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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
NEWS A14 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2019 Car seat technicians help parents keep children safe By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR New parents may feel like they need an engineer- ing degree to fi gure out their child’s car seat, but there is plenty of help available for navigating the straps and buckles. Umatilla Morrow County Head Start, Good Shepherd Medical Cen- ter in Hermiston and St. Anthony Hospital in Pend- leton all have certifi ed car seat technicians happy to do a free assessment for anyone worried they might not be buckling a child in correctly. Amy Hendrix, health and nutrition director for UMCHS, said even a mem- ber of Head Start’s own staff came in with a car seat installed “very incorrectly.” “It doesn’t matter your education level — car seats are complicated,” she said. Four different techni- cians offer car seat and booster seat checks Mon- HH fi le photo Car seat technician Ina Abercrombie, right, inspects a new car seat for Annabelle Berry, while her mother Jennifer Berry watches, at a clinic in 2017 in Hermiston. day through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Hermiston UMCHS offi ce, 110 N.E. Fourth St. Maria Arroyo, one of the certifi ed technicians, said one of the biggest problems she sees is car seats installed in a way that allows them to move too much in the event of a crash. “Oftentimes I fi nd I’ll tug on it and it will move three inches,” she said. The harness over the child might also be too loose or the wrong height. An infant or toddler can in the front, experts recom- mend that children under 13 remain in the back. Hendrix said she can personally testify of the effectiveness of a proper- ly-installed car seat, after she got in a crash years ago with 3-year-old daughter strapped in. “The car was totaled, but my youngest daughter was in a car seat and she didn’t even cry, she was so pro- tected,” Hendrix said. Car seats expire after six to 10 years of use, and should be replaced if they are in a serious crash. “There can be hairline cracks the eye can’t see,” Arroyo said. UMCHS recognizes that not everyone can afford to pay for a car seat, which is why they also offer car seats for $10 to $30 for low-income families who receive benefi ts such as WIC or SNAP, or have been referred through agencies such as Domestic Violence Services. slide out the top on impact if the straps are lower than their armpits. For older children with a booster seat, the seatbelt should be on their shoulder, not their neck or under their arm. In addition to checking car and booster seats and teaching the parent how to buckle their child in cor- rectly, Arroyo said she also teaches them how to make adjustments as their child grows, and when they will require a new seat. Oregon law requires children over 40 pounds to use a booster seat until age eight or growing to 4 feet, nine inches tall. But Arroyo recommends keeping them in the booster seat after age eight even if they haven’t hit the height requirement yet. Parents can be ticketed in Washington for allow- ing their child under age 13 to sit in the front passenger seat. While Oregon does not have an age limit for sitting Hermiston school bond campaign pays for local management By PHIL WRIGHT STAFF WRITER Local connections are proving a boon for the polit- ical committee urging voters to pass a new school bond in Hermiston. The political action com- mittee Yes for Hermiston Schools has raised $11,040 in cash and spent almost $6,000 this year, accord- ing to ORESTAR, the Ore- gon Secretary of State’s public website for campaign fi nance activity. The largest chunk of the spending — $3,731.76 — has gone to the public rela- tions and communications fi rm Pac/West Communi- cations to run the election campaign in support of issu- ing $82.7 million in bonds and receiving $6.6 million in state matching funds. Pac/ West this summer hired for- mer East Oregonian edi- tor Daniel Wattenburger of Hermiston and opened an offi ce in town. “We’re the ones coor- dinating the door knock- ers and campaign signs and online messaging and every- thing else,” Wattenburger said. Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Vehicles pass by a sign advocating the Hermiston School bond measure alongside Highway 395 in Hermiston on Tuesday afternoon. The PAC has been around since 2008, when it was Vote Yes for Kids and Hermiston voters passed a $69.9 mil- lion general obligation bond for school construction and renovation. The campaign committee was active again in 2017, but the Hermiston School District’s $104 mil- lion bond failed that May. According to ORESTAR, the committee in 2017 did not hire a professional fi rm to manage the campaign. Pac/West has on occasion been involved with cam- paigns in the area, but Wat- tenburger said the compa- ny’s move to staff an offi ce in Hermiston opens the door to handling more local campaigns. Pac/West also is the big- gest contributor to Yes for Hermiston Schools. Wattenburger explained once the company fulfi lled the amount of the retainer, the rest of the work lands in the in-kind box. ORESTAR shows that amount so far comes to $9,010. The largest cash donors are the Hermiston Associ- ation of Teachers and the Oregon Education Associa- tion, with $2,200 apiece to the effort. Kim Puzey, gen- eral manager of the Port of Umaitlla, is the largest pri- vate donor with a $1,000 check to the group. Hermiston attorney George Anderson and accountant Dennis Barnett gave $500 each, as did Ric Sherman, chair of the board for Umatilla County Fire District 1. Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann, Hermis- ton High School Principal Tom Spoo and the Oregon AFL-CIO also joined the $500 club. And a multitude have contributed more than $1,200 in miscellaneous cash contributions of $100 or less. The Umatilla County Elections Division mailed 44,642 ballots last week for the Nov. 5 election. Kim Lindell, county elections manager, said 923 — 2% — have trickled in so far. She expects this election to have a lower overall turnout in the county. Hermiston should have a higher turnout because of the school bond, Lindell said, and other communi- ties with something at stake could show up in greater numbers. The two countywide measures may not spark a lot of interest. One measure asks if vot- ers want to change the lan- guage in the county char- ter from “law enforcement department” to “sheriff’s offi ce” as set out in Ore- gon law. That would have the practical effect of hav- ing the county’s founda- tional document refl ect the name the county and locals already call the law enforce- ment agency. The measure also aligns the charter with the functions of the sheriff under Oregon law with the exception of tax collection. The second measure amends the election process for county offi cials. Under the proposal, the county would require a primary election only if more than two candidates fi led for the election, and the two with the most votes would face off in the November general election. The change could end situations where a losing incumbent remains in offi ce more than six months. Whether the ballot is exciting or not, Lindell said the election will cost about $45,000, or around $1 per registered voter. DON’T BE LATE! This deal expires soon SAVE $15 NOW Thank you to the following businesses for supporting $29.95 Newspapers in Education $44.95 plus tax & shipping | offer expires 11/17/19 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. » 144-page hardcover book » Historic photos of Umatilla County » Ships Nov. 22, 2019 — a great holiday gift idea! 1090 W. Hermiston Ave. Hermiston, OR 541-567-8229 JeremyJLarsonDMD.com 1739 N. First St. Hermiston, OR 541-564-0264 OldWestFCU.org Delgado’s Beauty Salon & Medical Massage 1150 W. Hartley Ave. #D Hermiston, OR 97838 541-571-3629 541-567-3908 980 SE Columbia Dr, Hermiston, OR 97838 Bert's Auto Salvage & Towing DuPont Pioneer Hermiston 541-567-1860 pioneer.com 2212 SE 9th St. Hermiston, OR 07838 Starvation Ridge Farming Umatilla Electric Cooperative 750 W. Elm Ave. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-567-6414 • UmatillaElectric.com Umatilla.PictorialBook.com 541-276-1260 BLUECC.EDU Rick’s Car Wash 620 E. Main St. Hermiston, OR Our patients are the very heart of our practice Pre-order online and save with flat-rate shipping 79937 S. Edwards Rd. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-567-5842 BertsAutoSalvage.com 30775 Baggett Ln. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-567-1042 541-567-5050 QUIZNOS.COM 1565 N. FIRST ST. #9 HERMISTON, OR 97838 YOUR BUSINESS HERE: Call Today & Donate! 800-522-0255 Pre-order by mail now (discount expires 11/17/19). Select an option: ☐ Ship my order to me ☐ I’ll pick up my order $29.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling per book. $29.95 per book. Order will be shipped to the address below Pick up order at the East Oregonian off ice after 11/22/19. (211 SE Byers Ave., Pendleton) after 11/18/19. Quantity: ___ x $36.90 = $______ total Quantity: ___ x $29.95 = $______ total Payment method: ☐ Check/Money Order Credit card orders can be placed online: Umatilla.PictorialBook.com Name Send form and payment to: East Oregonian 211 SE Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or call 800-522-0255 Address RE/MAX (541) 289-5454 1055 S Hwy 395 Ste 313, Hermiston, OR 97838 corteva.us 1705 E. Airport Rd. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-289-9800 eotechermiston.com For more information on the NIE Program, visit HermistonHerald.com/hh/nie. To make a donation, call 800-522-0255. City State Phone E-mail Zip From the archives of the Athena Public Library, City of Echo, Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society, Pendleton Round-up, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Umatilla County Historical Society
