COMMUNITY
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2021
Ring in 2022 with fi reworks and family fun
EOTEC hosts New
Year’s Eve Bash
By TAMMY MALGESINI
Hermiston Herald
HERMISTON — A New
Year’s Eve Bash for the
whole family is planned at
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center, 1705 E. Air-
port Road, Hermiston.
If ringing in 2021 seemed
a bit subdued because of
on-going COVID-19 restric-
tions, people are invited to
put on their party hats and
make up for lost time. The
event kicks off with a park-
ing lot tailgate party Fri-
day, Dec. 31. EOTEC Gen-
eral Manager Al Davis said
the gates will open at 3 p.m.
for people to begin staking
out spots and setting up their
party zones.
Revelers can bring bar-
becue grills, fi re pits, patio
heaters, drink coolers and
more. Participants who will
be drinking alcoholic bever-
ages are reminded to appoint
a designated driver or make
arrangements in advance
to ensure a safe ride home
afterwards. Davis encour-
ages people to use common
sense.
“We’re not going to sup-
ply alcohol but people are
welcome to bring their own.
Also, don’t start a fi re on my
asphalt, bring a fi re pit,” he
said. “We will monitor the
event.”
Family fun will be off ered
indoors at EOTEC begin-
ning at 6 p.m. The cost for
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Fireworks explode at the conclusion of a socially distanced tailgate party Jan. 1, 2021, over the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center in Hermiston. This year’s New Year’s Eve Bash will feature fi reworks and more Friday, Dec. 31, at EOTEC.
entry into the building is $5
per person and it includes
movies, snacks and games,
including laser tag. Davis
also suggests people bring
their favorite board games.
“We’re entering a new era
and trying to fi gure out a new
normal,” Davis said. “We
just want to try and get peo-
ple out and give them a place
to go … to enjoy some activ-
ities with their kids. If some-
one wants to bring some-
thing, they are more than
welcome to do that.”
And there’s more — the
Festival of Lights will be
illuminated throughout the
night beginning at 5 p.m.
With bone-chilling cold pre-
dicted in the weather fore-
cast, Davis suggests that
people drive-thru the lights.
However, if people want to
view the lighted displays on
foot, he encourages them to
bundle up. The event will
crescendo with a fi reworks
display at midnight to help
ring in 2022.
For
more
informa-
tion, call 541-289-9800 or
search www.facebook.com/
eotechermistonor.
Other New Year’s Eve activities
Cosmic Family
Year Celebration
New
• Desert Lanes Family
Fun Center
• 1545 N. First St.,
Hermiston
$125/up to six peo-
ple. Head to Desert Lanes
for a cosmically fun cele-
bration. Two sessions are
available — 1-2:30 p.m. or
3-4:30 p.m. — featuring 90
minutes of glow bowling,
shoe rental, a large pizza, a
pitcher of soda, six $5 arcade
cards and party favors. Call
or stop by to reserve a pack-
age. (541-567-6364, www.
bowldesertlanes.com)
Sliding into the New
Year
• Midway Bar & Grill
• 1750 N. First St.,
Hermiston
No cover. A casual night
of celebrating the com-
ing year will get underway
around 9 p.m. The event
includes drink specials and
low-key fun with friends.
(541-567-5180, www.mid-
waybargrill.com).
New Year’s Eve with
Matt Borden
• The Pheasant Blue
Collar Bar & Grill
• 149 E. Main St.,
Hermiston
$15. Prepare for a honky
tonk, country & western, get
down, good time with Matt
Borden to help ring in the
New Year at The Pheasant.
Get ready to kick up your
heels starting at 9 p.m. Tick-
ets are available for presale
at the bar. (541-567-3022,
www.thepheasantbarand-
grill.com).
New
Year’s
Eve
Laughter
• The Rustic Truck Bar
& Grill
• 8 p.m., 100 W. High-
way 730, Irrigon
$20 via www.brownpa-
pertickets.com. For a night
of food, drinks and laughs,
head to The Rustic Truck.
Headliner B.J. Johnson has
been seen on LMAO TV and
is TikTok famous with more
than 10 million views. (541-
922-4374, www.facebook.
com/TheRusticTruck).
County offi cials say revised stats will show much higher vaccination rate
By ANTONIO SIERRA
Hermiston Herald
Umatilla County could
see its vaccination rate
jump without administer-
ing another dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine.
Alisha Lundgren, the
assistant director of Uma-
tilla County Public Health,
said the Oregon Health
Authority recently con-
tacted the county with new
data that factored in resi-
dents who received their
COVID-19 vaccines out-
of-state. The new addi-
tions meant the state’s data,
which shows only 56.8%
of county residents 18 and
over have received at least
one dose of the vaccine,
would jump to 70.9%.
As of 4 p.m. Wednesday,
Dec. 22, the OHA web-
site still showed the 56.8%
rate while the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control shows
a similar 58.9% vaccina-
tion rate. Lundgren said
she expects OHA to update
its statistics soon, but she
couldn’t share the offi cial
data because it belonged to
the state.
While
vaccinations
administered on the Uma-
tilla Indian Reservation
haven’t always been fac-
tored toward the county
rate, Lundgren said the
state already has made
eff orts to start including
them in before the latest
update.
