Hermiston
Herald
HermistonHerald.com
Stanfi eld
takes on
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Page A10
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Senior pictures in 7-Eleven make student
#TWITTERFAMOUS
INSIDE
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015
SHOT AT GOLIATH
HOME
IMPROVEMENT
& CAR CARE
FALL 2015
SPECIAL SECTION
ABOUT TOWN
School
district plans
facility forums
Twitter fame
To see Stefano Peiris’ original Twitter posts and
some of the reaction online to his photos, check out
the following link: http://bit.ly/1RGsfNQ
STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART
Hermiston High School senior Stefano Peiris enjoys a Slurpee by the machine at his parents’ 7-Eleven franchise in Hermiston Tuesday. More
than 27,000 people retweeted Peiris’ Twitter post with his senior pictures taken at the store by 60 Minute Photo owner Tammy James.
HHS student’s
pictures shared
about 28,000 times
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
When Hermiston student
Stefano Peiris posted his senior
pictures on Twitter, he never ex-
pected to become an Internet ce-
lebrity.
Of course, they weren’t the
typical senior portraits. Peiris in-
vited the photographer to shoot
the stills at his parents’ 7-Eleven
franchise — in the parking lot,
behind the counter, at the Slurpee
machine.
The content went viral, and
Peiris said he was shocked. With-
in a few days of his Oct. 11 tweet,
“So I took my senior pictures at
7-Eleven,” his Twitter followers
jumped from about 200 to more
than 900. More than 27,000 peo-
ple have retweeted the post, and
more than 46,000 clicked “favor-
ite” as of Tuesday evening.
See PEIRIS, A18
PHOTO COURTESY TAMMY JAMES
PHOTO COURTESY TAMMY JAMES
Hermiston High School senior Stefano Peiris gained
many followers on Twitter after posting his senior
photos taken at his parents’ 7-Eleven franchise in
Hermiston.
One of Stefano Peiris’ senior
pictures featured 7-Eleven’s frozen
beverage Slurpee machine in his
parents’ store on Highland Avenue
and Highway 395.
City to hire pro tem municipal judges
Facade grant also approved
for Hermiston Herald
building on Main Street
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
The Hermiston City Council
initiated a search Monday for a
substitute to ¿ ll in when the city’s
municipal judge has a conÀ ict of
interest.
In the past, the judge — current-
ly Judge Thomas Creasing — has
asked various licensed attorneys to
step in when he has a conÀ ict. %ut
language in the city’s new charter
that took effect in January states
that the City Council can hire an
of¿ cial pro tem judge when neces-
sary.
City Manager %yron Smith said
court staff estimated the pro tem
judge would be needed for about
an hour and a half each month and
would be paid $200 an hour, total-
ing about $3,600 a year.
He suggested appointing two
judges so if the ¿ rst isn’t available
the city could continue to “keep
those cases moving.” He said
Creasing supported the idea of the
council appointing of¿ cial pro tem
judges.
“He thought it was a good idea
for transparency reasons,” Smith
said.
On Monday the council also ap-
proved an agreement with the Ore-
gon Department of Transportation.
The department plans to grind up
and repave Highway 395 through
Hermiston next year, and the city
will be responsible for paying
about $23,000 to take care of man-
hole covers and utilities in the right
of way. The project is budgeted for
$6.3 million.
In about two weeks ODOT plans
to put up temporary traf¿ c medi-
ans at the intersection of Highway
395 and Elm Avenue, which will
“When the temporary
barriers are up, if
we want to ask for
something diff erent
that’s the time.”
— Byron Smith
City Manager
be replaced by permanent medi-
ans during the 2016 project. The
medians are meant to prevent left
turns onto the highway to decrease
the number of collisions at Herm-
iston’s most crash-prone intersec-
tion.
“When the temporary barriers
are up, if we want to ask for some-
See JUDGES, A18
Hermiston School
District will hold two
community forums
in the coming weeks
to discuss district
facilities and student
growth challenges. The
community meetings
will be at 5 p.m. Oct.
22 at Rocky Heights
Elementary School and
5 p.m. Nov. 10 at Desert
View Elementary School.
Spanish translation
services will be available,
and anyone interested
in learning more about
the district’s capacity
challenges is encouraged
to attend.
After record
enrollment this year,
district of¿ cials will
discuss initial plans to
address continued strain
on school facilities.
Attendees will learn
about previous bond
outcomes, the work of the
Facility Master Planning
Committee, current
issues in the district and
potential next steps. An
opportunity for feedback
will also be provided.
These forums are
part of the second
phase of a ¿ ve-phase
approach to a potential
capital construction
bond planned for May
2017. Opportunities for
community feedback
will continue through
January 2017 when the
school board will begin
considering placing the
bond measure on the
ballot.
Library program
highlights early
Oregon suff ragist
A special community
program portraying the life
and accomplishments of
the nationally-recognized
Oregon suffragist Abigail
Scott Duniway is planned.
Duniway was an
American women’s rights
advocate, newspaper
editor and writer whose
efforts were instrumental
in gaining voting rights
for women. In 1912, she
authored the Oregon
Woman Suffrage
Proclamation, and her
tireless work as an activist
played an important role
in later passage of the
19th Amendment, which
granted the right to vote to
all U.S. women.
The free event is at
6:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Oct. 21, at the Hermiston
Public Library, 235 E.
Gladys Ave. The program
is presented by Judy
Allen of Wallowa County,
a historian and career
researcher.
For more information,
contact judy.allen.joseph@
gmail.com. For details
about the Hermiston
presentation, call the
library at 541-567-2882.