NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2020
Outdoor recreation considered lower risk
By NADA SEWIDAN
and ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITERS
Outdoor
recreation
and sports, such as tennis
and mini-golf, are consid-
ered lower risk activities
for contracting COVID-
19 than indoor activities,
according to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention.
How the virus is trans-
mitted outdoors versus
indoors is a major factor
in assessing risk of con-
traction, according to the
Oregon Health Author-
ity. Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Director Joseph
Fiumara said it is generally
easier to spread the virus in
confined spaces, especially
in crowded settings with
little air flow.
“Outdoor recreation is
considered to be lower risk
generally because there is
more ability to stay distant,”
he said. “Outside envi-
ronments, with increased
air flow, increased sun-
light, decreased surfaces in
which to hide, all help to
reduce the risk.”
Although outdoor recre-
ation is deemed lower risk,
it is dependent on the space,
duration of time spent in
that space and how many
people are there. Fiumara
Hiring:
Continued from Page A1
wide decreased from 14.9%
to 14.2% and is expected to
keep decreasing in the com-
ing months.
In Oregon, beside lei-
sure and hospitality, indus-
tries that gained jobs in May
were mainly health care and
social assistance. Bechtoldt
said she anticipates a hiring
surge in the coming months
in construction, manufac-
turing, and retail and trade.
As more nonessential busi-
nesses reopen, jobs in restau-
rants, shops, hair salons and
other retailers also should
become available.
“As far as other indus-
tries, we expect some jobs
Council:
Continued from Page A1
more permanent setup.
Spencer told the coun-
cil that staff and the mobile
vendors had examined 13
different sites around town,
and the top three options
were improving the current
location on Orchard Avenue,
moving the trucks to New-
port Park or moving them
to Butte Park off Seventh
Street.
Spencer said Newport
Park was the least viable
option as only four trucks
would fit in the space avail-
able, and it would move
them to a residential area
with relatively low traffic.
The Butte Park alterna-
tive was the most expensive
option, Spencer said, based
on the paving and utility
work that would be needed,
and would bring the trucks
to a less visible location.
But vendors would be able
to keep an eye on the splash
park and Funland play-
ground there during the day,
and could do good business
when the park is crowded
during soccer games.
The third option would
be to turn the parking lot on
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan, File
People walk the trails at Riverfront Park in Hermiston in early May.
ited and there’s usually a
safe distance between each
player. This is a lower risk
venture than some indoor
entertainment and recre-
ation opportunities, such
as bowling and ice skat-
ing, where the air remains
stagnant and the space is
more confined, according
to Fiumara.
Other outdoor recre-
ation activities and sports
that are permitted by the
Oregon Health Author-
ity under Phase 2 include
tennis clubs, playgrounds,
volleyball, youth clubs and
summer camps.
The basic guidelines for
the state of Oregon under
Phase 2 includes limit-
ing outdoor gatherings to
250 people or less, granted
there’s enough space for
appropriate social distanc-
ing measures.
However, there’s con-
flicting guidelines for dif-
ferent counties in Oregon,
according to Fiumara.
He said the health
department has been work-
ing closely with the cities
of Hermiston and Pendle-
ton specifically to help fig-
ure out the guidelines for
their aquatic centers.
“The way some of the
guidelines were rolled out
was not all in concert with
itself,” he said.
said it also depends on the
sport or activity. If it’s a
contact sport that makes it
difficult to maintain a dis-
tance of at least 6 feet, then
the sport is no longer con-
sidered lower risk.
“Activities with no/min-
imal contact or close prox-
imity are considered to
be the lowest risk,” Fiu-
mara said. “As the proxim-
ity and contact increase, so
does the risk. Additionally,
strenuous activity/breath-
ing may help to expel the
virus further than day-
to-day activities and may
to return but it’s too early
to say what the long term
impact COVID-19 will have
on the local economy,” she
said.
Area businesses currently
hiring include Nookies,
Shari’s, The Pheasant, and
Wildhorse Resort & Casino
in Pendleton.
Although Oregon has
seen job gains, Bechtoldt
said there were still substan-
tial job losses in Oregon,
more specifically in govern-
ment and education.
Permanent job losses,
jobs that no longer exist, are
going to take a long time to
regain.
“I think statewide it’s
going to take a long time
to recover all the jobs that
have been lost in the three
months,” she said. “This is
a historic loss and Orego-
nians are suffering the eco-
nomic realities of being
unemployed.”
Overall, job losses since
April are 43,500, accord-
ing to the Oregon Employ-
ment Department. Umatilla
County lost 3,520 jobs in
one month. Leisure and hos-
pitality, which includes hotel
and restaurant jobs, lost 940
jobs. Tribal government lost
800 jobs, manufacturing lost
690 jobs, and retail and trade
lost 230 jobs.