“Our OHA data team
who manage our data are
working on implementing
what we would describe
as a ‘bi-directional data
exchange through federal
systems,’” according to
Rudy Owens, public aff airs
specialist with the Oregon
Health Authority. “This
will allow us to incorpo-
rate data that captures the
COVID-19 vaccine doses
administer in other states
into our data.”
Owens also said this is
not happening soon.
“We are still working
with the vendor for our
vaccine registry, known as
ALERT IIS, to move this
forward and implement it,”
he explained. “We expect
this would happening
sometime during in the fi rst
quarter of 2022.”
For county offi cials,
the public release of the
updated vaccination rates
will be a vindicating
moment.
“We’ve been beating
this drum since Day 1,”
county Commissioner John
Shafer said.
Given Umatilla Coun-
ty’s shared border with
Washington, Shafer said
it was logical that many
county residents would
seek vaccinations north
of the state border. Mil-
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
Umatilla County Commisioner John Shafer receives his second dose of the Moderna COVID-19
vaccine from registered nurse Kelsi Reyes during a vaccination event April 30, 2021, in
Pendleton. New data in late December could jump the county’s vaccination rate from almost
59% to just shy of 71%.
ton-Freewater
residents
or veterans who get their
medical care through the
U.S. Department of Vet-
erans Aff airs could go to
Walla Walla to get the shot.
Hermiston and Umatilla
residents could get the shot
in Tri-Cities by traveling 40
minutes or less.
Shafer said the county
grew especially frustrated
when state offi cials would
use Umatilla County as an
example of a county that
needed to do better in vac-
PET OF THE W EEK
MEET PONGO!
He is a very high energy
puppy who needs
training. He needs
another dog to play
with. Prefer someone
who is home to help be
more socialized.
cinating its population
during press conferences.
Shafer said the state was
aware the county was miss-
ing out-of-state data from
its count.
Lundgren said the poten-
tial statistical boost from
out-of-state vaccinations
should give residents more
confi dence that their neigh-
bors are vaccinated. She
added the updated num-
ber will not include minors.
Children as young as 5
years old are eligible for
the vaccine.
Despite the anticipated
update to Umatilla Coun-
ty’s COVID-19 statistics
than previously understood,
the county is not out of the
woods quite yet. The county
still is short of OHA’s 80%
goal and the omicron vari-
ant is starting to sweep the
country. Although Umatilla
County’s daily case count
remains low compared to
the delta variant wave over
the summer, Shafer said the
public health department
is working hard to encour-
age residents to get the
booster shot to further pro-
tect themselves from the
latest variant.
Church
DIRECTORY
St. Johns
Episcopal Church
Join Us
N.E. Gladys Ave & 7th, Hermiston
541-567-6672
JOIN OUR INCLUSIVE
CONGREGATION
ON OUR JOURNEY WITH JESUS
Services 9:00am Sundays
In-person or streaming
on Facebook or Zoom
NEW BEGINNINGS
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP
Worship Service 10:30 AM
Sunday School 9:00 AM
Pastor J.C. Barnett
Children’s Church &
Nursery Available
700 West Orchard Avenue
P.O. Box 933
Hermiston, Oregon
Seventh-day
COME WORSHIP
Adventist Church WITH US AT THE
Saturdays
Sabbath School........9:30 a.m.
Worship Service......11:00 a.m.
English & Spanish Services
541-567-8241
855 W. Highland Ave.
Hermiston, OR 97838
Sundays at 11:00am
Our Lady of Angels
Catholic Church
Iglesia Católica Nuestra
Señora de los Ángeles
LANDMARK BAPTIST
CHURCH
Hermiston Christian
Center & School
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
COUNTRY
CHURCH
32742 Diagonal Rd.
Hermiston, OR
565 W. HERMISTON AVE.
541-289-4774
Mark Sargent, DVM • Brent Barton, DVM
Robert Thonney, DVM • Jana Parks, DVM, cVMA
Small and Large Animal Care
Mon: 8-6
Tue - Fri: 8-5
Sat: 8-12
Emergency Service
541.567.1138
80489 Hwy 395 N
Hermiston
www.oregontrailvet.com
Due to the
COVID-19
pandemic, animal
shelters need
our help more
than ever. Please
donate to your
local shelter, or
offer to foster an
animal in need.
First Christian Church
“Grow Your Faith Through God”
Sunday School...9:00 am
Worship Service...10:30 am
567-3013
775 W. Highland Ave., Hermiston
125 E. Beech Ave. • 567-3232
Pastor David Dever
Sun. Bible Classes...................10:00am
Sun. Worship Service..............11:00am
Sun. Evening Worship..............5:00pm
Tues. Creation Club (Sept-May)..4:30pm
Wed. Prayer & Bible Study......5:00pm
www.hermistonlmbc.com
If interested please go to fuzzballrescue.com and fill out an application.
If you are not able to adopt, but would like to foster or donate, visit fuzzballrescue.com
or you can mail in donations to Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue, PO Box 580, Hermiston, OR 97838
Sunday Gathering: 10:00 AM
Nursery care is available 3 years & under
Kids Club available 4 years-5th grade
Sunday Prayer Gathering: 6:00 PM
NEED PRAYER? CONTACT US!
1825 W. Highland Ave.
541-567-3480 | hcc4u.org
hcc4u2020@gmail.com
To advertise in the Church Directory, please contact
Audra Workman 541-564-4538 or email aworkman@eastoregonian.com