SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2020
BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A
LOCAL & STATE
MEALS
Continued from Page 1A
Bain said that although he’s not a
professional cook, he has been among
the winners of the Dutch-oven
cooking contests at the Interpretive
Center in past years and likes to grill
up a good cut of meat on occasion.
Ericka Chavez was in charge of
dicing the 15 large tomatoes needed
to fi ll the crisp taco shells. The
44-year-old chopped quickly through
the produce, claiming no expertise
in the kitchen, but a love for Harvest
Church and it’s work in the com-
munity.
“This church has done a lot for
me,” she said. “It’s the best church
I’ve ever been to.
“They welcome everybody with
open arms. It’s amazing,” said
Chavez, who’s been attending Har-
vest Church for about three years.
After fi nishing her kitchen duty,
Chavez joined the production
line, where volunteers topped the
hamburger-fi lled taco shells with her
chopped tomatoes and the shredded
cheese and lettuce set up to distrib-
ute by volunteers Donald Cody, 67,
and his 13-year-old nephew, Dominic
Redmond.
Diaz’s 9-year-old son, Cole, and his
wife, Mandy, also joined the group as
their school and work days ended.
Mandy is assistant to Pastor Phillips.
Diaz busied himself with other
chores that had to be accomplished
before the drive-thru diners’ sched-
uled arrival.
“I help where help is needed,” he
said as he poured salsa into a large
serving bowl to be ladled into the
travel containers.
“We’re conscious of portion con-
trol,” he said of dishing up the free
meals. “Donations are made to this
specifi c mission, so we want to be
mindful of the cost.”
Diaz said organizers work to keep
the church’s expense for each meal
at $3.
Other main dishes have included
tater tot casserole, cheeseburgers
with all the trimmings, and chicken
Chris Collins/Baker City Herald
Meals are assembled by Donald Cody, at right, and from near to far
at left, Dominic Redmond, Cole Diaz and Ericka Chavez.
fettuccine Alfredo. Side dishes of
fruits and vegetables are provided
with those types of meals, he said.
A second team of volunteers
devoted to delivering the meals
curbside or to homes was scheduled
to arrive in time for the 5:30 to 6
o’clock meal pickup. They greet cars
as they pull up to the kitchen entry
at the northwest end of the church.
Two runners obtain the number of
meals needed for each vehicle and
then deliver them at the curb.
What could be a cold job in the
middle of December isn’t as bad as it
might seem.
“They all come in the fi rst 10 to 12
minutes,” Diaz said.
Not only are the tasty meals
tucked inside the containers, a
sticker is affi xed on the outside to
carry the church’s message to each
diner. It reads: “Thank you for joining
us for dinner tonight! We pray that
as this meal satisfi es your body, the
bread of life, Jesus Christ will satisfy
your soul! God Bless you!
“Primarily we want to meet their
physical need and if they have spiri-
tual need we want to meet that also,”
Phillips said.
A holiday meal, delivered curbside,
“This church has done a lot
for me. It’s the best church I’ve
ever been to. They welcome
everybody with open arms.”
— Ericka Chavez, who has
attended the Harvest Church for
about three years
Chris Collins/Baker City Herald
was provided for a little over 200
people on Thanksgiving Day, featur-
ing the traditional foods including
turkey, green bean casserole, mashed
potatoes, rolls, sweet potatoes and
pie.
There will be no dinner next week,
however, Diaz said. Church members
are taking the week off for Christ-
mas.
This week’s sticker announced
that news. And it informed meal
recipients that a free New Year’s Eve
curbside dinner will be provided on
Dec. 31.
To allow for planning, diners are
asked to sign up in advance by noon
each Thursday through the church’s
Facebook Page at facebook.com/
HarvestChurchBC/ or by calling the
church at 541-523-4233.
Diaz says the church is able to
Ericka Chavez volunteers weekly for the Harvest Church free curb-
side meals program, helping out wherever she’s needed.
provide the meals through the gener-
osity of members of Harvest Church
and the larger community.
“We rely on donations,” Diaz said.
“We put out the word that there’s a
need and people step up to fi ll the
need.”
Phillips said the church also
received a $5,000 grant through the
city funded by the federal coronavi-
rus relief bill.
In addition to the fi nancial support
church members give to the pro-
gram, about 40 volunteers turn out
regularly to put the meals together,
provide the curbside service and to
deliver meals to homes upon request.
Phillips said the curbside meal
plan was developed strictly in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whether the church will continue
it as the situation changes will be
determined over time.
“It was a way we thought we could
serve people,” he said. “It’s been re-
ally enjoyable. They are grateful and
it serves a need.”
Phillips estimates that about 80%
of the diners are from outside the
Harvest congregation of about 200
people.
At this time members have a
wide choice of how to attend services
and comply with social distancing
guidelines: in person at 8:30 a.m. and
10:30 a.m. on Sundays at the church
at 3720 Birch St., video livestream-
ing on YouTube, and from their
vehicles via radio broadcast from the
church parking lot.
Brown convenes Legislature for 1-day session Monday
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
After weeks of negotiations
with lawmakers, Gov. Kate
Brown announced a one-day
special session of the Legis-
lature will be held Monday,
Dec. 21, to deal with COVID-
19-related issues.
