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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 2017)
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 LOCAL NEWS Echo woman assists Irma victims New food vendor ordinance By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER By JADE McDOWELL STAFF WRITER When it comes to hur- ricanes, Cindy Parks has been there, done that. Parks, an Echo resident and pharmacist at St. An- thony Hospital in Pendle- ton, recently returned from a three-week stint caring for “medically fragile” Hurricane Irma evacu- ees in Naples, Florida. In the past she responded to hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, and Su- perstorm Sandy. She may head out to Puerto Rico to help with Hurricane Maria recovery next. “Most people are com- passionate,” she said. “Most people want to help and I’m one of the lucky ones because I get to do something to make a dif- ference.” Parks is part of the Na- tional Disaster Medical System, which sends teams of medical professionals to assist overloaded local pro- fessionals in responding to a disaster or public health emergency. In addition to the hurricanes, the Oregon Disaster Medical Assis- tance Team she is a member of deployed to the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earth- quake and has flown in to help provide support during non-emergency mass gath- erings such as the pope’s visit to Washington, D.C. Each team — which is made of a balanced group of doctors, nurses, thera- pists, specialists, veterinar- ians, command staff and others — is on call during one quarter of the year, but Parks said the rapid succes- sion of disasters recently meant teams from fourth quarter, including hers, had to deploy early. While some teams were directly treating victims in- jured in hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, this time Parks’ team was flown by military plane outside of the disaster zone to Naples, Florida, where a large high school was sheltering about 1,000 people evacuated ahead of time from Hurri- cane Irma. Those evacuees were all classified as medi- cally fragile, meaning they were in a wheelchair, on oxygen or had other special medical needs. “They were isolated with no news as to whether their home was still there, or their family was OK,” Parks said. She said she was grate- ful the team includes a mental health professional, because it was a difficult time for many of the evac- uees beyond just the phys- ical discomfort of sleeping on a cot inside a school for weeks. Irrigon nurse Kelly Sul- livan and retired Pendleton paramedic James Thomas also deployed to Florida from Oregon. Usually Na- The city of Stanfield has passed an ordinance regu- lating mobile food vendors in the city. While the city hasn’t had food trucks regularly in the past, a request for a business license to run a food truck sparked con- cerns from the city council that permanent seating and other features would be added to make trucks more of a restaurant than a true mobile vendor. “There was a desire to have them mobile and clean and operating as a mobile food vendor should,” city manager Blair Larsen said. The final draft of the ordinance, which was orig- STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS Pharmacist Cindy Parks of Pendleton consults with patient Jan Cavallaro of Pendleton about possible drug interactions after Cavallaro underwent knee replacement surgery on Monday at St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO FROM CINDY PARKS Pharmacist Cindy Parks poses for a photo during her deployment to Naples, Florida for Hurricane Irma. tional Disaster Medical System deployments are scheduled for two weeks at a time, but sometimes are extended to three or more, as was the case this time. In some disasters Parks has been directly in the im- pact zone. “During Sandy, the hos- pital was damaged so badly we were setting up tents in the parking lots and people were coming through there instead,” she said. Parks said the worst of all her deployments since she joined the team in 2000 was Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people in total. Af- ter the initial devastation injuries continued to pile up as people had accidents wading through deep, de- bris-filled water or using chainsaws to try and clear through the wreckage. “Hurricane Katrina was the most awful thing I’ve ever seen,” she said. The National Disaster Medical System is a feder- al program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Person- nel are trained to support communities with medi- cal care and mortuary as- sistance as requested by state governments and are considered federal employ- ees when in the field. The system is made up of more than 5,000 professionals organized into more than 70 teams around the coun- try. “Hurricane Irma put people’s health and lives in jeopardy, and NDMS members are answering the call of duty to help residents affected by this disaster,” NDMS Acting Director Ron Miller said in a statement. “When a state requests our assistance, we will be there to serve until NDMS services are no lon- Want Year Around Outdoor Space? W e’ve Got Solutions! FREE Estimates! 