Hermiston herald., November 07, 2018, Page A16, Image 16

A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018
FROM A1
MILITARY
Continued from Page A1
about the military.
“I went to an Air Force
recruiter, who told me I’d
have to graduate high school
to go,” she said.
She began attending
night school full time, while
working with a recruiter, and
left for training in July 2001.
Jody Frost, who oversees
child welfare in Umatilla
and Morrow counties for
the Department of Human
Services, was in the Marine
Corps from 1981 to 1984.
For her, joining the mil-
itary was initially a way to
escape.
“I was involved with
drugs and alcohol, and was
making really poor life
choices,” she said. “I had
to get out of town quickly. I
had people looking for me.”
Frost, then living in Port-
land, enlisted, and went to
boot camp in Paris Island,
South Carolina. She was
then assigned to work as a
truck driver at Camp Pend-
leton, California. She also
worked as a training and
education
non-commis-
sioned officer.
Frost said at the time she
enlisted, women were almost
absent from her station.
“When I arrived, there
were 633 men, and me and
two other women,” she said.
“It was pretty discriminatory
against women.”
Tile Hamilton, who
works as a special educa-
tion assistant at Sandstone
Middle School, enlisted in
the Navy in 1993. She was
27, and had felt she wanted
to do something more with
her life.
“I didn’t feel like I was
doing all I could do,” she
said. Though she was born
in Samoa, her family had
moved to the U.S., and
instilled a sense of patri-
otism in her. She recalls
they were a little apprehen-
sive about her going into the
military, but supported her
when she went.
Hamilton served for eight
years, and worked as a Per-
sonnelman, processing peo-
ple as they came in and out
of the Navy.
She said her experience
was overwhelmingly posi-
tive, but recalled that women
were largely outnumbered,
and there were some jobs
they couldn’t do, such as
working as a submariner.
Randall worked on the
civil engineering squadron,
working on water breaks,
digging up water lines and
operating backhoes.
“I loved what I did,” she
said. “It was very hands-on.”
She was one of only two
women in her field, which
she said led her to push her-
self to keep up with the men.
BTW
Continued from Page A1
classrooms, helping with
sporting events, doing secu-
rity walks around school
facilities and more. They do
not proselytize.
Highland Hills has yet to
be adopted this year, and the
committee is also willing to
take additional help from
churches that would like
to support efforts at other
schools. Schools have been
adopted by First Assem-
bly of God, Oasis Vine-
yard Church, Living Faith
Church, Our Lady of
Angels Catholic Church,
Rekindle Church, Iglesia
Adventista, The Church
of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-day Saints, Living
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Jody Frost, director at DHS child welfare for Umatilla and Morrow counties, served in the administrative capacity for a U.S.
Marine Corps motor transport battalion at Camp Pendleton, California.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Amber Randall in her U.S. Air
Force basic training photo
taken in Lackland Air Force
base in San Antonio, Texas,
in July of 2001.
Amber Randall, a Child Protective Services worker in
Hermiston, served in the Air Force in the early 2000s.
“My mom was a trades-
man, in road construction,”
she said. “What she did
teach me is that I’m capable
of anything.”
Frost said hurdles that
existed for women when she
entered the military are still
there.
“I experienced one rape,”
she said. “And that’s still
happening. Sexual assault in
the military — it’s still dif-
ficult for women to report
rape because of retaliation
by others.”
She said while some of
her friends “took care of”
her assailant, she didn’t
report it to the authorities.
“You just learned to keep
it a secret, because women
who did go through the
proper channels — life got
very difficult for them,” she
said.
Twenty years later, Ran-
dall said even some of the
female supervisors did not
take sexual harassment
seriously. Working in the
male-dominated civil engi-
neering squadron, Randall
said such misconduct was
rampant.
“I talked to my super-
visor, who was a woman,
and she asked me what I
was doing to cause it,” Ran-
dall said. “As I was talking
to her, a guy walked up
and made a sexual refer-
ence to me in front of her. I
asked her, ‘what was I doing
then?’”
Randall said the supervi-
sor didn’t take any action.
“She just wanted to be
accepted,” Randall said.
“Nobody wants to rock the
boat.”
Still, Randall said, she
spoke out, and found that
once she did, the harassment
decreased.
“It was a struggle, but
hopefully it set a good exam-
ple for women to follow me,
because I was able to stand
up for myself,” she said.
Faith Church, First Chris-
tian Church and Church of
the Nazarene.
