EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Local Anime Club -Continued from PAGE ONE Sam’s OC (original charac- Samantha Lamb in her an- ter), Sakura. -Contributed ime-themed bedroom. -Con- photo tributed photo American cattle and wheat country, but it’s a topic that lives at the center of Hep- pner teen Samantha Lamb’s life. She started the club to connect with others through sharing an art form that is near and dear to her heart. Samantha, who prefers to go by Sam, is the daughter of Scott and JoAnna Lamb of Heppner. She began her anime journey when she was about nine years old. She recalls that the first anime she ever watched was Princess Mononoke. She watched the animation with her Japanese aunt as a way to learn the language and culture. “At first I was watching Japanese anime to learn Japanese, but then I got into anime in general just for the fun of it,” says Sam. “I got attached to the characters.” She also says that part of the appeal is the art; when asked what draws her to anime, Sam’s response is prompt. “The animation, and the fact that its all hand drawn,” she says. Sam’s mother, JoAnna Lamb, says her daugh- ter doesn’t do things by halves—once Sam got in- terested in anime, it be- came something of an obsession. A recent room re-design resulted in a fully anime-themed bedroom. Sam has also done her own anime-based drawing, even creating her own original characters, or “OCs.” One of those OCs is Sakura, the daughter of a king, who ran away to find her brother. “He turned into this demon thing,” explains Sam. “But she still trusted her brother.” Lamb says she un- knowingly started the pro- cess with a suggestion. “She was outgrow- ing cartoons,” says Lamb, adding that she suggested anime as a bridge between cartoons and older shows. “And then it just snow- balled. This is where we ended up.” Sam admits to being a purist when it comes to anime. “I mostly prefer them in Japanese,” she says. That is, no dubbing al- lowed. She says she will turn on subtitles because she doesn’t know all the Japanese words, but her mother says she’s picking up more all the time. “She can pick up words now,” Lamb says. Seeing her daughter’s love for anime was what made Lamb encourage her daughter to start the local anime club. Sam is on the shy side but opens up when speaking on her favorite topic. Andrea Nelson, own- er of Flood Town Books, offered space for the club, and the idea took off. Some weeks, the club is limited to Sam and one other. Other weeks the turn- out is more—last Saturday saw six youth assembled in a corner of the book store, plus one online participant. They say they hope the club will grow as the word spreads. But what is anime? For many—especial- ly those in older genera- tions—knowledge of anime might be limited to shows like Pokémon and the ac- companying Pokémon GO craze a few years back. It’s true that shows like Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and others have introduced many Americans to anime, but the film genre goes way, way beyond that. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines anime as “a style of animation origi- nating in Japan that is char- acterized by stark colorful graphics depicting vibrant characters in action-filled plots often with fantastic or futuristic themes.” That is, anime looks like a cartoon, but it’s no Looney Tunes. Modern anime began in 1956 and gained greater traction in 1961. The word anime itself was first used in 1985, and the genre gained real ground in the U.S. be- ginning in the 1990s. Early anime films weren’t intended for au- diences outside of Japan, so they contained many uniquely Japanese cultural references as well as being produced in the Japanese language. For instance, ac- cording to the Encyclopae- dia Britannica, the large, doe-like eyes of the anime characters “are commonly perceived in Japan as mul- tifaceted ‘windows to the soul.’” However, it’s worth mentioning that, while an- ime series like those above are usually considered chil- dren’s shows, there can be a very adult side to anime that parents should be aware of. Lamb says she and Sam watch anime on a site called Crunchyroll, which has a “mature” filter so she can filter out mature sexual content and language, but some anime can still be quite violent. She says she has Sam run new shows she wants to watch by her so she can research them first. “Sometimes I shoot one down because I don’t like the message it gives— school violence or teens behaving badly—and sometimes I approve it— like killing make-believe demons,” says Lamb. Speaking of killing make-believe demons, De- mon Slayer is Sam’s current favorite anime, and will be the topic of the club’s discussions all this