PAGE LABEL GOES HERE
A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021
OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021
A4
OUR VIEW
Large forest fi res show the need for action
The time for allowing vast
tracts of forest on state and fed-
eral lands to remain untouched
from management is long
over. Now, elected leaders and
state and federal offi cials need
to develop a comprehensive,
actionable plan before every
summer provides voters with a
blaze such as the Bootleg Fire
now scorching lands in South-
ern Oregon.
Thankfully there already is
some progress being made to
fi nd a way to manage our for-
ests, so they do not become
massive tinderboxes ready to
explode when hit by lightning
strikes. For example, Gov. Kate
Brown created the Governor’s
Council on Wildfi re Response
in 2020. The board’s mission
is to review Oregon’s existing
model for wildfi re prevention
and determine if it is still valid.
During the recent legislative
session, Senate Bill 762C, was
passed the House and Senate.
The bill casts a wide net but,
among other things, requires
public utilities that provide
electricity to develop and exe-
cute wildfi re protection plans
and directs the Oregon State
Board of Forestry to create rules
to develop a statewide map of
wildfi re risk.
So good, fi rst steps are evi-
dent from the state. Yet consid-
ering the massive Bootleg Fire,
far more needs to be done.
First, a comprehensive, full-
scale plan needs to be devel-
oped, certifi ed, and put into
place for all of Oregon’s for-
ests regarding fi re mitigation.
The plan needs to be eff ective,
uncomplicated, and funded
appropriately.
Second, a solid determina-
tion needs to be made regard-
ing the viability of logging for-
ests to help mitigate fi re risk.
The subject is controversial
and in many circles, considered
a nonstarter. Already, though,
some salvage logging is a com-
mon tool in fi re restoration yet
is almost always bitterly chal-
lenged by some conservation
groups.
But we cannot continue to
allow large, uninhabited sec-
tions of federal and state forests
to essentially rot and await the
fi rst solid lighting strike to erupt
into major fi res.
Finally, unfortunately for
taxpayers, more money needs
to go into a plan to safeguard
our forests.
At this point there is no
denying climate change plays
a role in the terrible forest
fi res burning in Oregon but to
change the climate paradigm
will take years and we don’t
have decades when it comes to
our forests and the damage fi re
delivers to them.
We cannot sustain blazes like
the Bootleg Fire indefi nitely. If
the Bootleg Fire is a harbinger
of things to come, then we need
to act fast.
There is no time to waste
regarding the health of
our forests.
Bootleg Fire Incident Command/Contributed Photo
Trees burn at the Bootleg Fire in south-central Oregon on July 25, 2021. Firefi ghters reported progress against the
nation’s largest wildfi re, containing 46% of the blaze.
PUBLISHER’S DESK
COLUMN
I’m out when the reality
of sports becomes virtual
s anyone else disturbed
some of the overweight,
that one of the fast-
chain-smoking, alcoholic
est-growing sports isn’t
bowlers out there. And I
even played on a
won’t even open the
fi eld or court and
can of worms with
doesn’t require
the debate whether
being in good
race car drivers are
physical shape?
athletes.
I’m talking about
I don’t have a
esports.
problem with the
With more and
concept of hav-
more colleges and
ing organized com-
universities adding TAMMY
petitions for video
MALGESINI
esports to their pro- INSIDE MY SHOES
games, but just don’t
grams, it seems to
dress it up like a
me we’re endors-
sport. Instead of the
ing a generation of couch
National Association of
potatoes as athletes. Don’t
Collegiate eSports, how
get me wrong, I enjoy an
about eGames or vGames.
occasional video game, but
I recently got all worked
it would be a far stretch of
up about esports when I
the imagination to think of
read about a program start-
myself as an athlete playing ing up at my alma mater.
a sport.
