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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2018)
Sunlight breaks through the clouds causing an in- terplay of light and shad- ow on the hills and in the valley along the Umatilla River on Monday north of Gibbon on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Staff photo by E.J. Harris TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2018 143rd Year, No. 10 HERMISTON Anti-105 rally draws a crowd One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD ‘Teacher of the Year’ Weston Middle School’s Amber Doremus wins OSSA award By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian Leaders and supporters of Umatilla County’s His- panic community stood firm against ending Oregon’s sanctuary state status. Roughly 100 people par- ticipated on Saturday at McKenzie Park, Hermis- ton, in a rally urging locals to vote no on Ballot Measure 105. Organizers said they put the word out starting last weekend. The event drew a few local elected leaders, including Hermiston City Councilor Lori Davis. Her challenger in this election, Mark Gomolski, who serves on Hermiston’s Hispanic Advisory Committee, was not present. The organizers also pulled in Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Greg Walden to be the next U.S. representative for Oregon’s Congressional 2nd District. Zaira Sanchez of Herm- iston began the rally with a moment of silence to rec- ognize the victims in Sat- urday’s mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. The shooting was an act of See RALLY/10A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Weston Middle School teacher Amber Doremus won the Oregon Small School Association Teacher of the Year award. By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian M ost of the students at Weston Mid- dle School aren’t done growing, but they still need to duck into Amber Doremus’ room. Doremus has three strips of paper taped across the doorway with words written on them like “rejection,” “regret,” and “I can’t.” She said these strips were meant to visu- alize the metaphorical barriers students face when they deal with math, and when they duck under them on their way to class, it’s meant to show that they can get past those barriers to learn. Whether intentional or not, Doremus has many symbols around her classroom that are reflective of her 15-year career at Weston Middle School, which is being honored with an Oregon Small School Association Teacher of the Year award. On a bulletin board, Doremus has pinned a map of much of the western United States that features a route she took when she helped her cousin move from Eastern Ore- gon to Roff, Oklahoma. After going to a Chris Stapleton con- cert in Spokane the night before, Doremus embarked on the five-day road trip, stopping at many landmarks across the way. She flew back home but not before stop- ping in Denver to visit her brother. Doremus capped her trip off with a training in Seattle See TEACHER/10A “She’s what we call a teacher leader.” — Ann Vescio, Weston Middle School principal OHA seeks tax increase on alcohol, cigarettes By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — State health offi- cials say they want a substantial tax to drive down smoking and binge drinking. About 20 percent of Oregonians smoke, exceeding the national aver- age and increasing their risk for strokes, lung cancer and heart dis- ease. It’s the state’s highest cause of preventable death. And in a state renowned for hoppy IPAs and fruit-forward pinot noirs, alcohol-related deaths have climbed about 38 percent since 2001, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Nearly 2,000 people died from alcohol overuse in the state in 2016, making it Oregon’s third most com- mon cause of preventable death. State officials think they can use tax policy to improve public health and reduce health care costs. See TAX/10A