The need for state action
has grown in recent weeks
as Congress has failed to
come up with a bill extend-
ing several key programs on
unemployment, an eviction
moratorium and small-busi-
ness subsidies.
Brown says she will ask for
$800 million to help Oregon
residents who have battled
a pandemic and one of the
worst fi re seasons in state
history.
“Many Oregon families are
struggling with unemploy-
ment, housing, food insecu-
rity and paying their bills, “
Brown said. “We must protect
Oregonians now, as we face
some of our hardest days.”
A possible third special
session has been on the table
since August as the likeli-
hood of substantial federal
aid such as the $2 trillion
relief bill passed in the spring
The (Bend) Bulletin fi le
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem.
were unrealized.
The session is expected to:
• Extend the state’s resi-
dential eviction moratorium
beyond its current expiration
on Dec. 31 to as late as July 1.
• Provide liability protec-
tion covering COVID-19-re-
lated claims for schools.
• Spend $600 million for
aid to those affected by the
COVID-19 crisis and those
hit by late summer wildfi res
that burned over 1 million
acres in Oregon.
• Allow restaurants and
bars to sell cocktails to go as
a way to make some money
at a time when dining is
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calling 541-523-6419. Drive-in hours at 2400 Resort St. are
Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday
and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
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NONFICTION
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• “The Gift,” Edith Eger
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DVDS
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prohibited or limited.
For the third time this year,
lawmakers will come to the
Capitol in Salem amid an
epidemic that has only grown
more threatening in the inter-
vening months.
Over the past week, the
state has seen an average of
1,320 cases per day and will
soon pass 100,000 cumulative
cases of COVID-19. Deaths
have risen 32% in the past
two weeks and are now at
1,214 since the pandemic
began, with a record-breaking
54 deaths reported Tuesday,
Dec. 15. More than 300,000
have died in the U.S. and 1.63
million around the world.
Brown did not invoke a
never-before-used consti-
tutional clause that would
have allowed the Legislature
to convene a “catastrophic”
session. A move favored by
many Democrats, it would
have allowed lawmakers to
avoid traveling to Salem and
instead hold hearings and
fl oor votes remotely.
The provision was created
to enable the Legislature to
meet in the event of a major
disaster or event. Its genesis
was in studies showing a 9.0
earthquake on the Cascadia
Subduction Zone, just off the
coast, which would kill thou-
sands and make communica-
tions and travel impossible.
Since lawmakers could
be among the casualties or
unable to contact Salem, the
Legislature would work un-
der somewhat different rules,
including a waiver on the
normal two-thirds quorum of
each chamber.
Using the catastrophic
declaration was opposed by
many Republicans because
Democrats hold a superma-
jority in the House and
Senate that allows them to
pass tax and other revenue
bills without support from
Republicans.
In the past two sessions,
walkouts were used by
Republicans to halt consid-
eration of bills they opposed,
denying a quorum and bring-
ing work to a halt.
Some lawmakers in both
parties also worried a remote
session would erode the dis-
cipline to do business quickly
and adjourn. That could lead
to the introduction of issues
beyond those that have near-
consensus as being able to
pass both chambers and be
signed by the governor.
A statement released by
House Majority Leader Bar-
bara Smith Warner, D-Port-
land, addressed the goals —
but also some of the fi ssures
— leading to the session.
“It is no secret that House
Democrats have proposed
a number of other urgently
needed COVID relief bills,”
she said. “While I’m disap-
pointed we won’t be able to
consider them all in this spe-
cial session, we stand ready
to pass these supports quickly
during the 2021 legislative
session.”
Smith Warner also said
that while House Democrats
would have preferred avoid-
ing infection by having a
remote session, she and her
caucus were ready to come to
Salem despite the personal
risk of exposure to COVID-19
“Legislators have an es-
sential duty to show up when
our neighbors need it most,”
she said. “I am confi dent that
robust safety protocols will be
in place to ensure the health
and well-being of everyone.”
Oregon and other state leg-
islatures around the nation
have watched as the Repub-
lican-led U.S. Senate and the
Democratic-led U.S. House
have been unable to reach
consensus on relief legislation
that must also be signed by
President Donald Trump.
Annual Chris
Christmas
Day Dinner!
Dinne
er!
Open Chris
Christmas
stmas Day
11:00 to
o 5:00
Prime rib, brisket,
b
ham,
y mac and
a
turkey,
cheese,
pota
atoes green
atoes,
g
mashed p
potatoes,
beans, plus
plu
us dessert
be
There will
on
NO PAPER
Saturday
r 26,
Decembe
2020
Ope
Open
en
Christmas Eve 4:30,
New Years s Eve 4:30
Take Out
Ou
ut Only
541-856-3639
541-856-363
541-856
6-3639
639
Regular
R Re
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a r Ho
Hours:
o u r s: Mon
Mon,
n, Wed, Thurs
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huu rs
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F ri r i at
a t 4:
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: 30 • Sat
S at
a t 3:3
3:30
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3 0
2:30 pm • CLOSED
CLOSEE D TUES
TUE ES
• Sun 12
12:30
10 0 miles
m i l e s north
n o r t h of o f B Baker
a k e r City
C i y o on n Hwy
w y 30
3 0 in i n Haines
a i nee s
w www.hainessteakhouse.com
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