NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Normal
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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
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“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
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• • •
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.