Two key stories in the East Oregonian last week illustrate our commitment to providing readers with news they can use.

One focused on homelessness as Umatilla County Commissioner Cindy Timmons’ plan to hold a summit on affordable housing Wednesday, May 8, at Tamastslikt Cultural Institute. The homeless issue is one the entire state faces in some manner or another and a 2024 survey of homelessness showed more than 500 people were unhoused in Umatilla and Morrow counties, 10 times more than in 2023.

That’s a startling number and indicates how far we, as a community, need to go to solve this lingering issue.

Another story centered on the exposure of children to fentanyl is climbing in Oregon. Both of these stories are not exactly “feel good” pieces. They are highlighting some key problems in our area. That’s part of our job. We need to ensure we give attention to the triumphs of our community but we also need to give our common challenges consideration as well.

Part of our job should be to act as sort of a mirror for our readers for their community. Our job isn’t to push an agenda or an opinion — that is the purview of the editorial page — but to deliver facts to the best of our ability. That then allows readers to decide on their own what type of action they may want to take or help them understand a complex issue better.

No doubt issues such as illegal narcotics and the homeless can be thorny and intricate but each is a challenge we as a community can tackle with success.

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