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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2020)
NEWS A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM Normal Continued from Page A1 that the “overwhelming demand” they saw Mon- day had prompted them to offer a second checkout opportunity on Thursday, from 3-7 p.m. at the dis- trict offices, 305 S.W. 11th St. Those driving to pick up devices should wait in their vehicle for someone to approach, and those walking should wait in line six feet apart outside the building. Mental health As everyone scrambles to make as many services as possible available online, Lifeways is no exception. The community mental health provider is offering appointments via telephone and telehealth technology, to make sure people can still talk to a therapist or receive other mental health services even if they are sick or iso- lating themselves at home. As an “essential service,” Lifeways staff also continue to provide services in resi- dential and hospital settings, emergency rooms, out in the community and in their offices. “At the same time, we are following CDC and Public Health guidance on social distancing, health monitor- ing, cleaning and (personal protective equipment) use,” Chief Operating Officer Liz Johnson wrote in an email. She said they have “garnered strength” from increased support and com- munication from their com- munity partners, and are conducting an organization- al-wide effort to monitor the situation daily and continue to make adjustments to meet demand. Lifeways has also intro- duced a support line that people can call to relieve feelings of loneliness and isolation during this time when many people can’t physically visit friends and family. That support line is 541-567-2536 for Hermis- ton-area residents. Lifeways also has a 24-hour crisis line at 541-240-8030 and a less urgent “warm” line at 1-800-698-2392. Information about crisis services can also be found online at www.lifeways.org/ crisis-2. Law enforcement Logs of calls to 911 in the past week show numerous citizens checking in with police to see what they can or cannot do under the gov- ernor’s executive order. Amid the confusion, local law enforcement is emphasizing education over citations and fines for violating the order. “When it comes to enforcing the ‘stay home, stay safe’ mantra, the plan is just to educate the pub- lic without taking any law enforcement action,” Uma- tilla County Sheriff Terry Rowan said on Wednesday. That plan was echoed by Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts and Herm- iston Police Chief Jason Edmiston, and aligns with strategies of other sheriff’s offices and police depart- ments around the state. Though local law enforcement doesn’t intend to strictly enforce the order, residents throughout Uma- tilla County were flood- ing dispatchers on Tues- day with concerns about whether they or others were at risk of violating it. “It was obvious people don’t understand the order by how they were inundat- ing 911 with questions and suggestions about it,” Rob- erts said. In Hermiston, Edmiston said they received a number of calls from people about kids playing too closely together and, according to the Hermiston police log, another person called about a business that was screen- ing its employees before letting them in the build- ing but wasn’t enforcing a 6-foot gap between them while they waited in line. Calls ranged from res- idents unsure if they were allowed to travel from one place to another to won- dering whether they could even reach their workplace or doctor’s office in South- east Washington out of con- cern that the state borders had been closed. There’s been no clo- sures along state bor- ders, and while the state is advising against non-es- sential travel, Rowan con- firmed Wednesday that people traveling through- out Umatilla County won’t be stopped and questioned about where they’re going and why. “At this point, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Rowan said. Gas stations Umatilla residents — and everyone traveling in Oregon — can now pump their own gas until “at least” April 11, the state announced Saturday. “During this unprece- dented time of state emer- gency, we need to ensure that critical supply lines for fuels and other basic services remain uninter- rupted,” State Fire Mar- shal Jim Walker said in a statement. At least one attendant is required to be on shift to supervise and make sure that social distancing guide- lines are being followed. After the announcement Heller & Sons in Hermiston noted in a Facebook post that they were closing their deli completely for now, closing their store at 7 p.m. and placing markers on the floor to ensure customers stand in line six feet apart. “We will continue to have gas attendants to offer legendary customer service and we will continue to san- itize our store, pumps and keypads for your safety,” they wrote. With the highly contagious Coronavirus Pandemic changing how we live our lives on a daily basis, it has put individuals in quarantine throughout their homes, assisted living facilities and hospitals. Due to the stay at home orders issued by Oregon and Idaho Governers, it has become impossible for family members to visit their loved ones. Lifeways is here to help, with telehealth and telephone services to allow folks experiencing isolation a chance to talk to someone