A6
COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
Yellowhawk begins vaccinating teens
Approximately 60
teens sign up for
vaccination clinic
By BEN LONERGAN
East Oregonian
M I LT ON - F R E E WA-
TER — A summer of fun
is ready to splash its way
into Milton-Freewater as
the Splash Pad is set for a
ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The water feature, which
is located at Freewater Park,
will open starting Wednes-
day, May 26, with the formal
grand opening at 2 p.m. at
the park, 722 N. Main St.,
Milton-Freewater.
The Milton-Freewa-
ter Rotary Club expressed
thanks to its members, the
community and all those
that made donations. That
includes the Milton-Freewa-
ter Area Foundation, the Ford
Family Foundation, Eurus,
Wildhorse Foundation, the
city of Milton-Freewater,
Don Jackson Excavating,
Monahan, Grove & Tucker,
the family of Thelma Garton,
Munselle Rhodes Funeral
Home, Walla Walla Electric,
Carter Plumbing, Earl Brown
& Sons, Central Washington
Asphalt, Gordon Electric,
Rep. Greg Smith, Northwest
Steel, Walla Walla Nursery,
David and Bonnie Shannon,
Leslie and Leonard Brown,
Dan and Kathy Lonai, and
Bill Albee. Their contribu-
tions helped in making the
project a reality, said Molly
Hasenbank in a press release.
For more information, call
541-938-5531 or visit www.
mfcity.com.
MISSION — Harley
Gone rolled up his sleeve
and closed his eyes as phar-
macist Angie Dearing gently
slid a needle into his left arm
and administered his fi rst
dose of the Pfizer-BioN-
Tech COVID-19 vaccine at
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center on Saturday, May 15.
“It wasn’t too bad,”
the 12-year-old said after
reopening his eyes.
Gone was the last member
of his family to be vacci-
nated; his father, Julian Gone
Jr., and his father’s girlfriend
had received their shots
earlier and were anxiously
awaiting the opportunity for
one to be available to Harley.
“There’s only three of us
in our family and while my
girlfriend and I have been
vaccinated for a while, he
was the only one that didn’t,”
said Julian Gone Jr. “I think
he’s kind of glad too. He
didn’t seem displeased and
he was all game for getting
the shot.”
Julian Gone Jr. added that
his family has been pretty
careful about COVID-19 and
Harley has limited his activ-
ities to school and hanging
out with his brother when he
visits.
“It’s great to get to hear
them laugh,” said Julian.
“He’s really cautious about
COVID.”
Despite loosening restric-
tions, the Gone family has
pretty much kept to them-
selves, Julian Gone said,
adding he thinks they will
be more comfortable once
everyone is vaccinated.
“We’re kind of thinking,
‘I’ll relax when everyone is
vaccinated,’” he said, adding
he was considered high risk.
When asked why he
wanted to get the vaccine,
Harley said he wanted to
get it to keep his family
safe, a trend that Yellow-
hawk’s acting mental health
manager and lead mental
health school-based clini-
cian, Cindy Cecil, said is
common among teenagers.
“I think that with what
First Draft poet
relates to audience
members
Inland Musicians tune up for weekend performances
Contributed Photo
Pendleton High School senior MacElle Kirsch won a competi-
tion for her paper collage art piece entitled “North American
Bobcat in the Snow”
PHS senior wins
congressional art
contest
PENDLETON — A piece
of art made by a Pendleton
High School student will
soon hang in the halls of
Congress.
On Friday, May 14, the
Pendleton School District
announced that senior
MacElle Kirsch had won
the 2021 Congressional Art
Competition for Oregon’s
2nd Congressional District.
Kirsch’s winning piece is a
paper collage entitled “North
American Bobcat in the
Snow.”
According to a press
release, Kirsch said she’s
always preferred depict-
ing animals in her artwork
and her winning piece was
modeled after a picture from
a game camera.
“Nothing is more enjoy-
able than to form a mental
image in one’s own mind,
and then replicate it onto a
physical canvas,” she said in
the press release.
K i rsch has al ready
won accolades for her past
artwork, winning Best in
Show for Student Work at the
Open Regional Exhibit at the
Pendleton Center for the Arts
for a diff erent piece, “Suma-
tran Tiger in the Jungle.”
In a statement, Pendleton
High School art teacher Alice
Thomas praised Kirsch for
the preparation and meticu-
lousness she puts into her
work.
“MacElle is original in her
concepts, and comes up with
unique ideas,” Thomas said.
“She trusts her instincts, is
extremely refl ective and can
talk and write about her art
with ease and intelligence.”
