2021 YEAR INREVIEW
Friday, December 31, 2021
East Oregonian
A3
Surge:
Continued from Page A1
Going into the Oregon
Department of Education’s
latest update on its COVID-
19 rules in March, Eastern
Oregon administrators were
looking for two things —
reducing the social distanc-
ing requirement from 6 feet
to 3 feet and removal of the
cohort limit.
When the state made its
announcement March 22,
they got both.
The day after the state
changed the rules, Hermis-
ton School District sent out
an announcement of its own
— all students would resume
full-time learning fi ve days a
week starting April 13.
Superintendent Tricia
Mooney said the 6-foot
requirement had been the
thing holding the district
back from off ering full-time
school sooner. Pendleton
Superintendent Chris Fritsch
said the district’s secondary
schools will reopen as adver-
tised, but the district needed
until April 12 to formulate a
plan based on the new rules.
Pendleton High School
Principal Melissa Sandven
said about 90% of Pendle-
ton High School’s students
were returning to in-person
school, and as the school
settled into its new routine,
some of the teens who
initially opted for online
classes changed their mind.
Milton-Freewater and
Athena-Weston school
districts jumped to full days
of in-person learning as well
in April.
Another beloved outlet
for students also returned —
sports.
8) Delta variant
arrives and sparks new
calls for vaccinations
LA GRANDE — Oregon
eased off its pandemic
restrictions in early July
regardless of infection and
vaccination levels in individ-
ual counties. Some indepen-
dent epidemiologists were
concerned the move could
lead to a spike in new cases
in areas where most residents
were not vaccinated.
Such as Eastern Oregon,
where the vaccination rate
in several counties was at no
more than 40%.
Just as the state was
reopening, Oregon also
found it, too, was home to
the most virulent form of the
coronavirus to that point: the
delta variant.
Oregon by mid-July
reported 14 delta cases with
three in Region 9, an area
that encompasses Morrow,
Umatilla, Union, Wallowa,
Baker and Malheur counties.
T he th ree were in
Umatilla Cou nt y, but
experts reported that almost
certainly was an undercount.
Health care experts urged
people to get vaccinated to
stave off a blow up of delta
infections that again would
tax hospitals.
7 Athena woman
spearheads vaccine
eff orts
ATHENA — As much as
the pandemic was the story
that aff ected all lives, it also
has been a showcase of indi-
vidual efforts to fight the
virus.
Rachelle Lasater was at
the forefront of COVID-19
vaccination eff orts in some
of Umatilla County’s small-
est towns: Helix, Weston
and Athena. Lasater in late
summer estimated she vacci-
nated nearly 300 people.
That was nearly 30% of all
vaccinations in those three
communities, according to
county health data.
A registered nurse at East
Umatilla Fire and Rescue
and former employee of
the Umatilla County Public
Health Department, Lasater
volunteered to bring vaccines
to the towns in northeast
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Registered nurse Heather McLeod prepares to enter a neg-
ative pressure room used for COVID-19 patients on July 27,
2021, at CHI St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Fans line the Pendleton Round-Up Grounds on July 10, 2021, for the Pendleton Whisky
Music Fest.
Airport offi cials lacked the
necessary fuel as demand
saw a major increase in the
wildfi re season.
4) Federal COVID-19
relief money benefi ts
local governments
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
Sixth grade students take part in class work at the Echo
School District Building on Feb. 2, 2021.
Umatilla County, taking the
reins from the health depart-
ment in May.
Lasater t raveled to
people’s homes for appoint-
ments, providing immu-
nizations and vaccine
information. She’s spear-
headed clinics at elemen-
tary schools, local pools and
community halls, at times
working alone or on her days
off .
6) Big events return
to in-person
UMATILLA COUNTY
— Major summer events
returned to Eastern Oregon
even as local COVID-19
cases ramped up, but not
without consequences.
Pendleton Whisky Music
Fest on July 10 likely was
the largest event Eastern
Oregon has seen since the
pandemic began, and while
the showcase was smaller
than in years past, organiz-
ers estimated that 12,000
people danced and drank the
night away at the Pendleton
Round-Up Grounds.
Whisky Fest co-manager
Doug Corey said 12,000
attendees was the target, and
headliner county artist Toby
Keith was the main draw that
helped make that happen.
