WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
HermistonHerald.com
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WELCOME BACK!
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
Rafael Garcia Sanchez embraces his mother and brother on April 27, 2022, after he and fellow Umatilla High School students returned home from competing in the FIRST Robotics
World Championships in Houston.
Umatilla High School robotics competitors return home from Texas
By ERICK PETERSON • Hermiston Herald
H
aving left Houston on April 24, Umatilla High School
students and their advisers were exhausted by the time
they arrived home.
The competitors represented their
school at FIRST Championship,
April 20-23. They did not win honors, but
they came back from their journey with
joy in their hearts and memories on the
forefront of their minds.
Shortly after 6 a.m. April 27, mem-
bers of the Umatilla High School robot-
ics team, Confi dential, arrived in town.
Their bus pulled up to the front of their
school, the doors opened and sleepy stu-
dents picked up their backpacks, sleeping
bags and suitcases, and exited the bus.
Alejandro Escovedo, junior, was
among the fi rst people off the bus.
“The trip was awesome,” he said.
Escovedo said he said he enjoyed see-
ing diff erent states. Colorado and Texas
were his favorites, he said. Texas was
of particular interest to him, he added,
because of the food.
At one restaurant, he said, he ate a
sirloin steak. The best part, though, was
watching a few of his classmates engage
in an eating contest, he added.
One of the eating-contest participants
was Elias Gomez. A junior at Umatilla
High, Gomez said he ate 55 ounces of a
72-ounce steak, with sides.
“It was hard,” he said.
He said this was the fi rst trip to a
world championship he had made with
the robotics team. It also was, accord-
ing to Gomez, the farthest he had ever
been from home, and he was very happy
to have encountered other people from
many diff erent places. It was especially
interesting, he said, to have met teenag-
ers from other countries, including Mex-
ico and Israel.
Another junior, Aaron Ochoa,
expressed the same sentiment. It was
See, Team/Page A9
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
Meghan Owens gets a warm greeting from her dad, Rodney Owens, on April 27, 2022,
as she gets off a bus that transported her and other Umatilla High School robotics team
members home from the FIRST Robotics World Championships in Houston.
Charities face increasing demand for services, fewer donations
Local charities struggle in post-pandemic period
of declining donations, infl ation, supply shortages
and an increased infl ux of people in need
By JOHN TILLMAN
Hermiston Herald
Charities in Northeast-
ern Oregon are struggling
to meet the needs of an
increasing number of cli-
ents. While the pandemic
has subsided, some dona-
tions have declined and
prices soared, amid supply
shortages.
Mark Gomolski of
Agape House food bank
painted the overall scenario.
“When everything was
shut down during the pan-
demic, monetary donations
increased,” he said. “Food
donations stayed about the
same. Now demand is up
for services. We have very
INSIDE
few fresh vegetables. Fresh
fruit, yes, and bread, but
not vegetables.”
Pendleton’s Salvation
Army faces the same issues.
“During the pandemic,
donations went up, but
so did our needs,” Maj.
DeWayne Halstad said.
“Now donations have
dropped off . We’re feeding
a bit fewer people, but our
costs are way up.”
The Irrigon Emergency
Assistance Center helps
with rent and utilities and
fi nding jobs, as well as pro-
viding food. Coordinator
Ina Abercrombie said need
has increased in the area.
“Three-and-a-half
months into 2022, we’ve
already spent half as much
as in 2021. This year is
going to be tough,” she
said.
Lisa Patton of Heppner’s
Neighborhood Center of
South Morrow County
echoed that.
“Demand has very much
increased,” she said. “The
need is great. People suff er
sticker shock at the grocery
store.”
Halstad said During
the pandemic, The Salva-
tion Army in Pendleton fed
about 150 meals daily.
““Now we’re down to
around 105 per day, with
50 here (105 S.E. Emi-
grant Ave.) and 55 deliv-
ered to elderly and shut-ins.
But prices of supplies don’t
come down,” he said. “For
example, to-go containers
used to cost us $20 for 200;
now it’s $55 for 200.”
A3  Hermiston DMV faces staffi ng
issues
fi ghts and arguments at the
tables.
“We could really use
support,” Halstad con-
cluded. “Especially big,
No. 10 canned goods. We
have vegetable shortages.
Frozen hamburger, chicken
breasts, stuff like that. Spa-
ghetti sauce.”
Business changes, problems
also fall on charities
Hermiston Herald, File
Maj. DeWayne Halstad hands out a boxed lunch at the
Pendleton Salvation Army in March 2020 at the start of the
coronavirus pandemic. Now in April 2020 as the pandemic
ebbs, local charities report several factors are pushing an
increase for their services.
Serving indoors has hur-
dles as well, he said, with
A4  Voting in non-presidential
elections matters
a need for more staff and
with clients getting into
A6  Art festival comes to
Hermiston
Gomolski said changes
in agribusiness aff ect the
Hermiston food bank.
“Bud-Rich Potato was
bought out, so it no longer
provided us with onions
and potatoes,” he said.
“One of our staff ers got
Riverpoint Farms to donate
some onions for a while.
The loss of Shearer’s also
hurt. Not only did we lose a
See, Charities/Page A9
A7  Stanfi eld students serve their
community