OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2021
A4
OUR VIEW
Morrow County needs volunteers to stand up for democracy
Serving on a public body can seem like a
daunting endeavor but there is no better way
to give back to your community.
Morrow County is searching for people
for its planning commission to represent the
Boardman and Ione areas. The role is a vol-
unteer one and individuals are appointed for
four-year terms ending in December 2025.
The planning commission meets once a
month.
The board is important for obvious rea-
sons. Volunteer legislators hold hearings on
land use applications and issues. Members
also review changes to the county’s subdivi-
sion and zoning ordinances and the county’s
comprehensive plans. Commission mem-
bers also guide county staff on long-term
planning linked to land use.
Members of the commission, then, play a
pivotal, mostly unseen role. Land use issues
are a central part of any rural county and
Morrow is no exception.
As a volunteer position, there isn’t much
in terms of concrete benefi ts that will go
toward an individual who decides to step up
and become a commission member. Yet that
PETERSON’S POINTS
really isn’t the point. At least not with this
board.
The board needs community members
who care — care about their county, care
about the future and care enough about their
neighbors that they want to be there in a cru-
cial position to help them.
No doubt there isn’t much instant gratifi -
cation from working on such a board. And,
as with anything connected to democracy,
there is always the possibility a decision will
spark controversy or push back from voters.
Still, that is the form of government we
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Following the route of
‘Miss Benson’s Beetle’
hat would you do
this mood shift, and they had
if you were able to
advice for me. I should not
suddenly empty out take things personally, they
your desk and walk out of your said. Rather, I should continue
offi ce, without plans of ever
to serve, keeping in mind the
returning?
value I had to our community.
The main character in my
We were essential, they said.
favorite book, “Miss Benson’s
I tried, but was not able to
Beetle,” faced this sit-
keep their mindset. I was
uation, which gives us
already disappointed
all something to think
about the direction of my
about in the age of the
life, and the new, angry
pandemic.
attitude of others was not
In the story, Miss
sitting well with me. It
Benson is a mid-
was also proving infec-
dle-aged British
tious. I, too, was getting
Erick
woman without adven-
angrier.
Peterson
ture, fulfi llment or
Besides, I had med-
much romance in her life. Rid- ically fragile family mem-
iculed and belittled by every-
bers, whose health concerned
one, she longs for a better
me. And I had a stepson who
existence.
needed my help with his
One day, she fi nally reaches schoolwork.
the end of her rope, and she
Quitting my job to care for
walks away from her job to fol- them was not easy. It involved
low a childhood dream. She
tightening our belts a bit, but
and a woman she befriends
we were able to make it work
travel to a remote island on the because of my wife’s salaried
other side of the world. There, at-home employment.
they search for a beetle that had
I proved to be an excellent
yet to be categorized by British caretaker. I cooked, cleaned
scientists at the time.
and cared for my family. By
Fortunately for Miss Ben-
sitting down with one of my
son, she has enough resources
stepsons throughout the day,
to make her trip. She also has
every day, I helped him during
no responsibilities, other than
a diffi cult transition to distance
ones she made for herself. Not learning. He ended one semes-
all of us are as fortunate as she. ter of his schooling with a 4.0
But we should be.
GPA.
Years ago, I left an OK job
I did not miss work, but I
to do something diff erent. I
did apply for available jobs.
spent the next two years emp-
When a good job, which let me
tying my bank account and
continue caring for my fam-
going back to school to study
ily, became available, I was
instrumentation. After I com-
able to accept it. It is the job I
pleted my education, I started a am doing now. Unlike less-ful-
new career at which I instantly fi lling jobs, the work I am
failed.
doing now makes me glad. As
If you see me, and you want a response, I put my all into
a laugh, ask me about my two- it. I am productive and a bet-
week employment at a potato
ter member of our community,
plant.
which I love more with every
Without savings, and having passing day.
