OFF PAGE ONE
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2020
Restrictions:
Continued from Page A1
Hodges said he doesn’t
believe Umatilla County
should wait any longer
to allow gatherings and
reopening of businesses
and churches, however.
And when they do open,
he said, they shouldn’t be
required to take down peo-
ples’ information so they
can be contacted and asked
to quarantine in the event
they were exposed to the
virus. He also doesn’t want
to see people required to
wear masks to do their jobs,
or to be vaccinated in order
to enter an establishment,
once one is available. He
called those type of safety
measures
recommended
by public health experts
“medical tyranny,” and said
efforts to track the virus are
turning America into a sur-
veillance state.
“There has never been
a government in history
that has taken rights away
from people, and then given
them freely back,” he said.
“It’s never happened, and
we don’t think it will here.”
He rejects the idea that
people who are protesting
for businesses to reopen are
“selfi sh,” a message he said
he is getting a lot on social
media from people con-
cerned about the increased
spread
of
COVID-19
expected from relaxing
social distancing rules.
He said he is trying to
protect peoples’ consti-
tutional rights, and pro-
tect people from negative
effects of social distancing,
such as increased rates of
depression and abuse.
“People are being cut off
from the things that keep
them healthy physically
and spiritually,” he said.
Beef:
Continued from Page A1
customers’ needs.”
The Tyson Fresh Meats
plant in Pasco, Washing-
ton, shut down on April 23
after an outbreak among
workers there, including a
few Umatilla County resi-
dents who tested positive.
They reopened on May 5
with additional safety pre-
cautions, including masks
for employees and tem-
perature checks.
Teresa
Horn,
who
co-owns Eastern Oregon
Mobile Slaughter in Herm-
iston with her husband Ted,
said she has three to four
rows of sticky notes with
orders — about 40 as of
Monday.
“It has been crazy,”
Horn said. “We are so busy
we can’t catch up. People
got their stimulus checks
and now they are stocking
up on food. There is about
a week’s wait for an order.
If you want half a beef, it
could be a minimum of a
month.”
If you raise your own
beef,
Eastern
Oregon
Mobile Slaughter will pro-
cess if for you. But for oth-
ers, Horn said they rely on
getting product from the
processing plants to fi ll
orders.
“As we get the meat, we
are fi lling orders,” Horn
said. “The phone has been
ringing nonstop.”
While the smaller bou-
tique beef processing com-
panies are keeping plenty
busy, the grocery stores
are having to put limits on
what people can buy —
just like they still are doing
Contributed photo
Ina Abercrombie, left, director of the Irrigon Boardman
Food Pantry, receives a donation from Kelly Sanders of the
Hermiston Lions Club.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
The sidewalks in downtown Hermiston sit empty on a Friday afternoon in early April. A group
of Hermiston residents is pushing to reopen the town and put an end to social distancing
requirements.
Cherie Bumpaous, who
owns The Pheasant Bar and
Grill, said business there is
down 95% since the gover-
nor ordered bars and restau-
rants to switch to takeout
and delivery only. She said
she wants to see businesses
be allowed to reopen, even
if there have to be some
extra sanitation measures in
place.
Delivery would still be
available for those who are
at higher risk of complica-
tions from COVID-19, such
as the elderly or those with
conditions such as asthma
or high blood pressure, as
well as those who live with
or work with them.
“If you’re afraid to get
sick, stay home,” Bum-
phous said. “People who
are healthy and not afraid
should be able to go out and
about.”
She said she supports
Hodges’ efforts to ask
Umatilla County and the
city of Hermiston to hold
town hall meetings about
COVID-19 regulations, and
believes that businesses
should hire an attorney
if they need to in order to
fi ght regulations they feel
are unconstitutional.
Tricia Munoz, who
runs Yo Country Frozen
Yogurt with her husband
and is also an indepen-
dent medical billing spe-
cialist, said she joined the
Reopen Hermiston move-
ment because she believes
all COVID-19 restrictions
need to be lifted.
“I feel they’re just an
overtaking by the gover-
nor, and she’s abusing her
power and allowing small
businesses to go under,”
she said.
Munoz said she had to
lay off employees and let
product go to waste. Even
if businesses are allowed to
reopen, Brown’s social dis-
tancing restrictions are too
onerous, she said, includ-
ing a ban on self-serve
that would require extra
employees for Yo Country
to implement.
“It would be almost $24
an hour just paying for
labor,” she said. “You think
we’re going to sell that
much yogurt every hour?”
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention
has reported 79,756 deaths
from COVID-19 in the
United States as of May 11,
which is higher than yearly
fl u mortality numbers, but
Munoz said she believes
the government is falsify-
ing COVID-19 numbers.
“If people are worried,
then that’s their right to stay
home and self-quarantine,”
she said.
with toilet paper.
Columbia
Harvest
Foods in Umatilla is limit-
ing customers to two packs
each of beef, chicken and
pork.
