Pendleton City Council holds meeting on local taxi law | REGION, A3
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
146th year, No. 46
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WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021
Indoor mask mandate set to end in March
Officials: Oregon
is ‘past its peak’
for COVID-19
cases due to the
omicron variant
By ELIZABETH
MILLER
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — Citing a
projected drop in hospital-
izations next month, Oregon
health officials announced an
end to indoor mask require-
ments in public places “no
later than March 31.”
That end of March time-
line also includes mask
requirements inside schools,
Oregon Health Authority
officials said Monday, Feb. 7.
With the state’s temporary
indoor mask mandate rule set
to expire Feb. 8, OHA offi-
cials needed to file a new
permanent rule with the
Oregon secretary of state, if
they wanted to maintain the
requirement. But, in response
to vocal criticism of “perma-
nent rules” at hearings last
Nationwide
blood deficit
hits region
By ALEX WITTWER
EO Media Group
Blood doesn’t last long. Plate-
lets last only five days, according
to the American Red Cross, while
red blood cells will last up to 42
days. Plasma can last up to one year
if frozen. Nor can blood be manu-
factured; the supply of blood relies
entirely on donors rolling up their
sleeves.
The American Red Cross,
which held a nationwide blood
drive in January including several
blood donation stations in East-
ern Oregon, reports it is facing a
blood crisis. The organization’s
website stated its blood supply is
at the lowest levels in more than
a decade. The alarm was sounded
last month during National Blood
donor month.
“While some types of medical
care can wait, others can’t,” said Dr.
Pampee Young, chief medical offi-
cer of the Red Cross. “Hospitals are
still seeing accident victims, cancer
patients, those with blood disorders,
like sickle cell disease, and indi-
viduals who are seriously ill who
all need blood transfusions to live,
even as omicron cases surge across
the country. We’re doing everything
we can to increase blood donations
to ensure every patient can receive
medical treatments without delay.
We cannot do it without more
donors. We need the help of the
American people.”
Local hospitals
react to shortage
The national blood shortage
has hit uneven ground in Eastern
Oregon, with area hospitals report-
ing their blood supply falling below
critical levels.
Most hospitals are handling it
well, given the circumstances, while
others have begun to feel the effects.
Most blood that is donated goes to
local hospitals, according to Caitlin
Cozad, marketing and communica-
tions director for Good Shepherd
See Blood, Page A9
month, state health officials said state health officer Dr.
said the mandates wouldn’t Dean Sidelinger in a release
last forever.
Feb. 7 announcing the news.
Now, citing health scien-
Mounting evidence that
tists’ projections
omicron cases are
that “400 or fewer
declining has led
Oregonians would
Oregon to join a
be hospitalized with
growing number of
COVID-19″ by late
states that are relax-
March, officials have
ing indoor mask
rules.
given a sunset for the
“We should see
rule extension.
“The evidence
Sidelinger
COVID-19 hospi-
talizations drop by
from Oregon and
around the country is clear: the end of March because
masks save lives by slowing so many Oregonians are
the spread of COVID-19,” wearing masks and taking
other steps to protect them-
selves and each other, such
as getting a booster shot or
vaccinating their children,”
Sidelinger said. “At that
point, it will be safer to lift
mask rules.”
Hospitalizations remain
above 1,000 daily, filling
Oregon hospitals. Oregon
health officials say the aver-
age number of new COVID-
19 cases has dropped about
40% over the last week.
“By the end of next
month, we’ll be in a place
where disease rates should
be much lower, hospital
capacity much less strained,
and we can move to a more
individual and communi-
ty-based approach to mask-
ing requirements and mask
use,” Sidelinger said.
Although state models
show hospitalizations peak-
ing at 1,169 before declin-
ing, Sidelinger said Oregon
is “past its peak.” The latest
numbers from OHA show
hospitalizations at 1,092.
There have been 6,181
See Masks, Page A9
CYCLE OREGON
Back in the saddle
After getting canceled
by pandemic in 2020,
Cycle Oregon will
roll again this fall
By BENNETT HALL
Blue Mountain Eagle
OHN DAY — One of Oregon’s
premier outdoor recreation events
will be coming to Grant and Wheeler
counties this fall, bringing more
than 1,000 visitors and significant economic
impacts to the area.
The Portland-based nonprofit Cycle
Oregon announced last week that it will stage
its biggest ride of the year in the area this
September. Dubbed “Ride the Painted Hills,”
the event will run Sept. 10-17, starting and
finishing in John Day and taking in some of
the region’s most spectacular scenery.
The ride was initially supposed to happen
in September 2020, but the organization called
it off as it became clear that the coronavirus
pandemic was going to be around for a while.
A handful of scaled-down events were held in
2021, but this year the group is ready to hit the
road full force.
