The family saga of a proposed mega-dairy in Morrow County, in the wake of a multimillion dollar fraud involving imaginary cattle, has a new twist. The Easterdays, who’ve been pushing since 2019 to open a huge dairy in Boardman, have already racked up 11 separate environmental violations, acc…
Although summer is winding down, fire season is still flaming on. Umatilla County Fire District No. 1, as well as other local fire agencies, were called out to extinguish numerous brush fires,…
During a recent conversation with Go! Magazine editor Lisa Britton, she asked what the Umatilla County Potato Show was. I said, you know, like every other festival, except some aspect centers …
As a parent, at some point you have probably had the blessing of experiencing the “in-store melt down” when your child wants something and has a complete meltdown, making you want to crawl and…
While the Pendleton Round-Up is kicking off just down the road, lots of festivals and fun are still on the horizon on the west end of Umatilla County, as well as north Morrow County.
President Joe Biden’s decision to forgive up to $20,000 in unpaid college loans has reignited debate over the responsibilities of taxpayers, students and their families to sustain a “learn now…
With fall just around the corner, students throughout the region are headed back to the classroom. In the Hermiston School District, secondary students started this past week and elementary st…
I am always amazed by how the people of our region respond when a natural disaster strikes.
In my mind I knew it was inevitable. That didn’t stop me from feeling panicky. My daughter was going to college.
Teaching our children about respect is a key component for them to be able to function with others. Over the past several decades we have seemed to slip away from engaging in respect for other…
I would be in the doghouse if I didn’t give a shout-out to our canine kids leading up to National Dog Day.
“Those who are in charge at the Port of Morrow need to stand up and publicly respond to what was an apparent decade-long plan to ignore state rules.”
Since the start of my sick leave, the Hermiston Herald produced two newspapers, and many things have occurred during my absence. The biggest gut punch, however, was the death of Umatilla’s Joh…
The Spruce Goose is a spectacle of an airplane — part sideshow oddity, part historical relic — on display in a custom hangar at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville.
In my junior year in high school, my mother fashioned herself as my college admissions coach. She decreed that I needed something besides grades and SAT scores. I needed to become a school lea…
When you live in a small community, you get to know the people around you. You help them when you can, and they help you, too. In recent stories in the Hermiston Herald, we looked into some of…
Communication brings cooperation, friendship and love, while also bringing friction and conflict. It is something we must treasure; it remains our sole alternative to physical violence.
A couple of weeks ago, I awoke in the middle of a conversation. I was in the hospital, talking to a doctor. Other medical professionals and my wife were around me.
With a population well under 1,000, there is something special about the tiny city of Echo.
It doesn’t take the test of a magic eight ball to answer this question. All signs point to yes. We’re observing a late season based on the cool and wet conditions this past spring, but we stil…
A few troubling events took place locally.
Learning to make choices in life can be difficult for all of us but even harder for children.
I played basketball at Marshfield High School after Title IX was enacted. However, I didn’t receive my varsity letter from the Coos Bay school until shortly after my 50th birthday.
Betsy Johnson entered my office at The Astorian in 2000 as a candidate for the state House of Representatives. Decades prior, our family histories intersected when my father and Johnson’s moth…
School is out for the summer. This doesn’t mean learning has stopped, however.
If you have some graduating kids in the area, the latest issue of the Hermiston Herald will be of particular interest to you.
Lions Club International carries the motto “WE SERVE” on all its communications.
Recently Blue Mountain Community College President Mark Browning released the news that the college would be losing one whole department.
Students graduating in 2022 are at the end of a difficult road. We caught up with local school administrators to see how they are doing. We were glad to receive and report on the good news. Th…
When most people are asked about their greatest death-related fear, they say cancer. I agree that it is a worry; I am also afraid of cancer. But I have been thinking of another fear lately, as…
I saw a number this week that made no sense in its context.
Every city and county in the state of Oregon is impacted by homelessness, and the impact is growing each year.
We are heartbroken by the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Though the events unfolded many miles away, we all feel the impact of violence when it touches a school. Our thoug…
I’m a newspaper junkie — have been as far back as I can remember. And I’ve gone to great lengths to feed my addiction.
I recently read a string of responses on a community Facebook page where a newcomer to Eastern Oregon asked what people do in the area over Memorial Day weekend. Out of the 20-plus responses, …
What makes a democracy different is that it is a government run by the people, giving each person a say in how they feel through their vote.
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 guardi…
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.
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…
