GRADUATION
ROUNDUP
WEEKEND EDITION
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145th Year, No. 99
REGONIAN
JUNE 5-6, 2021
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WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Brown announces plan for lifting restrictions
If state hits
vaccination rate,
Round-Up would
be good to go
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Nearly all COVID-
19 restrictions could be lifted in as
early as just over two weeks, Gov.
Kate Brown said Friday, June 4.
The state is about 127,000 adults
short of the goal of getting at least one
shot of vaccine into 70% of eligible
residents.
Once the state crosses the thresh-
old, Brown said she would lift mask-
ing, business capacity, event size,
social distance and other limits that
Oregonians have dealt with for more
than a year.
“We can fully reopen — we can
all look forward to that,” she said.
Local health offi cials would then
take over the daily decision making
and operations in counties from the
Oregon Health Authority.
Brown said even very large
events, such as the Pendleton
Round-Up in September, would be
good to go once the state hits its target
vaccination rate.
Oregon’s statewide mark stood
at 66.2% on June 2. OHA Director
Pat Allen said that if the current pace
continues, the mark would be hit
about June 21.
“This is not a slam dunk,” Allen
said.
Allen said that the June 30 dead-
line set earlier in the year by the
governor was well within reach.
“It will take a lot of work by a lot
of people to get it done,” Allen said.
Lifting restrictions would include:
• Ending the risk level system for
counties of lower, moderate, high and
extreme.
• Ending a state requirement for
masks and face coverings in almost
all settings. Exceptions would be
airports, public transit, and health
care settings that follow federal
agency guidelines.
• Ending requirements for indi-
viduals to show vaccination verifi ca-
tion in public venues and businesses.
• Allowing K-12 students to attend
school in-person, full time, fi ve days
per week.
K-12 guidance is being revised to
support schools in safely delivering
in-person instruction throughout the
school day.
Current health and safety stan-
dards, including indoor mask
requirements, will remain in place
in workplaces, schools and child
care settings. Colleges and universi-
ties can make their own decisions on
protocols after considering guidance
from the Centers for Disease Control.
Brown said the move would not
mean the pandemic was over in
County
creates
vaccine
incentive
program
Pendleton
Comes
Alive
goes live
Tourism initiative
intended to
rekindle visitor
interest in city
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Umatilla
County organizations have the
opportunity to receive funding
if they assist COVID-19 vacci-
nation eff orts as part of a new
program to drive up the county’s
dismal vaccination rates.
The county health depart-
ment created the “Community
Rewards Program,” which the
county board of commission-
ers unanimously approved at its
meeting Wednesday, June 2.
The program will work by
ZIP code and will be available
for not-for-profi t organizations,
including fraternal, civic and
religious organizations, though
specifi c criteria are in develop-
ment, offi cials say. The county
will be one of the fi rst in the
state to make such an effort
using incentives, according to
Commissioner John Shafer.
When 60% of residents over
the age of 18 in a ZIP code are
vaccinated, the county will
divide $10,000 worth of funds
evenly between each organiza-
tion that has assisted the coun-
ty’s vaccination efforts, with
additional funds based on popu-
lation.
The ZIP code encompass-
ing the city of Hermiston, for
example, has the opportunity
to receive $113,000 from the
program, Fiumara said. The
See Vaccine, Page A9
See Brown, Page A9
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
including the Scarecrow in “The
Wizard of Oz.”
Now, he plans to start out at
BMCC before eventually transferring
to a four-year university to fi nish up a
bachelor’s degree in business.
“I’ll save some money at home,”
he said.
Graduation this year kicked off
with a gathering of all the seniors
in the high school gym, where they
PENDLETON — The
advertising for Pendleton
Comes Alive is not subtle.
“Let’s get wild in Pend-
leton” states a poster now
circulating, which also
encourages visitors to
“Spend your Saturdays in the
Wild West.”
Bolstered by a two-year,
$400,000 contribution from
the city government, Pendle-
ton Comes Alive is a tourism
initiative meant to restoke
visitor interest in Pendleton
as the COVID-19 pandemic
begins to wind down. A
collaboration between the
Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce, the Pendleton
Downtown Association, the
Round-Up and other tourism
interests, the eff ort intends
to make Pendleton a tourism
destination by packing Satur-
days from June 5 to Sept. 4
with events and attractions.
Among the new addi-
tions are horseback rides,
Wild West shows, tours of
the Pendleton Round-Up
Grounds and live music on
Main Street. The concert
series will start on Saturday
with country musician Cale
Moon.
Members of the various
groups involved in Pendle-
ton Comes Alive gathered on
the 400 block of South Main
Street on Thursday, June 3,
to spruce up the area and do
some tree trimming with the
help of Eastern Tree Service.
Once the work was done,
they met at the Rainbow Cafe
for a celebratory meal, where
they spoke about their collec-
tive eff orts.
Kristen Dollarhide, the
manager of Travel Pend-
leton, said the idea behind
Pendleton Comes Alive
is to take advantage of
See Hermiston, Page A9
See Pendleton, Page A9
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Graduates throw their caps Thursday, June 3, 2021, after the conclusion of speeches at the Hermiston High School
commencement ceremony at the high school.
Remembering the good
Hermiston High School
graduates take a
moment to reflect on
high school careers
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
H
ERMISTON — As they
walked out the door of Herm-
iston High School for the
last time, there were mixed
emotions from the Class of
2021.
Some were grinning as they left
the graduation ceremony at the high
school on Thursday, June 3. Others
got a bit teary-eyed as they hugged
friends and family. While many said
they were glad to be leaving behind a
diffi cult school year, most could fi nd
good memories of high school, too.
Angel Barron said his favorite
memory was winning the state foot-
ball championship his freshman year.
“It was really cold, but otherwise
really cool,” he said.
The Bulldogs took home the
Oregon 5A title in November 2017,
going out on top as they headed to
the Mid-Columbia Conference to
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Ella Hagel gives a farewell address to graduates Thursday, June 3, 2021,
before leading the turning of the tassels at Hermiston High School’s com-
mencement.
compete against Washington schools.
Now, Barron heads to Blue Moun-
tain Community College to study
criminal justice.
William Kern’s best memory also
was from his fi rst year of high school,
when he and the rest of the cast took
their bows at the end of the musical
“Seussical.”
Theater and choir were highlights
for him the rest of his high school
career, and after playing Horton
he went on to play other lead roles,
NEED 29.9% MORE
UMATILLA COUNTY RESIDENTS
TO GET VACCINATED
UMATILLA COUNTY
As of
6 /3 /2 0 2 1
When reached
65%
w w w.sa hp end leton. org
35.1%
COUNTY
REOPENS!