FROM PAGE ONE
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2021
MERKLEY
JOSEPH
Continued from Page 1A
Continued from Page 1A
history of expanding voting rights, including
the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The United States
should be moving in that direction and not cur-
tailing voting rights, he said.
Then it was on to questions and answers.
Eli Lien, an Eastern Oregon University
sophomore majoring in integrated and mul-
tidisciplinary studies, asked what was hap-
pening in Congress regarding D.C. statehood.
Merkley said while the House has approved
a bill to make the District of Columbia a state,
the Senate has not even scheduled action on it.
Anne Marie Dill of La Grande asked
Merkley about his support for the Choose
Medicare Act, which would make the federal
health care coverage program available to all.
Dill is the chair of the local chapter of Health
Care for All Oregon.
Merkley said he supports Choose Medi-
care because the U.S. health care system is
so complicated. People move from job to job
and have to change insurance coverage, which
can aff ect their families as well. The system
the county has now results in people falling
between the cracks of coverage, he said, and
he wants to simplify the system so it’s easier
for people to take that insurance with them
when they transition between jobs.
“So I thought it was an idea worth consid-
ering,” he said.
The Choose Medicare Act would open
Medicare to employers and allow them to pur-
chase quality, aff ordable health care for their
employees without requiring replacement of
employment-based health insurance. The pro-
gram also would direct Medicare to negotiate
fair prices for prescription drugs.
The U.S. pays much more for drugs than
other countries, Merkley said, and this was an
issue President Donald Trump even pushed.
Until the drug companies pushed back. He
lamented the lobbying power and reach of
Big Pharma. He said the administration has
to stand up for the American people when it
comes to negotiating for drug prices.
He also heard and addressed concerns
about the spread of COVID-19, the Boardman
to Hemingway transmission line, cuts to pro-
grams that help fi rst-generation college stu-
dents and the Wild and Scenic Rivers bill that
Oregon’s other U.S. senator, Ron Wyden, is
promoting.
Merkley concluded his town hall with
a discussion about China, its human rights
abuses and how the country continues to reap
economic benefi ts from weak U.S. policy to
the detriment of the U.S.
The U.S. years ago opened its doors to Chi-
nese products that undercut American compa-
nies, and often to stay in business they moved
to China, where the labor was cheap but also
where the Chinese government could spy on
those companies and steal their technology.
Now China is a country building state-of-
the-art infrastructure with more than 16,000
miles of rail for bullet trains in the last eight
years and a massive and improved military
while also violating human rights on a regular
basis and still ripping off U.S. companies.
Merkley, a member of the Senate’s Foreign
Relations Committee and chair of the Con-
gressional-Executive Commission on China,
said China’s mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims
and ethnic and religious minority groups who
live in the northwestern region of Xinjiang
amounts to genocide. He also said the county
engages in crackdowns on freedoms in Hong
Kong and other a human rights abuses.
Yet the international Olympic committee
selected Beijing to host the 2022 Winter
Olympics. Merkley said the parallel with the
1936 Olympics and Nazi Germany is obvious.
Those Summer Olympic Games boosted Ger-
many’s international image while the county
was committing human rights abuses against
its Jewish people.
He called on the Olympics to move the
games from China, called on sponsors to
withdraw their support and called on a diplo-
matic boycott of the games if they remain in
Beijing.
Merkley also encouraged locals who need
help with federal issues to reach out to his
Constituent Services Team through his offi ce
or to contact Jessica Keys, his Eastern Oregon
fi eld representative, at 541-278-1129. His staff
might not be able to resolve all problems, he
said, but he promised they would try.
Like at the start of his in-person town halls
before the COVID-19 pandemic, Merkley
highlighted a local nonprofi t that benefi ts the
community. On Many 18 he put that light on
the Northeast Oregon Network, or NEON.
During the pandemic, the La Grande-
based organization helped locals pay rent
and utility bills, provided grocery gift cards
and more. NEON Executive Director Lib-
erty Avila expanded on Merkley’s remarks,
explaining the organization has been respon-
sible for helping locals obtain health insurance
coverage, and at the height of the pandemic
NEON helped people who tested positive with
the coronavirus to quarantine.
Merkley’s offi ce sent Avila a U.S. fl ag that
fl ew over the nation’s Capitol, a gesture he
also makes at his in-person town halls.
willing to meet with me and
(tell) his side of the story,”
Eckstein said.
He said he has yet to begin
any sort of investigation
into the matter. The council
has been silent on advice it
received from city attorney
Wyatt Baum on whether there
should be an investigation.
The advice was given during
an executive session that was
closed to the public.
The council has indicated
it plans another executive ses-
sion with Baum, but Eckstein
said Baum was out of town
until May 18, so it was on hold
until he returns.
After further discussion
GRAD
Continued from Page 1A
much bigger issue, she said,
but it would not have stopped
her from pursuing a medical
career.
Roberts will begin her res-
idency with a fi rsthand under-
standing of how devastating
COVID-19 can be after com-
pleting her one-year clinical
rotation, when she observed
doctors and nurses at work
and assisted them. Many of
the doctors and nurses she
observed were inundated with
COVID-19 cases.
