REGION
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
East Oregonian
A3
Grant blazes path for summer fi re position
Eli Hernandez
spent three months
with Pilot Rock
Fire District as
seasonal employee
By TAMMY MALGESINI
For the East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — As a
fi rst-grader watching fi re-
fi ghters battle a blaze at his
family’s Pendleton home,
Eli Hernandez knew what he
wanted to do
for a living.
Fast for-
ward
15
years later
and
the
21-year-old
just fi nished
up a three-
Stanton
month posi-
tion as the
Pilot Rock Fire District sum-
mer seasonal employee. Her-
nandez, who has been a vol-
unteer with the department
for a little more than three
years, was thrilled with the
opportunity to get paid to
work as a fi refi ghter. But
even more, he said the posi-
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Eli Hernandez poses for a picture outside of the Pilot Rock Fire District building in Pilot Rock
on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020.
tion provided him with the
chance to help his commu-
nity in the best way possible.
“I consider deep down
in my heart Pilot Rock to be
my community,” Hernandez
said. “It was nice to help the
community and I want to do
that wherever I go.”
After gaining approval
from the Pilot Rock Fire Dis-
trict board of directors, fi re
chief Scott Stanton wrote
a grant request for funding
to help pay for the position.
The Special Districts Asso-
ciation of Oregon awarded
the matching grant, which
resulted in the ability to pay
Hernandez to be onsite at the
Free help is available for
Medicare open enrollment
Open enrollment
period runs
until Dec. 7
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Medi-
care open enrollment starts
Thursday, Oct. 15, and
Good Shepherd Health Care
System is offering area res-
idents free help in fi nding
the right plan.
Jessica Reker, director of
education for Good Shep-
herd, said the hospital won’t
be able to offer its usual
Medicare events because
of COVID-19, but people
can sign up for one-on-
one appointments in per-
son, over the phone or via
video chat through Senior
Health Insurance Benefi ts
Assistance.
Trained counselors can
help people sign up for
Medicare for the fi rst time
or check to see if they would
benefi t from any changes to
the coverage they have.
The open enrollment
period, which runs from
Oct. 15 to Dec. 7, is the
only time of the year peo-
ple can make changes to
their coverage. Darla Irwin,
senior services coordina-
tor for Good Shepherd, said
every year new plans come
on the market, coverage and
pricing for existing plans
changes, and patients often
have changes in their med-
ications that might be bet-
ter covered under a differ-
ent plan.
This year, for exam-
ple, the federal govern-
ment is rolling out changes
to Medicare to offer more
affordable options for peo-
ple on insulin. And Eastern
Oregon residents will have
a new Medicare Advantage
option through Summit
Health, which was recently
formed by several hospitals
in the region.
“This is a good time to
check what’s new,” Irwin
said. “I know a couple of
the new plans available this
year are a little cheaper.”
To get help fi guring out
what coverage works best
for them, patients can call
the hospital’s education
department at 541-667-3509
to schedule an appointment.
“If someone does not
want to come into the offi ce,
they can do it virtually or
by phone,” Reker said. “We
will mail them everything
they need.”
For their appointment,
patients should have their
Medicare card and a list of
their current medications
with them. If they have let-
ters from the Social Secu-
rity offi ce or Department
of Human Services regard-
ing their coverage, those
are helpful as well. It will
also save time if they have
already created a login for
www.medicare.gov
and
have their password and
user name ready, but coun-
selors can assist with that if
needed.
Reker said they expect a
rush of appointment-mak-
ing near the end of the
open enrollment period,
and recommended that peo-
ple make their appointment
soon to avoid a backlog.
For people who wish
to sign up for Medicare
on their own or want to
be better prepared for
their appointment with
a counselor, a “Medi-
care 101” video is avail-
able on the Good Shepherd
Health Care System You-
Tube page at youtube.com/
watch?v=giwh0C-zIsc.
fi re hall during regular busi-
ness hours Monday through
Friday.
Stanton and Pilot Rock
Mayor Virginia Carnes, who
also serves on the fi re district
board, said it was a great ben-
efi t to the community to have
the station manned during
the week. Stanton said choos-
ing Hernandez for the posi-
tion was a no-brainer because
he had the familiarity and
necessary qualifi cations.
“We’re an all-volunteer
organization and having
someone at the station having
the equipment ready when
a call comes in is huge,”
Carnes said. “It’s been good
for Eli, too, because he can
determine if he wants to pur-
sue fi re services as a career.
He was able to get more
experience.”
“He’s already a Pilot Rock
volunteer, so he knows the
area and equipment,” Stanton
added.
