OFF PAGE ONE
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
Mandates:
Continued from Page A1
percentage of being killed
by an asteroid impact while
you go about your day.
There have been no con-
firmed deaths from the
Pfizer or Moderna shots.
With that said, VAERS,
the Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention’s adverse
effects reporting database,
had just shy of 6,500 people
who have reported a death
within a certain time frame
of receiving the COVID-19
vaccine.
It is important to note,
however, that these deaths
are currently being investi-
gated and could come from
any number of reasons, and
are not confirmed to have
been caused by the vac-
cine. Regardless, this num-
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2021
ber makes up 0.0018%
of administered doses —
roughly the same odds of
dying in a tornado.
“When you look at the
data of who’s ending up
in the hospital and who’s
dying, the numbers are over-
whelmingly the unvacci-
nated population,” Hitzman
said.
And, since no vaccine
has been approved for kids
12 and under, they have no
way to protect themselves,
said Hitzman, except for the
recommendations that have
been promoted — masks,
social distancing, good
hygiene and vaccines for
those old enough.
“Those of us in the edu-
cation field, those of us in
the healthcare field, we’re
all mandatory reporters and
what that basically means is
that we have an obligation to
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Dr. Jon Hitzman, the public health officer for Umatilla County, speaks Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, to a group of educators, parents
and community members at a meeting with Hermiston School District officials at Armand Larive Middle School.
protect your children when
they are under our care,”
Hitzman said.
Officials focus on keeping
children in schools
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Hermiston School District Superintendent Tricia Mooney
speaks during a community forum and question-and-answer
session Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, at Armand Larive Middle
School in Hermiston. The event, held in conjunction with
the Umatilla County Public Health Department, offered
community members an opportunity to ask questions related
to COVID-19 as it pertains to returning to school.
Despite the frustrations
and anger over the vac-
cine mandate, nearly every-
one recognized the impor-
tance of getting kids back in
school after a year of hybrid
and distance learning. This
sentiment was emphasized
by Superintendent Mooney,
who said that her main pri-
ority was getting kids in
school.
“We know, without a
doubt, that education was
not the same last year when
our students were in com-
prehensive distance learn-
ing,” she said, adding that
they would do whatever it
took to safely get kids learn-
ing in person.
She said she was proud
of how hard the district’s
employees had worked over
the last 18 months and how
they’ve stepped up, made
plans, adapted and made
new plans. But, she said that
even though she wasn’t a fan
of Gov. Brown taking away
local control, she said they
would enforce the new mask
and vaccine mandates.
“I want to be very clear
that I value our staff and all
of their hard work, however,
I am licensed in the state of
Oregon; I am legally bound
to follow the laws,” she said.
“That is a reality and my
intent is to make sure that
we keep our students in per-
son, in school, every day.
That is our goal. That is our
collective commitment as a
district.”
“While this isn’t start-
ing how we had hoped it
would,” Mooney said, “I’m
looking forward to having
our kids face to face.”
Count Pendleton Super-
intendent Chris Fritsch as
one of the school officials
unsurprised by the gover-
nor’s announcement.
Considering the recent
announcements from Cali-
fornia Gov. Gavin Newsom
and Washington Gov. Jay
Inslee that they were requir-
ing their teachers to get the
shot, Fritsch anticipated
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
soon would follow. While
he understood the personal
feelings people may have
about vaccine requirements,
Fritsch said the most effec-
tive tools at limiting the
spread of the virus have been
vaccinations and masking.
“We need to do every-
thing we can to keep schools
open,” he said.
While the district could
potentially lose staff who
refuse to get vaccinated,
Fritsch said the district will
have to deal with vacancies
as they come. When Uma-
tilla County Public Health
did vaccination drives for
educators in January and
February, Fritsch estimated
that between 75%-80% of
Pendleton school staff were
given the shot, a number that
may have risen since then if
staff opted to get vaccinated
privately.
Fritsch said Pendleton
also plans to comply with
the governor’s mask man-
date. The state had previ-
ously provided local school
districts with the ability to
create their own masking
guidelines, and although
Pendleton initially decided
to make masks optional in
the fall, Fritsch said he was
reconsidering the decision
as local cases began to surge
again in the summer.
As cases and hospital-
izations began to rise as the
vaccination rate remained
well below state average,
Fritsch said he considered
instituting a mask require-
ment at the local level, but
the governor’s announce-
ment rendered those discus-
sions moot.
