LOCAL
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, DECEMbER 12, 2018
EO file photo/East Oregonian
Tyler Knight of Pilot Rock rides the Echo chair with
ski instructor Kyle McFarley of Weston at the Spout
Springs Ski Area in Tollgate in Dec. 31, 2015.
Spout Springs,
Bluewood to
open this winter
Staff photo by Kathy Aney /East Oregonian
Santa, a.k.a. Hermiston City Councilman Doug Primmer, chats with Landry and Evelyn Christensen Thursday after
the Christmas tree lighting on Festival Street.
Christmas kicks off with tree lighting
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff Writer
L
ights and smiles lit up
Hermiston’s new fes-
tival street Thursday
night.
The tree-lighting cer-
emony brought crowds
downtown for entertain-
ment, food and a chance
to get a picture with Santa
Claus.
City manager Byron
Smith said the city was
excited about the chance to
hold the event for another
year as it “grows and gets
more popular all the time.”
While the city has placed a
giant tree on Second Street
every year since 2015, this
is the first year since the
block was transformed into
a more pedestrian-friendly
“festival street” with brick-
work, trees, benches and
other features. This year’s
tree is the tallest so far, at
40 feet, and is decorated
with approximately 2,000
lights.
Greater Hermiston Area
Chamber of Commerce
director Debbie Pedro
asked the crowd if they
noticed the extra lights,
flowers and other improve-
ments to downtown that the
city and Hermiston Down-
town District have been
adding throughout 2018.
“I hope you guys are
really proud of what you’re
seeing down here,” she
said, prompting applause.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney /East Oregonian
Hermiston’s Christmas tree glows on Thursday night on
Festival Street shortly after Santa switched it on during
the tree lighting ceremony
In addition to Christmas
lights, businesses decorated
their storefronts for a holi-
day decorating competition.
Pedro announced Hermis-
ton Drug & Gift as the win-
ner of the contest.
After the tree-lighting,
families listened to Hermis-
ton High School’s Majazzty
choir or stood in line for
pictures with Santa.
Mallory Rehmke, 10,
said she was going to ask
for a unicorn. The adults in
her group told her that prob-
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff Writer
Spout Springs Ski Area
will open this season after
a two-year hiatus.
Hill manager Richard
Murray said the ski area in
the Blue Mountains isn’t
open quite yet, but should
be soon.
“We’ve got 18 inches of
pack and we need another
good storm to open,” he
said last Wednesday.
He said when the
ski area opens they will
announce it on their Face-
book page and their web-
site, www.spoutspringssk-
iarea.com.
Murray said he will be
taking applications for jobs
at Spout Springs on Dec.
14 from noon to 4 p.m.,
Dec. 15 from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m. and Dec. 16 from
9 a.m. to noon. Positions
include lift operator, gen-
eral labor, restaurant jobs
and a rental shop tech.
Interested applicants can
visit the rental shop during
those days.
The family-owned and
operated business, located
on Highway 204 between
Weston and Elgin, has not
opened some years due to
insufficient snow pack, and
last year did not open due
to health problems faced
by owner John Murray.
Murray said Spout
Springs sometimes opens
later in the season than
other ski resorts because
they want to make sure
there is enough snow to
protect skiers.
ably wasn’t going to hap-
pen, but she had faith.
Standing with her were
Isabelle Newton, 5, who
had her heart set on a
“big doll house” in pink,
and Aurora Rojas, 6, who
wanted a skateboard.
“I’m gonna learn with
my dad,” she said.
Some children in line
were still thinking about
what they want most to
appear under the tree on
Christmas morning — JT
Hudson, 7, finally decided
on a Nintendo, while Rea-
gan Hudson, 4, wants a Bar-
bie Dream House. But oth-
ers came prepared. Audrey
Wright, 5, wrote her list
down in a letter to Santa to
make sure she didn’t forget
anything.
“I want a special dolly,
and candy cane, and a sled
....” she listed.
Once the big moment
arrived, some children
hopped right up on San-
ta’s lap. Others were more
shy. A small girl in a bright
pink coat resisted getting
too near, but did consent
to reaching out for a dainty
high five.
The Christmas tree and
other lights in the festi-
val street area, located on
Northeast Second Street
between Main Street and
Gladys Avenue, will be part
of a light show performed
each Monday through Fri-
day at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and
7 p.m. until Christmas.
“We want everyone to
be safe,” he said.
According to the ski
area’s website, it first
opened in the late 1920s.
