Page 10A OFF PAGE ONE East Oregonian Wednesday, July 26, 2017 HARKENRIDER: Named city’s Man of the Year in 1987 Continued from 1A some members of the Hermiston Senior Center against naming the new building, scheduled to be complete in late 2017 or early 2018, the Harkenrider Center. He also had many supporters, however, who voted “Harkie” back into office repeatedly through the decades. Harkenrider always considered the vote to hire Hermiston’s first city manager the best thing he did for the city. It was a point he focused on even as other parts of his memory were slipping away. “I love this town,” he said in 2014. “I’ve given my heart and soul to the city. I made a lot of mistakes but I made some good votes, too.” Harkenrider’s professional career was mostly spent at Union Oil Distributorship, where he started working with his father George Harkenrider, who was also a Hermiston city councilor and mayor. He later worked for PGG before retiring. He served in the armed forces, deploying to Guam and the Philippines after World War II. In 1987 he was named the city’s Man of the Year. Harkenrider was born in Herm- iston and met his wife Beverly there while she was working for US Bank. The pair were married on Nov. 4, 1954 in a double ceremony with her sister and sister’s fiancé. He is survived by Beverly, their three daughters and five grand- daughters. His youngest granddaughter, Kacie Jo Upperman, said he used to babysit her from the mayor’s desk and take her to everything from parades to a mayors’ convention in Seaside. As a kid she knew “everyone” at city hall from her time sitting at the press desk with coloring books and dolls. “I definitely have fond memories of sitting coloring and waiting for grandpa to run the city and come up with his next wacky idea to make Hermiston grow,” she said. Afterward they would go out for a grilled cheese sandwich and pickle at a downtown business known as the Cookie Tree. He wasn’t afraid to be himself, she said, and worked tremendously hard for the city he loved. She said he loved sports and went to many Portland Trail Blazers games when Upperman’s sister Kelly Robinson became a Blazer Dancer. “He loved supporting her and got to sneak in some basket- ball-watching on the side,” she said. It was Harkenrider who took a truck full of watermelons to Port- land in 1991 and handed them out on the street, beginning a tradition that lasted for 17 years and was revived two years ago. Harkenrider was there for the resurrection of the giveaway in 2015. He kept photos of the events — which put a media spotlight on Hermiston produce and promoted the city to the west side of the state — in a bookshelf full of scrapbooks in a small room of his home lined with Hermiston-related memorabilia. His knowledge of Hermiston’s history was extensive and he often served as the city council’s institutional memory. As news of Harkenrider’s passing spread on Facebook, resi- dents commented that he will be missed, calling him a “wonderful man,” a “huge part of our great town” and “the nicest man I ever met.” “Harkie embodied the true spirit of Hermiston and of course was Hermiston’s BIGGEST FAN!” Kelly Schwirse wrote on the Herm- READ: Provides socialization skills for the dogs Continued from 1A Costley approached Foster Grandparent Executive Director John Brenne about incorporating PAWS into a summer reading program, Brenne said the nonprofit decided to add cats and dogs to the mix. PAWS manager Kevin Wadlington said that the shelter does receive some extra publicity from the reading to animals program, but its main motivation to join was to provide a community service. One benefit for the shelter, Wadlington said, was that the kids close proximity to the dogs provided the canines with important socialization skills before they’re adopted out, especially around young children. Over in the cats room, more than a dozen cats freely roamed around while Liam Campbell, 10, and his brother Rowan, 8, read their books aloud. Liam was multitasking, reading aloud from a book called “I Could Pee On This: And Other Poems By Cats” while dangling a toy suspended on a string in front of an enraptured black cat. The boys’ mother, Cath- erine, said the family adopted all of their cats from PAWS and suggested it wasn’t a hard sell to get her sons to sign up for the program. “They were like, ‘OK, we Staff photo by E.J. Harris The reading to animals summer reading program is a partnership between Foster Grandparents, the Pendle- ton Public Library and PAWS. DACK: Patience most important part of being a real estate agent Continued from 1A Dack said. Finding the right match between people and property can be difficult, but Dack said it’s also rewarding to help someone find a home that fits both their needs and their budget. “Every sale is kind of a miracle, because so many things can happen to keep the sale from happening,” she said. “Finance is always a struggle. We always want a little more than we can afford.” Dack described herself as a people person, and said that craving for human interaction is a big part of what keeps her coming to work. Being patient is the most important part of being a real estate agent, she said, because people will often