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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 2021)
WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021 HermistonHerald.com EasternOregonMarketplace.com Hot dogs! Locals line up to adopt new pets in Hermiston Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald Angela Bradshaw, Rowan Winterton, Huxyn Winterton and Katie Bradshaw spend time with a shelter dog Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at the Loves Pets Adoption Event in Hermiston. By ERICK PETERSON Hermiston Herald HERMISTON — Shannon White and her 11-year-old step-daugh- ter, Ennelly Escobedo, were the fi rst people in line Saturday morning, Oct. 15, to adopt a pet at Hermis- ton’s Pet Rescue Humane Society of Eastern Oregon. Pet Rescue and Harley Swain Sub- aru teamed up for the Loves Pets Adoption Event, which began at 11 a.m., but the mother-daughter duo said they were waiting since before 10 a.m. for the doors to open. Within minutes of entering the shel- ter at 1844 N.W. Geer Road, Hermis- ton, they walked out with a new fam- ily member — a dog named Brownie. This new pet, a pit bull, would join a family that already included a bird and a Chihuahua. Ennelly said she was excited about Brownie, and she knew the most important things to do to take care of a dog. “You have to give them food, water, a bed and shelter,” she said. “You have to potty-train.” More than 30 people in all stood in line before the start time, all hoping to add a new dog or cat to their families. Pet Rescue on its Facebook page on Oct. 16 announced there were 17 dog and 10 cat adoptions by the time the event ended at 3 p.m. Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald Katherine Lopez holds Shatner, a dog she intended to adopt Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021, at the Loves Pets Adoption Event in Hermiston. Four dogs, however, were left “looking for their forever families,” but the “shelter was emptied on cats,” according to the post. Harley Swain Subaru paid all adoption fees, the Hermiston pet supply store Petsense distributed coupon books. Pet Rescue on its Facebook page stated the adoption day “went great.” See Pets, Page A10 Erick Peterson/Hermiston Herald Donna Lutz walks with her new dog, Ogano, at a Hermiston pet adoption event Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Vaccine mandate goes into eff ect throughout Umatilla, Morrow counties By BRYCE DOLE and ANTONIO SIERRA EO Media Group UMATILLA COUNTY — More than 2 out of every 5 workers in Umatilla and Morrow counties are subject to the state’s vaccine mandate. For many of them, the clock struck midnight on Mon- day, Oct. 18. Large regional employ- ers such as CHI St. Anthony Hospital, the Pendleton School District and the Hermiston School District reported high vaccination rates among their staff , with most unvaccinated staff granted a medical or reli- gious exemption to stay on or with their employer. For state workers at one of the region’s largest employ- ers, the Oregon Department INSIDE of Corrections, the hard dead- line to get the shot was pushed out to the end of November. Both prisons in the county reported more than 89% of their security offi cers, ranked from correctional officers through captains, are vacci- nated against COVID-19. That means 60 of the 615 offi cers between the two prisons are facing joblessness, accord- ing to a spokesperson with the Oregon Department of Corrections. County-wide data Roughly 13,000 of the 30,300 jobs that comprise Umatilla County’s work- force are under the vaccine mandate, according to Dallas Fridley, a regional economist for the Oregon Employment Department. And in Morrow County, roughly 2,700 out of the 5,900 workers there are mandated, or nearly 46%, Fridley said. Many of those jobs are in large fi rms, including the Ama- zon data center in Boardman or the many Walmart facili- ties around Umatilla County, Fridley said. Statewide, roughly 57% of all jobs fall under the mandate, Fridley said, or less than 3 out of every 5 employees. In an eff ort to curb the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Kate Brown announced the mandate in August as the delta variant rocked the state’s health care system and inun- dated hospitals across East- ern Oregon with unvaccinated patients. Since May, more than 90% of patients hospitalized A3 Nurse explains experiences at vaccination booths with COVID-19 in Umatilla County have been unvac- cinated, according to data from Umatilla County Pub- lic Health. In that same time frame, 52 county residents who contracted the virus have died. Hospitals Emily Smith, a spokesper- son for CHI St. Anthony in Pendleton, said in an email that 88% of the hospitals’ staff are vaccinated. She said approx- imately 60% of employees who requested an exemption got one, and some requests are pending. Those who are not vac- cinated and who have not received an exemption “will be placed on unpaid administra- tive leave for 90 days, during which time they can recon- A6 Ag awards recognize young entrepreneurs sider vaccination,” Smith said. Unvaccinated employees who get the shot later “will be eli- gible for rehire at a later date,” Smith added. Smith said in an email the mandate prompted an 18% increase in the hospital’s vac- cination rate. She added the hospital is “adjusting staff so that operations will be mini- mally impacted. EO Media Group sought that information from Good Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston. Caitlin Cozad, a spokesper- son for Good Shepherd, said in response to questions, “Good Shepherd is compliant with the state mandate and fully operational.” The Oregon Health Author- ity has not updated its pub- lic dashboard showing vac- A7 Hermiston Chamber of Commerce celebrates new building, new director cine uptake among health care workers in individual counties since Oct. 4. But the two-week-old data shows that roughly 30% of all health care workers in Umatilla County, and 24% of health care work- ers in Morrow County, were unvaccinated at that time. In all, 18% of Oregon’s health care workers are unvac- cinated, according to state data. More than 1.1 million Ore- gonians work in jobs that are under the mandate, or 3 out of every 5 working residents, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The website guidestar.org specializes in collecting pub- lic information about non- profits. A 2020 tax return See Mandate, Page A10 A8 Hermiston FFA heads to Indi- anapolis for national competition