BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
Maxwell Market sees slower season
Vendors follow social
distancing guidelines
and booths are set along
the walls, 6 feet apart
By NADA SEWIDAN
STAFF WRITER
Business at the Maxwell
Market has been slow this
summer compared to previ-
ous years, according to sev-
eral vendors.
They attributed the slow-
down in business to the pan-
demic. The market included
its usual live music, produce
vendors, bakery, food trucks
and more on Thursday, July
23, but this year’s market
features added safety mea-
sures to protect vendors and
customers.
Booths and tables were
spread 6 feet apart and lined
against the wall. Floor mark-
ers indicated where peo-
ple could stand with safe
distancing. A few booths
were also set up directly in
front of the pavilion. People
attending the market were
asked to wear a face cov-
ering prior to entering the
event space and before inter-
acting with vendors.
Jackie Kerns, a vendor
for Way of Life Farms, said
that week in particular had
been slow compared to past
markets in the season.
“It hasn’t been as busy as
it’s usually been,” she said.
“People are slowly trickling
in and out, but last week, it
was a lot faster. There were
a lot more people coming
in.”
Kerns said it’s hard to
hear people through the
mask and the distance, and
she needs to raise her voice
IF YOU GO
The next market is set
for 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday,
Aug. 6 at Maxwell Pavil-
ion, 145 N. First Place in
Hermiston.
a lot to be able to commu-
nicate. In regards to busi-
ness, Kerns said they did
not make as much money as
they normally would have
this time in the season.
“We’ve haven’t made as
much today as we’ve usu-
ally made,” she said. “Hope-
fully, next week it picks up
more.”
Teresa Engbretson, a fl o-
ral vendor for My Garden
Overfl oweth, has attended
the market as a vendor on
and off for four years and
said this has been a slow
season business-wise. She
said she doesn’t think a lot
of people know that the mar-
ket is open for the season.
In terms of people wear-
ing masks and maintaining
6 feet of distance, she said
everyone is doing well on
that end.
Lucy Alvarez, who
makes Mama Lucy’s Salsa,
agreed with other vendors
about the slower pace.
“With this pandemic
people don’t want to come
out,” she said. “It’s been
different.”
The market normally
runs from 4-8 p.m. each
Thursday at the Maxwell
Pavilion, 145 N. First Place
in Hermiston. The market
has been canceled for Thurs-
day, July 30, but organizers
plan to reopen it on Thurs-
day, Aug. 6.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Shoppers wander the booths at the Maxwell Market on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
Signs encourage social distancing at the Maxwell Market in Hermiston on Thursday, July 23, 2020.
Workplace outbreaks include Hermiston nursing homes
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Umatilla County Public
Health continues to report
deaths at Hermiston nursing
homes after an outbreak at
Regency Hermiston Nursing
and Rehabilitation Center.
The county has reported
six deaths of people with
COVID-19 that took place
at Regency Hermiston, and
on July 28 reported a death
at Guardian Angel Homes in
Hermiston.
Regency Hermiston had
37 cases linked to it as of
the Oregon Health Authori-
ty’s July 22 weekly COVID-
19 report. The state will
release an updated report of
outbreaks at worksites and
congregate care facilities on
Wednesday, July 29.
The number in the report
includes all cases and deaths
of residents, staff and close
contacts of residents or staff
who appear to have con-
tracted the virus from them.
David Bake of Regency
Hermiston said in an email
that the facility had been
working hard since March
to prevent the introduction
of COVID-19 through vari-
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Regency Hermiston Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has
been linked to 37 COVID-19 cases, according to a weekly
report published by the Oregon Health Authority on July 22,
2020.
ous measures, such as tem-
perature checks and regular
testing of staff and residents.
He said their thoughts and
prayers were with those
who tested positive and their
families.
After their fi rst posi-
tive test on July 8, he said,
they worked with the health
department to complete test-
ing on residents, and are
in the process of fi nalizing
the remainder of the staff
testing. Employees who
tested positive or are show-
ing symptoms are quar-
antining at home, and test
results have been commu-
nicated with families of the
residents.
Bake said Regency
Hermiston will continue
to follow Centers for Dis-
ease Control and Prevention
guidelines.
