RECORDS/COMMUNITY
Friday, March 27, 2020
PUBLIC SAFETY
ARRESTS, CITATIONS
•Bryan Keith Jr. Eakles, 34, was arrested on two charges, includ-
ing one count of felony possession of a prohibited firearm.
•The Umatilla Tribal Police Department arrested Tehya R.
Halfmoon, 19, on two charges, including one count of domestic
abuse and another for felony assault.
•The Hermiston Police Department arrested Yusef Lemuel
Johnson, 26, on three charges, including two counts of felony pos-
session of a controlled substance.
•Umatilla tribal police arrested Letitia Maelee Sigo, 36, on
three charges, including one count of felony domestic abuse and
another for felony assault.
MEETINGS
Editor’s note: Due to concerns about the coronavirus,
many activities have been postponed or canceled. Contact
the venue before attending any public gathering to ensure
the event is still scheduled.
FRIDAY, MARCH 27
No meetings scheduled
MONDAY, MARCH 30
MORROW COUNTY HEALTH DISTRICT, 7 p.m., Pioneer Memo-
rial Clinic conference room, via conference call, 130 Thomp-
son St., Heppner. An executive session will be called during the
meeting to evaluate the performance of the CEO, who does not
request an open hearing. (Tonia Adams 541-676-2942)
TUESDAY, MARCH 31
WEST UMATILLA MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT, 3 p.m.,
district office, 3005 S. First St., Hermiston. (Janie Cuellar
541-567-5201)
MORROW COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Port of
Morrow Riverfront Center, 2 Marine Drive, Boardman. (Stephanie
Loving 541-922-4624)
session, 6 p.m. regular board meeting. Only the board and BMCC
president Bailey-Fougnier will attend in person; all others should
join the Zoom videoconference (PC, Mac, iOS or Android: https://
zoom.us/j/995173234) or call in to 415-762 9988 or 646-568 7788,
Meeting ID: 995 173 234. (Shannon Franklin 541-278-5951)
CONDON CITY COUNCIL, 7 p.m., Condon City Hall, 128 S. Main
St., Condon. (541-384-2711)
UMATILLA RURAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT, 7 p.m., Uma-
tilla Fire Department, 305 Willamette St., Umatilla. (541-922-2770)
BOARDMAN CITY COUNCIL, 7 p.m., Boardman City Hall, 200
City Center Circle, Boardman. (Jackie McCauley 541-481-9252)
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
PENDLETON DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE, 4-5:30 p.m., Pendleton City Hall John Brenne Room, 502
S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton. (Charles Denight 541-966-0233)
STANFIELD CITY COUNCIL, 6 p.m., Council chambers building,
160 W. Coe Ave., Stanfield. (Ben Burgener 541-449-3831)
ADAMS PLANNING COMMISSION, 6:30 p.m., Adams City Hall,
190 N. Main St., Adams. (541-566-9380)
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
No meetings scheduled
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1
MORROW COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, 9 a.m., Bar-
tholomew Government Building upper conference room, 110 N.
Court St., Heppner. (Roberta Lutcher 541-676-5613)
HERMISTON AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, 4 p.m., Hermis-
ton Airport lounge, 1600 Airport Way, Hermiston. (541-567-5521)
MEACHAM VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, 6 p.m., Meacham
Fire Department, Meacham. (541-786-2069)
BLUE MOUNTAIN BOARD OF EDUCATION, 4:30 p.m., Blue
Mountain Community College Hermiston campus, 980 S.E.
Columbia Drive, Hermiston, via teleconference. 4:30 p.m. work
MONDAY, APRIL 6
STOKES LANDING SENIOR CENTER BOARD, 6 p.m., Stokes
Landing Senior Center, 150 Columbia Lane, Irrigon. (Karen
541-922-3137)
HEPPNER PLANNING COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Heppner City Hall,
111 N. Main St., Heppner. (541-676-9618)
MILTON-FREEWATER PLANNING COMMISSION, 7 p.m., Mil-
ton-Freewater Public Library Albee Room, 8 S.W. Eighth Ave., Mil-
ton-Freewater. 6:30 p.m. study session, 7 p.m. regular meeting.
(Lisa Wasson 541-938-8235)
Baker City family learning, coping
By JAYSON JACOBY
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY — Mairi
Nielsen’s initial reaction was
close to panic.
Nielsen, who has lived
in Baker City for about a
decade, has been in treat-
ment for Stage 4 breast can-
cer since she was diagnosed
in June 2018.
She takes chemotherapy
pills at home. She travels to
Fruitland, Idaho, monthly to
see her oncologist. She has
four children, ranging in age
from 6 to 11, all students in
Baker schools. And Nielsen
had just learned that classes
will be canceled at least
through April 28.
Suddenly, she needed
to add to an already hectic
schedule a system for keep-
ing her kids educated, and
entertained. During a season
when the weather can be less
than conducive to outdoor
activities.
“I went, ‘Oh no, what am I
going to do with all my kids,’”
is how Nielsen, 44, recalls
reacting to the extended
school closure due to the
coronavirus.
