NEWS
Wednesday, august 25, 2021
HeRMIstOnHeRaLd.COM • A3
Hermiston Herald hires new editor
erick Peterson, 45, is eager
to report on Hermiston’s
diversity, more
By BRYCE DOLE
staFF WRIteR
HERMISTON — Erick
Peterson, a Hermiston res-
ident with years of journal-
ism experience, has joined
the Hermiston Herald as
its new editor and senior
reporter.
Peterson, 45, started his
new role with EO Media
Group on Monday, Aug. 24.
In addition to Hermiston,
he will cover neighboring
communities in both Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties,
including Boardman, Stan-
field and Umatilla.
“We are excited to
have Erick on board,” said
Andrew Cutler, publisher of
the Hermiston Herald. “He
brings a fresh set of eyes
to the Herald and we are
excited to see what ideas he
has moving forward.”
Peterson was born in
Southern California and
was raised in West Rich-
land, Washington. Growing
up reading the Tri-City Her-
ald, Peterson came to love
newspapers while deliver-
ing them to his communi-
ty’s doorsteps during his
first job. He believes news-
papers are integral institu-
tions for keeping the public
informed and holding power
to account.
“The uglier side of the
world needs to be brought to
light so it can be repaired,”
Peterson said. “And report-
ers have a very important
job in exposing that.”
Peterson graduated from
Central Washington Uni-
versity in Ellensburg, Wash-
ington, with a Bachelor of
Arts degree in philosophy.
But it wasn’t until he went
to China that he decided to
pursue a career in journal-
ism. For 10 years, he trav-
eled through the country and
wrote for magazines and
newspapers, covering com-
munity news, business and
travel stories.
Peterson returned to the
United States and found
a job as an editor at the
Review Independent in Top-
penish. After working for the
Yakima Valley Publishing
newspaper for a few years,
he left to obtain a certifi-
cate in instrumentation and
industrial automation, but
quickly decided that career
wasn’t for him. Meanwhile,
he reported freelance stories
for the agricultural newspa-
per the Capital Press, which,
like the Hermiston Herald, is
a member of the EO Media
Group.
After meeting his wife,
Peterson moved to Hermis-
ton four years ago and began
working as a cashier at the
local Safeway. He left the
job shortly after the pan-
demic started to take care of
his family and help his step-
son through online school.
Amplifying the voices
of people in his commu-
nity is what inspired Peter-
son to apply for the posi-
tion with the Herald. He said
he’s thrilled to be joining a
paper that has a history of
strong local journalism, par-
ticularly under the leader-
ship of former editor Jade
McDowell.
“The paper’s got a ter-
rific tradition,” he said. “It’s
been worked by some fan-
tastic people. Jade is in that
tradition. And I want to con-
tinue that tradition. I want
to contribute to a proud
newspaper.”
Peterson is married to
Nancy Peterson, a longtime
Hermiston resident, dis-
ability services employee
Hermiston agrees to help fund bridge analysis
HeRMIstOn HeRaLd
The Hermiston City
Council approved a plan
to jointly fund a look at
putting a bridge across the
Umatilla River.
City Manager Byron
Smith told the council that
since 2001 the city’s trans-
portation systems plan has
considered a bridge over
the Umatilla River, and
now the city’s needs for
that bridge have multiplied
over the past 20 years, and
those needs are going to
increase.
Hermiston continues
to be the fastest growing
community in Eastern Ore-
gon, with a population now
exceeding 19,000. Accord-
ing to Smith’s memo to
council on the bridge proj-
ect, the city is tracking to
reach nearly 23,000 resi-
dents by 2030.
The project would ana-
lyze putting in a bridge to
align with either Elm Ave-
nue or Punkin Center Road.
Smith said the analysis
would cost $130,000, and
Umatilla County and the
city of Umatilla already are
on board with sharing the
cost. Umatilla has agreed
to put in $30,000, Uma-
tilla County has agreed to
shoulder $50,000, Smith
said, leaving Hermiston
to put in the remaining
$50,000.
The city has chased fed-
eral grants to pay for this
examination, Smith said,
but continuing to go that
route would “really slow
things down a lot.” And the
$50,000, he added, is about
the same amount the city
would pay if it obtained
a grant.
Councilor Jackie Mey-
ers said this idea has been
on the city’s burner for
20-plus years, and now it’s
time to flesh out the tech-
nical work of determin-
ing which spot is going
to work the best.
