REGION
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Last Umatilla County Fair for manager Anderson
has included taking care of the
fairgrounds. EOTEC has a full-time
facilities manager of its own which
Umatilla County Fair manager may mean the new fair manager
doesn’t need to work all
Peggy Anderson will
year long.
oversee her last fair for the
“Looking
at
the
county next week, before
budget, it makes it very
heading to her native
GLI¿FXOW WR FRQVLGHU D
Josephine County to take a
status quo,” he said.
similar position there.
Miller said Anderson
The Umatilla County
has been an asset to the
Board of Commissioners
fair and the board is sad to
announced
Anderson’s
see her go, but they also
planned
departure
support her in taking an
Tuesday and said that her Anderson
opportunity she is excited
replacement would likely
about in the area where
be a part-time employee
in light of the fair moving to the she is originally from.
“She has given us adequate
Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
notice to continue to make the fair
Center next year.
Fair board director Don Miller a success and implement a smooth
said Anderson’s position as manager transition in whatever direction we
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
decide to go,” he said.
Anderson has managed the
Umatilla County Fair since 2006.
During her nine-year tenure atten-
dance at the fair grew by 20 percent
and cash sponsorships increased by
$130,000 a year, according to the
county.
Fair Board Chair Lucas Wagner
said Anderson has done excellent
work for the fair.
“There is a level of profession-
alism and knowledge and expertise
in working with the public and with
sponsors that is unparalleled,” he
said.
Anderson is planning on sticking
around through September to help
wrap things up on the 2015 fair.
Wagner said between her transition
WLPHDQGWKHFRPSHWHQWRI¿FHVWDII
the board will have the time to do a
proper, thoughtful job of coming up
with a plan and hiring her replace-
ment.
Anderson said she had not
been looking to leave the Umatilla
County Fair, but she grew up in
Josephine County and she and her
husband wanted to retire there.
“An opportunity fell into my lap
that I couldn’t ignore,” she said.
$QGHUVRQ¿UVWOLYHGLQ3HQGOHWRQ
and later moved to Hermiston and
was active in both as a business
owner and as a former president
of the Pendleton Chamber of
Commerce.
“Pendleton gave me a great start
and Hermiston embraced me later,”
she said.
She said she is proud of the way
the fair grew under her manage-
ment, both in quality and size.In the
announcement of her new position,
she said even though she will miss
the Umatilla County Fair she is
looking forward to applying the
lessons she learned here in managing
the the county fair in southwest
“In a way, the Josephine County
Fair is about the same place the
Umatilla County Fair was when
I became manager,” she said. “It
will be exciting to see if we can
duplicate the success we had here in
a different county.”
Josephine County, in southwest
Oregon and bordering the California
border, has about 83,000 people
compared to Umatilla County’s
77,000.
———
Contact Jade McDowell at
jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or
541-564-4536.
HERMISTON
PENDLETON
Can you spell c-h-a-m-p-i-o-n? City ready to hire
architect for new
senior center
By JONATHAN BACH
East Oregonian
Lolita Hess wasn’t always good
with words.
When she was younger, she did not
spell well. But then she got into writing
and delved into books like Catching
Fire and Mockingjay from the “Hunger
Games” series.
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from Pendleton in recent memory
to win the Umatilla County spelling
contest. Now the soon-to-be sixth
grader is looking to compete at the
Oregon statewide spelling champion-
ships, hosted during the state fair.
Celia Hampton, Hess’ teacher for
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Intermediate School, said the girl is
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carry the day in the regional academic
competition. West Hills principal
Brenda Giesen noted the scarcity
of Pendletonians who have won the
county contest.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve
had someone from Pendleton win at
this level,” she said, estimating the last
person from the town to have been best
in the county was about 20 years ago.
“Lollie” Hess, 12, works a paper
route for the East Oregonian and has
even picked up substitute routes to
help pay for the trip to Salem, said her
mother, Matilda Williams. Hess wakes
up at 3 a.m. to work her route by the
old hospital.
