NEWS
Wednesday, OctOber 20, 2021
HerMIstOnHeraLd.cOM • A7
Hermiston Chamber celebrates new building, announces new director
Val Hoxie takes
leadership role,
promises to engage with
community, business
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Friday, Oct. 15, was a
big day for the Hermiston
Chamber of Commerce.
Staff and guests cele-
brated the new chamber
building at at 630 S. High-
way 395 with an open house.
In addition, the chamber
also named a new executive
director.
The executive director
Val Hoxie spent most of
the day as the chamber’s
executive assistant. In that
role, she greeted guests who
wanted tours of the new
building. By the end of the
day, chamber officials would
name her the new executive
director.
“I am honored, humbled
and ready to get to work,”
Hoxie said.
Getting reconnected with
businesses was a top prior-
ity, she added. Many of these
businesses could use help
“navigating a new culture,”
coming out of the pandemic,
she said.
Many chamber mem-
bers placed their member-
ships on hold in the past year
and are only now restart-
ing them. Hoxie said she
wants to encourage others to
resume their memberships,
first showing them there is a
new energy in the chamber.
She said she wants to do
some networking and classes
at the chamber — anything
to help local business, espe-
cially the chamber’s approx-
imately 400 members.
Also, she said she wants
to promote more volunteer-
ism in Hermiston. There are
many people who are new-
comers to the community
and do not know where to
donate their time, according
to the new director. It would
be good if she could lead
them toward the many non-
profits in the area, she said.
Prior to her chamber
work, Hoxie was a human
resources and operations
manager for Ponzi Vine-
yards, Sherwood, a large
production winery in the
Portland area. She said she
learned a lot from this posi-
tion. The winery was com-
munity minded, she said, as
the management encouraged
community involvement.
Having left Ponzi, Hoxie
does not have any other
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
The new Hermiston Chamber of Commerce is at 630 S.
Highway 395, Hermiston.
jobs and intends to focus all
her working energy on the
chamber.
The Hermiston Chamber
is open Monday to Thursday,
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The open house
Visitors enjoyed cof-
fee and doughnuts, spon-
sored by Sun Terrace. Dom-
ino’s Pizza , OMG! Burgers
& Brew, Lamb Weston and
Bellinger Farm and Gour-
met Shoppe were among the
other sponsors for food later
in the day.
While visitors chowed
down, they spoke with each
other, chamber board mem-
bers and the executive direc-
tor. They also toured the
interior of the new building.
“People are so thrilled
with the exterior,” Hoxie
said, that the exterior encour-
ages curiosity for the interior.
The new building offers
space and technology for vis-
itors and members. A meet-
ing room, which can be used
for interviews or other gath-
erings, is among the build-
ing’s offerings.
Hoxie’s favorite part of
the building, however, is the
mission statement, which is
prominently displayed, and
reads:
“The mission of the
Greater Hermiston Cham-
ber of Commerce is to create
and promote an environment
in which current and future
businesses thrive and where
our members connect for the
benefit of the community.”
State forecast suggests COVID-19 spike should end by Christmas
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon capital bureau
SALEM — A deadly spike
in COVID-19 infections that
began just before Indepen-
dence Day should near its
end around Christmas, a new
state forecast said Thursday,
Oct. 14.
But with more than two
months to go to reach the
projected end point, about
177,000 more infections are
expected in the state, accord-
ing to the Oregon Health &
Science University weekly
forecast.
The Oregon Health
Authority reported hospital-
izations for COVID-19 con-
tinue a steady decline in Ore-
gon, with 563 infected patients
hospitalized on Oct. 15, less
than half the 1,178 recorded
Sept. 1.
But hospitalization remains
high in OHA Region 9, which
encompasses the counties of
Morrow, Umatilla, Union,
Baker, Wallowa and Mal-
heur. According to the Ore-
gon Health Authority, 22 of
the region’s 26 staffed beds
in intensive care units had
patients as of Oct. 15.
The statewide spike in
infections, which began in
the first week of July and
peaked just after Labor Day,
has steadily tracked down-
ward since, the report said.
The spike was driven by
the highly contagious delta
variant.
However, the forecast
projects the state still has
two-and-half months until it
might reach “herd immunity”
for the delta variant. OHSU
reported that is when 85% of
the population is either vac-
cinated or has been exposed
to the virus.
