NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
OLCC makes liquor
Family hopes T-shirts will aid in
delivery rules permanent
fi nding missing Hermiston woman
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
HERMISTON HERALD
Family members of Graciela Gar-
cia, who went missing from Hermis-
ton in November 2019, are ramping
up their efforts to help locate her.
Gabriela Bautista, Garcia’s
daughter, said the family has cre-
ated T-shirts and bumper stick-
ers that have Garcia’s photo and
details, such as her height, in hopes
that the items will help keep Gar-
cia’s case fresh in community mem-
bers’ minds and possibly spur a tip
that will fi nally lead to new infor-
mation. People can also purchase a
bracelet with the letter G on it in her
memory.
Bautista said her family is des-
perate for information about her
mother, but have not received any
new information from Hermiston
Police Department in months. She
said proceeds from the sale of the
item will be used to aid in the fami-
ly’s search.
“We’re looking to hire a lawyer,
an investigator, whatever we need to
fi gure out and do,” she said.
The items are for sale until Oct.
31 and will be shipped immediately
after. Bautista said the family plans
to hold a candlelight vigil for Garcia
sometime after that and hope people
who purchased shirts and bracelets
will wear them to the event.
The last confi rmed sighting of
Garcia, a hair stylist, was on Nov. 8,
2019. She was reported missing on
Nov. 11, and the Hermiston Police
Department has stated her posses-
sions were left behind. According
to a news release, the department
“considered her disappearance sus-
picious from the time of the ini-
tial report, and immediately opened
an investigation” aided by Oregon
State Police and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
Bautista asked anyone with
information about Garcia’s dis-
appearance to call the Hermis-
ton Police Department at 541-567-
5519. Items sold by the family can
be found online at etsy.com/shop/
JusticeForGraciela.
Contributed photo
Graciela Garcia, 49, of Hermiston, was last seen on Nov. 8, 2019.
Oregonians will be able
to get hard liquor delivered
directly to their home even
after the pandemic is over.
Earlier this month,
the Oregon Liquor Con-
trol Commission voted to
make rules allowing deliv-
ery and curbside pick-up
of distilled spirits perma-
nent, after voting in March
to temporarily allow those
options during the state’s
pandemic shutdown. The
OLCC did adjust the time
frame for those deliveries,
however, requiring they
stop at 10 p.m. instead of
2:30 a.m.
Those delivering the
alcohol must be at least
18 years old and must
check the identifi cation
of the customer receiving
the delivery or curbside
pick-up to make sure they
are at least 21 years of age
and not visibly intoxicated.
Brad Irwin owns Ore-
gon Spirit Distillers in
Bend and is president of the
Oregon Distillers Guild,
which includes Oregon
distilleries, such as Oregon
Grain Growers in Pendle-
ton. He said allowing curb-
side pick-up makes a lot of
sense even after concerns
about COVID-19 aren’t
prevalent.
“That’s kind of where
retail is going anyway,” he
said, referencing grocery
stores’ grocery pick-up
options that were put in
place before the pandemic.
He said delivery makes
sense too as an option for
people who might have a
disability that makes it dif-
fi cult to get in and out of a
car, or lack transportation.
Addiction advocates in
the state have criticized
the delivery options. After
Plan for
Peace of Mind
BURNS
MORTUARY
Boardman Senior Center to start offering meal delivery
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Boardman Senior Center
will start delivering meals to
Boardman seniors on Tues-
days and Thursdays starting
Oct. 6.
Seniors age 55 and older
can call the senior center at
541-481-3257 to have their
name and address put on the
delivery list. Meals are $4
apiece and payment is on
delivery (those older than 90
eat free).
Barbara Hug, operations
manager for the senior cen-
ter, said they are working
on putting a menu together
now, which will be pub-
lished in the Hermiston
Herald and North Morrow
Times.
“We’re going to have a
cook and a helper prepare
the meals, and they will be
fully masked,” she said.
The senior center used
to offer meals at the center
on Tuesdays and Thursdays,
but stopped that practice
when everything shut down
for the pandemic. Hug said
the Red Cross did pay them
to make and deliver some
meals to families displaced
by the heavy wind storm
that damaged homes in May.
She said seniors she has
spoken to have really missed
the meals and are excited to
at least have the option of
delivery, even if they can’t
sit down together.
the OLCC fi rst allowed
delivery of hard alcohol
in March, Oregon Recov-
ers Executive Director
Mike Marshal released a
statement saying the pan-
demic had already created
an atmosphere diffi cult
for those recovering from
addiction, as social dis-
tancing disrupted recov-
ery meetings and isolated
people from their support
networks.
“Recent efforts by the
Oregon Liquor Control
Commission to increase
alcohol sales during the
crisis have potentially
added fuel to the fi re,
which will have dire impli-
cations for our emergency
departments and hospitals
at the worst possible time,”
he said.
Irwin said he under-
stood the concerns, but
pointed out that people
had already been able to
order other alcoholic bev-
erages, such as beer. He
said members of the Ore-
gon Distillers Guild were
reporting deliveries made
up an average of 1-2% of
sales, with higher percent-
ages in large metro areas
and lower delivery sales in
rural areas.
He said although alco-
hol sales overall went up
during the early months
of the pandemic, people
have mostly stocked up on
“value brands” and distill-
ers have been struggling
fi nancially as the restau-
rants and bars they stock
have been closed or had
limited operations, and
people have avoided tast-
ing rooms.
“Yes, people bought
a lot of liquor, but they
bought a lot of Absolut
and Jack Daniels,” he said.
“They didn’t buy a lot of
Oregon brands.”
“I think they miss the vis-
iting and the camaraderie”
she said.
Hug said now that Mor-
row County is in Phase 2,
she hopes that the senior
center will be able to start
serving some meals at the
center again at some point in
the future, in a group of 20
people spaced 6 feet apart.
For now, however, meals
will only be available for
delivery to those who have
called and placed an order.
of Hermiston
&
Hermiston
Crematory
685 W. Hermiston Ave.
Hermiston, Oregon
(541) 567-6474
www.burnsmortuaryhermiston.com
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Mon: 8-6
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Sat: 8-12
Emergency Service
541.567.1138
80489 Hwy 395 N
Hermiston
www.oregontrailvet.com
Due to the
COVID-19
pandemic, animal
shelters need
our help more
than ever. Please
donate to your
local shelter, or
offer to foster an
animal in need.
We are opening the Museum Store
and Kinship Café for limited hours,
Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-2pm.
The permanent exhibits are not open.
Kinship Café is offering take-out orders only,
with a limited menu. Call 541.429.7702
to have your order ready upon arrival.
Please note that safety measures will be in force
with masks and social distancing required.
We look forward to seeing everyone again!
Museum Store, Kinship Café Only
Open limited hours: Tues-Sat, 11am-2pm
Exhibits remain closed
Pendleton, OR | www.tamastslikt.org | 541.429.7700
If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application.
If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com
or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
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