“We’re just really excited about going out in
2022,” Cycle Oregon Executive Director Steve
Schulz told the Blue Mountain Eagle.
J
An Oregon tradition
Since 1988, Cycle Oregon has brought
together cycling enthusiasts once a year for
group rides in various parts of the state. The
first installment, which attracted around 1,000
participants, was a six-day, 350-mile jaunt
from Salem to Brookings.
The idea caught on, and one annual ride
has grown into a four-course menu for serious
cyclists. In addition to the weeklong Classic,
Cycle Oregon also offers a pair of two-day
options, the Weekender and the Gravel (being
held this year in Corvallis and Toledo, respec-
tively) and the one-day Joyride, a women-only
pedal in the Independence area.
All rides are supported, with meals, camp-
ing facilities, showers and restrooms provided,
and there’s a “sag wagon” available to pick
up riders who get injured, suffer mechanical
breakdowns or just run out of gas. A festive
atmosphere surrounds the rides, often with
live music and local beer and wine.
There also is a public service component:
Contributed Photo/Cycle Oregon
Cycle Oregon is coming to Grant County in September 2022 after being forced to cancel a
planned ride in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Classic participants are encouraged to take
part in public service projects in some of the
host communities, and Cycle Oregon has its
own grant program. Through a fund housed
within the Oregon Community Foundation,
the group has awarded 328 grants totaling
$2.5 million to support projects and programs
around the state.
What to expect
After spending the night of Sept. 10 in John
Day, the group will pedal to Monument on the
first full day of riding. From there they’ll go to
Fossil, then Mitchell, then Dayville and back
to John Day. There will be a couple of layover
days along the way, with a selection of activ-
ities planned, and each day’s ride will feature
at least two options to choose from.
Depending on which options they select,
participants will cycle anywhere from 272 to
443 miles with about 15,000 to 35,000 feet of
elevation gain.
This year’s Classic is capped at 1,500
riders, but Schulz has no doubt it will reach
that mark.
“There’s a lot of uncertainties right now,
but we feel like we’ll hit that capacity,” he said.
Economic impact
cheap: The base fee for this year’s Classic is
$1,250 per rider, and the cost can climb from
there with add-on options such as tent set-up
and porter service.
But while those fees go to Cycle Oregon,
there’s plenty of additional money to go
around, Schulz said.
On average, he said, Cycle Oregon partic-
ipants spend between $200 and $250 apiece
during the weeklong Classic rides. In addi-
tion to the riders, there’s a crew of 50 to 100
service providers (food service workers, bike
mechanics, emergency medical technicians,
the people who set up and take down the porta-
ble toilets and showers) who travel with the
group, and they also tend to spend money
along the way.
“It’s a full-on operation; it’s no joke,”
Schulz said. “There’s a lot of people it takes
to pull it off.”
On top of that, Cycle Oregon typically
reaches out to local community groups (think
Boy Scout troops, high school sports teams
and service clubs) to do a variety of chores,
from handing out water bottles to serving food
and cleaning up campsites. In exchange for
their hard work, those groups get stipends. For
a weeklong Classic, Schulz said, that gener-
As you might expect, Cycle Oregon is not
See Saddle, Page A9
District looks to define itself amid superintendent search
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PeNdLeTON — In the process of
finalizing a brochure to sell candidates
on applying for the Pendleton School
District’s open superintendent position,
the school board had to reckon with how
to disclose and describe the district’s
challenges.
At a meeting Jan. 26, the Pendleton
School Board met with search consul-
tants Sergio Hernandez and Bill Jordan
after the pair had conducted a series of
focus groups and surveys. Hernandez
and Jordan used the input from students,
staff and community members to create
a brochure that would promote the posi-
tion and the district, but they wanted
final approval from the board before
attaching the brochure to job ads.
One of the points of contention from
the board was about a section entitled
“challenges and opportunities.” Board
member Patrick Gregg, an attorney by
trade, said he felt including a section
on challenges might have a “chilling
effect” on who applies for the job.
“Yes, there are challenges,” board
member Beth Harrison said. “We aren’t
going to try to hide those. But I don’t
think we want to lead with them.”
Jordan said listing challenges acted
as a good screening tool because it
could deter unqualified candidates
from applying. Hernandez added that
being transparent about the district’s
challenges help candidates develop
informed answers when asked about
them during the interview process. The
board opted to make a list of challenges
available to candidates, but to keep it
separate from the brochure.
But it wasn’t just the challenges’
inclusion that concerned the board,
but what the challengers were, includ-
See School, Page A9
COVID
VACCINES & BOOSTERS
Free
18 and older
Every Wednesday by appointment
Call 541-966-0535 option 4 to schedule