The pandemic was already
a major concern for Nielsen,
who as a cancer patient is
more vulnerable to the effects
of the virus that has so dra-
matically affected the coun-
try and the world.
“How am I going to do
this?” Nielsen thought to
herself.
Less than two weeks later,
she is still adjusting to this
unexpected challenge. But
she’s optimistic.
“We’ve done OK, actu-
ally,” Nielsen said Tuesday
morning in a phone interview
from her home, the conversa-
tion punctuated by an occa-
sional exclamation from a
child in the background.
“We get stir-crazy, cabin
fever of course, but it hasn’t
been as bad as I thought.”
Nielsen’s husband, Joshua,
hasn’t been cooped up only
because he has two jobs —
he works mornings at Albert-
sons and runs his own busi-
ness in the afternoon.
Nielsen said her focus
during mornings has been on
learning.
EO Media Group Photo/S. John Collins
The Nielsen family members are learning to cope with confinement at home due to the coro-
navirus. They are, from left, Anden, 8, Richard, 11, Mairi, Kahlan, 6, Josh, and Kylar, 6. Dad
cuddles the new puppy, Socks.
She and her husband are
the parents of sons Richard,
11, a sixth-grader at South
Baker, and Anden, 8, a sec-
ond-grader at Brooklyn; and
fraternal twins, a son, Kylar,
and his sister, Kahlan. Both
are 6-year-old kindergartners.
the series “How It’s Made,”
and Nielsen said the family
has watched some episodes
together.
Anden has been “irri-
table,” but Nielsen said the
twins “seem to be just fine.”
Kylar doesn’t mind being
“WE GET STIR CRAZY, CABIN FEVER
OF COURSE, BUT IT HASN’T BEEN
AS BAD AS I THOUGHT.”
— Mairi Nielsen, mother of four Baker School District students
“I’m trying not to have any
electronics on in the morning
unless it’s educational, Niel-
sen said.
She’s
emphasizing
reading.
In the afternoons, Nielsen
has added some recreation.
“We’ve been playing a lot
of board games,” she said.
And there’s always the
distraction of Socks. He’s the
puppy the family adopted on
March 16. (Socks came with
that name — he’s black and
white, with white fur on his
paws.)
Nielsen said her children
have reacted in different ways
to their situation.
Richard, the oldest, is
“bored out of his mind,” she
said. “I feel so bad.”
He does enjoy watching
informational shows, such as
confined to home, but Kahlan
has talked about schoolmates
she misses.
Nielsen said she has tried
to buoy her own spirits during
a stressful period by remind-
ing herself of how many other
parents have also had their
lives upended.
“We’re all going through
the same thing, and I think
that’s helping me,” Nielsen
said.
Although Nielsen has no
extended family in Baker
City, she said friends, includ-
ing Sherri and Bill Pur-
cell, have been helping her
tremendously.
Less than two weeks into
what amounts to a forced
experiment, Nielsen said she
has gained a new level of
appreciation for teachers.
“I’ve always admired
teachers, they work so hard,”
said Nielsen, who has several
teachers in her family, includ-
ing a sister. “I worry about
them during this time, how
they’re handling things.”
She said all of her kids
have enjoyed their teachers
this year, which made the
sudden curtailment of classes
especially disappointing.
Although Nielsen is
pleased with what she’s been
able to accomplish with her
kids so far, she hopes to refine
her schedule.
“I would really like to be
able to get more education in
our day, but it’s just me,” she
said. “I know we’re going
to have a deficit. I’m not a
teacher. I’m learning how to
do it.”
Nielsen said the uncer-
tainty — wondering whether
schools will reopen at the end
of April — is stressful.
“I feel like we’re in this
weird void, an overall sense
of being uncomfortable,” she
said.
Nielsen is gratified that
the Baker School District has
offered free breakfast and
lunch during the closure. She
said she’s either picked up
meals every day or enlisted
help from a friend.
“I’m so thankful (the
school district) got on it right
away,” she said. “That was
really touching to me, that
that was their priority.”
LOTTERY
Wednesday, March 25,
2020
Megabucks
02-23-25-36-46-48
Estimated jackpot: $1 million
Powerball
05-09-27-39-42
Powerball: 16
Power Play: 2
Estimated jackpot: $150
million
Win for Life
A5
OBITUARY
Home Park on West Crockett Road in Milton-Freewater.
WEDNESDAY
7:54 a.m. — A storage shed was reportedly broken into and
$2,000 in tools and a generator were stolen from the Deadman
Pass rest area near Umatilla at milepost 228 on Interstate-84.
10:01 a.m. — A theft was reported on Seventh Street and H
Street in Umatilla.
10:21 a.m. — A domestic disturbance occurred at Walkers on
Highway 11 in Milton-Freewater.
10:39 a.m. — A burglary was reported on Northwest Geer Road
in Hermiston.
1:00 p.m. — Police responded to a burglary at Oregon Trail Mini
Storage on Highway 395 North in Hermiston.
1:29 p.m. — A theft was reported on Andrews Road in Echo.