come into the process not knowing what they want. A Realtor can show them a house that is exactly what they described, and they might reject it and choose something completely different from what they originally said they were looking for. She said some of her favorite sales have been helping immigrants who have arrived from a foreign country find a home in America. “It’s interesting to get to know their background, and very satisfying when you help them find what they want,” she said. These days, Dack spends more time in the office than out selling houses, but she said she still does help with the occasional sale if a former customer comes in and asks her to help them with an upgrade or downsize. She was given high praise during the Columbia Basin Board of Realtors banquet, with the presenter noting that while many Realtors can’t “cut it” in the industry for more than a few years, Dack “has taken great delight from the very beginning in watching our area grow and prosper and still does to this day.” She has remained active in various clubs and organizations in Hermiston during her time there, and even bought an airplane in her younger days so that she could fly to real estate classes and make it back to her customers faster. Her motto in facing tough-to-love properties is “there’s a buyer for every- thing.” ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. iston Herald’s Facebook page. “He will be missed dearly.” Mayor David Drotzmann offered up condolences as well in a statement on behalf of the city. “We’re extremely saddened to hear about the passing of Frank Harkenrider; undeniably Herm- iston’s ‘greatest cheerleader.’” he said in a written statement. “This community would not be where it is today without Frank’s nearly five decades of direct service to the city of Hermiston. I think naming the new Harkenrider Center after Frank was the least we could do to honor his unrivaled level of community service.” Services are pending, with arrangements in care of Burns Mortuary. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536. SORTE: County passed its largest ever road budget earlier this year Continued from 1A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Joy Rana, a volunteer with Foster Grandparents, left, taps on the glass to get a puppy’s attention as Kaylee Weston, 10, of Pendleton looks on Tuesday during the reading to animals summer reading program at PAWS in Pendleton. get to play with cats all day,’” she said. “But they want to adopt all of them.” Foster Grandparent volunteer Joy Rana said she could see the progress the kids were making, not only in their literacy, but in their ability to focus on the material. Another volunteer, Mary Taufen-Burcham, noticed something else. “The kids are more excited to read,” she said. Taufen-Burcham thinks the enthusiasm comes from the children’s authority in reading their own book rather than being told which book to read. While the reading sessions usually have six kids, with each child getting a half-hour block to read and play with an animal, Rana said Tuesday’s session was attended by 14 youths. If the program is able to garner enough more atten- tion, Brenne said the Foster Grandparents could extend it from the end of July into August. ——— Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836. with large energy devel- opers. Because those funds are non-discretionary, Sorte said they have provided dollars for commissioners to invest in county roads and infrastructure. “They’ve really allowed the budget committee and board of commissioners to start directing funds toward their priorities,” he said. The county did pass its largest ever road budget earlier this year, totaling $7.18 million — compared to $6.91 million last fiscal year. Facilities are another issue the county must address moving forward, Sorte said. When he started, officials were just dedi- cating the recently finished Bartholomew Building next to the historic county courthouse in Heppner. The next challenge is figuring out what to do with the aging north county offices in Irrigon, which house the planning department, parole and probation, justice court and veterans affairs. Sorte said the county is working to recruit a project manager for facility planning and building design that will examine all possibilities, while balancing public input. “The community has a great desire to weigh in on this discussion,” Sorte said. A request for proposals has been posted online, and the county will accept bids through Aug. 8. Before he came to Morrow County, Sorte worked eight years as a land use planner for Polk County and his new position will see him return to the Willamette Valley. Melissa Lindsay, chairwoman for the board of commissioners, said it is disappointing to be going through another transition but wished Sorte well moving forward. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to continue moving in a great direction for Morrow County,” Lindsay said in a written statement. “The county has so many good things going for it, and we will all be working diligently to continue the momentum into the bright future Morrow County has.” ——— Contact George Plaven at gplaven@eastoregonian. com or 541-966-0825.