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.
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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