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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2019)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM LOCAL WEDNESDAy, ApRIL 17, 2019 Youths to perform with Inland Northwest Musicians Staff photo by Jade McDowell Hermiston’s population will be counted along with the rest of the country’s during the 2020 U.S. Census. Cities encourage residents to participate in upcoming census By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR The 2020 U.S. Census is still a year away, but cit- ies and states are getting an early start on encouraging residents to participate. Last week the city of Hermiston issued a procla- mation that it is “commit- ted to partnering with the US Census Bureau and the Umatilla County Complete Count Committee to pro- mote participation” in the U.S. Census. “We need to make sure the community is aware this is coming and how import- ant it is to get an accurate count,” Mayor David Drot- zmann said. He said he hoped that residents would realize the census was not about find- ing specific people, such as undocumented immigrants, but was instead about “pure numbers.” The proclamation pub- lished April 8 noted that census numbers assist in planning for schools, hos- pitals, roads, utilities and other community assets. About $675 billion in state and federal funds are issued every year based on the U.S. Census. Umatilla city manager David Stockdale said he would encourage Umatilla residents to participate in the comprehensive count of every man, woman and child in the United States so that Umatilla can get the full state and federal funding it is entitled to. Census counts also determine cities’ eligi- bility for grants for major projects. “I want to make sure peo- ple clearly understand those numbers have a significant and major impact on our city,” he said. He pointed out that the census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and that it has taken place every 10 years for the entire history of the United States. He said Umatilla’s pop- ulation includes Two Riv- ers Correctional Institution and inmates there will be included in the census. Milton-Freewater city manager Linda Hall said the census is a “very important time for municipalities.” It is not only important for people to participate in the count, she said, but also to report other informa- tion such as age and income level accurately. She said grants for com- munity projects often take demographics into consider- ation, and cities and schools also use demographic information for planning purposes. “You can get a feel for, do you need to start gear- ing up to more services that would serve a certain age group, such as senior citi- zens or young families,” she said. Gov. Kate Brown declared April 1 “Census Day” for the entire state of Oregon to bring awareness to the issue. “From more federal dol- lars for our schools and hos- pitals, to ensuring our roads are safe and well-kept, the census has a profound and significant effect in the lives of all Oregonians,” she said in a statement. “An accurate census not only allows us to have better representation in Congress, but it also tells the story of Oregon — who we are, and where we are going.” By April 1, 2020, all households will have received an invitation to participate in the census via mail, phone or — for the first time in this country’s history — online. The cen- sus will record where each person was living on April 1, 2020. Census takers will begin following up in May 2020 with households that have not responded, and by December 2020 the bureau will deliver counts to the president that will be used, among other things, to apportion representation in the House of Representa- tives and a state’s Electoral College votes. According to the U.S. Census Bureau website, U.S. residents may see census employees in their neighborhoods through- out this year, as they verify addresses or drop off census materials. Legitimate census takers will present an ID badge with a Department of Commerce watermark and their photo. Questions about whether a person is a real census taker can be directed to 855-562- 2020 (press 3 to speak to a local representative). A census taker will never ask questions about a per- son’s Social Security num- ber or credit card informa- tion, or ask for money. The U.S. Census Bureau is currently recruiting thou- sands of temporary jobs related to the census. To apply, visit https://2020cen- sus.gov/en/jobs.html. The upcoming perfor- mance of the Inland North- west Orchestra will feature several Young Artists Com- petition winners, including a Hermiston High School senior. Bassoonist Kyle Ketch- ersid tied as a winner in the Senior Division during the March 11 contest, which was held by the Inland Northwest Musicians in Hermiston. He performed the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber’s “Con- certo in F Major,” which is featured in the upcoming concert. Playing alto saxo- phone, Ketchersid also won his division during the 2018 competition. Under the direction of R. Lee Friese, the free perfor- mance is Saturday at 4 p.m. in the HHS auditorium, 600 Contributed photo by Tammy James of 60 Minute photo Ketchersid S. First St. Other featured contest winners include Sana Schiffern, a fifth grade piano player from Kenne- wick, and violinist Anas- tasia Crosier, who is a freshman at Hanford High School. The concert program also includes “Concerto for Piano and Orches- tra in D Major” by Joseph Haydn, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 35” and “Pavane, Op. 50” by Gabriel Faure. The orchestra is an ensemble of the Inland Northwest Musicians, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary season. The organization is committed to providing live musical performances to rural audi- ences. Although there’s no charge for performances, they greatly appreciate donations. For more information, contact 541-289-4696, inwm@machmedia.net or visit www.inlandnorthwest- musicians.com. Good Shepherd to unveil health data at May 14 meeting By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Data on everything from Umatilla County residents’ marijuana use to their blood pressure will be available to the public at a Community Health Assessment Rollout meeting. The meeting, open to the public, will take place on May 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Herm- iston, Conference Room 1 and 2 (through entrance C). Lunch will be provided, and participants are asked to RSVP to 541-667-3509. Good Shepherd and St. Anthony Hospital in Pend- leton teamed up for a coun- ty-wide set of surveys con- ducted at the end of 2018. They were mailed to 3,600 Umatilla County residents. A “general adult” sur- vey with 112 questions on it drew 254 responses, a survey asking parents about their children drew 161 responses, 186 adults returned surveys in Spanish and 156 Spanish-speaking parents filled out a survey about their children. Jaime Crowell, com- munity health educator for Good Shepherd, said responses from the sur- vey, which hospitals are required to complete every three years, will be used to help inform Good Shepherd and St. Anthony as they create a plan for meeting their communities’ health needs. Partners who helped come up with survey ques- tions — including organi- zations such as school dis- tricts and Head Start — will also benefit. “The data will be avail- able to the entire commu- nity,” she said. Juli Gregory, director of education for Good Shep- herd, said the hospital has made changes in response to past surveys. Answers indicating poor diabetes management, for example, led to the creation of more educational classes that would help people manage their condition. Some of the topics touched by the survey questions include cancer, heart disease, hypertension, weight, exercise, diet, men- tal health, opioid use, fire- arm ownership and storage, binge drinking, violence, childhood trauma, chemi- cal exposure, dental care, sexually transmitted dis- eases and access to health care. Gregory said there weren’t huge surprises in the survey results but there were some numbers that went up or down from pre- vious years. Umatilla County remains worse than the national and state average in several cat- egories. Forty-one percent of survey respondents were obese, for example, and the county had higher rates of postpartum depression. Responses varied between the Spanish and English surveys in some cases. Spanish-speakers listed exposure to agri- cultural chemicals as the top environmental threat to their health while English-speakers listed bad air quality. Crowell said while the numbers were help- ful, community members should also look at them in context. A drop in peo- ple reporting high blood pressure could mean that residents are taking better care of themselves but it could also mean a drop in the number of people being screened and informed of their high blood pressure. Nick Bejarano, director of marketing and commu- nications, said many health problems seem to stem from people not having pri- mary care providers, some- thing Good Shepherd is try- ing to address with their new primary care clinic that opened this month. All three Good Shepherd employees urged Umatilla County residents to attend the rollout meeting on May 14 to hear about the sur- vey responses and what they indicate. The data will be presented by Tessa Elliot, community health improvement coordinator for the Hospital Council of Northwest Ohio, which conducted the survey. Thank you to the following businesses for supporting Newspapers in Education Their generous support of the Hermiston Herald NIE program helps provide copies of the newspaper and unlimited access to HermistonHerald.com and the e-Edition to schools throughout the community. 1090 W. Hermiston Ave. Hermiston, OR 541-567-8229 JeremyJLarsonDMD.com 1739 N. 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