Each new school year is a learning experience. Teachers and students join together to create a positive environment out of a new mix of personalities, skill sets and abilities. Educators introduce new technologies and techniques to make sure they’re providing a high-quality and relevant inst…
In all the time I’ve worked as a journalist covering Hermiston, I think 2020 is the first year I haven’t had a single person call to tell me they had heard from a very credible source that Cos…
Today, let’s talk about trust.
I’m sure no one in the world would have expected something so small that you cannot even see it to turn everything in the world upside down, but COVID–19 did. School does not look anything lik…
This Friday, Sept. 11, marks the 19th anniversary of the terror attacks that toppled the World Trade Center and left one side of the Pentagon in smoking ruins.
One thing the novel coronavirus has given me is time — an abundance of time.
If there is one thing 2020 has taught us, it is that you never know when disaster will strike. I don’t think any of us in January thought Umatilla County would be underwater in February and lo…
One of the biggest challenges many employers are facing is getting their workforce back on the job during the continuing COVID-19 environment. There are many obstacles, including the fact thos…
The evils of human trafficking and child abuse have seen increased attention in recent weeks, including a march in Hermiston last weekend to raise awareness of the issue.
Have you seen the preschooler or kindergartner who reads without a problem?
This column is part of a longer history submitted by Robert Bowman, a former Echo resident, about his father, Asa Mitchell Bowman Jr., who was killed in action in World War II on Oct. 4, 1944,…
Let’s talk about the U.S. Postal Service.
Businesses that received Paycheck Protection Program funds are no doubt aware that all or a portion of the loan is forgivable if funds are used according to program requirements.
If you have received an invitation from the U.S. Census Bureau to fill out the 2020 Census and have not yet done so, stop what you’re doing and go do that now.
I recently had a déjà vu moment with my soda of choice.
When I first arrived in Hermiston three months ago as an eager Snowden intern, I didn’t know what working as a reporter for the Hermiston Herald and the East Oregonian would look like amid a p…
I felt a strong sense of déjà vu last week when I had to scramble to post information about a sudden, late-night announcement from Gov. Kate Brown about Umatilla County being sent back to the …
Before I moved to Hermiston, while I was working for The Dalles Chronicle, a co-worker told me an anecdote about a homeless man with an apparent mental illness.
There are still a lot of questions about what school will look like when it resumes in the fall, but one thing is clear: It won’t look anything like what the rest of us experienced when we wer…
When I’m asked what the 2020-21 school year will look like, there are a lot of possible answers.
As Umatilla County’s COVID-19 numbers continue to grow by leaps and bounds compared to the rest of Oregon, I’m seeing a lot of arguing over how accurate the numbers are, and much less discussi…
I’m starting to come down with something. Don’t worry, it’s not the ‘rona — I have a severe case of cabin fever.
Someone once said that a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.
More than 35 years ago, Oregon’s rural communities experienced an economic downturn of epic proportions when the timber economy collapsed. While state and federal governments responded with si…
As we’ve lived through a global pandemic together these past few months, the strange new situations it has created have prompted us to think more deeply about some aspects of our society.
One of the side effects of being a reporter is you get to know a lot of politicians.
I would like to write my fellow non-Black East Oregonians as to why I feel we must engage in difficult conversations regarding race in America. No longer can small towns be tucked away only en…
The answer to the above question is, quite a lot, actually.
Hermiston is at its best when people are working together. In the school district, we value any opportunity for our students to better understand how this community works, and what role they p…
When someone submits an idea for a story to us, they often preface it with, “I’m not sure if this is newsworthy, but ...”
Homelessness is one of those perennial topics in the newspaper that we cover decade after decade, often with not much news to report beyond “Locals say something needs to be done.”
Looking for work during a pandemic isn’t an easy job. Not only have there been limited opportunities, but my age and an underlying health condition limit my options.
I’m not usually someone who is at a loss for words, but it took me more time to decide what the first sentence of this column should be than it takes me to write an entire column some weeks.
The federal agencies that operate 14 dams in the Columbia River Basin just spent more than three years and a lot of money to look at dam breaching as a possible solution to salmon recovery. Th…
Dear graduating seniors,
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization (EOCCO) and its partner, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health, Inc., (GOBHI) are honored to join our providers th…
Many business owners have applied for or received funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and/or Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). We have received the following questions and wan…
Local retailers, salons and bars rejoiced Friday after reopening for the first time in 67 days.
As I have written dozens of stories about COVID-19 over the past two months, I’ve heard a wide variety of opinions on the pandemic during my interviews.
Who are senior citizens? There is no clearly defined age when an American becomes a “senior.”
Dear readers,
The Hermiston School District has an excellent track record of planning for the future. But as we have learned in the last eight weeks, even the best-laid plans can go awry.
It’s been nearly a decade since my husband and I had internet at home.
The first 13-year-old has died two days prior to me writing this. With no overall health conditions, while being young and healthy, COVID-19 caught up to her and she passed away in Panama, Sou…
Growing up in a small town, you look forward to big exciting events and new things happening.
Living through a pandemic has many side effects, but one particularly relevant to 2020 is knowing what the inside of professional acquaintances’ homes look like.
In a column last week I teased that exciting new changes are coming for the Hermiston Herald, and this week I’m ready to announce it:
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.
