REGION
Thursday, October 20, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
High-speed chase Center to help children deal with grief
“It’s all about the kids. We want to
through Pendleton
give them the self esteem, give them
the coping skills to live their life.”
ends with arrest
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Oregon State Police
forced a leeing driver to a
stop Tuesday night, ending
a high-speed chase
that began on the
Umatilla
Indian
Reservation.
Umatilla Tribal
Police
initiated
a high risk stop
on a car at 7:42
p.m. Tuesday on
Mission
Road
near Short Mile
Road, according White
to a written state-
ment from Chuck Sams,
spokesman for the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation. The
white Ford Focus matched the
description of a vehicle stolen
out of Washington state.
The
Ford
stopped,
according to Sams, then sped
off and tribal police pursued.
The chase left the reser-
vation on Mission Road and
entered Pendleton via East-
gate Drive. Cop cars followed
as the Ford zoomed through
downtown and neighborhood
streets on the lower parts of
the city’s North Hill. Police
radio communications stated
the car was going about 80
mph.
Pendleton Police Chief
Stuart Roberts reported his
oficers were not involved in
the chase through town.
The Ford left the city at
exit 209 and headed east
on Interstate 84,
according to state
police, and Sams
described
the
speeds as “exces-
sive.” The Ford’s
run came to an end
near milepost 224,
where state police
reported troopers
used a “tactical
vehicle interven-
tion technique” to
force the car to a stop.
There,
tribal
police
arrested Lionel Elias White,
29, of Yakima, and booked
him into the Umatilla County
Jail, Pendleton, for unautho-
rized use of a vehicle, felony
attempt to elude reckless
driving, and for driving
without a license. Sams
reported White is enrolled
as a member of the Yakama
Nation.
Natasha M. Jackson, 23,
a member of the Yakama
Nation, and Brittany M.
Wesley, 28, of Pendleton
were in the Ford as well,
according to Sams and state
police, but oficers let them
go.
BRIEFLY
Police called for threatening grafiti
in bathroom at Sunridge
PENDLETON — Police were called to Sunridge Middle
School Wednesday morning for the second day in a row after
a student found threatening grafiti in a girls’ bathroom stall.
Principal Dave Williams called Pendleton police, which
responded with four oficers and Police Chief Stuart Roberts,
according to an automated call sent out by Williams. Police
investigated the grafiti and area around the school, but
weren’t able to ind a culprit, according to Superintendent
Andy Kovach.
Police maintained a presence at the school all day, but
Kovach said classes went on as usual.
On Tuesday morning the school was evacuated for a ire
in a boys’ bathroom and police investigated the case as an
arson.
EOTEC board to OK barn contract
HERMISTON — The Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center board is set to approve a contract for the barn
buildings that will host future Umatilla County fairs.
The board meets Friday at 7 a.m. at the EOTEC event
center building, 1705 E Airport Road in Hermiston.
Knerr Construction and Frew Development Group are
working as general contractors on the EOTEC project, but
they put manufacture of the metal barn structures out to bid.
Awarding that bid is on the agenda for Friday’s meeting.
On Friday the board also plans to hear construction
updates, consider making changes to employee retirement
plan options, and consider waiving two requirements in the
contract with Hendon Construction to build the rodeo arena.
According to a memo in the agenda packet, legal counsel
recommended waiving the requirements because they were
“standard provisions” for residential or design-build projects
but were not needed for construction of an arena.
St. Anthony Hospital schedules
drive-through lu shot clinic
PENDLETON — St. Anthony Hospital will hold a
drive-through lu shot clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday,
in the hospital parking lot. The shots are free.
At an earlier drive-in lu shot clinic on Oct. 3-4 at the
Pendleton Convention Center, hospital medical staff gave
1,200 doses of the vaccine.
St. Anthony spokesman Larry Blanc said the hospital
received calls from multiple people who had missed the irst
clinic, so a second one was scheduled to run until the several
hundred remaining doses are gone.
Potato Show includes book sale
WESTON — The Friends of Weston Library annual book
sale will be held in conjunction with the Umatilla County
Potato Show.
Books and other media can be purchased in the downstairs
club room Friday from 4-7 p.m. at Memorial Hall, 210 E.
