A6
RECORDS/COMMUNITY
East Oregonian
Paint your teepee with subalpine spiraea
Alright! Enough already!
BRUCE
BARNES
MATT
HENRY
BLOOMIN’ BLUES
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Name: Subalpine spiraea
Scientifi c name: Spiraea
splendens
As one would expect,
the scientifi c name of this
plant speaks for itself. It is
considered by some to be the
most attractive member of
the Spiraea genus in North
America. The genus Spiraea,
a member of the rose family,
is found across the north-
ern hemisphere in North
America and Eurasia. It is
a bit more plentiful in the
Blues than the white-fl ow-
ered Birch leaf spiraea in the
article in the EO a few weeks
ago.
The plant grows from
British Columbia and Alberta
to California, Nevada, Idaho
Bruce Barnes/Contributed Photo
Subalpine spiraea, Spiraea splendens.
and Wyoming. It can be
found locally in partial shade
in damp soil, often near
streams, at middle to upper
elevations.
Subalpine spiraea can
be distinguished from other
species by the red fl owers
and the somewhat fl at-topped
shape (not pyramid-shaped)
of the cluster of fl owers, and
by the serrated leaves being
somewhat rounded on the
tips. The bush is usually
about two or three feet tall.
Indian tribes have found
several uses for the Subal-
pine spiraea. It has been used
medically as a laxative or
enema, and to treat venereal
disease. The woody fl ower-
ing stems have been used to
make paint brushes, espe-
cially for use on tepees.
———
Bruce Barnes directs Flora
ID, producing plant ID soft-
ware, found at fl ora-id.org.
Reach him at fl ora.id@wtech-
link.us.
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
rodeo performance at East-
ern Oregon Trade and Event
Center, 1705 E. Airport
Road, Hermiston.
Each child will receive
their own back number.
Other activities include auto-
graphs from the rodeo clown
and bullfi ghters, face paint-
ing and more.
For more information or a
link to purchase tickets, visit
www.farmcityprorodeo.com.
For questions, call 541-567-
8500.
Heppner park
concert features
Wasteland Kings
HEPPNER — The Waste-
land Kings are returning
to play during Heppner’s
upcoming Music in the Park.
Describing their sound
as “premier Americana,”
the La Grande-based band
will perform Sunday, Aug.
8, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at
Heppner City Park, 444 N.
Main St. Those planning to
attend are urged to bring a
blanket or lawn chair.
Also, food will be avail-
able for purchase by dona-
tion from Hopeful Saints
Ministry. Money raised
will support its Mission and
Outreach Fund.
For more information,
contact the Heppner Cham-
ber of Commerce at 541-676-
5536 or heppnerchamber@
centurytel.net. For more
about the band, visit www.
wlkmusic.com.
Cale Moon closes
out Irrigon’s
concert series
IRRIGON — The season
fi nale of Irrigon’s Music in
the Park will feature Cale
Moon, an up-and-coming
Nashville recording artist
who hails from Benton City,
Washington.
The free event is Monday,
Aug. 9, at 7 p.m. at Irrigon
Marina Park, 430 N.E. Eighth
St. People are invited to bring
a blanket or lawn chair and a
picnic and beverages to enjoy
while listening to the music
with the beautiful backdrop
of the Columbia River.
Moon, who has been
criss-crossing across the
United States playing at
concert halls, bars, parks and
festivals, is known for his
vocal range and unique guitar
style. He never performs the
Farm-City
ropes in fun with
Family Night
HERMISTON — Get
ready to wrangle in some fun
during Family Night at Farm-
City Pro Rodeo. Tickets for
children 12 and under are $5
each (others are $17 and up)
for the Wednesday, Aug. 11,
same show twice — off er-
ing audiences something to
remember each time they see
him.
For more about the
concert series, call Donna at
541-922-3197. For more about
Moon, visit www.calemoon.
com.
It’s time for
student-athletes to
get physical
HER MISTON
—
Student-athletes at Herm-
iston High School and
Sandstone and Armand
Larive middle schools who
plan to participate in sports
can receive low-cost phys-
icals. They are available
Thursday, Aug. 12, at the
high school, 600 S. First St.
The schedule is:
• 9-10:30 a.m., seventh and
eighth grade.
• 10:30 to noon, ninth and
10th grade.
• 1-2:30 p.m., 11th and 12th
grade.
all
• 2:30 - 4 p.m.,
student-athletes.
The cost is $20. To fi nd
out if your student-athlete
needs an updated physi-
cal examination this year,
call the athletics secretary
at 541-667-6115. For more
information, visit www.
hermiston.k12.or.us/apps/
events.
— EO Media Group
PUBLIC SAFETY
TUESDAY, AUG. 3
6:32 a.m. — The Milton-Freewater Police
Department responded to a reported burglary on
Lamb Street. A man told police he found the doors
of a business open. Offi cers arrived and found
property monitoring equipment and other items
missing. Police have yet to locate any suspects, the
report said.