— Staff Writer Antonio
Sierra contributed to
this feature.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Youth livestock handlers return to their stalls after showing Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at the
Morrow County Fair in Heppner.
Fair:
Continued from Page A1
been under the tutelage of some pretty amaz-
ing adults that then become the next genera-
tion of producers.”
She said while numbers in 4-H and FFA
dropped a bit because of COVID-19 in 2020,
it has seen a large increase in renewed inter-
est lately.
“I think it’s it’s the value of the work
ethic,” she said, “the camaraderie amongst
parents and community and the opportunity
to really teach our kids where their food and
fiber comes from.”
Beth Dickenson, the county’s FFA advi-
sor and one of Heideman’s friends from their
time at OSU, spoke about how it’s more
important than ever to get children involved
in agriculture.
“The more time that goes on, the less con-
nection that more and more people have,”
Dickenson said. “And so then this becomes
a novelty and a misunderstood industry. You
want to eat and you want clothes, and you
want lumber to build your home or your
remodel, but you don’t know where it comes
from. And then you pass legislation and vote
for legislation and it goes against all the
things that you want.”
“We are all in this together,” Heideman
said. “We all make sure kids are doing well.
We are concerned about their safety and
well-being. We want them to be extremely
competitive but ultimately our job is to raise
the next generation of Morrow County citi-
zens. That’s our job.”
Heideman said there’s a ton of work that
goes into events such as the Morrow County
Fair, 4-H and FFA programs and it wouldn’t
be possible without the copious number of
volunteers.
“We have some amazing volunteers who
are helping these kids be successful in their
arena,” she said, “and it’s a real team effort.”
Many of the volunteers are kids as well
— some who showed started working in the
barn as early as 5:30 a.m. and stayed until
after 6 p.m. to clean up and place fresh hay
down after the competitions were finished.
“It’s hard,” she said. “It’s really hard and
it’s not always roses. This (the showman-
ship) is the roses part of it.”
But livestock wasn’t the only part of
the Morrow County Fair this week. With a
rodeo, rides, mouth-watering food and musi-
cal performances, attendees had a multitude
of options to spend their day. For those lucky
enough to be at the fair around 5 p.m., they
had the opportunity to listen to 9-year-old
Sarrafina James play hits from Metallica to
Flamenco on her ukulele.
According to Justin James, her dad, she
had just auditioned for “America’s Got Tal-
ent” before COVID-19 struck and forced
everyone indoors. Putting in two to three
hours of practice a day for the last year and a
half, she was able to pick up the instrument
quickly and perform alongside her dad’s
hypnotist and comedy shows.
He said people have loved seeing Sarra-
fina play songs that challenge even grown
adults, and she’s loved the crowd so far.
“It’s been an absolutely amazing fair,”
he said.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Sarrafina James, 9, performs on the ukulele
Friday, Aug. 20, 2021, at the Morrow County
Fair in Heppner.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Tile Hamilton, center, douses her opponents with water Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, as Marvin
Hamilton Jr., left, and Marvin Hamilton Sr. push the team to victory at Melon Fest in
downtown Hermiston.
Melon:
Continued from Page A1
watermelons walk across
the stage flaunting their
wares. Blaine Barnes took
first place with a water-
melon vine costume with
a watermelon on his head
and a face painted red to
resemble the inside of a
melon. Lola, Oaklyn, Cain
and Zeke Norman took sec-
ond place as a family and
Kaylee Rowe took home
the third place prize.
Melon Fest wouldn’t be
complete without a seed
spitting contest, and Herm-
istonians didn’t disappoint.
Fans cheered as compet-
itors took a bite of water-
melon, pursed their lips and
let loose the small black
seeds.
Umatilla County sher-
iff’s deputy Darrin Parsons
took first place, edging out
the trio of other compet-
itors, including his sister
Nancy Walchli.
“I just wanted to beat
my sister,” said Parsons.
“I grew up working on the
(watermelon) farm.”
At the opposite end of
Main Street, Aaron Davis
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Aaron Davis, left, plunges into a dunk tank at the hands of
his son Griffin Davis on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, at Melon
Fest in downtown Hermiston.
plunged into a dunk tank
at the arm of his son, Grif-
fin. Davis, a social studies
teacher at Hermiston High
School, volunteered for a
30-minute stint as the des-
ignated dunkee.
“I’ve been teaching here
so long I know lots of these
young adults,” said Davis of
those lining up to dunk him.
“They’re very excited.”