The Congressional Art
Competition is a national
contest meant to showcase
art from high school students
from each of the country’s
435 congressional districts.
Kirsch will soon get the
chance to travel to Washing-
ton, D.C., and view her art at
the U.S. Capitol, where it will
be displayed for the next year.
After high school, Kirsch
plans to attend Blue Moun-
tain Community College
before eventually transfer-
ring to a four-year university.
Milton-Freewater
native earns
Weber State honors
O G DE N , Ut a h —
Weber State University
awarded Sydney Dibble of
Milton-Freewater the honor
of High Academic Excel-
lence for the spring 2021
semester. Dibble is studying
health sciences in the Dumke
College of Health Profes-
sions.
More than 4,300
students, representing 28%
of Weber State undergrad-
uates, received the honor
of Academic Excellence in
the spring, signifying they
maintained a GPA of at least
3.5. Of those 4,300, approx-
imately 1,300 students
earned the distinction of
High Academic Excellence
for maintaining a 4.0 GPA,
representing 8% of the
student body.
Get soaked at the
M-F Splash Pad
PENDLETON — Poet
Jennifer Perrine is surprised
at how often she hears audi-
ence members say, “I had
an experience like that, and
I always thought I was the
only one.”
Perrine is featured during
the upcoming First Draft
Writers’ Series. The event is
Thursday, May at 7 p.m. on
the Zoom platform. The link
is available via www.pend-
letonarts.org/fi rst-draft or by
emailing director@pendlet-
onarts.org.
Perrine is the author of
four books of poetry. Her
poems often address the
intersections between lived
experience and systems
of power, using personal
stories to illuminate and
disrupt dominant narratives
about gender, race, sexual-
ity, disability, religion, capi-
talism, anthropocentrism and
American exceptionalism.
After Perrine’s presen-
tation, local writers, both
professional and amateur, are
invited to read 3-5 minutes
from their own original work
during an open mic.
In its eighth year, the
First Draft Writers’ Series
features notable authors
from the Pacifi c Northwest.
For more information, visit
www.pendletonarts.org or
call 541-310-7413.
— EO Media Group
VISIT US
ON THE
WEB
EastOregonian.com
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Harley Gone, 12, closes his eyes as he receives his fi rst dose of the Pfi zer-BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine from pharmacist Angie Dearing during a vaccination clinic for teenagers at Yellow-
hawk Tribal Health Center in Mission on Saturday, May 15, 2021.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Anson Dressler, 14, shows off his Band-Aid after receiving
his fi rst shot of the Pfi zer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at
Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center in Mission on Saturday,
May 15, 2021.
I’ve seen in the schools most
of the kids are like, ‘You
know what, this is some-
thing that I’m not necessar-
ily doing for me — because
I have a strong immune
system — this is something
I’m doing for my family, for
my elders,’” she said.
Cecil went on to explain
that she’s seen a mix of inter-
est in the vaccine in children,
even in her own kids. She
said many kids have parents
who have been vaccinated
and are awaiting the oppor-
tunity themselves, while
others are anxious.
“I think this has been
something that kiddos have
been waiting for,” she said.
“Just like with any popula-
tion some kids are anxious,
some kids aren’t — some are
excited, some aren’t.”
Dr. James Winde, a
family medicine doctor at
Yellowhawk, added that
those who came in for their
vaccine seemed excited
about the opportunity and
came ready with lots of ques-
tions.
“The kids are kind of
excited,” he said. “I think
this age group has suff ered
probably, emotionally, a lot
more than the other groups.”
Winde said getting
vaccines to kids would help
aid the emotional toll of the
pandemic and credited the
quick response time from
the CTUIR with helping to
get a vaccination event set
up for teenagers less than a
week after the vaccine was
approved for use in children
By TAMMY
MALGESINI
East Oregonian
UMATILLA COUNTY
— It’s been more than a year
since the Inland Northwest
Musicians have presented a
concert. And R. Lee Friese,
music director/conductor,
is looking forward to the
opportunity to perform.
“W hat we do with
presenting music is it
enhances and enriches
people’s lives … something
we can all use right now,”
he said. “By the same token,
we want to follow the guide-
lines.”
The Inland Northwest
String Orchestra, which
includes 18 musicians, has
been tuning up its instru-
ments for a pair of concerts
this weekend. The ensem-
ble will present “Spring
String Orchestra” on Satur-
day, May 22, at the Stan-
field Baptist Church, 310
E. Wheeler Ave., and on
Sunday, May 23, at the Pend-
leton Seventh-day Adventist
Church, 1401 S.W. Goodwin
Place. Both concerts begin
at 4 p.m. There is no admis-
sion charge, but donations
are gladly accepted.