The council voted 8-0
in favor of a memoran-
dum of understanding out-
lining the joint funding of
the engineering analysis,
which the firm Anderson
Perry & Associates will do.
The council also met in
a closed-door session to
discuss the contract with
the city manager. Smith has
served in the role for seven
years. After the session,
the council voted unani-
mously to extend Smith’s
contract through Aug. 24,
2023, adding one year to
his contract. Mayor Dave
Drotzmann expressed his
appreciation for Smith and
his leadership during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
at Columbia Basin College
and Hermiston city coun-
cilor. Peterson will not cover
city council because of his
wife’s role.
“We had long talks
during the interview process
about the potential conflicts
of interest that could come
from that,” Cutler said. “It’s
important that readers know
we take that seriously —
whether perceived or real.
So Erick will not cover any-
thing to do with the city
council.”
Peterson added: “There’s
going to be a lot of questions
as to how objective I can be,
and I can start off by saying
I can’t be trusted to be objec-
tive” covering city coun-
cil, he said. “I love my wife
more than anything. I love
her more than any job I’ll
ever have. I’m excited about
the possibilities of this job,
but I love my wife way more
than I love anything else.”
There are many top-
ics Peterson hopes to bring
to the table as the paper’s
new editor, including the
pandemic, climate change,
agriculture and religion.
In particular, he looks to
report on Hermiston’s
diversity, telling stories
about the town’s underrep-
resented and marginalized
communities.
“Erick’s experience as
a journalist, both in the
inland Northwest and over-
seas, gives him a broad per-
spective that will serve him
well as our editor in Herm-
iston,” said Kathryn B.
Brown, vice president of
EO Media Group and pub-
lisher of The Other Oregon.
Peterson emphasized he
wants to get to know com-
munities in and around
Hermiston. He hopes peo-
ple will reach out with
story ideas or just to
introduce themselves.
Umatilla County’s
COVID-19 death
toll rises to 108
HeRMIstOn HeRaLd
The Oregon Health Author-
ity reported two more Umatilla
County COVID-19 deaths Mon-
day, Aug. 23, raising the county’s
death toll to 108 since the pan-
demic began.
The disclosure comes as the
county reported 69 new COVID-
19 cases, a slight decline from
the record-breaking surge seen in
previous weeks.
The first victim is a 54-year-
old man who tested positive Aug.
14 and died Aug. 17 at Good
Shepherd Medical Center, Herm-
iston. He had unspecified under-
lying health conditions.
The second victim is a 66-year-
old man who tested positive July
19 and died Aug. 13. The state
has yet to determine where he
died. He had unspecified under-
lying health conditions.
The county has reported nine
COVID-19 deaths during the past
week, a new pandemic record.
Locals react as Taliban seizes Afghanistan amid U.S. withdrawal
By BRYCE DOLE AND NICK
ROSENBERGER
staFF WRIteRs
Veteran communities in
Eastern Oregon were among
the many who felt mixed emo-
tions with the rapidly unravel-
ing situation in Afghanistan.
Kerry Thompson, Eastern
Oregon University’s Herm-
iston Center military-veteran
coordinator, has been in total
disbelief at the pullout from
Afghanistan and said he’s
heartbroken.
“I ask myself, is it all for
nothing?” Thompson said.
“Over 2,000 American lives
lost over there, trillions of dol-
lars we spent and my heart
really goes out to the Afghani
civilians. They have to be ter-
rified of what they’re going
through right now.”
Thompson said his son had
served in Afghanistan as well
and they both had friends who
died while serving. He said he
is worried about the American
troops trying to get everyone
out right now.
“Do I think we needed to
still be there?” he asked, “No,
I do not. The way that we left
I think is going to be a stain
on America.”
Thompson, who served
in the Army from 1987 until
2008, was part of the first
ground forces in Afghanistan
with the 10th Mountain Divi-
sion in 2001 and 2002. He was
deployed two times, once to
Iraq and once to Afghanistan.
He said the pullout
could’ve been done more sys-
tematically. To him, it felt like
one day troops were there and
the next day they weren’t.
“I haven’t been in the
Army for 13 years, but I’ve
never seen anything like this,”
he said.
For veterans who are strug-
gling with recent news rolling
out of Afghanistan, “be proud
of yourself and what you’ve
done,” Thompson said. “And
don’t be afraid to reach out
to anyone if you need help.”
