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East Oregonian
ATHENA: Games were halted during the first World War
Continued from 1A
they’ve
guided
Pacific
Northwesterners in discov-
ering their heritage.
Many of Athena’s pioneer
residents were Scottish,
explained Mark Steltman,
the vice chairman of the
games and former mayor of
Athena. In 1899, the same
year the town was named,
The Umatilla Caledonian
Society held a picnic in
City Park. Over 2,500
people attended what has
since become an annual
event. They shared stories
of Scotland and engaged in
friendly competition, tossing
hammers, stones, sheafs and
the caber.
The unusual athletic
events “were like mock war
trials,” Steltman explained.
“How far can you throw
an axe? How well can you
throw a rock at your enemy?”
It was a real war, the first
World War, that sent the
games grinding to a halt.
Don Duncan re-instituted the
tradition in 1976.
In addition to the athletic
competition, the games of
today feature bagpiping
contests, harp performances,
dance
“shindigs”
and
professional
storytelling.
Vendors sell sausage rolls
and meat pie. Some visitors
wear kilts and carry short
daggers called dirks. Others
come as novices to Scottish
culture.
“Somewhere in your
history, there’s a Scot,” Stel-
tman told the crowd during
Saturday’s
introductory
ceremony. “Trust me.”
Margaret Ley drove from
Walla Walla to learn about
that history.
“I’m a Jameson,” she
said. “Everyone in my family
has always talked about our
Scottish heritage.”
But while perusing the six
clan tents at the games, Ley
27,000 gallons of sewage
spill into Portland creek
PORTLAND (AP) —
The Portland Bureau of
Environmental
Services
says about 27,000 gallons
of sewage spilled into a
creek on Sunday.
The Oregonian/Oregon-
Live reports the sewage
spilled into Woods Creek in
the 6100 block of Southwest
Canby Street. Woods Creek
feeds into Fanno Creek.
Maintenance
crews
estimate 27,000 gallons
spilled into the creek before
they diverted the flow into a
nearby sewage line.
The bureau urges the
public to stay away from the
creeks for at least 48 hours
because of the possibility
of increased bacteria in the
water.
Bureau spokeswoman
Diane Dulken says the
bureau is investigating
the cause of the spill and
working on repairs. She
says most sewage spills are
caused when grease, tree
roots or other debris block
pipes.
DEMOCRATS: A Dem
last held the seat in 1981
Continued from 1A
Staff photo by Emily Olson
Christopher Gordon signs a registry of the MacGregor Clan Association, hoping to
receive more information about his heritage at the Caledonian Games on Saturday.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
The Weston-McEwen Pipe Band marches in the Cale-
donian Games Parade on Saturday in Athena.
started forming suspicions.
The name Jameson didn’t
appear on any of the gene-
alogical maps or surname
lists. So she pulled out her
phone, did a quick search
and realized she’s probably
English.
“Maybe not everything
our families tell us is
accurate,” she said. Her
husband, Joel, who has
confirmed his Scottish
roots in the McIntyre clan,
is still skeptical.
“We’re going to have to
figure it out,” he said. They’d
already discussed doing a
DNA test.
Others came away with
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Duncan Anderson rais-
es his candle during the
opening candlelight cere-
mony Friday night of the
Caledonian Games.
more luck.
For his eighteenth trip to
the games, Dale Turnbull said
that he’d already confirmed
clan blood for two visitors.
“They’re family,” he said,
smiling.
FUNFEST: Arts Show merged with Funfest for the first time
Continued from 1A
waved the starting flag they
took off, accelerating to more
than 70 miles per hour and
stopping, all within about 100
feet. On the way back they
rolled up to the curb, high-
fiving eager kids who stuck
their hands out.
The Outlaw Lawn Drag-
sters have about 15 active
team members, and host races
around the region: Boise
and New Plymouth, Idaho;
Dayton and Yakima, Wash-
ington; and in Pilot Rock.
The races drew a crowd,
with viewers lining both sides
of Main Street to get a better
look.
“The speeds they reach
within an eighth of a mile are
commensurate with what they
reach with the big cars,” said
Bob Middleton, who usually
watches the races with his
wife Carol and their grandson,
Rian. “They’re doing 70 or
better.”
Brian
Olson,
the
announcer, encouraged those
watching to get involved.
“For a weekend sport, it’s
really kind of a good thing,”
he said. “We have a little
fun, it’s good people, it’s not
expensive. It’s like a family.”
Some took his advice to
heart. As the first of three
heats ended, a woman and her
husband walked by to look at
the vehicles.
“We know what we’re
doing next year,” she told him.
