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Tuesday, June 8, 2021
East Oregonian
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Vaccination: Officials say vaccines are the best choice to keep students in class
Continued from Page A1
could have in store for next
year. But one idea that hasn’t
been introduced to the table
is a vaccine requirement.
and Milton-Freewater.
The
Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation on May
12 announced its largest
COVID spike in months
— 14 new cases over the
previous two weeks, with
12 cases coming from
schoolchildren. The uptick
prompted tribal officials to
cancel events and imme-
diately schedule a vaccine
clinic for youth at Yellow-
hawk Tribal Health Center
that same weekend.
Many of the cases at
schools are being traced back
to extracurricular activi-
ties, such as sports, accord-
ing to Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Director Fiumara.
In recent months, a soccer
team, dance team and foot-
ball team in Pendleton and
Hermiston high schools all
had to quarantine because
of COVID-19 outbreaks.
But it does not appear
these cases are leading to
infection spreading broadly
throughout schools, said
Fiumara. Nearly all of the
county schools that had
reported cases since the
beginning of April reported
single-digit totals, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health
Authority.
Vaccines become
contentious
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Pendleton’s Sarah House goes after the ball during a singles match against Ridgeview’s Gab-
by Hoeft in Pendleton on April 26, 2021.
measures were working.
Fritsch in Pendleton said
quarantining is a major
issue because it interrupts
students’ learning.
“I don’t see any way
around that,” he said, “and
I don’t know that, in any
future guidance, I don’t
think it’s much of a stretch
that we’re going to have to
exclude people that are sick
from school.”
Fiumara said the vaccine
provides schools with much-
needed protection that will
lead to fewer outbreaks,
adding “when classes shut
down due to an uptick, it
affects students whether
they are sick or not.”
The federal govern-
ment cleared the way for the
Pfizer vaccine’s use among
youths ages 12-15 on May
12. Since then, youth vac-
cinations have increased in
the county. On May 21, the
health department reported
382 people under the age
Quarantined after
cases; vaccines can
help, officials say
In the Umatilla School
District, about 100 stu-
dents quarantined across all
three of the district’s schools
when a sibling group got
sick, according to Umatilla
Superintendent Heidi Sipe.
Cases reported have so
far appeared to come from
exposures students had out-
side the classroom, she said,
an indicator masks, social
distancing and other safety
VFW:
Continued from Page A1
tumultuous time for the
Hermiston post. In Febru-
ary 2020, David Earl Bos-
ley, the post’s quartermas-
ter in charge of finances,
was charged with six felony
theft charges and two misde-
meanors after the Hermiston
Police Department investi-
gated allegations of embez-
zlement of tens of thousands
of dollars from the post. State
court records show the case
is pending after Bosley did
not show for an arraignment
in July.
Afterward, state leader-
ship put the post on proba-
tion. According to the let-
ter from Carroll, the team
“weeded out” members who
had been “grossly negligent”
and worked hard to fix past
errors.
The post briefly came out
from under its probation,
but, according to the letter,
afterward the post struggled
to keep leadership positions
filled and have a quorum at
meetings.
“Sadly, this indicates the
Post is not able to sustain
a healthy membership that
will work together,” the let-
ter stated.
Roberts disagrees with
this narrative. He said after
the post’s probation ended,
he brought in eight new
members — an 8% increase
in membership. Their Febru-
ary 2021 meeting had about
20 members present, he said,
which was more than enough
for a quorum, and all leader-
ship positions were filled. He
said there also ere younger
veterans who joined who
were making plans to work
on forming partnerships with
area resource providers, par-
of 18 had been vaccinated.
Four days later, that num-
ber jumped to 653. And on
June 3, the health depart-
ment reported 801 children
and minors had been vac-
cinated, or 3.5% of all vac-
cinated people in Umatilla
County.