7:29 p.m. — A drunken driver was reported at Villadom Mobile
East Oregonian
01-23-35-48
Lucky Lines
04-06-10-14-20-22-26-32
Estimated jackpot: $20,000
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 9-8-5-5
4 p.m.: 2-7-3-7
7 p.m.: 4-0-0-1
10 p.m.: 7-5-7-0
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Pick 4
1 p.m.: 7-9-8-4
Ronald Wayne McCorkle Jr.
Pendleton
October 16, 1980 — March 20, 2020
Ronald
Wayne Janika McCorkle and
McCorkle Jr., of Pendle- Danielle, Miranda and
ton, passed away at his Natasha Curts; his neph-
home on March 20, 2020, ews Donavun and Mason
McCorkle; Stewart Saun-
at the age of 39.
ders, brother from
He was born
another
fam-
October
16,
ily; Joe Wyman,
1980, in Pend-
leton to Ronald
Anna Ochoa and
McCorkle and
family, who he
Linda (Cros-
loved as family;
san) McCorkle.
and grandmother
He grew up
Sharon Crossan of
in
Umatilla,
Caldwell, Idaho.
attending
He had many
school
from
aunts,
uncles,
McCorkle
k i nde rga r t e n
cousins and many
close friends.
to graduation.
He is preceded in death
When he was 9 years old,
he suffered a giant basal by his father; grandpar-
aneurysm. With the sup- ents Eugene and Rowena
port of the greater East- McCorkle, Lee Crossan,
ern Oregon community, and William and Naomi
OHSU, The Barrow Insti- Barnett; great-aunt/grand-
tute of Phoenix, Ari- mother Hazel Morris; aunt
zona, Dr. Robert Spetzler Sherri Rose, and uncle
and Shriner’s Hospital of and aunt Merv and Glenda
Portland, his family was Kline.
Services
will
be
blessed with 30 years
more with him. His med- announced at a later time
ical story was written in due to the COVID-19
Reader’s Digest: “The virus.
In lieu of flowers, dona-
Boy With the Bomb in His
Brain,” September 1991 tions can be made in Ron-
ald’s memory to Shriner’s
issue.
He married Katrina Hospital of Portland or
Smith in Newport, Ore- Ronald McCorkle House
gon. They have two chil- of Phoenix, Arizona, both
dren, Anthony and Gabri- of which helped us when
elle of Newport.
Ronald had his aneurysm.
Burns Mortuary of
He is survived by
his mother at home; his Pendleton is in charge of
brother William (Susan) arrangements. Sign the
McCorkle of New Rock- online guest book at www.
ford, N.D.; his nieces burnsmortuary.com.
BRIEFLY
M-F Christian
church suspends
worship services
MILTON-FR EEWA-
TER — Due to Oregon
Gov. Kate Brown issuing a
stay home order on Monday
in an effort to slow/stop the
COVID-19 outbreak, the
First Christian Church, 518
S. Main St., will suspend
Sunday worship services
until further notice.
The church office will
remain open. Regular office
hours are Monday-Thurs-
day from 8 a.m.-noon.
For more information
call 541-938-3854 or visit
the church website at Mil-
tonFreewaterCC.com
or
Facebook page at First
Christian Church — Milton
Freewater.
Me and My Prince
Ball postponed
until 2021
HERMISTON — Due
to uncertainties of how the
ongoing coronavirus pan-
demic will impact the local
community, the Me and
My Prince Ball Commit-
tee has decided to postpone
the annual father-daughter
dance until next year.
“After careful consider-
ation regarding the health,
safety and financial impact
on our community over the
COVID-19 virus, we feel
this is the best way to pro-
ceed in the midst of such an
unprecedented global situ-
ation. We are heartbroken
that we must postpone this
event, but we know it’s the
right decision based on the
information we have today,”
Christy Lieuallen, executive
director of United Way of
the Blue Mountains, stated
in a press release.
United Way of the
Blue Mountains estab-
lished a partnership to host
the annual event in early
February.
The committee dis-
cussed the possibility of
delaying the event until
later in the year, but came
to the conclusion that this
could cause an unfair bur-
den on volunteers and the
community.
“Holding the dance in
the fall would mean our
committee of volunteers
would be planning and
working back-to-back on
one sizeable event after
another,” said Michelle
Kane, a member of the ball
committee. “We also do not
feel comfortable about ask-
ing local businesses to sup-
port our event, and then turn
around a few months later to
ask them to support another
one.”
The next Me and My
Prince Ball will be held
May 15, 2021, from 6-9 p.m.
at the Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center in Herm-
iston. The theme will still be
Tale as Old as Time, which
is inspired by Disney’s
“Beauty and the Beast.”
Businesses and individu-
als who have already sent in
contributions to sponsor the
2020 ball are being notified
of the change in plans. They
are being given the option to
either be reimbursed or stay
on as sponsors for the 2021
dance.
In addition, United
Way’s online sponsorship
form will remain open for
those who would like to
support next year’s ball. It
can be found at https://www.
uwbluemt.org/sponsorship.
— EO Media Group
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