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REGION Saturday, April 22, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3A BMCC ARTS & CULTURE WEEK BRIEFLY Holocaust survivor speaks to students Desert View mourns death of counselor By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Menachem Taiblum charms audiences full of people with his smile, wit and disarming sense of humor — which makes it all the more devastating when he tears up. Taiblum, who goes by Manny, spoke to a packed house Thursday at Blue Mountain Community College, Hermiston, about his early life in Warsaw and the Holocaust. Even today, at 87 years old, his memories are vivid. “I was 11 years old when the Nazis arrived in Poland,” he said. “We had a grocery store, and they said, you have one hour. You can take what you want and get out of here.” Taiblum, his parents and his younger brother and sister were sent to an apartment in the Warsaw Ghetto where they survived on little. One day, he recalls, he decided to go out and find food for his family, who were beginning to starve. “I went to the farmer who used to deliver produce to our store,” he said. After sneaking out, he walked all night. Upon returning with the food, he remembers being happy that he had done something for his family. But that happiness was soon replaced by shock. “I came to the apartment and nobody was there,” he said. “I’d just left for 48 hours. What happened? I go out onto the street, I cry, ask God what happened.” He remembers an old man coming out onto the street and telling him that his family had been taken away while he had gone out. Staff photo by Jayati Ramakrishnan Manny Taiblum signs copies of his book and chats with students. Taiblum, a Holocaust survivor, shared his sto- ry at Blue Mountain Community College in Hermiston on Thursday. “They liquidated the ghetto,” he said. Taiblum went back to the farmer to see if he could live and work there. “I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” he said. In the months and years that followed, Taiblum assumed the identity of a Polish man, Marian Redlitzky, to avoid being detected. But he was taken to a detention camp anyway. “In the camp there were starving people,” he tears up. “They had diseases. Malaria, typhus.” He worked several different jobs in the camp, including in a coal mine. He recalls the vicious Hitler Youth guards. “When we saw them, we knew we were going to have a very bad day,” he said. While in the camp, he became friends with another boy. While they were there, they met a nun, who asked them if they’d like to escape. At first they didn’t believe her, and turned her down, thinking she might be a spy. “We saw what they did with people who ran away,” he said. But finally, Taiblum decided it didn’t matter. “What are we going to lose if we say yes?” he asked. The nun told them the weekend guard was drinking, and they could escape then. She gave them pliers to cut through the barbed wire, and told them to throw the pliers in the river once they got there so dogs wouldn’t find them. Taiblum later joined the resistance movement against the Nazis, blowing up bridges and cutting telephone lines. After the war ended, Taiblum said he and his friend, with whom he had spent the last few years, parted ways so his friend could return to his hometown and look for his family. “Because we had fake names, we could never find each other,” Taiblum said. “I was and am heartbroken I couldn’t be in touch with him. I consider him like a brother.” Taiblum said upon going back to Warsaw, everything had been destroyed. He couldn’t find anyone from his family, and to this day he doesn’t know what happened to them. “I started to prepare myself for this life by myself, with God at my side,” he said. “I started writing my memories. It took me seven years to write. It’s very important.” Taiblum has spent time all over the world, including in Israel and as a journalist in Brazil. He came to the United States in 1972 and now lives in Portland. Taiblum stayed on after his speech, signing copies of his memoir, “With G-d at my side: A child’s story of survival,” and talking with students about his life experiences. –—— Contact Jayati Ramakrishnan at 541-564- 4534 or jramakrishnan@ eastoregonian.com. Morrow County looks for ways to house Irrigon offices Considers moving offices to Boardman By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Morrow County officials are looking for a new home for their north county offices, which may include leaving Irrigon entirely. County offices in Irrigon provide space for the plan- ning commission, veteran’s affairs, county clerk, parole and probation, and the sher- iff’s office. “We’re bursting at the seams in there,” said county commissioner Don Russell. The county is consid- ering a few options, among them constructing a new, larger building on the current site at 205 S.E. Third St., or moving the offices to Boardman where the county could purchase a recently vacated Blue Mountain Community College facility. At a recent Morrow County commissioner’s meeting, many Irrigon resi- dents voiced their displea- sure at the idea of moving county offices out of their city, arguing that doing so would diminish the city’s already limited business activity. “If the planning depart- ment’s taken away, that building generates a lot of walk-through,” said Barbara Huwe, an Irrigon resident who collected several hundred signatures from people opposed to moving the offices. “That