Main St., Weston. In addition, the sale continues Saturday
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular prices are $1 for hardback
books and 50 cents for paperbacks. The last hour of the event
provides bargains with a bag sale — $1 buys everything that
its into a bag. Money from the sale supports library programs
and projects. For more information, call Kathleen Schmidtgall
at 541-566-2378.
The Potato Show runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
Memorial Hall. There is no admission fee. It features food,
crafts, youth and adult exhibits, a quilt show and rafles.
In addition, a lunch featuring potatoes will be available for
purchase.
Started in 1921, the Potato Show was established by
area potato growers to show off the variety of crops in the
region. Over the years, it has expanded into an opportunity to
showcase the talents of area residents.
For more information, visit www.westonoregon.com.
Grief is never easy to
talk about, but having the
conversation with someone
who understands can help.
Two families hope to
provide that opportunity for
children in Umatilla County
by opening the Center for
Loss and Grief of Eastern
Oregon. The center — which
they hope to have operational
by the fall of 2017 — would
provide support groups and
healing activities for children
ages 5 to 12 who have lost a
parent, caregiver, sibling or
close friend.
Matt Terjeson and Jan
Peterson-Terjeson of Pend-
leton lost their son Carson
nine years ago at the age
of 16. They were living in
Beaverton at the time, but
he was working for extended
family on a farm outside of
Helix for the summer when
the brakes went out on the
wheat truck he was driving.
Carson’s death was
devastating for them, but
also for their daughter Lydia,
who was 12 at the time. They
began taking her to support
— Matt Terjeson, of Pendleton
groups at the Dougy Center
in Portland, which serves
grieving children. There she
could paint, make music, hit
things with foam noodles, or
just talk with other children
her age who had also lost an
immediate family member.
“As our daughter said,
‘You don’t have to say
everything, because they’ve
already been through it,’”
Matt Terjeson said.
The Terjesons credit the
Dougy Center with helping
their daughter becoming the
thriving college student she
is today, and as a result when
they moved to Pendleton
they decided they want
to start something similar
in Umatilla County. They
teamed up with Jon and
Melissa Nitz and a few
volunteers to begin creating
a business plan and bylaws
to start the Center for Loss
and Grief of Eastern Oregon.
The planning group
meets the irst Thursday of
each month, rotating their
meetings between Pendleton
and Hermiston as they look
for a suitable building for
the center. Terjeson said they
hope to eventually have a
music room, art room and
other spaces similar to the
Dougy Center, but their
irst order of business will
probably be to start a support
group for teens.
“We don’t know how
much we will have to start
with, but we’re going to try
to add as much as we can,”
he said.
According to a brochure
the group has put together,
the center will strive to
provide a safe place for
children to explore their
grief, help them adjust to
their family’s “new normal,”
nurture resiliency through
coping strategies and keep
families from becoming
isolated during bereavement.
“It’s all about the kids,”
Terjeson said. “We want to
give them the self esteem,
give them the coping skills
to live their life.”
He said at the Dougy
Center parents spent time
together to a separate room
while the children played,
and often connected with
each other over sharing tips
for helping their children
through the grieving process.
Jan
Peterson-Terjeson
said that they plan to look for
a licensed social worker to
oversee the center, but they
will also depend heavily on
volunteers to help run activ-
ities, fundraise, maintain the
building, answer phones and
other tasks.
“It’s going to take a
community to uplift our
families,” she said.
For more information,
or to get involved with the
planning of the Center for
Loss and Grief of Eastern
Oregon,
contact
Matt
Terjeson at 503-720-1620 or
matt.loss12@gmail.com.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Winter apparel giveaways planned for region
Events include Christmas
assistance registration
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
As the temperature begins to dip, a
couple of area agencies will distribute
winter coats and apparel for those
in need. In addition, sign-ups for
Christmas assistance will take place
during the events.
Coats for Kids — which offers
warm weather apparel for people of
all ages — is planned Saturday and
Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The
Salvation Army, 150 S.E. Emigrant
Ave., Pendleton. Jackets will be avail-
able for children, youths and adults.
Also, other winter accessories may be
on hand.