Having someone onsite
throughout the week, Stan-
ton said, helped with things
like checking the vehicles
on a regular basis, building
and grounds maintenance,
having someone on hand to
answer citizens’ questions
and even something as sim-
ple as being available for
deliveries. Especially with
the busy summer fi re season,
Stanton said it was nice not
having to track down a pack-
age that was being shipped to
the fi re district — Hernandez
was right there to receive it.
“I made sure our equip-
ment and apparatus was up
to standards and ready to go
on fi re scenes,” Hernandez
said. “I also did a lot of clean-
ing and I painted the station
— it hadn’t been painted for
awhile.”
Carnes said it was very
helpful to have the fi nancial
support for a summer sea-
sonal employee. In addition,
she said the fi re district was
able to evaluate the benefi ts
of having someone onsite
during regular business
hours. Stanton and Carnes
hope to fi gure out a way to
fund such a position in the
future.
As for Hernandez, the
summer experience solidi-
fi ed his resolve to continue
pursuing needed education
and training to obtain a posi-
tion as a full-time fi refi ghter.
He’s also interested in par-
ticipating in a program to
become an emergency med-
ical technician (EMT).
For more information
about volunteer fi refi ghting
opportunities, contact Rich
Cearns, training coordina-
tor/division chief, at 541-567-
8822 or rcearns@ucfd1.com.
A golden glow
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
The sun breaks briefl y below some low-lying clouds as it sets beyond the Spoff ord Eleva-
tor north of Milton-Freewater last week. Rain and wind are in the immediate forecast, ac-
cording to the National Weather Service, with a high-wind watch issued for the Pendleton
area on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from early afternoon through the evening with sustained winds
35-45 mph and some higher gusts expected. Milder winds are likely to continue into Oct.
14, but by Oct. 15 the sun should be out, with temperatures rising back into the high 60s.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Fourth natural
resource leadership
class announced
SALEM — Twenty-three
professionals from around
the state were selected as
members of Oregon’s fourth
Resource Education and Ag
Leadership (REAL) class,
according to a press release.
The class includes repre-
sentatives from Eastern Ore-
gon, such as Chad Mueller
of Oregon State University
and Eastern Oregon Uni-
versity, Ted Netter of Lower
Bridge Hay and Cattle in
Terrebonne, Jacob Putney
of the Oregon State Univer-
sity Extension in Baker City
and Randi Svaty of North-
west Farm Credit Services
in Ontario.
“The
participants
selected are well-qualifi ed
applicants and refl ect a bal-
anced mix of resource pro-
ducers, foresters, trans-
portation
professionals,
agri-businesses represen-
tatives, University faculty,
and non-profi t employees,”
the organization’s program
director Greg Addington
stated in the release.
REAL Oregon brings
together a mix of operators,
managers, suppliers, service
providers, affi liated profes-
sionals and leaders in agri-
culture, fi shing, forestry,
fi nance and transportation
for a series of fi ve sessions
around the state.
“The annual leader-
ship program exposes this
cross-section of profession-
als to the wide range of Ore-
gon’s geography, economy,
and culture through train-
VISIT US ON THE WEB AT:
www.EastOregonian.com
ing in board governance,
communication skills, con-
fl ict resolution, govern-
ment interaction, public
policy work, critical think-
ing, media relations, profes-
sional presentations, pub-
lic speaking, relationship
building, and other areas,”
the release stated.
The class will begin the
program in November with
graduation slated for March
2021. The organization will
begin recruiting for its fi fth
class in winter, according to
the release.
— EO Media Group
OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY
Please Welcome
Christopher Bowen, DO,
OB/GYN
Good Shepherd Health Care
System is pleased to welcome
Dr. Christopher Bowen,
OB/GYN, to Good Shepherd
Women’s Center.
10/9-10/15
Cineplex Show Times
Theater seating will adhere to social distancing protocols
Every showing $7.50 per person (ages 0-3 still free)
The War
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2:40p 5:20p 8:00p
Dr. Bowen received the Teaching
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in 2017. He is trained in da Vinci
Robotics for surgeries such as
hysterectomies.
Coco (PG)
1:00p 3:50p 6:40p
Tenet (PG-13)
2:00p 7:00p
Timeshare Cancellation
Get your free information kit
and see if you qualify:
855-385-4473
Hocus Pocus (PG)
4:30p 7:20p
Possessor (NR)
1:40p 7:40p
Alone (R)
1:20p 5:00p
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
“
GOOD SHEPHERD
WOMEN’S CENTER
541.667.3801
620 NW 11th Street, Suite 103
Hermiston, OR 97838
Trust is an integral part of patient
care. My goal is to give my patients
the peace of mind that their trust will
never be underestimated or abused.
-Dr. Bowen
Welcoming
New Patients
”