An unsheltered participant, Sarah, 22, stands Jan. 24, 2024, at a bus stop to stay dry from the rain in Pendleton. Sarah has been homeless for a year and prefers to be addressed only by her first name.

I know I’ve been spending a lot of space lately in these weekly letters writing about the work being done by the new regional reporting teams that we’ve established at the Eastern Oregon newspapers owned by the EO Media Group. But indulge me one more time, and I promise I’ll let the subject drop, at least for a few more weeks.

Here’s a brief refresher: Last year, editors and reporters at what we call the Eastside papers (the Chieftain, La Grande Observer, East Oregonian, Baker City Herald, Hermiston Herald and Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day) formed a series of reporting teams to tackle issues that resonate throughout all of Eastern Oregon.

For example, I work with a team that focuses on housing issues; the team includes reporters Isabella Crowley of the Observer and Ian Crawford in Baker City. Other teams focus on areas such as politics and government, education, natural resources and social issues — all areas that offer plenty of territory for in-depth reporting.

The idea, of course, isn’t to shortchange local reporting — that will continue to be the heart and soul of the Chieftain. But these teams force us, from time to time, to widen our horizons to take a deeper look at an issue that’s important not just in Wallowa County but throughout Eastern Oregon.

I mention these reporting teams again because I want to call your attention to a story the housing team (with considerable help from other EO Media Group journalists) posted online over the weekend about the annual Point-in-Time count of people who are unsheltered.

In some counties, such as Umatilla, the Point-in-Time effort involves counters who go out in search of people who are unhoused. In other counties, such as Wallowa, agencies sponsor resource fairs at which people who are unsheltered can grab a hot meal, pick up free essential supplies and connect with other organizations that can offer help.

EO Media Group journalists went out over a couple of days (including a rainy January night) to follow counters in Umatilla County. And other reporters checked out the resource fairs in Wallowa, Union, Baker and Grant counties.

The resulting story — which you can read by clicking here — offers a glimpse into not only the lives of unsheltered people in Eastern Oregon, but also the people and agencies who are working to help them; some of those folks, it turns out, themselves have experience with homelessness. The package also includes remarkable photographs by the East Oregonian’s Yasser Marte.

It’s an excellent example of the kind of journalism that’s possible when we harness the skills of reporters, photographers and editors across the region. I’m honored to call it to your attention.

One final word about this story: Because of its length (hey, we were covering activities in five separate counties!), the version that will appear in Wednesday’s Chieftain will be somewhat abridged and won’t feature all of the photographs and images that appeared online. But, again, the full version of the story is available online now. 

Of course, the Point-in-Time count story isn’t the only one we have planned for Wednesday’s Chieftain. Reporter Bill Bradshaw has an update on the controversy surrounding the construction of a Dollar General store just outside of Wallowa; that story is online now. 

The Chieftain’s new reporter, Daniel Brooks, was at Wallowa School on Friday, checking out the three finalists for the district’s superintendent job; district officials may well announce the new superintendent early this week, and you’ll be able to read about that first in the Chieftain (look for the story first on our website, wallowa.com).

All of this is part of the Chieftain’s efforts to cover Wallowa County news to the best of our ability. As always, if you have a comment or question about the Chieftain, or want to suggest a story idea, email me at editor@wallowa.com or mmcinally@wallowa.com. 

If you haven’t already, take a moment to register your subscription for digital access of the Chieftain. Call 541-963-3161 to talk to a member of our customer service staff, who will be happy to walk you through the process. It’s easy, takes just a few moments to set up and allows you to take advantage of our e-edition, app and website delivery along with your print subscription.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to once again thank the Chieftain’s subscribers: It would be impossible for us to do this vital work without your support.

Mike McInally is the editor of the Wallowa County Chieftain. You can email him at editor@wallowa.com or mmcinally@wallowa.com.