For more information
contact James Lafolette at
city@hermiston.or.us.
• • •
Creativity ruled during
the Umatilla Chamber of
Commerce & Visitor’s
Center pumpkin carving
contest. Jordan Robertson
placed first in the adult divi-
sion and Valerie Campos
was tops in the 12 and under
group.
• • •
Hermiston salad shop
Veg Out is open at its new
location.
It opened last Wednesday
next to city hall at 140 N.E.
Second St.
The new location adds
indoor and outdoor seating
for the previously delivery
and take-out only business,
and an expanded kitchen
that will help speed up the
salad-making process.
The
menu
remains
mostly the same, with the
Orchard Harvest and Berry
Nutty salads added for fall.
Soups will be added back
onto the menu again soon
for winter.
Hours also remain the
same, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Monday through Friday and
12-7 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information
visit the Veg Out Facebook
page or call 541-561-9231.
———
You can submit items for
our weekly By The Way col-
umn by emailing your tips
to editor@hermistonher-
ald.com.
FFA
continued from Page A1
There’s a math section, where students
have to solve problems, such as how much
medication to give an animal based on their
weight. A written portion asked students to
discuss opioids and how veterinarians have
to consider human abuse of the drugs when
administering them to animals.
There was a multiple choice test, a
practicum portion, and an extemporaneous
speaking portion. In the latter, students had
to work in a group to prepare a presentation
about “fear-free feline medicine,” which
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
discusses the ways vets can reduce stress
and anxiety for animals going to the veteri-
narian. That anxiety, in turn, leads to longer
recovery times for animals.
Though not all of the students want to
become veterinarians, some hope the skills
they’re learning in FFA will transition to
their desired careers.
“I’d like to be a ruminant nutritionist,”
said Tejeda Urenda. “Developing feeds for
cattle, lambs, anything with a four-chamber
stomach.”
Baker does want to be a veterinarian,
and has started looking at colleges.
“This is what I want to do with my life,”
she said.
Hamilton said she knew
of women who had expe-
rienced sexual harassment
during their service, but
didn’t face it herself.
“Maybe it’s because I was
older,” she said. “I never felt
that — and if I did, a cou-
ple times where I felt some-
one was standing too close, I
was very vocal about things
like that.”
Jody Frost in her U.S Marine
Corps basic training photo
taken in Parris Island, South
Carolina, in July, 1991.
Hamilton met her hus-
band while they were both
serving, and they got mar-
ried while still enlisted. He
got out shortly after, which
alleviated some of the chal-
lenges of taking care of their
children. Hamilton had her
first daughter while still in
the Navy, and then got out
on an honorable discharge
and medical discharge a few
years later.
Randall had some chal-
lenges as she became a par-
ent while serving. Even
with a newborn, she said,
she always had to be ready
to deploy.
“We’d go out onto the
tarmac, process the line, and
wait for the plane to come.
And we never knew if we’d
have to get onto that plane
or not,” she said. “Fortu-
nately, I didn’t go.”
Randall said she was sup-
posed to go to El Salvador,
but never deployed because
her sister was terminally ill.
She left the military shortly
after to care for her.
But she said enlisting
was the best decision she
ever made.
“I was not independent
when I went in,” she said,
noting her lack of direction.
“I likely would have ended
up in jail.”
Instead, the guidance and
structure she received in the
military led her to pursue a
college degree and a job she
feels is her calling.
Frost said despite the
traumatizing incidents, join-
ing the military was the
right choice — both for the
benefits she received after-
wards, like VA services and
college, and the skills she
gained. She said it gave her
a sense of responsibility, and
led her to stop using drugs.
She noted that the dis-
cipline she learned at boot
camp has helped her in all
subsequent jobs, whether at
DHS, working in the prison,
or working with the home-
less in Portland.
She said she didn’t start
out with any patriotic inten-
tions, but they’ve developed
over time.
“It’s only as I’ve gotten
older that I’ve really valued
and respected our country,”
she said.
Hamilton said she still
misses the sense of camara-
derie, and encouraged those
who are thinking about it.
She said she enjoyed the
opportunity to learn about
new places and people, and
liked the way service mem-
bers look out for each other.
“Navy takes care of
Navy,” she said. “Mili-
tary people take care of
military.”
I have the power to
explore
You inspire all of us at Pacific Power to provide the most reliable and
sustainable energy possible. Every solution we create is to power you,
your family, neighborhood and community. Learn how our programs can
help you at PoweringGreatness.com.
© 2018 Pacifi c Power