REGION
Thursday, January 21, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
LOCAL BRIEFING
Masked man
reportedly attempts to
rob Hermiston Subway
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A protester holds a sign in opposition of the restamping of sidewalks with Confederate names along South-
east Byers Avenue during a city council meeting in Pendleton on Dec. 1, 2020.
Council bans sidewalk
stamp preservation
Snow is in the forecast
Mayor: Vote shows
city is responsive
to the concerns of
its residents
PENDLETON — The National
Weather Service is forecasting a
chance of snow reaching down
into the lower elevations of East-
ern Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 21,
through Friday, Jan. 22.
The forecast predicts a 50%
chance of snow in Pendleton on
Jan. 21 and a 20% chance on Jan.
22, with a low of 29 degrees on Jan.
21. As of Jan. 20, the chance of snow
for Hermiston was predicted at 40%
on Jan. 21 and 20% on Jan. 22, with
a low of 31 degrees on Jan. 21.
Accumulations through Pend-
leton, Hermiston and Boardman
are expected to be less than 1 inch.
Tollgate is expected to get between
3 and 4 inches, while Meacham is
expected to see 1 to 2 inches.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The city of
Pendleton will preserve sidewalk
stamps no more.
At a Tuesday, Jan. 19, meeting,
the Pendleton City Council unan-
imously voted to amend the city’s
historic preservation ordinance to
specifically prohibit the preserva-
tion of sidewalk stamps, defined
as “lettering imprinted in historic
sidewalks indicating street names,
dates or the name of the install-
ing contractor,” in the ordinance.
The council’s vote follows up on
Mayor John Turner’s December
2020 decision to halt the reinstal-
lation or restamp of four sidewalk
stamps commemorating Confed-
erate figures.
At the meeting, Turner said
the council’s vote was an indica-
tion the city was responsive to the
concerns of its residents, but for
Joshua Walker, it was “too little,
too late.”
In November 2020, Walker
broke a Jefferson Davis stamp and
nailed in a pro-Black Lives Matter
sign to it as an act of protest, lead-
ing to a misdemeanor criminal
mischief charge.
Walker said he had planned to
speak at the Jan. 19 meeting, where
he would read aloud excerpts from
Martin Luther King Jr.’s writings
and speeches that criticized Amer-
ica’s economic and racial systems,
and encouraged solidarity and
organization. But as the meeting
started, Walker got into an argu-
ment with Turner over Walker
taking his hat off, a longtime infor-
Hermiston Chamber
CEO leaving
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A concrete block referencing Jeff Davis Street sits on the sidewalk on
Southeast 11th Street in Pendleton on Nov. 11, 2020. The block, and
others referencing the original Pendleton street names, were removed
during the reconstruction of Southeast Byers Avenue and the surround-
ing sidewalks.
mal council chamber rule under
Turner. Walker said a police officer
attempted to escort him out of the
room, but he left voluntarily.
Walker said he regretted the
incident, but he maintained the
council’s failure to act on the
Confederate stamps sooner was
evidence of “microagression” and
even “macroagression.”
“In these times, you need to
make strong decisions about what
we can and cannot do,” he said.
Walker’s departure left activ-
ist Briana Spencer as the only
member of the audience to speak
for or against the ordinance.
Spencer said she appreciated
the council’s actions, but she urged
the council to go further, includ-
ing more outreach to marginalized
communities.
Turner encouraged Spencer to
join the Pendleton Historic Preser-
vation Commission, the group that
had originally decided to preserve
the stamps, which were affected
by street and sidewalk work
being done along Southeast Byers
Avenue. When Spencer said she
was unsure if there was an avail-
able spot for her on the commis-
sion, Turner said he would make
room for her.
Bells toll in honor of COVID-19 victims
U.S. moves past 400,000
dead during pandemic
HERMISTON — Hermis-
ton Chamber of Commerce CEO
Kimberly Rill is stepping down on
Feb. 12.
