Election season is upon us, and the Blue Mountain Eagle is gearing up to cover all the contested local races. We’ll start rolling out our pre-election stories this week on our website. We’ve also sent out questionnaires to all the candidates for contested city and county offices in Grant County, and we’ll use those in candidate profiles.

We’ll put as many of those stories as we can in our print edition of Oct. 16, which is right about the time ballots will be mailed to voters for the Nov. 5 election. As always, all of our stories will be published on our website, even those that don’t make it into print. 

And, as always, all of our election coverage will be placed outside our paywall. That means they can be read on our website by anyone, regardless of whether they are paying subscribers or not. Timely, balanced and accurate information about people running for office and the outcome of elections is crucial for the health of our democracy, and we are committed to providing that information to everyone at no charge.

We feel the same way about wildfires and other disasters, natural and man-made, that threaten our community. Since the start of this year’s historic fire season in early July, we at the Eagle have posted roughly 200 alerts and updates on wildfires around the region, evacuation notices, public land closures and other vital information that could help keep you and your family safe. We’ve made all of these stories available for free, in real time, on our website. 

Like any other business, we need to sell our product at a profit in order to keep the doors open and continue to provide a service to the community. But we also know that not everyone in Grant County subscribes to our paper or buys it every week at our local news dealers. And when it comes to providing critical, time-sensitive information about local elections or disasters, we put the well-being of our friends and neighbors in Grant County ahead of the financial well-being of our newspaper. 

It’s just the right thing to do.

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Your digital subscription access has been expanded to include the East Oregonian, La Grande Observer, Hermiston Herald, Baker City Herald, Wallowa County Chieftain, and Blue Mountain Eagle.

For all digital access:

• 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.

Thank you for supporting local journalists in Eastern Oregon.

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

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As always, if you have comments or questions about the Blue Mountain Eagle, or if you want to pass along a story idea, send an email to me at editor@bmeagle.com. 

And, as I’ve said before, my heartfelt thanks to our subscribers: We simply would be unable to do this vital work without your support.

Bennett Hall is the editor of the Blue Mountain Eagle.

Phil Wright is the managing editor of the East Oregonian.

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Your digital subscription access has been expanded to include the East Oregonian, La Grande Observer, Hermiston Herald, Baker City Herald, Wallowa County Chieftain, and Blue Mountain Eagle.

For all digital access:

• 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.

Thank you for supporting local journalists in Eastern Oregon.

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

———

As always, if you have comments or questions about the Blue Mountain Eagle, or if you want to pass along a story idea, send an email to me at editor@bmeagle.com. 

And, as I’ve said before, my heartfelt thanks to our subscribers: We simply would be unable to do this vital work without your support.

Bennett Hall is the editor of the Blue Mountain Eagle.