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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2020)
NEWS A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM Melonville brings on the laughs Annual comedy festival is Jan. 24 at EOTEC By TAMMY MALGESINI COMMUNITY EDITOR Tickets are still available for the Melonville Comedy Festival. In its 27th year, the event is Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, 1705 E. Airport Road, Hermis- ton. A no-host bar is avail- able when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The headliner is James Johann, the featured comedian is Travis Nelson and the emcee is Jeremiah Coughlan. Born and raised in the Midwest, Johann started his standup career in Kan- sas City. Incorporating a self-deprecating sense of humor and high-energy style, Johann offers every- thing from advice on raising kids and dating to the differ- ent types of rock ‘n’ roll. He provides a glimpse of life how he sees it. In addition to headlin- ing in comedy clubs across the country, Johann partici- pated in a theater tour “Pay- ing For The New Trailer” (Blue Collar Comedy Tour) Nelson Johann starring Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. Also, from 2005-07, he was a part of “The Slackers Tour,” a national tour from one of the producers of The Blue Col- lar Comedy Tour. Raised near the rainfor- ests of Washington, Nel- son attributes the lack of sunshine and his abundant intake of caffeine as feed- ing his obsessive person- ality. On stage, he offers a mixture of personal stories and experiences with absurd and imaginative thoughts — inviting audiences to escape into the recesses of his mind. Nelson has performed in comedy clubs, theaters, col- leges, bars, cruise ships and numerous comedy festivals, including the 2016 Seattle International Comedy Com- petition and he placed first in the “Best of the Fest” at the Burbank Comedy Festi- val in 2018. He also appears on Sirius XM satellite radio. Coughlan, who attended K e n n e - wick High School, is now based in Portland. He is said to physically Coughlan resemble what would happen if Chris Farley ate Bob Ross. On stage, Cough- lan creates a paradoxical mix of chaos and control. He offers a conversational brand of self-deprecating humor and has become a regular performer at clubs all across the Pacific North- west. He’s also been invited to perform in festivals in New York, Boise, San Fran- cisco and Toronto, Canada. Melonville Comedy Fes- tival tickets are $35 if pur- chased in advance or $40 at the door. Ticket purchases help support the local Special Olympics program. They are available at www.mel- onvillecomedyfestival. com, or Last Chance Tav- ern (240 S.W. 11th St.) and Midway Bar & Grill (1750 N. First St.), both in Herm- iston. Also, tables of 10 are available for $300. For ques- tions, contact 541-567-5180 or events@midwaybargrill. com. Three hurt, one arrested in Highway 395 crash HERMISTON HERALD A crash on Highway 395 culminated in arrest Monday evening. Somboon Srimeuang, 62, of Hermiston was turn- ing east onto Punkin Cen- ter Road from Highway 395 in a silver Honda Accord and failed to yield to traf- fic, according to the Oregon State Police. Elias Mendoza, 28, of Hermiston was headed north on the highway in a white Toyota Corolla and struck Srimeuang’s vehi- cle on the passenger side at around 4:40 p.m. Pendleton and Hermiston troopers noticed Srimeuang exhibited signs of impair- ment. He agreed to submit a breath sample at the Herm- iston police station which yielded a BAC of 0.21%. He is currently lodged at the Umatilla County Jail.Sri- meuang was arraigned Tues- day on three misdemean- ors: DUII (alcohol), reckless driving and fourth-degree assault. Srimeuang’s two passen- gers — an 8-year-old boy and a 67-year-old woman named Somchne Sisaya- ket, both of Hermiston — and Mendoza were all taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center with complaints of pain. Former Umatilla man found dead in Washington EO MEDIA GROUP A former Umatilla man accused of tying up his girl- friend and beating her with a baseball bat has been found dead in Stevens County, Washington, according to a Spokane, Washington, newspaper. The Spokesman-Review reported that Spokane police Sgt. Terry Preuninger con- firmed the death of Andrew Beitel, 46, on Monday. Preuninger did not dis- close the circumstances of Beitel’s death or the pre- cise location where his body was found. Stevens County authorities are investigating. Before living in Spo- kane, court records show Beitel resided in Umatilla and Bend. According to an alumni page, Beitel grad- uated from Umatilla High School and attended school from 1987-91. Police had been search- ing for Beitel since early Saturday, when a woman used an Amazon Alexa device to call 911, saying Beitel had tied her up and assaulted her at a home, The Spokesman-Review reported. After the attack, the woman was hospi- talized with injuries that police described as serious but not life-threatening. