDGWKHSROLFHGHSDUWPHQWZLOO be collecting canned food (no glass jars) from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 (except IRU6XQGD\'HFIURPDPWR 5 p.m. at the Hermiston Commu- QLW\&HQWHU6+LJKZD\LQ Hermiston. $V'HFHPEHUGUDZVQHDURWKHU organizations will likely also be announcing efforts to collect warm ZLQWHUFRDWV&KULVWPDVJLIWVVFKRRO supplies and other needed items. There Hermiston Herald, File Donated food sits in the Agape House after a previous canned food drive for Christmas Express. is also a perennial need for donations WRQRQSUR¿WVVXFKDVIRRGEDQNV For anyone who does have the PHDQVWRGRQDWH,ZRXOGHQFRXUDJH \RXWRGRVR²LISRVVLEOHPRUHJHQ- erously than you have in the past. If \RXKDYHWKHNLQGRI¿QDQFLDOFRPIRUW that allows you to impulsively buy a VZHDWHU\RXVDZDGYHUWLVHGRQOLQH consider impulsively feeding a family instead. If you wish you could afford to GRQDWHJHQHURXVO\EXWFDQ¶WWKHUHDUH plenty of other ways you can make a positive difference in someone’s life. &RPSOLPHQWVWKDQN\RXVDQG³,¶YH EHHQWKLQNLQJDERXW\RXODWHO\KRZ have you been doing?” messages are IUHHEXWZKHQWKH\FRPHDWWKHULJKW time they can mean a lot. ,I\RX¶UHH[SHULHQFLQJ¿QDQFLDO hardship I would also encourage you to not be afraid to ask for help that you QHHGRUDFFHSWLWZKHQRIIHUHG7KHVH services are there for a reason. People want to help. Everyone goes through seasons in their life where they strug- JOHLQRQHZD\RUDQRWKHUDQGPDQ\ who receive help during that time want to pay it forward afterward. Don’t deny them the opportunity. $VNLQJIRUKHOSLVKDUGDQGIRU COLUMN LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thankful for a community of support T his has been an incredibly chal- lenging year for the Hermiston 6FKRRO'LVWULFWDQG especially for our students and families. So much of their learning and growing experience is about being WRJHWKHU\HW&29,' has forced us to stay apart. Our teachers and stu- dents are doing the best Tricia Mooney they can with Compre- KHQVLYH'LVWDQFH/HDUQLQJZKLFKKDV meant adjusting to entirely new teaching methods and learning styles as we wait for approval to reopen our classrooms. But even through the challenges and dis- DSSRLQWPHQWVRI,¶YHIRXQGPDQ\ things to be thankful for. I’m thankful for the parents who have generously given their time to make sure their children are getting the most out of this strange year. Turning so many liv- LQJURRPVLQWRFODVVURRPVWDNHVDWROOEXW parents have stepped up to show that edu- cation is a priority. I’m thankful for the support of this FRPPXQLW\WKDWWLPHDIWHUWLPHFRPHV through for our kids. The senior parade WKLVVXPPHUDSSURYLQJWKHVFKRROERQG ODVWIDOODQGFRXQWOHVVRWKHUDFWVRINLQG- ness toward our students makes Hermis- ton a special place to live. This commu- QLW\VWDQGVEHKLQGLWVVWXGHQWVZKLFKLV ZK\WKH\DUH¿JKWLQJVRKDUGWRPDNHVXUH they get the full education they deserve. I’m also thankful for the teachers and staff who have bent over backward to learn new skills and reach out to their stu- dents in new ways. Starting from scratch LQ$SULOWKHHQWLUHVFKRROGLVWULFWKDV worked as a team to stand up a new edu- cational platform for Hermiston students. :LWKRXWWKHEHQH¿WRILQGHSWKWUDLQLQJ RUDJUDGXDOUROORXWWKH\RQERDUGHGWKRX- VDQGVRIVWXGHQWVWURXEOHVKRRWLQJDORQJ WKHZD\WRHQVXUHDFFHVVZDVDYDLODEOHWR HYHU\FKLOG7KHUHDUHVWLOOIUXVWUDWLRQVEXW our staff has stood up to every challenge and should be very proud of what they’ve accomplished. And I’m thankful for everyone who has taken the task of health safety to heart and protected themselves and our community DJDLQVW&29,':HKDYHWDNHQHYHU\ precaution to protect those