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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2020)
LOCAL WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3 Schools await guidance on graduation requirements By ANTONIO SIERRA STAFF WRITER If Oregon’s K-12 stu- dents return to school April 29, they will have lost a month and a half’s worth of instruction time. Those lost hours are especially criti- cal to high school seniors, who need enough credits to graduate on time. That fact wasn’t lost on the region’s superin- tendents, and according to InterMountain Education Service District Super- intendent Mark Mulvi- hill, some administrators wanted to bring seniors back to school early so they could make up the credits they missed. The state won’t let schools unlock their doors for seniors, but the Ore- gon Department of Edu- cation plans to address the issue. The department had stated it would issue guid- ance the week of March 23, but failed to do so by the end of the week. In an interview March 24, Mulvihill said school offi cials have focused on the closure’s impact Staff photo by Jade McDowell The Hermiston High School parking lot stands empty on Monday as students remain out of school. on seniors from the start of the shutdown, which Gov. Kate Brown initiated on March 16 to slow the spread of COVID-19. “That’s the top prior- ity we have, amongst all of this unknown,” he said. Mulvihill said Colt Gill, the state superinten- dent of public instruction, is working toward a plan that would allow the class of 2020 to graduate this summer. Mulvihill anticipates that the credit requirement will be lowered and some of the subject require- ments like English and math may also be changed to match a truncated EO Media Group announces layoffs in light of virus fallout HERMISTON HERALD EO Media Group, the parent company of the Hermiston Herald and 12 other newspapers across Oregon, announced March 25 that it is reducing its workforce by 47 employ- ees, according to a press release. Eight jobs are affected in the Hermiston Her- ald/East Oregonian news- rooms in Hermiston and Pendleton, and the others are spread across the rest of the newspaper chain. Over- all, the company is reduc- ing its workforce by 18%. “It’s been an extraor- dinary few weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken over our daily lives and business operations,” said Bend Bulletin Pub- lisher and EOMG Chief Operating Offi cer Heidi Wright on March 25. “The revenue losses due to the closing of commercial businesses to prevent the spread of the virus has cre- Farm Bureau extends deadline for fl ood relief ated a ripple effect across the nation, forcing layoffs in many industries. “As you can imagine, the revenue pullback across the company has been dra- matic, with many busi- nesses closing their doors and events being canceled throughout the region. Many of the big box stores have canceled their adver- tising, until further notice. We are taking action now in order to stabilize our operations and keep our staff intact as much as pos- sible, during this time of crisis. “We believe that this is the best course, but do not take this action lightly. While this is painful, it could be short-lived if, by some miracle, the econ- omy bounces back after the coronavirus runs its course and we see local retailers reopen and begin adver- tising again,” Wright said. “But there are no promises. This economic downturn could be with us for a long Sen. Hansell hospitalized with blood clots HERMISTON HERALD Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Ath- ena, was hospitalized over the weekend for multiple blood clots in both lungs. Hansell said he began to develop “left lung chest pains” while breathing and a slight fever on Saturday morning. Hansell said by Sunday evening, his breathing had worsened, prompting a trip to the emergency room at St. Mary’s Hospital in Walla Walla, Washington. Hansell said blood work and CAT scan of his chest revealed the clots. “That CAT scan was the fi rst time I had any idea there were pulmonary embolisms in both of my lungs,” Hansell said. He said on Saturday he initially visited an urgent care clinic in Walla Walla where an electrocardio- gram or EKG was done on his heart and a chest X-ray was taken but nothing was found, so he was sent home. “My breath got pro- gressively shorter before I would trigger one of those pain responses. So (Sat- urday) evening, I’m get- ting real shallow in breath- ing and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to have a crisis in the middle of the night.’ So, (Hansell’s wife) Marga- ret drove me back to Walla Walla.” Hansell said by Tuesday afternoon he was feeling better and was optimistic on being discharged from the hospital. “I feel fi ne. I still have some pain breathing,” he said. During the Saturday visit to the urgent care clinic, Hansell said he was tested for COVID-19. The test came back negative Tues- day morning. “Of course with all of the lung-related pneumonia and COVID-19, which certainly has the medical world’s focus right now, it never even dawned on me that it may be pulmonary embo- lisms,” he said. “So now I can start treating it and get on the road to recovery.” First-Class Team. World-Class Treatment You Deserve. for Umatilla Electric Cooperative District #7 Director "Thank you for allowing me the honor to serve as your District #7 Director for the past 12 years. As your Director, my commitment to you, the member, is to ensure the Umatilla Electric Cooperative continues to supply electricity to your home or place of business in a safe and reliable manner at the lowest rates possible.“ • Resident of Hermiston, OR for 49 years • Member of UEC for 47 years • United States Army Veteran • UEC District #7 Director for 12 years Paid for by John Otis. 1310 SE 7th St., Hermiston, OR 97838 PET OF THE W EEK Troubles is a sweet senior. She is approx. 12 years old. Great with dogs, fine with cats. Has skin allergies and takes Apoquel for it. She absolutely loves people and loves to snuggle. She is looking for a comfortable home to retire to. MEET TROUBLES Small and Large Animal Care 541.567.1138 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 Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM Eugenio Mannucci, DVM, cVMA • Jana von Borstel, DVM, cVMA Mon: 8-6 Tue - Fri: 8-5 Sat: 8-12 Emergency Service announced it would allow districts to move forward with educating students online, a step it had pre- viously not allowed out of concerns that students without internet access would be left behind. Hermiston School District checked out more than 500 Chromebooks to dis- trict families on Monday, however, and is working on coming up with a solu- tion to internet access. Umatilla School Dis- trict Superintendent Heidi Sipe said in an email the district will be “unlikely to have our ceremony as originally planned in May; however, we’re commit- ted to holding some type of ceremony (possibly an online event with a fol- low-up ceremony after this all clears) later on.” She said she has been working “many hours” with the Oregon Depart- ment of Education to help the state fi nalize a plan to allow seniors to still grad- uate, and the district will work with students to help them complete the new requirements. RE-ELECT JOHN OTIS HERMISTON HERALD The deadline for Umatilla County farmers and ranchers to apply for the Farm Bureau Flood Relief Fund has been extended until May 1. Applicants are available at OregonFB.org/fl ood. For more information, contact Umatilla-Morrow County Farm Bureau Vice President Phillip Whitmore, pwhit- more53@gmail.com. time.” EO Media CEO Steve Forrester said, “Our com- pany is in a survival mode. While none of us have seen a pandemic and its eco- nomic effects, our com- pany has weathered eco- nomic challenges, such as the Great Depression, the Astoria Fire of 1923 and, within our lifetimes, the Great Recession of 2008.” “Throughout these exis- tential moments, our mis- sion has not changed. And it will not change during this calamity,” Forrester said. “Our newspapers and our digital sites are bea- cons within our commu- nities and regions. We are leaders in gathering infor- mation and analysis, and we offer businesses audi- ences for their messaging.” The Herald was founded in 1906 and the EO was founded in 1875. They have a combined opera- tions of about about 43 full- and part-time employees. school year. Depending on future events, he said superin- tendents will have plans for either schools return- ing in April or the can- cellation of the rest of the school year, a step the Oregon Department of Education said Monday may happen. “It’s crossing our minds how compromised the 2019-20 school year will be, and we need to make sure we don’t compro- mise any aspect of 2021,” he said. As a mother of a senior herself, Hermiston School District Superintendent Tricia Mooney said she understands the questions and concerns parents have about seniors graduating on time. “We’re getting them ready to leave the nest,” she said. But she also wants to encourage Hermiston par- ents and students not to panic while the district waits for guidance from the state. Mooney said the high school is asking seniors to put their college ambi- tions on pause right now, adding that colleges are also dealing with the fall- out from the coronavirus and may not have the staff or the resources to pro- cess all the applications and queries they usually receive each spring. On Monday the state 80489 Hwy 395 N Hermiston www.oregontrailvet.com Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, animal shelters need our help more than ever. Please donate to your local shelter, or offer to foster an animal in need. If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application. If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838 Two convenient locations: 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