Friese said one of the
organization’s ensembles
was preparing for a May
2020 performance when
Gov. Kate Brown’s stay
home executive order was
issued — forcing musicians
to put away their instru-
ments and rest their voices.
As the 2020 holiday
season was approaching,
the group’s spirits were
raised with the possibility of
fi nally presenting a concert.
However, their hopes were
dashed when an increase in
COVID-19 cases resulted in
a “two-week freeze,” which
was immediately followed
Photo contributed by Lukes Photos
Under the direction of R. Lee Friese, the Inland Northwest
Musicians String Orchestra will present a pair of concerts
on Saturday, May 22, and Sunday, May 23, in Hermiston
and Pendleton.
by restrictions on indoor
gatherings continuing into
the new year.
“We had four rehears-
als, and then the county was
declared ‘extreme risk’ so
we were shut down,” Friese
said. “So, here we are again.”
During the weekend
performances, Friese said
the musicians will be wear-
ing masks. In addition, audi-
ence members are asked to
observe safety protocols,
including wearing masks.
The sanctuaries at both
venues, Friese said, allow for
adequate spacing for social
distancing with those living
outside people’s immediate
households.
The program includes
“Suite for Strings” by John
Rutter, which features
a collection of four folk
songs: “A-roving,” “I Have
a Bonnet Trimmed with
Blue,” “O Waly Waly” and
“Dashing Away with the
Smoothing Iron.” Other
pieces include “Brook Green
Suite” by Gustav Holst,
“Bases Loaded” by Carrie
Lane Gruselle, “Blue-
Fire Fiddler” by Soon Hee
Newbold, “Shenandoah”
arranged by Erik Morales,
“Humoresque” by Antonin
Dvorak, and “Folk Tune and
Fiddle Dance” by Percy E.
Fletcher.
“Our last live perfor-
mance was in February
2020, so this is a very excit-
ing and difficult reentry
into the live performance
ages 12 and up.
The weekend clinic was
open to anyone ages 12 or
older who is a member of the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
or works for a CTUIR entity.
Yellowhawk Tribal Health
Center Human Resources
Director Aaron Hines said
roughly 60 people signed up
for the clinic in advance.
For the Dressler family,
14-year-old Anson Dressler’s
vaccination marked one step
closer to the family being
fully vaccinated, with only
Dressler’s younger brother
still intelligible for the
vaccine. While Dressler was
excited to receive his vacci-
nation, he said he was a bit
nervous going into it.
“It feels pretty good,” he
said. “I thought it was going
to hurt worse than it did, but
it was good.”
For Dressler’s mother,
Dusty Dressler, the vaccine
is an opportunity to breathe
a sigh of relief to know
one more member of her
family is vaccinated. Dusty
Dressler, who works as a
dietician at Yellowhawk,
said she got her son signed
up as soon as Yellowhawk
announced availability.
“We feel like it’s import-
ant for the community,” she
said. “His dad and I both
work in health care, so we
feel it’s important for our
family and for the commu-
nity.”
world amid a pandemic,”
said Karen Baxter, program
manager.
Friese said while some of
the organization’s member-
ship maintained contact
throughout the past year,
many typically only connect
as a concert nears. The board
of directors, he said, sent
periodic emails to provide
updates for the musicians.
The nonprofit organi-
zation also was busy with
fundraising eff orts. In addi-
tion to applying for grants,
Friese said they were able
to access some programs
designed to help organiza-
tions impacted by the global
pandemic.
Baxter said they focused
on diversifying their fund-
raising eff orts. They utilized
the creativity of members
and donations from others
to serve as vendors at area
bazaars, including one held
outdoors this past winter
when the mercury dipped
down to 25 degrees.
Friese said the public can
provide financial support
in several ways, including
“attending a fundraising
event or coming to a concert
and sharing in the spirit of
event and if they choose to
make a donation, they can
do that.”
Founded in 1999, Inland
Nor t hwest Mu sicia n s
features several ensembles,
including a full symphony
orchestra, a chorale and a
youth/preparatory orchestra.
A classical music organiza-
tion, they travel throughout
the region to provide free
music to rural audiences.
For more information,
contact 541-289- 4696,
inw m@mach media.net
or visit www.inlandnorth-
westmusicians.com or www.
facebook.com/InlandNorth-
westMusicians.