Page 12A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Friday, April 7, 2017
GOP health bill in
DESERT ROSE: Estle working on setting
up a transitional house on Hermiston Avenue shambles, House
begins two-week break
Continued from 1A
tough sometimes.”
Donald and Penny Self
have volunteered at Desert
Rose for the last few years.
Donald serves food, hands
out donations, and helps with
anything that needs to get
done.
“I’m 81 years old, and
I’m here at least 36 hours
a week,” he said. “I drive
people to rehab in Portland.
We feed and give out food
packages to families.”
While Morris is back on
his feet and busy helping
others
through
Desert
Rose, many people are still
struggling — not just with
addiction, but with trying
to be a part of society. Estle
aims to make that change a
little easier.
“People with felonies —
it’s not easy for them to get
jobs,” Estle said. “It’s one
turn down after another.”
Estle said Desert Rose
tries to help people get back
on their feet, and not focus
on the things they’ve done
in the past. He points to a
framed piece of art above his
desk — an intricate, realistic
pencil-drawn portrait of him
and his wife.
“A lot of these guys have
great talents, but they get
involved with something,” he
said. “Just because you have
a bad time in your life doesn’t
mean you can’t accomplish
things. It’s about getting
somebody to trust you.”
———
Estle said while he hasn’t
experienced some of the
struggles many of his congre-
gation have, he had his own
challenges.
“I received Christ when I
was 14 years old,” he said. “I
had a real rough road. I think I
fought with God a lot — there
were a lot of secular things I
wanted to accomplish.”
He said he finally realized
what he wanted to be doing
three years ago, when he
was laying tile floors for the
building that now houses
Desert Rose. He said that
while setting the floor, he
began praying, and soon
realized what he should do.
———
Desert Rose has a couple
of projects in the works to
help people get the experi-
ence they need. One is the
vacant building next to the
church, which the church is
now renting and hopes to turn
into a functioning restaurant.
The spot has housed a handful
of restaurants in the past few
years, but none have stayed
long.
“We’re opening a restau-
rant with the idea of helping
some of the people who have
had a hard time getting jobs,”
Estle said. He added that he
hopes the restaurant will be
able to offer a free menu once
a month.
“So people who normally
don’t get to take their families
out for dinner get to enjoy
that part of life,” he said.
Estle is also working on
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Jason Estle plates up food for guest Joseph Day on Thursday at Desert Rose
Ministries in Hermiston.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Luis Montes and Jason Estle looks for baby clothes
for an expecting couple that stopped by Desert Rose
Ministries on Thursday in Hermiston.
setting up a transitional house
on Hermiston Avenue near
Mike’s Market.
“The idea is that they can
come here and have a clean
slate,” he said. Often, he
said, people coming out of
treatment facilities or jail are
doing well. But if they return
to an environment in which
they had problems before, it
can be easy to fall back into
that cycle.
“In a transitional house,
people can work on getting
jobs or doing school,” he said.
While Estle doesn’t have
a specific date either of those
facilities will be operational,
he hopes it will be some time
within the next year.
Part of the issue includes
securing funding to make
those projects happen. Desert
Rose runs entirely on commu-
nity donations — from food
to sleeping bags and clothing.
“I’d like to be able to say
we’re self-sufficient, but
right now we’re looking for
donations,” he said.
Desert Rose has also
been holding community
barbecues, in parts of the
community that are often
forgotten or don’t get much
positive attention.
“There are sections of our
community who are scared to
even be here — we wanted
to go to those communities
and have a barbecue, just
because,” Estle said.
Estle said while many
people start out at Desert
Rose doing court-ordered
community service, they
often stay even after they’re
done.
“They feel comfortable
enough to come talk about
their history, addiction, their
life,” Estle said.
Though Desert Rose is a
church, it’s not a requirement
for those who come there to
be religious. But many of
them are.
“You don’t have to believe
to belong,” says a sign on
Estle’s desk. “But if you
belong, we believe you will
believe.”
Estle said he tries to
use his faith as a guiding
principle for how he handles
tough situations. One thing
he’s struggled with is how to
handle people who continue
to use drugs after they come
to Desert Rose.