in our school buildings against the spread of coronavi- UXVEXWZHKDYHOLWWOHFRQWURORIZKDWKDS- pens elsewhere. We know that the only way we will be allowed to fully reopen LVZKHQWKHVSUHDGRIWKHYLUXVLVVLJQL¿- FDQWO\UHGXFHGLQ8PDWLOOD&RXQW\DQG that’s a goal we all share. The new Oregon Department of Educa- tion guidelines require Umatilla County to KDYHIHZHUWKDQQHZ&29,'FDVHV over a two-week period to begin bringing elementary students back into the class- room. We nearly reached that number in September and October before a post-Hal- loween spike lifted us into the hundreds again. 7KHRQO\HQHP\LVWKHYLUXVDQGWKH only way to beat it is to protect our own health. The simple measures of wearing a mask and maintaining physical distance in SXEOLFZDVKLQJ\RXUKDQGVUHJXODUO\DQG staying home if you’re sick are the best ways to stop the spread and protect our community. If we’re able to again reduce RXUQXPEHURIQHZFDVHVZHKDYHDVKRW at opening school in the second half of the school year. :KHQWLPHVDUHGDUNZHKDYHWRIRFXV on the path right in front of us that lead to a brighter future. Every student in the Hermiston School District deserves a complete education. The only way we can make sure that happens is by getting them safely back in the classroom. I’m thankful for all of you who are working to make that happen. Happy Thanksgiving. ——— Dr. Tricia Mooney is the superintendent of the Hermiston School District. CORRECTIONS Printed on recycled newsprint VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 42 Andrew Cutler | Publisher • aculter@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 offices 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. those who aren’t in a position to need LWFXUUHQWO\,KRSH\RX¶OOQRWPDNHLW PRUHGLI¿FXOWZLWKMXGJPHQWDQGFULW- LFLVP*LYHIUHHO\ZLWKRXWDIWHUZDUG trying to police whether the recipients of community programs all deserved it or used it the “right” way. People mak- ing such judgments usually don’t know the full story. ,W¶VEHHQDGLI¿FXOW\HDU)RUPDQ\ this holiday season may be more bleak than usual. It’s not too early to start thinking what we can personally do to EULQJDOLWWOHPRUHOLJKWDOLWWOHPRUH hope and a little more love to this winter. 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. Divisiveness doesn’t help either side I read with interest the Democrat comments about holding onto their “power” after the last election and the disappointment expressed that they still aren’t able to muster a quo- rum to overcome a Republican walk- out. Nowhere did I see mention of a desire to work across the aisle to dis- cuss issues and pass legislation that ZRXOGEHQH¿WWKHHQWLUHVWDWHDQGQRW just the power centers of Portland and Salem. Those of us living on the east side RIWKHVWDWHDVZHOODVWKHRWKHUSRFN- HWVRIFRQVHUYDWLYHOLIHVW\OHVDUHRIWHQ ignored. The carbon tax that Republi- cans stood their ground on last session is a case in point. Rather than work- LQJWRZDUGDVROXWLRQLWZDV³RXU way or the highway” type of legislat- ing. Passing that bill would have been disastrous for the east side economy. 5HDGLQJWKHDUWLFOHLWDSSHDUVZH can continue to expect more of the same out of our Oregon Legislature. The old saying “No taxation without representation” seems to apply to us in a disconcerting way. Our Repub- lican representatives work hard and GHVHUYHRXUWKDQNVEXWUHDOLVWLFDOO\ they are outnumbered and outvoted. -LP6KHI¿HOG 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 flag 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 offices. For more information, call 541-966-0818 or 1-800-522-0255, x221.