“At one critical care unit in
a Salem hospital, 70% of the
patients had COVID-19-related
issues,” Roberts said.
Many such patients suff ered
from COVID-19 pneumonia,
a condition that can cause pul-
monary scarring. Roberts
said she will never forget how
bad the chest x-rays of these
patients looked.
“They were horrible,” Rob-
erts said, although the impact
of the damage was not always
immediately apparent. “You
would expect that these people
would be gasping and lurching
but they were not.”
She said this is typical of
COVID-19.
“Often people who have
been aff ected (by the virus)
have no outward signs,” Rob-
erts said.
Roberts will begin a three-
year residency at Yakima
Valley Farm Workers Clinic
in Grandview, Washington,
as a family medicine physi-
cian in June. Roberts and her
FOSTER
Continued from Page 1A
highlights of the document,
which include the goal of pre-
serving families and keeping
children in their home as long
as it is safe.
When children can’t remain
at home, the fi rst step is to
seek placement with other
relatives.
In District 13, Blessing
said, “the majority of children
in foster care are placed with
family.”
If blood-related family can’t
be located, the next step is to
fi nd extended close friends
who already have a relation-
ship with the child or children.
“It’s really important that
we do everything we can to
maintain a child’s connection
to their family, culture and
community,” she said. “That’s
why we’re really trying to
place children with people
they know and have relation-
ships with.”
It’s not always possible to
place children with family or
friends. In those cases, DHS
relies on general application
resource families.
Oregon DHS hired
employees this year to work
on recruitment and retention
of foster families.
“We still have a need for
those times when we can’t fi nd
family or friends who are able
to be a resource for the child
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Over the weekend, Welch
released a statement on his
situation after meeting with
Eckstein.
“I believe that Mr. Eckstein
is an asset to our community
and will be a force for posi-
tive growth and change for the
employees and City Council. I
look forward to continuing to
work with him toward these
positive changes,” Welch’s
statement read in part. “I
greatly appreciate the oppor-
tunity to work for the city and
I hope the members of the
community will get to wit-
ness how great this city can
be. And fi nally, I would like
to apologize to the members
of the community who were
concerned about my absence
from my position recently, it
was due to some stress-related
health concerns, be assured
that I am back to work now
and not going anywhere. I
look forward to seeing you
all on the streets and parks of
Joseph.”
On Monday, Welch said
of his meeting with Eckstein,
“I believe that he’s going to
help turn things around. He’s
here for the councilors; he’s
here for the employees; he’s
here for the city; he’s here
for the people. It was a very
uplifting meeting; it gave me
a good feeling and gave me
confi dence again. He came
into town almost like a super-
hero. I feel like he came in and
saved the day. I don’t know if
he’s even got a car, because I
feel like he fl ew into town. I’m
thinking we’re going to have
to put up a phone booth at City
Hall for him to arrive in.”
Eckstein was hired May 6
to serve as interim adminis-
trator until the city can fi nd
a permanent replacement for
Braden. Because of other obli-
gations, Eckstein can devote
only one full day a week —
plus extra hours as needed
— to being in Joseph. He has
selected Thursdays for his day
to be in town.
patients will be required to
wear masks.
She is a strong mask advo-
cate but worries they will
make it harder for her to estab-
lish connections with some
patients. Roberts explained
people with hearing issues
often rely on lip reading to
help them understand what is
being said.
Roberts also said masks
will make it harder to commu-
nicate with patients because
they will not be able to see
when she is smiling. To make
up for this, she said she will try
to express positive feelings less
through body language and
more through the spoken word.
The physicians and nurses
Roberts observed her one-
year clinical rotation often
seemed overwhelmed by their
COVID-19 caseloads, Roberts
said, but the trying conditions
brought out the best in them.
Roberts observed health care
providers spending additional
time with COVID-19 patients
who were isolated and could
not see many people.
“They went above and
beyond because they knew
they were some of the only
people (the patients) could
see,” Roberts said. “They were
showing them that ‘we still
care about you.’”
Roberts, who grew up in
La Grande, will be one of 110
graduates from Western Uni-
versity of Health Sciences,
an osteopathic school in Leb-
anon, who will receive medical
degrees May 21 in a virtual
graduation ceremony.
Roberts will watch the cere-
mony online with her family in
La Grande. She said one good
thing about a virtual com-
mencement is she will be able
to see it with all of her family
members. Roberts said if the
ceremony had been a tradi-
tional one in Lebanon, some
members of her family would
not have been able to be there.
“It will be such a thrill to
have my family together to see
the ceremony,” said Roberts,
who will receive a doctor of
osteopathic medicine degree
from Western.
Once she completes her
residency, which starts June
14, she will become a doctor
of osteopathic medicine and
begin practicing as a family
medicine physician.
Doctors of osteopathic
medicine are physicians who,
along with medical doctors,
are licensed to prescribe med-
ication and perform surgery
in all 50 states. DOs focus on
a holistic approach to patient
care.
Roberts said she welcomes
the chance to practice as a
family medicine physician
because of the variety it will
off er.