Rill said she has accepted a new
position as the education and work-
force training coordinator for the
Port of Morrow. She has served as
the chamber’s director and CEO
since April 2019.
“My time at
t he Her m iston
Chamber has been
wonder f ul and
I look for ward
to staying in the
region and continu-
ing to support the
Rill
business commu-
nity in my new position,” she said
in a news release.
The chamber’s board of directors
announced they are accepting appli-
cations for the role immediately. A
full job description will be posted
to the chamber’s website at hermis-
tonchamber.com and resumes can
be emailed to resumes@hermiston-
chamber.com by Feb. 5, 2021.
“Kim has been an exceptionally
energetic and talented manager, and
we are sorry to see her go,” Board
President Annette Kirkpatrick said
in the news release. “We wish her
all the best in her new position.”
Local bank names new
chief operations officer
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
MISSION — As Matt Henry
stood alone in front of St.
Andrew’s Mission on Tuesday,
Jan. 19, he checked his watch
repeatedly.
As his watch ticked over
to 2:30 p.m. the retired pastor
reached up, grasped the rope hang-
ing from the mission’s bell and
began to ring it. The sound of the
bell rolled across the neighboring
fields for four minutes as Henry
rang it, the rhythm changing only
briefly as he switched arms.
Henry said he rang the bell one
minute for every hundred thou-
sand people who have died as a
result of COVID-19 in the United
States. The U.S. COVID-19 death
toll crossed 400,000 people on Jan.
19, according to The Associated
Press.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he
said.
The bell ringing was a part of
a national movement to honor the
victims of COVID-19 through a
synchronized bell ringing begin-
ning at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Stan-
dard Time. Henry felt as though
the moment was both one of unity
and reflection on the last year, and
HERMISTON — Hermis-
ton Police responded to a reported
robbery on Saturday, Jan. 16, when
employees at a Subway say a masked
man entered the establishment at
closing time and attempted to rob
the business, according to Hermis-
ton Police Chief Jason Edmiston.
Officers were dispatched to the
Subway at around 9 p.m. on Jan.
16. Upon arrival, they learned that
the man, who allegedly wore a
dark facemask, dark clothing and
held a pocket knife, had entered the
establishment and jumped over the
counter while employees were clos-
ing the store.
The man then confronted an
employee at the back of the store.
The employee ran through the
back door, and as she attempted to
close the door behind her, the man
barreled through, knocked her to the
ground and fled.
Police are continuing to inves-
tigate the incident on counts of
menacing and harassment, accord-
ing to Edmiston.
“We would encourage all busi-
nesses to be very aware of their
surroundings especially around
closing,” Edmiston said in an email
to the newsroom.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Matt Henry rings the bell at St. Andrew’s Mission in honor of those who
have lost their lives to COVID-19 on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021.
wanted to bring that to the church
he attends.
“I knew it was going to be an
isolated thing, but I asked the
priest and he said it would be
great,” he said.
Henry, a retired pastor, likened
the moment to one he experienced
while serving as the pastor at the
First United Methodist Church
in Pendleton in the early 2000s.
Henry said the church held a
remembrance service for those
killed in action as a result of the
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We had a special requiem
service for the dead one night and
it was just about 2,000 dead at
that point,” he said. “Three other
people and I rang that [gong] for
every name — we’d read a name
and ring the gong — it was a fitting
thing to do.”
Henry said he felt it was
important to find ways to honor
those who have died and felt as
though he could do his part by
ringing the bell at St. Andrew’s
Mission as a sign of remembrance.
“I think we owe it to the dead
— we owe something to the dead,”
he said.
HEPPNER — The Bank of
Eastern Oregon has named a new
executive vice president and chief
operations officer, according to a
press release.
Becky Kindle will assume the
role, following Gary Propheter, who
plans to retire later in 2021.
Kindle started
her career with
Bank of Eastern
Oregon in 1998.
