REGION
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Pendleton student follows up state
culinary win with trip to nationals
By ANTONIO
ARREDONDO
East Oregonian
SAN DIEGO — After
winning the state competi-
tion back in April, a Pend-
leton student took the next
step, competing at the Family,
Career and Community
Leaders of America nation-
als conference June 29 to July
3 in San Diego.
Allen “Len” Nguyen, an
incoming senior at Pendleton
High, earned a silver medal
for her dish of chicken, rice
and green beans. The medal
does not imply second place,
rather meaning Nguyen
scored in the 80-89 point
range from the judges — still
an impressive showing.
It’s the first year back
for the FCCLA program
after several years off due to
funding. This time around,
Nguyen and her advisor,
Melissa Smith, were the only
two from Pendleton to make
the trip down to California.
“It was my fi rst time being
there, and I learned so much,”
Smith said. “And we got to
see all of our kids dressed in
their red jackets together.”
The two stayed with a
fellow FCCLA group from
Enterprise. Nguyen made
friends with girls from both
Enterprise and La Grande
as they toured San Diego,
stopping in places such as
Belmont Amusement Park.
For Nguyen, who came in
knowing only a few people,
having time to hang out with
other Eastern Oregon high
schoolers was helpful.
“There was defi nitely less
stressing than I thought.”
Nguyen said.
The day of the national
competition was anything
but stress-free though.
Nguyen originally believed
she would be competing
with 15 other students, but
soon realized there were at
least 80 competing in fi ve
pods. Smith said there could
Len Nguyen/Contributed Photo
Allen “Len” Nguyen of Pendleton poses with her silver medal
after the conclusion of the national Family, Career and Com-
munity Leaders of America conference June 29-July 3, 2022,
in San Diego. Nguyen scored between the 80-89 range in her
culinary competition to earn the medal.
have been as many as 160
competitors during the two
days.
Much like the state
competition months earlier,
there were some last-minute
changes. Nguyen had prac-
ticed her dish with diff erent
herbs, and a stove but was
presented with a portable
burner and slightly diff erent
ingredients.
“I messed up on the rice,”
she said. “If I didn’t I think
I would have gotten a better
score in the 90s.”
Despite Nguyen’s nega-
tive attitude for the day, Smith
showered her student with
praise. While she was not
present to watch Nguyen’s
competition, Smith knows
that the experience was a
good, life-building one.
“When preparing for a
competition, it’s tricky to
mimic real life,” Smith said.
“You get it drilled in your
head that the competition will
be strictly by the book, and
when you get there it’s not by
the book.”
Nguyen battled through the
rice, herbs and stoves to fi nish
with a good score. While the
results haven’t been revealed
to participants yet, she did earn
the silver medal for her work.
Both student and advi-
sor are already planning for
next year. Smith will not be
teaching at PHS but hopes to
continue her role as FCCLA
advisor. After a successful
fi rst year of the program, she
wants to build on it even more.
“This year we were always
trying to get through the
current thing,” Smith said.
“With about eight weeks to go
until state, we fi nally focused
on FCCLA.”
At that point, most other
schools were well under-
way with training. Sending a
student to nationals with so
little training time compared
to her peers is already impres-
sive, and Smith hopes to keep
the ball moving and start from
the beginning of the year.
Nguyen, meanwhile, plans
on running for FCCLA pres-
ident next year. She hopes to
fundraise from the beginning
of the year to include more
people. Above all else, she
wants to be back at nationals
contending for a gold medal.
“I want to go back,”
Nguyen said. “I hear next
year is in Denver, and I
hope we can bring fi ve to six
people next year.”
CHI ST. ANTHONY HOSPITAL
Health techs fi le for union recognition
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Forty
health care technical workers
at CHI St. Anthony Hospi-
tal, Pendleton, have fi led for
union recognition with the
National Labor Relations
Board.
The Oregon Nurses Asso-
ciation in a press release
Thursday, July 7, announced
it is representing the group of
imaging, pharmacy, labora-
tory and sleep lab technicians
and respiratory therapists.
The association represents
registered nurses working at
CHI St. Anthony.
