REGION
Thursday, April 29, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
LOCAL BRIEFING
Umatilla School
District offers
summer activities
U.S. Forest Service/Contributed Photo
Yellow morel mushrooms are edible and were found in the Umatilla National Forest in 2017.
Forest officials welcome fungi
foragers for this year’s pickings
By CHLOE LEVALLEY
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
PENDLETON — Mush-
room hunting season is
underway as the snow
recedes in the Blue Moun-
tains and fungi return to the
forest floor, the U.S. Forest
Service announced earlier
this month.
Hunters gathering mush-
rooms for personal consump-
tion in the Umatilla National
Forest need no permit to
harvest or transport less
than 1 gallon in Oregon or
5 gallons in Washington. A
permit is required for people
who harvest to sell.
Commercial pickers, who
plan to camp in the forest,
will also need an industrial
camping permit.
Many forest roads are
still not accessible due to
mud and snow, and travel-
ing on wet mountain roads
and terrain can be dangerous
and cause resource damage,
which can be illegal, accord-
ing to a release.
“We do still have quite a
bit of snow,” Public Affairs
Officer Darcy Weseman
said.
Forest officials advise
hunters to check and make
sure they know the condi-
tions and road status before
heading out.
Some common edible
mushrooms found in the
Umatilla National Forest
include blonde or white
morels, fall bolete, blue
chanterelle, sheep polypore
mushroom and white chan-
terelle, Weseman said.
“Many wild mushroom
varieties are poisonous,” the
release stated.
Forest officials encourage
people to use plant guide-
books or contact their local
county extension offices
for more information about
mushroom varieties.
“When in doubt, throw it
out,” Weseman said. “With
all wild mushrooms, people
should not eat or touch them
unless they are certain of the
identification.”
MORE
INFORMATION
When picking mush-
rooms, follow these
guidelines:
• Use a knife to cut mush-
rooms at their base to
reduce disturbance to
the soil and help mush-
rooms continue grow-
ing in that location.
• Carry mushrooms in
a net bag to preserve
them and allow spores
to spread for future
production.
• Give wildlife plenty of
space and leave new-
borns alone.
• Practice “leave no trace”
ethics, and take all trash
home.
• Commercial mushroom
picking is prohibited in
wilderness, research, or
any closed areas.
For more details, fees and
conditions, go to ubne.
ws/2qarplG.
City anticipating $3.6M in stimulus
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston City Council is
holding off on firm decisions
about how to spend the $3.6
million the city anticipates
from the American Rescue
Plan, but city staff and coun-
cilors discussed a list of ideas
during their Monday, April
26, meeting.
The latest federal stim-
ulus package, designed to
speed recovery from the
pandemic, includes direct
payments to cities and coun-
ties to help make up for lost
revenue and spur local recov-
ery programs. City Manager
Byron Smith said the city
expects to get $3.6 million —
half this summer, and half in
summer 2022.
The city has lost about
$800,000 in revenue from
the pandemic, mostly from
the early shutdown of the
aquatic center in summer
2020 and loss of rental fees
at city-owned venues, includ-
ing park shelters and the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center. City Finance
Director Mark Krawczyk
said department heads have
done a “yeoman’s job” of
only spending on “mission
critical” items to try to make
up for it, but the losses have
still cost the city. In Septem-
ber and October of 2020, the
city’s general fund dipped
below the minimum reserve
level set by the council.
“I’m not ready to say we’re
gonna be back to normal by
the end of the fiscal year or
even going into the first part
of fiscal 2022 in July, but the
signs say, I think, we have
bottomed out on our revenue
(losses),” Krawczyk said.
Smith told the council he
would recommend a part of
the ARP funds go into stabi-
lizing the city’s general fund
to make sure the balance
doesn’t go below the mini-
mum reserve again.
Another top recommen-
dation by staff was to work
with Community Action
Program of East Central
Oregon to seed a perma-
nent fund to help people pay
their utility bills if they are
struggling financially. Smith
said when the city provided
funds to CAPECO last year,
using CARES Act dollars,
the regional nonprofit did a
good job of providing thor-
ough reports to the city on
who received help.
“I was very pleased with
how it went,” he said.
Smith also suggested
setting aside some money to
assist businesses that were
hardest hit by pandemic
restrictions.
Beyond that, he said, there
are a number of economic
development or livability
projects the city could put
some money into. They could
launch the second phase of
improvements to the South
Hermiston Industrial Park,
for example, or start early
on a planned project to pave
and extend Gettman Road
to Highway 395, provid-
ing another alternate route
across town. The money
could also be put toward
building another water tank,
increasing broadband access
or starting on the West Trails
Project that west Umatilla
County cities have been
planning to stretch along
the Umatilla River from the
Columbia River to Echo.
