ECLIPSE WEEKEND EDITION
The total eclipse will peak at about 10:20 a.m. on Monday
• Wildfire causes evacuations in prime eclipse zone WEATHER/2A
• Hermiston’s Armand Larive TV to livestream phenomenon REGION/3A
• Tread safely, interstellar travelers OPINION/4A
• Eclipses create science and so can you LIFESTYLES/1C
AUGUST 19-20, 2017
141st Year, No. 220
$1.50
WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
OEA’s
new prez
pushes for
bipartisan
approach
A DOCTOR’S
DILEMMA
Larson, a former
Hermiston teacher,
wants to hear from
conservatives
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — John Larson
has been involved in working
bipartisan relationships since
he was born.
Both schoolteachers, his
mother was a Republican,
and
his
father was
a Demo-
crat.
As the
freshly
minted
president
of
the
Oregon
Education John Larson
Associa-
tion, Larson hopes to bring
his bipartisan background
to make the state’s largest
labor union more effective
in building support for public
education.
“We tend to be viewed
as liberal organization, but
reality is more than one-third
of our members are conserva-
tives,” Larson said.
In his career as an
English teacher and union
representative in Eastern
Oregon, Larson routinely
worked across party lines. He
worked in both the Morrow
County School District and,
most recently, the Hermiston
School District.
Larson, who is unaffiliated
with any political party, plans
to revive a plan for an OEA
Republican caucus, a group
of conservative educators
who want to advocate for
public education.
“We are in the beginning
stages but we firmly believe
as Oregonians we need all
to get on the same page,” he
said. “There is not a single
member who doesn’t believe
public education is important.
We have differences on how
it should be funded, but there
isn’t anyone who doesn’t
think we should have public
education.”
See LARSON/11A
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Richard Wick is an anesthesiologist at Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla.
Young physicians hesitate to start careers in rural America
“We’ll probably just have to throw
money at them to get them to come.
Once they’re here, they won’t want to leave.”
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
W
hen anesthesiologist Richard Wick
opted to practice in rural Walla Walla
after his residency last summer,
the decision put him at odds with most of his
classmates. Young physicians tend to flock to
jobs in big cities.
Wick, who grew up in Pendleton, dreamed
of being a doctor since boyhood and prac-
ticing in a rural area was always on the radar.
His father, Ernest Wick, ran the radiology
department at St. Anthony Hospital. The boy
hung around the hospital, even shadowing
Pendleton general surgeon John McBee. Wick
always figured he would become a surgeon,
but changed course during an anesthesiology
rotation at the Creighton University School of
— Dr. Norman Sitz, Pendleton internist
Medicine in Nebraska. He loved the variety
and the awesome responsibility.
“In one day, I may care for a 9-month-old
and a 90-year-old in different types of surgery,”
Wick said. “I get to take care of people at their
most critical moments. I watch their heart rate.
I literally breathe for them.”
After finishing residency at Oregon Health
& Science University, he and his wife Sarah
considered where to practice. Richard felt
comfortable with rural life, but Sarah had
grown up in Portland and wasn’t as eager to
leave the metropolis. In recruiting physicians
to rural areas, it’s a common issue — a part-
ners’ employment opportunities or simply the
affinity for perks of urban life often come into
play.
The couple, expecting a child and tired
of Portland traffic, eventually embraced an
anesthesiologist position at Walla Walla’s Prov-
See DOCTORS/12A
County moves to shut down newest strip club
“The Zen-Den
is dedicated to
the pursuit of
Zen. Who’s to
say what that
is, right? But to
date, we have
exotic dancing,
pole dance
fitness, martial
arts and yoga.”
Business contends
it does not need a
permit to operate
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Zen-Den, on the outskirts
of Umatilla, is fighting for its
right to party. But the strip
club and fitness studio might
be on its last pole dance.
Umatilla County counsel
Doug Olsen said Friday the
business lacks a permit to
operate, a violation of land
use regulations.
“We have issued a stop
use order,” Olsen said. “And
that should be served on the
occupants [Friday].”
Sheriff Terry Rowan said
a deputy found no one at
the business and posted the
notice on the front door.
But Zen-Den spokes-
person
Justin
Evans
contends the business does
not need the permit. He said
this is a case of bossy local
governments trying to close
down a new establishment
they don’t like.
Zen-Den has been oper-
ating since December 2016
at 82084 N. Highway 395 in
Power City, Evans said. The
site is outside Umatilla’s city
— Justin Evans,
Zen-Den spokesperson
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
The Zen-Den has been operating an adult entertainment based business without
a business license in Power City.
limits but inside its urban
growth boundary. Olsen said
the location means Zen-Den
still needs a city business
license, and the county’s
code enforcement division
handles that for the city.
Umatilla City Manager
Russell
Pelleberg
said
Umatilla has not issued any
sort of permit or permission
for Zen-Den. Olsen added
the building needs improve-
ments to meet code before it
can host customers.
Evans countered that
the location means the city
does not have the authority
to issue a license, and there
is no reason to pay for a
land use assessment or make
upgrades to the building
because use is not changing.
“Essentially, we’re still a
retail business,” he said.
Evans said he does
not own Zen-Den, but his
booking agency provides
the exotic dancers. He is in
contact with the business
owner and the attorney
representing Zen-Den, he
said, but would not reveal
who they were. The Oregon
Secretary of State’s online
business database shows no
registration for Zen-Den.
Evans, who is also a boxer
and mixed-martial artist, said
the site has multiple uses.
“The Zen-Den is dedi-
cated to the pursuit of Zen,”
Evans said. “Who’s to say
what that is, right? But to
date, we have exotic dancing,
pole dance fitness, martial
arts and yoga.”
Zen-Den does not serve
alcohol, and the few drinks
available are pre-packaged
bottled water and energy
drinks. There is a cover and
one-drink minimum to get
in. The stage with a dance
pole juts from one wall,
See ZEN-DEN/12A