THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 5A
SHOP
FAITH
Continued from Page 1A
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The La Grande Police
Department has held Shop
with a Cop for 12 years. In
that time, 175 children have
participated.
In past years, 15 chil-
dren participated in Shop
with a Cop each Christmas
season. The number was
smaller this year because
of COVID-19. Hays
explained when 15 chil-
dren were involved, the La
Grande Police Department
has needed offi cers from
the Union County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce and the Oregon
State Police to help. Get-
ting assistance from law
enforcement from different
agencies would have been
more complicated this year
in part because state rules
for the virus are frequently
changing.
Hays said to simplify the
process and make sched-
uling easier, La Grande
police ran Shop with a Cop
exclusively with its own
offi cers this year. He noted
the Union County Sheriff’s
Offi ce and the Oregon State
Police always have been
forging ahead with gath-
ering plans for the hol-
idays. The Christian
Life Center in Elgin on
Sunday, Dec. 20, held an
in-person service.
“It was wonderful,”
said Christian Life Center
pastor Eli Smith. “We
had a special kids min-
istry and women’s choir.
It was just a great family
atmosphere. Everybody
was excited and rejoicing,
and (there was) a sense of
peace. That’s really what
we were hoping for.”
A video on the church’s
Facebook page shows
groups of un-masked
attendees singing in close
proximity, and people can
be heard coughing in the
indoor crowd.
Smith said around 100
people attended the ser-
vice, which was more
than usual, but he said he
was confi dent no one sick
attended and the gathering
would not lead to a rise in
local COVID-19 cases.
“I’m not worried at all,
absolutely not,” Smith
said. “We haven’t had
any cases or outbreaks
this whole time, from the
very beginning of COVID
until now, just because
… common sense. If
they feel like they’re sick
or they’ve been around
anyone with COVID,
they’re gonna take the
necessary precautions and
self-isolate for 14 days and
that kind of stuff.”
Smith noted masks
always are available at the
front of the church and the
center’s ushers do wear
them, though he him-
self did not wear a mask
during the service despite
the crowded environment.
“No, I don’t wear
a mask,” he said.
“Preaching with a micro-
phone, nobody would
be able to hear. It’s hard
enough to hear with the
microphone, the lapel
microphone, there’s no
way anybody would
be able to hear. It’d be
all muffl ed if I wore a
mask the whole time. It’s
the same way with our
singers. … It’d be almost
impossible to try to have
a normal service with
masks on.”
He also insisted that
holding Christmas ser-
SESSION
Continued from Page 1A
have liked to see the leg-
islature make use of the
spacious fi eld houses of
area colleges, with each
chamber meeting in a sep-
arate athletic facility where
observers could be safely
accommodated with plenty
of social distancing and
ventilation. At minimum,
he said, he would like to see
citizens be allowed to make
an appointment via Zoom to
testify before committees.
“When you go down a
path that shuts out the public,
that creates anxiety,” he said.
As for the work accom-
plished by the legislature
during their one-day ses-
sion, Smith said he was
pleased to be able to vote
to provide liability relief
to schools as they navigate
trying to open classrooms
safely during the pandemic.
However, he didn’t think the
bill went far enough, and
wished it also had extended
protections to other cate-
gories, such as the hospi-
tality industry and medical
clinics.
He said said the $600
La Grande Police Department/Contributed Photo
Lt. Jason Hays of the La Grande Police Department stands with DeMarion Ray and the
pile of gifts the two bought together through the annual Shop With a Cop program, which
took place between Dec. 1-18, 2020.
more than willing to help
Shop with a Cop.
Hays wanted to keep
the program going this
year because it gives chil-
dren a good Christmas
season experience and
allows them to make pos-
itive connections with
police officers.
“We want kids to know
that they should not fear
police offi cers,” he said,
“that we are their friends
and are here to help them.”
million the legislature set
aside for additional COVID
relief efforts seemed “rea-
sonable,” and said he was
glad to see additional fi nan-
cial relief for tenants and
landlords pass, but he did
question the constitution-
ality of the eviction morato-
rium that has been in place
since the spring.
