2A — THE OBSERVER
TuESday, July 21, 2020
LOCAL/REGION
Daily Umatilla County seeks testing help
Planner
By Alex Castle
EO Media Group
TODAY
Today is Tuesday, July 21,
the 203rd day of 2020. There
are 163 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On July 21, 1925, the so-
called “Monkey Trial” ended
in Dayton, Tennessee, with
John T. Scopes found guilty
of violating state law for
teaching Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution. (The conviction
was later overturned on a
technicality.)
ON THIS DATE
In 1796, Scottish poet
Robert Burns died in Dum-
fries at age 37.
In 1861, during the Civil
War, the first Battle of Bull
Run was fought at Manas-
sas, Virginia, resulting in a
Confederate victory.
In 1944, American forces
landed on Guam during
World War II, capturing it
from the Japanese some
three weeks later. The Dem-
ocratic National Convention
in Chicago nominated Sen.
Harry S. Truman to be vice
president.
In 1969, Apollo 11 astro-
nauts Neil Armstrong and
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin blasted
off from the moon aboard
the ascent stage of the lunar
module for docking with the
command module.
In 1980, draft registration
began in the United States
for 19- and 20-year-old men.
In 1990, a benefit concert
took place in Germany at the
site of the fallen Berlin Wall;
the concert, which drew
some 200,000 people, was
headlined by Roger Waters,
a founder of Pink Floyd. (The
concert ended with the col-
lapse of a mock Berlin Wall
made of styrofoam.)
In 1998, astronaut Alan
Shepard died in Monte-
rey, California, at age 74;
actor Robert Young died in
Westlake Village, California,
at age 91.
In 1999, Navy divers
found and recovered the
bodies of John F. Kenne-
dy Jr., his wife, Carolyn,
and sister-in-law, Lauren
Bessette, in the wreckage
of Kennedy’s plane in the
Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s
Vineyard.
In 2000, Special Counsel
John C. Danforth concluded
“with 100 percent certainty”
that the federal government
was innocent of wrongdo-
ing in the siege that killed
80 members of the Branch
Davidian compound near
Waco, Texas, in 1993.
In 2008, former Bos-
nian Serb leader Radovan
Karadzic, one of the world’s
top war crimes fugitives,
was arrested in a Belgrade
suburb by Serbian security
forces. (He was sentenced
by a U.N. court in 2019 to life
imprisonment after being
convicted of genocide,
crimes against humanity
and war crimes.)
In 2009, prosecutors in
Cambridge, Massachusetts,
dropped a disorderly con-
duct charge against prom-
inent Black scholar Henry
Louis Gates Jr., who was
arrested by a white officer
at his home near Harvard
University after a report of a
break-in.
In 2011, the 30-year-old
space shuttle program end-
ed as Atlantis landed at Cape
Canaveral, Florida, after the
135th shuttle flight.
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DELIVERY ISSUES?
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UMATILLA COUNTY
— Following a week of
reporting 255 new con-
firmed cases of COVID-19
and the ninth death of a
county resident who had
tested positive for the
virus, Umatilla County
now sits atop the state with
151.2 cases per 10,000 res-
idents, according to the
Oregon Health Authority.
The county has
reported 1,261 confirmed
and presumptive cases of
the virus as of Friday, July
17, and the Oregon Health
Authority identified 629
of those cases within the
Hermiston ZIP code, the
Contributed photo
most cases within a single
A sign advertises drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Hermiston’s Good Shepherd Health
ZIP code in the entire
Care System campus on Monday, July 13. More than 150 people, both with and without
state.
symptoms of the virus, were tested at the event.
As local and state offi-
cials try to figure out how
to best stem the ongoing
ally haven’t maybe pro-
for COVID-19 test results.”
some have been unable to
spread of the virus, Uma-
vided a lot of sick leave
tilla County has asked
On the other hand,
get tested when they’ve
or have the money to
the state to help develop a
Harry Geller, chief execu-
needed it.
tive officer of St. Anthony
make the changes to get
free testing event targeted
“We’ve had reports
Hospital in Pendleton,
by if their staff are to stay
at residents who have
from Hispanic individ-
uals that it’s taken them
said sample collection and
home,” Fiumara said.
struggled to get access to
multiple attempts to get
testing turnaround time
Good Shepherd Hos-
testing.
pital in Hermiston held
tested when they met all
has yet to be significantly
“We need to explore
its first drive-thru testing
the criteria initially,” Fiu-
impacted by any shortages.
the idea of doing what we
mara said. “It’s just kind of event on July 13, where
“Turnaround time
can to make testing more
exacerbating the inequities more than 150 people, both is excellent, typically
readily available, par-
ticularly to those people
that we already knew were with and without symp-
between under 24 hours up
toms, were tested. Caitlin
who may have some diffi-
here.”
to 48 hours. Occasionally
culty affording it,” Uma-
Cozad, the hospital’s mar-
Umatilla County Chair
it exceeds 48 hours,” he
keting and communica-
tilla County Commis-
John Shafer said July 16
stated in a July 17 email.
tions director, stated in a
sioner George Murdock
the county reached out
St. Anthony Clinic has
July 14 email the hospital
said at a county meeting
to the Oregon Health
collected nearly 500 sam-
ples for COVID-19 tests
was hoping to host more
Wednesday, July 15.
