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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2017)
AID TO PUERTO RICO ART ABOUT AG EXHIBIT COMMUNITY/6A WORLD/7A 74/48 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2017 141st Year, No. 246 WINNER OF THE 2017 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD One dollar HERMISTON Health workers make case for Aspen Springs Psychiatric hospital under construction, needs certifi cate from OHA By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Jan Peterson-Terjeson and Matt Terjeson sit at the coffee bar in Cason’s Place, a support center for grieving children and teens, in Pendleton. The Terjesons named the center after their son, Cason Terjeson, who died in a farming accident in 2007. Cason’s Place offers grieving children and teens support By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, And they’re always glad you came; You want to be where you can see, Our troubles are all the same; You want to be where everybody knows your name.” See HOSPITAL/9A I nside Cason’s Place, a new support center for grieving children and teens, is an alcove called “Cheers.” Lyrics of the sitcom’s theme song hang on the wall. The nook, stocked with colorful ceramic cups, is an homage to Cason Terjeson, for whom the center is named. The cups will eventually bear the names of kids who come to this facility in Pendleton to work through their grief. Cason died in an accident 2007 at age 16. The teen was comfortable in his own skin, say family members. He sported a fedora hat and had encyclopedic knowledge of “Weird Al” Yankovic lyrics and Greek mythology. He competed in Pokemon tournaments at the world level. He signed off every email with “Cheers.” His death came while working on his grandparents’ Helix wheat farm. As Cason maneuvered a wheat truck down a steep dirt road, the truck’s engine died, along with the steering and brakes. The truck tipped on a Community health workers and advocates for mental health came from all over Eastern Oregon to show their support for the Aspen Springs Hospital, the proposed psychiatric hospital under construction in Herm- iston. A panel of administrators from the Oregon Health Authority came to consider a certifi cate of need applica- tion for the hospital, and hear from those with a stake in the facility. The hospital would be run by Lifeways, Umatilla County’s mental health authority. Before it can open, its operators must submit a certifi cate of need which tells the Oregon Health Authority why the service is valuable to the community, how they will meet their goals, and demonstrate that the service can’t be provided by existing health facilities in the area. The meeting was facilitated by Jana Fussell, a public health administrator for the Oregon Health Authority. A panel of executives from Lifeways and Good Shepherd Medical Center spoke about the project’s history, and the services the 16-bed facility would provide for Umatilla County and Eastern Oregon at large. Lifeways CEO Judy Cordeniz spoke about the history of the organi- zation and some of the improvements it has made. She cited its use of a tele- New commander plans upgrades at Camp Umatilla By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian pencils out. “We want to help them recoup their investment,” he said. To do that, the city reduced lot size requirements by 1,000 square feet, with the exception of lots for duplexes in R-3 zones, which went from a minimum of 7,000 square feet to 6,500 square feet. Lot coverage maximums As local leaders anxiously await transfer of the former Umatilla Chem- ical Depot to local control, the Oregon Military Department is looking forward to receiving their portion of the land as well. Lt. Col. Noel Hoback, who became the newest commander of Oregon Training Command earlier this month, said the transfer of approximately 7,400 acres of the land from the U.S. Army to the Oregon Military Depart- ment will allow them to upgrade Camp Umatilla, making it a safer, more effective place for soldiers to train. The depot was constructed in 1941 in preparation for World War II, and Hoback said it seems that many of the buildings being used by the National Guard now were part of the original construction. “They’re old buildings,” he said. “There’s just a lot of improvement needed.” The department has been putting together a list of planned capital improvements to buildings, ranges and infrastructure and is working on See HERMISTON/9A See UMATILLA/9A Staff photo by E.J. Harris A volcano room offers guest a place to blow off steam in a safe environment. Cason’s Place has two volcano rooms. curve and slammed into a bank. Cason’s death devastated his parents, Matt Terjeson and Jan Peterson-Terjeson, and his 12-year-old sister Lydia Terjeson. Eventually the family, who lived in Beaverton at the time, found healing at the Dougy Center in Portland, where they shared their experiences with others stuck in the painful funk of grief. The healing they discovered there was so profound that eventually Matt and Jan spearheaded efforts to bring a similar center to Umatilla County. The Pendleton couple and See CASON/9A HERMISTON City council eases residential rules By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Residential properties that have laid empty in Hermiston may come to life after the city relaxed resi- dential development standards and approved a new infi ll properties program Monday. In response to a city council goal of encouraging more housing development, the city’s planning commission had two workshops with members of the real estate community and wrote a set of amendments to the city’s code. City Planner Clint Spencer said one of the biggest problems facing devel- opers in Hermiston is the high cost of bare land, and one developer had commented that even being able to put one or two extra houses into a development often makes the difference to whether a project