The technical workers
identifi ed a range of issues
as their primary reasons for
organizing, including ensur-
ing safe staffi ng, providing
high quality care and seeking
equitable wages.
“Imaging technicians — a
highly skilled group of tech-
nologists who use specialized
equipment to create internal
images used by doctors to
diagnose and treat patients
— have wages that are well
behind their colleagues at
other hospital systems,”
according to the press release.
Katie Heath, an imaging
tech at St. Anthony and one
of the staff members support-
ing the union eff ort, said in
the press release the hospi-
tal’s is not paying her nor her
coworkers what it should.
“Imaging techs’ wages are
way behind industry stan-
dard, have not kept up with
the cost of living and are not
refl ective of our experience,”
she said. “Unionizing will
give us the opportunity to
address these kinds of wage
discrepancies and will help us
recruit and retain the best and
most qualifi ed staff . Being in
a union means we will have a
seat at the table to help raise
standards for our commu-
nity.”
Respiratory techs at St.
Anthony are regularly denied
time off, have been work-
ing with a skeleton crew and
forced into inconsistent sched-
ules to cover for short staffi ng,
according to the ONA. Many
are feeling burnt out and have
considered leaving the hospi-
tal for other work.
“We want respect, we
want safer staffing and we
want to have a voice on issues
that impact our patients,
our communities and our
careers,” said Derek Skufca,
a respiratory therapist at
St. Anthony and a union
supporter. “All of us know
that joining a union will
empower us to achieve those
goals.”
The NLRB is scheduled
to hold a hearing in mid-July
to determine a union election
date.
St. Anthony CEO Harry
Geller said the hospital is
urging technicians to vote
“no.”
“They do a terrifi c job of
serving our patients,” he said.
“We’ll follow all National
Labor Relations Board guide-
lines. We respect the rights
and opinions of all staff . We
hope to move forward in a
positive manner and engage
in productive communication
with them.”
Development commission advisory
committee members resign in protest
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Three
members of an advisory
committee to the Pendleton
Development Commission
resigned in protest over a
procedure violation, reported
Charles Denight, city urban
renewal associate director.
The seven-person volun-
teer Pendleton Grant Review
Committee oversees the
Facade Restoration and
Second Story grant programs
of the Pendleton Development
Commission. Kate Dimon,
Bill Taylor and Velda Arnaud
resigned. Dimon was the
committee’s chair.
Denight said the PDC
usually takes one to two
months to act on an advisory
committee’s recommenda-
tions. But the commission on
May 20 was swift to approve
the $500,000 grant to devel-
oper Sidney True of Clacka-
mas to buy and remodel the
crime-plagued Marigold Hotel
“True was on a tight dead-
line,” Denight explained,
“so the commission chose to
forego some procedures.”
Members of the city coun-
cil serve on the PDC and
receive advice from citizens’
committees.
“The commission sets
procedures for advisory
committees to follow,”
Denight noted. “In this
case, it chose to change its
procedure, due to the short
time available.”
Dimon, a community
college historic preservation
professor, said she objected
to other rule violations
besides the short period for
review, recommendation and
approval. True didn’t own the
building, which she said was
a requirement for PDC grant
recommendation procedures.
Nor did the project’s proposed
paint scheme meet downtown
historic district requirements.
“Why even have an historic
district?” she asked.
City Manager Robb
Corbett said the PDC does
not require someone to own a
property to obtain a grant.
True renamed The Mari-
gold as The Pendleton Hotel.
Renovation work on it contin-
ues at 105 S.E. Court Ave.
Mackenzie Whaley/East Oregonian
The Umatilla River in Pendleton is fl owing lower Monday, July 11, 2022, as summer heats
up. The National Weather Service in Pendleton forecasts area temperatures for July 12
above 100 degrees.
Region under heat advisory
NWS forecasts
highs of 103-106
degrees for
Columbia Basin
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
National Weather Service
in Pendleton issued a heat
advisory for Tuesday,
July 12, in the Tri-Cities
and Hermiston areas. NWS
is forecasting high tempera-
tures of 103-106 degrees for
the Columbia Basin.