“I told a guy who had
drugs he needed to leave,”
Estle said. “He did, and he
hasn’t been back since.”
Estle said he wishes he’d
been more accepting of the
man in that situation.
“I think I could have seen
a difference in his life — and
now I don’t get to see that
difference,” he said. “If we
shun people and push them
away, how can we expect
them to change?”
Volunteer Jim Robinson
said part of the challenge
working with the people who
come to Desert Rose out of
rehab, or who are homeless,
is getting them to trust others.
“People want to learn to
trust again,” he said. “There’s
a certain amount of survival
they go through when they
come out of jail, or when they
get clean.”
He recalls this winter, one
of the worst in years. Many
of the people coming to
Desert Rose during the day
would go to the Warming
Station at night. When that
closed, many didn’t have
a place to go. Desert Rose
allowed people to sleep
under a 53-foot trailer they
have behind the building,
but were soon told by police
they weren’t allowed to have
people spend the night there.
“That’s something we’re
trying to figure out,” Estle
said. “Where can we have
these guys go that’s a safe
place? We need to put our
heads together and come up
with ideas.”
Outside Desert Rose, the
huge trailer sits filled with
donations of clothing and
blankets, and other supplies
the ministry donates to those
who come looking for help.
Inside, a corner of the room
is packed with canned and
non-perishable food, and
water.
Some people just come
in to get supplies and then
leave, but others stay a while
— talking with their friends,
discussing religion or just
sitting quietly.
Estle enjoys seeing that.
“I love the table discus-
sions,” he said. “Whether
I’m sitting at the table or just
listening, I love hearing that.”
He considers himself
lucky to be in that position.
“I get to see these people’s
lives, what they’re supposed
to be — not what they have
been.”
Desert Rose will be
holding another barbecue on
Saturday, starting around 11
a.m., on the corner of East
Fifth and Main streets.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
ZONE: Had to raise money to pay for the sign
Continued from 1A
e-commerce zone will serve
as a similar neutral location.
“We’re just trying to
provide a small service,” he
said.
Edmiston said the city
was first approached with
the idea by Bryan Miller, a
Blue Mountain Community
College student who leads
the student honor society Phi
Theta Kappa.
He said he was inspired
to start something because
he does a lot of buying and
selling using Facebook and
Craigslist.
“I’m huge and intimidat-
ing-looking, so I know how
scared people are when I
answer the door,” he said
with a laugh. “I thought,
‘There’s got to be a better
way.’”
Miller said he read about
some towns in Florida and
Texas that have safe zones
for online transactions. He
contacted the city of Herm-
iston in November, and said
they were interested in the
idea.
“I was actually really
surprised,” he said. “We had
to go through a lot of loop-
holes, but they were willing
to do it. I was surprised and
excited they saw it as a good
Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan
Hermiston and Boardman police have designated safe
areas where people can conduct transactions they set
up online.
thing.”
Miller said he had to
raise some money for the
sign, which cost about $50.
By raffling off tickets to a
Snoop Dogg concert in the
Tri-Cities, the club earned
about $150, the remainder
of which they will use for
future projects.
The city of Boardman
also passed an ordinance last
year designating their police
station as an “online safe
zone
“We
know
online
purchases have become very
popular,” said Boardman
police chief Rick Stokoe.
“Most people are a little
nervous about going to
someone’s house or having
someone come to theirs, so
this is a neutral place.”
Stokoe said since they’ve
implemented the safe zone,
they haven’t had to step in
for any disputes.
“For us, it’s not time-
intensive,” he said. “If they
come to us, and ask us to step
in, we will, but otherwise,
we’re just monitoring.”
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
WASHINGTON (AP)
— The Republican health
care bill remained in sham-
bles Thursday as House
leaders threw up their hands
and sent lawmakers home
for a two-week recess.
GOP chiefs announced
a modest amendment to
curb premium increases,
but internal divisions still
blocked their promised
repeal of former President
Barack Obama’s law.
“This brings us closer
to the final agreement that
we all want to achieve,”
House Speaker Paul Ryan,
R-Wis., said of the new
amendment, flanked by
about two dozen GOP
lawmakers at a news
briefing meant to project
unity.