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020 Warming station struggles to find needed volunteers By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR Some people slept out in the cold on Sunday night after the Hermiston Warming Station did not have enough volunteers to open. It was the second time that happened since the season started at the end of November. “People get quite upset, but I have to explain to them that nobody gets paid,” board chair Teesie Hill said. “We’re all volunteers.” Hill said the warming station trained a little over 100 volunteers at the start of the season, but 40 of those volunteers haven’t signed up for any shifts so far this season. The emer- gency shelter needs as many as nine volunteers each night to cover all the shifts. She said in response, they’re giving volun- teers the option to break the 7 p.m. to midnight shift in half, working only 7-9:30 p.m. or 9:30 to midnight. She hopes that will encourage more peo- ple to sign up. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, pass a background check and complete a training. New trainings have been scheduled for each day, Jan. 24-30. See the Herm- iston Warming Station Facebook page for times. Hill said last year the warming station saw unusually high numbers of guests, at about 18 per night. This year numbers have been lower, averag- ing around six. “Very few of our reg- ulars returned this year,” she said. “It’s a new crowd this year. Hill said she knows some of the “regulars” from last season were able to find employment or start receiving hous- ing assistance through CAPECO. Others moved away, had family take them in again or are currently serving jail terms. While the shelter has struggled to fill shifts this year, they are offer- ing increased accommo- dations for guests. Hill said they received a grant to purchase a washer and dryer so that volunteers did not have to take bed- ding to the laundromat. In addition to wash- ing the warming station’s items, they also plan to allow guests to bring some clothing for wash- ing on Thursdays and Sundays. They have also started offering the guests break- fast bars in the morning and portable soup-to-go containers, such as Cup of Noodles, in the evenings. Hill said the most helpful thing people can donate to the warming station right now is the microwavable, single-serving soups. A volunteer is avail- able from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday and from 12:30- 2:30 p.m. on Sundays for people to drop off dona- tions at the Hermiston Warming Station, 1075 South Highway 395. For questions about donations, call 541-303-3256. January is Stalking Awareness Month As part of its on-go- ing mission to educate the community, Domestic Vio- lence Services reminds people that January is National Stalking Aware- ness Month. According to the local nonprofit’s January news- letter, stalking behaviors often occur when the vic- tim is still in the relation- ship. The abuser may keep tabs on the victim or create distance to isolate them from family and friends. Also, the risk of violence may increase for victims after they’ve made a deci- sion to leave their abuser. DVS offers assistance in creating safety plans to help victims. Domestic Violence Ser- vices has served Umatilla and Morrow counties for more than 40 years. The nonprofit organization has shelters in Hermis- ton and Pendleton, as well as advocacy centers in Boardman, Heppner and Milton-Freewater. Its mission is to provide help to all victims and sur- vivors of domestic vio- lence, sexual assault, dat- ing violence and stalking. DVS provides safety plan- ning, support groups, training workshops and classes. Services are available in English and Spanish. In addition to the shel- ters and advocacy cen- ters, the agency main- tains a 24-hour crisis line (800-833-1161). For more information, contact 541-276-3322, 541-567-0424 adminis- trator@dvs-or.org or visit www.dvs-or.org. First-Class Team. World-Class Treatment You Deserve. 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. 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 541-276-1260 BLUECC.EDU 980 SE Columbia Dr, Hermiston, OR 97838 Rick’s Car Wash 620 E. Main St. Hermiston, OR 541-567-3908 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 Our patients are the very heart of our practice 79937 S. Edwards Rd. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-567-5842 BertsAutoSalvage.com 30775 Baggett Ln. Hermiston, OR 97838 541-567-1042 Integrative Oncology Services: Radiation Oncology • Patient Navigation Education & Support Services Naturopathic Clinic Survivorship Clinic • Chaplain Nutrition & Fitness Support For more details on all of these services, please visit us online at tccancer.org 541-567-5050 QUIZNOS.COM 1565 N. FIRST ST. #9 HERMISTON, OR 97838 YOUR BUSINESS HERE: Call Today & Donate! 800-522-0255 Two convenient locations: 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. 600 Northwest 11th Street, Suite E-23 Good Shepherd Medical Center Hermiston, OR - (509) 783-9894 7350 W. Deschutes Ave. Kennewick, WA - (509) 783-9894
