A16 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2018
FROM A1
CASA
MEAL
parents were cleared to
become her foster parents.
They eventually adopted her
around age 7, and continued
to provide a home for other
foster children. But both
died within a year of each
other before Duncan-Os-
born was 17, leaving her to
“figure out life” on her own
after that.
She doesn’t remember
having a CASA, but she
considers herself extremely
lucky to have had loving
grandparents
advocating
for her when she was in the
system.
“These kids need sup-
port, someone to stick with
them,” she said. “They
might go from foster home
to foster home, from case-
worker to caseworker, and
you want someone to stick
with them from start to fin-
ish and know what their
story is.”
She said she remem-
bers the disappointment of
showing up to supervised
visits with her mother as a
young child, only to have
her mother not show up.
And she remembers the
feelings of hopelessness
that sometimes came after
her grandparents were gone.
“Maybe these kids are
thinking about running
away, maybe they’re con-
templating suicide,” she
said. “I want to tell them
‘I was there and look at me
now.’”
In addition to her own
experiences, Duncan-Os-
born said she learned a lot
from the training classes
she and the rest of her
class of CASAs took. They
learned about coping mech-
anisms for dealing with dif-
ficult cases, learned about
the legal system and took
field trips to talk to every-
one from judges to a mother
who was in rehabilitation as
she tried to win her children
back.
“It really helps you see
all sides,” she said.
“Being a couple of
months in advance makes
it so much easier when
dealing with volunteers
and the donated dollar,”
Cassens said.
This year, there were at
least 100 volunteers total,
about 30 of which were
helping in the kitchen.
They cooked mashed pota-
toes, carved turkey and
plated pies.
The event has been
going on for more than 30
years, but draws new help-
ers annually.
Many of the kitchen
volunteers were learn-
ing on the job Thursday
morning.
“Someone dropped off
a poster at my work,” said
Salvador Zeferino, a new
volunteer who was arrang-
ing plates of pie on a serv-
ing rack. “I just wanted to
spend time and help out in
any way I can.”
He said he hoped more
people would show up to
help, and to eat.
“I think it’s important
that everyone volunteer,”
he said. “Not everyone’s
fortunate enough to have
family to go to. It’s under-
standing that, and helping
out.”
Mike Chrismon and his
16-year-old granddaugh-
ter, Kora Tretteen, showed
up on Thursday morning
ready to help. They quickly
got to work in the kitchen,
helping prep mashed
potatoes.
“I heard about this
through the high school,”
Tretteen said. “It’s some-
thing people are really
proud of.”
Cassens and Smart are
both longtime volunteers,
and both fell into their
roles unexpectedly.
“Five years ago, I
walked in and they said
‘Oh yay, a cook,’” Smart
said. “I just started cooking
from the beginning.”
Though she had prior
Continued from Page A1
Continued from Page A1
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A new class of CASA volunteers pose for a photo with Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge
Eva Temple after a swearing in ceremony for the new volunteers Tuesday in Hermiston.
Many CASAs don’t
have such a direct connec-
tion to the foster system,
but decided they could give
back to their community by
being an advocate for some
of society’s most vulnerable
children.
“These kids need
support, someone
to stick with them.
They might go from
foster home to foster
home…”
Meagan Duncan-Osborn,
CASA
Jimmie Wilkins of Pend-
leton said now that she is
retired she has more time.
She volunteers in hospice,
helping people at the end of
their lives, and she decided
she wanted to do something
to help those at the begin-
ning too.
She said she was shocked
to learn how few foster fam-
ilies their are in the area.
“Now when I’m at the
gym or getting coffee and
CASA comes up I say,
‘Do you know Pendleton
only has three foster place-
ments?’” she said.
She said being a CASA
will be a challenge but she’s
ready to put her Type-A per-
sonality to use in being the
most effective advocate she
can, with the help of Uma-
tilla Morrow County Head
Start staff and the more-ex-
perienced CASA assigned
to be her mentor.
During Monday’s swear-
ing-in ceremony in a Herm-
iston courtroom, Judge Eva
Temple thanked the new
CASAs for their willing-
ness to give of their time.
She said CASAs are “of
great help” to those tasked
with determining what is
best for the child.
“I don’t know if you
understand how much the
CASA reports are valued by
the court,” she said.
CASAs must go through
at least 30 hours of train-
ing, but CASAs in Umatilla
and Morrow County usu-
ally go through 40 to 50,
as UMCHS supplements
the national curriculum
with field trips to local sites
related to foster care. Some
CASAs only take one case
at time, while more expe-
rienced ones with time on
their hands can take sev-
eral. They are expected to
meet with the child and dis-
cuss how things are going a
minimum of once a month,
attend court hearings, pro-
vide reports to the court and
do whatever else they think
will help them be an advo-
cate for the child. Some-
times that includes things
like referring the child’s
parent to parenting classes
and other resources to help
them be the best option for
their child going forward.
Other times it means report-
ing to the court that they
believe the child would
be in danger if they return
home.
Diane Shockman, Herm-
iston’s CASA coordinator,
said the CASAs’ reports
become an official part of
the court record. CASAs are
also able to access records
related to the child’s case.
For
more
informa-
tion about CASA in Uma-
tilla and Morrow coun-
ties, email casa@umchs.
org or call Shockman at
541-667-6169.
ALL NEW 2018
experience in the kitchen,
Smart said she wasn’t
ready for the volume of
food they have to prepare
for the meal.
This year, she wasn’t
able to work as usual —
she was sidelined by a burst
calf muscle, and pushed
herself around the room in
a wheelchair, advising and
directing other volunteers
where she could.
Cassens has been there
for 17 years, and said she’s
enjoyed seeing the families
that come back.
“We must be on third
generation now,” she said.
Tom Marks, who was
carving turkeys, said he
joined in 1992.
“I started out with a fel-
low who used me as his
seeing-eye dog,” Marks
said. “He was blind from
macular degeneration. But
he still cut turkeys faster
and better than anyone.”
Smart said they hope to
bring more people in, espe-
cially now that they have
the meal at the high school
— a larger venue than the
senior center.
Community businesses
also contributed to the
meal. Safeway sold tur-
keys at a discounted price,
and Walmart and Fiesta
Foods both donated items.
Shari’s donated pies.
As the clock ticked
closer to 11, more volun-
teers got busy, carrying
plates of food and chatting
with guests.
Jason Haigh said this
was his first year volun-
teering, and that his wife
had told him about the
event.
He was carrying cups
of tea and coffee to a cou-
ple of veterans seated at a
table, and spent some time
talking with them.
“They’re telling me
stories about serving our
country,” he said.
Haigh said he was
pleased to be helping out.
“It’s about family, and
making sure everyone’s
happy,” he said. “Creating
those smiles.”
4 , 000
$
HIGHLANDERS
OFF!
IN STOCK!
Stk# 18h889. See dealer for details. $4,000 off msrp. $2,500 Rogers discount and $1,500 Toyota Financial Service customer cash. Plus tax, title
and $75 doc fee. On approved credit. Offer expires 12/03/18.
ALL NEW 2018
TUNDRAS
IN STOCK!
5 , 500
$
OFF!
Stk# 18h957. See dealer for details. $5,500 off msrp. $2,500 Rogers discount and $3,000 Toyota Financial Service customer cash.
Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. On approved credit. Offer expires 12/03/18.
ALL NEW 2018
RAV4 ’S
IN STOCK!
4 , 000
$
OFF!
Stk# 18h1057. See dealer for details. $4,000 off msrp. $1,000 Rogers discount and $3,000 Toyota Financial Service customer cash.
Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee. On approved credit. Offer expires 12/03/18.