But in a sentiment
echoed by other leaders,
Ryan conceded “we have
more work to do” over the
“days and weeks ahead.”
That underscored the
longer timeline Republican
leaders
acknowledge
they’ll need to resolve
disputes between conser-
vatives and moderates that
blew up their legislation
last month, dishing a morti-
fying defeat to Ryan and
President Donald Trump.
Ominously, lawmakers
from both ends of the party
who’ve opposed the GOP
legislation said Thursday’s
revision wasn’t enough
to turn them around.
They included Rep. Mark
Meadows, R-N.C., who
leads the conservative
House Freedom Caucus,
a hotbed of opposition,
and moderate GOP Rep.
Leonard Lance of New
Jersey.
“I favor making sure no
one is denied coverage due
to a pre-existing condition.
So I doubt this would be
enough,” said Lance.
Frustration over the
bill’s dismal performance
in Congress spilled out
during a meeting Ryan
and other House leaders
attended late Wednesday at
the White House, according
to several Republicans
who’d been told about the
session.
White House chief of
staff Reince Priebus and
others expressed unhap-
piness that the legislation
remained unfinished, and
the fanfare accompanying
the amendment introduced
Thursday was a direct
result of that meeting, the
Republicans said.
PINWHEELS: Umatilla
County has the fifth lowest
child abuse rate in the state
Continued from 1A
The mural is similar
to the one featured at the
Guardian Care Center, and
organizers hope to spread
paintings and pinwheels to
the Umatilla County Court-
house and other locations
across Umatilla, Morrow
and Union counties.
The organizers said the
Pinwheels for Prevention
campaign is meant to draw
attention to an issue that’s
serious both locally and
throughout the state.
Remington said that in
2016, 200 children went
through Guardian Care
Center, which provides
forensic interviews, medical
evaluations and community
education in support of
child abuse prevention — a
number that’s consistent
with years past.
Remington said the
Guardian Care Center
serves children that have
undergone physical, mental
or sexual abuse or have
witnessed a traumatic expe-
rience.
According to the 2015
Child Welfare Data Book,
the Oregon Department
of Human Service’s most
recent set of data regarding
child abuse, there were
10,402 child abuse victims
in 2015. Of those victims,
46.6 percent were younger
than 6 years old.
From 2013 to 2015,
Umatilla County’s child
abuse rate has gone down
from 9.3 victims per 1,000
children in 2013 to 8.2 in
2015, good for the fifth
lowest abuse rate in the
state.
Morrow County has
trended in the opposite
direction, rising from 6.3
victims per 1,000 children
in 2013 to 13.7 in 2015.
That represents a more
middling figure in the state
and lags far behind Baker
County and its 31.4 victims
per 1,000 children — the
worst rate in Oregon.
As a part of the
campaign, GOBHI will
be promoting the Triple P
Positive Parenting Program,
a series of parenting classes
new to the area.
Maranville said the
point of Triple P is to move
parents away from punitive
measures. Material asso-
ciated with the program
encourages parents to
“create a safe, interesting
environment,”
“have
realistic expectations,” and
“take care of yourself as a
parent.”
“You can parent differ-
ently than your parents
did,” Maranville said.
Richards added that
Triple P is an attempt to
make parents more author-
itative in their discipline
rather than authoritarian.
More information on Triple
P will be available at a St.
Anthony health fair at the
Pendleton
Convention
Center on Saturday.
Organizers also want
to use the campaign to
encourage people to come
forward and report abuse.
People can report child
abuse anonymously to the
Childhelp National Child
Abuse Hotline, 1-800-422-
4453.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
MULTI-MEDIA SALES
Great work environment.
Super awesome team.
Good pay. Retirement plan.
Weekends off. Interested?
East Oregonian has an
opening for multi-media sales.
No multi-media experience?
That’s fine, as long as you
understand the importance
of customer service, working
hard and a desire to
enjoy your job.
Could this be you?
Send resume and letter of
interest to
EO Media Group
PO Box 2048
Salem, OR 97308-2048
by fax to 503-371-2935 or
e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com
Base wage plus commissions,
benefits and mileage
reimbursement. Benefits
include Paid Time Off (PTO),
insurances and a 401(k)/Roth
401(k) retirement plan.