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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2016)
BRENT BAKER OF UMATILLA Visit Garner’s Sporting Goods in Pendleton for one hat WEEKEND EDITION NEW MOMS STAND TOGETHER LIFESTYLES/1C RIO OLYMPICS BEGIN 1B WOMEN FINDING SUCCESS AS BUSINESS OWNERS 8A AUGUST 6-7, 2016 140th Year, No. 211 WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD $1.50 First in the family Hermiston grad to attend OSU in fall By ALEXA LOUGEE East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Rebeca Ainsworth and Chance Bissinger stand near the spot on Rieth Road where they were involved in a head-on collision with Jacob Faber on July 25, 2015. Debris from her 2014 Ford Escape still lies on the side of the roadway. Couple claims sheriff’s office failed to properly investigate crash By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Photo courtesy Umatilla County Sheriff’s Offi ce This July 2015 head-on crash outside Rieth involved the husband of a sheriff’s deputy. The other driver was never interviewed by investigators. The surgery scars testify to Rebeca Ainsworth’s suffering. A pink, welted contour runs almost the full length of her left arm. That surgery repaired bones that broke above and below her elbow. The vivid stripe running the outside of her left leg was to fi x a femur that twisted, shattered and tore through her thigh. Her life delineates between two eras: before and after a pickup crossed the center line on Rieth Road near Pendleton the morning of July 25, 2015, and plowed head-on into her car. Ainsworth, 27, was driving the 2014 Ford Escape she had purchased just months prior. Her See SCARS/12A The wonders of working in the woods Oregon Youth Conservation Corps provides career skills for at-risk youth BY KATHY ANEY East Oregonian Among the trees, four young forest workers are fi nding their best selves. The foursome — Raeana Mikel, 17, Trevor Magers, 16, Nathan Van Dusen, 18, and Angela Heay, 20 — started summer work with the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps as total strangers. After the fi rst few days of awkwardness, they bonded. On Thursday, the four spilled out of the Chevy Astro Aerostar van, dubbed the “Green Goblin” in the dust of the back window, ready to work. Crew leader Kirk Case had driven the 47 miles from Pendleton to Summit Cabin, a rustic Forest Service bunkhouse in need of scraping, sanding and painting. This was part job, part school of life. The statewide program offers those lucky enough to snag positions the exposure to the great outdoors while equipping them with a work ethic and career skills. Susie Stuvland, workforce manager for umbrella agency CAPECO at WorkSource Oregon, said all 10 applicants were invited to attend a work readiness class. “We did mock interviews. We talked about cover letters and resumes and about how to keep a job,” Stuvland said. “Out of that day, we chose the youth for the crew.” The crew was assembled with diversity in mind and at-risk youth got preference. OYCC crews, which work from six to eight weeks, are found in most Oregon See OYCC/11A Staff photo by Kathy Aney Raeana Mikel, Angela Heay, Trevor Magers and Nathan Van Dusen scrape the sides of the Summit Cabin on Thursday as one of their projects for the Oregon Youth Conservation Corp. The rustic Forest Service guard station, located in the Blue Mountains, was built in 1938 and used as a cookhouse for fi re crew tent camps in the 1970s. Laura Zepeda’s parents have long known that she will be the fi rst in her family to attend college. They reminded her often. “And now that’s here,” Zepeda said. “I’m going to be the fi rst one to go.” Zepeda is the oldest of fi ve chil- dren, a 2016 Hermiston High School graduate, and enrolled at Oregon State University for the fall term. The allure of opportunity Zepeda brought both of her parents to “I saw in their the U.S. from Mexico. They eyes (that) they met in Nevada saw potential and were married there in me. So I just before moving wanted to com- to Oregon. Her father, plete that goal Salvador, has for them and been working for myself.” for Desert Sands Manu- — Laura Zepeda, factured Home fi rst generation college Contractors for student speaking about 18 years. Her her parents mother, Olivia, cared for the children and worked in agriculture fi elds when she could. Now that all the kids are in school, her mom works for Head Start in Herm- iston. “They taught me to work hard now so I don’t have to work so hard later,” Laura said of her parents. Zepeda’s plan is to work hard through college and become a pharma- cist. Taking advanced courses in high school helped her choose the pharmacy path, once she realized advanced chem- istry piqued her interest the most. According to a 2014 National Journal poll, 66 percent of Hispanic high school graduates cited the need to help support their family as a reason for not enrolling in college and opting to get a job or enter the military instead, compared with 39 percent of whites. Though Zepeda has enrolled in college, she’ll face obstacles as the fi rst in her family to go to a four-year university. Three out of fi ve fi rst-gener- ation college students do not complete a degree or credential six years after initial enrollment, compared to less than half of non-fi rst-generation degree seekers. And in Oregon, only 16 percent of Latino adults earn an associate degree or higher compared to 37 percent of all adults. Affordability, family and work obligations, and lack of information regarding fi nancial aid and college life are just some of the hurdles this demo- graphic faces, according to information presented to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Laura’s mom, Olivia, is confi dent her daughter will succeed at the colle- giate level. See ZEPEDA/12A