“It’s happening every-
where,”
owner
Dave
Meade said. “Safeway and
Costco have had to do that
too in this temporary dis-
ruption in the supply chain.
We get inventory daily, but
if you are missing half of
your load, we have to make
sure we can get everyone
something.”
While restrictions have
affected large families and
those who like to meal plan
and prepare for the week,
Meade asks that shoppers
be patient.
Janelle Carrera of Herm-
iston has a family of eight
she has to keep fed. They
do grocery pickup from
Walmart, but have to go
into the store to get meat —
something they have had to
do almost daily as of late.
“We try to shop in bulk
for the week,” Carrera said.
“Meal planning is a big
thing for us. Right now,
we have to plan to what is
available. My three oldest
are teenage boys. When I
cook, it’s like cooking for
a crowd.”
Carrera and her family
make their own pasta or
dumplings on a daily basis,
and she cooks three meals
a day.
“I don’t know where
it all goes,” Carrera said.
“They eat constantly. I’m
lucky they will eat left-
overs, if there are any.
Because of the (meat) limit,
I’ve had to get creative.”
Meade said he under-
stands the frustration of the
shoppers, but assures that it
won’t last forever.
“We understand the
frustration of the con-
sumer,” Meade said. “Meat
is essential, especially at
dinner. We’ve been buy-
ing what we can. We have
brought in ground turkey to
try and fi ll the need. Peo-
ple may have to make mul-
tiple trips to the store, and
that disrupts how they plan.
We expect this to be over
sooner than later.”
CORONAVIRUS
During this serious
time, Burns Mortuary of
Hermiston encourages
everyone to follow the
guidelines of CDC to help
protect themselves and
our communities from the
COVID-19 virus
Please heed this advice.
BURNS
MORTUARY
HERMISTON HERALD
The Hermiston Lions
Club recently presented
checks to two local food
pantries to support fami-
lies in need due to COVID-
19. The Irrigon/Boardman
Food Pantry was given
$1,000, and Echo’s Ches-
ter Food Pantry received
$1,750.
Irrigon/Boardman
Emergency
Assistance
Center is North Mor-
row County’s food pan-
try and not only provides
food for families in need
but also rent support, pro-
pane for heating and cook-
ing, as well as other assis-
tance. Echo’s food pantry
is operated by the local
Kiwanis Club and helps
with food needs within
their community.
Mike Duffy, president
of the Echo Kiwanis, said
in a statement in response
to the support by the
Hermiston Lions that the
effort was an impressive
one.
May 12th-17th
Please wear a mask for your
protection & ours or call ahead
and use our Drive thru.
Purchase a face mask
inside for $5-$7
20
SAVE $10 ON
THIS GREAT
GIFT FOR DAD!
%
OFF
• Plus Plus
Building Bricks
$34.95
• Bulk Yogurt Pretzels &
Chocolate Gummy Bears
685 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston, Oregon
(541) 567-6474
$1.00 OFF
Take & Bake Pizzas
Order online and save with flat-rate shipping at
Umatilla.PictorialBook.com
Order by mail now (discount expires 6/21/20):
☐ Ship my order to me: $34.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling per book. Order will be shipped to the address
below. Quantity: ___ x $41.90 = $______ total
Payment method: ☐ Check/Money Order
Credit card orders can be placed online: Umatilla.PictorialBook.com
Name
Address
1475 N. First St. in Hermiston
Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
with a lunch closure from 1-2 p.m.
$44.95
plus shipping
offer expires 6/21/20
• Now Brand
Vitamin D & D3
Supplements
• Kitchen Items & Gifts
Phone: (541) 289-3000
Email: uecbrc@gmail.com
“The
Lions
and
Kiwanis share a commu-
nity spirit of service and
volunteerism,” he said. “It
is impressive how quickly
the Lions have put together
this giving program in
answer to the virus. We
want to thank Hermiston
Lions, and those others as
well who, through support
of service groups, help to
make our communities a
better place.”
The Hermiston Lions
Club
still
welcomes
requests for assistance,
ranging from $500 to
$2,000, to support local
charities in the commu-
nities of Echo, Stanfi eld,
Hermiston, Umatilla, Irri-
gon and Boardman with
their extraordinary needs
related to COVID-19.
Applications
should
be sent to Bill Kuhn, club
president, at wjk.kuhn-
lawoffi ces.com. In that
email should be a descrip-
tion of the need, how
much is needed and con-
tact information.
541-567-0272
2150 N. First St., Hermiston
of Hermiston &
Hermiston Crematory
www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com
Hermiston Lions
provide support to
local food banks
We’re here to assist your
farm or small businesses
with Covid-19 relief.
City
State
Phone
E-mail
Zip
From the archives of Athena Public Library, City
of Echo, Milton-Freewater Area Historical Society,
Pendleton Round-up, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute
and Umatilla County Historical Society
Send form and payment to:
East Oregonian
211 SE Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801
or call 800-522-0255