“I will be doing a little
bit of everything. I will be
treating everyone from babies
to the elderly,” said Roberts,
the daughter Jess and Sheryln
Roberts.
During her junior and
senior years of high school,
the future medical student
job shadowed several Union
County physicians. The chance
to see doctors at work proved
to be pivotal.
“It was a huge reason why
I decided to pursue a career
in medicine,” Roberts said. “I
loved it.”
The future physician
encourages anyone pur-
suing a career in medicine
to job shadow a health care
professional.
“See what an average day is
like,” Roberts said.
She credited the education
she received in the La Grande
School District with providing
her with the foundation to
pursue a medical career.
“I owe a lot to my teachers,”
she said.
She also said the support
she received from her family
and friends has been instru-
mental in putting her in the
position she is today.
Roberts attended Idaho
State University after gradu-
ating from La Grande High,
earning a bachelor’s of science
degree in microbiology and
master’s of science degree in
biology. She then worked as a
certifi ed phlebotomist, a health
care professional who draws
blood, for three years before
enrolling in 2016 at Western
University of Health Sciences.
Roberts said she would like
to serve as a mentor for young
people in small rural commu-
nities who want to purse med-
ical careers.
She noted that a major chal-
lenge young people in rural
communities face in becoming
doctors is fi nding someone
who can advise them on the
proper path to take. She is
eager to take on this role for
future generations.
“I defi nitely want to take
people under my wing,” Rob-
erts said.
and their family,” Blessing
said.
When a child is placed with
a general resource family,
Blessing said the caseworker
continues to search for a poten-
tial placement with family or
friends.
Children are kept in their
home community when
possible.
“Their school remains the
same and their social connec-
tions remain the same so that
they can keep their connec-
tions to their culture and com-
munity,” Blessing said.
To help, she said, more gen-
eral application families are
needed in all three counties.
Other goals of the Vision
for Transformation are to limit
time children spend in the
foster care system, provide
support to families, and ensure
children are placed in “cultur-
ally appropriate homes.”
cation moving to an online
platform.
“That’s been a real hard-
ship,” Blessing said.
The pandemic necessitated
special guidelines for children
in foster care. For example,
if a resource family traveled
out of state, their foster child
could not go with them and
instead went to respite care.
After returning, the family had
to quarantine before the child
returned.
Visitations with birth par-
ents changed too — some
were virtual, and some were
in-person with face coverings.
“It’s posed another layer of
challenges,” Blessing said of
the pandemic. “It has undoubt-
ably been an extra stressor on
foster families.”
“We have recruitment needs
around older children,” she
said. “A lot of families who
come forward want to support
younger children and that’s
great. But we also need people
to step up to provide a loving
and supportive environment to
older children and teenagers.”
Another need is to have cer-
tifi ed families for children who
identify as LGBTQIA+.
“Sometimes a child’s sexual
orientation or gender identity
are the very thing that brings
them into care,” she said. “It’s
really important that we’re
able to fi nd resource families
that will accept and support
LGBTQIA+ children in our
community.”
Families interested in
learning more about foster care
can go to everychildoregon.
org. Inquiries through that site
also alert DHS staff .
“You can learn more about
foster care, and get your ques-
tions answered,” Blessing said.
Those not quite ready to
foster children can volunteer in
other capacities.
“What we’re fi nding
is people who start in the
exploring stage, many of those
families eventually become
certifi ed.”
DHS “champions” such as
Blessing are working to recruit
and retain foster families.
The goal, she said, is to
have enough families for
“good placement matching —
so it’s a good fi t for everyone.”
of an investigation, Eckstein
plans to be as forthcoming as
he can.
“I was hired to get the city
from point A to point B and
part of this is looking into the
harassment claim,” he said.
“We will let citizens and the
media know any fi ndings we’re
able to release to the public.”
Eckstein a ‘superhero’
Pandemic problems
A challenge to resource
families is fi nding child care
for foster children when both
parents are working. Blessing
said Baker, Union and Wal-
lowa counties are considered
“child care deserts,” which
means there are too few child
care spots available for the
number of kids who need
them.
The COVID-19 pandemic
added to the challenge. In
addition to the lack of child
care, parents also faced edu-
Recruitment
Although the goal is to
place children with family or
close friends, resource par-
ents and families are neces-
sary when that isn’t an option.
Blessing said homes are espe-
cially needed for children with
high needs.
“Certifi ers spend a lot of
time to fi gure out who is going
to be a good match to support
a child and their individual
needs,” Blessing said.
She said DHS also is
recruiting families who would
welcome older children. Teen-
agers, she said, need a caring
home, especially one that helps
prepare them for adulthood.
ISLAND
EXPRESS
LUBE CENTER & CAR WASH
Spray-in Bedliner
A spray-in liner can be applied to new
or older model trucks and will give you
years of great performance.
Call today to make an appointment
Basic Maintenance • Oil Change
Wash • Under Carriage Sprayer
(541)963-7400 • Sales • Service • Installation
10603 ISLAND AVE • ISLAND CITY
Free Delivery in Union & Wallowa County
ELGIN ELECTRIC
43 N. 8th Elgin, OR 541-437-2054