Hampton applauds Hess’ getting
up so early in the morning throughout
the year for the paper route, which she
considers rare among today’s kids. And
the teacher has even helped her pupil
prepare for the spelling contest. Hess
asked Hampton for a dictionary with
which to practice. Hampton said she
gave her student a 4- to 5-inch thick
dictionary replete with etymologies.
“She has a natural curiosity for
words,” Hampton said.
At May’s InterMountain Education
Service District Spelling Contest,
Hess said she felt nervous because
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Photographer
reception planned
at library
The Hermiston Public
Library will host a reception
for photographer Adam Sims
from 4-6 p.m. Thursday.
He started studying
photography in 2007.
Although he was unable
to take formal classes in
college because of his
schedule, he learned through
tutorials, books, critiques
and practice.
“I believe my interest in
photography branched off
from my interest in video
recording lightning and other
subjects,” he said. “I have
always been someone that
loved to be outdoors, and I
feel like photography really
gave me a way to interact
with the beauty that is out
there.”
Sims uses different
software to edit RAW photo
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saw in the scene.
His work is on display at
the library throughout the
month.
Presentation
highlights
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experience
ENTERPRISE — For
those interested in regional
history and culture, an
upcoming presentation
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features the wal w
experience in the Wallowas.
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Wallowas, Wallowa Band
Nez Perce is presented by
Tim Nitz of the National
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Jonathan Bach
Matilda Williams, 39, and her daughter, Lolita Hess, 12, sit outside their
Pendleton home Monday. Lolita wants to attend the 2015 Oregon state-
wide spelling championships, so her mother set up a GoFundMe account
in the hopes that donations will help to cover the expenses thereof.
have contestants stand up and spell the
words aloud. But instead, participants
wrote the words out on paper.
Lizette Barryessa with the IMESD
said that is the difference between a
spelling contest and a bee.
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day: aerosol.
Williams, 39, works two jobs to
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daughter got the chance to compete in
the statewide competition, she started
reaching out for help.
Williams said she set up a
GoFundMe account online with a
goal of raising $1,500 to cover travel
expenses to the state fair for her family
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for the family and said she will do
what it takes so that her daughter can
compete next month.
Williams works at Sodexo, a
company that provides food to Pend-
leton schools. In the summer, long
work weeks are hard to come by — she
averages just 16 hours per week.
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job at Walmart.”
Williams dropped out of high school
at 15 to help raise her sister’s child. She
obtained a GED and started college,
but soon left after she became pregnant
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died when Lolita was 5 years old.
Williams said she worked hard to
be where she is today, but she sees a
spring of potential in Lolita. She said
her daughter has a chance to complete
college and be a writer.
Hess’ father was Japanese. The
young academic said she wants to be
a writer of manga, or Japanese comic
books, when she grows up. Though
she wants to write in English, she is
teaching herself the Asian language via
online videos and comics.
The family’s GoFundMe page can
be found at www.gofundme.com/8f-
nfjc.
BRIEFLY
Submit information to:
community@eastorego-
nian.com. Call 541-564-
4539 or with questions.
After years of planning,
the city of Hermiston is ready
to start moving forward in
earnest on a new senior center.
Hermiston Parks and
Recreation director Larry
Fetter said a grant adminis-
trator has been hired and the
city council will be asked to
approve a contract with Lenity
Architecture on Monday.
Construction
on
the
Harkenrider
Center
is
expected to start in the spring.
“Our goal is to have it
done and be moved in by Dec.
2016, and today we’re on
target to do that,” Fetter said.
Last week the council
approved a series of
resolutions
concerning
accessibility and equal
housing opportunities that
are required for Community
Development Block Grant
funds from the federal
housing authority. Fetter said
that step cleared the way for
the city to get documents that
will enable it to start using
the $2 million awarded to
the project.
The city council and
building
development
committee both chose a piece
of property off Fourth Street
behind Wal-Mart, known as
the Aspen site, as their top
choice for the new center.