month. The club meets 10 a.m. every Saturday (with few exceptions) at Flood Town Books in Heppner. -Continued from PAGE ONE cy rooms for a long period “safety net.” Core services are to mobile crisis with 24/7 response, kids who are at risk of out of home placement, those who are low income or indigent, and those who are transitioning back from the state hospital. “In most cases, the state contract has expanded to in- clude additional services,” she told the board, “but the rule, or the revised stat- utes, haven’t expanded, so there’s some discrepancy.” The county receives funds from the state, which it passes on to CCS, and the commissioners are required to have a mental health advisory board. That also has been delegated to CCS. Aside from the county, CCS also has contracts with Medicaid/Oregon Health Plan to provide benefits through their insurance plans. Lindsay said the OHP plans account for the bulk of their funding; depending on the county, OHP plans can make up 60 or 65 percent of the fund- ing CCS receives. State funding for core services is closer to 10 to 15 percent. Lindsay added that changes to diagnoses covered by state or federal funding can dramatically affect funding. “We know that behav- ioral health has received a lot of publicity, and we will continue to as long as there are school shootings, mass shootings, really horrific things that happen because of unresolved behavioral health issues,” said Lind- say. She said requirements for services have increased, and nobody can get into the state hospital without going through the district attorney’s office, which has increased the need for residential programs such as Heppner’s Lakeview Heights or Boardman’s Columbia River Ranch. “It used to be we took people from the state hos- pital into that facility. We still do, but due to some of the challenges, it’s not quite the same flow that it used to be. The backlog is high, the waitlist is high,” she said She said that the state went from 30 acute care beds per 100,000 people down to seven per 100,000 post-COVID. “There’s not enough placement for people. Peo- ple are waiting in emergen- of time for beds.” Lindsay also went over enrollment figures for 2022. Enrollment numbers for December and January were not final at the time of the report, but Lindsay said CCS total enrollment for all counties for adult outpatient mental health services took a huge jump in November, up to 4,356 from 2,216 in October. Total number of services delivered in No- vember 2021 was 2,645. There was a drop in chemical dependency ser- vices, down to 460 in No- vember from 527 in Octo- ber. Lindsay said that was probably due to the passage of Measure 110, which largely decriminalized drug possession. She said CCS chemical dependency treat- ment used to happen when a person was cited for pos- session and had to go before a judge, but that doesn’t happen now. “One of the beliefs with Measure 110 was that if people are no longer getting cited but treatment is free, then people are going to voluntarily start showing up for treatment,” she said. Child outpatient men- tal health services showed enrollment of 1,126 for November, not a significant jump from October’s figure of 1,113. Sykes asked if Lindsay saw any relief or problems coming up in the new legis- lative session. She said that more funding unfortunately didn’t translate to being able to offer more services right away because of the trouble they’re having hir- ing people. For that reason, she said, she was concerned about the sunsetting of a provision the Oregon legis- lature made during COVID that allowed all businesses to offer incentives such as hiring bonuses. Being able to do so had helped a lot with both retention and hiring, she said, but under normal Oregon law, compa- nies can only offer bonuses for “bona fide” pay scales. CCS is currently trying to ascertain if their wage sys- tem qualifies as bona fide, but it doesn’t appear it does. “If we can’t offer bo- nuses, we’re going to really struggle,” said Lindsay. “That’s what I’ve been ask- ing for. To me it seems like an issue that both parties could get behind.” Utah Tech University student Aramis Corpus of Boardman is among the students honored on the university’s President’s List for the fall semester 2022. Inclusion on the President’s List requires students to complete a minimum of 15 credits and achieve a GPA of 3.9 or higher. “On behalf of the facul- ty and staff, congratulations to all Utah Tech students who made the 2022 fall se- mester honor roll list,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Mi- chael Lacourse. “Your hard work and persistence have paid off and you should be proud of your achievement. Keep up the great