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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 24, 2021)
INSIDE: Oregon Trail Pro Rodeo rides for 99th year | PAGE A10 E O BREATH AST REGONIAN TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2021 145th Year, No. 132 WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD CAN’T CATCH A Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Judith Lindsey dons a protective gown before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, while working the night shift in the CHI St. Anthony Hospital critical care unit, Pendleton. Local health care workers discuss their frustrations, exhautions as case numbers swell By BRYCE DOLE East Oregonian PENDLETON — There have been moments over the past month where Robert Maranville felt that, no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t doing enough. Maranville’s job, put simply, is to help people breathe. As one of a handful of respiratory therapists at CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, he oper- ates ventilators and high-fl ow oxygen and delivers breath- ing medications to patients. These days, most of them have COVID-19, and nearly all are unvaccinated. “It can be overwhelming when you’re giving 100% and it’s still not enough,” he said. For 12-hour shifts, he rushes from room to room, taking on and off his personal protective equip- ment. Sweat drips from the gowns, masks and face shields. He cares for patients who languish in isola- tion for weeks. With time, some improve. Others don’t. “With this pandemic, I’m Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Judith Lindsey pulls on a second set of gloves while preparing to enter the room of a COVID-19 patient on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, at CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. taking care of patients I’ve taken care of for years,” he said. “I know them. I know that they’re my neighbors. They know me by name. When they come into the ER, they ask for me by name. I’ve taken care of couples, people from the same family — sons and fathers, daughters and mothers who are a couple rooms away from each other. It’s defi nitely emotionally taxing.” The pandemic has taken a toll on workers across many indus- tries, but perhaps no line of work has endured more than health care workers. Hospitals across Oregon now are facing the largest deluge of COVID-19 patients since the pandemic started due to the delta crisis. Umatilla Coun- ty’s hospitals are no exception, and their staffs say they are exhausted. See Workers, Page A9 $1.50 Planning codes nix childcare facility at Stillman Park By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian PENDLETON — The Pendleton Children’s Center once again is looking for a home. The center, a nonprofi t looking to start a childcare service for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, was in the process of getting approval from the city to build its fi rst facility at Stillman Park, 413 S.E. Byers Ave. Kathryn Brown, the secre- tary-treasurer of the nonprofi t’s board and the vice president of the EO Media Group, the parent company of the East Oregonian, said offi cials from the chil- dren’s center and the city of Pendleton met on July 29 to discuss vacating the tennis courts at Stillman to make way for a manufactured building to house the children’s center. “We had eight people in that room,” she said in an interview. “All smart, dialed-in people. No one knew that that was the case.” At the time, city offi cials did recom- mend the children’s center get approval from the Pendleton Parks and Recreation and the city council, the former giving the center the green light on Aug. 10. The project seemed like it was going forward until one of the city offi cials who wasn’t in the room, Tim Simons, community development director, fl agged it. In an interview, Simons said Stillman Park is in a historical district meant to mark Pendleton’s fi rst residential subdi- vision. In 2014, the city amended its development code to prohibit manufac- tured buildings in its historical districts. Simons said the city does allow for temporary trailers, commonly used during construction projects, but they’re only allowed for one year. “I would have to put them in a position to force them to tear it down,” he said. The children’s center has compiled several surveys that show an overwhelm- ing need for childcare in Pendleton, but fi nding a place to provide that service has proven much more diffi cult. Earlier this year, the children’s center identifi ed a Pendleton School District- owned empty lot by the Pendleton Early Learning Center, 455 S.W. 13th St. The nonprofi t wanted to pay the district a nominal rent while it built a new facility, but the Pendleton School Board rejected the proposal, with offi cials adding that they weren’t entertaining any offers while they waited to maximize the fi nancial return on selling the property. The children’s center also walked away from plans to temporarily house the chil- dren’s center at Blue Mountain Commu- nity College after learning that all of the college’s available space was too small for the center’s needs. Brown said the children’s center still is working with the city on fi nding a city- owned property to place a facility on, ideally one that’s centrally located. Parks and Recreation Director Liam Hughes, one of the city offi cials that has been working with the children’s center, said the city still supports the center’s quest for a facility because it aligns well with the city’s other youth services. Morrow County Fair brings families together After a year off due to COVID-19, families were more ready than ever to bring a sense of community home By NICK ROSENBERGER East Oregonian HEPPNER — A decep- tively chill breeze and cloud cover over Heppner belied the children laughing and scream- ing below at the sixth day of the Morrow County Fair on Friday, Aug. 20, where people gathered together from all over the county for fun and action. The smell of hay and live- stock spilled out from the open doors of the main barn, where youths could be found at the 4-H and FFA Master Show- manship competition, the steers, horses and sheep saun- tering slowly along to the chil- dren’s and teens’ prodding and commands as they made loops of the pen to soft claps. Bart Lentz, a tall man with a friendly smile from Heppner, had brought his daughter, Kodie, to the fair earlier to show her pig and said they enjoyed having the fair back after a year off . Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian See Fair, Page A9 Youth livestock handlers return to their stalls after showing Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at the Morrow County Fair in Heppner.