UMATILLA COUNTY â Historically, when the East Oregonian has compiled top-10 stories of the year lists, it has polled the staff on the top stories and compiled the list based on those results. When we went down that path, it was apparent that the voting was for stories two through 10, because there is no question what the yearâs top story would be â the COVID-19 pandemic.
That left stories like the February flooding that ravaged Umatilla County, summer protests in Hermiston and Pendleton, the sudden death of a Pendleton city councilor and the permanent closure of the Boardman Generating Station competing for space with COVID-19 stories on the list.