10:42 a.m. — The Umatilla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce responded to a report of an assault on the
700 block of Southeast Sixth Street, Hermiston.
12:38 p.m. — The Morrow County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce responded to a report of a vehicle theft on
Paterson Ferry Road near Irrigon and Boardman.
4:34 p.m. — The Umatilla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce responded to a report of an assault a the Sin-
clair, 84875 Highway 11, Milton-Freewater.
5:21 p.m. — A domestic disturbance occurred
on Southwest Third Street, Pilot Rock.
6:01 p.m. — The Umatilla County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce responded to report of a burglary on the
32500 block Issel Lane, Hermiston.
6:33 p.m. — The Morrow County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
responded to an animal complaint on Cain Lane,
Irrigon.
7:25 p.m. — The Oregon State Police responded
to a crash on Interstate 84 near milepost 177 in
Morrow County. State police found a car swerved
to avoid tire debris, overcorrected, turned into the
median and took out some of the guardrail. Med-
ics transported two passengers to a local hospital.
9:33 p.m. — A domestic disturbance occurred
on East Theater Lane, Hermiston.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 4
6:15 a.m. — The Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
responded to report of a burglary on the 200 block
of North Broad Street, Weston.
6:25 a.m. — The Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
responded to report of a burglary on the 78700
block of Westland Road, Hermiston.
7:57 a.m. — The Pendleton Police Department
responded to a reported burglary on Southwest
Emigrant Avenue, Pendleton.
ARRESTS, CITATIONS
Aug. 2
Pendleton police arrested Edwina Aggie Morn-
ing Owl, 32, for driving under the infl uence of
intoxicants and property hit-and-run.
Aug. 3
Oregon State Police arrested Timm Jay Timmer-
man, 76, for felony unlawful delivery of metham-
phetamine and misdemeanor unlawful possession
of methamphetamine.
Pilot Rock police arrested Matthew James Male,
26, on two counts of fourth-degree assault and two
counts of reckless endangering.
Boardman police arrested Noe Honorio Melen-
dez, 47, for third-degree assault, harassment and
menacing.
UPCOMING SERVICES
THURSDAY, AUG. 5
No services scheduled.
FRIDAY, AUG. 6
ALEXANDER, ROBERTA —
Graveside service at 10 a.m. at
Olney Cemetery, Pendleton.
OLNEY, LENA — Memorial
service at 2 p.m. at the Hermiston
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
855 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston.
Burial will be at the Pleasant View
Cemetery, Stanfi eld.
SATURDAY, AUG. 7
COOLEY, CRAIG — Graveside
service at 10 a.m. at Olney Ceme-
tery, Pendleton.
CULLERS, BEV — Celebration of
life at 10 a.m. at 33890 River View
Drive, Hermiston.
HUDSON, MAURY — Celebra-
tion of life gathering at 1 p.m. at
the First Presbyterian Church of
Roseburg, 823 S.E. Lane Ave.
NELSON, SUE — Memorial
service at 11 a.m. at the First Pres-
byterian Church, 201 S.W. Dorion
Ave., Pendleton.
PAYNE, JERAD SCOTT —
Remembrance of life at 11 a.m.
at the Community Bible Church,
5807 Umatilla Ave., Kennewick,
WA 99336.
POLLICK, LEON — Graveside
service at 10 a.m. at Pleasant
View Cemetery, Stanfi eld.
POTTER, CURTIS — Memo-
rial service from 1-3 p.m. at the
Pendleton Eagles Lodge, 428 S.
Main St.
WELLS, LAURA — Graveside
service at 11 a.m at the Herm-
iston Cemetery, followed by
a celebration of life gathering
and luncheon at Maxwell Siding
Event Center, 145 N. First Place,
Hermiston.
WILLIAMS, WILLIAM — Grave-
side service at 9:30 a.m. at the
Prosser Cemetery, 1601 Paterson
Road, Prosser, WA; followed by a
celebration of life at 11 a.m. at the
Grandview Church of Christ, 116
Fir St., Grandview, Washington.
Thursday, August 5, 2021
o vax or not to vax,
that is the question.
The question, that
is, I no longer care about.
Back in the good old
days of 2020 pre-vax, the
big question among those
of us who felt fi ne was,
were we, unknowingly,
asymptomatic carriers who
could kill folks with under-
lying health conditions?
Remember when it was
so frustrating just to get
enough tests to go around?
Then local health author-
ities couldn’t give them
away.
I got tested as soon
as I could. Why? Simple
— I didn’t want to be
an asymptomatic killer.
I didn’t want to be
indicted with involuntary
manslaughter, as seems to
be the case with my Trum-
publican friends.
