REGION Saturday, September 25, 2021 East Oregonian A3         ­ ­€‚ƒ ­€„  ­€‚ƒ’— €… †Œ‘„’ Ž•“ ‚” ‰Š ’ ‰Š‡‹‰„ ƒ†‡ ˆ‡ †Œ‘„’ Ž€“ ‚” ƒˆ ’ Ž‘’“ ‚” ƒˆ ’ Œ „ ƒ†‡ ’ƒ ‚… ‰Š ƒˆ ­‚ €… ’ ‚  ’Œ  – ‰Š ’ †‡ˆ‡‚ ­€„ ’€ ‚€ ­€‚ƒ’Š‡  ”•ƒ•‘‚‡Ž‘•‡‘–ƒ†ƒŒ‘‰—– ‚‰‡ ƒ‡‹ƒŒƒ†‰Œ‡ƒ— žš›˜Š †š•˜‘Œ‘•‘“—˜€€œ˜†Ÿ†Œ˜—¡¢£ ­€‚ƒ’“…   “ €… ’ƒ ‚„ €… ’ƒ ‚…  ’“… ™††š›…›š†˜œ ƒ‹ €… ’˜ ‚ ƒ‹ ’ Ž•“ ‚” ŒˆŽ †Œ‘„   ­€‚ƒ ­€„  €… ƒ†‡ Libraries, bookstores spotlight banned books By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian UMATILLA COUNTY — Activities and displays around the area are promot- ing “Banned Book Week,” which celebrates books that some people want to keep out of the hands of school chil- dren or the rest of the public. Banned Book Week begins Sunday, Sept. 26, and runs until Oct. 2. Pend- leton Public Library direc- tor Jennifer Costley said her library has done elaborate book displays in the past, but this year, the library’s sole commemoration will be a banned-book-themed arts and crafts class for children. Regardless, Costley said Banned Book Week is important because it helps stoke interest in reading. Attempting to ban books tends to have the opposite eff ect, Costley said, as people seek out the controversial material. Costley said one book in Pendleton’s collec- tion, Alex Gino’s “George,” a book with a transgender protagonist, got more atten- tion after some groups sought to ban it. Reasons vary for challenging books When many people think of a banned book, they think of books that are forbidden or removed by an institu- tion, or maybe even burned. Though this can be the case, Mark Rose, Hermiston Public Library director said a “banned” book has a diff erent meaning for his library and other libraries. People may “challenge” a book, asking for it to be removed, Rose said. Once the book is challenged, the book is “banned” regardless of whether it was removed from the library or not. It is then added to a banned book list, cautioning other libraries they might also experience a challenge or concern from their local residents. T hough people are responding negatively when they initiate a ban, the ban can end up having the oppo- site intended eff ect. A ban, then, can be a badge of honor for a book as subversive or even important. The American Library Association released a list of the most challenged books in 2020. “George” made the list, along with “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds, and “Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice” by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins and Ann Hazzard. Classics, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, also were on the top-10 list. Some reasons for banning the books on the ALA list Erick Peterson/East Oregonian Arianna Strong and Kellie Lamoreaux, library aides, and Su- sie Sotelo, library director of the Umatilla Public Library, on Sept. 16, 2021, read pages from “The Story of Ferdinand,” a banned book. It is on display at Hash Park in Umatilla. Banned Book Week begins Sunday, Sept. 26, and runs until Oct. 2. include sensitive topics, profanity and even an author’s behavior. According to the ALA, this year’s theme is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse produces annual reports about about intellectual free- dom issues at libraries and schools in Oregon, includ- ing books that receive chal- lenges. According to the OIFC’s 2021 report, patrons and library staff challenged several Dr. Seuss works, including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “The Cat’s Quizzer” and “If I Ran the Zoo,” all for racist depictions. The book series “Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas and “Gimmie Every- thing You Got” by Iva-Ma- rie Palmer were among those that received objections from parents and patrons for sexually explicit mate- rial. And according to the report, there were challenges from public school teachers against “Julián Is a Mermaid” and “The Little Library” for LGBTQ+ content. A classic also made the OIFC’s list: A parent wanted a school library to yank William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies” due to “Occult / Satanism.” Libraries retained the works in each case except one: A library moved the “The Great (Season One) from a “New DVD” shelf to the regular DVD section. That report noted that action was happening regardless of any challenge. Tobias Unruh, owner 600 David Eccles Rd Baker City, Oregon Displays of banned books a tradition Rose described Banned Book Weeks as a divisive topic that he has seen “create incredible problems for librar- ies in the past.” Still, staff at the Hermiston Public Library will select materials and items to highlight for the week. Rose said the library has been creat- ing banned book displays since he arrived just more than fi ve years ago. “It’s often a tradition in libraries to create these displays at this time of year,” he said. Most librarians, he said, have a negative opinion of bans because the bans can limit the access to informa- tion. Susie Sotelo, Umatilla Public Library director, also stands against bans. The library placed “The Story of Ferdinand,” a banned book, in its StoryWalk displays. The StoryWalk book