REGION
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
‘You Are Here’ exhibit comes to
Tamastslikt Cultural Institute
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Christy Meyers, offi ce assistant at West Park Elementary
School, Hermiston, opens her school’s new book vending
machine on Friday, March 25, 2022.
West Park Elementary
adds a book vending
machine to its library
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — A new
vending machine in Hermis-
ton contains something that
will strike some people as a
surprise.
Instead of candy or soda,
West Park Elementary now
has a book vending machine
inside its library.
“I really like it,” fourth
grader Kaitlyn Solorio said.
“It’s really pretty, and I like
how they decorated it.”
The vending machine is
decorated in school colors
and logos, it contains 250
books and it stands near
the checkout desk in the
school’s library. Kaitlyn said
she has looked the machine
over several times, and she
already has picked out the
books she would like to own
from it.
According to school offi ce
assistant Christy Meyers, the
machine is generating a buzz
among students, even though
the machine is not now work-
ing. The school is waiting on
a repair; still, students are
regularly asking about it.
“They’re really so excited,
so excited,” she said.
The books, Meyers said,
are not for checkout. Rather,
they are intended as prizes
for students, who earn tokens
for achieving reading goals.
Then, they drop the coins
in the machine’s slot, select
their desired books and
wait for books to drop into
a drawer, where they can be
retrieved.
Meyers said she first
heard of the machines from
a friend on Facebook. She
then started talking about
it to school administration
and members of the Parent-
Teacher Organization. The
PTO, she said, loved the idea
and off ered to pay for it.
The PTO purchased the
machine for around $6,000,
which includes service.
There was no cost to the
school or the Hermiston
School District, according to
Meyers.
“There was a lot of work
for it,” she said. “Carnivals,
fundraisers, popcorn sales,
all sorts of things have been
done. Kid Bank was huge,
and there were so many other
things where people worked
really hard.”
She said the idea has
been implemented by other
schools, which have found
success. In ordinary reading
programs, such as the one
at West Park, students meet
their goals and are handed
books. But, she said, there is
more excitement with some-
thing new. By giving coins
and allowing students to
select their own book from
a machine, they are enjoying
something diff erent.
Where this has been done,
Meyers said, students have
liked it, which encourages
them to read more, earn more
coins and obtain more books.
This machine is not, and
could never, replace the
school’s librarian, as it does
not check out books, Meyers
said. Also, she added, it does
not perform the many other
tasks of the library staff .
This came as good news
to Amy Cooper, West Park
Elementary library assis-
tant, who was looking over
the vending machine with
Meyers on March 25.
“I’m not threatened by it
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
A new book vending ma-
chine stands Friday, March
25, 2022, in the library at
Hermiston’s West Park Ele-
mentary School.
at all,” Cooper said. “It’s fun.
It’s exciting. Kids talk about
it every time they come in,
and they check it out three or
four times a day, and they’ll
still talk about it. They’re
super excited.”
As a book lover, Cooper
said she feels happy about
any project such as this that
encourages reading. She is
not alone in this enthusiasm.
“This is 21st century tech-
nology incentive that should
be in schools,” said Dave
Nycz, fi fth grade homeroom
teacher.
He added it has a lot of
appeal for kids.
“I like the fact that it
displays the books and shows
kids the rewards,” he said. “It
is manipulative. Kids love to
be interactive with things.
For them to perceive that
token, which they earned for
their reading progress, there’s
just something about manip-
ulating things that brings the
hype up.”
Principal Kevin Headings
agreed.
“I think it’s a great
machine,” he said. “It adds
a lot to our school and our
reading program. I’m looking
forward to seeing the enthusi-
asm of our students increase
and their motivation to read
increase.“
He said that he is hope-
ful the vending machine will
outlast the current staff at the
school.
“It’s going to be there long
after us,” he said.
MISSION — Tamastslikt
Cultural Institute in Febru-
ary opened its fi rst guest art
exhibit since 2020.
“You Are Here,” the
mixed-media exhibition,
curated by Sheehan Gallery
at Whitman College, was
created for a college course
on Indigenous aesthetics. It
explores themes related to
place and identity. Artists
exhibited are of Indige-
nous ancestry, drawing on
personal memories and
collective histories.
The exhibit at Tamasts-
likt, east of Pendleton, runs
until May 14. Most of the
art works Sheehan collected
are on display. Some pieces
belong to Whitman College,
while others are on loan
from private collections or
the artists themselves.
Tamastslikt curator
Randall Melton viewed
“You Are Here” at the Shee-
han last fall. He said he
asked then if the gallery had
plans for the exhibit after it
was over.
“They said, would you
like it?” he called.
Entering on the left wall
are eight dramatic land-
scapes by internationally-re-
nowned Pendleton native
James Lavadour, a member
of the Walla Walla Tribe.
Next are seven painted
portraits by Ric Gendron,
who belongs to the Arrow
Lakes Band of the Colville
Reservation. He has exhib-
ited at Tamastslikt before.
Three lithographs by
Apsaalooke (Crow) artist
Wendy Red Star follow. They
merge historical photos with
traditional quilt patterns.
