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.
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