REGION/OFF PAGE ONE Wednesday, April 11, 2018 BRIEFLY Get a tree started this Arbor Day PENDLETON — Pendletonians can celebrate Arbor Day by getting a free tree seedling from the city on Saturday. According to a Pendleton Parks and Recreation Department press release, volunteers will be handing out seedling from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pendleton Wal-Mart, near the grocery entrance. Seedling varieties include ponderosa pine, water birch, quaking aspen, and red-osier dogwood. The seedlings will be distributed on a first- come, first-serve basis. Children will also have the opportunity to make decorations for the White House Christmas tree. Pendleton was recently named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Oregon Department of Forestry. The seedling giveaway is sponsored by the city’s parks and recreation department, the U.S. Forest Service, the Pendleton Tree Commission and the Pendleton Parks and Recreation Commission. Bird club welcome wildlife biologist PENDLETON — A field biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife will make a presentation during the upcoming Pendleton Bird Club meeting. Cathy Nowak will discuss “Research, Recreation and Resource Management — An Introduction to the Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area.” The public is invited to the free event Thursday at 7 p.m. at the First Christian Church, 215 N. Main St., Pendleton. Also, people are invited to bring a dish to share with others for a potluck that starts at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Lorna Waltz at lornawaltz@gmail.com or visit www.pendletonbirders. org. Public health admin guest of federal employees group PENDLETON — The National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Chapter 2115 welcomes Umatilla County Public Health administrator James Setzer to its monthly meeting Thursday. The meeting starts with a no-host lunch at 11:30 a.m. at Shari’s Cafe & Pies, 319 S.E. Nye Ave., Pendleton. All federal employees, active or retired, are welcome to attend. For more information, call Janet Lambert at 541-980-3268. East Oregonian STANFIELD — A vehicle struck and killed a woman trying to walk across Interstate 84 Tuesday morning near Stanfield, According to police, Rosialy Carmia Tiffany, 49, of Kennewick, died at the scene. She was reportedly walking across Interstate 84 when she was struck by a 2006 station wagon. Oregon State Police said, “Tiffany had left her vehicle and, for unknown reasons, attempted to cross the freeway where she was struck while in the fast lane.” Police said alcohol use by Tiffany “is being considered a contrib- uting factor in the crash.” Lt. Mike Turner, state police commander of the Pendleton area, said the fatality occurred a few minutes before 5 a.m. on the eastbound side of Inter- state 84 near milepost 189. The interstate was closed for more than four hours during the investigation, and traffic had to be routed through the town of Echo during that time. The freeway’s eastbound lanes in the immediate area had reopened by 10 a.m. Tuesday. Continued from 1A Before retirement in 2002, Mayclin conducted Pendleton high school and middle school choirs. He led the Peace Lutheran Church choir for 30 years and still directs music for theater productions. He sings solos and directs and sings in a subgroup of the men’s choir called Dulaman. In short, music powers Mayclin’s life. That’s just the way of it since before he can remember. As a toddler, he even listened to opera broadcasts on the radio with his mother. “I can’t imagine my life without music,” he said. “Music brings beauty into a world that sometimes isn’t so beautiful.” The ACDA award is partly about leadership in the organization. Over the years, Mayclin served as state president and regional president for the group. He created programs for three national conventions, events which regularly draw several thousand people. As far as Mayclin’s ability as a director, a couple of his local choir members described his modus operandi. “He’s very meticulous,” said Steve Muller, men’s chorus member and himself a retired music teacher and choir director. “You do it over and over again until you get it right — and then you do it again.” The maestro is also fastidious about his concert programs, assembling an eclectic mix of music that somehow meshes seam- lessly. “He plans concerts a year or more in advance,” said choir member Randy Thomas, a former middle school music teacher and choir director. “The pieces go together. One piece animates the audience and the next penetrates the soul. His standards are so high.” Mayclin has a good ear. “He has an amazing ear for pitch,” Thomas said. Even with the multiplicity of sounds created by a choir, he can hear sour tones and “zero right in.” Howard Meharg, of the choral association, called Mayclin a shoo-in for the award. “We would be hard pressed to find anybody who has served ACDA better than Bill,” Meharg said. “He’s been very active at the national level. He has turned out fantastic choirs. It was practically unanimous.” “I was stunned,” Mayclin said of learning he had won. The maestro plans to keep on directing for years to come, God willing. “When you’re involved in music,” he said, “you’re involved in music forever.” ____________ Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0810. 