RECORDS/REGION
Saturday, March 21, 2020
DEATH NOTICES
Marie D. A. Marick
Irrigon
December 11, 1956
Marie D. A. Marick, 63, of Irrigon, died Tues-
day, March 3, 2020, in Richland, Washington. She was
born Dec. 11, 1956, in Hermiston. A fundraiser/memo-
rial planned for Saturday, March 28, 2020at the Irrigon
Moose Lodge has been postponed due to precautions
for the coronavirus. Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in
care of arrangements. Share memories with the family at
www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Chris Marston
Boardman
Oct. 17, 1956 — March 1, 2020
Chris Marston, 63, of Boardman, died Sunday, March
1, 2020, at his home. He was born Oct. 17, 1956, in
Prineville. A memorial planned for Saturday, April 4 at
the Boardman Senior Center has been postponed indefi -
nitely due to precautions for the coronavirus. Burns Mor-
tuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
Dr. Kenneth Dean Peterson
Hermiston
June 28, 1925 — March 9, 2020
Dr. Kenneth Dean Peterson, 94, of Hermiston, died
Monday, March 9, 2020, in Hermiston. He was born June
28, 1925, in Denton, Montana. A graveside service is
pending at the Hermiston Cemetery. Burns Mortuary of
Hermiston is in care of arrangements. Share memories
with the family at www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
UPCOMING SERVICE
SATURDAY, MARCH 21
LIEBE, WALTER — Graveside service with mili-
tary honors at 1 p.m. at the Hermiston Cemetery.
SUNDAY, MARCH 22-TUESDAY, MARCH 24
No services scheduled
MEETINGS
Editor’s note: Due to concerns about the coronavirus,
many activities have been postponed or canceled. Con-
tact the venue before attending any public gathering to
ensure the event is still scheduled.
MONDAY, MARCH 23
UMATILLA BASIN WATERSHED COUNCIL, 6 p.m., Pendleton
City Hall community room, 501 S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton.
(Michael T. Ward 541-276-2190)
IRRIGON COMMUNITY PARKS & RECREATION DIS-
TRICT, 7 p.m., Irrigon Fire Station, 705 N. Main St., Irrigon.
(541-922-3047)
MORROW COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT, 7 p.m., Pioneer
Memorial Clinic conference room, 130 Thompson St., Heppner.
(Tonia Adams 541-676-2942)
HERMISTON CITY COUNCIL, 7 p.m., Hermiston City
Hall council chambers, 180 N.E. Second St., Hermiston.
(541-567-5521)
MILTON-FREEWATER CITY COUNCIL, 7 p.m., Milton-Freewa-
ter Public Library Albee Room, 8 S.W. EIghth Ave., Milton-Free-
water. (541-938-5531)
TUESDAY, MARCH 24
UMATILLA-MORROW COUNTY HEAD START, 11:30 a.m.,
downtown venue, 372 E. Main St., Hermiston. (Monina Ward
541-564-6878)
UMATILLA PLANNING COMMISSION, 6:30 p.m., Umatilla City
Hall, 700 Sixth St., Umatilla. (Brandon Seitz 541-922-3226 ext.
103)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25
BUTTER CREEK IRRIGATION DISTRICT, 8 a.m., district offi ce,
via teleconference, 28790 Westport Lane, Hermiston. Meet-
ings by teleconference; contact the district at 541-289-5201
prior to the meeting for login instructions. (Nathan Rau
509-820-3231)
ECHO IRRIGATION DISTRICT, 8:30 a.m., district offi ce, via
teleconference, 28790 Westport Lane, Hermiston. Meeting via
telephone conference. Those interested in attending can con-
tact the district at 541-289-5206 prior to the meeting for login
instructions. (Nathan Rau 509-820-3231)
MORROW COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, 9 a.m.,
Bartholomew Government Building upper conference room,
110 N. Court St., Heppner. (Roberta Lutcher 541-676-9061)
HERMISTON LIBRARY BOARD, 4 p.m., Hermiston Public
Library, 235 E. Gladys Ave., Hermiston. (541-567-2882)
East Oregonian
CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19 confi rmed in Union County
Center for Human
Development says
exposure risk is low
By SABRINA
THOMPSON
The Observer
LA GRANDE — Union
County has its fi rst offi cial
case of COVID-19.
The Center for Human
Development in La Grande
confi rmed on Thursday
afternoon a local resident
has the new coronavirus.
The nonprofi t center over-
sees public health in the
county and in a written
statement reported the expo-
sure risk to Union County
residents is low.
“This individual had a
recent history of interna-
tional travel and is not con-
sidered to have acquired it
from community spread,”
the CHD statement said.
Outside of that, however,
the center reported it is pro-
tecting the identity of the
infected person and would
not release any additional
information about their loca-
tion or who they may have
come in contact with.