Six beadwork creations by
Choctaw artist Roger Amer-
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
This glass piece by Marcus Amerman and Preston Single-
tary appears in the “You Are Here” exhibit showing until
May 14, 2022, at the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, Mission.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Debbie Griffi th, of Boise, visits the “You Are Here” exhibit
Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Tamastslikt Cultural Insti-
tute, Mission.
man are displayed in the
corner, including a promi-
nent horsehead blanket. The
Whitman-educated geolo-
gist also goes by Abe-cha-ha
(High Above).
Nineteen paintings by
Melanie Yazzie of the Navajo
Nation adorn two walls.
More were installed at the
Sheehan. In the center of the
wall on the right as you enter
are impressive glass sculp-
tures by Roger’s younger
brother Marcus Amerman
and his Tlingit collaborator
Preston Singletary.
“We always install exhib-
its carefully, but took extra
care with the glasswork,”
Melton said.
Staff took the greatest
care with the heaviest piece
in the middle, a large red
circle with green designs
reminiscent of Mayan jade.
“We made sure that the
braces holding the stand
were screwed into studs,”
Melton added.
By the entrance are
displayed fiber art pieces
constructed from wool blan-
kets and embroidered by
Marie Watt, of the Seneca
Nation.
Seminole artist C. Maxx
Stevens created nine doll-
house exhibits, displayed
in three sets on different
sides of the room. Some of
them were inspired by his
experiences at what is now
the Haskell Indian Nations
University, Lawrence,
Kansas. Others move nature
inside the houses.
“These appeal to me,”
Melton said. “In my youth,
I was attracted to dioramas.
With the dollhouses, you can
read into them what most
speaks to your own experi-
ences.”
The center piece of
”You Are Here” is a statue,
“Creation with Her Chil-
dren,” by Mohawk-Black-
foot artist Merritt Johnson, a
mother and stepmom of six,
and Tlingit-Unangax Nicho-
las Galanin.
“Creation” is carving
her own face, letting the
chips fall at her feet, where
golden mannikin arms hold
open the jaws of two carniv-
orous mammals. The artists
worked with plastic tarp,
fabric, cord, wood, horse hair
and other materials.
Melton said he looks
forward to returning to a
regular program of visiting
exhibits.
“We are circling back to
some of the exhibits we had
lined up for 2020 and 2021,
but couldn’t install due to the
pandemic. The exhibit from
the National Bison Founda-
tion was already here, but we
never took it out of its crates.
We just paid shipping to send
it back. We’d already paid for
it.”
The bison are coming
later this year.
Palestinian man celebrates success of City Auto Sales
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Music,
food and prizes were all
part of an immigrant busi-
ness owner’s celebration of
success Friday, March 25, at
City Auto Sales, Hermiston.
Hundreds of balloons
adorning the new building
at 80857 N. Highway 395 for
the opening of the business at
its new location. There was
a DJ, two food trucks and
tables of pastries at the deal-
ership.Some of the cookies
had the name and logo of the
business on them in icing.
There were games and a
large pile of prizes.
People aplenty enjoyed
the music and food, and the
owner was in the middle of it.
“I like this town,” deal-
ership owner Mohammed
Jaber said. “When I came
from my country, I came to
this town. The people in this
town were very nice, and I’m
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happy to do business in this
town.”
Jaber came to this coun-
try 14 years ago from Pales-
tine. A Tri-Cities resident, he
opened businesses in Herm-
iston, starting with a stereo
shop, selling it and then
opening his car dealership.
His wife, Jasmine Jaber,
was present at the celebra-
tion.
“It’s exciting, especially
for him, and where he came
from,” she said. “He came
to America to build and
become successful. It took
him a while; it took work.”
She added her husband
is happy to be enjoying the
fruits of his labor, and she
said she is excited for him.
Meanwhile, she said,
she is busy, too. A full-time
mother to their six children,
she said they have their
hands full.
Employee Alex Wakid
described the stunning
growth of City Auto Sales.
He said the dealership started
“very small” around five
years ago. Then, he said,
there was only a trailer for
two offi ces and 40 cars for
sale. There were fi ve employ-
ees when Wakid arrived.
“With hard work and
ethic, all of our employees
putting in the work, we have
gotten to where we are now.”
Now, the dealership has
105 cars for sale on site and
13 employees.
City Auto Sales moved
into its new building three
months ago while its
construction was in the fi nal
stages. Now, with all the
work done, management felt
the time was right for the
party on March 25.
Other dealership employ-
ees said weather and the
coronavirus also delayed the
revelry.
Wakid has been with the
business through much of
the growth. Every day, he
said, he commutes from the
Tri-Cities. He said he started
as a sales manager more than
a year-and-a-half ago, before
being promoted to general
manager.
Around for a bit longer
than Wakid, Nathaly
Hernandez, offi ce manager,
said she was working at City
Auto Sales since the very
beginning. At the start, she
said, the business was just
the owner and her.
“When we got here, it
was just dirt,” she said, as
she waved her arm across a
parking lot, fi lled with cars.
“We finally made it,”
Hernandez said. “We worked
really hard for this, and we
are so glad that it is here.”
Because of City Auto
Sales’ success, Mohammed
Jaber said he is thinking of
opening a second dealership,
possibly in Washington.
“You never know, you
know,” he said. “I hope.
We’ll see how things
work here.”
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