A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022
OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022
A4
OUR VIEW
Thank you to the people behind the recent job fair
H
ermiston is stepping up, and
so are local employers. On
Wednesday, March 16, the
Hermiston Chamber of Commerce
and the city of Hermiston worked
together to organize a job fair in
response to layoﬀ s at the Shearer’s
Foods plant.
This, of course, followed the boiler
explosion and ﬁ re that destroyed the
plant.
Nearly 50 employers were rep-
resented at the fair. They included
a variety of different industries,
including health care, security,
retail and agriculture.
The employers promoted techni-
cal jobs, which might be good ﬁ ts for
the former Shearer’s employees, but
there were other positions that could
give workers something new to do.
The excitement and willingness to
help were clear to all observers.
Not only were there released
Shearer’s employees, other unem-
ployed workers were present, too.
They ﬁ lled the community center,
especially early in the day, soon after
the fair opened.
They were eager to ﬁ nd work, and
they were grateful to the organizers,
volunteers and company representa-
tives who made this fair possible.
Work is not the only thing in the
world. For most people, family is
their top priority. Many other people
value religion, money, experience,
companionship or something else
over their employment.
Still, work is more than a job for
the bulk of us. Our labor is a voca-
tion, something to which we are
called. It gives us title, purpose and
a reason to get out of bed. Also,
it is the means by which we earn
money and support ourselves and our
families.
It allows us to help fund charities
and government projects, too.
Employers know of our people’s
desire to return to work.
When the smoke began rising into
the sky, employers started reaching
out to our chamber and our city gov-
ernment. And we are glad that mem-
bers of the chamber and the city
picked up the phone and acted.
Thanks to them, the city was able to
host a very special and successful event.
So we extend our gratitude to all
of the people who made this event
happen, and we express our hope
that the fair resulted in many new
jobs for people.
COLUMN
River Democracy Act protects water and restores forest health
JAMES
JOHNSTON
ANOTHER VIEW
O
regon’s most important
natural resource is water.
Continued access to cool,
clean water is critical for agri-
culture, high tech industry, recre-
ation, ﬁ sh and wildlife habitat, to
say nothing of drinking water.
As a native Oregonian, angler
and scientist who studies fire
and forest health, I’m glad that
Sen. Ron Wyden is working to
expand Wild and Scenic River
designations on select federal
lands in Oregon.
Protecting Oregon’s pristine
rivers and streams isn’t inconsis-
tent with restoring forests and pro-
tecting communities from cata-
strophic wildﬁ re. We can’t restore
forests without protecting streams
and rivers, and we can’t protect
streams and rivers without restor-
ing forests.
Our climate is changing for the
worse. In the coming decades, we
can expect hotter summers, shal-
lower snowpacks and longer ﬁ re
seasons.
The Wild and Scenic River des-
ignations that will be created by
the River Democracy Act intro-
duced by Oregon Sens. Wyden
and Jeﬀ Merkley will keep riv-
ers and streams in their free-ﬂ ow-
ing state. That means more water
will be available for ﬁ sh, wildlife
and people downstream. Forests
alongside streams need water from
free-ﬂ owing rivers to be resis-
tant to ﬁ re and drought. Healthy
forests in turn provide shade and
contribute wood that provides
in-stream ﬁ sh habitat.
New Wild and Scenic River
designations respect private prop-
erty rights and only apply to fed-
eral lands. On federal lands, the
River Democracy Act will require
comprehensive management plans
for new wild and scenic river
stretches that require protection of
native species and active manage-
ment of areas at high risk of cat-
astrophic wildﬁ re that threaten
clean water.
Equally important, the bill
establishes an appropriation of at
least $30 million a year to ensure
that ﬁ re risk reduction work is car-
ried out.
Many decades of neglect have
contributed to degraded water-
sheds and out-of-control wildﬁ res.
Oregonians need to be prepared
for many decades of work includ-
ing storm-prooﬁ ng road systems,
in-stream habitat enhancement,
thinning overly dense forest stands
and reintroducing ﬁ re under favor-
able weather conditions.
Federal legislation like the
River Democracy Act can be part
of the solution.
In addition to more federal
COLUMN
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Using books as barricades
BETTE
HUSTED
FROM HERE
TO ANYWHERE
S
tories shape our world, and the
stories coming from Ukraine
have been so overwhelming
that we want to shrink from the hor-
ror of this war. A recent Guardian
headline, “Books Against Bombs:
how Ukrainians are using litera-
ture to ﬁ ght back,” seemed to oﬀ er
a moment of hope — literature,
yes — until I saw the accompany-
ing photo: a window blocked by
stacks of books. People in this resi-
dential area of Kyiv, the story said,
are using books as barricades against
explosions.
“There is no time to read or write
now — everyone is focused on pro-
tecting their loved ones,” writes Kat-
erina Sergatskova. But she goes on
to explain where all those books had
come from. To encourage vaccina-
tion against COVID-19, Ukraine had
oﬀ ered “culture vouchers” the people
could spend on tickets to a movie or
concert, a gym membership or books.
People bought books, books, books.
And the next day I saw a photo in
Ron Charles’s Washington Post Book
Club column — a Ukrainian mother
reading a children’s book to a small
girl resting on her suitcase. “In such
horriﬁ c conditions, periods of imag-
inative escape are essential for chil-
dren,” Charles writes. “And books are
the perfect vehicle.” A group of Polish
publishers called the Universal Read-
ing Foundation, he says, has begun
to buy and distribute Ukrainian chil-
dren’s books for the youngest refu-
gees taking shelter in Poland.
Despite the obvious diﬃ culties,
this group found a warehouse in Lviv,
Ukraine, that will try to send the ﬁ rst
batch of 25,000 books to be distrib-
uted to orphanages, day cares, kinder-
gartens, schools and libraries.