In addition, Yellow-
hawk Tribal Health Cen-
ter, which opened vaccine
clinics to students in late
March to curb school out-
breaks before in-person
classes began, reported 445
juveniles under the age of 18
have been vaccinated as of
June 4.
“I think it’s going to
be really big coming into
the fall when everybody is
expecting and hoping that
everything goes back to
school in a normal fashion,”
Fiumara said of the Pfizer
vaccine now being available
for youth.
As the superintendent of
the InterMountain Educa-
up and leave” if they didn’t
like something.
Roberts said for some rea-
son Carroll and other state
leaders did not like Ameri-
can Legion Post 37, another
veterans organization that
has many of the same mem-
bers and often partnered with
the VFW post on events.
According to Roberts, after
“IF YOU’VE DONE TIME
OVERSEAS, IF YOU’VE BEEN
IN ACTION,THE ONLY PEO-
PLE WHO UNDERSTAND
WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH
IS THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
OVER THERE, TOO.”
— Dennis Aiken, a member of the post since 2016
ticularly for mental health
services.
“I got a call yesterday
from a guy wanting to join,
because one of my flyers was
still existing at Les Schwab,”
he said. “This is an active
VFW.”
He said after a long period
of lax oversight, it made
sense for the state to step in
and help the post get back
on track after the embezzle-
ment case. But they came
in as “judge, jury and exe-
cutioner,” he said, and local
members were not consulted
on anything, or told to “shut
he allowed some American
Legion members to speak at
the VFW’s February meet-
ing, he was notified by Car-
roll that the post was going
back on probation and Amer-
ican Legion’s lease agree-
ment to meet in the VFW
building was terminated.
American Legion Post
Commander Glenn Brad-
ley confirmed the agreement
was terminated by the state,
over the objections of local
VFW members.
At that point, Roberts
resigned his position as post
commander and Marvin
tion Service District, Mark
Mulvihill often acts as a
liaison between school dis-
tricts in Umatilla, Morrow
and Union counties and
the state education system.
Mulvihill said local schools
have managed individual
cases well, but he was dis-
appointed by the county’s
vaccination rate, which for
months has ranked among
the lowest statewide. While
schools have remained open
despite the outbreaks, stu-
dents’ educations still are
affected when they are
forced to quarantine due to
an exposure.
Mulvihill said he fore-
sees this continuing to hap-
pen until residents take the
necessary steps.
“Getting the vaccine
is the way to end the pan-
demic,” he said.
Mulvihill said he’s heard
plenty of chatter about what
kind of rules the Oregon
Department of Education
Hamilton stepped into role.
Hamilton said he had been
a member of the VFW for 12
years but had not been very
active for a while until Rob-
erts reached out to him. He
said he and other younger vet-
erans had big plans and are
disappointed they were never
able to put in place, including
coffee gatherings for veter-
ans, help getting counseling,
and work with CAPECO to
provide food and other assis-
tance to veterans in need.
“We tried to get that going
but they shut us down before
we were able to get started,”
he said.
Jose Ortiz, the posts’s
quartermaster, also said it
felt like the state leadership
pulled the rug out from under
them right as they were try-
ing to get resources together
that would have helped local
veterans.
“Now we don’t have a sta-
ble place to say, ‘Come and
meet with us,’” he said.
He said even if other
posts, such as Pendleton, are
willing to take in Hermis-
ton-area members, there are
elderly members who don’t
drive or have other barriers
to traveling to meetings in
another town.
Dennis Aiken, a mem-
ber of the post since 2016,
alleged the state VFW lead-
ership had been told multiple
times in years past of prob-
lems with the post, includ-
ing the suspected embezzle-
ment, and it is his belief they
EASTERN OREGON
2021
PHOTO CONTEST
Offi cial Rules:
For
some
students,
the topic of vaccines has
become contentious.
Muriel Jones-Hoisington,
a 17-year-old three-sport
athlete at Pendleton High
School, says her friends
sometimes argue about the
COVID-19 vaccine.
