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COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2020 HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9 The Arc bingo goes dark during pandemic Nonprofi t organization taps into fi nancial reserves to survive The Arc of Umatilla County installs offi cers, directors at annual meeting By TAMMY MALGESINI FOR THE HERMISTON HERALD Guidelines imposed because of COVID-19 have altered how people work, socialize and participate in recreational activities. Stay home orders, social dis- tancing and restrictions on group gatherings have also changed how people engage in service organizations and volunteer activities. This series in the Hermiston Her- ald highlights how area ser- vice clubs and groups have responded to the pandemic. The familiar murmur that precedes the exuberant sound of someone calling out “bingo” has been qui- eted for the past 36 weeks at games sponsored by The Arc Umatilla County. The nonprofi t organization was forced to cancel its ongoing fundraiser with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jan Schroth, outgoing The Arc president, said the group’s mission is to advo- cate for the rights and full participation of all chil- dren and adults with intel- lectual and developmental disabilities. “Together with our net- work of members, we improve systems of supports and services; connect fam- ilies; inspire communities and infl uence public policy,” the rest of the mission state- ment reads. Schroth said The Arc Umatilla County typically serves between 200-300 people and families through- out the year. The global pan- demic, she said, caused all fundraising and programs with the local organization to come to a screeching halt. The Arc’s annual Sum- mer Recreation and Inclu- sion Program was among the coronavirus casual- HERMISTON HERALD The annual meet- ing for The Arc of Uma- tilla County was held on Nov. 10, 2020, at The Arc Building, 215 W. Orchard Ave., Hermiston. The meeting, which included installation of offi cers and directors for the next year, was delayed by fi ve months due to COVID-19 restrictions. Attendance at the meet- ing was sparse yet produc- tive, according to a news release, and included a report by outgoing pres- ident Jan Schroth, which emphasized the lack of revenue and, despite mea- sures to reduce expendi- tures, a net loss of over $12,000. Directors for the next year are Kirsten Kin- sel, Shalena Myers, Jolene Pooley, Tasha Blenyenberg, Nichole Malmberg, TJ Smith, Jana Smith and Miranda Rec- tor. Offi cers include Kristi Smalley (treasurer), Joyce Beemer (secretary), Jan Schroth (outgoing pres- ident), Debbie Herrera (vice president) and Anna Dickman (president). Hermiston Herald, File Alisia Mendoza of Hermiston calls out bingo numbers while running the game at The Arc of Umatilla County’s bingo night in Hermiston in 2012. The nonprofi t has had to suspend bingo in 2020 due to COVID-19. ties this year. The free two- week event, Schroth said, is offered during summer vacation to families who have school-aged children. “We are not having any of our regular activities that people have come to enjoy, like dances and parties,” she said. “We have not been able to offer any trainings.” In addition to the weekly bingo games, which began in November 1977, The Arc hasn’t been able to book the use of its West Orchard Ave- nue building. Revenue from rental fees, Schroth said, is how the organization covers costs associated with main- taining the building. General membership meetings, Schroth said, hav- en’t been held since the onset of restrictions on in-person gatherings. And she said it hasn’t been practical to hold them online because many of the members don’t have access to computers or the internet. After a delay of fi ve months, treasurer Kristi Smalley said The Arc was fi nally able to hold its annual meeting. Atten- dance at the Nov. 10 gath- ering was sparse, yet pro- ductive, she said. Despite measures to reduce expen- ditures, Schroth shared that the group has seen a net loss of more than $12,000. By tapping into its fi nan- cial reserves, Smalley and Schroth said they should be able to meet expenses for at least the next few months. The annual meeting included the installation of offi cers and directors, as well as discussing what pro- grams are resuming. Given the sometimes fl uid parame- ters regarding limitations on public gatherings, people are encouraged to check with The Arc for up-to-date infor- mation. Less than 20 hours after announcing plans for an upcoming The Arc Activ- ity Night, the event was canceled due to Gov. Kate Brown’s Nov. 13 announce- ment of a two-week “coro- navirus freeze.” Schroth, however, is optimistic about The Arc’s future. Looking ahead, she said the board hopes to resume larger in-person activities. “The people that come to our activities miss the opportunity to visit with each