If they can get through.
As Maria Deskur, chief executive
oﬃ cer of Universal Reading Founda-
tion, told Charles, “A joyful moment
of book sharing and talking with a
close person is the deﬁ nitive moment
of safety, which builds the fundamen-
tals of our social competence, self-es-
teem and psychological well-being
… This is true for every child, but for
these young Ukrainians who have just
lived through a trauma, I would be
ready to argue that their future psy-
chological stableness depends on it.”
She plans to help older children,
too, teenagers who will need to rede-
ﬁ ne themselves in Poland, process
what they have seen and ﬁ nd strength
to move forward. “Whenever you
take a book in your hand, it is an
act of openness to someone else’s
thoughts and emotions,” she said. “It
is an opening to listen to other points
of view; an entering through the door
to dialogue and mutual understanding.
Building fundamentals for that state
of mind is crucial for the future.”
For democracy, she means.
Who gets to hear which stories?
Will the people of Russia ever see
the photo of that mother squatting on
the pavement to read to her toddler,
or the window barricaded by books?
Will the Ukrainians who survive this
war ﬁ nd the stories they need? And
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 115 • NUMBER 12
Andrew Cutler | Publisher • acutler@hermistonherald.com • 541-278-2673
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Audra Workman | Oﬃ ce Manager • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • community@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4532
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investments, we need honest com-
munication and accountabil-
ity among stakeholders here in
Oregon.
There is room for improve-
ments to the River Democracy
Act, and I hope Oregonians will
read about the River Democracy
Act at https://wyden.senate.gov
and share ideas about the act and
other steps that are necessary to
protect water quality and restore
forests with Sen. Wyden.
———
James Johnston is a forest
ecologist at Oregon State
University. The views he
expressed are his own and do not
represent OSU.
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 ©2022
will our own school children, whose
right to know — to learn to under-
stand others as well as the realities of
our history and to read the novels of a
Nobel prize-winning American writer
— is currently under threat?
As I hear news coming from
Ukraine and worry about yet another
larger European war, I remember
images from Wislawa Symborska’s
poem “The End and the Beginning:”
“After every war / someone has to
clean up. / Things won’t / straighten
themselves up, after all. / Some-
one has to push the rubble / to the
side of the road, / so the corpse-ﬁ lled
wagons / can pass. / Someone has
to get mired / in scum and ashes, /
sofa springs, / splintered glass, / and
bloody rags /… Photogenic it’s not,
/ and takes years. / All the cameras
have left for another war.”
Katerina Sergatskova is right: ﬁ rst,
people need to save their families. To
survive. But stories matter. On
March 1, 800 American and
Ukrainian poets shared a massive
Zoom reading, and when American
poet Ilya Kaminsky asked a friend in
Odessa what he can do, the reply was,
“If you want to help, send us some
poems and essays. We are trying to
put together a literary magazine.”
And Ukrainian president Volo-
dymyr Zelensky has been quoting
“Hamlet.” “The question for us now
is to be or not to be,” he told the Brit-
ish Parliament. “I can give you a
deﬁ nitive answer. It’s deﬁ nitely yes,
to be.”
———
Bette Husted is a writer and a stu-
dent of tai chi and the natural world.
She lives in Pendleton.
CORRECTIONS
It is the policy of the Hermiston Herald to correct errors as soon as
they are discovered. Incorrect information will be corrected on Page
A2. Errors committed 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. The Hermiston Herald reserves the right to edit letters for
Letter: Support Christine Drazan for governor
I recently became a supporter of Christine Drazan after
meeting her at a meet-and-greet sponsored by state Rep. Bobby
Levy. Christine impressed me by her commitment to service,
her willingness to stand up for Oregonians and her natural lead-
ership abilities.
Christine is a ﬁ ghter. As the House Republican Leader, she
stood up to Kate Brown and Tina Kotek and won. She led a
uniﬁ ed caucus to oppose tax increases, stop cap-and-trade in its
tracks and protect our rights and freedoms.
Christine understands the challenges we face and how to ﬁ x
them. She is the only candidate in this race with the experience
to start putting our state back on the right track on day one.
As governor:
Christine will end Kate Brown’s state of emergency and
repeal her mask and vaccine mandates on her ﬁ rst day in oﬃ ce.
She will repeal Kate Brown’s unconstitutional cap-and-trade
program.
Christine will support our police oﬃ cers and hold criminals
fully accountable for their crimes.
She will keep our schools open full time and in person, get
back to the basics in the classroom, give parents a forum to be
heard and leave the politics at home where it belongs.
She will lead eﬀ orts to cut taxes, get the government oﬀ the
backs of our small businesses and make Oregon a more aﬀ ord-
able place to live and raise a family.
Here’s the good news: We have a unique opportunity in this
election to bring real change to our state.
Debbie Radie
Irrigon
Oregon voter registration reminder
Attention all citizens of Oregon, now is the time to update
your registration if you have moved, changed your name or mail-
ing address. Please note that ballots will not be forwarded to you.
Most important if you want to select or change your party
aﬃ liation, the time is now, or if you are a ﬁ rst-time voter. (You
must be 18 years of age.) Name changes should be done using
the paper registration form, so the county elections department
has a record of your new signature.
To update your status, you can use the website: Oregon’s My
Vote. You can visit your local county elections oﬃ ce for assis-
tance. Your ballots will be mailed approximately two weeks
before an election. Your vote is the most important thing you can
do as a citizen of the United States.
Kathy Wilson
Pendleton
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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
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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 and notices may be submitted
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at the Hermiston Herald or East Oregonian oﬃ ces. For more
information, call 541-966-0818 or 800-522-0255, x221.