REGION Friday, December 15, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3A What is a service animal and where are they allowed? By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Confusion over what constitutes a service animal can sometimes lead to stand- offs between dog owners and business owners over whether an animal is allowed inside, but the Americans with Disabilities Act does provide some clarity. “As with everything made for people with disabilities, there are going to be people who take advantage of it,” said Darrin Umbarger, CEO of Clearview Mediation Disability Resource Center in Pendleton. But Umbarger said for many people a service animal is a legitimate necessity that helps mitigate their disability. Dogs can be trained to help people with visual impairments navigate or to alert people with hearing impairments that someone is knocking on their door or a timer is going off. They can also assist people during a seizure, perform tasks such as turning on lights for individuals with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, help a handler with autism stop repetitive motions like hand-fl apping or alert a diabetic owner that their blood sugar is getting too high or low. “There are so many different things a service animal can be trained to do,” Umbarger said. What is a service animal? A service animal, under the legal defi nition provided by the federal Americans EO fi le photo Alex, a 3-year-old standard poodle in this 2014 photo, was the breeding stud for Barbara Pierce’s business of breeding and training service dogs. with Disabilities Act, is a dog or miniature horse trained to perform specifi c tasks to assist an individual with their disability, such as a dog that helps someone with a visual impairment or limited mobility navigate. Rabbits, cats, pigs and other animals are not legally considered service animals and can be barred from establishments. Oregon law automatically bars all pets (but not service animals) from restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses where food is present. Emotional support, therapy or comfort animals that provide emotional support simply by being present are considered pets, not service animals, under the law. “These terms are used to describe animals that provide comfort just by being with a person,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice website. “Because they have not been trained to perform a specifi c job or task, they do not qualify as service animals under the ADA ... If the dog has been trained to sense that an anxiety attack is about to happen and take a specifi c action to help avoid the attack or lessen its impact, that would qualify as a service animal. However, if the dog’s mere presence provides comfort, that would not be considered a service animal under the ADA.” The ADA does not require registration or certifi cation for service dogs. Websites and companies that offer “registration” for a fee do not have any legal bearing on a service animal’s validity. Where are service animals allowed? Service animals are not considered pets under the law and cannot be barred by a “no pets allowed” rule in restaurants, housing, public MILTON-FREEWATER transportation or other areas. Employers, schools and other entities are expected to make reasonable accommodations for use of the service animal. The ADA allows only two questions to be asked in determining whether an animal can enter the space: Whether the animal is legally considered a service animal under the ADA, and what tasks the service animal has been trained to perform to help mitigate a disability. Staff cannot ask about the nature of the handler’s disability, charge a fee for the service animal or ask for documentation. A service animal can be asked to leave if the animal makes a mess on the fl oor, is running around out of the handler’s control or jumps on or bites another patron. It can also be barred from certain non-public parts of a building, such as the kitchen in a restaurant or the oper- ating room of a hospital. What is the proper etiquette when interacting with someone who has a service animal? Guidelines by the Northwest ADA Center recommend that everyone treat service dogs as working animals, not pets, and do not touch the animal without permission. People should not feed the animal, talk to the animal instead of the handler, or ask the owner about the nature of their disability. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. BRIEFLY First Stop Mart robbery suspect in jail Group offers free gift wrapping Saturday night of Dec. 6 held up the First Stop Mart, 85713 Highway 11, Milton-Freewater. The sheriff’s Umatilla County sher- offi ce in a written statement iff’s detectives Thursday reported deputy John Reitz was the fi rst offi cer arrested Denis A. on the scene and Krivosheenko, 27, of gathered important Walla Walla for one evidence for the recent robbery from case. Detectives a Milton-Freewater Kacey Ward and convenience store. Erik Palmer took on Undersheriff Jim the investigation. Littlefi eld said the Littlefi eld said case is an example they followed leads of good police work and worked with and cooperation the Walla Walla between agencies. Krivosheenko Police Department Krivosheenko to develop informa- faces the felony charge of fi rst-degree robbery tion and evidence that pointed and is in the Walla Walla to Krivosheenko, who has a reputation with police in Walla County Jail. An armed man who covered Walla and nearby College his face with a bandanna the Place, Washington. HERMISTON — Free gift wrapping will be available outside the Hermiston Walmart on Saturday from 1-3 p.m. The wrapping — which will also be accompanied by free candy canes and hot chocolate — is the latest in the ongoing “I Love My City” campaign that was started more than a year ago by Hermiston Assembly of God. Since then other churches have also joined the effort to hold regular service projects in the community. Anyone