911: State is footing the bill to install and maintain system Continued from 1A Dispatchers can gather information more quickly by talking to someone over the phone, but texting might be the best option for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities. Texting might also be useful for people who are in an emergency situation where a voice call could put them in danger, like a home invasion or domestic violence incident. Lieuallen said police in the Portland area have caught a few kidnappers when victims texted 911. In addition to encour- aging able-bodied citizens to continue to use 911 tradi- tionally, local dispatchers will also mount a public education campaign on how to use the new service. • The first text to 911 should include the location, including the city, and what type of help they need like police, fire or medical. • Text messages should be concise and use full words. • The person requesting services through text needs to stay by the phone to answer any follow-up ques- Staff photo by E.J. Harris Umatilla County dispatch has added text to its 911 service. “It’s very important that 911 take texting. It just seems like it’s a no-brainer.” — Darrin Umbarger, CEO of Clearview Mediation and Disability Medical Center, Pendleton tions or follow instructions from the dispatch center. • Photos, videos and emojis can’t be sent to 911 and will corrupt the text message the dispatch center receives. • Emergency texts can’t be sent in a group text or 4/11 $5 Classic Movie • 12:00 PM Funny Girl A Quiet Place (PG13) 4:50 7:10 9:40 Blockers (R) 5:00 7:20 9:50 Tomb Raider (PG13) 4:10 6:50 9:30 For the second year in a row, the Pendleton Whisky Music Fest is a sold-out show. In a Monday press release, organizers announced that the July 14 concert featuring country music singer Blake Shelton and rapper Pitbull was sold out only a few weeks after tickets went on sale March 23. Whisky Fest is reporting that the tickets were in “high demand,” evidenced by the 98 percent of ticket sales coming from pre-sales and the first day they were available online. Andy McAnally, one of the event’s organizers, said some of the artists’ tickets are still on hold and may be released closer to the show, but it won’t be many. Organizers expect the third annual Whisky Fest to combine elements from the first two editions. “Blake Shelton, with twenty-five #1 hit singles, will reintroduce the Music Fest to its country roots, brought to life by the inaugural performance of Zac Brown Band, and Pitbull, known worldwide, will bring to the crowd the upbeat, pop-tempo established by Maroon 5 who played to a sold-out arena in 2017,” the press release states. For the 2018 concert, Whisky Fest plans to expand its Friday night kick-off party, a Main Street concert the night before the main event. McAnally said they hoped to release those artist names in the coming month. For more information, visit www. pendletonwhiskymusicfest.com. MAESTRO: Plans to keep directing for years to come Cineplex Show Times Sherlock Gnomes (PG) 4:30 6:40 9:20 Page 3A Woman dies crossing Whisky Fest reports sellout I-84 near Stanfield CELEBRATION OF LIFE Ready Player One (PG13) 7:00 • 3D 4:00 10:00 East Oregonian Please join us on Saturday, April 28, 2018 as we celebrate the life of Barbara J. Haines , January 28, 1935 - January 9, 2018. This gathering will be an open house from 11am to 3pm at the home of Richard and Wanda (Hunt) Scarlett, 33893 River View Drive, Hermiston at Hat Rock on the Columbia River. * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 We will share stories, favorite memories and laughter per Barbara’s wishes. Food and beverages will be provided. DAVIS SHOWS NORTHWEST A pril 11 - 15, 2018 C ha m b er of C om m erce/M u seu m Pa rk ing Lot WED 5 PM - CLOSING $3.75 A RIDE BUY ALL DAY RIDE PASSES FRI 4 PM - CLOSING $27 SAT & SUN NOON - CLOSING $27 $3.75 PER RIDE BOOK OF 10 $32 Sponsored by the Main Street Cowboys SAVE $$$ S 4 P THUR B M - CL Buy on UDDY DAY OSING get sec e armband a ond ar mband t $27 Both p eople m for $13 ust be purcha present at tim se. e of while roaming. When a Umatilla County resident sends an emergency text, they will be sent an automated response asking if they can report that message through a voice call. If they respond nega- tively, an employee from the dispatch center can respond with several automated responses or compose an original response. Lieuallen said the automated responses ensure information is exchanged faster and emer- gencies are responded to more quickly. She said text to 911 runs off of a web-based program, which means the system goes offline if there’s an interruption in internet service. If the dispatch center’s texting capabilities are offline, citizens who try to use the service will be sent an automated response that will instruct them to call 911. Darrin Umbarger, CEO of Clearview Mediation and Disability Medical Center, Pendleton, said 911 text is a must-have service. People who are hearing impaired already have smartphones, he said, to use text to communicate. A deaf person who calls 911 can’t hear the dispatcher, Umbarger said, and the flip side is someone who has never heard or lost hearing in early childhood has difficulty speaking. In those cases, he said, dispatchers might not understand what someone needs. “It’s very important that 911 take texting,” he said. “It just seems like it’s a no-brainer.” Lieuallen said the sheriff’s office spent a year selecting a vendor and testing out their new software, which dispatch center employees learned quickly and easily. The state is footing the bill to install and maintain the system, which is $19,200 for installation and three year’s worth of maintenance.