Columnists

Not long ago, investors counted on government bonds to be the foundation of a stable retirement. For many years, bonds were the top choice of older, more conservative investors within a few ye…

President John F. Kennedy’s weighty exhortation is a vignette of the heart of American values. With the possibility of global nuclear war looming, Kennedy, in his inaugural address, encouraged…

Exciting news: The recycling center will now be able to accept rigid plastic six-pack holders in a special blue bin outside the plastics section. Be sure to place six-pack holders in the blue …

It’s February. It’s cold. To fend off the winter blahs, I dream of one day retiring to a warm beach, where I’ll stand in the surf, sipping beverages from glasses with little umbrellas in them.

These lands where we live help define us as individuals and communities. With warming temperatures there are changes happening, however, to these lands we love.

One of the best parts of law school is reading opinions, dissents and concurrences penned by the Supreme Court. They concisely and, oftentimes, creatively express some of the biggest questions…

The first eight or 10 days in February saw 27 new cases of the coronavirus and our fourth Wallowa County death. Numbers have continued to mount — with one or two cases each new day. Our sense …

Writing is a lifelong skill. Children are able to start developing skills used in writing as early as kindergarten and even preschool. Developing the skill of writing starts with language deve…

The Biden administration supports protecting 30% of U.S. lands by 2030, or what is termed the “30-by-30 proposal.” One of the best ways to meet those 30-by-30 goals would be to put all nationa…

The human heart is an amazing part of our body. It beats without us having to think about it or tell it what to do. Our hearts beat 24/7, 365 days a year. It seems to ask little from us, but g…

I attended a ranger program recently dealing with Leave No Trace. The ranger showed a picture of rock art, or “ancestral inscriptions” as archaeologists often refer to the practice.

“I now understand why so many people die of this infection. I feel like I’ve lost several days of my life.”

We had President Trump for four years.

Oregonians living through the September 2020 fires know the threat global warming poses; we are on the front lines. We know temperature is rising and rainfall is declining during summer, while…

When I was a young man growing up in rural Oregon, there was a term for people like me: “gun nut.”

We have all seen the words “Reduce, reuse, recycle” for years, but are we actually acting on those words? It was not until recently that I personally began to really look at each decision I wa…

Is truth important to you? If you’re a normal, God-fearing American, you probably would not hesitate to make the claim that, indeed, you do value truth.

There are over 17,600 personal-finance blogs and millions of money websites on the internet. With few exceptions, these sites offer advice designed to fill in the gaps created by Americans’ la…

An email laced with exclamation points is never a good sign. At least not if you’re me.

I am a lifelong conservative Republican whose faith in the criminal justice system was shattered by my near-death experience with it. I came within nine days of being sent to the gas chamber f…

Everyone agreed the inauguration ceremony was nice.

With the development of vaccines for the coronavirus and distribution underway, there may be an end to distance learning just around the corner. This said, there are still many children strugg…

It is no secret that Google has secured a near monopoly in the search and local advertising world. However, the impact on newspapers hasn’t been quite as obvious.

COVID-19 has brought difficult challenges for food producers. It has also brought a heightened realization by the public of how essential food production is and how important farmers and farmw…

The No. 1 resolution many people make is to get in shape in the new year, which could mean to lose weight or improve their physical health through more physical activity.

I‘ve said many times that when I moved to Wallowa County in 1971, there were more registered Democrats than there were Republicans. I think it’s important to remember this as we look at today’…

I’m struggling to find the words to respond to the insurrection Wednesday, Jan. 6, at our Capitol in Washington, D.C.

One easy way to respond to events at the Capitol last week is to view them in a narrow timespan, through your own partisan lens, and to explain them in words we’ve all been coached to use. For…

A good friend (called “Tess”) is a part-time summer resident and homeowner in Wallowa County. She is 79 years old and has significant rheumatoid arthritis treated with disease-modifying antirh…

We, as Americans, deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Right now it is so discouraging to only hear what the mainstream media wants you to hear while keeping w…

I have to admit, I almost feel sorry for old 2020. It’s been catching a lot of hate these days, and not without cause. Of course, the year we call 2020 — with the obligatory eye-roll — isn’t a…

“Virtus tentamine gaudet” is a Latin phrase that translates to “strength rejoices in the challenge.” This weighty declaration speaks to the fact that, in order to be strong in virtue, we must …

1. Get serious about your retirement. If your employer matches your 401(k) contributions, you should take advantage and max out your contribution. Your employer’s share is “house money,” which…

How do you summarize a year? Could you do so in one word?

There’s a lot of disgruntlement if not downright hate these days in America.

One of my favorite movies is "Catch Me If You Can." At one point, Tom Hanks, who plays a FBI agent Carl Hanratty, encounters the target of his investigation, Frank Abagnale, portrayed by Leona…

School this year looks like something we might have seen on the cartoon show the Jetsons from the 1960s. Students of all ages are spending hours on electronics.

As 2020 comes to a thankful close, so does my 22 years of public service in this incredible crucible of democracy — the U.S. House.

In Oregon, the Klamath Basin wildlife refuges have fallen into their winter silence now. The huge, clamorous flocks of geese that fill the sky during migration have moved south.

I reflect back to family Christmases in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and how my grandmother, who was born at the turn of the 20th century, would encourage us to be careful with unwrapping our gifts, so …

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s order of additional restrictions prior to Thanksgiving elicited expected responses, from those who signal their belief in science to those clutching their copy of the …

As the rest of the West rushes to meet increasingly ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions, one state is moving in exactly the opposite direction. It’s Wyoming, which even wants to take on…

To say 2020 was an exceptional year, and generally not in a good way, would be an overstatement of the obvious.

This one’s going to be different.

This is the year of “for better or worse.”

I belong to the Wallowa and Palouse bands of the Nez Perce. My family are descendants of Chief Red Bear, who helped Lewis and Clark build canoes and navigate the free-flowing Columbia River. I…

A little over 20 years ago, this grandmother was in Hermiston sitting with her infant grandson when suddenly sirens began to go off. The sirens continued for the longest time bringing back mem…

Highly effective vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection should become available to the general population during 2021. In the meantime, available science supports infection control, including …

I know that every person reading this letter likes to eat. Not only that, you have to eat to survive. Whether you are a well-rounded person eating all of the food groups, or a vegetarian or ve…

By mid-September, there was no one left to call. The West, with its thousands of federal, state and local fire engines and crews, had been tapped out.

Due (in part) to medical advances and better life style choices, the average life span of Americans has dramatically increased in recent years. The years 1959-2016 saw the average life span gr…

To watch the nightly news showing long lines of drivers accepting food handouts because their families are hungry is depressing. To know the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is spending $50 mil…

You’ve probably heard that ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” If we didn’t catch the irony initially, the events of 2020 have forced us to understand. This year seems …

It’s safe to say that winter has arrived in the interior Northwest.