Crash seriously injures Pendleton man | PAGE A3
E O
AST
145th year, No. 134
REGONIAN
Saturday, auguSt 28, 2021
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Wife remembers husband
lost to COVId-19 virus
Roger and Gail Wickers
were married 18 years;
he died on Aug. 24
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
PENdLEtON — gail Wick-
ers knew something was terribly
wrong with her husband.
It had been three days since
roger Wickers, 70, tested posi-
tive for COVId-19. His breath
was shallow as he lay on the
couch at their home in umatilla
on the morning of aug. 22. Wick-
ers wanted to take him straight
to the emergency department,
but he insisted they wait until his
appointment at 3 p.m. that day.
about 30 minutes after gail
dropped her husband off at Good
Shepherd Medical Center, Herm-
iston, health care workers called
and told her roger’s blood oxygen
was far too low. He was in the
emergency department fighting
for his life.
gail called again and again.
Health care workers told her
that roger’s heart was beating
rapidly and they administered
heart medicine and remdesivir.
a day later, health care workers
told her that roger required intu-
bation and they needed to fly him
to another facility.
Before he left that after-
noon, gail asked to speak to her
husband, but health care workers
told her roger could no longer
speak. She demanded they put
the phone next to his ear so she
could say goodbye.
“When we were talking to
him on the phone, I could hear
him struggling, trying to make
sounds,” she said.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Gail Wickers and her son Blake Wickers pose for a portrait Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, in front of their Umatilla
home. Wickers’ husband, Roger Wickers, died of COVID-19 on Aug. 24 at the age of 70. She and her son
are each recovering from the disease.
while writing his obituary two
days after he died.
COVID-19 deaths follow
delta surge
Gail Wickers/Contributed Photo
Roger Wickers, center, smiles alongside his wife Gail Wickers and
their son Blake Wickers in 2019.
Emergency services flew him
nearly 200 miles to Providence
Portland Medical Center. By that
point, health care workers told her
there was little they could do.
roger Wickers died at
6:14 a.m. on aug. 24. He was 70
years old.
“I don’t know what I’m going
to do without him,” Wickers said
as of Friday, aug. 27, at least
17 umatilla County residents who
tested positive for COVId-19
have died since the month began,
according to the county health
department. that total does not
include roger, as the county has
yet to receive note of his death,
said Joe Fiumara, the county’s
health director.
See Wickers , Page A10
Anger over mandate prompts protest
By NICK ROSENBERGER
East Oregonian
PENdLEtON — gov. Kate
Brown’s recent vaccine mandates
for state employees, health care
workers and school staff drew
more than 150 people to Pendle-
ton for a protest.
as COVId-19 continues to
rip through Oregon and over-
whelm hospitals, those attend-
ing the event thursday, aug. 26,
at roy raley Park went without
masks, including health care
workers, teachers, firefighters
and members of law enforce-
ment.
the protest drew a multitude
of voices, ranging from those
completely rejecting vaccines and
masks to those who were support-
ive of vaccines but felt the gover-
nor’s orders from aug. 19 to either
get the vaccine or lose their jobs
violated their rights.
Some of the speakers, includ-
ing HollyJo Beers, the leader
of the umatilla County three
Percenters, trotted out conspir-
acy theories, such as alleging
Brown runs “reeducation camps,”
while another at the mic asserted
the vaccine mandate is putting
the united States on the path of
genocide. However, a nuanced
line seemed to run through much
of the crowd.
Many were attendees who
work, or know people who work,
as state employees and first
responders who came in oppo-
sition to flatly mandating the
vaccine across the board.
See Protest, Page A10
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Protesters line the sidewalk Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, at Roy Raley
Park in Pendleton during a rally against Gov. Kate Brown’s vaccine
mandates for healthcare workers, teachers and state employees.
$1.50
CTUIR officials
concerned over
Round-Up
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
MISSION — Members of the Confed-
erated tribes of umatilla Indian reser-
vation have participated in the Pendleton
round-up since the early days of the
rodeo, but its government has some seri-
ous concerns about the 111th edition.