Carrie Brogoitti, the cen-
ter’s public health adminis-
trator, said the organization
knows people are con-
cerned about their risk and
want specifi c information,
but the local public health
authorities can’t share more
information.
“I know in the past
during other disease out-
breaks public health has
made announcements about
locations where people
could have been exposed,”
Brogoitti said, “but how we
respond and investigate each
disease is different based on
how it is spread. In this case
we focus on high-risk close
contacts to a confi rmed
case.”
Next steps
The center in a news
release stated the Oregon
Health Authority and Union
County Public Health are
working to identify and iso-
late any individuals who
may have been in close con-
tact with the person while
they were contagious.
“Now that we have iden-
tifi ed an individual with the
COVID-19 virus, we will
conduct a contact investiga-
EO Media Group fi le photo
Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande, and its clinics remain open for non-coronavirus medical
issues but the staff are taking medical precuations. The hospital encouraged anyone who
may feel ill with symptoms of the novel coronavirus to call their primary care provider for a
preliminary screening before coming in.
tion,” Brogoitti said. “That
involves us speaking with
the person who has the dis-
ease, identifying any people
that they have come in close
contact with that could be
at risk, and notifying those
people that they have been
in contact and what they
should be looking out for.”
Anyone who was in close
contact with the person can
expect a visit from pub-
lic health investigators, she
said. But anyone else needs
to continue following the
daily precautions of frequent
hand washing, social dis-
tancing and staying home.
The Oregon Health
Authority’s testing lab is the
primary facility testing for
the novel coronavirus, how-
ever, private labs have begun
testing as well. Brogoitti
said the state agency works
directly with the federal
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, which con-
fi rms each case of the virus.
Brogoitti also said there
is local testing for COVID-
19 in the county, but that is
only for those who meet cer-
tain criteria and don’t have
other respiratory infections
or the fl u. She said this is
due to the limited number of
testing kits available.
“We know that people
want to be tested, and not
being able to get an answer
when they are concerned
about their health can be
really frustrating,” Brogoitti
said. “Because there is no
specifi c treatment for this
virus, in most cases having
a test to confi rm you have it
won’t change what happens
and what the doctor tells you
to do.”
The federal Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion recommend social dis-
tancing and proper hygiene
as the most effective ways to
keep the virus from spread-
ing. Brogoitti said social
distancing isn’t possible for
everyone, but the goal is to
slow the spread so hospitals
can handle an infl ux of ill
people and to protect health
care providers and other
essential services, such as
police and medics.
“Families can protect
people in high-risk groups
(people over 60 or those with
underlying medical condi-
tions) by limiting contact
with them,” she explained.
“Use the phone, letters
and video chat rather than
in-person visits to keep them
safe. Employers can look at
telecommute options to help
reduce the spread among
their workforce and help
reduce community trans-
mission by allowing people
to stay at home as much as
possible.”
Virus puts hospital
workers at risk
Grande Ronde Hospital is
collecting specimens of peo-
ple who meet the criteria for
having the virus and sending
those to labs for testing, hos-
FRIDAY, MARCH 27
No meetings scheduled
MONDAY, MARCH 30
NIXYAAWII COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD, 4:30 p.m., Nixy-
aawii Community School, 73300 July Grounds Lane, Mission.
(Carrie Phinney 541-966-2680)
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
MORROW COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Port of
Morrow Riverfront Center, 2 Marine Drive, Boardman. (Stepha-
nie Loving 541-922-4624)
LOTTERY
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Lucky Lines
01-05-10-16-FREE-20-21-
27-32
Estimated jackpot: $14,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 4-5-8-5
4 p.m.: 7-5-7-1
7 p.m.: 8-7-7-2
10 p.m.: 6-5-7-9
Friday, March 20, 2020
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 6-9-0-9
pital spokesperson Mardi
Ford said.
Health care workers
are another group at risk
of catching the virus. Ford
explained doctors, nurses
and staff at the hospital are
taking precautions to pro-
tect themselves in addition
to advising people on how to
do the same.
“We understand how to
use our personal protective
equipment, which includes
goggles, gloves, gowns,
masks of various types,”
Ford said. “Right now, we
are doing OK with our sup-
plies, but we are all con-
cerned the suppliers and
stockpiles we draw from
could dwindle if the virus
spreads. That being said,
in order to best protect the
community we need our
health care workforce to
stay healthy and strong for
as long as this takes.”
According to Dr. Inski
Yu, an Infectious Disease
doctor at Grande Ronde
Hospital, home manage-
ment through isolation is the
best course of treatment at
this time. The focus should
be on preventing transmis-
sion to others and monitor-
ing for symptoms, which
could lead to a need for hos-
pitalization. Yu said it is
best to try and resolve fever
symptoms without medica-
tion to prevent masking the
true status of the fever and
improvements in respiratory
function.