A good friend of mine
told me recently the sad
story of two older women
he knew. One was the care-
giver of the other; both had
chosen not to be vacci-
nated. Why? The reason
all anti-vaxers are refusing:
Biden won the election.
The pity here is that the
caregiver got COVID-
19 and was asymptom-
atic. She then unwittingly
passed it to her dear,
elderly unvaxed friend,
who promptly got the
virus and died. The person
she had been charged to
protect.
Now we have advanced
to the point where we have
multiple vaccinations that
will keep one from dying.
Remember the good old
days when then it became
frustrating to get the
vaccine due to the Trump
administration’s failure to
have an actual, workable
distribution plan? Now
local health authorities
must throw them away.
I got vaccinated as soon
as I could. Why? Simple —
I didn’t want to die of the
virus. I don’t mind taking
my chances with Jewish
space lasers based in Geor-
gia or getting kidnapped as
part of a Clinton sex ring
run out of the back of Pizza
Hut, but the thought of my
organs shutting down in
my presence just doesn’t
T
strike me as all that enjoy-
able.
Meanwhile, I hear
people like one of our
county commissioners,
George Murdock (a voting
Republican by his own
admission), frequently
bemoaning the fact that
Umatilla County Trum-
publicans refuse to play by
the rules, thereby skewer-
ing our county vaccination
target. I know Commis-
sioner Murdock to be a
good, decent, thoughtful
man, who places the safety
of his constituency — all
of them — before his ideol-
ogy. He is a dying breed,
I’m afraid, one whose
upcoming retirement has
me concerned. So, I hate to
see it when our one-out-of-
three Republican county
commissioners has to rant
and pull out the hair he’s
already lost in the useless
attempt to get Umatilla
County Trumpublicans to
step up to the shared plate
called “life” by the rest of
us.
A few days ago, some
truly kind Christian
friends of mine and I were
at our local beering hole,
the Prodigal Son Brew-
ery and Pub in Pendleton
(great beer, great food,
great service, folks!). We
got into the ubiquitous
issue du jour, i.e., the “vax
or not to vax” discus-
sion. Being truly decent
Christians as opposed to
me, they expressed true
concern for the unvac-
cinated. Me? A retired
pastor, a practicing Roman
Catholic? Did I have any
concern for my unvaxed
siblings? Should I?
Not in the slightest.
Pandemic, masks,
“social distancing,” visit-
ing loved ones through
glass, my favorite haunts
closed down for a year
(if they even made it),
“pods.” ... Alright! Enough
already! Uncle, uncle, I
give!
For now, we fi nally have
the lifesaving, thoroughly
researched and tested
vaccines that will keep
us from dying an awful
death, and here in The
People’s Republic of East-
ern Oregon we can’t give
it away. And no amount of
persuasion by anyone (and
at this point, probably not
even Trump himself) can
or will convince those of
us who don’t mind taking a
seat at the table where the
game is Russian Roulette,
and the dealer is currently
loading the chamber with
the deadly delta-9 variant.
So, in my best mafi osi
imitation, I must and can
callously say, “Fuhged-
daboudit,” for this is how
Darwin’s Law works, the
natural rule of nature, that
every organism has the
innate ability to survive a
changing environment if
the rate of environmental
change does not outpace an
organism’s ability or will-
ing refusal to adapt. Quite
simply, people historically
have been willing to die
for their beliefs, opinions,
faith, and “feelings” for a
long time, so this is noth-
ing new. But being opened
to taking the chance that
one’s personal political
ideology can be weapon-
ized through a virus threat-
ening “others,” those both
known and valued and
those strangers to us?
Did roughly one-third
to one-half of the nation
in 1919-20 say, “Ah,
screw it, the democrat got
reelected”; “They made the
cure too quickly for it to be
safe”; “it’s more fun to die
of the virus”; or “I heard
from reliable authorities
(on Facebook, naturally)
that Pendleton Mayor
John Turner, Public Works
Director Bob Patterson
and ‘City Councilor With-
out Portfolio’ Rick Rohde
have weaponized the local
shot supply to convince
everyone the city roads are
indeed in good condition.”
For God’s sake, people!
When and why did we ever
decide to check our brains
at the door? It’s not yet too
late to remember you prob-
ably received a childhood
education in science, read-
ing, verifi able facts and
everything that makes up a
shared reality.
Can I write anything
online knowing that some-
one will fall for it? For
Pete’s sake, why?
As my sweet hippy
friend, Maureen, would
say, “Man, where and when
did we lose our way?” My
question is more that of the
ancient Hebrews: When
will we fi nally arrive back
home? Or are we doomed
to eternal wandering and
squabbling?
———
The Rev. Matt Henry is
a retired American Baptist/
United Methodist pastor,
who pastored the Pendleton
First United Church and
now joyfully makes “hippie
food” for the houseless at
the Warming Station.