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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2022)
REGION Tuesday, January 25, 2022 East Oregonian A3 Tactile map could be the next feature of Funland Playground The Lions Club is behind eff ort to make ‘the jewel of Hermiston’ more accessible By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian HERMISTON — A visionary’s work is never done, according to Herm- iston Parks and Recreation and the Hermiston Lions Club. “I don’t know if we will ever be completed,” Lions Club member Char- lie Clupny said. “The play- ground is a process.” People from the two organizations are planning new work for Funland Play- ground, which they refer to as “the jewel of Herm- iston.” This work is in the early stages, but they spoke recently of their plan, which they wish to introduce to the public. “We want to build a tactile map,” Clupny said. The map, as he described it, would include raised features and a layout of Funland. Located at the playground, it would give blind users a picture of the park they could feel and understand, he said. Lions Club members were among volunteers who helped build Funland. Also, the Lions donated money and a fountain to the project. The play- ground remains important to the club, according to Bill Kuhn, Hermiston Lion’s Club president, and Hermis- ton Lions have been looking for new ways to contribute to Funland. Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Theanah Dunlap pours tea into a container Dec. 17, 2021, at Tastea Boba in Pendleton. Authentic boba tea ready in Pendleton Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File Children climb on a play structure July 4, 2021, during the grand opening of the new Fun- land Playground in Hermiston. The city’s parks and recreation department and the Herm- iston Lions Club are working on a tactile map to make the playground more accessible. “As (Funland) neared completion, we saw that maybe the project could be made better for the sight-im- paired,” he said. He added that a tactile map could fill this need; sight-impaired children could gain understanding of the playground by feel- ing the map. They could, then, play on the actual play- ground. Kuhn said his club was interested in pursuing this idea, so they contacted InterMountain Education Service District to gain a better understanding of the maps and how they are used in children’s educa- tion. According to Clupny, the district has been helpful in improving accessibility in the playground, as it had made suggestions leading to such things as markers for diff erent levels on the pirate ship. A tactile map would be another step toward making Funland accessible to a growing number of people, Clupny said. “I think this is very important,” Hermiston Parks & Recreation Direc- tor Brandon Artz said. He explained it is the aim for his department to make this playground usable for people of all diff erent abili- ties, not just for able-bodied people. Funland has features for people with various disabil- ities, he said. Ramps and bars, for example, allow some children to make better use of the equipment. Also, some equipment was made so it was spacious enough for wheelchairs. “It should be inviting for anyone and everyone to be able to use,” he said. “(The tactile map) is a fantastic idea, and I am blown away that the Lions Club wants to take this on and get this VISIT US ON THE WEB AT: www.EastOregonian.com done. I think it would be a huge asset to the play- ground. People from all over would come here to use it.” Artz said it would serve more than visually impaired people, it also would help other children as well. The tactile map would teach empathy, he said; it would be a reminder to others of challenges of blind people. Young people would see this map, feel it and think more deeply about the people for whom the map serves, according to Artz. The Lions and Hermiston Parks & Rec are on board with this idea, but there still is more work to do. Now, they need to develop their idea and fi nd funding for it. Clupny said he is reach- ing out to local businesses for funding. There is no timeline on this project to date, though he said he would like to make it happen as soon as possible. By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian PENDLETON — Brandi Dunlap said she is thrilled about her business in Pend- leton. Taestea Boba, 1400 S.W. Court Ave., Pendleton, is the town’s only authentic boba tea shop, she said, but it serves plenty more, including milk teas, fruit teas and hot chocolates. Dunlap said boba tea — or bubble tea — is a Taiwan- ese tea-based drink. She claimed she has the only authentic boba tea in Pendle- ton because other restaurants that off er the boba tea use a powder tea. “But all of ours are brewed with a loose-leaf tea daily,” she said. The tea, she said, includes a “bottom,” composed of small, chewy black tapi- oca pearls at the base of the drink. She makes a sweet sauce, she said, with a recipe unique to her shop, and mari- nates the pearls to soak up the sweetness. Bursting boba, fi lled with juice that pop in the mouth, is one of the other options for a bottom. “Diff erent people prefer diff erent things at the bottom of their drinks,” she said. “Some people like to have that bursting boba to just pop fl avor into their mouths. Other people like to chew.” Dunlap described herself as the sort of person who likes to chew the boba at the bottom of her drinks. She said her children introduced her to boba tea fi ve years ago in Portland. Then, she met someone in Boise, Idaho, and she “fell in love” with the drink. Together, with her new contact, she opened a couple of boba tea shops in Boise, Idaho. Then living in Athena, she said she opened Black Pearl in Walla Walla and found success. Not only was she selling lots of tea, she made another contact, who would prove helpful to her business — Jeff Bradbury, owner and operator of Elite Guns & Tactical. He visited the Black Pearl and suggested Dunlap open a boba tea shop in Pend- leton. “I was on the fence about it,” she said. “You don’t really fi nd anything in Pendleton that isn’t burgers or coff ee and that sort of thing, steak, but I thought I’d give it a try.” And so far, she said, Taestea Boba is working out. A Mystery by Agatha Christie OFFICE SPECIALIST 2 Salary Range: $3,111 - $4,460 Full-Time Limited Duration Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, OR Apply by 1/30/22 https://bit.ly/3I4J19m Directed by Produced by Jeremy Reed Barbara McKinney JAN. 28, 29, FEB 4, 5, 11 & 12 AT 7:30 PM. FEB. 6 & 13 AT 2 PM. Box office hours: 6:30-7:30 pm Friday and Saturday and 1-2 pm Sunday during the weeks of the shows only. By permission of Samuel French | 1130 E. 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