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WEDNESDAy, JuNE 5, 2019
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gift shop. Besides helping out
with reception work, greet-
ing patients and other duties at
the medical campus, members
of the Good Shepherd Hospi-
tal Auxiliary run the hospital’s
gift shop and put together other
fundraisers throughout the year,
funneling the money back to the
hospital for medical equipment
and handing out scholarships to
local residents studying to join
the medical profession. The
auxiliary was founded in 1956.
On Thursday they presented
the Good Shepherd Commu-
nity Health Foundation with a
check for $23,000 for equip-
ment. They also awarded five
$2,000 scholarships to students
pursuing a degree in the health
care field.
A later event will be held to
thank volunteers for the Care-
Van program, which provides
free transportation to medi-
cal appointments. The hospital
also benefits from the help of
its junior volunteers, who were
invited to Thursday’s luncheon
but were mostly busy with
school.
Cindy Schaan, Good Shep-
herd’s director of volunteer ser-
vices, said all volunteers help
not only the hospital, but the
patients and their families.
“They assist them, greet
them, make them feel comfort-
able,” she said.
The biggest water-related project
continuing into 2019-20 is construc-
tion of the city’s new 1 million-gal-
lon water tank on Punkin Center,
which will boost the city’s storage
capacity and open up hundreds of
acres for development.
On the street side, funds are
being put toward an overlay of West
Hermiston Avenue, East Theater
Lane paving, and design work on the
planned realignment of the confus-
ing three-way intersection between
Geer, Harper and Umatilla River
roads.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Kelly Sanders, vice president of human resources for Good Shepherd
Health Care System, hands out certificates of appreciation to hospital
volunteers during a volunteer appreciation luncheon.
Schaan said over her 18 years
coordinating volunteers she has
also gained an appreciation for
how volunteer service affects
those giving their time, as well.
The experience enriches their
lives and it is a good way to
make friends. Teenage volun-
teers in the junior program can
also become more familiar with
the medical field as they decide
what they want to do after high
school.
During Thursday’s luncheon
Nick Bejarano, marketing and
communications director, said
health care is a highly regu-
lated industry that can some-
times make everything look like
another task to check off. The
hospital has been focused in
recent years on promoting com-
passion and empathy within its
walls, and the volunteers are
part of that.
CEO Dennis Burke told
volunteers they were part of a
strong tradition of volunteer-
ism in the United States. In one
study 25% of Americans said
they volunteered regularly, rep-
resenting $184 billion worth of
labor per year.
He said volunteers were
often the busiest people who
“don’t necessarily have the
time, but they have the heart
and they make the time.”
“We would have a very diffi-
cult time if we didn’t have you
in various volunteer positions,”
he said.
3-year-old remains in hospital
following fatal crash
BY HERMISTON HERALD
Oregon
State
Police
reported the child who sur-
vived a deadly car crash Sun-
day near Boardman remains in
a Portland hospital.
The crash occurred Sunday
around 3:16 a.m. on Interstate
84 near milepost 175, accord-
ing to state police. The prelim-
inary investigation revealed
Veronica Andrade, 39, of
Boardman, was driving east
in a silver 2003 Cadillac CTS
when she veered off the road
onto the right shoulder and
rolled.
Andrade and two children,
one 3 and the other 7 months,
were in the car. The crash
ejected the 7-month-old, who
suffered fatal injuries.
Ambulances
rushed
Andrade and the 3-year-old
child to Good Shepherd Med-
ical Center, Hermiston. An air
ambulance then flew the child
to Randall Children’s Hospital
at Legacy Emanuel, Portland.
State police Monday morn-
ing reported the child remains
in the hospital and was stable.
Good Shepherd staff treated
and released Andrade, and
Oregon State Police arrested
and booked her in the Uma-
tilla County Jail, Pendleton,
for first-degree manslaugh-
ter, first-degree assault, driving
under the influence of intox-
icants, reckless driving and
reckless endangering.
Morrow County District
Attorney Justin Nelson said
his office is reviewing the
probable cause affidavit from
state police and he anticipated
bringing initial charges against
Andrade at 3 p.m. Monday. He
said he also would ask the court
to set bail and set a preliminary
hearing for next Monday, June
10. That would provide enough
time to present evidence to a
grand jury for recommendation
of formal charges.
Police department
Changes to the Hermiston Police
Department budget signal changes
to how officers complete their work.
The department is following a
previous move by the rest of the
city to lease vehicles from Enter-
prise instead of purchasing them
outright. Edmiston said part of that
change will be to increase the num-
ber of patrol cars — giving each
patrol officer their own vehicle to
park at home instead of coming to
the police station and using a shared
vehicle during their shift.
The new take-home policy will
mean fewer marked cars in the
police station lot and more parked
on streets around the city, where
they might inspire people to slow
down or think twice about causing
trouble in that neighborhood.
“There’s going to be enhanced
visibility,” Edmiston said.
He said the new approach will
keep the department from needing
to expand its parking lot.
In the past the department has
budgeted $94,000 a year to pur-
chase two new vehicles and “upfit”
them with the needed equipment.
The lease on 10 additional vehicles
will come in at $93,700 a year for
now, and Edmiston said they will
start saving substantially on that
lease five years from now when the
department builds up and then uses
a reserve account to upfit vehicles
instead of folding it into the cost
of the lease. Maintenance costs are
also included in the agreement with
Enterprise.
Capt. Travis Eynon said studies
have shown that maintenance costs
go down and cars are taken better
care of when each patrol officer is
assigned their own vehicle.
“People tend to take a little more
ownership with the take-home vehi-
cles,” he said.
The department is also switching
to department-issued cellphones.
Instead of sitting in their patrol car
entering notes on an in-car com-
puter, then returning to the station
to hand over a sim card full of pho-
tos for the records department to
upload, officers will be able to input
reports and upload photos directly
from their phone on an app called
iRIMS.
When incidents happen late at
night, administrators will be able
to log onto the system from any-
where to see reports, GPS locations
of all on-duty personnel and other
information.
“We can see in real time what’s
going on instead of having to come
in,” Edmiston said.
The app came at a one-time cost
of $10,000 and the phones will cost
the department about $2,000 a year,
but will take away the need for
$4,000 computers installed in each
of the 10 new vehicles.
“It’s quick and accurate, so we
also expect to save some real dollars
as far as staff time,” he said.
Parks and recreation
Hermiston’s most high-profile
parks project in 2019-20 will be the
rebuilding of Funland Park, which
burned down last month. Parks and
recreation director Larry Fetter said
the park was not actually included in
the budget the council will look at
in two weeks due to timing. Instead,
the city will vote on a supplemental
budget later.
“Unfortunately we don’t know
what the cost will be to replace it,
we don’t know what the insurance
payment will be and we don’t know
what the gap will be between fund-
raising and what’s needed,” he said.
The biggest parks project
included in the budget is a skate
park, which will be built on North
First Street across from the police
and fire stations in spring 2020 if the
city secures a grant from the state
that uses lottery dollars for public
parks projects.
The skate park will be Phase I of
a “teen adventure park.” Phase II,
planned for 2021, will add a parkour
area, a BMX bike track, rock climb-
ing and other features.
The total cost of the two phases
will run about $1.2 million, but
grants are expected to cover about
three-fourths of that cost.
The city is also working on plans
for a dog park at Butte Park, south of
the splash pad.
The full city budget, which will
go before the city council on June
10, can be found online at hermis-
ton.or.us/finance/budget.
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