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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2020)
NEWS A12 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM Schools Continued from Page A1 it placed on parents and other caregivers. “To all the moms and dads, I can’t imagine what you’re up against, balancing parenting during this very scary crisis while I know many of you have either lost a job, or are a fi rst responder, or are trying to work from home with your kids there, all the time worried about education and fi guring out homeschooling,” she said. Brown also announced long-awaited guidelines on what the development will mean for high school seniors, just months away from graduation. Seniors who were on track to graduate as of March 13 will automatically receive a passing grade on this semester’s classes. The state is leaving it up to individ- ual districts to address with seniors whether they will continue their studies despite already passing. For seniors who still needed to make up credits or were failing their classes as of March, Brown asked school districts to focus their efforts on fi nding “creative” ways to help get those stu- dents “across the fi nish line” by Aug. 31. She said Oregon’s public universities are committed to considering all incoming freshmen “fairly” in light of the disruption to their educa- tion, and also said that none of those universities would take students’ acceptance away, as long as the students graduated. The state’s ”Distance Learning for All” guidelines provide further instructions regarding questions about dual credit classes, individ- ualized education plans and other concerns. Districts are being urged to create “alter- nate” plans for graduation ceremonies, such as holding an event online. Hermiston School Dis- trict released a statement Wednesday letting students and parents know that dis- trict staff are reviewing each senior’s classes and will be reaching out to them individ- ually to discuss their status. “As the situation contin- ues to evolve and the dis- trict has guidance regarding students in grades 9-11, the district will communicate further at that time,” the doc- ument stated. The district will continue to provide breakfast and lunch to students via its bus routes, and has checked out Chromebooks to families in need of a device for their stu- dent to continue coursework online. Students without internet access can fi nd free Wi-Fi hotspots around town by visiting https://wifi .xfi n- ity.com and searching for their ZIP code. Details such as when stu- dents will be able to collect their personal items from their lockers and desks are still being worked out, and the district will communi- cate those decisions with parents and students in the future. “Thank you to the Herm- iston community for its con- tinued support and under- standing through this unprecedented public health crisis,” Superintendent Tri- cia Mooney said in a state- ment. “It is during trying times such as this that we see the true strength of a community.” She said in-person classes are expected to resume on Aug. 24 for the 2020-21 school year. At the statewide press conference, Brown thanked all Oregonians for comply- ing with social distancing orders, which have reduced the spread of COVID-19 in the state. “I know how hard this is on every single Oregonian and I thank you for your sac- rifi ce,” she said. I also know that the measures we have put into place are necessary actions right now to save lives. I wish I could make it easier for everyone and I wish I could eliminate the frustration that so many of us are feeling right now.” WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2020 Staff photo by Ben Lonergan A sign at Simply Divine Salon & Day Spa in Hermiston advises drivers to stay home and stay healthy. Gov. Kate Brown announced her framework for reopening Oregon during a press conference on Tuesday morning. Brown refused to say when it might happen, but said that “it will not be easy.” Economy Continued from Page A1 Kelly McPhee, vice president of communications for Banner Bank, said its branches have received 11,482 inquiries from businesses about get- ting one of the loans. She said Banner Bank is one of the top lenders for the Small Business Administration in Oregon, and usu- ally processes 250 applications in a year. In the fi rst four days of the PPP, they did 443. She said banks started processing things a little slower than they do for some types of loans because they had to create a brand-new process basi- cally overnight, while social distanc- ing, and it is crucial that everything be fi lled out correctly so that businesses can get most or all of the loan forgiven after eight weeks. “We defi nitely don’t want to mis- step,” she said. Banks have rules about how much money they can lend out in comparison to their balance sheets, and McPhee said while Banner Bank is not in that position yet, some other banks in the area have already exhausted their abil- ity to extend PPP loans to customers. Businesses impacted by COVID- 19 can also apply for a low-inter- est Economic Injury Disaster Loan directly from the Small Business Administration. Umatilla Electric Cooperative has “WE ALL WANT TO GET BACK TO WORK AND RETURN TO LIFE AS NORMAL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT THE TRUTH IS THE BEST PATH FORWARD IS A CAUTIOUS ONE — A PATH THAT PRO- CEEDS GRADUALLY, INCREMENTALLY AND CAREFULLY. A PATH THAT RELIES ON SCIENCE AND FACTS TO DETERMINE EACH STEP FORWARD.” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown set up a new resource for businesses interested in applying for both federal programs. The Umatilla Electric Coopera- tive Business Resource Center opened Thursday at 1475 N. First St. in Hermiston. Staff include Emily Cecil as the lead business advisor and Ashley Gar- cia Sandoval as the business intake counselor. They will be available to provide free assistance to area busi- ness owners in applying for federal grants and low-interest loans avail- able to businesses experiencing nega- tive effects from COVID-19. CEO Robert Echenrode said in a statement that UEC was pleased to announce the resource for local busi- nesses during “this period of uncer- tainty.” Board member Bryan Wolfe stated while the cooperative cannot change what is happening globally, they can work on improving the eco- nomic viability of the community. Gregory Smith & Company man- ages UEC’s revolving loan fund for economic development. Smith, the new business center’s executive advi- sor, said UEC was able to put together the new resource in less than a week after the idea was hatched. The cen- ter is open to anyone needing help, but UEC will also be reaching out to all of its business accounts to inform them of the opportunity. For more information, call the cen- ter at 541-289-3000. Staff are avail- able to advise businesses by phone, video conferencing or at the offi ce from behind a glass divider to protect from germs. Offi ce hours are Mon- day-Friday from 8-5 p.m., with a clo- sure for lunch from 1-2 p.m. OREGON'S 2ND OREGON'S 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPUBLICAN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FORUM CANDIDATE FORUM Get to know the Republican candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Get to know the Democratic candidates for U.S. Congress without leaving home. Primary election is May 19 Primary election is May 19 Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Forums will be video recorded without audience due to COVID-19 concerns. Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Streaming live on this newspaper’s Facebook page: Saturday May 2, 2020 • 5 p.m. & 7 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2020 • 6:30 Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Watch after the event on this newspaper’s website or on EOAlive.tv Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Submit your questions in advance by email to: CD2forum@eomediagroup.com or on Facebook Live during the event. Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Moderated by Chris Rush - Regional Publisher, EO Media Group Live stream and video by EO Alive TV Live stream and video by EO Alive TV • A forum for the Democratic candidates will be held on May 1 • • A forum for the Republican candidates will be held on May 2 •