The employment depart-
ment has been experienc-
ing high volumes of calls
and delayed payments, but
Bechtoldt noted their work-
source centers are ready to
provide job seekers with
services and additional
assistance.
Reannah Thurman sets up outdoor seating at OMG! Burgers & Brew in downtown Pendleton
on May 15, 2020, as the restaurant prepared to open for dine-in service.
Orchard where the trucks are
currently into an RV park
style set-up where each food
truck would have its own
designated space with utility
hookup, and the city could
add further improvements
such as shade and restrooms.
Spencer and Parks and
Recreation Director Larry
Fetter said Orchard was
the recommended location
because it was the most vis-
ible, customers were used
to it, it would cost less to
upgrade and it helped create
a more “robust” downtown
district.
“There are definitely sea-
sonal advantages to (Butte
Park), but from a year-round
point of view and then the
opportunity to bring people
downtown, at least from a
staff point of view, it really
kind of grew to be our favor-
ite,” Fetter said.
Patrick Hunt, owner of
Southern Twain BBQ and
the current manager of the
pod, said that was the option
he and the other vendors
favored. He said said Butte
Park started out as his favor-
ite but he realized it was “off
the beaten path” and they
might lose customers. He
supported enhancing the cur-
rent site with utility hook-
ups, shade and a better park-
ing setup.
“Anything is subject to
change, but I’m just a lit-
tle worried that if we move
right now the clientele won’t
move with us,” he said.
Mayor David Drotzmann
said he liked the Butte Park
idea, because it was sur-
rounded by grass and trees
instead of a “streetscape.”
The council will vote on a
proposal at a later date.
On Monday the council
also chose a design for the
wayfinding sign program
that the Urban Renewal
Agency is launching this
year, using money raised
from the urban renewal dis-
trict downtown. The city has
been working with consul-
tants from Merje Environ-
ments and Experiences on
a project that will create a
unified, decorative look for
signs around town directing
people to features such as
parks, trails, schools, public
parking lots and the library.
Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce Director Kim-
berly Nevil said she appre-
ciated the city’s work on
the project and was glad the
chamber had been asked to
participate in planning. She
said when visitors come to
need additional physical
distancing to counteract.”
Tennis, for example,
is a low-risk outdoor rec-
reation sport because the
number of players are lim-
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
town for sports tournaments
and other events, the cham-
ber gets a steady stream of
calls from people asking
where things are.
“I truly believe the way-
finding signage will increase
the livability of Hermiston
and help with tourism,” she
said.
During the time for coun-
cilor remarks at the end of
the meeting, Councilor Roy
Barron asked the council to
consider providing some sort
of support, such as a letter
or official resolution, for the
Oregon Worker Relief Fund.
The fund provides finan-
cial support to undocu-
mented immigrants and their
family members who have
been impacted by COVID-
19 but are not eligible to
receive stimulus checks,
unemployment
insurance
and other benefits provided
through the federal CARES
Act.
Barron said he was ner-
vous bringing up the topic,
since he knows the subject
of undocumented Ameri-
cans can be controversial,
but it means a lot to him
and to many members of the
community.
“If we can endorse the
relief fund I think it sends
a very powerful message to
the state that even rural areas
like Hermiston understand
have a lot of people in our
agricultural sector and just in
our community that mean a
lot to us,” he said.
Drotzmann
said
he
applauded Barron for his
bravery and conviction in
being willing to start a pub-
lic conversation about some-
thing that can be controver-
sial, and said he thought it
was appropriate to send a let-
ter to state Rep. Greg Smith
and Sen. Bill Hansell thank-
ing them for their work on
the state’s relief package that
included $10 million for the
relief fund, and voicing sup-
port for continued state aid to
the fund.
Councilor Jackie Myers
also said she thought thank-
ing Smith and Hansell was
appropriate. Councilor Man-
uel Gutierrez said many of
the people the fund helps
work hard in difficult cir-
cumstances to provide for
their families but haven’t
been able to see the same
relief from the government
that other Americans have.
“People don’t realize how
hard you work in the fields,”
he said. “I used to work in
the fields.”
PET OF THE WEEK
All Fuzzball Rescue
Animals have been
adopted!
We will have
more soon, so
keep watch on
our website.
I T ’ S K ITTEN
S EASON !
Donations of
formula and kitten
food are greatly
appreciated.
Please go to fuzzballrescue.come and fill out application to adopt. If you are not able to
adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit our website or you can mail in donations to
Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838