The university’s virus
modeling projects that Ore-
gon will arrive at that point
around Dec. 26.
Over that time, the forecast
estimates there will be another
177,000 infections in Oregon
— enough to fill Autzen Sta-
dium at the University of Ore-
gon three times.
The number of break-
through cases of infections in
people who have been vacci-
nated has risen, accounting for
27.2% of new infections in
OHA’s weekly report released
Oct. 13. It’s one of the reasons
federal and state health offi-
cials have moved to approve
booster shots of vaccine for
those already inoculated.
But throughout the spike,
severe cases requiring hos-
pitalization and deaths have
remained low among vac-
cinated people compared to
those who are unvaccinated.
Vaccinated patients
account for less than 5% of
hospitalizations and less than
1% of deaths.
“There’s still time for peo-
ple to take action to prevent
transmissions and to get vac-
cinated, but we’re projecting
that a whole bunch more peo-
ple are going to get infected
in the next month,” said Peter
Graven, director of the OHSU
Office of Advanced Analytics.
Oregon recorded 610
deaths in September, the
highest monthly total since
the pandemic arrived in the
state in late February 2020.
Are you in pursuit of an
inspiring career that
encourages your community
members to thrive?
OHSU said the drop is
being aided by an increase in
vaccinations, including those
motivated by the deadlines for
state and federal employee
mandates.
The state’s “immunity
index” shows that 22% of
Oregonians remain vulnera-
ble to the virus, having neither
been vaccinated or exposed to
the virus by others.
“A lot of people have
gotten infected over the past
three months, and it’s become
harder for the virus to find sus-
ceptible people,” Graven said.
And while there remains
a large pool of unvaccinated
Oregonians who could end up
in the hospital, Graven said
the worst likely is over.
“The severe strain on hos-
pitals should ease as the virus
finds an ever-shrinking pool
of susceptible hosts,” Graven
said. “It’s going to be increas-
ingly difficult to generate a
new surge in hospitalizations.”
Patients with COVID-
19 accounted for 24% of all
cases in intensive care units
statewide as of Oct. 12. At the
peak of the spike, they took
up more than 50% of ICU
capacity.
The OHSU report said the
timeline could be slowed by
the trend of Oregonians tir-
ing of preventative measures
such as wearing masks and
avoiding gathering indoors
with those outside of their
household or outside in large
groups.
While a high number of
deaths have been reported
recently, deaths are the last
indicator to rise or fall in a
spike. The current numbers
are projected to decrease, as
hospitalizations and infections
already have gone down.
Test positivity continues to
slowly decline. OHA reported
the statewide rate at 7.3% on
Oct 15. OHA officials say a
rate below 5% is when the
number of new infections is
within manageable limits.
Honor your loved one
by putting their photo,
name, military branch
& rank in our special
section for FREE
this year!
Sample of
FREE ad
PUBLISHES: November 9th
In the East Oregonian
DEADLINE: Monday, November 2nd
Is the place
for you!
CCS is committed to offering their award-
winning Behavioral Health, Addictions, and
Developmental Disabilities services
throughout Eastern Oregon and our rapid
growth has allowed us to expand our
employment opportunities.
Full and Part time
positions available!
Morrow
and Umatilla Counties!
Please fill out this information and mail or drop off along with a photo to
333 E. Main Street, Hermiston, OR 97838 or 211 SE Byers Ave.,
Pendleton, OR 97801 or email to classifieds@eastoregonian.com
*If you would like to re-publish the same info from 2020, please call 541-564-4538
Service Person’s Name:
Military Branch:
Military Rank:
Your Name:
Check one:
Your Address:
Currently Serving
Your Phone Number:
sample of 1x4 ad
*artwork will vary
Thank you
for your
service!
We are so
proud of
you!
Veteran
PAID MESSAGE ADS
ARE AVAILABLE
these include a message to your
loved one, their photo and name
1x4 ad - $40
2x3 ad - $60
private party only
Thank
you for
your
service!
www.communitycounselingsolutions.org
Dana Storms
Tassie
US Navy
Veteran
CCS has a wonderful benefit package including,
but not limited to, health, dental and vision
insurance, 401K match, potential for tuition
reimbursement, student loan forgiveness, relocation
expenses and paid licensure supervision.
BE PART OF OUR TEAM!
Dana Storms
Tassie
US Navy Veteran
sample of 2x3 ad
*artwork will vary