Lisa Olson, the only
woman racing on Saturday,
had a pink drag racer she and
her husband built. She has
been racing for 17 years, and
is from New Plymouth, Idaho.
“It’s just bragging rights,”
she said. “It used to be more
competitive, but now it’s just
all in fun.”
More cars, less revving
Across the highway, the
cars were stationary but drew
just as much of a crowd. The
Hermiston Classics Car Club
hosted its 22nd Annual Cool
Rides Car Show, showcasing
a plethora of vehicles, some of
which came from out-of-state.
Jeanne Steffey of the car
club said the entrant from
farthest away was a car from
Bellflower, California, in the
Los Angeles area.
The oldest car was a 1924
Ford C-Cab, owned by Lyle
and Helen Bliss of Hermiston.
The couple bought the
car a year ago from a man in
Louisiana, and now plans to
sell it — a common practice
for them.
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
The car show at Saturday’s Hermiston’s Funfest at-
tracted plenty of looks under the hood.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Chainsaw artist Matt Holznagle works on a piece
Saturday during Hermiston’s Funfest.
“We buy ’em, he fixes
’em up, we sell ’em and get
something else,” Helen said.
Do they drive it?
“Oh yeah!” Lyle said with
a grin. “Horses are trailered,
hot rods are driven. It runs
great, 500 horsepower.”
Helen helps detail the cars
and keep them clean, too.
“I’ve got grease under my
fingernails,” she said.
The couple has had several
other classic cars, including
a 1964 Falcon Sprint, a 1961
Ford Fairlane, and a 1940
Ford pickup, which Lyle said
was his favorite.
For Russ and Tammi
Lynch, the car they had on
display is a piece of personal
history.
“My grandfather bought
it brand new in 1958,” said
Russ of the red and white
Ford Country Sedan. “He
drove it till he was 92. Then
he came back from breakfast
one morning, got out of the
car, and he passed away.”
Russ ended up with the
car, and has had it for about
20 years. The couple tries to
maintain the car just as it was,
repainting it in its original
colors and restoring the front
seat, which had a hole where
Russ’ grandfather used to sit.
“It’s only got 68,000 miles
on it,” Russ said. “It reminds
me of him when I drive it.”
The car club also gave
out some awards, including
one for a car manufactured
in each decade, as well as
the “Police Chief’s Award”
or, according to the emcee,
the car least likely to get out
of town without a ticket. The
best of show award went to
Chip Chapman, with his 1941
Willys Roadster.
Funfest
On Hermiston’s Main
Street, kids played and adults
browsed the many vendor
shops set up, both local and
out-of-town merchants.
Patsy Dickinson was
selling brightly colored
birdhouses and planters,
constructed
by
her
87-year-old father, Dean, in
his woodshop. Many of the
pieces were painted to look
like watermelons.
Caitlin Hunsaker was at
the event for the second time
with her business, Painted
Mountain Henna.
This was Melissa Littrell’s
first year at the event, selling
her own paintings.
“It’s a home hobby,” she
said. “I use acrylic paint, and
just do a bunch of inspira-
tional messages.”
For the first time, the
Eastern Oregon Arts Show
merged with Funfest, hoping
to add something to both
events. The show was held in
a tent in front of city hall, just
across from the Hermiston
Farmer’s Market.
“We have a little less
than we had last year,” said
Mary Corp of the Desert Arts
Council, which organized
the event. “Some of the
usual artists didn’t show this
year, but we have some new
artists, and it’s really a strong
show.”
A new component this
year was the show’s youth
division, featuring art from
students ages 13 to 18.
The show was juried
by Roberta Lavadour, the
director of the Pendleton
Center of the Arts, and
the best in show prize was
awarded to Andi Aldrich for
the photograph entitled “The
Next Generation,” of a row
of birds sitting on a fence.
Just outside the tent, the
Hermiston Farmer’s Market
was in full swing, with several
local farms represented, as
well as some unique additions.
Cayla Barthel and Tammy
Ontiveros of Flowingroots
Farm were selling lettuce and
basil grown in an aquaponics
system — meaning the plants
were not grown in mud, but
in water.
On the main stage at the
corner of Second and Main
streets, crowds enjoyed
the sounds of the Bram
Brata Steel Band from the
Tri-Cities, the antics of a
mime clown, and an auction.
The event ended around 3
p.m., but at 4, there was a new
attraction — the Around the
World in One Fun Day event,
which highlighted various
cultures with performances,
food and informational
booths.
–——
Contact
Jayati
Ramakrishnan at 541-564-
4534 or jramakrishnan@
eastoregonian.com
dents and gauge whether
there’s a path to victory.
