A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015
FROM PAGE A1
SUPPORT:
deal with on a daily basis
that have provided barriers
or limitations in their overall
continued from page A1
life.
while her partner was away
The program was start-
he would lash out at her ed by Cody Chase, shortly
when she returned.
after he joined Lifeways as
³,W GH¿QLWHO\ ZDVQ¶W D a therapist in 2009. At the
good situation,” Walker time, the organization had
said.
no peer-support groups, and
She was also dealing after asking about it, Chase
with physical limitations was encouraged to start a
of a rare muscle disease program.
known as dermatomyositis,
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which makes her unable to built on my own time,” he
ZRUNDQGGLI¿FXOWIRUKHUWR said. “I worked on it during
leave the house. She knew lunch, before and after work
WKDW LI VKH GLGQ¶W VHHN KHOS ... I built it up from my own
she probably would never case load. I asked my clients
improve mentally and emo- if they would be interested in
tionally.
participating, and many of
Walker said she started them were.”
therapy with Lifeways, and
Since Chase started the
while sessions have been im- program in 2009, it has ex-
mensely helpful, there is one panded. He said they started
thing she feels has helped off with one session, one day
bring her out of her shell: the a month. Since that period,
Umatilla County Peer Sup- they have expanded to of-
port Network.
fering 10 groups that meet at
Through the network, least once a week.
Walker participates in a va-
Chase said they have
riety of peer-based talk ther- moved some of their sup-
apy sessions, where in those port network sessions into
sessions, she and her peers The Arc of Umatilla Coun-
talk through issues that they ty building, which has been
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a permanent location for the
effort, so that they can be self
sustaining and grow.
Chase said they are cur-
rently working to provide
opportunities for the general
public to participate in cer-
tain groups, without having
to be a registered Lifeways
client.
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opening for that right now,”
he said.
Currently, he said they
offer two groups that allow
general public members to
participate. One develops
community service projects
that allow participating to
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into the community to do
some good.
The group called “Con-
nections” has completed
projects including making
and distributing Valentines
at senior living facilities and
packaging about 5,000 eggs
for local churches for Easter
egg hunts. The group is cur-
rently collecting used medi-
cine bottles that will be sent
to Malawi, Africa, where
they will be used to pack-
PORT:
from residential. The city pur-
chased the disputed property
from the port to resolve the
disagreement. The site east
of Bud Draper Road is zoned
industrial in Umatilla Coun-
ty, outside the city limits of
Umatilla.
Puzey said the grant re-
quired matching funds from
the port to be eligible, and
the port met the requirement
by upgrading the access to
the dock with a new road at
the corner of Roxbury and
Bud Draper roads, so both
age medication for those that
need it.
Walker said those types of
opportunities have given her
a purpose in life, since she
FDQ¶WZRUNZKLOHDOVRDOORZ-
ing her to socialize.
Chase said that has al-
ways been the goal for the
group.
“It is amazing when you
give somebody a little bit of
energy from another person
and watching them blossom
into a whole other human be-
ing,” he said. “Even though
we live in a very techno-
logical world today where
the Internet makes it easier
WR FRPPXQLFDWH ZH¶UH QRW
talking to each other face to
face.”
Amy Funk, a peer-sup-
port specialist for the effort,
said people need that emo-
tional connection.
“When you talk to some-
body face to face, you feel
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emotion in a text message or
DQHPDLODQGLW¶VOHVVSHUVRQ-
al.”
Chase said his main goals
with the program are to pro-
vide Lifeways clients and the
community a place they can
belong and have a purpose
by helping others. He said
talking through issues can
KHOS SHRSOH RYHUFRPH OLIH¶V
struggles, creating a healthier
community.
“I want all of Hermiston
to get involved in this,” he
said.
He said the purpose of the
groups is to provide a place
for people to get together and
share their life experiences.
“Who understands de-
pression better than someone
with depression?” he said.
“If someone is lonely, who
better to communicate that
struggle than that person?”
Walker said she is now a
board member for the effort
and is looking into starting a
couple of support groups of
her own. She s is interested
in starting a class for people
who have dealt with domes-
tic violence.
“I want to use my expe-
rience and work with other
people who have experi-
enced that to help each oth-
HU´VKHVDLG³:H¶UHDOOJR-
ing down the same road. We
might as well all get together
to help one another.”
Chase said there are
many individuals, like
Walker, who have so much
to give, but end up getting
¿JXUDWLYHO\ ³ORFNHG DZD\
and forgotten about” be-
cause there is such a stig-
ma with mental health. He
hopes with the peer net-
work to overcome that stig-
ma so that they can make
for a healthier and thriving
Hermiston.
the west and east sides of Bud
Draper met the requirement.
