McInally mug

On Page A4 of this edition of the Chieftain, you’ll find a letter from Evelyn Swart in part urging readers to, well, send additional letters to the editor of the Chieftain.

Let me enthusiastically endorse that idea.

In my years working at newspapers, I always have loved receiving and publishing letters to the editor — even if they’re letters taking the newspaper to task for something.

In the time I’ve been working at the Chieftain, I’ve been surprised that the paper doesn’t get more letters: Our readers are educated, literate, opinionated folks. It seems as if you should be writing me more letters.

So here’s an open invitation from me: If there’s something on your mind, let our readers know about it. You know the rules — letters should be 400 words or less. We don’t run anonymous letters, so they have to include your name and a city of residence.

You can email them to me at editor@wallowa.com. Or you can type or write them out longhand and drop them off at the Chieftain office or mail them to us. I will gladly type them into our system, although I confess that I prefer to receive them via email. (You can, if you choose, use the system on our website to submit letters, but you also can slap them into the body of an email and send them that way.)

2024 is shaping up as another news-filled year for Wallowa County. Let me know what you’re thinking about all of it. I’ll be honored to share your thoughts with Chieftain readers.