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Tuesday, July 27, 2021
E O
AST
145th year, No. 120
A1
REGONIAN
TuEsday, July 27, 2021
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
$1.50
Cases
climb
across
county
umatilla County
reports second
highest positive
test rate in state,
hospitals see
uptick in patients
hospitalized with
COVId-19
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
uMaTIlla COuNTy
— umatilla County contin-
ues to report some of the
highest COVId-19 infec-
tion rates statewide, but
county commissioners say
they won’t step in to rein-
state pandemic restrictions.
“I think if we tried to
implement any kind of
restrictions, I don’t think
anybody would follow
them,” Commissioner John
shafer said Monday, July 26.
With almost 80,000 resi-
dents, the county saw 8%
of Oregon’s total COVId-
19 cases over the past two
weeks, despite accounting
for less than 2% of the state’s
total population. During that
same period, the county
reported the second high-
est positive test rate state-
wide at 17.6%, as hospitals
in Pendleton and Hermis-
ton reported an uptick in
patients hospitalized with
COVId-19.
O n l y n e ig h b o r i n g
Mor row Cou nt y had
a higher rate at 17.9%.
Wallowa County had the
third highest rate, 14.8%
The county in the past
two weeks has averaged 32
cases per day, a sharp rise
from the nearly 10 cases per
day the county was report-
ing earlier this month. It’s
a total that tops several
densely populated coun-
ties in Western Oregon and
amounts to a case rate nearly
seven times higher than
Multnomah and Washing-
ton counties, according to
the state.
umatilla County Public
Health Director Joe Fiumara
said the county is expecting
to report an especially high
case count July 27. By noon
July 26, the county added up
more than 80 new COVID-
19 cases from the weekend,
and Fiumara expected that
number to continue to rise.
See Cases, Page A9
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
First grader Sebastian Macias receives some help from teacher Yisel Amaya on Thursday, July 22, 2021, to log onto a laptop during summer school at
Sunset Elementary, Hermiston.
Making learning fun
cars and learn about history
through simulations to give
them a hands-on approach
to learning.
One such hands-on
activity for third grade had
students excavate choco-
late chips from soft cookies
as if they were digging for
fossils during their dino-
saur-themed week.
On top of this, the district
offered sports camps every
other week that high school
athletes and coaches run
while first through third
graders got two weeks of
free swim lessons. Addi-
tionally, each elementary
grade went on two field trips
during the six weeks, from
places such as Three Mile
Canyon Farms in Boardman
to Fort Walla Walla.
Hermiston’s school
district’s summer
school a hit with
parents, students
By NICK
ROSENBERGER
East Oregonian
HERMIsTON — Herm-
iston school district’s
wildly successful free
summer camp program,
running from June 21 to
July 31, is reintroducing
children to the fun of learn-
ing after a year of online and
hybrid school.
The program, which is
broken up into two sessions
and open to all students
grades K-12 enrolled in the
Hermiston school district,
has been a smash hit with
both parents and students.
Along with free meals and
childcare, the program
offered a more hands-on
and experiential learning
focus after a year disrupted
by COVId-19.
The classes were centered
on matter the students don’t
normally experience and
tried to cover more subjects
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Nona Buschke raises her hand Thursday, July 22, 2021, in Yisel Amaya’s first grade summer
school class at Sunset Elementary, Hermiston.
than the usual slate of
academics, such as math
and English. some of their
offerings included opportu-
nities to learn about physics
by building a rollercoaster
or solving a crime scene for
a forensic science class.
“So just lots of different
activities and learning than
the traditional classroom,”
said Tanya Kennedy, a
summer program coordi-
nator and dean of students
at Desert View Elementary
school.
student built bridges and
catapults for civil engineer-
ing and construction, had
the chance to try different
sports or even take an Ethi-
opian culture and history
class. some also learned
how to code, build solar race
Fun learning
experience
according to Melissa
doherty, the middle school
summer program coordi-
nator, the summer school
program was “really focus-
ing on making education
fun and the learning expe-
rience fun.”
See School, Page A9
The slow goodbye
Methodist
congregation
calls it quits
By KATHY ANEY
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — A few
years ago, the members of
Pendleton’s united Meth-
odist Church sor row-
fully walked away from
their 113-year old house of
worship.
The elegant stone church
had become something of a
money pit that consumed the
congregation’s resources.
Moisture had infiltrated a
leaky roof into the sanctu-
ary’s walls. Asbestos, crum-
bling mortar, cracked plaster
and deferred maintenance
lurked throughout the build-
ing. after some agonizing
deliberations, the congrega-
tion voted to sell its house of
worship with stained glass
windows, distinctive bell
tower and floor-to-ceiling
pipe organ intact.
“It was an extremely diffi-
cult decision to make,” said
Wanda Remington, presi-
dent of the church’s admin-
istrative council at the time.
“But we realized this church
is an albatross. It’s a beau-
tiful albatross, don’t get me
wrong, but it’s still an alba-
tross.”
After Portland developer
Craig Clemens purchased
the building for $350,000
in 2019, the tiny band of
believers met in the town’s
Community Room for a time
and then at Peace lutheran,
worshiping early before the
lutherans. Then came the
pandemic and the congre-
gation went online. Finan-
cially, the church struggled,
running a deficit.
T h is su m me r, t he
membe r s de cided t o
disband. They paid the bills,
turned off the phone and
gave remaining proceeds
of the church sale to local
nonprofits and two Method-
ist churches in neighboring
towns. Without their weekly
worship, some of the church
members struggled to find
equilibrium.
“I feel kind of adrift,”
said longtime member John
Taylor, the church’s head
trustee. “I really miss my
church family. We have scat-
tered every which way.”
The last decade has been
a slow goodbye. Possibly,
Taylor said, they should have
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Three worshipers couldn’t sing the final hymn at the con-
gregation’s last service at the historic Pendleton United
Methodist Church.
disbanded when they sold
the stone church at 352 s.E.
second st. three years ago.
“The handwriting was
on the wall when we sold
the building and we just
didn’t want to see it,” he
said. “Maybe we should
have pulled the Band-Aid
off then.”
See Church, Page A9