A tip of the hat to those who provide a stable, loving home for children in need.

May is National Foster Care Month, and foster care coordinator Marvin Hamilton says there is a great need in Umatilla and Morrow counties for foster parents, now known as resource parents. Parents who are willing to take in sets of multiple siblings and parents who speak Spanish are particularly hard to find.

Being willing to take in a child or multiple children at a moment’s notice, knowing those children are likely coming from a traumatizing situation, is not an easy thing, but is is an admirable and important one. Thank you to those who provide such an invaluable service to the community.

A kick in the pants to the surge in wasted vaccine doses disclosed by Oregon Health Authority this week.

On Tuesday, May 25, the Oregon Health Authority reported 9,090 vaccine doses have now been wasted, spoiled or expired since December.

It is understandable that when it comes to vaccines that have a very short life once a vial is opened, some waste will occur. But as billions of people all over the world are desperate for this life-saving commodity but don’t have any access to it — in part because the United States is hogging so much of the supply — every dose wasted is shameful.

A tip of the hat to this year’s graduating seniors, who will be leaving schools throughout Eastern Oregon over the next couple of weeks.

This year’s graduating class saw their junior year end abruptly, then had to finish out their final year through a gamut of distance learning, hybrid learning and socially distanced in-person learning under a shifting cloud of uncertainty. It can’t have been easy to do all of that and then try to apply for colleges, apprenticeships, internships, scholarships, trade schools or jobs in the same environment.

Congratulations on making it through. The next step of your journey likely will come with additional challenges as the world adjusts to a post-pandemic future. But the good news is you are poised to help shape what that future looks like.