He said the access to util-
ities is similar for both sites,
and the plans for the ware-
house — a 75-by-200-foot
concrete tilt-up building —
have not changed.
“It would be quite similar
to the Aramark building out
WKHUHDQGLW¶GEHDFURVVGRFN
operation, so someone like
$UDPDUN ZKHUH \RX¶YH JRW
a need for short-term storage
for a product that comes in,
JRHV EDFN RXW WKDW¶V ZKDW
ZH¶UHWDONLQJDERXW´KHVDLG
“We built this with the con-
crete tilt-up so that if you have
a need to build refrigerators,
\RXZRXOGQ¶WEHVWDUWLQJRYHU
from scratch. The concrete
tilt-up, which is the same type
of construction you see in the
data centers, it is very heavy
and quite expensive in price
per square foot, but it allows
you the refrigerated option
if you were just to install the
equipment.”
The planned durable
building with a functional
RI¿FHZRXOGEHFORVHWRWKH
Columbia River and the in-
terstate system, Puzey said,
and the warehouse could
store items such as food
products or other consum-
ables.
In other port news, the
Commission unanimously
passed a motion supporting
the Blue Mountain Com-
munity College bond on the
May 19 ballot because of the
link between a strong econ-
RP\ DQG DQ HI¿FLHQW ORFDO
community college.
brought him to Hermiston.
During a concert he was
giving
with a traveling band
continued from page A1
at the Hermiston Assembly
Students interested in enrolling in SUM Bible College, can contact Jacob Looper by email at jlooper@sum.
what it meant to me, and I of God Church, Looper met
edu. The cost of attending is $10,000 per year, and every credit above 10 is free.
knew what it could mean Pastor Terry Haight. Haight
Through the college, students take online and other virtual and physical classes through a program at Herm-
to others. I wanted to keep could see how good Loop-
iston Assembly of God. Fall registration begins soon.
pursing it.”
er was with teaching and
Looper has since be- guiding others in the minis-
come a judge for the na- try. Haight asked Looper if
tional competition, which he was interested in taking tivities. He said he hopes to of my biggest passions,” he whole new generation of
he has done for the last over the adviser position do more of the same in the said. “I feel like I can use a singers, musicians and min-
¿YH \HDUV 7KLV \HDU KH LV for the locally-based SUM local community.
lot of my gifts here.”
istry-inspired performers
leading the whole Oregon Bible College run out of
“Music is probably one
He hopes to inspire a who can also help others.
event, which will welcome the Hermiston Assembly of
dozens of students who will God Church.
compete in 75 categories
Looper said he felt that
ranging from singing to was the direction he was
musicianship to preaching meant to take. After a bit
and artwork.
of praying, he accepted
Through the Christian the position and made the
music industry, Looper move to Hermiston in the
landed a position teaching summer of 2014.
music at a Christian school
:KLOH WKH SRVLWLRQ LVQ¶W
for several years, which he entirely music-based, Loop-
said further developed in er said he hopes to use his
him a passion for teaching musical background to sup-
youth to follow their musi- plement opportunities for
cal dreams.
college students in the SUM
Bible Program. He said,
COMING TO
back home in Redmond, he
HERMISTON
organized events for local
Through the music min- communities in an effort to
istry, he helped organize spread word of the ministry
and participate in a tour- through music, games, ac-
ing group that ultimately tivities and other social ac-
He said he also hopes to
offer vocal, piano and saxo-
phone lessons to interested
young musicians.
³,¶PORRNLQJWREXLOGXS
my music presence here,”
he said. “First and foremost,
,SXW*RG¿UVW,ZDQWWRKHOS
them build their buildings as
tall as mine is. I want them
to build their knowledge, so
that they can go out into the
world and inspire as others
have for me.”
continued from page A1
unsure of the outcome. Puzey
said the OTC had requested
a new project schedule from
the Port of Umatilla to review
at the meeting, but he request-
ed another month to complete
the document.
“I have no idea what their
deliberations or their deci-
sion will be,” he said. “What
I was told is that they wanted
a detailed project schedule by
(Tuesday), and my response
to them was that I could pro-
vide that to you one month
IURP WRGD\ , GRQ¶W NQRZ
ZKDW WKH\¶OO GR , PDGH WKH
best case that I could make.”
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west of Bud Draper Road
was inside Umatilla city lim-
its, and, although city maps
indicated the property was
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denied the warehouse site re-
view plan after discovering
an error made years ago in-
correctly changed the zoning
MUSIC:
MAEGAN MURRAY PHOTO
Umatilla County Peer Sup-
port Network board member
and peer, Tammy Walker,
puts some supplies away
Thursday afternoon that were
used in a community service
project for the peer network.
Info about SUM Bible College
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