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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2016)
Hermiston Herald HermistonHerald.com WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2016 WHO ARE YOU CHEERING FOR? Show your Bulldog pride by displaying the poster on Page 7 *Or you can fi nd the poster for the team to the east on Page 11. $1.00 ABOUT TOWN ONE LAST RUN AMONGST THE POPLARS PHOTO BY ANTONIO SIERRA Participants take off at the starting line for the children’s one-mile race at the Poplar Run at the Boardman Tree Farm Saturday. By ANTONIO SIERRA Staff Writer A bout 1,200 people reg- istered for the Very Poplar Run on Satur- day morning, for the opportunity to partici- pate in the fi nal race at the Boardman Tree Farm. The Poplar Run became a very popular run in its sixth and fi nal out- ing, as nearly three times the number of runners participated this year as ran in 2015. Runners still had patches of pop- lars to run through — striking shades of red and orange melded with green leaves still resisting autumn’s pull — but the tree farm’s slow fade-out was clearly felt, not only in the Very Pop- lar Run’s premature end but also in the sudden expanses of barren land and corn crops. GreenWood Resources sold the farm’s 25,000 acres to AgriNorthwest of Tri-Cities in February, the new owners intent on replacing the poplars with more conventional Eastern Ore- gon scenery, including conventional irrigated farmland and dairy. Andrew Bourque, GreenWood’s director of resource information sys- tems, was one of the run’s progenitors and organized the race each of its six years. He’s moving to Portland to work in GreenWood’s headquarters, but he was grateful for the time the company allowed him to not only work amongst Boardman’s trees but organize a race. “This is very unique and I’ve been See RUN, A18 PHOTO BY ANTONIO SIERRA Runners participating in A Very Poplar Run make their way through the course at the Boardman Tree Farm Saturday. Prison accepts donations for bike program Bicycles are needed for the Cycles of Hope program at Two Rivers Correctional Institution. The program repairs donated bicycles and provides them to local charities for distribution. Last Christmas season, 50 bicycles were given to local families in need. Scott and Steve Cimmiyotti of Scott’s Cycle & Sports in Hermiston volunteer as trainers for repairing bicycles. Inmates at the prison learn valuable skills through the project and are provided with an opportunity to give back to the community. People can drop donated bikes off at Agape House, 500 Harper Road, Hermiston. In addition, people can call Sgt. Kevin Hodges at TRCI at 541-922-2100 to make arrangements for donations or for more information about the program. Party includes pumpkin fun Boo bowling and broomstick hockey are among the activities during a Pumpkin Pick- ing Party at the Lexing- ton Grange. Children of all ages are invited to pick and decorate a pumpkin, as well as entering a costume contest for a chance to win priz- es. The event is Sun- day from 1-3 p.m. at the Lexington Grange, 66296 Marquardt Road. The cost is $5. Carnival games require one tick- et, which can be pur- chased for 25 cents or fi ve for $1. In addition, there’s a raffl e (tick- ets $5 each) for a fall- themed basket. For more informa- tion, visit www.lex- grange726.wix.com/ grange or contact lex. grange726@gmail.com. Event provides Halloween fun PHOTO BY ANTONIO SIERRA 10K runners get a start on the course at the Poplar Run at the Boardman Tree Farm Saturday. Where should the bus stop? City, tribes fi nalizing plans to start service in January By JADE MCDOWELL Staff Writer Fake “bus stops” will start appearing around Hermiston soon, but the signs are a dress rehearsal for a real bus system com- ing to town. The signs will pro- vide information about a planned bus system that will transport Hermiston residents for free around town fi ve days a week starting Jan. 2. It will be operated by the Confed- erated Tribes of the Uma- tilla Indian Reservation’s Kayak Transit program as a contract with the city of Hermiston. Mark Morgan, assis- tant city manager, said the transit advisory com- mittee, which is helping to plan the bus system, hopes the signs at the proposed stops will work to draw feedback on the route and times before the committee submits a fi nal recommendation to the City Council on Nov. 14. The committee will meet one more time on Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. at City Hall, and members of the public are encouraged to attend. “If they have any heart- burn about it, we want to hear it at the Nov. 1 meet- ing,” Morgan said. The advisory com- mittee met last week and traveled the initial route the CTUIR put together, making suggestions for minor adjustments. The tribes plan to incorporate those suggestions before handing the city a map to publicize on its web- site and the proposed bus stops this week. Without those adjust- ments, the proposed route includes 35 stops around town and takes about an hour to complete one cir- cuit. The suggested stops include Wal-Mart, Blue Mountain Community College, Hermiston Plaza and Good Shepherd Med- ical Center, as well as multiple stops along ma- jor streets like NW 11th Street, NE Fourth Street, Main Street, Orchard Av- enue and Highland Ave- nue. A city survey offered two options for bus route times: continuously from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or in two chunks of time in the ear- ly morning and late af- ternoon for commuters. Seventy four percent of See BUS, A18 A pair of local churches are offering safe fun on Halloween. The Fall Family Fes- tival & Trunk or Treat is Monday from 5-7 p.m. at Hermiston Church of the Nazarene, 1520 W. Orchard Ave. The event offers fun for the whole family. In addition to candy, hot dogs will be available. For more in- formation, visit www. hermistonnazarene.org or call 541-567-.3677. Also, the annual Crossroads Trunk of Treat is Monday from 6-8 p.m. at Crossroads Community Church, 350 N.W. Sherman St., Stanfi eld. People are invited to decorate their cars or trucks and hand out candy to kids. Also, hot chocolate and warming pits will be on hand — if weath- er permits, a bouncy castle and slide will be available. For more information, call 541- 449-3434. For more Halloween events and activities, see the Coming Events calendar on Page A2.