CtuIr members inhabit the round-
up’s Indian Village, walk or ride in the
Westward Ho! Parade and act in the
Happy Canyon Night Show, among other
activities, but tribal government doesn’t
directly control any of the properties on
the round-up grounds or who partic-
ipates in the festivities, instead offer-
ing support services during round-up
week. the CtuIr Board of trustees on
thursday, aug. 26, videoconferenced
with members of the round-up Board of
directors to discuss the rodeo’s health and
safety measures as the former contem-
plates taking an official
position on this year’s
event.
rou nd-up Vice
President Nick Siro-
vatka reiterated the
round-up’s position
that it intends to follow
Sirovatka
the governor’s orders on
masking at large outdoor
events. He said the round-up was in the
process of acquiring thousands of masks,
which would be distributed to audience
members at the entrance if they don’t
bring a face covering to the rodeo.
the round-up also provided its health
and safety plan to the board of trustees,
but the public is not likely to see the it.
round-up intends the plan to be an inter-
nal document only. Sirovatka said the
directors were responsible for communi-
cating to their volunteers about this year’s
standards and expectations.
“Our plan is to lead by example as
directors,” he said.
In response to questions from tribal
government officials, Sirovatka said
there would be no capacity reductions
at round-up or Happy Canyon arenas.
the round-up arena seats 15,800 while
Happy Canyon arena holds another
4,200. In accordance with new mask-
ing rules, Sirovatka said attendees would
be allowed to take off their masks when
eating or drinking, even in the Let ’er
Buck room.
“It’s a petri dish in a good year, let
alone a COVId year,” he said, adding that
going to the bar would be personal choice
left to each attendee.
armand Minthorn, an at-large
member of the board of trustees, said he
was concerned that the arenas would be
at full capacity, which wouldn’t allow
for social distancing. He added that
cases were surging in not only umatilla
County but across state lines in Washing-
ton, in Benton and Franklin counties. He
anticipated more cases would come after
round-up.
“the steps the round-up is taking
are great, but I believe it’s not enough,”
he said.
Other speakers told the round-up
board about the loved ones they lost to
the virus and an uptick in cases on the
yakama Indian reservation in central
Washington.
See Round-Up, Page A10
No National Guard troops on the way — yet
Most hospitals in Northeastern
Oregon have not asked for
help from National guard
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
La graNdE — Oregon gov. Kate
Brown on aug. 13 issued an emergency
order to deploy nearly 1,500 Oregon
National guard soldiers throughout the state
to help support hospitals.
In Eastern Oregon, only the Blue Moun-
tain Hospital district in grant County has
received any of those resources.
as of Friday, aug. 27, several hospitals
in Northeastern Oregon have not sent in a
request for National guard support, accord-
ing to Oregon Health Authority officials.
those hospitals include CHI St. anthony
Hospital in Pendleton, grande ronde Hospi-
tal in La grande, good Shepherd Medical
Center in Hermiston and Pioneer Memorial
Hospital in Heppner.
CHI St. anthony communications and
marketing director Emily Smith said the
hospital has not made a request because at this
point it does not need the help. But, she added,
it’s not off the table if the situation changes.
good Shepherd Medical Center market-
ing and communications director Cait-
lin Cozad said, “at this time, we have not
requested help from the state.”
according to an OHa spokesperson,
Saint alphonsus Medical Center in Baker
City was one of the few hospitals to put
in a request for guard members to bolster
resources but did not specify when the order
was placed.
See Troops, Page A10
Maj. Chris Clyne/Oregon Army National Guard
Spc. Blaine Williams of 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment,
Oregon National Guard, helps health care technician Heather
Smith change COVID-19 patient bedding Aug. 21, 2021, at Mer-
cy Medical Center ICU in Roseburg. Williams’ service is part of a
statewide effort to help Oregon hospitals with support functions
due to reported increased COVID-19 cases and staff shortages.