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