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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2016)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 COMMUNITY Corrections staf celebrated at Two Rivers By JENNIFER COLTON Staff Writer STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Hermiston High School councilor Melody Bustillos helps freshman Luis Almonte with forecasting his classes for the next school year on Monday in Hermiston. Helping guide student choices consider and answer those questions of what I wanted to do with my life.” So with a college de- gree in hand, Bustillos considered working out- side hospitals in public or home health. Then a former teacher asked if she had considered looking outside of medicine altogether. Bustillos went back to the basics of why she want- ed to work in the emergen- cy room: to be a calming presence that could help people through the dificult and scary times. Through working with a group of school counselors on a grant proposal, she discov- ered the job had a lot more in common with her life goals than she realized. “It was like a light bulb turned on,” Bustillos said. “I still get to help people in the scary times, I get to help with that journey and seeing them through, show- ing them that things will get better. I love this job.” Bustillos is now in her eighth year as a school counselor. At Hermis- ton High School, the four counselors each take a grade level and follow the class through gradua- tion. She helped the class of 2015 from freshman through senior year, and now she’s starting over with the 450 students of the 2019 class. By JENNIFER COLTON Staff Writer High school freshmen make decisions that set the stage for their adult lives. Every day, Melody Bustil- los guides students along that path. A school counselor, Bustillos works in the class- room and in her ofice — the walls covered loor to ceiling with inspiration — to help students prepare for their futures. While some people could say Bustillos was made for the job of inspir- ing students, for students and families scared and stressed over the decisions, Bustillos has her own story to tell. From age 6, Bustillos al- ways planned on becoming an emergency room doctor. She focused in high school on getting into college and in college on completing a pre-med degree. Then she took a job at a hospital. “I realized I didn’t like telling people we couldn’t do a procedure the doctor recommended because in- surance wouldn’t cover it or because they couldn’t put enough down. I felt like my hands were tied and I was a barrier to helping peo- ple instead of a part of it,” she said. “In high school, I was focused. I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Then, at age 26, I had to re- Special week for educators While restaurants thank teachers with “freebies” and organizations promote #ThankATeacher this week, the East Oregonian will spotlight a handful of amazing educators from Umatilla and Morrow counties. National Teacher Day dates back to 1953, according to the National Education Association and was moved to the first full week of May in 1985. By presidential proclamation, Teacher Appreciation Week is May 1-7, 2016, and Teacher Appreciation Day is Tuesday. The day is set aside to recog- nize those educators who work with students as teachers, coun- selors and administrators. Spending time in a cor- rectional institution weighs not only on the inmates but on the staff. Correction- al oficers and employees may feel isolated — of- icers rarely interact with more than a handful of oth- er employees in their spe- ciic zones — and weighed down by the pressure and negative atmosphere. In 1984, President Ron- ald Reagan signed a proc- lamation making the irst full week in May “Nation- al Correctional Oficers’ Week” to recognize per- sonnel who work in jails, prisons and community corrections. For Two Riv- ers Correctional Institution, that recognition means a week full of events hon- oring and appreciating the prison’s 450 employees. The events include root beer loats, a memorial ser- vice, a poker walk, nacho bar and competitions. With the exception of the open- ing ceremony on Monday and Friday’s award ceremo- ny, many employees most look forward to the annual barbecue. Paul McDonough, a transport oficer, has volun- teered to help run the grill for the barbecue — for 17 years. “This gives us a chance to let the other staff know how appreciated they are for what they do,” McDonough said. “We get to spend time with them, talk to people we don’t always get to see, and that’s nice.” McDonough and Car- los Torres, a correctional oficer who grilled onions and peppers alongside Mc- Donough, were on site pre- paring the barbecue at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday and were still cooking burgers and hot dogs through the “normal” lunch time. Because of TR- STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON Paul McDonough, left, and Carlos Torres grill hamburgers and vegetables Tuesday at Two Rivers Correctional Institution for “National Correctional Oficers’ Week.” STAFF PHOTO BY JENNIFER COLTON Heather Demos and Don Hodney serve correctional oficers during a barbecue Tuesday at Two Rivers Correctional Institution. CI’s round-the-clock sched- uling, employees may take a “lunch” at almost any time. For employee appreciation, TRCI has made an effort to include employees on all shifts; the barbecue, for ex- ample, ran from 6-9 a.m., from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 2:30-4:30 p.m. to make sure all em- ployees had the opportunity to stop in at least once. Torres said he volunteers to work the barbecue. “It’s a tradition,” he said Another inmate dies at TRCI A 76-year-old inmate on staff found him unre- was found dead in his cell sponsive in his cell at 7:53 Sunday morning at a.m. Sunday. Two Rivers Correc- County medical ex- tional Institution in aminer Rudy Stefancik Umatilla. said the death was natu- Tomas Ve- ral and no autopsy would jar-Garcia had been be performed. serving a sentence Vejar-Garcia’s next since June 1, 2012, of kin were notiied for two counts of Vejar- and the Oregon State Garcia irst-degree sex Police Criminal Inves- abuse in Washing- tigation Division con- ton County and was eligible ducted an investigation, as for release on June 6. Pris- it does with all unanticipat- PGG members vote to dissolve co-op Brings 86-year-old co-op to an end By GEORGE PLAVEN Staff Writer Members of Pendle- ton Grain Growers vot- ed overwhelmingly to dissolve the 86-year-old farmers’ co-op at a spe- cial meeting Monday night. Board Chairman Tim Hawkins said the vote was about 95 percent in favor of dissolution. At least a two-thirds major- ity was required to pass the resolution. PGG will now sell its remaining assets in order to pay off debt and return any left- over equity to members. The vote officially brings an end to PGG, which was established in 1930 during the Great De- pression to protect local farmers against slumping grain prices. In recent years, the co-op lost mil- lions of dollars in profit and misrepresented mil- lions more in overstated earnings. PGG attempted to restructure its business model before ultimately turning to dissolution. of the barbecue. “We look forward to this week of the year all year. Everyone is happy.” The week and the ap- preciation raise morale for correctional oficers, a ca- reer that has been linked to high rates of depression and suicide. Tuesday, multiple employees thanked the or- ganizers for offering taking the time to recognize them because working in an insti- tution is a “negative” envi- ronment. “Everyone needs to be appreciated, but I think it’s especially important here,” said Dusti Hunter, inmate assignment coordinator. “We work in an environ- ment that’s a rough crowd. Having something uplifting like this makes a differ- ence.” On a typical day, the se- curity oficers supervising in- mate wards and activities will not interact with the coun- selors, nurses, administrators and transport oficers who also work in the institution. “We have to rely on each other — it’s not just secu- rity that is recognized, but everyone as a team,” cor- rectional oficer S. Erickson said. “Events like this bring up morale of staff, and we’re all able to come together, build camaraderie.” The fellowship builds morale and allows employ- ees to interact as a group with others who understand the stresses and pressures of working in a correctional in- stitution. It gives employees a chance to remember they are not alone. Eric Anderson, a PGG member for 40 years, said the attitude at the members-only meeting was one of resignation. “Losing this vast amount of money is the real tragedy,” Anderson said. Despite losing the co- op, Hawkins said he felt this was the best outcome for PGG members, given the circumstances. ed deaths. Vejar-Garcia is the ifth TRCI inmate to die of nat- ural causes in the past nine weeks, according to Ste- fancik. Avis Woodrum, 60, Shawn McMillian, 44, Ronald Marcus, 60, and Joel Abbot, 60, have all died since February 27. TRCI houses approxi- mately 1,800 male inmates and opened in 2000. Need Shade or Outdoor Living Space? 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