Like Hermiston’s onions and potatoes, life realities are often simple, bland and, ultimately, overlooked. Such oft-overlooked realities include the centrality of caregivers (parents and guardians) in children’s academic education, and the importance of these caregivers’ use of both internal …
Above all else, water should be trusted to sustain us and give us health, but this is not the case for us. Not anymore. In the latest print edition of the Hermiston Herald, we covered problems…
Local author Ronald E. Ingle wrote “Oasis in the Desert: The Story of Hermiston from Sagebrush to City.” In the early chapters he established that the city of Hermiston, Oregon, shared its nam…
There are some new and exciting changes coming for the Hermiston Herald.
I’ve recently been forced to use my non-dominant hand for everyday tasks. I have minimal skills with being ambidextrous, however, after having surgery on my right hand/elbow, I have learned a …
I am very upset and sad at the direction President Mark Browning is taking Blue Mountain Community College.
What is it about watching birds that so many people enjoy?
When introduced, it’s common for two people to shake hands. Most noticeable about this brief interaction is the grip of the handshake and how long the hands remain engaged.
For some Oregonians, the race for governor isn’t about who can raise the most money.
McKenzie Rose is a high school student and a resident of Echo.
What does it mean for our nation and our state when three of every four of us in Oregon think that our democracy is now “more at risk”? And what can we do to fix it?
My desk is about as messy as it ever is. My cell phone, a digital recorder, a notepad and a loose pen are all carelessly strewn about it. Some scrap paper lies there, too, and I haven’t dusted…
Oregon’s most important natural resource is water. Continued access to cool, clean water is critical for agriculture, high tech industry, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, to say nothing …
Stories shape our world, and the stories coming from Ukraine have been so overwhelming that we want to shrink from the horror of this war. A recent Guardian headline, “Books Against Bombs: how…
Spring is fast approaching, and most everyone loves the newness of what comes with spring. Leaves on trees start appearing. New plants start popping up and growing. Spring is a great time to a…
Now that we again have a drought in south-central Oregon and the southwest United States, it seems like it is time to seriously think of long-term solutions. One of these could be pumping wate…
Before even the first gavel dropped on the 2022 legislative session, I knew that one of the most consequential bills of my legislative career would be considered.
The “carrot-and-stick” approach was used with donkeys pulling carts in the 1800s. Which works best? Beating the donkey with a stick, or having a carrot dangling on a string held in front of th…
Q. How do I protect myself financially from a spouse? What should I ask for in a divorce?
While Nick Kristof’s hopes to be elected the next governor of Oregon have been dashed because of residency requirements, it is my hope he will continue to pursue central issues of his short-li…
Droughts are becoming more frequent and intense. It can feel like climate change is stalking farmers and ranchers. The good news? Irrigators can play a unique role in helping ourselves through…
Winter weather can be very inconvenient. The intrusion of cold air, coupled with either fog or low clouds, makes for dreary outdoor weather, which isn’t optimal for being outside.
It’s quiet. I’ve found myself in an office in the early hours of the day, waiting and watching.
The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will well be underway at the time this column is published. Millions of future Olympic hopefuls throughout the world are watching as their favorite Olympian…
Do you have a bucket list? If not, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have one? Don’t we all have dreams of places we would like to go and things we would like to do before we “kick the bucket?” Li…
Imagine living a society where only those with certain birthrights make decisions for the rest of us. Your taxes, criminal justice policy, land use actions, decisions about your children’s edu…
This year, I want to see a white-headed woodpecker.
I’m afraid Pendleton Chamber of Commerce President Velda Arnaud is going to suffocate if she remains steadfast to her recent statement in a letter to chamber members.
The 351 diplomas handed to Hermiston High School graduates in 2021 represent more than just a statistic on a state scorecard.
Do you know how difficult it is to perform everyday tasks with approximately 50% loss of muscle mass in your hand? Unfortunately, I do. And it’s my dominant hand — well, once dominant hand.
School teachers like to see their students alert, attentive and engaged, so when some of the students start to get drowsy, the teacher (hopefully) knows that it’s not due to a boring lesson or…
I stopped drinking alcohol 32 years ago this month, long before “Dry January” made it a thing. I did it because I was becoming a Baha’i, even if I hadn’t yet declared myself to be one. The Bah…
When it comes to precipitation in the winter, the most common and familiar type is snow. However, many may have experienced sleet or freezing rain. What exactly is the difference between all t…
Growing up, I had never given the Beatles much thought. Like all good children being raised in corporate America, I had a tangential knowledge by way of advertisements. Nike and “Revolution.” …
There is a place along the upper Grande Ronde River that has a hold on my heart. As a kid, I would camp there with my grandfather, him teaching me to build a fire, split kindling, play gin rum…
Q. My neighbor’s tree has branches that drop its leaves all over my yard. Can I cut off the branches that are on my side of the fence?
Student enrollment in public schools has nosedived as parent disgust with school COVID-19 policies, student learning losses and controversial education policies has gone through the roof. In t…
Tradition: The way we pass customs or beliefs to each other, from one generation to the next, to secure the continued practice or shared value persists.
I’ve been thinking recently about vulnerability. What it looks like, feels like, entails.
Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, marked 80 years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It is hard to imagine a more fateful event in 20th century history.
When I moved to Hermiston in the early 1990s, the most recent census had the town’s population as 10,366. Thirty years later in April 2020, the census counted 19,354 people in town, and 20 mon…
In “Rocky IV,” Rocky Balboa looked upon his future opponent, the U.S.S.R.’s Ivan Drago, and thought of him as a machine. Though the Soviet powerhouse would later prove himself to be a mere mor…
Blaine Harden’s book “Murder at the Mission: A Frontier Killing, Its Legacy of Lies, and the Taking of the American West” is dedicated to “The Tribes of the Columbia Plateau,” but it tells a s…
At some point, I’ll ratchet up my complaints about young people. I’ll diss their fashion, their morals, their work ethic and their adherence to technology. I’ll say, they aren’t as good as kid…
I love fall — October and November typically marks that hoodie season is in full swing.
Halloween is past, Thanksgiving nears and Christmas is within eyeshot. Soon, we will shop for our loved ones, and many people are already worried. Even if we have the money for gifts, will we …
A worker at a local pharmacy gave me a booster shot, further vaccinating me against COVID-19. It is worth reporting what he told me, just in case there is someone out there who has not yet mad…
Like many families in our area, we just wrapped up the annual ritual of the fall youth soccer season. It’s a mix of growth opportunity, spectator entertainment, and community building.
What would you do if you were able to suddenly empty out your desk and walk out of your office, without plans of ever returning?
As October is Anti-bullying Month, we should honor those people for whom kindness is natural. We should 1. learn from their example, and 2. try to root out our own personality defects. We shou…
If you haven’t already put a pen to paper for the Hermiston Herald’s true scary story contest, I urge you to do so.
My minutes are numbered, and I have to work fast.