The musical festival had
long been a question mark,
as the state remained under
lockdown measures to curb
the spread of COVID-19.
And a workforce shortage
created additional chal-
lenges to staffi ng, including
fi nding security. But during
the past month, Corey said
the concert came together in
a hurry, with much support
from the community.
Afterward, the Oregon
Health Authority announced
it was investigating a
COVID-19 outbreak of 41
cases stemming from the
Pendleton Whisky Music
Fest.
Aug ust marked the
return of county fairs and
local rodeos. 4-H and FFA
youths showed their animals
in person once again at the
fairs in Umatilla and Morrow
counties. Farm-City Pro
Rodeo in Hermiston saw new
arena records. All of that was
a precursor to the Pendleton
Round-Up.
5) Supplies and
housing remain tight
PEN DLETON
—
Th roughout 2021, the
COVID-19 pandemic took
shots at everyday life, from
protective face masks to
the way we gather. Another
major change was the supply
chain shortage, as grocery
stores, the housing market,
food banks and more experi-
enced the repercussions.
Customers witnessed
empty shelves at grocery
stores and reduced hours at
local restaurants as workers
elected to stay home. The
supply chain backup had
individuals concerned over
sporadic shortages, from
turkey on Thanksgiving to
everyday household items.
Pendleton’s tight housing
market grew tighter as well.
Jef Farley, a real estate agent
with Coldwell Banker Farley
Co., said Pendleton had only
about 10 houses available
for sale in what’s considered
a market that heavily favors
sellers.
According to the U.S.
Census Bureau, more than
half of Pendleton workers
don’t reside in the commu-
nity, a fact city offi cials have
used to argue that more
people would live in town if
the housing market weren’t
so tight, and 2021 started
to show breakthroughs in
developments.
Wildfl ower Apartments,
an aff ordable housing devel-
opment, is going up on
Southwest 18th Street near
Olney Cemetery, and the
nonprofi t Horizon Project is
proceeding with South Hill
Commons, a 70-unit aff ord-
able apartment complex on
the east side of South Hill.
The supply chain woes
reached local schools,
where students’ lunches
saw an impact. Those issues
prompted state leaders with
the Oregon Department of
Education to issue temporary
waivers for schools for nutri-
tional requirements.
During fi re season, a jet
fuel shortage raised concern
over possible danger in the
case of a large wildfire.
WA SH I NGT ON —
The $1.9 trillion American
Rescue Plan Act was trick-
le-down stimulus that sent
millions of dollars into states
and local economies stagger-
ing under the weight of the
pandemic.
In Oregon, that amounted
to just more than $4.26
billion — the state got $2.62
billion, counties received
$818 million, larger cities
got $438 million, and other
communities received $243
million.
Umatilla County received
$15.12 million while $2.25
million went to Morrow
County. Hermiston received
$3.62 million, Pendleton
$3.42 million while $230,000
went to Athena and $260,000
to Heppner.
The plan also provided
$118 million to hospitals and
health care providers across
Oregon serving rural popula-
tions. The Center for Human
Development, La Grande,
and Wallowa County Health
Care District, Enterprise,
were among the recipients.
Schools benefi ted as well.
Elementary and Second-
ary School Emergency Relief
under ARP allowed the
Hermiston School District,
for example, to cover school
supplies for students.
3) Where are the
workers?
HERMISTON — No
industry was hit harder by
the continuing pandemic
than the restaurant industry.
But even still, other sectors of
the economy bore the strug-
gles of the virus all the same,
albeit in diff erent ways. And
as the pandemic seemed to
wane, with large sections of
the entertainment industry
opening its shuttered doors,
a new problem arose.
There simply were not
enough workers.
Myriad reasons came
forth why hiring slowed
or seemingly stopped alto-
gether. Economists posited
that fears of the virus itself,
child care and pay were
among the reasons why posi-
tions lay unfi lled as demand
for services skyrocketed.
Others reasoned the elephant
in the room — unemploy-
ment benefi ts, were the sole
cause of the labor shortage.
EO Media Group put out
an ambitious eff ort over the
summer to find the truth
behind the worker shortages.
Our findings echoed
sentiment from both camps.