She wanted to get the shot
at first. But then she learned
some people got sick even
after being vaccinated. From
May 3-31, 2% of Oregonians
who had tested positive for
COVID-19 had been fully
vaccinated, according to
state data.
She grew skeptical —
like she wasn’t getting the
full picture. Her family has
voiced skepticism, too, she
said. And when she’d bring
up the topic with friends,
they would bicker.
“It was really odd to me,
because they were like, ‘I
don’t want to get made fun
of for getting a vaccina-
tion,’” she said. “And I’m
like, ‘Well, it’s your opin-
ion. You shouldn’t really get
made fun of. That shouldn’t
stop you from doing what
you want to do.’”
Now, universities state-
wide are requiring vaccina-
tions for fall term. And vac-
cinated people are allowed
to do things that unvacci-
nated people can’t. She said
she feels like her right to
choose is being taken away.
“Everyone has their own
options,” she said. “They
can pick and choose what
they want to do and what
they don’t want to do. And
that’s just a human’s right,
to choose what you want to
do. It makes me upset that
people feel the need to make
other people’s decisions, and
not fully understand why
they got it.”
For Hoisington, who
wants to be a nurse, she
needs more time before she
decides whether or not to
get the vaccine. She wants
to see more data. She wants
schools to educate students
and hold discussions about
the shot, allowing for a com-
mon ground with different
perspectives.
“I feel like it’s good to
talk about this stuff, instead
of holding it in,” she said.
“I feel like you have to give
both views of both sides.
Why these people are get-
ting it, and why they aren’t
getting it.”
House, who is vacci-
nated, also said she believes
people should have the right
to choose whether or not
they get the shot. Though
she believes the vaccines
are safe and effective, she
understands how the poli-
tics and rapid development
of the shot have driven peo-
ple away, and she doesn’t
like how universities are
requiring that students get
vaccinated.
“I think that waiting is
a choice,” she said. “That’s
based on your own health
and your own thoughts
about it. And I think politics
were surrounding it, which
I think is kind of annoying.
That shouldn’t be guiding
the health of people.”
But if a vaccine means
returning to a normal
school year, House is all for
vaccinations.
“I’d say, please do it,”
she said. “I just want to
go to school, and I want
to have a normal year next
year. And I know that it’s
not going to be totally nor-
mal, but I would love it if
we could do that.”
were hoping the problems got
bad enough they would have
an excuse to seize the post’s
valuable assets.
He said contention and
management problems in
recent years had made the
Hermiston VFW more of a
bingo hall with an occasional
VFW meeting than an orga-
nization that truly served vet-
erans’ needs. He said he has
been working with the Agape
House when he finds veter-
ans in need, instead of work-
ing through the VFW.
“Any real impact on veter-
ans in this area will probably
be positive as the loss of the
post means the local contrib-
utors will have to find other
charities that do, in fact, ben-
efit veterans,” he said in an
email.
Other veterans are highly
concerned about the loss of
the post, however, and said
it provided a social structure
and other help to veterans
that will be lost. Hamilton,
the post’s brief final com-
mander, said he hopes people
will call the national VFW
organization and ask it step
in to reverse the state depart-
ment’s decision so Hermis-
ton-area veterans who partic-
ipated in combat are able to
have a place to gather once
again.
“If you’ve done time
overseas, if you’ve been in
action,” he said, “the only
people who understand what
you went through is the peo-
ple who were over there, too.”
Deputy:
Continued from
Page A1
will have further
information shortly
as arrangements are
made.”
The
Wallowa
County
Sheriff’s
Office,
Umatilla
County
Sheriff’s
Office or other law
enforcement agen-
cies have yet to pro-
vide details on the
accident that led to
Post’s death.
Ashly Lehman,
wife of Pendle-
ton police Sgt. Jon
Lehman, set up a
fundraiser at www.
gofundme.com for
the benefit of Post’s
wife, Rosana, and
their baby, Dalilah.
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