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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 2022)
WEEKEND EDITION Health issues don’t hold back Hermiston’s McDonald | SPORTS, B1 MAY 14 – 15, 2022 146th Year, No. 63 $1.50 WINNER OF 16 ONPA AWARDS IN 2021 Community support Hermiston comes together to renovate a home By ERICK PETERSON East Oregonian H ERMISTON — As Heather Spinden stepped out onto her lawn and looked at her Herm- iston home, she said she felt overwhelmed. “It’s just so beautiful,” she said. Heather Spinden lives with her young- est son. She said she has multiple health problems and her son, a full time Burger King employee, has autism. Built in 1907, her home has four bedrooms, two baths and 1,164 square feet of space. It is a couple of doors down from the Hermiston Public Library and is a stone’s throw away from the Hermiston City Hall, currently under construction. The place did not look quite so attrac- tive until recently, according to its owner. Spinden said kind and generous members of her community stepped up to make it into the place it is today. Holly Woods and Josh Ross, an engaged couple, residents of Hermiston, told the rest of the story. Ross explained he attended school with Heather Spinden’s son, Ben Spinden, starting in elementary school and continu- ing to high school graduation. After grad- uation, Ross left town. Photos by Kathy Aney/East Oregonian Heather Spinden stands in front of her home on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. A group of residents came together to make improvements to the dilapidated house, businesses donated services and more than $100,000 was raised for the project. He did not stay gone, however. Ross returned, and one winter he saw his old classmate walking down the street. He picked Ben Spinden up, drove him to his home and met his mom. Josh Ross said he recalls looking around the home. It needed repair, he said, and this family could benefi t from a little assistance. He passed this information onto Woods, who he was dating. “We needed to do something, and it kind of snowballed from there,” Ross said. Ross and Woods explained they started by giving the Spindens a Christ- mas basket. But they felt they needed to do more. That is when they had an idea to paint the exterior of the house. They brought a contractor to the home, though, and learned the siding was not good enough to paint. And new siding was just the start of a laundry list of needs. The house needed roofi ng, a new chimney, fl ooring and more. Fortunately, Ross and Woods were in a position to help. Woods brought the project up to her workplace, Academy Mortgage in Hermiston. It has, she said, helped people through service programs, and her boss thought Academy could help improve the Spindens’ home. This came at a good time for the Spin- dens. Their home had problems, and their homeowner’s insurance dropped them last summer. Suddenly, people wanted to help. Through contacts, Ross and Woods, along with Academy, started attracting more help. An employee of Ross-Brandt Electric Inc., Ross was able to get his fami- ly’s company on board with this eff ort. More people and companies followed, as they posted this work on Facebook, distributed fl yers and made phone calls. Cost Less Carpet donated the fl oor- ing, C & C Construction Services Inc. provided much of the roofi ng, and other companies stepped up, too. Ross-Brandt provided workers, as did some other companies. Jimmy’s Johns Portable Toilets Inc., off ered its services, and other people gave what they could. Over $100,000 was given in donations, including around $40,000 in cash, Woods said. Enough money was left from dona- tions to pay Heather Spinden’s medical bills. “We didn’t expect this,” Woods said. She added that the Spindens never asked for this help, but people gave it freely. Heather Spinden said she has a lot of good feelings about her community because of this work. “We feel so humbled and blessed,” she said. “We’re so happy that they’ve made it so we can enjoy this home, and we’re going to enjoy it, one day at a time.” UMATILLA COUNTY Asked and answered Candidates for Position 2 address issues, plans East Oregonian UMATILLA COUNTY — Nine candi- dates are vying in this election for two seats on the Umatilla County Board of Commis- sioners. The Position 1 seat is open and has drawn six candidates: Bob Barton of Hermiston, Jesse Bonifer of Athena, Susan Bower of Pendleton, David Nelson of Pendleton, Cindy Timmons of Milton-Freewater and Alvin Young of Hermiston. For Position 2, Commissioner John Shafer is running for reelection against HollyJo Beers and Rick Pullen, both of Pendleton. The East Oregonian contacted each candi- date and asked them to answer the same set of questions and to limit the length of their answers. 