“When a high-pressure
ridge sits in, it pushes air
down, and we get heat-
ing during the day,” NWS
meteorologist Rob Brooks
said.
For most of the week,
the NWS predicts mostly
dry, hot conditions with
the occasional afternoon
breeze. But for July 12, the
high-pressure ridge will
cause afternoon tempera-
tures to rise.
While Eastern Oregon
mountain areas may see
isolated thunderstorms in
the afternoon of July 12,
Pendleton is expected to
have a high of 102 degrees.
Hermiston and the Tri-Cit-
ies will be slightly hotter,
with Hermiston expecting a
temperature in the 103-106
degree range.
The heat advisory should
only last one day, with a
southwest flow bringing
cooler temperatures to the
region the following days.
Temperatures rise again
July 16 as the area remains
under the high-pressure
ridge, but the Pendleton
area is not expected to break
100 degrees for the remain-
der of the week. By July 17,
a low-pressure area should
bring cooler weather.
Na t io n a l We a t h e r
Service also advised locals
to drink plenty of water and
stay in cooler locations.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Hermiston police
cite ambulance
driver in crash
HERMISTON — A
Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 ambulance
transporting a patient
Friday, July 9, collided with
another vehicle, and Herm-
iston police cited the ambu-
lance driver after the crash.
Hermiston Police Chief
Jason Edmiston reported
officers were assisting
Umatilla County Sher-
iff’s Office and Oregon
State Police that morn-
ing at a crash involving a
vehicle and a motorcycle
just outside the city limits
on Highway 395. The fi re
district reported it was
taking one of the crash
victims to Good Shepherd
Medical Center, Hermiston,
to rendezvous with a heli-
copter ambulance.
A Hermiston police offi -
cer decided to follow the
ambulance at a distance
to ensure it made it to the
hospital without any inter-
ference from drivers,
according to Edmiston. The
offi cer was operating with-
out lights and sirens and
kept several hundred yards
behind the ambulance,
which had lights and sirens
going, when it entered the
intersection of North First
Place and Elm Avenue/
Highway 207 and collided
with another vehicle.
The officer immedi-
ately activated his body-
worn camera, according to
Edmiston.
“Those
cameras
constantly record and once
activated, the recorded clip
begins 30 seconds prior to
activation,” he explained.
“In this case, the collision
was caught on camera.”
And after a thorough
investigation, Edmiston
also reported, police cited
the driver of the ambulance,
William Dewitt, 34, Herm-
iston, was cited for failure to
obey a traffi c control device.
The fi re district reported
a second ambulance arrived
shortly after the crash and
transported the initial
patient to Good Shepherd.
Umatilla County Fire
District No. 1 also reported
one of its employees was
injured in the collision at
North First Place and Elm
Avenue, and an ambulance
took the employee to Good
Shepherd.
Stabbing
leaves Hermiston
man dead
H E L L S CA N YON
OVERLOOK — A 64-year-
old Hermiston man was
stabbed to death Friday,
July 8, at the Hells Canyon
Overlook in southeastern
Wallowa County according
to a press release from the
Wallowa County Sheriff ’s
Offi ce.
Dan Ridling got into an
altercation with an Albany
man and was stabbed in the
torso, Sheriff Joel Fish said
July 11. He died at the scene.
“They got in an alterca-
tion in the parking lot,” Fish
said. “It was a fi ght between
two guys, and he ended up
stabbed.”
He said the weapon used
was a fi xed-blade sheathed
knife similar to a hunting
knife.
The 911 call request-
ing medical assistance was
made at 11:36 a.m. Oregon
State Police Major Crimes
Unit responded to a request
to assist with the investiga-
tion, the release stated.
The man who is believed
to have done the stabbing
cooperated with the inves-
tigation, Fish said. Law
enforcement also inter-
viewed Ridling’s wife.
No charges have yet been
fi led. Offi cials are awaiting
the results of an autopsy
before making any decision
on charges.
“Once we get it all done,
it’ll go to the grand jury,”
Fish said. “He’s not been
charged with anything.”
As a result, Fish declined
to identify the Albany man.
Fish stated in the release
that there are no known
threats to the public follow-
ing the incident.
— EO Media Group
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