“The legislature has
broad abilities, but the
ability to break a contract is
not one of them,” he said.
Rep. Greg Barreto,
R-Cove, could not attend
the special session because
he is self quarantining
after possible exposure to
someone with COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 22 Bar-
reto was in the 10th day of
a 14-day quarantine and
has had no symptoms of the
virus.
The state representative
said he would have voted
for three of the four bills the
Legislature passed on Dec.
21.
The bill Barreto would
have voted against is House
Bill 4401 which extends a
statewide moratorium on
evictions until July 1, 2020.
The eviction ban, which
has been in place for at
least several months and
had been scheduled to lapse
on Jan. 1, 2021. Barreto
opposed HB 4401 because
he said too many tenants
are taking advantage of the
statewide moratorium on
evictions.
Barreto said he would
have supported House
Bill 4402, which protects
schools from COVID-19
lawsuits. HB 4402 would
prevent a school from being
liable if someone contracts
COVID-19 through it.
The state representative
said HB 4402 is a good bill.
However, he does have one
reservation, explaining it is
unfortunate that while the
government is protecting
schools, it is not protecting
businesses in this way.
Barreto also said he
would have supported the
legislation passed which
provides more state funding
for wildfi re recovery and
Senate Bill 1801, which
allows restaurants to sell
to-go cocktails. Barreto said
he supports the sale of take
out cocktails because it will
help restaurants. Barreto
said he was opposed ear-
lier to-go cocktail legisla-
tion because it would have
required restaurants to pay
fees that would have made
it cost prohibitive for restau-
rants to offer this service.
“The cost of making a
cocktail would have been
more than the sale,” Barreto
said.
Barreto said he doubts
the to-go cocktail legislation
will provide a major fi nan-
cial boost to restaurants.
Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, also was excused
from the special session
while on a family vacation.
He said he followed the ses-
sion and the bills involved,
however.
Hansell said the $200
million in relief for land-
lords and tenants is better
than doing nothing, but
said he is hearing it would
take $500 million to make
make landlords “whole” for
the rent have not received
this year due to the evic-
tion moratorium. He said
he would like to see addi-
tional relief for landlords,
either through legislation
the next session or as part
of the overall $600 million
COVID relief funds.
— Observer reporter
Dick Mason contributed to
this feature.
vices online or through
virtual formats was not an
option.
“It’s just not the same,”
Smith said. “The expe-
rience, being in church
with people, seeing the
expressions on their faces,
the celebration of Jesus
being born and the reason
and everything that is
all about, it’s just not the
same watching virtually.
We have a virtual audi-
ence, and we make that
available for people, but
we encourage people to
come in person.”
Smith continued to
defend his church’s gath-
ering by citing a passage
from Hebrews.
“The Bible’s very clear
in that God says ‘don’t
forsake the gathering
of the Saints,’ and it’s
because corporate wor-
ship is God’s idea, and so
he blesses it,” Smith said.
“And we want his pres-
ence, we want his min-
istry. ... It’s just absolutely
not the same virtually.”
Other faith organi-
zations, however, have
found ways to celebrate
the holiday that miti-
gate the risk of spreading
COVID-19.
La Grande’s United
Methodist, Zion Lutheran
and St. Peter’s Epis-
copal churches have all
turned to modifi ed for-
mats for Christmas ser-
vices. United Methodist,
for example, plans to hold
an outdoor Christmas Eve
gathering in downtown
La Grande where masks
and social distancing will
be required. There also
will be no singing at the
event.
Others have posted
services online and pro-
vided virtual resources
to help households safely
connect during the
pandemic.
Among the myriad of
challenges posed by the
COVID-19 pandemic is
the challenge of practicing
congregate faith safely
during a pandemic that has
killed more than 300,000
Americans. The Oregon
Health Authority has
issued guidance on how to
hold faith gatherings while
minimizing the risk of
spreading the disease.