other,” Schroth said. Also, she acknowledges that the lack of funding has been hard. Schroth is a bit concerned with the higher utility bills that come with the winter weather. While they don’t know the time- line, she said the board is The Arc Umatilla County/Contributed Photo Directors for The Arc Umatilla County for 2020-21 are (left to right) Kirsten Kinsel, Shalena Myers, Jolene Pooley, Tasha Blenyenberg and Nichole Malmberg (not pictured: TJ Smith, Jana Smith and Miranda Rector). The Arc Umatilla County/Contributed Photo The Arc Umatilla County offi cers for 2020-21 include (left to right) Kristi Smalley (treasurer), Joyce Beemer (secretary), Jan Schroth (outgoing president), Debbie Herrera (vice president) and Anna Dickman (president). committed to resuming its bingo games when it’s deemed safe. “The Arc has been in Umatilla County since 1967 and we will continue to be here and hopefully stron- ger as we navigate this new challenge,” Schroth said. For more information about The Arc Umatilla County, including how to make a donation, visit www. thearcumatilla.org, email arc@eotnet.net or search Facebook. Wildhorse Foundation grants aid dental and mental health programs in Eastern Oregon HERMISTON HERALD The Eastern Oregon Healthy Living Alliance has received a $1,500 from the Wildhorse Foundation to support dental and men- tal health programs in East- ern Oregon, the organiza- tion announced in a press release. “This funding supports the work EOHLA, Advan- tage Dental from Den- taQuest, InterMountain Edu- cation Service District, and community partners carry out in providing dental ser- vices, dental education, and mental health fi rst aid train- ing,” the release stated. Funding to support den- tal programs is being dis- tributed to Healthy, Happy Smiles (HHS) and Every- body Brush! in partnership with Advantage Dental and the IMESD. The programs include free dental screen- ings, fl uoride varnish, fol- low-up for students identi- fi ed to have urgent dental care needs and more, in addi- tion to education outreach events that include materials on brushing, fl ossing, fl uo- ride, orthodontics, tobacco’s effect on the mouth, sugary foods and drinks, and more. The support for men- tal health programs is being distributed to Mental Health First Aid, which according to the release is “a nationally evidence-based program that gives people the skills to identify, understand, and respond to individuals who may be experiencing signs of a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.” Training sessions are available for adults, youth and teens, the release stated, and focuses on teaching how to apply “fi rst aid” and con- nect people with appropriate care. The Eastern Oregon Healthy Living Alliance was formed in 2014 to support health initiatives in Eastern Oregon, and its board has representation from each of the 12 counties it represents. The Wildhorse Founda- tion receives 3% of the net gaming revenues from Wild- horse Resort & Casino run by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation outside Pendle- ton, and uses the money for grants to charitable causes in Umatilla, Union, Mor- row and Wallowa coun- ties in Oregon and Benton and Walla Walla counties in Washington. RECYCLE! CARDBOARD • NEWSPAPER • GLASS • TIN • ALUMINUM EIGHT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! 1. Hermiston - 220 W. Harper Rd. 2. Stanfield - W. Wood (by Grange Hall) 3. Echo - 321 W. Main St. (next to Fire Hall) 4. Umatilla - Hwy 730 (next to Columbia Harvest Foods) 5. Umatilla County - Hwy 395 N. (next to transfer station) 6. Umatilla County - 81144 N. Hwy 395 7. Irrigon - 198 W. Columbia Lane 8. Boardman - SE Front Street REMEMBER: CONTAMINATION TURNS RECYCLABLES INTO TRASH! Sanitary Disposal, Inc. Hermiston/McNary Hwy • Hermiston 541-567-8842 With more than WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 HermistonHerald.com EasternOregonMarketplace.com UPDATES Hermiston Herald wins 2020 General Excellence award Hermiston The Herald was notifi ed shortly before its print deadline on Tues- day, Sept. 29, that the newspaper has won the 2020 Gen- eral Excellence Award for its category in the Newspaper Oregon Publishers Associa- tion’s Better Newspa- per Contest. The Herald placed fi rst over newspapers in size category D, while the Hood River News came in sec- ond and the Newport News-Times came in third. The annual con- test for newspapers in Oregon looked at a sample of newspa- pers in February, July and November of 2019 to determine the winners. The Herald’s sis- ter paper, the East Oregonian, also won fi rst place for Gen- eral Excellence in its size category, beating out the Daily Astorian and Grants Pass Daily Courier. also Newspapers submitted samples of articles, photos, spe- cial sections and front judg- for designs page ing in individual cat- egories. The Herm- iston Herald placed third for Best