A2 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015
LOCAL WEATHER
Today's Weather
Local 5-Day Forecast
Wed
Thu
1/7
Fri
1/8
43/30
Sat
1/9
38/31
Sun
1/10
38/30
1/11
41/27
39/30
Partly cloudy skies.
High 43F. Winds
light and variable.
Considerable cloudi-
ness. Highs in the
upper 30s and lows
in the low 30s.
Morning clouds fol-
lowed by afternoon
sun.
Morning clouds fol-
lowed by afternoon
sun.
Afternoon showers.
Highs in the upper
30s and lows in the
low 30s.
Sunrise Sunset
7:38 AM 4:28 PM
Sunrise Sunset
7:37 AM 4:30 PM
Sunrise Sunset
7:37 AM 4:31 PM
Sunrise Sunset
7:37 AM 4:32 PM
Sunrise Sunset
7:36 AM 4:33 PM
Oregon At A Glance
Portland
53/38
Salem
53/35
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAREN HUTCHINSON-TALASKI
Karen Hutchinson-Talaski took this photo of the Lingering Garden in Suzhou China on a trip
last fall.
CHINA:
Eugene
53/37
continued from page A1
was to go to the Great
Wall,” Hutchinson-Talaski
said. “I knew we were in
China, but it didn’t really
hit me until I saw the Great
Wall.”
She said the wall is the
only man-made structure
visible from space and see-
ing the “huge undertaking”
in person was exciting.
“It was so incredible to
be there and walk on those
steps and walk where peo-
ple have been walking for
centuries,” she said. “It was
an incredible thing to see.”
'XULQJWKHGD\JXLG-
ed trip, the group visited
Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou
and Hangzhou. Hutchin-
son-Talaski said the “hou”
VXI¿[ VLJQL¿HV WKH FLW\ LV
near water, and a canal ride
through Suzhou provided a
chance to see people per-
forming everyday tasks.
She said it was “interesting
and fascinating” to see the
different culture.
The group visited a mar-
ket that she described as a
large shopping mall in a
very small area with people
offering a wide variety of
items.
“They had everything
from stainless steel pots
and pans to live frogs and
chickens,” Hutchinson-Ta-
laski said. “There was
a guy making blankets.
Another guy was sell-
Medford
58/44
Pendleton
42/30
Hermiston
43/30
La Grande
43/31
Bend
50/37
Ontario
35/28
Burns
44/29
Klamath Falls
56/27
Area Cities
City
Albany
Ashland
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Coos Bay
Corvallis
Eugene
Hi
52
57
60
37
50
63
44
63
52
53
Lo
35
45
41
26
37
47
29
45
36
37
Cond.
sunny
sunny
sunny
mst sunny
sunny
sunny
mst sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
City
Florence
Grants Pass
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Lakeview
Lincoln City
Mcminnville
Medford
Hi
61
58
43
48
56
43
55
64
54
58
Lo
44
40
30
32
27
31
29
47
37
44
Cond.
sunny
sunny
pt sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
City
Newport
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Roseburg
Salem
Springfield
The Dalles
Tillamook
Vale
Hi
61
42
53
50
59
53
60
46
66
35
Lo
46
30
38
29
42
35
42
34
42
28
Cond.
sunny
pt sunny
sunny
sunny
sunny
pt sunny
sunny
mst sunny
sunny
pt sunny
City
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
Minneapolis
New York
Hi
52
77
79
-3
25
Lo
29
54
55
-7
9
Cond.
pt sunny
mst sunny
pt sunny
pt sunny
windy
City
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis
Washington, DC
Hi
76
68
52
8
27
Lo
48
49
39
1
12
Cond.
sunny
sunny
pt sunny
windy
windy
National Cities
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Umatilla Chamber of Commerce Director Karen Hutchin-
son-Talaski poses on the Great Wall of China during a recent
trip with other chamber executives to promote tourism in the
country.
ing household goods like
brooms and mops. Scooters
are beep-beeping their way
through these narrow little
alleyways — and people
with carts. It was just so in-
credibly cool because that’s
how people live there.”
She said the people
were “warm and friendly”
and “very generous.” She
said she was surprised how
Karen Hutchinson-Talaski poses in front of a temple that was
built over a warlord’s tomb at Tiger Hill in Suzhou on a recent
trip to China with other chamber of commerce executives.
HOMELESS:
continued from page A1
Smith said the district doesn’t
want those students to have to
change schools every time they
move, so the busing arrangement
gives them some consistency in
their lives.