A Winter Coat Sharing Day is set
for Saturday, Oct. 29 and Tuesday,
Nov. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Agape
House, 500 Harper Road, Hermiston.
Items are limited to one coat for each
family member, while supplies last.
In addition, other winter apparel items
may be available.
Registration for Christmas baskets
will be taken at both sites during the
giveaway events. Low-income single
parents or couples with children are
eligible to receive Christmas assistance,
which include food and gifts during the
holiday season.
To register for the Christmas assis-
tance program, people need to bring
proof of income (pay stubs, Oregon
File photo
Sylvia Scruggs, of The Salvation Army Pendleton Corps, and her son,
Tyler Scruggs, organize gifts during a past Angel Trees project, which
provides gifts for those in need during the holiday season. Sign-ups for
Christmas assistance and winter apparel giveaways are planned Oct. 22
and 24 in Pendleton and Oct. 29 and Nov. 1 in Hermiston.
Employment Department documents
or 2015 tax information). In addition,
identiication must be presented for
each family member. For children,
school records, immunization records
or a document that identiies the house-
hold makeup are acceptable — this
could include letters from the Depart-
ment of Human Services or the Social
Security Administration.
Winter apparel is still being accepted
for the distribution events. The items
should be new or gently used. They can
be dropped off at The Salvation Army
or Agape House.
For more information, call The
Salvation Army at 541-276-3369 or
Agape House at 541-567-8774
HERMISTON
High school test day includes free SAT for seniors
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Hermiston High School
saved its seniors $58 and
a Saturday spent illing in
test bubbles by offering
students the SAT for free on
Wednesday.
The school held Test Day
for its students in grades
10-12 on Wednesday while
freshmen went over infor-
mation about the school’s
programs of study.
Seniors were given the
opportunity to take the SAT,
which is required for most
college applications, free of
charge. In years past they
have had to register about a
month in advance and pay
an application fee before
traveling to an SAT test site
on a Saturday to take the test.
According to informa-
tion provided by Hermiston
School District commu-
nications oficer Maria
In this Jan. 17 ile photo, a student looks at questions
during a college test preparation class.
Duron, this year the high
school decided to pay for
SATs to be administered
to all seniors. The district
received a discount from
the normal $58 to a reduced
rate of $37 per student.
She said in addition to
saving the students money
and helping make sure they
didn’t miss registration
deadlines, offering the test
on a school day means
students don’t have to get
someone to take them to
the test site — sometimes
in another city — on a
weekend.
“It saves (parents) a lot of
time, I can tell you that,” she
said.
On Wednesday juniors
were taken to the Eastern
Oregon Trade and Event
Center building to take the
ASVAB, which stands for
Armed Services Vocational
Aptitude Battery. The
10-section test, proctored by
the military, covers subjects
ranging from math to auto-
mobile mechanics. It shows
students their vocational
strengths and is required if
they choose a career in the
military.
The ASVAB was free to
juniors, but if they didn’t
want to take it they could
instead pay $15 to take
the PSAT (the P stands for
“preliminary”). Sophomores
on Wednesday also took the
PSAT, offered to them for
free as a practice for taking
the SATs later in their high
school career.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main
St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
BMCC DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND FOUNDATION PRESENT:
Workshop highlights disaster response
HEPPNER — Judith Warren, the Episcopal Diocesan
disaster planning coordinator, will present a Disaster
Preparedness Workshop in Heppner.
Sponsored by the Shared Ministry of All Saints Episcopal
and Hope Lutheran Churches, the free event is Saturday from
9 a.m. to noon at All Saints Episcopal Church, 460 N. Gale St.,
Heppner. A light lunch will be provided.
For more information, call 541-676-9970.
———
Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press
releases. Email press releases to news@eastoregonian.com
FEATURING THE MUSIC OF ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN
OCT. 19 • 22, 7:15 PM & OCT. 23, 2:00 PM
TICKETS: $10 • $5, @ BOB CLAPP THEATRE
Tickets available at: Pendleton Art and Frame and at the door.
For info: 541-278-5174
BLUE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPOR-
TUNITY EDUCATOR AND EMPLOYER. FOR COMPLETE EEO
DISCLOSURE, PLEASE SEE WWW.BLUECC.EDU/EEO
A BENEFIT FOR
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS!