A couple of weeks ago, Phil Wright, the managing editor of the East Oregonian, asked for readers’ feedback on what they found valuable (and not so valuable) in the new printed edition of the newspaper, and he received some interesting responses.

First, on Phil’s behalf: Thanks. Seriously.

One reader finds the comics, astrology report, weather and puzzles at the bottom of the value scale.

“For my money, you could switch all those out for more community news,” this subscriber said.

Along with that came a suggestion of grouping obituaries by county, akin to what we do with death notices. The subscriber added this likely would be more difficult to do it with obituaries.

Indeed it is for a number of reasons, including the fact that the obituaries are paid advertisements — and come in all different lengths. Still, we’ll see what we can do.

Another subscriber is on board with our experiment in not running the weather graphic: “I do look for the weather forecast on my phone. It changes too fast, I think, for the print medium.”

That’s our consensus as well; my 90-year-old father, for example, recently got a smartphone, and the weather app is among his favorites. (Well, that and ESPN.)

So in the most recent print edition of the EO, we did not run the large weather graphic on the last page of the Outdoors & Recreation section and instead filled that space with community briefs. We plan to continue that.

As always, if you have more feedback, we want to hear it. You can contact Phil at this email address: editor@eastoregonian.com. And you can always contact me at mmcinally@wallowa.com. (I might not be able to answer immediately, but I try to respond to every email. If a few days go by and I haven’t responded, don’t hesitate to send another email; it’s possible your first email got lost in the daily avalanche.)

Meanwhile, here are a couple of other notes about the print edition of the East Oregonian — and the Chieftain’s online edition at wallowa.com.

First, sports reporting is no longer part of the EO’s regular coverage in print. 

The cuts we had to make in June eliminated a full-time sports reporter and our photographer positions. We still will have occasional reporting on coaching staff and student athletes, but the print edition of the paper will not include game or event coverage, updates on team wins and losses and the like.

I’m trying to figure out how best to cover local sports online at wallowa.com, and welcome your suggestions. In fact, if you know of someone who’s got a feel for sports or could shoot photographs from local events, send that information along to me at mmcinally@wallowa.com.

Finally, remember that the printed edition of the East Oregonian does not include all of the content that we produce at the Chieftain; it’s a natural function of limited space in the printed product. To get all of our content, you need to keep an eye on our website, wallowa.com.

And here’s a sneak peek at some of the stories we’re working on that you’ll see first at wallowa.com:

• Enterprise hosted the annual Hells Canyon Mule Days event over the weekend, and reporter Bill Bradshaw covered part of the celebration. His report should be up on the website sometime Monday.

• Bradshaw and La Grande Observer reporter Isabella Crowley will be keeping a sharp eye out for bicyclists this week, and riders won’t be hard to find, as hundreds of them are scheduled to descend on Wallowa and Union counties for Cycle Oregon’s rally in the Wallowas. If you need a reminder about the event, this story by Observer intern Ellie Graham will refresh your memory.

• Many Oregon counties are in the midst of launching so-called “deflection” programs in which drug users facing misdemeanor charges for drug possession may undergo addiction treatment instead of going to court. Wallowa County officials are opting not to start a deflection program just yet — and, instead, will closely watch the results in other counties. I’m working on a story to explain all this.

• EO Media reporters and editors got a chance last week to meet with Gov. Tina Kotek for a wide-ranging conversation. She had interesting things to say about deflection programs, wildfires, housing and Greater Idaho, among other topics.

• Two Wallowa County officials — Planning Director Franz Goebel and Sheriff Ryan Moody — made news last week when they sat down with the county commissioners and outlined what’s going on in their departments. Those stories should be online by the time you get this newsletter.

All these stories are part of our efforts to cover Wallowa County to the best of our ability.

As always, if you have a story idea, a comment or a suggestion for the Chieftain, send me an email at mmcinally@wallowa.com. I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, remember that EO Media Group’s other Eastern Oregon newsrooms also are working hard to produce stories of interest throughout the region. And you can access those stories — for no additional charge — now that your digital subscription access has been expanded to include the East Oregonian, the La Grande Observer, the Hermiston Herald, the Baker City Herald and the Blue Mountain Eagle in John Day.

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 log in 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 with logging in, contact us at 800-781-3214 or email support@eomediagroup.com. (Remember, you also can get help with logging in by clicking on the question mark — ? — on the top right half of our homepage.)

Finally, as always, here’s my heartfelt thanks to Chieftain subscribers: We simply would be unable 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.