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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2020)
LOCAL Thursday, May 21, 2020 East Oregonian A7 Essential workers organize counterprotest ‘Essential not Sacrifi cial’ demonstration set for noon on May 30 By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian HERMISTON — When one group of Hermiston-area residents rallies on May 30 to protest restrictions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, some essential workers those rules could help protect are planning to make their voices heard in counterprotest. Deidre Torres is spear- heading a demonstration she calls “Essential not Sac- rifi cial” that will take place at noon on May 30, the same time as the “Herm- iston Freedom Rally” pro- test downtown. Participants plan to meet in their vehi- cles in the Bi-Mart parking lot, displaying signs calling for a safe reopening plan, and drive through town in a socially distanced form of protest. “We’ll be following the (Centers for Disease Control EO fi le photo A “Heroes Work Here” sign honors essential workers at Guardian Angel Homes in Hermiston in April. Deidre Torres hopes people will parade through town in support of social distancing rules that protect essential workers on May 30. and Prevention) guidelines to protect people, prevent exposure and keep everyone safe,” she said. Torres said she isn’t against reopening busi- nesses again in some form, but she objects to ideas espoused by at least some organizers of Reopen Hermiston that businesses shouldn’t be required to fol- low safety rules, such as wearing masks, and that mass gatherings should start again immediately. “I’m not necessarily against reopening, I’m just against a complete, unilat- eral reopening without a sci- ence-based plan,” she said. She said she just wants to make sure that local govern- ment offi cials know that not everyone agrees that every- thing should be opened up now. She said many essen- tial workers she knows are also worried not only about getting the virus, but also spreading it to others who are more vulnerable. “Everyone has made sacrifi ces,” she said. “I’m not able to attend my little brother’s graduation cere- mony. I’ve been quarantin- ing for two months. I hav- en’t hugged my mother for The Salvation Army thrift store is now open and ready for business two months.” Rebecca Wallace Corff, who is helping Torres orga- nize the event, said hospital workers are often “gagged” by privacy laws that don’t allow them to discuss details of what they have personally seen while treating COVID- 19 patients. But as a hospi- tal worker herself, what she can say is the things she has seen are enough to make her scared that people aren’t taking the virus seriously enough. “It’s a horrible disease,” she said. “You don’t want to get it, and you don’t want your kids to get it.” She said she hopes peo- ple will see the counter- protest and realize there is a “silent majority” that are in favor of practicing social distancing. A Gallup poll published May 19 found that 54% of Americans were “very confi dent” social distanc- ing measures saved lives, while 31% of respondents said they were “moderately confi dent.” Wallace Corff said she understands that when human beings are scared, they retreat to a place of denial as a way to handle their fears. But she said if people don’t trust the gov- ernment, she hopes they will trust doctors, nurses and other health care profes- sionals who want everyone to be safe and healthy. With dueling protests in Hermiston set for the same day, Essential not Sacrifi cial participants are encouraged to stay in their vehicles and not interact with protesters in either camp. A code of conduct for the event can be found on the Essential not Sacrifi cial Facebook page. Hermiston Herald CONGRATULATIONS By KATHY ANEY East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Salvation Army was stretched thin. The organization’s thrift store — its top source of income — closed in March along with most other retail business in Oregon. At the same time, more people started showing up at the noon meal offered six days a week at Salvation Army headquarters. “Instead of 30 or 40 peo- ple a day,” said Corps Offi cer DeWayne Halstad, “all of a sudden, it went up to 75, 100, 125, all the way up to about 150. It blew us away. There were a lot of people we had never seen before.” They varied demograph- ically from young children with their parents to senior citizens. To encourage social distancing, the lunch crew put meals in to-go containers and told diners to take them off-site. Eventually, the num- bers dipped back down a lit- tle, but hovers around 100. Feeding so many is expen- sive, especially without income from the store. “We lost about $80,000 from the store that would have helped with our feeding program,” he said. On Tuesday, when the thrift store reopened, Hals- tad seemed visibly relieved. Money would start fl owing back into the coffers. Cus- tomers, many who had called asking when the store would reopen, were coming back. They didn’t need much urging. The store opened early at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday and immediately people trickled in and started browsing. Six or seven employees, ringing up pur- chases, stocking shelves and cleaning, wore bright red masks emblazoned in white with “The Salvation Army.” Manager Rocky Newtson greeted familiar customers by name as they entered the store. “Hi, how are you,” she called. “It’s good to see our people coming back.” When one unmasked cus- tomer unexpectedly hugged her, she was caught off- guard, but relaxed into it for a second. The man wandered toward the clothing racks and was soon engrossed in shopping. Before COVID-19, Newt- son said 150 to 180 peo- Post a Congratulatory Message or Bio of your Senior. What you get: FOR JUST $25 • One Senior Pic • 50 words • Class of 2020 header • Bold Border • Extra words, $1 per Staff photo by Kathy Aney Iesha Brown, an employee of the Salvation Army Thrift Store, sorts through donated items on Tuesday shortly after the store reopened. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Averyal Thomas waits on a customer at the Salvation Army Thrift Store on Tuesday, the day the store reopened, after closing because of COVID-19 two months earlier. ple visited the store each day, with some 120 of them making purchases. In the fi rst hour after reopening on Tuesday, about 30 shoppers came and went, most carry- ing purchased items. Patrons will notice changes. Hand sanitizer is available at cashier sta- tions, which will eventually feature plexiglass sneeze shields. Dressing rooms are unavailable. Employees rou- tinely sanitize point-of-sale machines, doors and carts. Halstad didn’t seem wor- ried about all those peo- ple out there cleaning and purging their homes while self-quarantining who will eventually fi nd their way to the store with boxes and bags. He laughed at a photo he’d seen posted on Facebook of a car fi lled with donations, ready for the day the Salva- tion Army reopened. The VISIT US ON THE WEB AT: www.EastOregonian.com store will eventually get del- uged, he said, but until then, bring it on. Halstad praised those who helped the local Salva- tion Army feed an increased number of visitors during the time of reduced income from the store. “The community has been very supportive,” he said. “We put it out on Face- book that we needed food and people responded.” Deadline to get in your Senior is 5/22/20 Publishes: • East Oregonian - 5/30/20 • Hermiston Herald - 5/27/20 Please email all info to Rowan: rowan@eastoregonian.com Payment can also be made over the phone at: 541-278-2670