“We bus from wherever they
are to the school to accommodate
what can be a chaotic lifestyle,”
he said.
Smith said the district also
provides homeless students who
qualify with free and reduced
lunches and breakfasts. The dis-
trict also collaborates with area
faith-based groups on their back-
pack programs, which provides
students with food and other items
in backpacks over the weekend.
“For some of these kids, they
many people spoke En-
glish and how excited they
were to see Americans. She
said people approached the
group asking to have their
picture taken with the tour-
ists.
“When I think of China,
I think of very austere peo-
ple all dressed the same,
a lack of food, all these
things,” she said. “It wasn’t
like that. It’s very Western-
ized. These people have
embraced that with open
arms.”
Hutchinson-Talaski said
the food in the country
was not like Chinese food
in the United States. She
said it was not deep fried
and always fresh with rice
and vegetables. Soup was
served at the end of the
meal, and fruit was served
for dessert, she said.
“I was pleasantly sur-
prised because I wasn’t
sure what the food would
be,” she said. “I’m kind
of a picky eater, but there
was nothing I couldn’t
eat.”
She said another high-
light of the trip was the
Lingering Garden in Su-
zhou. She said the three- or
four-century-old Chinese
garden had coy ponds and
a large collection of bonsai,
artistically trimmed minia-
ture trees.
“It’s a beautiful garden,”
she said. “It was so peace-
ful. I could have stayed
there all day.”
may only get two square meals
a day when they eat breakfast
and lunch at school,” Smith said.
“The weekend backpacks provide
sustenance for throughout the rest
of the week.”
Smith said the district can also
waive all student fees, which en-
compasses more than just aca-
demic costs. “We can cover all of
the fees associated with school-
ing,” he said.
Smith said the district also
partners with the Hermiston
Sports Boosters to help cover the
costs for items like sneakers or
jerseys so a student who doesn’t
have money for those things can
still participate.
“Those can weigh very heavi-
ly on a family,” he said. “We are
trying to take away some of those
things so the student has less to
worry about.”
Hi
38
26
0
35
34
Lo Cond.
13 windy
-2 windy
-13 windy
19 windy
28 pt sunny
Moon Phases
UV Index
Wed
Full
Last
New
First
Jan 5
Jan 13
Jan 20
Jan 27
©2010 American Profile Hometown Content Service
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
1/7
1/8
1/9
1/10
1/11
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
1
Low
The UV Index is measured on a 0 -
11 number scale, with a higher UV
Index showing the need for greater
skin protection.
0
11
Karen Hutchinson-Talaski took this photo on a canal ride in Suzhou while on a free trip to
China designed to promote tourism in the country.
Smith said the district also of-
fers students support from coun-
selors and other staff, who can
help with them cope with the
weight of their situation. He said
the district uses community re-
source specialists to work with
the students and the families as it
can be a very sensitive topic.
Lisa Depew, grants and curric-
ulum manager for the district, said
the stigma associated with being
homeless can be a huge barrier for
families. She said, although the
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as homeless, the number could be
greater, so having counselors and
support staff, such as secretaries,
is vital in communicating and
supporting those families who are
struggling with homelessness.
“Counselors and secretaries are
RXU¿UVWOLQHRIFRPPXQLFDWLRQLQ
establishing a relationship with
those families,” she said. “There
is a stigma attached, so these fam-
ilies may be embarrassed about
their situation that has occurred
due to circumstances that are be-
yond their control.”
Depew said families having to
repeat their circumstances four or
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be another huge barrier for them.
“Secretaries and counselors
are made aware of the situation
so they are able to communicate
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tiality and discretion,” she said.
Smith said teachers and coun-
selors help identify homeless
students based on what they see,
adding they are trained to look
for signs of homelessness, such
as when students stop coming to
school, they show signs of need-
ing a bath or wearing the same
clothes multiple days.
“Those are typically some of
the things that peaks the attention
of a classroom teacher, who then
will report it to the school coun-
selor,” he said.
Depew said the whole process
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do have to meet certain criteria to
UHFHLYHEHQH¿WVXQGHUWKH0F.LQ-
ney-Vento law.
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case-by-case determination,” she
said.
Depew said what makes Herm-
iston’s program a success, in par-
ticular, is the partnerships with
neighboring school districts and
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which provides the transportation
for students.
“We have our challenges being
very rural, but we work closely
with the surrounding districts and
we make it work,” she said.