Cover- age of Business and Economic Issues, plus second and third for Best Spot News Cov- erage. It was unknown as of deadline which qualifi ed articles the paper for those awards. The Oregon News- Publishers paper a trade is Association association of news- papers in Oregon, organized to promote common issues of interest to print media. For more informa- tion and results from the contest, see next Hermiston week’s Herald. Now you to can listen com Staff photo by Jade McDowell Volunteers pick up litter along the railroad tracks in Hermiston during the I Love My City event on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. herald. ton ve hermis e lo Spreading th in English and Spanish! for good deeds teers volun ‘I Love My City’ event rallies GET INVOLVED By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR It’s been a rough year, but mem- bers of several area churches were determined to make it a brighter one for Hermiston residents on Saturday, Sept. 26. “A lot of folks are just strug- gling mentally so much because of the quarantine, and this is just our small way to bring some sun- shine,” said New Hope Commu- nity Church Pastor Chris Hankel. Volunteers spread out across the city, doing good deeds as they went. Some cleared weeds out Staff photo by Jade McDowell of the landscaping along High- way 395 or picked up litter along Ace Hardware parking lot in Hermiston Volunteers wash a car for free in the the railroad tracks through town. Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020. during the I Love My City event on Others held a free car wash, set up drive-thru prayer booths, paid for peoples’ laundry at local laun- dromats or paid for meals in the McDonald’s drive-thru. The day of service was part of a larger movement called I Love My City, which local churches partnered to form in 2016 to bring hope to people after acts of vio- lence rocked the town. They have held several events since then, during the I Love My City event — Claudia Meza, who washed cars including free gift-wrapping out- To get information about future events or to sign up to participate, go to www.ilovehermiston.com. side of Walmart during the Christ- mas season and an annual spring cleanup. The spring cleanup was canceled due to the pandemic, but Hankel said they decided to bring back a smaller version of it this month. He didn’t know exactly how many people ended up volunteer- ing on Saturday, but said he knew there were about 100 that came from New Hope. churches involved Other included Hermiston Assembly of God, Faith Presbyterian, Rekin- dle, Hermiston Seventh-Day Adventist and Templo Fe Esper- anza Y Amor. “We love Hermiston and we want people to know God loves Hermiston,” Hankel said. On Sept. 26, while helping wash cars for free in the parking Look for the new Trinity “PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GRATEFUL AND HAPPY AND THAT’S BEEN THE BIGGEST BLESSING, SEEING PEOPLE HAPPY.” AUDIO PLAYER at the start of hermistonherald.com and select es ical typ news r stori ‘Not you uage lang the d’ you prefer 90-year-ol for story playback Hermiston woman celebrates birthday with former students around the world See Love, Page A10 joined a virtual party over Zoom for her 90th birthday. She spent two hours greeting students by them with name and reminiscing er anoth It’s their time in her classroom about just decades ago. iston By JADE MCDOWELL every stu- the Herm “She remembered way that NEWS EDITOR dent,” Yen Sullivan, a former stu- our shocked.” was “I ing said. bring is was ld Doherty Hera dent, Teachers come and go through- raised in Hermis- out a student’s career, but many her retire- after es edu- ton and returned to you stori people have that one special unity but in between, comm ment in 1995, cator who shaped their life in a most of her time teach- Photo contributed by Kara Campbell Mary Doherty is pictured in her classroom INSIDE in Bahrain during her tenure there. A3 Hermiston School District breaks ground on a new softball complex A3 Distance learning brings challenges for schools’ support staff she spent way they’ll never forget. overseas, in countries includ- Mary Doherty is one of those ing ing Venezuela, France, Belgium, teachers. Spain and Bahrain. On Sept. 23, hundreds of Japan, Doherty’s former students living See Teacher, Page A10 countries in more than 30 different A7 Umatilla Electric Cooperative moves to an independent model of power purchases A8 Hermiston City Council cre- ates a local improvement district for industrial park 13,700 copies of the Hermiston Herald now mailed directly to homes in west Umatilla County and north Morrow County, there has never been an easier way to get your message into thousands of local homes each week. Reach new customers in new ways with the help of advertising professionals at the Hermiston Herald. Jeanne Jewett Angela Treadwell 541-564-4531 541-966-0827
