NEWS
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021
Masks may be back for indoor fall sports
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
PENDLETON — Put your
mask on.
That is the word from the Ore-
gon School Activities Association
for indoor sports this fall.
The announcement came
shortly after Oregon Gov. Kate
Brown announced on Thursday,
July 29, that staff and students at
K-12 schools will have to wear
masks at school this fall.
The OSAA did say it is wait-
ing for more information from
the Oregon Health Authority, so
nothing is set in stone.
The mandate relates to just vol-
leyball in the fall, as football and
cross-country are held outdoors.
“Nothing is certain yet,” Pend-
leton Athletic Director Mike
Somnis said. “I know the gover-
nor put something out, and I’m
sure it will happen sometime, but
we have not gotten the directive
yet.”
In Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties, the number of COVID-19
cases has increased dramatically
in the last half of July. The two
counties had the highest number
of positive COVID-19 tests in the
state from July 11-22.
Longtime Riverside Athletic
Director Clair Costello said what-
ever the Oregon School Activi-
ties Association and the Oregon
Health Authority decide, they
have to comply.
“I have no say,” Costello said.
“It’s just whatever they say, we
have to do. If the administra-
tion says we wear them, we wear
them. It’s hard on the kids when
they have to run, especially if
they are asthmatic.”
Somnis agreed.
“I don’t think anyone wants to
put these things back on when it
comes to competition,” said Som-
nis, who noted that statewide ath-
DEQ issues
air quality
warning
HERMISTON HERALD
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Hermiston’s Cayleigh Miller (11) leaps to tip the ball over the net during the third set against the Bucks March
11, 2021, at Hermiston High School. Student athletes in the fall could have to again wear masks due to the
increasing rate of COVID-19 spread.
letic director meetings are set for
next week and may offer some
clarity.
While there has been mention
of athletes wearing masks, neither
athletic director has heard any-
thing where fans are concerned.
“With all the new COVID out-
breaks, I don’t know what we
will do with fans,” Costello said.
“Outside we will be OK. We are
waiting on Morrow County to see
what we have to do. There is no
arguing, you just do what they tell
you to do.”
The rules also may change
athletic schedules, which were a
jumble this past spring.
“In soccer and basketball,
we have overnight trips, which
we couldn’t have last season,”
Costello said. “We already lost a
football game in Week 3. We will
have to see what happens there.”
For Hermiston, which plays
in the Washington Interscholastic
Activities Association, the man-
date would be for home games
only, as the WIAA has not issued
any restrictions for fall sports.
The Bulldogs’ eight Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference partners —
Chiawana, Hanford, Kamiakin,
Kennewick, Pasco, Richland,
Southridge and Walla Walla —
are all in Washington.
Hermiston on the morning of
Monday, Aug. 2, had the second
worst air quality in Oregon.
The Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality issued an
air quality warning for Umatilla
County, Morrow County and the
rest of Northeastern Oregon due to
smoke from wildfires in Washing-
ton, Idaho and Canada, according
to a Monday, Aug. 2, press release.
DEQ anticipated keeping the
warning in place until the evening
of Aug. 5, but advised residents to
check the state’s Air Quality Index
because conditions can change
rapidly depending on the weather.
As of 11 a.m. Aug. 2, Northeast-
ern Oregon had some of the worst
air quality numbers in the state.
According to DEQ, Oakridge,
which was directly affected by the
Middle Fork Complex fire in east-
ern Lane County, had the worst
air quality statewide as of 11 a.m.
Aug. 2. And Hermiston was No. 2.
Pendleton’s air quality score was
much lower, but still at a “moder-
ate” level.
Poor air quality can irritate peo-
ple’s eyes and lungs and can espe-
cially affect younger children,
older adults, pregnant women and
people with health conditions.
DEQ is advising residents to stay
at home, avoid strenuous outdoor
activities and to use air filters and
air purifiers when possible.
Cloth and surgical masks won’t
protect residents from smoke parti-
cles, and while N95 masks or res-
pirators could provide a safeguard
against the smoke, they must be
properly fitted and worn.
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