The OHA’s full guid-
ance on COVID-19 safety
for faith institutions can
be found on its website at
oregon.gov/oha.
Gov. Brown sees ‘light at the end of this long tunnel’
By Sara Cline
The Associated Press/Report for
America
PORTLAND — For
most of the year Orego-
nians have faced chal-
lenges brought on by the
COVID-19 pandemic, but
Gov. Kate Brown said on
Tuesday, Dec. 22, people
fi nally caught a glimpse of
the “light at the end of this
long tunnel.”
In the past week, thou-
sands of Oregon health
care workers were vacci-
nated, weekly coronavirus
cases decreased and, on
Dec. 21, Oregon lawmakers
passed COVID-19 related
bills that include $800 mil-
lion in relief to people
struggling from the pan-
demic and wildfi res.
“I know the mere
thought of 2020 coming
to an end brings a smile
to many of our faces. It
surely has been a year for
the books,” Brown said.
“Even in our most diffi -
cult moments, I continue
to be endlessly impressed
with how Oregonians
come together and lift one
another up during tough
times.”
Last week, Oregon
received a total of 35,100
doses of the Pfi zer
La GRANDE
AUTO REPAIR
TownNews.com Content Exchange
Gov. Kate Brown said Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, that people
have caught a glimpse of the “light at the end of this long
tunnel.”
COVID-19 vaccine and
4,475 people were vacci-
nated. This week, Oregon
health offi cials expect an
additional 97,450 Pfi zer
and Moderna doses of the
vaccine.
“In case anyone has
doubts, Oregon wants
as much vaccine as pos-
sible as soon as we can
get it,” Patrick Allen, the
director of the Oregon
Health Authority, said
Dec. 22. “We believe every
adult Oregonian should be
immunized against this
potentially deadly virus.”
While Oregon health
care workers have already
begun to be vaccinated,
Gov. Brown said this week
the vaccines will also be
administered to long-term
care residents and staff.
“Since the very early
days of this pandemic, one
of the greatest tragedies
has been the deadly nature
of COVID-19 for our
seniors living in long-term
care,” Brown said.
In addition, Brown said
that teachers, school staff
and child care providers
“must be at the top of the
list in Oregon’s next round
of vaccines.”
“As we continue to
work toward stemming the
spread of COVID-19 in
our communities, getting
our teachers and school
staff vaccinated will help
ensure we are making
learning environments as
safe as possible,” Brown
said.
Lawmakers also played
a part in the step towards
students’ returning to in
person school by voting
in favor of a bill Monday
that protects schools from
some coronavirus-related
lawsuits.
The other bills that law-
makers passed during the
Dec. 21 one-day special
legislative session were an
eviction moratorium that
includes $200 million in
relief for landlords and ten-
ants, a restaurant relief
package that includes a
provision legalizing cock-
tails to-go and a measure
that will transfer $600 mil-
lion in to the state’s emer-
gency fund for COVID-19
and wildfi re-response and
recovery.
“Both the $800 mil-
lion in relief from our state
Legislature, and the long
awaited stimulus package
from Congress will be an
enormous lifeline for Ore-
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gonians who have suf-
fered so much,” Brown
said. “It will help carry us
through the coming months
as we continue to gain
traction with our vaccine
campaign.”
Since the start of the
pandemic, the Oregon
Health Authority has
reported more than 103,755
coronavirus cases. The
death toll is 1,347.
Last week’s Oregon’s
case count decreased by
11% from the week before,
offi cials said.
And while health offi -
cials say the arrival of
the vaccines, decrease in
cases and added safety
nets for those struggling
during the pandemic,
Oregonians must con-
tinue to follow COVID-19
related safety measures,
especially during the
upcoming holidays.
“I know it’s hard as
we approach Christmas
and New Year’s. But in a
time of pandemic, we’ve
all learned how a joyous
gathering can have life-al-
tering consequences,”
Allen said. “Don’t let the
memories of this holiday
turn into painful regrets
because a gathering led to
a tragic outbreak.”
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the People”
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r 26,
Decembe
2020