A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017
Herald Business
Pregnancy Care Center opens in more accessible location
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff writer
Pregnancy Care Ser-
vices celebrated their new
home with a ribbon cut-
ting Thursday after moving
from the Cornerstone Plaza
into 105 S.W. Second St., in
the back of Granary Square
next to Taste of Thai.
Director Debbie Ciss-
na said the location, which
is about four blocks from
Hermiston High School,
will be more accessible for
teenagers and other women
who fi nd themselves unex-
pectedly pregnant and in
need of “free and confi den-
tial” support.
“Our mission is to pro-
vide empowerment to
women who are making
pregnancy decisions,” she
said.
According to Oregon’s
public health department
there were 331 teen preg-
nancies (defi ned as any
woman age 10 to 19) in
Umatilla County during the
2013-2015 biennium. In the
Hermiston offi ce (Pregnan-
cy Care Services also has a
location at 311 S.E. Dorion
Ave. in Pendleton), Cissna
said they tend to get 12 to
15 walk-ins per month. In
an offi ce that is open four
days a week, that can trans-
late into about one per day.
Pregnancy Care Services
offers pregnancy tests and
immediate counseling for
women who come in scared
that they might be pregnant.
Cissna and the volunteers
who make up the rest of
the staff provide emotional
support but also informa-
tion about pregnancy-relat-
ed topics such as adoption,
abortion, prenatal care and
resources for new parents.
Cissna said they hope
the women they see make
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Community Bank
collects money
for area nonprofi ts
HERMISTON HERALD
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE MCDOWELL
Pregnancy Care Services director Debbie Cissna cuts the ribbon in front of the center’s new
home on the back side of Granary Square.
a “life-affi rming decision,”
and they do not make refer-
rals to abortion clinics. But
even if a woman chooses to
have an abortion after con-
sidering all of her options,
the center will be there
for her with post-abortion
counseling to help deal
with the complicated feel-
ings that come along with
terminating a pregnancy.
“We let her know re-
gardless of her choice we’re
there for her,” Cissna said.
“No judgment, no condem-
nation, we just want to love
on her.”
The state recorded 16
abortions by Umatilla
County residents in 2015;
however, the department
only counted abortions that
took place in Oregon. For
Umatilla County residents
the nearest abortion options
are clinics in Kennewick
and Walla Walla.
For women who choose
to keep their baby, Pregnan-
cy Care Services provides
continued counseling, peer
mentoring and parenting
classes. They also provide
classes and peer mentoring
with male volunteers for in-
volved fathers-to-be.
The Earn While You
Learn program gives wom-
en points for attending
counseling sessions and
classes, and those points
can be redeemed at Preg-
nancy Care Services for
baby clothes, diapers, bot-
tles, blankets and car seats.
All of the items are donated
by the community.
During
Thursday’s
ribbon-cutting
celebra-
tion, volunteer Lois Cram
showed off the boutique
where women can shop
with their points. On one
shelf was a stack of care
packages that included a
handmade receiving blan-
ket and hand-crocheted hats
and booties. The nonprofi t
Linus Project also donates
baby quilts made by mem-
bers of the community.
or to RSVP, contact 541-
567-6151, info@hermiston-
chamber.com or visit www.
hermistonchamber.com.
experience in property man-
agement, Landlords 101
provides step-by-step help.
Topics include advertising
vacant property, how to deal
with problems during occu-
pancy and ending the tenan-
cy.
The class is Friday, Jan.
27 from 5:30-9 p.m. at
Pendleton City Hall, 500
S.W. Dorion Ave. The cost
is $40 for members and $45
for non-members, which in-
cludes course materials.
To register, visit www.or-
egonrentalhousing.com. For
more information, call 503-
364-5468.
“If we have a lady that
needs something but we
don’t have it, we just ask
around,” Cram said. “We
have a very generous com-
munity.”
Right now the center
is open Monday through
Thursday, 12:30 p.m. to 5
p.m., but Cissna said there
was a volunteer who said
they would be willing to
work Saturdays so they
might be expanding their
hours soon.
Larry Ables volunteered
to help get the new space
— formerly occupied by
a trucking company —
cleaned up and remodeled,
and Cissna said she hopes
to eventually expand into
the space next door too.
Pregnancy Care Services
is holding a “Celebrate a
Vision for Life” banquet
Jan. 22 from 5-7 p.m. at
the Hermiston Conference
Center to collect donations
and hear from keynote
speaker John Ensor.
area. The bank matches
donations at 50 cents on
each dollar, with a max-
imum match of $500 per
branch location.
Over the past sev-
en years the Communi-
ty Bank Charity Drive
has provided more than
$143,000 to charities in
the region. Community
Bank appreciates all the
people and clubs that do-
nated to the fundraising
efforts.
“These charitable or-
ganizations do such won-
derful things for our com-
munities, it is a pleasure
to round up some extra
assistance for them during
the holiday season,” said
Tom Moran, Community
Bank president/CEO.
‘Tis the season —
more than $24,000 in do-
nations and bank matches
were disbursed to chari-
ties in northeast Oregon
and southeast Washing-
ton through Community
Bank’s annual holiday
Charity Drive.
The bank’s Hermiston
branch provided $1,520
to CASA (Court Appoint-
ed Special Advocates) of
Umatilla Morrow County
Head Start.
Each of the bank’s
full-service branch loca-
tions collected donations
from Nov. 1 through
Dec. 20. The program
collects donations at
each location to bene-
fi t charities in the same
Printed on
recycled
newsprint
VOLUME 111 ● NUMBER 3
Gary L. West | Editor • gwest@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4532
Tammy Malgesini | Community Editor • tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4539
Jayati Ramakrishnan | Reporter • jramakrishnan@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4534
Jade McDowell | Reporter • jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4536
Jeanne Jewett | Multi-Media consultant • jjewett@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4531
Shannon Paxton | Offi ce coordinator • spaxton@hermistonherald.com • 541-564-4530
Audra Workman | Multi-Media consultant • aworkman@eastoregonian.com • 541-564-4538
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BRIEF CASE
Two Hermiston
businesses plan
celebration
A pair of Hermiston busi-
nesses invite the public to
help in observing their anni-
versaries.
Home Town Mortgage
Group is celebrating four
years and Real Business
Solutions, LLC is recogniz-
ing its third year. People are
invited to stop by Thursday,
Jan. 26 between 5-8:30 p.m.
at 505 E. Main St., Hermis-
ton.
The event features hors
d’oeuvres, wine samples
from Airfi eld Winery and
live music with Zac Grooms.
Business luncheon to
hear water update
An overview of North-
east Oregon Water Associa-
tion’s progress on new, mit-
igated water development
from the Columbia River
will be discussed during
the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce B2B Luncheon
Director J.R. Cook also
will unveil the new Oregon
Water Coalition focus and
structure, and will introduce
Marika Sitz, a Stanford
graduate and paid intern of
the Oregon Water Coalition.
The no-host event is
Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 11:45
a.m. at the Hermiston Con-
ference Center, 415 S. High-
way 395. The meal, catered
by Pudding on the Ritz, is
$10 for members and $13
for non-members. People
are asked to register by Sat-
urday.
For more information
Training provides
landlord information
An overview of infor-
mation for new and experi-
enced landlords is featured
in an upcoming seminar of-
fered by the Oregon Rental
Housing Association.
Presented by Terry Turn-
er, president of Oregon
Rental Housing Associa-
tion, and Sharrol Lyons,
who has more than 23 years
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