It’s now cliché, but we are living in difficult times. I want to focus for a minute on race, a topic that makes many of us uncomfortable and is a focus of much of the country at this time. It is unfortunate that after more than 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, race is still suc…
You might not have ever heard of the Independent-Enterprise, but it was once a weekly newspaper that filled a unique place in Payette County, Idaho.
Welcome to a new column about health. Webster’s dictionary defines health as “the state of fitness of the body, or of the mind,” which is a good start.
Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot should be rolling in their graves.
In my opinion, the Board of Trustees of our Umatilla Confederated Tribes made a serious mistake in criminalizing non-compliance of tribal pandemic social gathering guidelines. Chuck Sams, pan…
Pendleton residents can’t help but notice the heavy equipment and workers busy tackling the long-overdue repair work to our crumbling city streets and the leaking water/sewer lines that have a…
In the past, for safety reasons, the government has passed laws to protect people. Protests were made, but now these laws have become a part of every day life. Wearing seat belts, motorcycle h…
The city of Pendleton is planning to pay $1,200 every other week to a company in Massachusetts for the next six months to test city wastewater samples for COVID-19.
With the Fourth of July holiday looming, it is often easy to forget just how close the whole American independence effort came to failure.
In my opinion, the board of trustees of our Umatilla Confederated Tribes made a serious mistake in criminalizing noncompliance of tribal pandemic social gathering guidelines.
On Tuesday, June 23, our organizations made the difficult decision to withdraw from the Northern Blues Forest Collaborative. As founding members of Northeast Oregon’s forest collaboratives, ou…
I am writing to express my disappointment in the Umatilla County commissioners' recent order in support of police.
The COVID-19 virus outbreak put unexpected pressure on an array of state and federal agencies and in at least one case, the compression created leaks that sprouted into wide fissures.
In 2016, Tobias Read was elected Oregon state treasurer. In that time, Oregonians have seen significant issues financially impact Oregon including PERS changes, a corporate activity tax, a pro…
Stay home, stay healthy. We hear that over and over as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. But what if you can’t stay home in order to stay healthy? What if you are struggling to pay rent and y…
The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners recently issued an order in support of law enforcement in Umatilla County. Commendable, as we all know that law enforcement is a difficult, often tha…
White supremacy is unconscionable, and that is what compels me to protest. It’s an ugly term that brings about strong emotions and may have different meanings for people. Our heritage includes…
A tip of the hat to companies that are being proactive and transparent in reporting cases of COVID-19 among employees.
I remember the day I realized I am racist, though not the year. I would have been 18 or 19. Of course, I hadn’t believed it of myself. I grew up during the fruition of the Civil Rights Era. I …
Permanently embedded in my memory is the number 1,718. It is the gallon capacity of my portable backyard pool.
I am responding to the county commissioners and their response to the BLM movement. I am Kara. I'm one of your local public defenders. I have been for the last 16 years.
Cattle ranchers in Oregon’s wolf country face a dilemma when a calf or cow turns up dead: Report it to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and time the response with a calendar, or ignor…
My husband and I are about to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We hoped to spend a few days in the mountains to celebrate and had reservations in Wallowa. We were traveling from Colorado, and e…
In their recent letter supporting the local police forces in Umatilla County, the commissioners completely missed the point of the peaceful protests in Pendleton and Hermiston. While condemnin…
There she was, her fine gauge knitting needles working a small square that would join others in a knit patchwork blanket for one of her five grandchildren. Maybe you’ve seen her in the past at…
Umatilla County commissioners are demonstrating a real lack of understanding and knowledge in regard to the serious issues currently facing our country. The comments from the commissioners in …
Gov. Kate Brown used an apt metaphor recently regarding the COVID-19 virus and what may be in store for the state over the next month.
The order by Umatilla County's board of commissioners reflects a lack of understanding with regard to the movement underway in the United States, and appears tone deaf to the purpose of local …
Since the horrific police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, there has been a growing movement to "defund the police." I have been puzzled by this, trying to understand why so many people…
“The world is made of stories, not of atoms,” Muriel Rukeyser wrote. But can stories really take us “from here to anywhere?”
Outraged demonstrators on our streets are pushing elected officials at all levels to consider a host of criminal justice reforms: a ban on tear gas, mandatory use of body cameras and a full re…
Schools across Oregon closed for the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, turning the lives of nearly 600,000 K-12 students and their families upside down.
The answer to the above question is, quite a lot, actually.
Wow, whether by serendipity or by intent, two articles printed exactly opposite each other, face to face, in the June 13-14 East Oregonian, on pages A4 and A5, by Stuart Dick and Ryan M. Lync…
We officially learned what many had suspected and privately feared would happen — no Pendleton Round-Up or Happy Canyon this year.
As Oregon plans for future reopening phases, we are reminded that many families continue to struggle with unemployment, layoffs, school closures, and financial hardships caused by COVID-19.
Pendleton residents were taken aback with city hall’s announcement that our aquatic center would not open this summer, and they want to know why. After all, the funding is right there in the n…
In response to Bill Aney’s June 4 column, "This land is our land: Hard truths for hunters about lead," Oregon’s hunters and conservationists know the truth isn’t hard. Traditional ammunition u…
As the region steps into storm season, it seems appropriate to review the whirls of the Northwest, both great and small.
Act now. If you have been near any of the protests in Northeast Oregon or elsewhere, that’s one of the calls from the crowd.
