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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2017)
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017 FROM PAGE A1 FINEST: continued from Page A1 • Pat Hart, Man of the Year: The retired chief of Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services was awarded for his ser- vice in Rotary Club and community Christmas and Thanksgiving din- ners, maintaining Fun- land playground, opening his home to overnight visitors, serving on the Chamber of Commerce board and donating his photography for charity fundraisers. • Liz Marvin, Woman of the Year: The Hermis- ton High School counselor was awarded as a com- passionate, graceful, wise, devoted, an impressive- ly skilled organizer, and someone to whom students often turn for advice out of respect and admiration. • Jeanne Jewett, The Spirit of Excellence: A multimedia consultant for the Hermiston Her- ald/East Oregonian and a chamber ambassador, she was recognized for her “real leadership and exemplary values” as she works as chairwoman of STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Former Hermiston fire chief Pat Hart speaks after being named Man of the Year at the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce’s Distinguished Citizens Awards Banquet on Feb. 1 in Hermiston. the chamber ambassadors, a member of the Leader- ship Hermiston steering committee, the founder of the Butte Challenge and an organizer of many golf tournaments for charity. • Vanessa Am- briz-Mendoza and Elias “Ismael” Arenas, Altru- san Outstanding Young Citizens: Presenter Lu- Ann Davison said Am- briz-Mendoza is an in- telligent young woman with grace, curiosity and a dedication to serving others, which she does through the Ford Lead- ership Foundation, Good Shepherd Community Student Foundation and frequent fundraisers for nonprofits. She described Arenas as a dependable young man who has gained great confidence and maturity through participation in National Honor Society, Key Club and soccer. • Terry Cummings: Fire Service Award: Ter- ry Cummings, who serves as lead chaplain for Herm- iston’s fire district and po- lice department. See the accompanying feature. • Good Shepherd Health Care System, Rotary Busi- ness of the Year: One of Hermiston’s largest employ- ers with more than 550 staff and a payroll of $37 million. Good Shepherd also gives back by providing free rides to medical appointments through the Carevan, award- ing grants and scholarships through the Good Shepherd Community Health Founda- tion and activities like a re- cent food drive that collected 5,000 food items for Agape House. • School district awards: Also recog- nized Wednesday was Hermiston School Dis- trict’s Administrator of the Year, high school principal Tom Spoo and teacher of the year Garth Lind, who teaches fifth grade at Desert View El- ementary. ihen they say “No More Snow!” and you say “Th e iind iin iill Blow?” 541-567-4063 405 N. 1st St., Suite #107, Hermiston HEALING: continued from Page A1 “Those men and women see the worst of the worst,” Cummings said. “They probably experience and see more in a month than most people do in a lifetime. Not many people run into a burning building or attend to some atrocity — but that’s their line of work.” Cummings said for first responders, normal life is “anything but.” “I’ve talked to first re- sponders who’ve gone through horrific inci- dents,” he said. “If they’re not careful they stuff things inside.” Giving those people someone to talk to allows them to work through some of the stresses of the job, Cummings said, and can be important in guard- ing against post-traumatic stress disorder. “Just being able to talk to someone helps them cope with the stress,” Cummings said. Chaplains also re- sponds to other needs in the community — such as this Monday morning, when Hermiston High School senior Brok Palm- er died at his home. “We try to offer any kind of hope or support to victims,” he said. “In that case our job is to get them connected to some- one they can turn to for support, like a pastor or a priest.” In the past year, Herm- iston has had several inci- dents where minors have died. Last summer’s dou- ble murder and suicide took the life of 14-year- old JJ Hurtado and his wrestling coach Kenneth Valdez. “In a community the size of Hermiston, rela- tionships are like a spider web,” he said. “People are connected through friends, family, work — you never know who’s going to be affected. It takes a huge toll.” Chaplains sometimes accompany first respond- ers to a scene, or to the emergency room. They are often the ones that de- liver death notifications to families, and offer any support they can, both to families and emergency responders. He recalls the situation last summer, where there were multiple families in- volved, as well as law en- forcement officials from local and state agencies. “At that point, our job one is to make sure they were coping properly, dealing with the situa- tion,” he said. “When an event like that affects the whole community, that’s when we get involved.” Cummings added that his job — to help first re- sponders work through trauma — can take a toll on him, as well. “One thing chaplains and first responders have to worry about is vicarious trauma,” he said. “Part of my ability to cope comes from my faith.” He said chaplains also turn to each other, their fam- ilies and friends for support. “To me, it’s all about the health and welfare of first responders,” he said. “They’re all people I love very much, and want to make sure they’re OK at the end of the day.” While he said not every pastor has the personality to be a chaplain, he feels he’s found his calling. “It’s a huge, huge privi- lege.” Verna Taylor, HAS Ric Jones, BC-HIS Forrest Cahill, HAS Interested in a Medical career? Need funds to complete your training? Flower/Candy Bouquets • Stuff ed Animals • Balloons • Jewelry • Purses & More! Put a smile on the heart with the power of flowers. HWY 395, HERMISTON 541-567-4305 Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5am www.cottagefl owersonline.com Good Shepherd Com munity Health Foundation medical scholarship applications are now being accepted from qualified local students through February 28th. The Foundation is again p leased to partner with Tualatin Imaging to offer an additional $4,000 in scholarships for students who have expressed interest in pursuing a diagnostic imaging career. Please call 541-667-3419 for requirements and application form. 541-215-1888 246 SW Dorion, Pendleton