Van Dyke introduced
himself to the audience,
touching on his stints as
the Marion County district
attorney, an executive for
Nike and Patagonia and a
senior vice president with
the World Wildlife Fund.
He also fielded questions
from the crowd, who not
only asked him about his
positions on health care,
immigration and gun
control but also pressed
him on the nuts and bolts
of how he would finance
and run his campaign.
Although Van Dyke
mentioned Donald Trump
by name sparingly, the
president did not escape
reference.
“I’m not much different
than you,” Van Dyke said.
“I wake up and some days
I’m angry. Some days I’m
also afraid. Recently I’ve
been embarrassed and I’ve
been saddened.”
Van Dyke said the
Democrats wouldn’t be
able to turn the second
district blue by criticizing
Trump or Walden, but by
offering a credible candi-
date who could present a
platform that would appeal
to rural voters.
But Van Dyke also
included a few digs at
Walden, accusing him of
being “addicted to incum-
bency.” When Umatilla
County Democratic Party
Chair Mark Petersen
compared Walden to an old
pair of shoes that created
a sense of familiarity with
voters, Van Dyke was
ready with a response.
“He is like an old pair of
shoes,” he said. “But even-
tually, old shoes get stinky
and need to be replaced.”
Despite talking about
his career and political
views at length, Van Dyke
did not draw attention to
his famous father — actor
Dick Van Dyke.
If Van Dyke opts to
challenge Walden, he’ll
join an eclectic group of
Democrats vying for the
nomination.
The field includes
Michael Byrne, a stone-
mason from Parkdale,
Rachael Scdoris-Salerno,
a dogsled racer from Bend,
Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a
former Phoenix, Oregon
city manager, and Jim
Crary, a retired attorney
and oil company executive
from Ashland.
It would be a long shot
for Democrats to unseat
Walden,
a
nine-term
incumbent from Hood
River with $1.4 million
cash on hand in his
campaign account.
Crary
knows
this
first hand, having lost
to Walden in 2016 by a
44-point margin.
In an interview Monday,
Crary said this election
would be different because
congressional
Republi-
cans’ health care bills are
galvanizing District 2 resi-
dents to oppose Walden.
Crary said Walden’s
role as the chairman of
the Energy and Commerce
Committee showed that his
fingerprints are all over the
American Health Care Act,
the House Republican’s
bill to repeal and replace
the Affordable Care Act.
Van Dyke said health
care would be his top issue
as a candidate, and both he
and Crary said they would
support a single-payer
system.
Crary
acknowledged
that it would be an uphill
battle to defeat Walden, but
added it was the right time
to try.
“If it’s ever going
to happen, it’s going to
happen this election,” he
said.
If it does happen this
election, the Democratic
nominee will have to over-
come District 2’s histori-
cally conservative lean and
its massive boundaries.
A Democrat last held
the seat in 1981 in a district
that now covers roughly
two-thirds of the state.
While
Republicans
comprise only 36 percent
of registered voters (a
9-point advantage over
Democrats), the district
has voted heavily for
Republican
presidential
candidates in recent elec-
tion cycles.
Van Dyke believes there
is a path to victory, saying
that more District 2 constit-
uents voted for Democratic
Sen. Ron Wyden in 2016
than for Walden and Crary
combined.
Van Dyke said he’s
met the other Democratic
candidates and thinks
there’s little daylight
between them when it
comes to policy. Whoever
wins the primary, Van
Dyke anticipates the other
candidates will support the
nominee.
———
Contact Antonio Sierra
at asierra@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0836.
MAIOCCO: Has been district’s
superintendent since 2007
Continued from 1A
applications and go through
a standard hiring process.
The board unanimously
approved
Maiocco’s
request for a leave of
absence, and decided to
advertise the position and
go through a standard hiring
process, with interviews
conducted by district staff
and board members. The
position is open until filled.
To qualify, candidates
must have a valid Oregon
administrator’s
license
and a master’s degree in
an education-related field,
Maiocco said.
Maiocco also noted that
once he returns, the interim
superintendent may still be
able to have a place within
the district. When former
director of special program
Jon Mishra left at the end of
this school year, Maiocco
said he did not fill that
position, but kept it in the
budget.
“It’s likely we’ll be able
to keep that position, so
there’s some security with
that (interim role) as well,”
he said.
Maiocco has been the
district’s
superintendent
since 2007, and said he
plans to return to Hermiston
after his service.
“I just bought a new
house,” he said with a
laugh. “I certainly look
forward to coming back.”
Board members wished
Maiocco well during his
absence.
“Thank you for your
service,”
said
Jason
Middleton.
The board will begin
accepting applications this
week. The district will hold
its next work session July
24 at the Hermiston School
District office, 305 SW 11th
Street, Hermiston.