Page 8A East Oregonian FIRE: Will provide 24/7 stafing at Fire Station 2 Continued from 1A in the Hermiston and Stan- ield area. This value will not impact residents — such as those within the city limits of Hermiston — who are already under compression. The reformation is expected to bring in $900,000, which would add staff, replace old vehicles and provide 24/7 stafing at Fire Station 2 on Diagonal Road. This is the second time the ire districts have asked voters for the reformation. The consolidation previously failed in the November 2014 election. In that election, the measure to create the new district failed 56 percent to 44 percent among voters in Hermiston and Stanield areas. “I’ve been cautiously optimistic this whole time. I looked at the numbers 18 months ago and the difference in the campaign and what we did differently,” Stanton said. “People this time were a lot more vocal saying they were voting for us and they hoped we got it. We hoped for the best.” The chief said the commu- nity support continued as the election results came out and his phone kept ringing into the evening. “We want to give all our thanks to all the folks who supported us. We just feel so grateful for the support we have, and we would have been grateful, no matter what happened today,” he said. “These are two great commu- nities and we’re going to continue to serve and continue that on the best we can.” SCHOOLS: Renovations will start as early as fall Continued from 1A “You just don’t get that: Ever,” Superintendent Rob Clark said of the $19 million. “Even people who have historically voted no forever in Milton-Freewater said, ‘OK, we have to vote for this one.’” The money will pay for a new kindergarten through third grade elementary school, repurposing Ferndale School as a fourth and ifth grade school, demolishing Freewater and Grove schools or turning them into a community space, building a new sports complex, relo- cating the bus/maintenance yard and completing $1 million of needed HVAC upgrades to McLoughlin High School. Clark said some renova- tions will start as early as the fall, with the new elementary school planned for the fall of 2018. “Everyone’s pretty pumped,” he said. Wednesday, May 18, 2016 OFF PAGE ONE Voters elect new Morrow County commissioners Incumbent Leann Rea ousted by challenger By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian The Morrow County Court is getting some new blood after Tuesday’s elec- tion. Jim Doherty, owner of O’Doherty Cattle Co. in Boardman, narrowly defeated incumbent Leann Rea for Commissioner Position 1 by just 74 votes. The unoficial inal count was 1,181 to 1,107. In an interview Tuesday night, Doherty said he was humbled by the opportunity to serve. “I’m eager to go to work for the people of Morrow County,” Doherty said. “I to help him through the transition. “He will have a pretty steep learning curve,” Rea said. “People on the outside don’t realize what all commissioners are involved Doherty Lindsay in.” In the race didn’t come into this with an agenda. I just wanted to for county judge — which will convert to a third part- listen to everyone.” Rea, 75, was seeking time commissioner seat her third term on the court, after Dec. 31 — Melissa which would have made Lindsay won handily over her the most experienced Greg Sweek, 1,517 to commissioner. Instead, she 802. Lindsay, who lives in congratulated Doherty on Heppner and works as pres- his victory and said she ident of Turner Ranch, said will make herself available she is excited to make the jump into county govern- ment. “It’s an exciting time for Morrow County,” she said. Sweek previously served nine terms as the county assessor and tax collector, but was unable to return to the courthouse. Lindsay takes over for Judge Terry Tallman, who will retire on Jan. 1, 2017. The county decided last year to drop its local judge position, and instead use the seat as a third part-time commissioner while hiring a full-time county adminis- trator. Juvenile court cases will be absorbed into district court. ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825. PENDLETON: Becky Marks is a two-term incumbent Continued from 1A restart his campaign. Chalmers, a city council appointee since February and the Umatilla County director of assessment and taxation, said he respects the results and will continue to reach out to voters ahead of the November election. “That’s the beauty of the process,” he said. The only candidate who didn’t face an opponent, John Turner issued a state- ment detailing some of his plans when he takes over for Mayor Phillip Houk in January. According to the state- ment, Turner said he plans to form “a working group of civic leaders and interested citizens” to form a list of 8-10 goals for the city, which will be discussed at a series of community Turner meetings. “If you don’t like the list of goals we have set, tell us what you want. With your input, we can establish a prioritized list of the top three or four goals, and assign them measurable outcomes,” he said in a state- ment. “I expect these goals to drive the deliberations of the new city council in 2017-18.” Primmer, who handily won his Ward 3 seat, echoed Turner’s statement, saying his main goal in January was to set the council’s priorities. In the race to replace Councilor Tom Young, Primmer beat out Cody Cimmiyotti, a bartender and a customer service agent, and Don Bennett, a retired Eastern Oregon Training Center worker. With 73 percent of the vote in Ward 2, Fairley had the largest margin of victory of the contested races. He defeated former city councilor Bob Ehmann and retired salesman Rex More- house to replace Councilor Chuck Wood. Fairley did not return a request for comment as of press time. Marks, a two-term incumbent, also turned back a challenge from self-em- ployed computer repairman James Tibbets. 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