who wants their gifts wrapped for free by volunteers can bring them to the tables that will be set up in front of Walmart Saturday afternoon. “We’ll wrap, put ribbons and even name tags on gifts,” Hermiston Assembly of God Pastor Terry Haight said. “There’s no limit to the number of gifts we’ll wrap. It could be one or it could be 20.” By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Walla Walla police obtained a search warrant in the case, and the Walla Walla City County Joint SWAT Team helped serve that Wednesday morning at a home on the 800 block of Pleasant Street. Littlefi eld said the search turned up evidence connecting Krivosheenko to the robbery. Ward and Palmer inter- viewed Krivosheenko on Wednesday, according to the statement from the sheriff’s offi ce, “and he admitted to committing the armed robbery at the First Stop Mart.” Littlefi eld added police found more evidence after the interview that indicated the suspect’s involvement. Walla Walla police arrested Krivosheenko on other local charges and booked him into the Walla Walla County Jail. Krivosheenko is pending extradition to Umatilla County and likely faces more charges related to the robbery case. The sheriff’s offi ce also reported he is a suspect in separate criminal cases involving forgery and theft in Oregon and Wash- ington. However, Littlefi eld said, the investigation has not connected Krivosheenko to the early Monday morning burglary of the First Stop Mart. That occurred when the business was closed, Littlefi eld said, and was more of a “smash and grab.” That case remains open. ——— Contact Phil Wright at pwright@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0833. PENDLETON SAT scores just below national average By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian Pendleton High School’s recent SAT scores show a school close to meeting the national average. High school Principal Dan Greenough shared the class of 2017’s SAT results at a Pend- leton School Board meeting. According to Greenough’s report, the school’s mean score of 1059 was below the state average of 1106 and a hair below the national mean score of 1071. Pendleton’s 537 mean score for reading and writing was just one point below the national average. But scores for the class of 2018 showed a widening gap between local scores and the state and national averages. The 1035 school mean was 84 points behind the state mean and 38 points behind the national mean. Greenough said the class of 2018 numbers are far from fi nal, since the current scores are only refl ective of students taking the tests during their junior year. Once the class gets another chance to take the SAT later this school year, those numbers could rise. All sophomores can take the practice SAT for free while juniors can take the mock exam for $34. The report also includes the Average SAT scores Class of PHS State National 2017 1059 1106 1071 2018 1035 1119 1073 average score for students who take the ACT, a less popular test at Pendleton High School than the SAT. Of the 27 students who took the ACT, they averaged a higher score than the state average in all subjects with the exception of English. In that subject, the school average was less than one point below the state average. Board member Debbie McBee said SAT scores were an improvement over previous years, although Greenough said he couldn’t confi rm it at the meeting. While the high school appears to be heading toward the state and national averages, Greenough doesn’t want the school to rest on its laurels. “There’s always a way to do better by our students,” he said. Despite performing toward the bottom in graduation rate, chronic absenteeism and number of school days, Oregon outperforms the national average on SAT scores. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. ! e s u o H n e p O SAT.- DEC. 16 Th , 10:00 Am -12:00 pm 410 N. 5 Th , AThENA REDUCED! $169,900 Jerry Baker Broker UPDATED 3 BED, 2 BATH on a corner lot in Athena. New flooring throughout, majority of windows updated, all new paint in and out. 2219 sf(m/l), so plenty of room for kids and pets! Jerry Baker 541-969-6378cell. #17242980. 37 SE Dorion Ave 541-276-0021 W H IT N EY & AS SO C IAT ES www.coldwellbankerwhitney.com Oregon Humanities seeks conversation facilitators PORTLAND — People from all backgrounds and levels of experience, who are interested in facilitating conversations to get people talking, listening and connecting to one another, are encouraged to contact Oregon Humanities. The Conversation Project brings Oregonians together to talk about important and challenging issues and ideas. Facilitators are provided training by Oregon Humanities. The goal is to connect people to discuss, while not pushing a specifi c agenda. Conversation leaders receive an honorarium, mileage reimbursement and a meal stipend for each program they facilitate. Winter training is Jan. 25-26 and spring training is April 19-20. Both are held in Portland. A fall training is Oct. 4-5 in Bend. Additional information, including current conversation project topics, is available at www.oregonhumanities.org. For questions, contact Rachel Bernstein at 503-241-0543 or r.bernstein@oregonhumanities.org. ——— Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports, and press releases. Email press releases to news@eastoregonian.com 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS! 30% OFF Select Items each day! Fri., Dec. 15th All Candles & bath Products Sat., Dec. 16th All Christmas Sun., Dec. 17th All Western Mon., Dec. 18th Entire Store (excluding fresh fl owers & plants) Tues., Dec. 19th All Wall Art Wed., Dec. 20th All Purses & Jewelry Thurs., Dec. 21st All Willow Tree Fri, Dec. 22nd All Farm & Garden Sat., Dec. 23rd All Clothing Sun., Dec. 24th All Christmas *Excludes all fresh fl owers and plants. Watch for our After Christmas Sale Dec. 26-31! 541-567-4305 • Hwy 395, Hermiston www.thecottageonline.com Mon-Sat 8am-8pm • Sun 12pm-5pm