She has worked in
virtually all areas
of operations, most
recently serving as
Kindle
senior vice pres-
ident and chief
banking officer. She is a graduate of
Pacific Coast Banking School and
past recipient of Oregon Banker’s
Association’s Presidential Award,
given annually to the outstanding
committee chair of the trade orga-
nization.
“Becky has been instrumental in
the growth of our bank as we have
expanded across Eastern Oregon,
Eastern Washington and Western
Idaho,” said Jeff Bailey, president
and chief executive officer. ”Her
knowledge, leadership, and the
respect she has earned from her
fellow employees as well as bank-
ing industry peers is quite impres-
sive.”
Becky resides in Heppner with
her husband, Jim, and they have
two adult children. She is active in
numerous civic activities, currently
serving as board chair for Morrow
County School District.
“I am excited to continue my
work with our fabulous team of
bankers,” Kindle said. “Our bank-
ers truly appreciate living and
working in our communities;
serving the banking needs of our
customers, and helping our commu-
nities thrive. Our bank’s culture
encourages growth from within
the organization and I appreciate
the opportunity and faith that the
board places in me.”
School board supports
superintendent amid
COVID-19 challenges
HELIX — The Helix School
Board conducted an evaluation
of Helix School District Superin-
tendent/Principal Darrick Cope
and concluded that he has done an
“excellent job” at accomplishing
a variety of feats despite the chal-
lenges presented by the coronavi-
rus pandemic, according to a press
release from the board.
The school board noted that in
the past year, Cope has helped the
district navigate the “State require-
ments and District implications”
brought on by
COVID-19.
Among Cope’s
accomplishments
were implementing
K-5 math curric-
ulum intended to
increase assess-
Cope
ment scores, a
remote instruction
option for high school students
taking foreign language classes,
and an evaluation and assessment
procedure to check on ninth-grad-
ers’ progress to promote increased
graduation rates.
The board noted the pandemic
and state shutdown forced the
district to make many adjustments,
but added that Cope “handled these
demands directly and effectively.”
Cope navigated and stayed
up-to-date on the ever-changing
state metrics that came at the whim
of the pandemic, the board said,
and helped manage the district’s
response.
Cope was also able to secure a
certified teacher from the La Grande
School District to provide virtual
instruction to students, which the
district intends to continue for the
foreseeable future.
Umatilla County
reports 68th
COVID-19 death
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County Public Health announced
three COVID-19-related deaths on
Wednesday, Jan. 20, and one death
on Tuesday, Jan. 19, bringing the
county’s total up to 71 deaths.
The county’s 68th death of a
person with COVID-19, announced
Jan. 19, was a 56-year-old male who
tested positive on Dec. 17, 2020, and
died on Dec. 30, 2020, at St. Anthony
Hospital in Pendleton. This individ-
ual had underlying medical condi-
tions, according to the press release.
The 69th death to be announced
was an 82-year-old female who
tested positive on Dec. 23, 2020,
and died on Dec. 30 at Trios Medical
Center in Kennewick, Washington.
She had underlying medical condi-
tions.
The 70th death of a person
presumed to have COVID-19 was a
62-year-old male who died on Jan. 9
at his residence in Umatilla County.
The death certificate listed COVID-
19 as a contributing cause of death,
according to the news release.
Umatilla County’s 71st death
presumed to have COVID-19 is a
72-year-old male who died on Jan. 8
at his residence in Umatilla County.
The death certificate listed COVID-
19 as a contributing cause of death.
The announcements come as the
health department reported 53 new
cases on Jan. 20 and 162 new cases
on Jan. 19, bringing the county’s total
to 6,856 total cases reported in the
county since the pandemic began.
The Jan. 19 case count includes
totals for the weekend and Monday,
Jan. 18.
Morrow County reported three
new cases on Jan. 20 and 23 new
cases on Jan. 19, for a total of 945
since the pandemic began. The
county has reported 10 deaths.
— EO Media Group
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