spent a couple of years out of
I know other people who
the newspaper business, I was
have changed their lives as we
lost and took the fi rst job avail- all struggle through the pan-
able to me.
demic. They have questioned
It was retail, and, though
their course, and many of them
my workmates, managers and
have charted new ones. They
many customers were nice,
discovered the fragility of life,
many customers were not. I
the brevity of existence. They
would come home every day
have reached for more.
for around two years feeling
For those people who have
miserable, and I knew many of made brave moves, I applaud
my co-workers were feeling the you. I also praise those of you
same way.
who feel demeaned but gen-
When the pandemic hit,
uinely have no escape. And
things got even worse. Cus-
I hope for a better world,
tomers became combative
wherein you have better
over mask mandates and oth-
options. In the meantime, you
ers seemed angry without
have my respect, my gratitude
any provocation. A few peo-
and good tips. Thank you.
ple regularly greeted me with
———
expletives.
Erick Peterson is the editor
A lot of my co-workers
and senior reporter of the
responded productively to
Hermiston Herald.
W
Wolves contribute to elk
displacement
Bill Aney’s recent column
about elk on private property
caught my interest. The author
seemed to object to property own-
ers charging to hunt elk on pri-
vate land, even though this is done
in every state with big game. The
author also noted that projects
completed locally have provided
the means to keep elk on public
land. Why hasn’t this been done?
The author stated that motorized
vehicles were the main reason why
elk left public land. Somehow he
forgot to mention wolves.
Studies conducted by the Wyo-
ming Game and Fish Department
showed a very high correlation
between wolf population and elk
displacement from winter range
and feed-grounds. In a summary
of their data from 1995 to 2017,
the populations of elk went from a
high in 1995 of 51,187, deer pop-
ulation of 62,501, and moose pop-
ulation of 10,000 to populations
of 36,839 for elk, 38,088 for deer,
and 1,390 for moose. During that
time there were no wolves until
1996 and 210 in 2017.
The wolves in Eastern Ore-
gon might well play a huge role in
changing elk location. In the same
edition of the East Oregonian, two
diff erent wolf kills of livestock
were reported, one attack near
Elgin and the other near Ukiah.
Maybe the wolves have learned to
drive motorized vehicles.
Mike Mehren
Hermiston
Bi-Mart has let our
community down
Bi-Mart has let our community
down. With little notice they sold
their pharmacies, including the
one in Hermiston, to Walgreens,
who decided to close it immedi-
ately. This has negatively impacted
many people, the remaining
options are limited. Walmart is
already extremely busy and has
huge crowds with long waits for
service, and diffi culty managing
complex medication issues.
RiteAid is seriously under-
staff ed. Recently their pharmacy
has been closed. People can nei-
ther obtain their medications
nor have them transferred since
other pharmacies can’t contact
them. That is an unsafe situation
for patients.
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 114 • NUMBER 42
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@eomediagroup.com • 541-278-2673
Erick Peterson | Editor/Senior Reporter • epeterson@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4536
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • community@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4532
Andy Nicolais | Page Designer • anicolais@eomediagroup.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.
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Hermiston, OR 97838.
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Safeway is trying to pick
up the slack but they are over-
whelmed by the huge numbers
of people abandoned by Bi-Mart
and RiteAid. Also, they have no
seating, so people with mobility
issues are limited. If there is no
riding cart available, Safeway is
inaccessible.
With many insurance plans,
these are now the only approved
pharmacies in town. The other
two available choices are not cov-
ered by many plans. They are,
however, both good pharmacies.
Hermiston Drug has a repu-
tation for excellence. They are,
however, diffi cult to access. It
is almost impossible to park on
Main Street and the parking lot
in back is some distance from the
door and treacherous due to its
poor maintenance.
Good Shepherd is very capable
and more accessible, but costly if
not preferred by insurances (such
as mine).
Bi-Mart’s ill-conceived and
harmful decision has negatively
aff ected our community. I will
remember that in the future when
deciding where to shop.
