OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
A4
OUR VIEW
Lending a helping hand can beat the heat
A
l Davis, the manager of the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center deserves a lot
of praise for his actions last week. As
temperatures climbed, he made the
decision to open the facility so peo-
ple could fi nd some relief inside an
oasis of air conditioning.
Davis surely did not do it for
praise and probably is not going to
be too comfortable having his noble
move highlighted, but good deeds
in our community need to be recog-
nized and celebrated.
The weather — specifi cally the
heat — is dominating what we talk
about, how we live and work and
what we do. No one can do anything
about curbing the heat, but there are
a lot of things people can do to help
those who, for whatever reason, do
not have air conditioning or are oth-
erwise limited in escaping the high
temperatures.
Davis did the right thing. For some
in our community, retreating into the
relative comfort of air conditioning is
not an option. Instead, they must rely
on fans — which help — or simply
endure the heat.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
An electronic display registers 116 degrees on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 at Armand Larive
Middle School in Hermiston as a record-breaking heat wave enveloped the region.
High temperatures are nothing
new to our area. We see them every
year about this time. What is diff erent
this year is the longevity of the high
temps. Into the near future, we are
going to continue to bake.
That means everyone should be
mindful of the dangers of heat. Heat
COLUMN
stroke and heat exhaustion are the
two most common injuries that come
to mind.
Heat exhaustion can manifest itself
with symptoms such as a headache,
dizziness, heavy sweating, nausea
and feeling physically weak.
Anyone who begins to experi-
ence those types of symptoms should
immediately get out of the sun, fi nd
a cool environment and drink water.
Heat stroke exhibits many of the
same symptoms but is far more dan-
gerous. Heat stroke can lead to con-
fusion, slurred speech, high body
temperature and dry skin. An individ-
ual who suff ers from heat stroke must
seek immediate medical attention.
The heat is not going to go away
soon, so that means all of us must
keep a close watch on how we feel
during the day. And make sure your
neighbors or friends do not fall vic-
tim to a heat injury.
We should also do all we can —
as Al Davis did last week — to help
others if they are unable to rely on air
conditioning or fans.
We need to enjoy our summer but
be safe when we do.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Prescribed fi res help take heat off
I
t was 102 degrees in Med-
ford on June 1. Let me say
that again just in case it
didn’t fully sink in: Medford suf-
fered temperatures as high as 102
degrees in spring, making it harder
for fi refi ghters battling Southern
Oregon’s fi rst fi res of the year.
Now, I usually
like Oregon to be
in the record-set-
ting business, but
not for hot, dry
weather in April
and May. Hav-
ing a 100-degree
Ron
day while still in
Wyden
springtime should
ring alarm bells for Oregonians
everywhere.
It was not so long ago that Ore-
gon’s fi re season was only a few
weeks in August and September.
The events of Memorial Day
weekend only serve as a reminder
that the human-caused climate cri-
sis has increased the frequency of
fi res that threaten lives, businesses
and entire communities.
Recently I met with forest
managers and fi rst responders in
Southern Oregon, Central Ore-
gon and the Willamette Valley to
hear their forecasts for the 2021
fi re year.
The bottom line is it’s long past
time for nickel-and-dime solutions
to billion-dollar problems caused
by wildfi re, such as smoke-related
health issues, damage to local
economies and life-and-death
threats to Oregonians.
Our state has a backlog of
roughly 2.5 million acres of fed-
eral land in dire need of wild-
fi re prevention. And Oregonians
don’t want 2.5 million excuses
about why there aren’t more for-
est health improvements and pre-
scribed fi re treatments completed
on these 2.5 million acres.
They just want these fi re risks
reduced as soon as possible.
The science is clear: Controlled
burns clear out dead trees and veg-
etation as well as break down and
return nutrients to the soil, cre-
ating healthier and more resil-
ient forests. Prescribed burns or
fuel reduction treatments can head
off wildfi res before they have the
chance to burn out of control, dev-
astating lives and livelihoods.
I saw this fi rsthand in Sisters,
where a prescribed burn near the
Whychus Creek provided key
support in suppressing the 2017
Milli fi re before it could overtake
Sisters.
To that end, I recently intro-
duced legislation to increase the
pace and scale of prescribed fi res.
The National Prescribed Fire Act
has the support of conservation
groups as well as leading timber
industry voices because its pas-
sage would mean healthier forests
for timber harvest, forest ecosys-
tems and outdoor recreation alike.
It’s going to take all hands on
deck to prevent wildfi re in the
coming dry seasons, so that’s why
I have introduced bills to harden
our power grid by burying power
lines, generate thousands of
good-paying jobs for young peo-
ple reducing fi re-causing fuels in
the woods, and meet emissions
goals by investing in the clean
energy sector.
Smart, science-based forestry
policy is smart climate policy.
If we treat hazardous, fi re-start-
ing fuels now in the cooler, wetter
months, we can prevent future fi res
before they have a chance to spark.
———
Ron Wyden, a Democrat, rep-
resents Oregon in the U.S. Senate.
Let’s come together and rebuild our society
with a common social morality
It’s amazing to me the depths to which society has sunk in
recent decades.
Discourse, humanity, civility, respect ... all societal traits
that are withering and dying, victims of the elimination of a
common social morality. So many are committed to the idea
that each person is a moral island. Such thinking dissolves the
bonds of a society. Without a common social morality, we’re
all just drifting alone, instinctively clinging to any whose
moral values mirror our own, transforming society into warring
tribes.
It seems when I was a child I might see a relationship end,
perhaps with some hard feelings but people would remain civil
toward one another.
Now everything seems to mandatorily become a melodra-
matic production and bitter feud. And now not just in divorce
at the end of a marriage, but at the end of dating relationships
as well. Children have studied the bitter divorces of adults and
replicated them in their own relationships.
Too few remember that the human being possesses three
areas of health in need of constant maintenance, sustenance
and care: physical health, mental health, and spiritual health. If
one suff ers, it drags the other two down with it.
This used to be common knowledge taught in health classes.
Now children are instead taught how to procreate without
consequence.
The human race needs and desires a return to civil soci-
ety. And the only way this will ever happen is if individu-
als become more mindful of their health and sustain all three
areas.
Rebuild.
Mark Elfering
Hermiston
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. SENATORS
U.S. PRESIDENT
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.,
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244; La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
Joe Biden
The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
NW, Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376, Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol, 900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Printed on
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VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 26
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Kelly Schwirse | Multi-Media consultant • kschwirse@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • community@eastoregonian.com, 541-564-4532
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Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482, Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
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