Hermiston
Herald
TOUGH AS
HermistonHerald.com
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015
NAILS
Rod Retherford stands in his new saddlemaking shop at Horse Plaza in Hermiston.
By JADE McDOWELL
Staff Writer
H
EUGENE REGISTER-GUARD PHOTO
This photo of Rod Retherford
intercepting a pass at Autzen Stadium
against the Oregon Ducks appeared
in the Eugene Register-Guard in 1982
under the headline “Too Small Can’t Play,
Retherford wouldn’t listen!”
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about getting counseling after the
death of a family member. So Reth-
erford pushed through the grief on
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and continuing his own junior rodeo
career as a bull rider.
He was 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds
when he graduated, so Retherford
figured that was the end of his foot-
ball career. Three years later, how-
ever, after growing another seven
inches and adding a few pounds, he
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ball was in the cards after all.
“I thought I was huge,” he said,
See RETHERFORD, A18
Bulldogs host
Hood River for
homecoming
Page A10
$1.00
STAFF PHOTO BY JADE McDOWELL
ermiston’s newest saddle-
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ing, but in many ways his
life story exemplifies what
it means to be “cowboy
tough.”
Rod Retherford moved his custom
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er, however, he had a college football
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been featured in newspapers, mag-
azines, a documentary about Wash-
ington State University and a novel
by John A. Kuri simply titled “Rod.”
“It’s been an interesting ride, my
life so far,” Retherford said.
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his first day of high school would
have thought he would someday play
in the Holiday Bowl for a Pac-10
team. At 4-feet, 11-inches tall and
less than 90 pounds, Retherford said
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“I was that little guy every school
has that didn’t develop and didn’t
grow,” he said.
He persevered and made the team
eventually, but his joy at getting to
play football was undercut by a per-
sonal tragedy: At age 15 he watched
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state high school rodeo finals.
Retherford said the loss of his
FINAL HOME
GAME
ABOUT TOWN
Umatilla ends
city manager’s
contract
By JADE MCDOWELL
Staff Writer
The Umatilla City Coun-
cil approved a transition
plan Tuesday night that will
end the contract of City
Manager Bob Ward seven
months early.
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rector Russ Pelleberg will
be the new city manager in
March.
The doc-
ument
was
adopted
by
a vote of 4-1
after an exec-
utive session
with a motion
that noted the
Bob
plan could be
Ward
adjusted later
by the city’s
personnel
committee.
According to the doc-
ument adopted into the
record on Tuesday, Ward
was originally set to retire
in February 2017 but city
councilors had expressed a
desire for Pelleberg to as-
sume the role of city man-
ager on March 1, 2016.
The plan proposed that
Ward stay on as city man-
ager until March 1, then
serve in a transitional ca-
pacity from March 1 to July
1, at which time his con-
tract would be terminated
“with buy-out provisions.”
Under the plan Pelleberg
would continue to serve as
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addition to becoming city
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rector Melissa Ince would
become deputy city manag-
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supervisor Jason Barron
would assume some addi-
tional responsibilities in the
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Councilor Mary Ded-
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of the plan and councilor
Sharon Farnsworth was ab-
sent. Councilors Mel Ray,
George Fenton, David Lo-
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voted in favor.
Ward declined to com-
ment after the meeting.
BMCC hires
architect for
bond projects
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO BY ROD RETHERFORD
Rod Retherford rides a bucking bronco at age 55 at the
Grant County rodeo in 2012.
Hermiston hires specialists after
leaving InterMountain ESD
By SEAN HART
Staff Writer
As Hermiston School District
EHJDQLWV¿UVWVFKRRO\HDUDIWHURSW
ing out of the InterMountain Educa-
tion Service District, both agencies
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seamless as possible.
Wade Smith, Hermiston’s depu-
ty superintendent, said the district is
using the funds it is receiving from
the opt-out — about $1.9 million
that would have gone to the ESD
— to provide similar services. The
goal was to increase continuity for
students by hiring employees di-
rectly, he said.
“We have been fortunate, due
to planning and leadership, to en-
sure a smooth transition for all of
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
our students and programs, and are
UHDSLQJWKHEHQH¿WVRIKDYLQJGHG Third-grader Carlos Flores whispers an answer into educational assistant
Elizabeth Earp’s ear while participating in a teletherapy session Friday at
See HIRE, A18 Sunset Elementary School in Hermiston.
The Blue Mountain Com-
munity College Board of
Education approved a con-
tract with LKV Architects to
design projects approved by
voters in the May election.
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with project manager Frew
Development Group, hired
after passage of BMCC’s $23
million bond.
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holder teams to design the
three large projects — the
Early Childhood Education/
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in Boardman, the Precision
Irrigated Agriculture Center
in Hermiston and the Facili-
ty for Agricultural Resource
Management (FARM) in
Pendleton.
First on the drawing board
is the 13,300-square-foot
Early Childhood Education/
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ter, with an estimated cost of
$4.7 million. The $3.3 million
Precision Irrigated Ag Center
in Hermiston and the $4.2
million FARM in Pendleton
(a renovation of existing fa-
cilities) are in the schematic
design stage.
All projects are expected
to be completed by the fall of
2017.