INSIDE: Possible bear sighting reported in Hermiston | PAGE A3
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2021
146th Year, No. 5
$1.50
WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
SLEIGH BELLS TOLL
Scary story by Hermiston student hits the shelves in time for Halloween
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Hermiston High School student Ben Armstrong signs a copy of an anthology that contains his story “Sleigh 54” on Wednesday, Oct. 20,
2021, in the school’s commons.
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
H ER M ISTON — Ben
Armstrong, a junior at Hermis-
ton High School, may have just
taken his biggest step yet as a
published author.
T he 17-year- old cele-
brated Wednesday, Oct. 20,
as a birthday and the release
of “What Remains: An Inked
in Gray Anthology,” edited
by Dakota Rayne and San G.
Crow. Armstrong wrote a short
story, “Sleigh 54,” which was
published in the book.
Hermiston High School staged
a signing party for Armstrong,
who said he was enjoying the
attention his fi rst major published
story has brought. He had been
published on a few websites
previously, but those sites are
small, Armstrong said.
Family members were in
attendance — his mother, his
father, his stepfather, his step-
mother and his sister. Friends,
his girlfriend, teachers and other
well-wishers also showed up to
the gathering. Everyone took
their turn swarming around the
young author in his moment of
triumph.
Armstrong’s story earned its
place among 16 tales in the book.
Three hundred short stories had
been considered for publica-
tion; all but the 16 were rejected,
Armstrong said.
Delia Fields, Hermiston
School District librarian, orga-
Local libraries
try to bounce
back with
regular events
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
As COVID-19 restrictions lessen,
local libraries have been steadily resum-
ing a regular schedule of events. Library
patrons, too, have been returning, slowly
but surely, according to library represen-
tatives.
Friday morning, Oct. 23, off ered a
test of local’s willingness to visit library
events, with the Traveling Lantern
T h e a t r e
C o m p a n y Pendleton
per for ming
“The Mer r y Public library
Ta l e s
o f reports drop
Robin Hood” in, circulation,
at the Herm-
iston Public Morrow County
Library. Twen- libraries have
ty-three people low attendance
attended the
performance, at events
which was a
good turnout, according to librarians.
Mary Dowdy, Hermiston library assis-
tant and children’s programmer, said she
has seen a steady increase in event atten-
dance. For some time, she has read to chil-
dren at the library. Her readings are on
Tuesday morning. She is doing these now,
but they were canceled for much of the past
couple of years.
Starting the second week of September,
she resumed her public reading schedule.
During the fi rst week, however, no one
showed up. This was not a big surprise for
her, as she knew it would take a while for
families to know she was reading for chil-
dren again. Her worries began, however,
the following weeks.
For the second and third weeks, only
fi ve children showed up to the story time,
she said.
As she likes reading to children, the
small number of attendees troubled her.
She wondered if, perhaps, the weekly
event should be stopped, at least for the
time being.
See Libraries, Page A9
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Hermiston High School student Ben Armstrong poses with some admirers before signing copies of an
anthology in which his story “Sleigh 54” appears. The book signing took place on Armstrong’s birth-
day, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021.
nized the signing for Armstrong.
She said he is one of those
students she often sees in the
library, and she likes his story.
“It’s very clever and very
creative,” she said. “For me,
it’s a fun kind of scary story,
because I’m not into some of the
super creepy dark ones. It’s just
enough twisted.”
She said thinks Armstrong
is “on his way” to an impressive
literary career. She said she likes
his drive and skill. As he gains
confidence, he will continue
charting a path as an author, she
said.
Armstrong, in contrast to older
writers, has the benefi t of tech-
nology. He is able to fi nd markets
for his writing more easily than
people who did not grow up with
the internet, Fields said.
Armstrong and his story,
evaluated
At the event, Armstrong
agreed people often see horror
writers as dark, brooding indi-
viduals. That is not the case for
him — at least not all of the time.
“Maybe when I’m alone,” he
said. “When I’m around people,
I try to be gleeful.”
Armstrong’s mother, Jenni-
fer Keith Armstrong, boasted of
her son’s creativity. While she
likes his story and is proud of his
accomplishment, she does not
usually enjoy scary stories.
She said she asks him “to
write a story where everyone is
happy and no one dies.”
See Armstrong, Page A9
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Mary Dowdy, Hermiston library assistant
and children’s programmer, poses Mon-
day, Oct. 25, 2021, with a couple of books
she plans on reading for children’s story
time. Local libraries are working to bring
back more of their programs as the pan-
demic ebbs.
Vaccination falls prey to political beliefs
Oregon’s rural and
urban counties drift
further apart; health
offi cials question
how to rebuild
trust, save lives
By ALEX HASENSTAB
Oregon Public Broadcasting
PORTLAND — There is
a clear correlation between
COVID-19 vaccination rates
and political affiliation in
Oregon counties, and experts
St. Charles Health System/Contributed Photo said it’s about more than just
An unvaccinated patient fi ghts COVID-19 in the St. Charles Health System in Central Oregon. politics — it’s also about
Rural counties in Oregon have seen a surge in cases from the delta variant of the virus, which where and how people live,
how they feel about authority
has predominantly hospitalized unvaccinated people.
and whether they believe they
have a voice in how govern-
ment decisions get made in
this state with deep partisan
divides.
University of Oregon
political science professor
emerita Priscilla Southwell
said that while vaccines are
not inherently political, they
have become so in much of
the United States. In Oregon,
areas where a majority of
people are registered Repub-
licans report lower vaccina-
tion rates. But Southwell said
another, and perhaps more
influential, type of demo-
graphic split is at play.
See Politics, Page A9