1) What is your biographical information, including age, occupation and education? (200 words max) 2) What is your current or past political or public service experience? (200 words max) 3) Homelessness is a signifi cant problem in Umatilla County. If you are elected, what is your plan to address homelessness in the county? (400 words max) 4) List and discuss your top three goals if you are to be elected. (500 words max) The EO edited answers for readability, style, punctuation, grammar and to keep answers within the word limit of each ques- tion. Due to space constrains in print, the responses to background and experience are online at www.eastoregonian.com. The EO published responses from Position 1 candi- dates on Thursday, May 12. These are the responses from Position 2 candidates. Candidates are in alphabetical order of last names. HollyJo Beers, retired If you are elected, what is your plan to address homelessness in the county? My plan to address homelessness in Umatilla County is complicated, as is the problem. I see fi ve reasons for homelessness. They include lack of affordable housing, mental health problems, drug/alcohol abuse and homelessness as a choice. The causes of homelessness stem from the economy, the lack of housing, the lack of help for mental health problems, the lack of drug/alcohol treatment centers and the lame law making many drugs legal. Dealing fi rst with mental health and drug/alcohol prob- lems, I believe that much of Beers the problem lies with the recent legislation making possession of hard drugs no longer a crime. The people were duped by the language of the lenient drug law they voted on. There needed to be treatment centers in place prior to legalizing drugs. Now we are in a situation where drug use is rampant and there are no consequences. We must fi x that by building the treatment centers for drugs and alcohol. Building shelters will not cure the problem if the residents do not commit and follow through on treatment, which must Heather Spinden poses with two of her benefactors, Josh Ross and Holly Woods, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Ross and Woods have helped mobilize individuals and businesses to make improvements to Spinden’s home. See Umatilla County, Page A8 MORROW COUNTY Commissioner candidates discuss solutions, goals East Oregonian MORROW COUNTY — Five candidates are vying in this election for two seats on the Morrow County Board of Commissioners. Jeff Wenholz is challenging Commissioner Melissa Lindsay for Position 2, which opened because Commissioner Don Russell is retir- ing. Lindsay holds the Position 3 seat, but her move to seek the open seat means No. 3 also is open, and three candidates are in that race: Gus Peterson, Mike McNamee and David Sykes. The East Oregonian contacted each candidate and asked them to answer the same set of questions and to limit the length of their answers. 1) Biographical information: Name, age, occupation, educational background, etc. (200 words max) 2) What is your current or past political or public service experience? (200 words max) 3) What do you consider the most pressing need or issue Morrow County faces during the next four years, and what is your plan to address that matter to the benefi t of county residents? (400 words max) 4) List and discuss your top three goals if you are to be elected. (500 words max) The EO edited answers for read- ability, style, punctuation, grammar and to keep answers within the word limit of each question. Due to space constrains in print, the responses to background and experience are online at www.eastoregonian.com. Candidates are in alphabetical order of last names. Position 2 candidates Melissa Lindsay, Morrow County commissioner What is the county’s most press- ing need or issue? I believe our biggest strength is also our most pressing challenge. Morrow County has seen a great deal of amazing growth, much attributed to the good work of the Port of Morrow team following its mission of economic development and job creation. With growth comes needs; housing and infrastructure, road improvements, diversity in represen- tation, public health, workforce, water quantity and quality. While growing we must at the same time maintain our quality of life and current service needs. With so much growth, even with the very best of inten- tions, it can be diffi - cult for county, cities, special districts and, most importantly, citizens to keep pace. We have a responsi- Lindsay bility to be stewards of our amazing resources and more important than ever is the need for collaboration, open communication and planning. COVID brought even more challenges to communication with isolation, but we are getting back on track. We must remain diligent in See Morrow County, Page A8