I see the dollar signs as
Seriously, even the
George Fox University
Oxford Dictionary has stan- likely will start a campaign
dards. Sport is defi ned
to support costs associated
as “an activity involv-
with both intramural and
ing physical exertion and
intercollegiate programs on
skill in which an individ-
campus.
ual or a team competes
The article said they
against another or others for would have uniforms and
entertainment.”
a head coach. George Fox
I suppose gamers can
already has dedicated a
break a sweat while click-
1,200-square-foot arena in
ing and shooting. I used to
the university’s Wheeler
joke about golf not being a
Sports Center.
sport because players often
I’m sure next they’ll
wore slacks and polo shirts. need an athletic trainer
Don’t get me started about
assigned to the team —
I
because you know someone
is going to get a severe case
of Nintendo thumb, gamer’s
grip, tennis elbow or more
accurately, “mouse” elbow
and a whole host of other
potential repetitive strain
injuries. Soon, they’ll have
masseuses, vision special-
ists and chiropractors on the
training staff to attend to the
needs of the esport athletes.
As esports has contin-
ued to legitimize sitting in
front of a computer playing
games, it’s already fi lter-
ing down to the high school
level and even younger
kids. With college schol-
arships available, tourna-
ment money and high sal-
ary jobs, it gives little
Johnny another reason to
avoid going outside to ride
his bike, take a hike or mow
the lawn.
I have an idea — how
about if they combine
esports with robotics? Then,
maybe household chores
still could get done.
———
Tammy Malgesini, who
recently returned as a
Hermiston Herald commu-
nity writer, enjoys spending
time with her husband and
two German shepherds, as
well as entertaining herself
with random musings.
Stay informed on
Oregon wildfi res
e’ve added a
this great region of ours,
new feature
and it pains me to see the
to our web-
areas I’ve considered as
sites across the six east-
places of refuge go up in
side newspapers of EO
fl ames.
Media Group that
Yet, part of our
I think is needed
job is to ensure
and, unfortunately,
our readers are
necessary.
informed. That
On each of our
can be a challenge
news websites
when we are trying
there is a tab where
to cover a break-
all our fi re cover-
ing news story like
age is collected.
fi res. First, we want
ANDREW
CUTLER
Click on the tab
to make sure we
and readers will be
get the most accu-
able to catch up on what is rate information available
going on across the state
to our readers. Then we
and see updates on the
want to deliver comprehen-
progress of blazes.
sive coverage, news stories
I think the feature is
that provide context and
a good one and will help
background on how the
give our readers a sense of fi res started and the dam-
the magnitude of the fi res
age each one infl icts upon
that are scorching huge
our fellow Oregonians.
chunks of forest across
In our modern era we
Oregon.
are in many ways more
While I think the new
connected to each other
feature is a great asset, I,
than ever before, but in
of course, wish it wasn’t
some ways I’d argue we
necessary. The vast size of
also are further apart.
this summer’s blazes took
Social media provides
me by surprise, and when
a platform of connectiv-
I read our great coverage
ity unlike anything seen
on the fi res I always feel a
before, but we also live
little sad. That’s because
in a secluded region of
I have spent more than
the state where cities and
enough time recreating in
towns are spaced far apart.
W
CORRECTIONS
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 29
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Jeff Budlong | Interim editor • news@hermistonherald.com
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • community@eastoregonian.com, 541-564-4532
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.
Yet, what occurs in say,
Baker City, can eventually
have an impact on a place
like Pendleton. The recent
forest fi res are a good case
in point. While the Bootleg
Fire — one of the largest
in the U.S. — is burning in
Southern Oregon the resid-
ual impact of the blaze —
smoke — is impacting not
only Oregon but most of
the nation.
That is a diff erent
kind of connectivity but a
real one that we all must
live with when the sky
becomes choked with
smoke.
I believe our new forest
fi re landing page furnishes
our readers with an up-to-
date resource so they can
stay informed and under-
stand what’s happening
around them.
So don’t forget to check
it out.
———
Andrew Cutler is the
publisher of the Herm-
iston Herald and the
regional editorial direc-
tor for the EO Media
Group, overseeing the Her-
ald, East Oregonian and
four more newspapers in
Eastern Oregon.
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.