NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
Vaccine workers report positive experiences at event booths, clinics
Nurse says she is
optimistic about hesitant
individuals changing
their minds
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Vaccination booths have
been a common feature at
local events for months.
And while workers at these
booths often are idle, and
vaccination lines can be
short or nonexistent, there
are victories to be told.
Alisha Lundgren, Uma-
tilla County Health deputy
director, said her offi ce has
worked with the Oregon
Health Authority and local
health providers to coordi-
nate and staff local vacci-
nation booths. The county
health department was pres-
ent with workers at the
Umatilla County Fair and
the Pendleton Round-up.
She said 34 people were
vaccinated at the fair parade
alone, and 39 at the fair.
During Round-Up week,
at the staff booth and the
county health department
offi ce, 57 vaccinations were
given.
Kori Hibbard is a home
visiting nurse with the
Nurse-Family
Partner-
ship program for Uma-
tilla County. She has staff ed
booths at the Pendleton
Farmers Market as well as
local mass drive-thru events
and visits to local businesses.
“I can’t think of one vac-
cination event, whether pub-
lic or private, that I’ve been
to where somebody has been
inappropriate or angry or
said something (negative),”
she said.
She
described
peo-
ple at the events as “hope-
ful,”
“excited,”
and
“appreciative.”
She said she fi gures she
has worked at 20 to 30 vac-
cination events, including
visits to workplaces. She
started in February 2021.
Generally, her experience at
those events has been “posi-
tive,” she said.
“They’re appreciative of
us being there,” she said.
Getting the vaccine, for
many people, has meant
being able to see family
again and feel safe.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Registered nurse Kori Hibbard prepares to administer a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine
to Kari Ferguson, a secretary at Gib Olinger Elementary School in Milton-Freewater, during a
vaccination clinic at the Pendleton Convention Center on Jan. 28, 2021.
This response is much
diff erent from reports Hib-
bard has seen in national
news. She has heard of
ugliness in other places,
and she has been concerned
it would happen here to
her. Though she remains
“a little worried,” she said,
she is happy she has yet
to experience harassment
or violence.
What she often gets, she
said, are people approaching
her at events to ask about
the numbers of vaccines she
has given. She tells them
she tends to give around 15
vaccinations during a typ-
ical three-hour shift at the
Pendleton Farmers Mar-
ket. This number varies at
other events.
She said she has had some
events, when she worked
a seven-hour day, and only
vaccinated fi ve people.
“I think everyone should
get the vaccine,” Hibbard
said, adding she feels dis-
appointed about people
who still do not get it. At
the same time, she said she
views each vaccination as
a victory. While she would
like to see hundreds of peo-
ple lining up for it, she still
is pleased with each one.
Advertising and word of
mouth are key to the best
vaccination events, she said.
When there are signs, there
are more people. Also, when
there are incentives, such
as food coupons or carnival
wristbands, more people get
vaccinations.
Hibbard has not given
up on unvaccinated people.
She said she thinks there
still are people who will
change their mind. Often,
when people change their
mind about the vaccine, it is
because of personal experi-
ences. They see other people
with bad COVID-19 cases
or they suff er COVID-19
themselves, and they decide
to become vaccinated.
Many people see other
people get the vaccine and
seem fi ne, which also is
encouraging. She, herself,
has never seen a single bad
reaction to a vaccine she has
given. This makes her confi -
dent in the vaccine.
“I think the vaccine
should still off er people
hope,” she said. “It’s made
me feel safer.”
Umatilla, Hermiston schools bring the hammer down on “devious licks”
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
A new trend, which has
garnered national atten-
tion, has made its way to
Umatilla County to concern
local school administrators.
The trend is called “devious
licks,” and it involves stu-
dents videoing themselves
committing crimes and then
posting those videos to the
social media platform TikTok.
Umatilla and Hermiston
school districts have experi-
enced minor vandalism asso-
ciated with the trend. Admin-
istrators at those districts are
trying to head off the trend
with statements discourag-
ing it.
Umatilla
Heidi Sipe, Umatilla
School District superinten-
dent, said there was “some
vandalism” at Umatilla High
School and Clara Brownell
Middle School. The most
signifi cant of this vandalism,
Sipe said, was the removal of
a paper towel dispenser from
the wall and the lining of soap
dispensers.
In response, the school
investigated, found the miss-
ing equipment, discovered the
culprits and turned them over
to the police.
“We chose to treat the few
cases we had very seriously
and didn’t have additional
damage,” Sipe said.
The schools did, how-
ever, have students “disre-
specting the facilities,” by
locking bathroom stalls and
sliding out from beneath
the stall doors. This left the
doors locked. There also have
been cases of littering in the
bathrooms.
“We took a hard line on that
behavior as well,” Sipe said.
The schools closed some
restrooms so the remaining
restrooms could be monitored.
Sipe also issued a letter
to the district’s students and
their parents. The letter starts
off by explaining the trend
and warning of its possible
escalation.
“In upcoming months,
other ‘challenges’ involving
sexual harassment, physi-
cal violence and further theft
and vandalism are planned,”
according to the letter.
The remainder of the letter
stated the district’s goal is to
create a positive environment
for students. It also encour-
ages students to report crimi-
nal behavior.
In a follow-up email, Sipe
called the trend “ridiculous
and alarming,” and she made
a case for why it should be
taken seriously.
She stated there have
been other trends, such as the
“choking game” and “eating
Tide pods.”
“The key to (stopping)
all of these has been open
and honest communication
with students and setting
clear expectations,” she said.
“When we pretend it won’t
impact our schools or homes
and neglect to discuss these
issues with students, they
become large issues.”
She said she thinks the cor-
rect response is to encourage
discussion about values and
expectations.
“Trends come and go, and
this one will too; however,
when the adults show students
the path expected through the
trend, they grow and learn and
it becomes part of their devel-
opment as people, not a detri-
mental aspect of their lives,”
she said.
She added, “I like to think
of the same kids who can say
no to a harmful TikTok chal-
lenge today as the same adults
who can think for themselves
and make positive choices as
adults tomorrow.”
Hermiston
Hermiston schools on the
secondary level have suff ered
devious licks, according to
Briana Cortaberria, executive
assistant to the superintendent.
She said there has been van-
dalism, such as damage to
paper towel dispensers.
The response to this van-
dalism was like the response
in Umatilla, as administra-
tors made comments during
school announcements. Bad
behavior would not be tol-
erated, the comments stated,
and witnesses should report
misdeeds.
The Hermiston School Dis-
trict also delivered a letter to
students and their parents.
The Hermiston letter, like the
Umatilla letter, explained the
trend and warned against fur-
ther damage.
Cortaberria stated, “Con-
sequences will depend on the
severity of the infraction.”
Such consequences may
include detention, suspension,
expulsion and referral to law
enforcement offi cials.
The letter also makes its
own “challenges” to counter
devious licks. Proposed chal-
lenges from the school dis-
trict are to make a positive
impact in the community. Stu-
dents may do such actions as
eat lunch with someone new,
thank a veteran, compliment
someone and volunteer at a
local nonprofi t.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Students on Oct. 11, 2021, pass through the hallways of Umatilla High School. The Umatilla
School District is taking steps to quash “devious licks,” a social media trend that involves
students videoing themselves vandalizing schools.
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