President defends decision
to withdrawVeterans and their
families nationwide are reel-
ing from the recent news of
the Taliban’s rapid seizure of
Afghanistan after the United
States began withdrawing
troops.
On Monday, Aug. 16, Pres-
ident Joe Biden defended
his decision to withdraw
the troops.
“We gave them every
tool they could need. We
paid their salaries. Provided
for the maintenance of their
airplanes,” Biden said of the
Afghanistan government,
which crumbled in a matter
of days. “We gave them every
chance to determine their own
future. What we could not
provide was the will to fight
for that future.”
Biden echoed a senti-
ment held by many veterans
and their families across the
nation: “How many more gen-
erations of America’s daugh-
ters and sons would you have
me send to fight Afghans —
Afghanistan’s civil war, when
Afghan troops will not?”
Duane Carter, a Hermis-
ton resident and veteran of
the United States Army, 24th
Infantry, served in Operation
Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia
and Desert Storm in Iraq. Car-
ter said he has grown numb
to the news.
“It didn’t surprise me,” he
said of watching the Afghan
government crumble. “But
at least we’re getting out of
there.”
But scenes from the Kabul
Airport, showing Afghan cit-
izens desperately climbing
onto aircrafts to escape, did
surprise Carter. Some citizens
who clung to planes fell to
their deaths, according to
news reports.
Carter said he “had no
doubt” the Taliban would reaf-
firm its grip on the nation after
the U.S.’s departure. But what
was surprising, Carter said,
was the speed at which the
Afghan government fell.
“I feel sorry for all the guys
who served over there, lost
their lives, got wounded,” he
said. “This must crush them.
There was a lot of time and
effort over there. And it’s just
gone.”
The most important thing
now, Carter said, is to “get all
the troops out” safely.
“We’ve already lost too
many people,” he said.
Local leaders speak out
Now a refugee crisis
is sweeping the world, as
Afghan citizens desperately
seek a way to escape the
country.
Oregon Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, is one of a hand-
ful of Republican legislators
who have so far signed a let-
ter that seeks to create a safe
passage for Afghan refugees.
The letter, sent to Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown and U.S.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley, calls on the Biden
administration to “lift the
refugee admission caps and
take other emergency human-
itarian actions that will save
lives at this pivotal time.” It
says the state must “take all
the necessary steps to be pre-
pared to resettle families when
they arrive.”
“It’s not right, morally, to
abandon our friends in tough
situations,” Hansell said.
Hansell said he would sup-
port efforts aimed at expe-
diting the process of getting
Afghans safely to the U.S.
He said he has grown “con-
cerned” and “frustrated” with
the U.S. government’s actions
leading up to the Afghan gov-
ernment’s collapse.
Pendleton Mayor John
Turner, an Iraq veteran and
retired colonel and infantry
officer who served in the 1st,
3rd and 4th Marine divisions
for 28 years, said he thought
the collapse of Afghanistan
was very predictable.
“I think any of us that were
paying close attention were a
bit surprised by the rapidity of
how the Afghan government
fell,” he said. “I don’t think
anybody was surprised by the
fact that it actually fell.”
Turner said it was an
Shekib Rahmani/The Associated Press
Hundreds of people gather near a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at a perimeter at the
international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 16, 2021. That day, the U.S. military and
officials focus was on Kabul’s airport, where thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden
Taliban takeover rushed the tarmac and clung to U.S. military planes deployed to fly out
staffers of the U.S. Embassy, which shut down Aug. 15, and others.
incredibly difficult issue and
it will continue in the weeks
to come with the United
States only being able to
evacuate about 5,000 peo-
ple a day. Since the United
States still has tremendous
combat power, though, he said
he thinks the Taliban will be
sensible and let the evacuation
take place peacefully.
While he’s sure it’s frus-
trating to veterans who served
in Afghanistan, Turner said
they still accomplished their
goal to eliminate the Taliban
as a source of power and a
safe haven for terrorism train-
ing — even while they might
not have been able to convert
Afghanistan into a pro-West-
ern democratic government
over the following 19 years.
“We probably should have
withdrawn 15 years ago,”
he said. “This is a problem
that’s been faced now by four
American presidents over a
20-year period. Afghanistan
is a unique country. It’s got
a tribal culture. It’s not nec-
essarily adaptable to West-
ern democratic principles,
so I don’t think anybody who
served there was surprised by
what happened.”
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