FROM A1
A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019
TREATMENT
county.
Ashton-Williams said
training for gambling
addictions
counselors
focuses a lot on helping cli-
ents recognize triggers that
may cause them to reen-
gage in addictive behavior.
“We don’t always think
about activities we engage
in that can be triggering
to gambling addicts,” she
said.
For example, if some-
one’s office has a weight-
loss challenge, and the
“buy-in” is $25, that can be
a trigger.
Iris said the triggers can
be related to other stressors
like family or work, or they
can be even more obscure.
“Somebody may not be
triggered by seeing a bee
on a flower, but to others it
is,” she said. “That’s what
I’m talking about. These
are the little things that
trigger people.”
In Garcia’s group at
New Horizons, he said they
work on understanding the
root of addiction, both gen-
erally and specific to gam-
bling. They talk about
motivations to change, and
things that may influence
their behavior, like anger
or loss. Finally, they learn
about how to find balance
in their lives, and finding
other ways to spend their
time and money.
Ashton-Williams said
there’s one unique aspect
of gambling treatment
that doesn’t happen in
other types of addictions
counseling.
“In gambling (treat-
ment) we’re mandated to
do financial counseling,”
she said. “When they start
playing with money, all of
a sudden money is miss-
ing, there’s not enough to
pay the bills.”
Problem gamblers in
Oregon can get help at
1-877-MY-LIMIT, or at
www.opgr.org.
Both Ashton-Williams
and Garcia said gambling
addiction can be hard to
recognize, and the con-
sequences aren’t always
immediate.
Continued from Page A1
Photo contributed by Ashley Seibel
The Hermiston dance team poses with their trophy after winning the state championship in the “show” division on Friday.
DANCE
Continued from Page A1
Murphy’s struggle to break
free from the forest as the
other dancers try to trap her
and get her to stay.
“The audience gets
really into it,” Howard said.
“That’s our main goal —
we’re here to entertain.”
The dance included
props, such as a fence and
trees to portray a sinister
forest.
Howard said she’s not
sure what they’ll do next
year, but many of the danc-
ers hope to stick with a
heavier theme — something
that she said set them apart
from other teams this year.
“We like doing scary
faces, and we’ll probably
do something dark,” How-
ard said. “It tells a different
kind of story.”
Hermiston was one of
three teams competing in
their division. Head coach
Ashley Seibel said in order
to go to the state compe-
tition, the team had to first
qualify for the district com-
petition, and then use that to
qualify for state.
Seibel said this year
brought a lot of changes
for the dance team. In addi-
tion to competing in a new
state, and in a division
they’d never entered, they
also had several new mem-
bers join the team later in
the season. Most of the team
starts doing conditioning in
June, and has a full nine-
month schedule of 5 a.m.
weekday practices, ballet
lessons every Monday, and
8-hour weekend rehearsals.
But when they decided to
compete in the Show divi-
sion, Seibel said they real-
ized they would need more
dancers.
“We had second auditions
in October and November,
and had three girls try out
with very little dance expe-
rience,” she said.
Those students have
since learned fast, she
added.
“We had people quit at
the beginning of the season,
because they didn’t realize
how much work it would
be,” Howard said.
Howard said the begin-
ning of the season was a lit-
tle rocky, with a changing
group and getting used to
competing in a new state.
“When we competed in
Oregon, we would have
to travel really far, and
often we’d have to stay in
hotels,” she said. “That was
really fun — it was like a
sleepover. We were worried
we’d lose some of that now
that we don’t have to travel
as much.”
But she was worried for
nothing. Howard said the
team has been as close as
ever.
“You have to work
together when you’re danc-
ing,” she said.
There were 39 teams that
competed in the 1A, 2A,
and 3A competition on Fri-
day, and 34 teams in the 4A
competition on Saturday.
Teams could compete
in one of several divisions,
including dance/drill, mil-
itary, hip-hop, pom, and
show, which includes using
props. Seibel said Herm-
iston scored a 280.6 out of
300, and scored the high-
est out of all “show” com-
petitors, including the 4A
performances. The team
is coached by Seibel, Jake
Royer, Susan Stephens and
Tori Espinosa.
“Our coaching staff
couldn’t be prouder of these
kids,” Seibel said. “This
was the perfect ending to
our season — a well-fought-
for win.”
to get people to even rec-
ognize they have a prob-
lem, let alone seek help.
When people first come
in, he screens them, using
questions that assess how
gambling has affected their
behavior,
relationships,
and finances.
“A lot of them at the
beginning say ‘no,’ but as
we break it down, they say
‘yes,’” he said.
Iris said many people
suffering from gambling
addiction don’t want help.
“Some people are lonely
and go for the company,”
she said. “You’re not really
lonely, but you’re not asso-
ciating with people. A lot
of people don’t realize
their problem.”
For her, the thing that
finally clicked was being
able to go to treatment and
talk about other issues that
got to the heart of the prob-
lem, without a set timeline.
“The treatments I’ve
had in the past, it was
more like they were bully-
ing you,” she said. “They
expect you to change in no
time flat.”
To break a pattern she’s
been in for 20 years, she
said, is not that simple.
“A lot of people don’t
feel comfortable opening
up about personal feelings
or their family,” she said.
“This can’t happen in one
month or 60 days. It may
take people longer than
that.”
Garcia said that treat-
ment for gambling tends
to be a more long-term
process than for other
addictions.
“There are people I’ve
had for two years who
still want to come back,
because they feel they need
to talk with someone, or
they feel a connection with
the group,” he said.
Amy
Ashton-Wil-
liams, director of Umatilla
County Human Services,
said there are three people
currently enrolled in gam-
bling treatment through the
ALL WITH STANDARD TOYOTA SAFET Y SENSE!
NEW 2019 TOYOTA
NOW
ONLY
$
COROLLA SE
198
/MO
Up to 36 months.
On approved credit.
Stk. #19H068. New 2019 Toyota Corolla SE . MSRP $21,714. Sale price $20,623 after $1700.00 TFS rebate. 36-month lease for
$198/month. 12,000 miles/year. $1579 cash down. GFV $11,074. No security deposit required. On approved credit. Plus tax,
title and $75 dealer doc fee. See dealer for details. Expires 04/01/19.
$
RAV4 LE AWD
NEW 2019 TOYOTA
298
/MO
Up to 36 months. On approved credit.
**Stk. #19H350. New 2019 Toyota Rav4 LE AWD . MSRP $28,854. Sale price $27,560 after Rogers discount. 36-month lease for $298/
month. 12,000 miles/year. $1999.00 cash down. GFV $17,889. No security deposit required. On approved credit. Plus tax, title and
$75 dealer doc fee. See dealer for details. Expires 04/01/19.
NEW 2019 TOYOTA TACOMA SR5 DBL CAB 4X4
LEASE NOW
FOR ONLY
$
298
/MO
Up to 36 months.
On approved credit.
Stk. #19H245. New 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Double Cab 4WD . MSRP $35,983. Sale price $34,162 after $1000 TFS rebate; excludes TRD
Pro. 36-month lease for $298/month. 12,000 miles/year. $1699.00 cash down. GFV $25,547.93. No security deposit required. On approved
credit. Plus tax, title and $75 dealer doc fee. See dealer for details. Expires 04/01/19.