OFF PAGE ONE
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
East Oregonian
A9
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Alisha Lundgren, assistant deputy director of the Umatilla
County Health Department, draws up doses of the COVID-19
vaccine Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, during a booster shot clinic at
the Pendleton Convention Center.
Clinic:
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
A costumed stilt walker on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, strides along Main Street in Pendleton during the Pendleton Downtown
Association’s Halloween event.
Halloween:
Continued from Page A1
Kain, Skinner’s friend
who was with the family at
the maze in Echo, also was
with them in Pendleton for
trick-or-treating.
Sawyer said she liked
dressing up in costume.
“My mom likes it too,”
she said of her outfi t.
While young Sawyer and
companions trekked Main
Street, other people strove
to make their enjoyment
possible. Workers stood at
the openings to many busi-
nesses, gifting children with
candies. Long lines were
common.
Joanna Engle, executive
director of the Children’s
Museum of Eastern Oregon,
was one such person. She
handed out candies from the
doorstep of the museum, 400
S. Main St., and gave free
museum passes to adults.
“This is another fun
opportunity for us to get
people into the museum and
let people know about it,” she
said.
She also liked making
people happy, she said. When
she was a child, she said, she
enjoyed dressing up, which
is why Halloween was a fun
holiday. It was a time for
her and her siblings to have
fun together with the rest
of the family. She added, as
someone who works around
children, creating joy for
youngsters, giving them the
same experiences, she had
when she was small, means
a lot to her.
Wit h E ng le , K i m
Chavez-Sierra, museum
board chair, said she also
was loving greeting kids
and giving them a happy
Halloween. Chavez-Sierra
is married to East Oregonian
reporter Antonio Sierra.
“Halloween is actually
Cats:
Continued from Page A1
Kittens are especially at
risk, as their immune system
is immature and their body
fat is low.
Sergeant said Umatilla
County has “seen a lot” of
panleuk, a “fl urry of it” in
the last two months among
strays.
“I don’t recall seeing an
outbreak like this before,” he
said.
Cases sometimes pop up
“here or there, but nothing
like this,” he said, adding he
suspects it got into the right
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Makenna Zander, 7, crosses Southwest Emigrant Avenue
on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021, while trick-or-treating in down-
town Pendleton.
my favorite holiday, even as
an adult,” she said.
A kindergarten teacher,
she added she the merriness
on display at Downtown
Trick or Treat was a good
sight. The past year, with
the pandemic continuing,
has been tough on people,
she said, and she was happy
to see people fi nding joy in
this activity, providing they
were safe.
Stanfi eld
Also on Oct. 30, Stan-
field’s Fall Festival &
Haunted Library activi-
ties including games and
“trunk-or-treat” provided
much fun, thanks to the work
of several volunteers. Cecili
Longhorn, Stanfi eld Public
Library director, was one of
those volunteers. Dressed as
a scarecrow, she welcomed
people into the library, which
was decorated as a haunted
house.
Volunteers spent a couple
of days setting up the library.
There were eight other volun-
teers at the library alone for
the “haunted library.” Some
were dressed as monsters
and murderers inside.
“Mom! I’m scared!
Mom! Mom!” one small
population, stray cats, and
spread like “wildfi re.”
Boggs, who fosters cats,
also used the word “wildfi re,”
when describing panleuk
transmission in her home.
When she still was trapping
animals, she brought home an
infected cat and the disease
spread within her home.
Having lost seven cats
recently to panleuk, she is on
the lookout for the disease.
In addition to limiting her
contact with other cats, she
regularly disinfects her home,
her car and herself with trifec-
tant spray. The 53-year-old
Hermiston resident has been
taking care of cats her entire
life, and said she is heartbro-
child shouted while touring
the library, which was dark
inside and contained fright-
ening displays and music.
Other visitors screamed, too,
then laughed at themselves for
being startled. The attraction,
then, had its intended eff ect.
“We started it eight
years ago,” Longhorn said.
“A friend and I decided we
wanted to do a fall festival,
and we asked if anyone was
interested in volunteering.
Somewhere along the way,
we thought it would be fun
to do a haunted library.”
She said she had not, until
then, even heard of a haunted
library. A group of volunteers
came together, and the idea
grew from there. The library
building, which closed for
two days prior to the event in
preparation, always contain
fun new ideas she said. She
expressed volunteers do a lot
of work to give the impres-
sion of a large space inside
their little library.
“I hope everyone who
comes will come again to see
what the library really looks
like,” she said.
Hermiston
Hermiston hosted several
events, including Treats on
ken by a disease she sees as
being on the upswing as she
has never seen before.
Cindy Spiess, owner
of Pendleton’s Cat Utopia,
called the situation as “really
sad.” She also is on the
board of directors for PAWS.
She added she tends to see
outbreaks every fi ve or six
years, but recent months have
been atypical. This fall, she
has heard of many cases
She has not seen any cases
in her own business, she said,
but has heard of the disease
spreading among fostered
cats locally and in Walla
Walla and Portland.
She recommended immu-
nizations, and both Sergeant
Main & Beyond. Local busi-
nesses handed out candy to
costumed trick-or-treaters.
“It was pretty cool,” Sarah
Ramos, Hales’ Restaurant
hostess, said. There were
many visitors with fun
costumes, including some
decked out as dinosaurs, she
said.
Cristal Carman, cook for
Veg Out, participated also in
the festivities, as she handed
out candy with a co-worker.
“It turned out really
good,” she said. “I really
enjoyed seeing all the
costumes. Some of them
made them themselves.