work and we hope to see your name on the honor roll for the spring 2023 semester.” Bowles steps down from city council John Bowles The City of Heppner again has a councilor po- sition open upon the resig- nation of council member John Bowles. Bowles started as a Heppner city councilor in 2006. “For the past 17 years I have served beside several city managers, mayors, counselors, staff and citi- zens,” said Bowles. “During that time, we’ve completed many great projects for the city of Heppner. There were some tough decisions made along the way, but we got through them by working together.” Bowles, who was ap- pointed Morrow County Sheriff last fall, said he was stepping down because changes in his personal and professional life no longer allow him to devote adequate attention to the council position. “I’ve enjoyed my time as city councilor and this has been a difficult deci- sion,” he said. “Going for- ward, I wish all the current and future counselors the best.” The City of Heppner is actively seeking a replace- ment for Bowles on the city council. Candidates for the position must be at least 18 years old, have lived inside the Heppner city limits for at least a year as of Feb. 9 and be a registered voter in the State of Oregon. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Feb 9. Application forms can be found at cityofheppner. org or Heppner City Hall. Anyone interested in the po- sition can contact city hall Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Kraig Cutsforth at 541-676-9618 or heppner@ cityofheppner.org. Completed, signed forms can be mailed to Heppner, PO Box 756, Hep- pner, OR 97836 or brought to Heppner City Hall at 111 N Main St., Heppner. Boardman to host city manager meet and greet Narrows the field to three candidates The City of Boardman is planning a meet and greet Thursday, Feb. 2, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for members of the public to meet the can- didates for the Boardman City Manager position. The event will be held at the Port of Morrow Riverfront Center at 2 Marine Drive in Boardman. Boardman City Manag- er pro tem Rick Stokoe said the council has narrowed the field to three candi- dates, Aaron Palmquist of Irrigon, Elke Doom of Huron Township, MI and Sharon Jakubowski Wolz of Kearny, AZ. Members of the public will have the opportunity to meet the candidates and complete comment cards for the city council’s con- sideration. The Boardman City Council will interview the candidates the following morning in executive ses- sion. The interviews will be conducted by four pan- els—a city council panel, a business panel, citizen pan- el made up of citizens nom- inated by council members, and a panel of department heads and staff. “I strongly encourage people to attend the meet and greet and give their comments,” said Stokoe. Ione plans economic Corpus named to Utah development town hall The City of Ione is for south Morrow County. Tech president’s list planning a town hall to This effort will provide an Boardman City Council plans executive sessions The Boardman City Council is planning two separate executive sessions next week regarding the se- lection of a new Boardman City Manager. The first executive ses- sion will be Thursday, Feb. 2, at 9 a.m. at Boardman City Hall. The purpose will be for city council members to meet finalists for the city manager position. Board- theft and vandalism. The man City Hall is located at city is asking citizens to remember to lock their doors, both home and out- buildings, and to report any suspicious activities. Ione warns residents to be watchful The City of Ione is warning residents of Ione and surrounding areas that there have been recent crimes and suspicious ac- tivities in Ione, including Community Counseling 200 City Center Circle. The second session will be Friday, Feb. 3, at 8:30 a.m. at the Port of Morrow Riverfront Center. During the session, city council members will interview fi- nalists for the city manager position and hold deliber- ations regarding selection of a new city manager. The Riverfront Center is located at 2 Marine Drive. address economic devel- opment. The town hall will take place Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. following the Ione City Council meeting. The Morrow County Planning Department and cities of the Willow Creek Valley are conducting the Department of Land and Conservation and Develop- ment’s Goal 9 assessment inventory of employment lands available to realize economic growth oppor- tunities, along with com- munity input, to shape the future of the downtown and commercial areas. The town hall will give community members an opportunity to learn more, ask questions and provide input.