and relieve the feelings of loneliness. Please give us a call so our clinical staff can help you and/or a loved one during this time. IDAHO: OREGON: Boise, ID: 208-327-0504 Caldwell, ID: 208-454-2766 Nampa, ID: 208-546-3046 Ontario, OR: 541-889-9167 Pendleton, OR: 541-276-6207 Hermiston, OR: 541-567-2536 Western Idaho Community Crisis Center: 208-402-1044 Umatilla Region Crisis Line: 541-240-8030 Malheur Region Crisis Line: 541-889-9167 or 800-995-9169 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020 Weddings Continued from Page A1 “no matter what happens.” When they found that the Multnomah and Mar- ion county courthouses are not processing marriage licenses now, and Washing- ton County’s current mail-in process would likely take too long, they turned their attention to Torres-Whitt- meyer’s hometown. “I did what any girl originally from Hermiston would do,” she wrote in an email. “I called the Uma- tilla County Courthouse and asked them if they could help. We drove down to Pendleton this past Tues- day and got our marriage license.” They plan to hold a cer- emony via Facebook Live. Rosario Vargas, who grew up in Stanfield and currently lives in Rich- land, Washington, had a big wedding planned for June 2020, but recently decided to postpone it for a year on the assumption that large social gatherings still won’t be allowed by then. “It’s so hard to know what it will be like in June,” she said. She and her fiance, Joshua Suber, got engaged in May 2019, so the wed- ding “has been in the works for almost a year,” she said. Now they’ve had to cancel everything from the taco truck to the DJ. They also had to notify family who had already bought plane tickets that they’ll need to seek a refund. “They’ve all been super understanding,” she said. In one way, she said, the situation might be a blessing in disguise — the pair hadn’t saved as much money as they were hoping for the wedding, and Var- gas said a year from now she may add some features to the ceremony and recep- tion that they had trimmed for cost. “It’s upsetting,” she said. “I want to marry my best BTW Continued from Page A1 • • • Community members can show their support for students by getting food to go from Panda Express in Hermiston on Friday. For every person who shows the restaurant a paper or digital copy of the fund- raiser flyer, or orders online Contributed photo Contributed photo Stacie Ketchum, right, and Michael Borgaard got their marriage license and were planning an intimate wedding ceremony with family and close friends in April. They were forced to reconsider their plans due to COVID-19. Rosario Vargas, right, and Joshua Suber got engaged in May 2019 and had originally planned a large wedding ceremony for June 2020 when they decided to cancel the wedding due to COVID-19 concerns. Contributed photo April Torres-Wittmeyer, left, and Darin Wittmeyer had planned to get married in Maui, Hawaii on May 11, 2020 and have since Contributed photo had to alter their plans due to the COVID-19 Addy Folsom and her fiance Ken Sipp outbreak. The couple still plan to get married planned to get married April 4 but have on May 11 in an amended ceremony. postponed their wedding to August. friend as soon as possible. But it is what it is.” Addy Folsom of Pendle- ton said she and her fiance, Ken Sipp, had to postpone their wedding three weeks prior to its April 4 date. They now plan to get mar- ried Aug. 29. “We got engaged in October and initially wanted to do a summer wedding, but due to Ken’s brother-in-law deploying in April, we wanted to do it before he left so he could be a part of it, and he won’t be able to, which is a bum- mer,” she wrote in an email. She said a lot of people have asked why they can’t just get married now and then have a big reception later, but she said they both have a lot of close friends and family that they really want to be able to attend. She said they already have some keepsakes engraved with the April 4 date, but they’ll just add the new date as well, and some- thing that may allow them to “find some humor during all this.” The progression of events has been “devastat- ing,” she said, but the venue she had booked has worked with them and family mem- bers have been supportive. “Knowing that there are worse things going on than us just having to postpone, I have come to terms with it using the code 314537, 20% of the sale will be donated to Einstein Learning Cen- ter in Hermiston. A copy of the flyer can be found on the Einstein Learning Cen- ter’s Facebook page. The center provides tutoring and other support for students with learning disabilities, and the money donated will be used to purchase digital devices for them to continue their learning at home while schools are closed. • • • Senior Blues golf league events hosted in April and May in The Dalles and Heppner have been can- celed, according to Megan Olsen of Big River Golf Course. For more informa- tion, contact Olsen at 541- 922-3006 or email megan@ golfbigriver.com. • • • The sixth annual Diaper Dash was deemed a suc- cess by organizers. Devel- oped as a ministry by the Hermiston Church of the Nazarene to help people meet basic needs, organiz- ers requested a package of diapers as an entry fee. The March 7 event included 150 participants. Runners and walkers donated more than 13,000 diapers and 3,100 wipes. For more information, visit www.hermistonnaza- rene.org.