Fetter said the land is privately
owned but the grant adminis-
trator has begun negotiations
to purchase the property.
“When utilizing federal
money there is a very
prescriptive process for land
acquisition,” he said.
The current senior center,
located on the Umatilla
County Fairgrounds, will no
longer be available for use at
the end of 2016 after Herm-
iston School District takes
over the property and the fair
moves to the Eastern Oregon
Trade and Event Center south
of town.
Pat Williams, who was
eating lunch with other
seniors at the current building
on Tuesday, said she hopes
the activities she has enjoyed
at the center, such as the
Christmas bazaar, will carry
over to the new location.
“They have good meals
here,” she said. “I hope it’s
similar in the new building.”
Mary Mallery said she
wanted to see an increase in
activities, like craft afternoons
or service opportunities.
“It would be nice if we
could get some entertainment
in for the seniors,” she said.
“There are a lot of people our
age that are very talented.”
She said she wasn’t very
happy that the city, which is
the entity that was awarded
the $2 million federal grant
for the new building, will
have control over the senior
center. She said she hopes
the city will gather plenty of
input from all seniors, not
just the building development
committee, for improving the
preliminary designs created
for the new building.
“I would encourage the
seniors to be more involved
with the building ... and the
city to come and listen,” she
said.
Mallery said the city would
be wrong to ignore all of the
wisdom, experience and
expertise to be found among
the senior center’s volunteers
when building the center.
“We’re not dead yet, and
we’re not stupid,” she said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
McKay Creek Estates
presents:
SAFETY
Join us as we host a lecture series to
increase safety awareness on fall prevention,
common home injuries and provide solutions
to keep you and your loved one safe!
Photo courtesy Adam Sims
Park Service. As part of the
Into The Wallowa Summer
Outings & Lectures, the free
event is Thursday, Aug. 13 at
7 p.m. at Stage One, 116 E.
Main St., Enterprise.
The discussion will
explore different aspects of
Ѵ á·ma experience,
the wal w
many of which are unknown
or often forgotten by today’s
residents.
For more information,
contact julia@
wallowalandtrust.org,
541-426-2042 or visit www.
wallowalandtrust.org.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5 • 5-7P
Wine Tasting
featuring
SEVEN
Specials
The Truth Behind Senior Moments
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 3:30 PM
Learn what’s normal and what is not when it comes to short-term memory loss.
Learn the early signs of Alzheimer’s and other related dementias. We will discuss
tips on brain health and keeping your memory sharp.
Staying Active to Prevent Falls
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 3:30 PM
Staying active reduces your risk of a fall and improves your overall health and
wellbeing. Learn what activities are best, how to improve your strength and
balance and simple exercises to implement at home today.
Don’t Let the Blues Get You Down
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 3:30 PM
Learn how to identify and manage depression. Life’s changes can have adverse
effects. Proper planning and coping skills can help ease these stressors. Making
simple lifestyle changes can boost your mood and help alleviate many of your
symptoms.
by th
Glass e &
Bottle
HILLS WINERY
H AMLEY S TEAK H OUSE
& S aloon
Court & Main, Pendleton
541.278.1100
SafetyMan says
“Always be Safe to Ensure an Active
& Independent Lifestyle”
Big truck day at
Pendleton library
PENDLETON — Big
Truck Day is coming to the
Pendleton Public Library.
The big rigs and
employees from the city’s
public works department
will be on hand Thursday
from 2-4 p.m. at 502 S.W.
Dorion Ave., Pendleton.
Kids of all ages are
invited to meet with the
big rig operators. LEGO
construction sets will be
UDIÀHGRIIGXULQJWKHHYHQW
For more information,
call 541-966-0380.
S
FIRST
For more information or to RSVP, call us at (541) 276-1987 or visit us today!
McKay Creek Estates
1601 Southgate Place
Pendleton, Oregon 97801
www.PrestigeCare.com