Authority about acquiring
testing events in the future as of July 17, according
According to the
state assistance to plan a
as “resources and capacity to Geller, and can col-
Oregon Health Authority,
testing event in the area.
lect up to 30 samples per
allow.”
Umatilla County residents
A spokesperson
But as testing ramps up day. However, the clinic
have been tested at a rate
with the Oregon Health
is taking samples only
in Umatilla County and
of 911 people per 10,000,
Authority stated in a July
for individuals who have
all across the nation, both
which is above the state-
17 email the state was
wide average of 764.
symptoms or have been
those things are starting
unaware of any testing
But as Hermiston’s
exposed to a known case
events planned at this time. to come in shorter and
cases have spiked the
of the virus.
shorter supply.
Fiumara said he’s less
county to the top of the
Fiumara said he’s
“Many labs across the
keen on the need for a
state, Umatilla County
started to hear reports of
large-scale testing event of country are having diffi-
culty keeping up with the
Public Health Director Joe those without symptoms.
labs struggling to con-
tinue quick turnaround
specimens submitted,”
Fiumara highlighted that
However, he is in favor of
times, which complicates
Cozad stated. “(Good
many of the county’s His-
targeted solutions.
panic and Latino residents
the health department’s
Shepherd) has been con-
“It’s about providing
tracted with Lab Corp,
live in that area and have
attempt to adequately eval-
a mechanism for some
uate and respond to case
which is taking anywhere
been disproportionately
of these workplaces and
data.
between two and 10 days
affected by the virus. And
employers who tradition-
North Powder shares school opening plan
By Dick Mason
The Observer
NORTH POWDER —
North Powder School Dis-
trict Superintendent Lance
Dixon said he believes
students benefit most
from learning at school
with their classmates,
not at home via distance
education.
This is why Dixon
has announced school in
North Powder is set to
begin Aug. 31 with all stu-
dents attending in class-
rooms four days a week.
The plan is designed to
meet COVID-19 social
distancing rules. Dixon
said this is what parents
desire for their sons and
daughters.
“For the most part they
want their kids back in
school every day,” said
Dixon, whose school dis-
trict has operated on a
four-day week for at least
the past three decades.
Should North Powder
reopen its schools, it would
be the first time for reg-
ular classes there since
mid-March when Oregon
closed all schools due
to the coronavirus pan-
demic. Teachers taught the
remainder of the 2019-20
school year via distance
education.
Contributed photo
The North Powder School District completed its new
school and gym in 2019. The district plans to reopen its
schools Aug. 31 with students attending classes four
days a week and social distancing protocols in place.
“While we cannot yet
plan for school as normal,
we have worked within
the guidelines from the
Oregon Department of
Education to create a
plan that gets us as close
to a normal year as pos-
sible,” Dixon told parents
in a letter. “If the Oregon
Department of Educa-
tion requirements change,
we will revise the plan
accordingly.”
Dixon said students
need to get back to school
for their own mental
well-being.
“Their routine and
extracurricular activi-
ties were taken away from
them. We will create issues
we have not seen yet (if
students cannot soon return
to school). Students need
socialization,” he said.
Dixon said that under
the plan, elementary
classes would be fairly tra-
ditional, while secondary
classes, grades 6-12, would
be taught in cohorts of
17-24 students. Dixon said
North Powder is in a good
position to offer on-site
classes while conforming
to social distancing rules.
He explained the district’s
classrooms can accommo-
date up to 24 students and
still meet social distancing
rules, and all of North
Powder’s classes have
about 25 students or fewer.
Instruction in all classes
would be livestreamed on
the internet, allowing stu-
dents who cannot attend
to watch in real time at
home or via archived
video. Dixon said the lives-
treaming will be important
because state rules will
require students who miss
school because of an illness
to remain home longer than
usual as a precaution.
Should the state make
social distancing rules
more stringent, the North
Powder School District
would activate a plan B
reopening, with half of the
students attending school
on-site on alternative days
during a four-day week.
On the alternate days, stu-
dents would attend classes
via distance education,
Dixon said. This would
ultimately mean students
would attend school two
days a week and study at
home two days.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of Education is
requiring all Oregon
school districts to submit
their reopening plans to
it by Aug. 15. Dixon said
the Union County Public
Health Department too
will review North Powder
School District’s reopening
plan to determine whether
it meets social distancing
requirements.