Are state agencies following their own advice?
The state wants
workers to
telecommute and
people to keep
their distance
By JAKE THOMAS
Oregon Capital Bureau
THURSDAY, MARCH 26
SALVATION ARMY ADVISORY BOARD, 12 p.m., Salvation
Army, 150 S.E. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton. (541-276-3369)
MILTON-FREEWATER LIBRARY BOARD, 4 p.m., Milton-Free-
water Public Library, 8 S.W. Eighth Ave., Milton-Freewater.
(541-938-5531)
PENDLETON ARTS COMMISSION, 4-5 p.m., Pendleton Cen-
ter for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pendleton. (Charles Denight
541-966-0233)
UMATILLA COUNTY SPECIAL LIBRARY DISTRICT, 5:15 p.m.,
UCSLD offi ce and via Zoom, 425 S. Main St., Pendleton. (Erin
McCusker 541-276-6449)
UMATILLA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, 6:30 p.m.,
Umatilla County Justice Center, 4700 N.W. Pioneer Place, Pend-
leton. (541-278-6252)
PENDLETON PLANNING COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Pendleton
City Hall, 501 S.W. Emigrant Ave., Pendleton. (Jutta Haliewicz
541-966-0240)
A5
SALEM — Across Ore-
gon, schools and restaurants
are shuttered, employers are
encouraged to allow tele-
commuting and people are
being told they should just
stay home as the state tries
to slow down a deadly surge
of the novel coronavirus.
But getting state govern-
ment, which employs about
40,483 people with nearly
half of the jobs located in
Salem, to follow Gov. Kate
Brown’s lead hasn’t been as
straightforward.
State agencies have taken
steps to allow employees to
work remotely or to stay
home to prevent spreading
the virus. But such arrange-
ments encountered tech-
nological constraints and a
public that is increasingly
calling on state government
for help with health care or
economic insecurity.
In response to the out-
break, the state Depart-
ment of Administrative
Services signed agreements
last week with the two large
state employee unions. The
agreements, which last
through June, expand leave
options and specify that
employee requests to tele-
commute “will be presumed
to be acceptable.” But the
work-at-home requests can
AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus
A Peet’s Coff ee and Tea store, with most of the furniture re-
moved to prevent lingering, is nearly empty in Lake Oswego
on Tuesday.
be denied if there is a lack
of laptops, cellphone or net-
work availability.
David Kreisman, com-
munications director for
Oregon AFSCME Coun-
cil 75, said while the agree-
ment has helped, issues
remain.
“The biggest issue with
the (agreement) and tele-
commuting is there is not
enough technology and lap-
tops to do this work,” he
said.
He said the union, which
represents about 4,000
employees, has heard of
state workers being denied
telecommuting
requests
because of a lack of laptops.
Kreisman pointed out
the state has a shortage of
masks and other protective
equipment to keep workers
from contracting the virus.
He said he heard a report of
behavioral health workers
using bandanas instead of
medical masks when work-
ing with clients who tested
positive for the coronavirus.
Kreisman said to keep
workers and the public safe,
it’s time for the governor to
mandate shelter-in-place, a
drastic measure that would
shutter nonessential busi-
nesses and government ser-
vices. He said demand for
some government services
is already diminishing.
“Nobody is going to get
a building permit. Nobody
needs to take a driving
test,” he said.
Liz Merah, a spokes-
woman for both the gover-
nor’s offi ce and the Depart-
ment of Administrative
services, said in an email
there were no plans to lay
off any state employees
because of the outbreak.
So far, the Department of
Environmental Quality, the
Oregon Lottery and Ore-
gon Driver and Motor Vehi-
cle Services have curtailed
operations and services in
response to the outbreak.
Melissa Unger, executive
director for SEIU 503, said
her union isn’t calling for a
shelter-in-place order and is
working with each agency
to balance protections for
state workers while also
making sure that govern-
ment agencies are carrying
out services at a time when
they’re especially needed.
She said that her union
represents the largest share
of government workers,
about 23,000. Those include
employees who have regu-
lar contact with other peo-
ple at the Employment
Department, the Depart-
ment of Human Services,
the Oregon State Hospi-
tal and the Oregon Youth
Authority.
“It’s challenging because
of all the needs,” she said.
“And, to be honest, we are
on the front line of those
needs.”
Unger said other state
functions that may not seem
obviously essential need to
continue amid the outbreak.
She said one example is the
workforce needed for state
tax services to send rebates
to a cash-strapped public.
She said a barrier to tele-
commuting is that the aging
technology used by state
government can’t be eas-
ily transferred to a laptop.
She also said the shortage
of masks and protective
equipment is an issue for
her union.
Calls for comment Fri-
day to the representatives
of Human Services and
Transportation departments
weren’t returned.