is changed every month, and the book will remain to the end of September. “You can walk the trail and learn about what Banned Book Week is and you can find out why this particu- lar story was banned,” said Sotelo. “At the end of the trail, we also have a display with other popular banned books and the option to enter to win a copy of ‘The Story of Ferdinand.’” Sotelo said she chose “Ferdinand” as the Story- Walk book because its status as a banned book is surprising and might interest people. She said the book, about a pacifi stic bull, has a nice message for children. Still, people of varied polit- ical stripe have criticized the book and caused it to be banned. Kathy Street, the director of the Oregon Trail Library District, oversees the Board- man, Heppner and Irrigon libraries. She said all three of her branches will each have banned book displays of the top challenged books. A majority of the displayed books, she said, will be young adult literature. They also will be a “mix of classic titles and newer writings.” She said one of her favorite challenged and banned books is “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell, Justin Rich- ardson and Henry Cole. “I love it for the story of a little penguin egg being taken care of by the two male penguins who were bonded at the zoo,” she said. “I mean how sweet is that?” The book has drawn chal- lenges for its same-sex pair- ing of animals. As such, she said, it is perceived as anti-family. “Even in the animal world there all kinds of families, and to see them refl ected in books is important,” she said. “We need a broad selection for patrons to choose from. And there will always be books that someone might disagree with. But that is no reason for one person to remove it.” And The Next Chap- ter Bookstore in Hermiston also plans to display banned books, such as “The Grapes of Wrath,” “1984” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” “It’s hard to compre- hend,” said Angela Pursel, store owner, “what we as readers, as thinkers, would have missed if we hadn’t had access to this great litera- ture.” LOCAL BRIEFING Buses not bringing Haitian immigrants to Pendleton PENDLETON — Rumors of buses bringing Haitian immigrants to the Social Security Administration offi ce in Pendleton have no merit, according to Pendleton Mayor John Turner and Pend- leton Chief of Police Charles Byram. “The rumor was that there was a bunch of Haitians being brought up from the border,” Turner said, “and that does not appear to be true.” Instead, migrant farm workers are coming through and making applications to see what Social Security bene- fi ts they are eligible to receive. Turner said because Pendleton has the only Social Security offi ce that serves Northeast- ern Oregon, several hundred are coming through this week. Byram said he sent an offi - cer to investigate the situation and found everything was legal. “What we learned is that migrant farmworkers were being bused to the Social Security office to apply for their benefits, which if they’re allowed legally in the country to work, they can do that,” Byram said. “They were doing what they were supposed to do by law.” Applications open for chain-up permits PENDLETON — The Oregon Department of Trans- portation announced in a press release it will issue permits for those interested in chaining up commercial vehicles during the winter months along specifi c sections of Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon. The department’s District 12 office in Pendleton, the District 13 office in La Grande and the District 14 office in Ontario will each issue permits, depending on the need and number of appli- cants. Interested parties need to contact the appropriate ODOT district offi ce between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31 for details and application requirements. Each ODOT offi ce will hold random drawings on Nov. 1 to determine who will receive an off er for the permits. ODOT permit specialist Tom Lapp said, “After the drawing, those individuals selected will have one week to complete the permit applica- tion and return it to the district offi ce.” The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser- vation also will issue some permits for the Umatilla County area to tribal members. Only persons who have the chain-up permits will be allowed to provide this service to truck drivers in designated chain-up areas. The permits will be valid between Nov. 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021. For more information, contact the appropriate ODOT offi ce as follows: • District 12 Offi ce, 1327 S.E. Third St., Pendleton Contact Lapp at 541-278-3450. • District 13 Offi ce, 3014 Island Ave., La Grande. Contact Lynn Elliott at 541-963-8407. • District 14 Offi ce, 1390 S.E. First St., Ontario. Contact John Eden at phone: 541-823- 4016. Information regarding permits issued by the Confed- erated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is available from John Barkley, Danielle Broncheau or Michelle Bratlie at 541-429-7193. — EO Media Group and wire services Elkhorn Barn Co. Custom Barns and Storage 509-331-4558 • Elkhornbarns@gmail.com • 541-519 -2968