Baker schools might start a week later
By Sam Anthony
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY —
Baker School District
Superintendent Mark
Witty is proposing to start
classes Sept. 8 rather than
Aug. 31, as originally
planned, to give teachers
and staff an extra week to
prepare for changes related
to the pandemic.
And the district’s ath-
letic director told the
school board during its
meeting Thursday that fall
sports schedules also likely
will have to be modified.
“Best case scenario,
things will get moved
back a little and we’ll play
locally,” athletic director
Buell Gonzales Jr. said.
“But we might lose football
completely.”
Gonzales said the exec-
utive board of the Oregon
School Activities Associ-
ation, which governs high
school athletics, will meet
next week to discuss fall
sports.
The board will meet July
30 at noon to discuss Wit-
ty’s proposal to start classes
on Sept. 8, the day after
Labor Day. The district’s
plan calls for students in
grades K-6 to attend classes
in person four days per
week as usual.
Students at Baker
Middle School and Baker
High School would be
divided into two groups,
with one group attending
classes at the school 2 days
per week while the other
group attends the same
classes online.
But Witty told the
board Thursday that he is
preparing for the possi-
bility that even that lim-
ited schedule of in-person
classes won’t be possible
depending on the severity
of the pandemic.
“Quite frankly, I think
we have to realize that we
might have to prepare for
all-online this year at some
point,” Witty said.
The July 30 meeting
will be devoted to the
question of whether classes
should start Sept. 8.
The board will also
meet on Aug. 13 to review
a detailed reopening plan
for the fall, including the
schedule for all schools.
School districts must
submit their reopening
plans to the Oregon
Department of Education
by Aug. 15.
Although the district’s
goal is to have as many
in-person classes as pos-
sible, Witty said some fam-
ilies have already told dis-
trict officials that they plan
to have their children take
all classes online this fall.
News Briefs
La Grande man
dies in motorcycle
crash
UNION — A multi-ve-
hicle crash Sunday in Union
County took the life of a
La Grande man.
Oregon State Police
reported Keith Walker, 62,
was operating a Harley
Davidson motorcycle and
heading north on Highway
203 between between
Union and La Grande when
at about 4 p.m. he entered
the southbound lane and
collided with a Ford F350
pickup and then a Toyota
Camry.
State police troopers and
emergency personnel from
the Union County Sher-
iff’s Office and Cove Fire
Department responded to
the scene at 4:09 p.m.
Walker sustained fatal
injuries and was pro-
nounced deceased. The
drivers of the two vehi-
cles did not suffer serious
injuries, OSP reported,
although the vehicles sus-
tained damage.
The preliminary inves-
tigation did not reveal
why Walker’s motorcycle
crossed into the oncoming
traffic, according to the
state police.
Small fire put out
in La Grande garage
LA GRANDE — A
small fire broke out in the
garage Sunday evening at
a duplex in La Grande at
Second Street and Jefferson
Avenue.
La Grande Fire Depart-
ment Capt. Merle Laci said
firefighters extinguished
the flames soon after
arriving on scene.
A neighbor called 911
at 6:18 p.m. after seeing
smoke coming from the
garage of the home at 2103
Second St. The La Grande
Fire Department, Island
City Fire Department,
Union Ambulance and La
Grande Police Department
arrived within three or four
minutes of the call.
“There was limited ven-
tilation when we got to
the scene so it was mostly
smoke,” Laci said. “Once
we got the doors open there
were some flames but a
lot of yellow and white
smoke.”
It took the fire crew less
than an hour to put out the
blaze. Laci said there is
some structural damage
that the building’s owner,
Dennis Lewis, will assess.
The cause of the fire
is under investigation.
Sarah Reichoff, who rents
the duplex where the fire
occurred, said she didn’t
see anything suspicious
before the fire broke out.
“I was at home relaxing
and I looked out my
window and saw smoke and
heard someone screaming,”
Reichoff said.
Police seek source
of bogus 911 call
LA GRANDE — A
911 caller who claimed he
committed assault with a
firearm sent police hustling
Saturday to a La Grande
neighborhood. But the call
was bogus.
La Grande police in a
press release reported the
dispatch center on Sat-
urday at 1:04 p.m. received
a call on the police depart-
ment business phone line
from a male who claimed
he committed an assault
with a firearm inside a
residence on the 2500
block of Locust Court.
Due to the nature of the
call and the caller’s state-
ments, a large number of
law enforcement officers
responded.
Crews closed several
streets in the area during
the response and investiga-
tion, according to the press
release, and police set up
a command post at 22nd
Street and East H Avenue.
Officers contacted
the residents where the
crisis was reported to
have occurred and found
the report was false and
everyone in the home was
safe. La Grande police
reported the residents had
not called for help and had
no knowledge of what the
caller claimed.
— The Observer