Shelley Wilson
Hermiston
COLUMN
Collaboration and community give
students opportunity to succeed
Look around the
Irrigon’s
grant-
Morrow
County
funded
walking
School District and
path along Division
you’ll see more
Street to give kids a
than just our teach-
safe path to get to
ers and staff having
both schools in the
a positive impact
community.
on kids. You’ll Dirk
Sometimes it’s a
fi nd an entire com- Dirksen
club like the River-
munity
support-
side FFA Advisory
ing and encouraging our Board raising funds to pur-
students with their time chase a greenhouse kit for
and resources, making the high school FFA pro-
sure they have abundant gram or the North Mor-
educational and growth row County Arts Founda-
opportunities.
tion staging professional
I couldn’t be more theatrical performances in
grateful for this atmo- Irrigon and Boardman to
sphere of collaboration in expose younger students
Morrow County. It gives to the arts.
our students the oppor-
And sometimes it’s a
tunity to thrive and sets a whole group of generous
model for responsible cit- citizens and businesses
izenship and giving back.
donating to a cause, like
This collaboration takes the countless individu-
many forms. Sometimes als giving to the Heppner
it’s a local grant to make a Backpack Food Program
school improvement, like to provide take-home
the Boardman Chamber of weekend meals for kids
Commerce’s recent fund- who need them.
ing for new equipment in
The examples are too
the Sam Boardman Ele- numerous to list in full
mentary gymnasium.
detail here, but in both
Sometimes it’s a com- small ways and large, the
munity partner looking community steps up time
out for the safety of our and again to help. These
students, like the City of projects enrich the edu-
CORRECTIONS
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live by. Democracy can be messy but that
should never be a reason an individual shies
away from an important volunteer position.
The work on such a board as the Mor-
row County Planning Commission isn’t
going to be a glitzy one, but it will be one
where someone can make a real diff erence.
Not just now, but down the road. The key,
of course, is fi nding the right person for the
job. We believe there are lots of people out
there who could use their expertise for just
such a role and we hope they step up.
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) 278-2673 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.
cational and development
process and wouldn’t
be
possible
without
collaboration.
I’m particularly grate-
ful for our ongoing part-
nerships with the Port
of Morrow to create the
Amazon Web Services
Think Big Space at the
SAGE Center.
This project brings cut-
ting-edge science, tech-
nology, engineering, and
mathematics programs to
our students. We’ve been
excited to put this space
into practice, and this fall
our kids have been visiting
the labs and had special-
ist educators come to their
classrooms. It’s a next-
level educational opportu-
nity that not all school dis-
tricts have.
At the high schools
it’s supplemented by ini-
tiatives like the Stu-
dent Internship Program,
which brings together
business partners in Mor-
row County to allow stu-
dents to explore career
opportunities
through
paid internships and earn
credits all while building
their résumés.
After all, the future is
what it’s all about. We’re
always keeping in mind
the kind of place we hope
Morrow County will be
decades down the line
and how we can help our
young people become the
leaders they’re meant to
be.
The COVID-19 pan-
demic will be far in the
rearview by then. But
the growth and develop-
ment opportunities our
students are experiencing
now will stick with them.
I’m extremely proud of
our class of 2021 for fi n-
ishing strong and main-
taining a 92% graduation
rate, even under diffi cult
circumstances.
Once again, I want to
thank all of the commu-
nity partners who make
this possible and give
the students of the Mor-
row County School Dis-
trict the best opportunity
to succeed.
———
Dirk Dirksen is the
superintendent of the
Morrow County School
District.
The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
length and for content.
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; death
notices and information about services are published at no
charge. Obituaries can include small photos and, for veterans,
a fl ag symbol at no charge.
Obituaries can be submitted via the funeral home, by email
to obits@hermistonherald.com or in person at the Hermiston
Herald or East Oregonian offi ces. For more information, call
541-966-0818.