“We will continue to work
with both Oregon Health
Authority and Department
of Health offi cials to take
the appropriate steps to pro-
tect our residents and staff
members, and to meet this
extraordinary challenge in
a compassionate and under-
standing way,” he said.
“We want to thank each
and every member of the
community that have con-
nected with us and given
support. We want to thank
every staff member at
Regency Hermiston for their
amazing and true dedica-
tion and caring for our resi-
dents every day despite their
own concerns and family
responsibilities.”
On July 28, the county
announced three new deaths
and 47 new confi rmed cases
of COVID-19, bringing the
county’s totals up to 1,704
confi rmed cases, 103 pre-
sumptive cases, 13 hospital-
izations and 19 deaths. The
county lists 1,479 cases as
inactive.
According to OHA, Uma-
tilla County’s 17th COVID-
19 death was an 84-year-
old woman with underlying
health conditions who tested
positive July 22 and died
July 25 at Guardian Angel
Homes in Hermiston.
The county’s 18th death
was an 87-year-old woman
with underlying health con-
ditions who tested posi-
tive July 16 and died July
27 at Regency Hermiston
Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center.
The 19th death was a
94-year-old woman who
tested positive July 22 and
died July 28 at Regency
in Hermiston. Her death
marked the sixth death of a
COVID-19 positive patient
the county has announced at
Regency.
Also included in OHA’s
weekly report are work-
place outbreaks of COVID-
19 where at least fi ve cases
have been linked to a site
that has 30 or more employ-
ees. Workplaces remain
on the list until they have
gone 30 days without a new
case linked to them, either
through an employee or
close contact.
Eastern Oregon Correc-
tional Institution remains on
the list. Superintendent Ron
Miles provided up-to-date
information on Wednesday,
July 22, stating by email that
there are 33 positive cases
at EOCI, including fi ve
staff, and 48 adults in cus-
tody who have tested nega-
tive. Fifty-three tests at the
institution are still pending
results, and approximately
700 inmates are in quaran-
tine status.
Other Umatilla and Mor-
row county worksites listed
in the July 22 report are:
• Lamb Weston, Herm-
iston, 142 cases
Trucking,
• Medelez
Hermiston, 38 cases
• Columbia River Pro-
cessing
(Tillamook),
Boardman, 30 cases
Foods,
• Shearer’s
Hermiston, 27 cases
• Walmart Distribution
Center, Hermiston, 23
cases
Staffi ng,
• Atkinson
Hermiston, 19 cases
• Good Shepherd Medi-
cal Center, Hermiston, 15
cases
• Oregon Potato Com-
pany, Boardman, 12 cases
• JM Eagle, Umatilla,
10 cases
• Walmart store, Herm-
iston, 10 cases
• Two Rivers Correc-
tional Institution, Uma-
tilla, 8 cases
Homes,
• Marlette
Hermiston, 6 cases
Nutrient cycling conference accepting abstracts
HERMISTON HERALD
A free, virtual Regional
Nutrient Cycling Soil
Health and Food Safety
Conference will take place
in the Pacifi c Northwest on
Oct. 27-29.
The conference is accept-
ing abstracts now through
Sept. 18. It will be targeted
toward growers, extension
centers, irrigation districts,
environmental
organiza-
tions, agronomists and oth-
ers with an interest in soil
health. Opportunities for
continuing education cred-
its are expected, according
to a fl yer for the event.
According to the bro-
chure, the conference will
include virtual tours of
farms, and discussions on
topics, including debunking
the myths of manure, tech-
nologies for capture and
recycling of manure phos-
phorus and solids; carbon
sequestering and storage,
predicting nitrogen miner-
alization in organic farm-
ing systems; safe use of
compost/manure for vege-
table crops, economics, and
nutrient cycling in grazing
systems; irrigation manage-
ment and food safety.
Funding is provided by
Western SARE, and the
conference is being orga-
nized by the United States
Department of Agriculture
and western universities,
including Oregon State
University. Ray Quin, an
agronomist at the Hermis-
ton Agricultural Research
and Extension Center, is
one of the organizers and
presenters.
For more information, or
to submit an abstract or reg-
ister, visit extension.wsu.
edu/pmwncfsc.
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