would tremendously impact our businesses.” She said she recognizes the current building is run-down and too small, and that Boardman is more of an industrial hub. Russell said the county is still in the very early stages of decision making, and it’s too soon to know how much any option will cost. The final decision won’t come for months, he said. First, the county would have to design a building that will fit their needs, and then figure out the cost and how it would pay for it. “We have to determine how big is our need today, 10 years down the road,” he said. “Until we figure out what we’re actually going to do, it’s hard to say what the cost savings are going to be.” He acknowledged that people in Irrigon don’t want to lose the county presence. “But I haven’t heard anyone saying they want to spend more money to keep it,” he said. Huwe said while she, too, is frugal, she hoped citizens would take responsibility for their town. “We pay taxes to the county, too,” she said. “We need to have some owner- ship.” Russell said he does not know when the next discussion about the offices will be, but that all conver- sations will be conducted in public meetings. HERMISTON — The Hermiston School District is mourning the loss of Desert View Elementary School counselor Meghan Rahm, who died Thursday night. According to the district, Rahm worked at Desert View for two years. “She had a significant impact, not only on the students, but also the staff,” the district said in a press release. “We are proud to call her a colleague and a friend. She will be greatly missed.” The school’s crisis team is available on campus today for students and staff who need support. Rahm had recently been elected Rahm to the Oregon School Counselors Association board. Rahm’s husband, Mattias Rahm, is the school’s technology director. They have eight children. According to her husband’s Facebook page, Rahm passed away during emergency surgery after a short illness. Michael Roberts, Desert View’s principal, said Rahm was a vital part of the school’s positive atmosphere. “She made it her mission to make a connection with every student,” he said. “Lots of days, she would work until seven or eight at night, with parents and students. That was her passion.” Grand jury indicts Washington man for causing serious crash HERMISTON — Efrain Mateos Narcizo faces a serious felony and multiple misdemeanors stemming from a crash Saturday night near Hermiston that injured three. The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office reported Narcizo, 23, of Richland, Washington, drove a 2004 GMC Envoy west on Westland Road, near the Agnew Road intersection, crossed into the eastbound lane and headed straight for a 2012 red Ford. Brady Frischman, 25, of Gresham, drove the Ford and tried to avoid the crash, but the Envoy struck the Ford’s passenger side, according to the sheriff’s office, and Frischman and his two passengers, Daniel Breece, 22, of Portland, and Alyssa Ray, 23, of Philomath, all suffered at injuries. Ambulances took Frischman and Ray to Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston, and a helicopter flew Breece to Kadlac Regional Medical Center, Richland. Umatilla County Circuit Court records show a grand jury on Thursday indicted Narcizo on the following charges: driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, two counts of fourth-degree assault, and three counts of recklessly endangering another person. Those charges are all misdemeanors. The grand jury also indicted Narcizo on one count of third-degree assault involving DUII, which raises the assault charge from a class C felony to a class B. Narcizo bailed out of jail. His arraignment on the charges is Monday at 1:15 p.m. in circuit court, Hermiston. Editor’s note: The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office referred to Narcizo as Mateos-Narcizo, which was the name the East Oregonian used in its reporting on the crash. Court records do not show a hyphenated last name. Kay, Mendoza finalists for La Grande superintendent job The La Grande School Board has narrowed its list of finalists down to two, according to board chair Merle Comfort. The two finalists are Mike Kay, the Hermiston School District’s executive director of operations, and George Mendoza, assistant superintendent of the Morrow County School District. Mendoza and Kay are among five candidates who were interviewed Monday at La Grande High School by the school board, the school district’s staff, administrators and a community panel. Also interviewed on Monday were La Grande High School Principal Brett Baxter, Wallowa School District Superintendent Bret Uptmor and Paul Peterson, of Scappoose, the assistant superintendent of the Northwest Regional Education Service District. Board members will travel to Hermiston and Morrow County on Monday to get more information about the two candidates by talking with school district employees and community members. — La Grande Observer BUTTE CHALLENGE ORDER YOUR SHIRT TODAY! 2016 Oregon State Champions in Traditional and Combat Weapons VITOS ATA School of Tae Kwon Do Classes are held in the evening weekly Bring in this ad for a FREE CLASS www.vitosataschooloftaekwondo.com LET US MEAT YOUR NEEDS PORK BOX BOX INCLUDES: $ 50 • 4 Pork Chops • 2 Pork Steak • 1 Pork Roast • 3 Pkgs Pork Sausage • 2 Pkgs Bacon • 2 Ham Steaks All individually packaged for your convenience. 541.567.2011 253 W. 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