Before I dive in and give you a sneak preview of stories that we’re working on for the Chieftain, I wanted to share a note from Phil Wright, the editor of the East Oregonian. He’s assembled contact information for not just those of us at the Chieftain, but for everybody who’s part of the EO Media Group news staff — and I thought this would be a good time to share that information.

This same information is published each week on page A4 of the East Oregonian — or feel free to hang onto this note for future reference.

Here’s what Phil wrote:

Dear readers,

We want to make contacting a reporter or editor as easy as possible. To that end, here is the contact information for EO Media Group news staff in Eastern Oregon:

Union and Wallowa counties

Mike McInally — 541-905-4282, mmcinally@wallowa.com

Bill Bradshaw — 541-263-0564, bbradshaw@wallowa.com

Isabella Crowley — 541-624-6014, icrowley@lagrandeobserver.com

Umatilla and Morrow counties

Phil Wright — 541-966-0835, pwright@eastoregonian.com

Berit Thorson — 541-966-0807, bthorson@eastoregonian.com

Yasser Marte — 541-966-0838, ymarte@eastoregonian.com

Tammy Malgesini — 541-564-4532, tmalgesini@hermistonherald.com

Grant County

Bennett Hall — 541-575-0710 ext. 3, bhall@bluemountaineagle.com

Justin Davis — 541-575-0710 ext. 3, jdavis@bluemountaineagle.com

Baker County

Jayson Jacoby — 541-518-2088, jjacoby@bakercityherald.com

Lisa Britton — 541-518-2087, lbritton@bakercityherald.com. (Lisa also is your best contact for the Go! weekly arts-and-entertainment publication.)

We also have a couple of interns working this summer.

Ellie Graham is the intern for the Observer in La Grande, and Alexander Banks is the intern for the Baker City Herald. They are not going around the office fetching coffee orders; they are working as full-on reporters.

Ellie is at egraham@lagrandeobserver.com, and Alexander is at abanks@bakercityherald.com.

And we at the East Oregonian bid farewell and good luck on Friday, Aug. 9, to our intern, Tori Schuller. Although you might see her around Pendleton again soon — there’s a chance she’ll return just to experience the Pendleton Round-Up.

Phil Wright

Editor, East Oregonian

Thanks, Phil. Remember: If you have story ideas or comments for the Chieftain (or, for that matter, anything for the East Oregonian as well) you can also reach me at editor@wallowa.com. (I might not be able to get back to you immediately, but I try to respond to every email.) If you get transferred into my voice mail, please leave a message and I’ll respond to you as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I wanted to call your attention to some recent stories in the Chieftain that you might have missed (and big stories that we have in the works). Remember that not all of the Chieftain’s stories appear in print in the East Oregonian — but they all are posted on our website, wallowa.com, and often appear before they show up in print. 

Here’s a sampling:

• Firefighters working on the Cougar Creek Fire burning just north of the Washington state line offered an upbeat assessment of the progress on the fire during a community meeting last week, but said that the fire stayed a step or two of their efforts in its earliest days.

• Speaking of wildfires, Ellie (our intern at the Observer), is wrapping up a story about what we know — and what we don’t know yet — about the long-term health effects from long-term exposure to wildfire smoke. That story is scheduled to appear in Wednesday’s print edition of the East Oregonian, but it’ll be posted on the Chieftain’s website, wallowa.com, as soon as it’s ready.

• Even while fire crews continue to battle blazes throughout Oregon, Eastern Oregon leaders are trying to get an early handle on fire-related damage. The advice they shared at a recent meeting: Document everything you can as soon as you safely can. And be on the lookout for what they called “indirect damage.”

• Reporter Bill Bradshaw spent a couple of days last week at the Wallowa County Fair. He’ll have a report on a fair highlight, Saturday’s 4-H/FFA Fat Stock Sale — and we’re working on stories recognizing many of the winners of fair contests and exhibitions. 

These stories are all part of our continued efforts to bring you the best coverage we can of Wallowa County.

In the meantime, remember that your digital subscription access has been expanded, at no additional cost to you, to include all of EO Media’s other Eastern Oregon websites, including the Observer, the East Oregonian, the Hermiston Herald, the Baker City Herald and the Blue Mountain Eagle. 

For all digital access:

• Simply register your account on every site you wish to read with the same email address and password you currently use.

• Once you’ve registered, enter your username and password to enjoy the full range of content on that news site.

• You should not have to login again unless you log out, clear history or experience software updates.

• Save your password when prompted by your browser and if you are inadvertently logged out, your browser can fill in your login and password for you. (Only use this option on your personal digital devices.)

To view the latest e-editions, be sure to register your account and sign in to www.eastoregonian.com.

Sign up for e-newsletters from each website by going to the “Email lists” link on your account dashboard for each site.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact us at 800-781-3214 or email support@eomediagroup.com.

If you haven’t already, this is a good time to take a moment to register your subscription for digital access of the Chieftain. Call 800-781-3214 to talk to one of our customer service staff members, who will be happy to walk you through the process. It’s easy, takes just a few moments to get set up and allows you to take advantage of our e-edition, app and website delivery along with your print subscription.  (The online edition also features a big selection of puzzles available only to subscribers.)

And let me clue you in on a new feature on our website that should help subscribers who are experiencing problems logging in. On the right side of the top navigation bar, you’ll see a “?” Click on it, and you’ll go to our new Help Center, designed specifically to help subscribers who are experiencing problems logging in. Log-in problems are a pain, and we’re hoping this feature helps you if you experience those. 

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 and the associate editor of the La Grande Observer. You can email him at editor@lagrandeobserver.com.