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