541-720-0772 Visit our showroom: 102 E Columbia Dr. Kennewick, WA 99336 ger needed.” To provide effective as- sistance, teams from each state participate in rigorous training each year designed to help them work together quickly in a variety of cir- cumstances. Parks said one recent training involved practices setting up medi- cal tents in the snow on Mt. Bachelor. She said she signed up to work on an NDMS team because she likes helping people — the same reason she became a pharmacist. She may be getting rec- ognition for responding to high-profile disasters, but she said just as important are the “unsung heroes” who cover her shifts at St. Anthony and take care of other things that allow her to leave home for weeks at a time on very short notice. Other NDMS personnel continue to provide support for Hurricane Irma. ——— Contact Jade McDow- ell at jmcdowell@eastore- gonian.com or 541-564- 4536. Gas station rebranding as Sinclair STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL Workers switch the 76 sign to a Sinclair sign as the fuel station on Hermiston Avenue changes brands. Fuel dispensers and signs are being replaced at the 76 gas station in Herm- iston to rebrand the station as a Sinclair. Linda Lancaster, store manager, said the business will still be under the own- ership of Hattenhauer Dis- tributing of The Dalles. “It will still be the same good-quality fuel we’ve 2nd Annual Oktoberfest Wine & Stein! Oct. 14 Doors open at 5pm HERMISTON CONFERENCE CENTER (Call for Showroom Hours) 3 0 License #188965 th Anniversary Dinner Tickets $30 Celebration! Authentic Dinner Live & Silent Auction Amazing Raffl e and FUN! WEEKLY DRAWINGS! night trip to Las Vegas & $500 gift ca Grand Prize - 3 rd! 541-567-4305 • Hwy 395, Hermiston Contact info: www.cottagefl owersonline.com Mon-Sat 8am-6pm • Sun 12pm-5pm Promotion ends Nov. 11. *No purchase necessary. Must be 21 years of age to enter. One entry per day. had here,” she said. Lancaster said the store is still open, and un- less workers run into any problems the new fuel dis- pensers should be up and running on Thursday, or possibly even Wednesday afternoon. The station is located at 710 W. Highland Ave. in Hermiston. HERMISTON ALTRUSA PRESENTS: Patio Rooms Awnings · Sunrooms Pergolas · Patio Covers All Season Shades Solar Screens & More! www.mybackyardbydesign.com inally based on Hermis- ton’s mobile food vending ordinance and then went through several revisions, was passed during the Oct. 3 city council meeting. Mobile food vendors must be located in the downtown district or other industrial or commercial zones, and must be at least 200 feet from the property line of any restaurant un- less the owner gives writ- ten permission. The vendors must not add seating, tables, shades or other such items for use by patrons to eat on-site. There are other rules and restrictions as well, in- cluding hours of operation. For more information contact Stanfield City Hall, 541-449-3831. Tickets available at Hermiston Chamber of Commerce. Connie Ferranti • 541-564-0137 For more information, call 1-800-962-2819 2x3 EXAMPLE Celebrate your loved ones in our VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE We are so proud of you for serving your country. Free Example: Honoring those who have served and those who are currently serving our country! They’ve served our country with courage and honor. They’ve left behind loved ones to risk their lives while protecting our country. They’ve defended our freedoms and ideals. They make us proud to be Americans. Help us honor them. SALUTE E 1x4 EXAMPLE Love Evelyn, We are so Joe proud and of you Cheryl for serving J OSEPH S MITH your country. J OSEPH B. D AVIS Staff Sergeant Joel Davis US Marines Veteran This special section will print in the Hermiston Herald on Nov. 8 and in the East Oregonian on Nov. 11, 2017. There is NO CHARGE to be included. Bring us or send in photos of servicemen, servicewomen or veterans, along with the information in the form to the right, by November 2. Thank you for your service! Love Evelyn, Joe and Cheryl If you’d like to purchase a larger space to include a special message, border, flags, or stars and stripes, rates are $40 for a 1x4” space or $55 for a 2x3” space. Private party only. Please call 1-800-962-2819. Love always Marcy, Julie & Emily Service Person’s Name Military Branch Your Name Your Address Your Phone Number Military Rank Currently Serving Veteran (Check One) Deliver to: East Oregonian 211 SE Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 Hermiston Herald 333 E. Main. Hermiston, OR 97830 or e-mail to classifieds@eastoregonian.com