Since then it has played
host to competitions hosted
by the Blue Mountain Ski
Club, served as the Nor-
dic training center for the
United State Olympic team
and Norwegian jump team
in the 1950s and 1960s,
and provided a place for
the U.S. Forest Service to
hold a ski school.
Bluewood
Bluewood, a ski area
outside Dayton, Wash.,
will also open this season.
Its 2018-2019 season
begins Friday. It will run
Dec. 14-16 and then daily
Dec. 20 through Jan. 1,
except Christmas Day. In
January it will run Wedne-
say through Sunday and
on Martin Luther King Jr.
Day.
According to a news
release from Bluewood,
as of Dec. 5 there were 20
inches of snow at the base
and 23 inches at the sum-
mit. The ski area is also
expecting fresh snow early
next week.
The Bluewood ski area
has added new conveyor
lifts in the beginner area
and a new yurt at the sum-
mit where guests can get
a snack or warm drink.
The Skyline Express and
Easy Rider conveyor lifts
are scheduled to run on
opening day, while Tri-
ple Nickel is yet to be
determined.
County health department offers defense against STD surge
By KATHY ANEY
Staff Writer
In the lobby of the Uma-
tilla County Health Depart-
ment, among the Christ-
mas decorations, is a sign
that announces “FREE
CONDOMS.”
This isn’t Christmas
cheer gone wild, but rather
part of an effort to reduce
STDs. The United States is
experiencing what the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention calls “steep and
sustained increases in sexu-
ally transmitted diseases.”
The report shows gonor-
rhea, chlamydia and syph-
ilis all trending alarmingly
upward.
“Oregon is following the
national trend,” said Tim
Menza, who manages the
state’s HIV/STD prevention
program. “We logged 6,000
cases of gonorrhea in 2017,
up from 1,000 in the year
2000.”
The gonorrhea spike is
especially alarming. The
CDC received reports of
555,608 cases in 2017, an
increase of 75.2 percent
since 2009 and 18.6 percent
over the previous year. The
increase involved both men
and women, and all racial
and ethnic groups.
Gonorrhea can lead to
scarring, infertility, arthri-
tis, heart valve damage and
inflammation in the lining of
the brain. The last time gon-
orrhea rankings came out in
2017, Umatilla County had
the third highest rate in the
state.
“Our rates were pretty
low, but in 2013, they
started picking up,” said Joe
Fiumara, director of Uma-
tilla County’s public health
department.
Umatilla County had four
cases in 2012, increasing to
88 by 2016, then dropping
to 67 the next year. With 82
cases so far in 2018, Fiu-
mara said, the county is on
pace to equal or slightly sur-
pass 2016 numbers.
Chlamydia and syphi-
lis also increased nationally
and statewide last year.
Chlamydia is most com-
mon. The CDC received
reports of 1.7 million cases
of chlamydia, compared
with 1.6 million in 2016. In
addition, syphilis diagnoses
rose from 17,375 cases to
30,664.
Umatilla County isn’t
exactly following the wider
trend. Instead of increasing,
numbers dipped a bit. Last
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year, the county reported
323 cases of chlamydia
compared with 264 cases
so far this year. There were
zero cases of syphilis in
2018, compared with seven
in 2017.
However, not all cases
are reported, not by a long
shot. Many affected people
don’t know they’re walking
around with an STD.
“It’s common to have no
symptoms,” Fiumara said.
“Someone can go for quite
a while before they know
there’s a problem.
He urged regular screen-
ing for those at risk.
In Umatilla County, when
the health department gets a
positive report of an STD, a
communicable disease nurse
contacts the affected person
via phone or text.
“We talk about the risk
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
A basket full of free
condoms sits in the
restroom at the
Umatilla County Health
Department in Pendleton.
factors and provide an
opportunity for treatment,”
Fiumara said. “We try to get
contact information and do
followup with partners. We
FAMILY DENTISTRY
hope they listen and take
heed.”
Testing and treatment for
gonorrhea and chlamydia is
fairly cheap, he said, while
treating syphilis is more
expensive. However, he
said, “we don’t turn anyone
away for lack of ability to
pay.”
Prevention is the better
and less-risky way to go.
Those condoms available at
the Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Department aren’t
for decoration — they pro-
tect against STDs.
“They’re not 100 per-
cent,” Fiumara said, “but
they’re close.”
He urged routine screen-
ings, available by appoint-
ment at the Pendleton office
on Mondays and Tuesdays
and Hermiston on Thursday
and Fridays.
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