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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2018)
REGION Tuesday, May 8, 2018 East Oregonian HERMISTON BRIEFLY Cinco de Mayo brings cultures together Main Street water to be turned off PENDLETON — As the city of Pendleton continues the replacement project for a water main underneath South Main Street, buildings near the intersection of Main Street and Emigrant Avenue will have their water service interrupted on Wednesday and Thursday. According to a city press release, contractors are ready to tie in the new main, which will require city workers to shut off water from 10 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday. The release states that the city has personally contacted affected customers and is aiming for minimal disruption. The construction has mostly affected parking and traffic through the 400 block of Main Street, although the city adopted a Monday through Thursday work schedule to mitigate impact to nearby businesses and the Pendleton Farmers Market. By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo event spread across more real estate than ever this year as the celebration of Mexican heritage took over the grassy acres of the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center. Rainstorms Saturday and Sunday afternoons may have kept a few people away, but crowds were still enjoying a mixture of carnival rides, food booths, contests, a beer garden and live entertain- ment. Political candidates for local and state offices were also there in force to meet and greet attendees. Itzahiana Uriate, one of the three Cinco de Mayo court members, was enjoy- ing a few tacos Saturday afternoon before stepping up on stage to introduce the court and help with an eating contest. She said she saw her role on the court as a representa- tive of Latino culture in the community, and was hon- ored to speak at the Hermis- ton City Council recently. “It was mostly my mom’s idea because she thought, I don’t know, that I was capa- ble, and then I got excited about the thought of it,” she said. People sometimes incor- rectly refer to Cinco de Mayo as “Mexican independence day,” but Uriate explained the celebration marks the day that Mexico defeated a larger and more well-equipped army in the Battle of Puebla. Bobbi Conner joins Oregon Community Foundation board Staff photo by Jade McDowell The Cinco de Mayo court poses for a photo during Hermiston’s Cinco de Mayo celebration Saturday. Uriate said winning the bat- tle was a “great victory” to celebrate as a way for Mex- ican-Americans to recognize their Mexican heritage and culture. Jessica Rodriguez, who was visiting the celebration from Pasco with Ricky Chi- cas, also alluded to Cinco de Mayo as a celebration of heritage. “It just brings back mem- ories of the culture, and we can interact with people who came from the same area as us,” she said. Part of that cultural cel- ebration, of course, is also the traditional food, she said as she started in on a plate of authentic tacos from her parents’ food stand set up at EOTEC. Rodriguez and Chicas said they were impressed with Saturday’s event, and Chicas said he was look- ing forward to the live bands starting later. Alejandra Aviles, who was watching some of the contests going on Saturday afternoon, said she was also looking forward to the bands. She said she comes to Herm- iston’s Cinco de Mayo cele- bration every year in antici- pation of the music. Before the bands came on, a series of contests were held on the stage. The first was an eating contest, which chal- lenged a table full of children to eat six Gansitos, a choco- late-covered cake with cream and berry filling. The winner of the day (and the La Palma gift certif- icate) was Edwin Velasco, 9. “I feel great, and I say thank you to the other kids who worked hard to win too,” he said after his big win. Before the contests began, the national anthem of Mex- ico and the national anthem of the United States of Amer- ica were both sung, and city councilor Clara Beas Fitz- gerald thanked everyone for coming and the sponsors of the event, which was in a new location this year after outgrowing downtown and Butte Park. “Every year it is bigger and more beautiful,” she said in Spanish. PENDLETON be working from 9 a.m. to noon on May 19, starting at Stillman Park (413 S.E. Byers Ave. in Pendleton) and working outward, ending with a barbecue lunch at the park. Participants are asked to RSVP on Facebook if pos- sible to help organizers get a count of how many gloves, bags and lunches are needed. ——— Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastorego- nian.com or 541-564-4536. By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian PENDLETON — Bobbie Conner has joined the board of the Oregon Community Foundation. Connor, director of the Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, is one of three new members along with Romy Mortenson of Bend and Peter Nickerson of Portland. Before moving to Pendleton, Conner worked for the U.S. Small Business Administration and at an Indian nonprofit in Seattle, according to a news release from the foundation. She is enrolled at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and is a graduate of Pendleton High School, the University of Oregon and Willamette University. She is also the vice Bobbi Conner chair of the board of trustees for Eastern Oregon University, and has co-authored multiple books and other published works including the tribal history book “As Days Go By.” The Oregon Community Foundation works with Oregonians to create charitable funds to support community causes such as fighting childhood poverty. The foundation awarded more than $118 million in grants and scholarships in 2017. “OCF is enthusiastic about these three engaged and passionate community leaders joining the board of directors,” OCF President and CEO Max Williams said in a statement. “We value their commitments to the communities they work and live in and know they will help us with OCF’s important work to promote philanthropy and serve communities around the state.” Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office wins award for DUII enforcement Work party spruces up Pioneer Park Pioneer Park in Pend- leton is looking shiny and new after a group of volun- teers gave it some love on Saturday. The work party, spon- sored by the parks and rec- reation department, included new paint on the playground, bandstand, fence and signs as well as new bark chips and other small projects. Kyndra Nelson, who was busy painting the front of the cement bandstand Saturday morning, said she was there because she felt that helping out was a good use of her weekend. “I just like to volunteer. It’s fun,” she said. Kaci Grayber, a Pend- leton High School stu- dent, was carefully repaint- ing slats on the playground fence nearby. She said the project would help her get needed service hours for National Honor Society, but she also just wanted to help out. “I remember going to this park as a kid, so it’s kind of cool to come out here and make it look nice,” she said. She complimented the adults out painting and rak- ing despite not necessar- ily using the wooden, cas- Page 3A PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office won the 2017 Oregon enforcement agency of the year award from the Oregon DUII multi-disciplinary training task force. The sheriff’s office in a written statement reported deputies last year made more than 100 arrests for driving under the influence of intoxicants, and some of the arrests led to major drug seizures and solved other criminal cases. Sheriff Terry Rowan and his team received the award Thursday at the task force’s conference in Bend. “DUII enforcement is very important to us because it directly affects the safety and well-being of our citizens,” according to a written statement from the sheriff’s office. “Our deputies are trained in the detection and investigation of DUII, and we have two drug recognition experts on staff.” Staff photo by Jade McDowell Kyndra Nelson, bottom left, Cathy Shermer and Domu- nik Hull paint the stairs of the bandstand at Pioneer Park in Pendleton during a volunteer work party Saturday. tle-like playground much themselves. The wooden playground structure at 400 N.W. Despain Avenue was rebuilt in 2013 after an arsonist burned it down. Pendleton residents who missed out on the commu- nity service project will have another opportunity to help spruce up their community on May 19 with the SURE Spring River Cleanup. SURE — which stands for Stewards of the Uma- tilla River Environment — is a group of citizens with a goal of keeping the river- way clean. Volunteers will 5/7-8 Cineplex Show Times $5 Classic Movie • 5/9 • 12:00 PM 48 Hours Bad Samaritan (R) 4:10 6:40 9:30 Avengers: Infinity War (PG13) 2D 3:40* 6:10 6:50 10:00 3D 9:20 I Feel Pretty (PG13) 4:40 7:10 9:40 Rampage (PG13) 4:50 7:20 9:50 * Matinee Pricing wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850 Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216 A COMMISSIONER WHO IS DEDICATED, ACCOUNTABLE AND FULLY ENGAGED What are observers saying about what Commissioner Murdock has brought to Umatilla County in his first full term? 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