Others had unique themes,
like some ballplayers from ‘A
League of Their Own.’ So I
really enjoyed it, and I think
the kids did, too.”
A nother impressive
costume, she said, was Col.
Sanders, the KFC founder
and mascot. Someone
dressed up like the Colonel
and carried a bucket of fried
chicken, Carmen said.
Over at the Hermiston
Public Library, staff also
reported having a good
time with their volunteer-
ism. Vivian Cano, library
assistant, was one of those
volunteers, helping to put
“goody bags” together and
then handing them out to
children.
She said she saw many
excellent costumes — a giant
banana, unicorns, Fortnite
characters and more. She
noted the specialness of
this holiday, especially as
some of the kids were enjoy-
ing it for the fi rst time in a
couple of years, having had
it cancelled last year due to
COVID-19 worries.
“They were excited,
shy but excited once they
got their bags,” she said.
The bags contained candy,
bookmarks and librar y
information.
and Frischman agreed, saying
vaccinations are highly eff ec-
tive in preventing panleuk.
Cat owners can get their pets
vaccinated at local vet clinics
or they can do it themselves at
home. Vaccinations are avail-
able at local farm stores.
Robin Barker of Fuzz Ball
Rescue, agreed about the
usefulness of vaccinations,
and she said she sees vacci-
nations as the solution to the
The clinic was one of two
in Umatilla County that day,
with the second occurring in
Milton-Freewater. Fiumara
said the turnout was larger
than expected.
“We’re glad people
showed up,” Fiumara said.
“We’re glad to give every-
one who wants a booster a
booster.”
Who can get a booster?
Research shows booster
shots can bolster protection
against COVID-19, especially
for those most vulnerable to
infection.
The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion reports people who
received a Pfi zer or Moderna
vaccine are eligible for boost-
ers if they are 65 and older.
People who are 18 and older
and live in a long-term care
facility, have underlying
health conditions, or work or
live in a space at high-risk for
infection also are eligible.
The CDC recommends
people get a booster shot six
months after getting their
Pfi zer or Moderna shot.
Johnson & Johnson recip-
ients over the age of 18 also
are eligible for boosters, the
CDC says. They can get their
booster two months after
their fi rst dose.
Recipients can mix-and-
match with any of the
vaccines, according to the
CDC.
Pendleton booster clinic
The long line of vehicles
snaked through the conven-
tion center parking lot the
after of Oct. 29. People sat in
their cars with their heaters
and radios on for hours. Most
people seeking their extra
immunizations were elderly.
Several patients groaned at
the wait, but most were in
jovial spirits.
There was Terry and
Raylene Ellis, a retired
school teacher and retired
entertainer. For two hours
and 47 minutes, they talked,
complained, laughed and
sang along to tunes on the
radio.
They said Umatilla Coun-
ty’s low vaccination rates —
and high infection rates drove
— them to get extra protec-
tion. They said they know
people personally who have
died of COVID-19.
“I couldn’t have dreamt up
this pandemic,” Terry said.
After getting his booster,
Terry said he plans to fi nally
get back to playing racquet-
ball at the gym. He and
Raylene said they would
encourage other people to
get vaccinated to protect the
other people in their commu-
nity.
“I go with the science,”
Raylene said. “Let’s all take
care of each other.”
A few cars ahead of them
sat Mike and Linda Fergu-
son. As senior citizens, they
said they recognize they are
at increased risk of severe
illness and need all the extra
protection they can get. They,
too, know people who have
died of COVID-19.
“When it’s somebody
close to you, you know how
serious it is,” Linda said.
To Mike, getting a booster
carries with it one step toward
a massive goal:
“You’re hoping to put an
end to the pandemic.”
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Registered nurse Lexie Futter, left, prepares Raylene Ellis to
receive her COVID-19 booster shot Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, during
a vaccination clinic at the Pendleton Convention Center.
local outbreak. The problem,
she said, is the outbreak is
biggest amongst cats that are
least likely to be vaccinated,
such as strays.
She has seen outbreaks in
other cities, and she said she
fi nds the situation sad.
Beau Putnam, Pet Rescue
Humane Society of Eastern
Oregon, also is concerned
about the disease because it
is diffi cult to treat. He said he
has seen it among fostered
kittens, and he wants people
to vaccinate.
Veterinarian Frischman
off ered some hope about the
current situation. She noted
we are “coming out of kitten
season,” during which there
are fewer cat births. We will,
then, see fewer deaths and
less spread, because there
will be fewer new cats to
spread the disease.
GOLD SPONSORS
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RE/MAX Cornerstone
Rick’s Car Wash
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Western Radiator
BRONZE SPONSORS
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Kiks Golf Center
Kirby Nagelhout Construction Co.
Kopacz Nursery & Florist
Landmark Tax Services
McEntire Dental
Mid Columbia Bus Co
NW Metal Fabricators Inc
Rob Merriman Plumbing & Heating Inc
The RBH Group LLC
The Saddle Restaurant and Lounge
Willowbrook Terrace
OTHER SPONSORS
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Amanda White goes fi lls out intake paperwork for Beetlejuice on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, at the
Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter in Pendleton. While PAWS has not had a case of feline pan-
leukopenia, they are working to inform cat owners of the dangers of the disease.
Barhyte Specialty Foods
Umatilla Electric Cooperative
CMG Financial
Duchek Construction
Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
Hermiston Public Library
Hodgen Distributing
Pendleton KOA
Starvation Ridge Farming, LLC
Sun Terrace Hermiston
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