With all of those options,
however, Smith recom-
mended the council hold off
on a decision. The Amer-
ican Rescue Plan has also
provided a significant amount
of money to various state
and federal agencies that
will likely be offering up the
funds in the form of grants,
he said, and grants usually
require a local match. Smith
said if the city doesn’t rush to
spend all of the funds imme-
diately, it may be able to
leverage some of those funds
into a much larger grant.
UMATILLA — Umatilla
School District has opened
registration for summer learn-
ing opportunities, including a
six-week summer school.
Students in kindergar-
ten through eighth grade can
participate in a mix of tradi-
tional summer school and
STEAM Camp (science,
technology, engineering,
art and math) from June 21
to July 29, Monday through
Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. Meals and busing
are provided.
Superintendent Heidi Sipe
said they will be emphasiz-
ing a “screen free summer
school” experience, with
plenty of hands-on learning,
field trips and outdoor activ-
ities.
Child care for students
from kindergarten through
fifth grade is available from
June 21 to July 29 from
3:30-7 p.m. Monday through
Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to
7 p.m. on Fridays. It is also
available Aug. 1-13 from
7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday
through Friday. Meals are
provided.
High school students can
participate in credit recov-
ery classes throughout the
summer and have an oppor-
tunity to apply for summer
internships for credit, some of
which are paid. High school
students interested in apply-
ing for an internship should
email williamss@umatil-
lasd.org.
Summer learning oppor-
tunities are being funded by
several grants, Sipe said, and
there is room for all of the
district’s students who would
like to participate.
Registration forms and
more information can be
found at umatilla.k12.or.us/
live-feed#1477972.
Firewood permits
available May 1
PENDLETON — Person-
al-use firewood cutting
permits from the Umatilla
National Forest will be on
sale Saturday, May 1, through
Nov. 30.
Permits are $5 per cord
with a minimum purchase of
four cords and yearly maxi-
mum of 12 per household.
Local vendors will sell
firewood permits in four-
cord packets with a $2 fee per
packet. Vendors include Walla
Walla Ranger District, 1415
W. Rose St., Walla Walla,
Washington, 509-522-6290;
Pomeroy Ranger District,
71 W. Main St., Pomeroy,
Washington, 509-843-1891;
and the Supervisor’s Office,
72510 Coyote Road, Pendle-
ton, 541-278-3716.
Permit are also avail-
able directly from the Forest
Service. For more information
call 541-278-3716, email r6_
umatilla_public_inquiries@
fs.fed.us or visit ubne.ws/fire-
woodinfo.
Permits are not required
for tribal members exercis-
ing Treaty rights, but they
should be in possession of
valid enrollment identification
when cutting or transporting
firewood.
going to turn out. We’re just
hopeful it’s going to be a
massive event.”
Oregon Rural Action, a
grassroots organization that
aims to promote social justice,
diversity and the environment
in rural Oregon communities,
will also be assisting with the
clinic, providing personal
protective equipment, sani-
tation and information about
COVID-19, Garcia said.
People who wish to
receive the vaccine are not
required to have health insur-
ance, according to an adver-
tisement provided by Garcia.
Though the clinic is open
to anybody who wants a
vaccine, Garcia and other
community members have
been reaching out via Spanish
radio shows and advertise-
ments to encourage Hispanic
and Latino residents through-
out Eastern Oregon to get
vaccinated.
Hermiston vaccine
clinic to be held at
Catholic church
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston School District
and Good Shepherd Health
Care System opened the
Wellness Clinic at Hermis-
ton High School on April 21.
Staffed by Good Shep-
herd Urgent Care medical
providers, the clinic will be
open to students, district
staff and children of staff
on Mondays from 8 a.m. to
noon and Wednesdays from
noon to 4 p.m. Services
include diagnosis and treat-
ment of illness, vaccines,
routine checkups and sports
physicals.
For students that are
under 18 years of age, a
parent or legal guardian
must sign a parental consent
form and complete a medical
history form and return it to
the clinic before the student
can receive care. If insurance
is available, the clinic will
bill the insurance company.
Call 541-667-6199 to
schedule an appointment or
walk in during hours of oper-
ation.
— EO Media Group and
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
HERMISTON — A
vaccine clinic run by state
health officials and several
Eastern Oregon groups will
be held at the Our Lady of
Angels Catholic Church in
Hermiston on Friday, April
30, and Saturday, May 1,
according to the event’s orga-
nizer.
The vaccines will be
provided and administered
by health officials with the
Oregon Health Authority
and the local Bi-Mart Phar-
macy. Also running the event
are Hermiston community
members with New Hori-
zons, Agape House and the
Hermiston Hispanic Advi-
sory Committee.
“We’re making a super-
human effort to reach out,”
said Jose Garcia, the founder
of New Horizons and chair
of the Hermiston Hispanic
Advisory Committee who
helped organize the clinic.
“We’ll see how this event is
Hermiston School
District reopens
Wellness Clinic
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