Employers gave testimony
of how potential employees
would hand in resumes solely
to fulfi ll a requirement that
allowed them to keep collect-
ing unemployment benefi ts.
“We get a lot of random
resumes dropped off , which
I guess is people trying to
satisfy job-search require-
ments,” said Jared Hillock,
a manager and co-owner of
Hillock Electric in Enter-
prise.
A rapidly changing demo-
graphic compounded the
shortage, the boomers retir-
ing at a faster pace due in part
to the continuing pandemic.
Soon, labor shortages in
key industries mixed with
higher gas prices led to yet
another shortage — supply
chains were in disarray as
store shelves and consump-
tive goods arrived late, or not
at all.
2) Round-Up returns,
but business was
slower
PENDLETON — Pend-
leton Round-Up and local
government officials were
signaling the biggest show
in Eastern Oregon would
go on in 2021. But local and
state offi cials raised red fl ags
about the possibility of an
outbreak.
The Confederated Tribes
of Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation Board of Trustees on
Aug. 26 videoconferenced
with the Round-Up Board
of Directors to discuss the
rodeo’s health and safety
measures as the former
contemplated taking an offi -
cial position on this year’s
event. Trustees expressed
their concerns the Round-Up
needed to do more to curb
coronavirus spread was not
enough.
Gov. Kate Brown declared
on Aug. 27 that masking up
would be a requirement of
outdoor events where social
distancing isn’t possible.
The crowd indeed came in
September to the Pendleton
Round-Up, but it was smaller
than in the years before the
pandemic and economic
boom that comes with the
Round-Up was smaller.
Joe’s Fiesta Mexican
Restaurant owner Joe Meda
said he decided to take off
Round-Up so he wouldn’t
have to worry about enforc-
ing the mask mandate,
especially because many
potential customers come
from states where there are
no face covering rules.
Great Pacifi c kept its 403
S. Main St. restaurant open
during Round-Up week, and
while the restaurant did see
a boost, manager Addison
Schulberg said the crowds
were smaller than in years
past. He also said getting
people to comply with
mandates was one of GP’s
consistent hurdles.
Hotels seemed as busy as
ever during Round-Up week,
but vendors said results were
mixed. Through Thursday of
Round-Up week, Main Street
vendors were reporting lower
than average business but
hoping for an uptick on the
fi nal two days of the rodeo.
The Round-Up did little to
enforce the governor’s mask
mandate. Health data linked
at least 247 COVID-19 cases
to the week-long rodeo.
1) People lost
to COVID-19
UMATILLA COUNTY
— 2020 was Umatilla Coun-
ty’s first year under the
pandemic, but it exacted a
much higher toll in 2021.
A s of We d ne sd ay,
Dec. 29, Umatilla County
recorded 122 deaths related
to COVID-19 in 2021, bring-
ing the county’s total death
count to 187. But in the early
months of the year, there
were reasons for optimism.
After 19 COVID-19 deaths
were reported in January, the
county reported low single-
digit totals in the six months
that followed.
But the delta variant
reversed that trend. From
August through October,
the number of Umatilla
County residents who died
with COVID-19 exceeded
the entire death county from
2020: 68 versus 65.
If there was a silver lining
to 2021, it’s that Umatilla
County’s COVID-19 death
rate remained below aver-
age. Only 1.2% of reported
COVID-19 cases resulted
in death, a number below
the state’s 1.4% rate and far
better than many of Umatilla
County’s rural counterparts.
But numbers don’t fully
illustrate the loss felt by resi-
dents who lost family and
friends to the virus.
The casket bearing the
body of Randy Severe, a
popular saddlemaker and
former Round-Up president,
was led through the streets
of Pendleton in late Novem-
ber after Severe died after a
COVID-19 diagnosis.
The Aug. 7 death of
Michael Gavin spurred
two ceremonies: one at
the Mission Longhouse to
honor his tribal heritage and
another at the Bethel Church,
where he had served as a
youth pastor.
“While I’m so happy
that our death toll has been
lower than most reserva-
tions, people can get lost in
the numbers and not real-
ize that every single one of
those numbers is a tragedy
for some family,” his sister,
Jill-Marie Gavin, said at the
time.
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360-921-2071
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