UMATILLA COUNTY — Census Day has come and passed, and Umatilla County is lagging behind the rest of the country in making sure they’re represented in the 2020 U.S. Census.
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All small business owners, to some degree (many severely), are being negatively affected by the overnight economic shutdown due to the COVID-19 virus. Fortunately, there are programs to assist…
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column titled “Things to be grateful for in the age of COVID-19.”
Norma Paulus would be proud. And she would be amazed. As secretary of state from 1977 until 1985, Paulus was the prime mover of Oregon’s voting by mail. Other states have been slow to follow O…
A lot comes to my mind as we all struggle to come to terms with the current situation regarding COVID-19.
These past few weeks have been bewildering. Tiring. Worrying. I’m sure you can think of plenty of other adjectives.
So, the coronavirus is here.
While driving along Highway 395, my partner and I noticed something different about Hermiston’s welcome sign recently. For one, it’s adorned with a brightly colored watermelon, and I am all ab…
When a natural disaster the size of last week’s flood hits, the information comes flooding in as fast as the water.
I recently read a Discover magazine story that indicated a lifespan is a billion heartbeats.
It’s no secret that my Democratic colleagues in the state Senate want to pass a cap-and-trade bill this year (SB 1530). They tried last year with HB 2020, but were unsuccessful. They’ve been w…
The past decade brought us many wonderful things, from life-changing advances in technology and medicine to worldwide decreases in poverty and illiteracy.
Question: Given the current time of the year, with icy roads and sidewalks, I shovel my sidewalks every time it snows. I do the same for my two elderly neighbors. So my question is, “Is a home…
Editor’s note: This is the first answer in our new “Ask a Lawyer” column series with Hermiston attorney Blaine Clooten of Clooten Law. To submit questions for future columns, email editor@herm…
A Facebook post by a former college roommate of mine gave me a little laugh recently.
I have a confession to make — I’m already full steam ahead with the Christmas spirit.
When I was in college, I stopped liking Thanksgiving.
It’s a humbling experience to be entrusted with nearly $90 million to build new schools for a generation of Hermiston students. The Hermiston School District is grateful to this community for …
When a local business announces they are closing their doors for good, the announcement is often greeted with a flood of comments from people sad that it is closing.
A bit of an adrenaline junkie, I like things that get my heart pumping — including scary stories and even ghost hunting. A couple of recent trips with friends have featured things that go bump…
As I approached college graduation, my goal was to eventually become a boss with my own office where I could hang posters on the ceiling.
For the past 17 years, it has been my honor and privilege to lead Eastern Oregon Mission and its two outreaches Agape House and Martha’s House. It is now time for me to turn over the reins and…
Every school year in Hermiston begins with the promise of new opportunities for our students and staff. New friendships are formed, new experiences pursued, and we set out to learn new ways to…
Everybody seems to have an opossum story. My favorite is we thought it was an ugly cat until we tried to put a flea collar on it.
Recent road construction has altered my preferred route to work.
When I was a kid, my parents’ unfinished basement held dozens of milk jugs filled with water and shelves of large silver cans with words like “rice” and “oats” written across the side in black…
It’s that time of year again.
It seems like it was only a few days ago that we were wrapping up the spring sports season and crowning state champions in track, baseball, softball, golf and tennis.
As National Dog Day approaches I would be in the doghouse if I didn’t brag on our canine kids — both German shepherds.
Less than three months ago, I was fresh from college and spending my days pouring lattes at a fast-paced coffee shop in downtown Portland. Next door to a nice hotel, fielding tourists at work …
Several weeks ago I thought I had a sudden windfall of $30,000.
After turning the tassel, area graduates are looking to the future and what’s next — joining the workforce, entering the military or going to college.
Even though Administrative Professionals Day has passed, it’s important to remember how vital these men and women are in the workplace.
That 825 Oregonians died in a single year by suicide is a sobering assessment of our collective ability to help those who feel trapped in their own despair.
I used to consider the semicolon the unwanted child of punctuation. It is usually misused or mistakenly typed on the keyboard if you forgot to hold shift while pressing for the colon button. I…
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration when I say that my class has gone through a lot.
As the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Hermiston, I have the honor and privilege of officiating at many weddings. A greater honor and privilege for me is to work with the engaged couple as …
I could have been born on April Fool’s Day.
Hermiston is a family-friendly place to live. There are parks, a bowling alley, a roller rink, and in the summer an incredible aquatic center. But with an ever-growing population of younger pe…
The best advice I’ve ever seen on the internet may be the meme that advises, “Dance like no one is watching, email like it may one day be read aloud in a deposition.”
Everywhere we go, we are bombarded with requests for money.
If you’ve been paying attention to recent online conversations, you may have noticed that social media has become the popular place of blame for this generation’s depression.
I was diagnosed with an eating disorder (some in the community call it ED) my sophomore year of high school. It’s been a difficult thing for me to talk about.
“You can have any tree on the lot for five bucks,” he joked as I backed up to the growing pile of discarded Christmas trees.
Have you ever felt like life is unfair? I have. I’m sure that if you’re like me, there have been plenty of times when you have experienced situations when you thought that you were the only on…
Dear Hermiston Herald readers:
Resolutions … smesolutions. While I don’t really get into the whole thing, I decided to read about making New Year’s resolutions.
When I was about 12, my parents came to the conclusion that most parents come to at some point: My three younger brothers and I had gotten too focused on the “getting” part of Christmas instea…
Bill Belichick is the National Football League’s version of the Grinch. The head coach of the New England Patriots recently said Christmas is very inconvenient — coming in the middle of the fo…
With Halloween just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the holiday than having a fright-fest.
Election season is always exciting for journalists.
I recently returned after embarking on a round-trip encompassing more than 800 miles and 40 years.
Dear Hermiston residents of 2068,
I finally decided to attend my 40-year high school reunion.
Evidently I’m old-school.