OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, November 12, 2020
East Oregonian
A7
Heroes: Flags represent veterans no longer with us
nor “paused” many social
activities to slow the spread
of COVID-19.
“They missed us some-
how, so we’re happy to be
here,” he said.
It’s been a tough year for
the VFW, not only because
of the effects of the pan-
demic, but also due to more
than a dozen deaths among
their members.
Burger said at least 14
members have died this
year, but it can be difficult
to track because the orga-
nization isn’t able to con-
nect with some inactive
members.
One VFW member who
stayed active until this year
was Bob Michael, who was
95.
In an interview after
the ceremony, Cook said
Michael never failed to help
out with a ceremony or a
Cowboy Breakfast during
Round-Up.
Cook recalled the time
Michael helped out with
a renovation project at the
Milton-Freewater
Elks
Lodge, where a man in 60s
complained that he was too
old to do this kind of work.
Cook remembered that
Michael proceeded to out-
work the man for the rest of
the day.
“I don’t think Bob had an
enemy,” Cook said.
Continued from Page A1
itary, so it’s just paying trib-
ute to those that fought for
our country,” he said.
Judith Burger, the com-
mander of the Pendleton
VFW Post, said she was
pleasantly surprised with
how well setting up the
flags went despite the foul
weather and several other
minor issues.
“Considering we had
a few hiccups, all in all it
went pretty well,” she said.
Burger said the Avenue
of Flags carries incredible
importance every year, but
she felt as though it offered
additional meaning in the
midst of a pandemic that
has left many unable to hold
events in honor of veterans.
“Every one of these flags
represents a veteran and
they’re all no longer with
us,” she said. “This gives
us a way to still represent
their presence and their
contributions.”
Pioneer ceremony
While Memorial Day is
specifically designated as
the day to remember those
that died while serving in
the military, Veterans Day
can also evoke memories of
the dead.
Speaking in front of a
small audience assembled
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Gary Ward, left, places a flag as Clifford Smith looks on while setting up the Avenue of Flags at Olney Cemetery on Tuesday,
Nov. 10, 2020.
at the Pendleton Pioneer
Chapel for the VFW Post
922’s annual Veterans Day
ceremony, Zimmerman &
Co. True Value co-owner
Jimmy Naughton said he
wasn’t a veteran himself but
was related to several in his
family.
Among those he shared
with the crowd was the
story of his grandfather,
James P. Naughton, who
died while fighting in World
War II.
“Veterans are heroes,” he
said. “They’re my heroes.”
VFW member John
Cook’s opening remarks
noted that many Veter-
ans Day events through-
out Umatilla County had
been canceled or heavily
modified after the gover-
Hermiston: Attorney Phillip Spicerkuhn chosen to fill vacant council seat
Continued from Page A1
from Bonneville Power
Administration.
Three Hermiston resi-
dents testified at the meet-
ing, asking the council to
consider ways to reduce the
burden on residents. Renata
Morgan said she would
rather see more frequent
1.5% increases than having
the city wait until it needs a
7% increase.
“I understand what you’re
saying here about this, but
what I don’t understand why
you let it get so far,” she said.
Rivera had previously
highlighted ways that resi-
dents struggling to pay their
bills can get help. Those
include HES’s online “smart
hub” where customers can
track their usage, rebates on
energy-efficient appliances,
free energy audits and the
HEAT fund available to help
pay low-income customers’
bills.
“The main key is really
to start that conversation
with them and let them
know there is help avail-
New councilor
OTHER BUSINESS
The Hermiston City Council also approved
annexation of an 11.5-acre property at 455 E.
Elm Ave., behind Walmart, owned by Steve
Richards of Eastern Oregon Development
LLC.
Richards owns Highland Mini Storage in
Hermiston, and previously tried to build
another set of storage units on Highway
395 near Rogers Toyota, before the council
denied his zoning request in October 2019.
City Planner Clint Spencer said it was his
understanding that Richards planned to add
a similar storage development to part of the
Elm property and use the rest for new retail
space.
The council also approved change to the
comprehensive plan map for a 1.9-acre set of
properties on the north side of West Theater
Lane. Developer John Ucney of UK Properties
submitted the application to change the
seven existing lots from multi-structure resi-
dential to outlying commercial, and Spencer
said Ucney plans to market the property for
commercial development.
The council also approved Hermiston Police
Chief Jason Edmiston to sign a mutual aid
agreement and a document known as the
able; they just need to work
with us, and as long as a
customer is willing to work
Umatilla County Deadly Physical Force Plan
on behalf of the city.
The physical force plan was created after the
Oregon Legislature mandated in 2007 that all
counties create such a plan. Umatilla Coun-
ty’s was last updated by local law enforce-
ment agencies in 2008, and Edmiston said,
given the increased scrutiny on police use
of force this year, he suggested the agencies
review the plan.
City Manager Byron Smith told the council
there were no significant changes made to
the 12-page plan during the review process,
and the council approved it without further
discussion beyond clarifying which agencies
the plan covers.
The mutual aid agreement between Hermis-
ton and neighboring law enforcement agen-
cies in Umatilla and Morrow counties comes
into play almost every day, Edmiston told the
council, as members of the different agencies
assist each other. That agreement also out-
lines the structure of the Major Crimes Team,
which is made up of detectives from multiple
agencies and is mobilized in the event of a
homicide or other serious crime. There were
no significant changes to that plan either.
with us, we’re not in a situ-
ation where we’ve ever tried
to shut them off. As long
as they’re making the best
effort they can, we’ll work
with them,” he said.
tion and I think it’s great
that both of you will now
have council experience as
well,” Councilor Roy Bar-
ron told them.
Spicerkuhn said he has
lived in Hermiston for 10
years now as an adult, but
was also born in Hermiston
and raised in Eastern Ore-
gon. He is an attorney for
Kuhn Law Offices, a past
Lions Club president, on
the board of directors for
the Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce and also a board
member for Umatilla Mor-
row Head Start.
He said he brings a pas-
sion for serving the commu-
nity, leadership experience
and knowledge from his
work at Kuhn Law Offices,
which provides representa-
tion for several small cities
in the area.
“I feel that being a mem-
ber on the city council is
the next step in being able
to serve the community of
Hermiston and being a part
of this community, helping
guide it moving forward,”
he said.
During the meeting, the
council also rounded off
its 2021 roster by appoint-
ing local attorney Phillip
Spicerkuhn to the Ward IV
seat, which was recently
vacated after Doug Smith
resigned.
Spicerkuhn applied for
the position along with
incumbent David McCar-
thy, who the week before
had lost his reelection
bid for his at-large seat.
Because there is more than
two years left in the term
for the Ward IV seat, the
appointment is only for the
interim until a special elec-
tion is held.
Both McCarthy and
Spicerkuhn told the coun-
cil they intend to run in that
March 9, 2021 special elec-
tion, but from December to
March, the council chose
Spicerkuhn to hold the seat
in a 4-1 vote.
“Both of you guys are
extremely impressive and
it’s a really hard decision to
make but I hope both of you
do run for the special elec-
Echo: ‘Vitally important’ to thank service members
their service. He described
how his father, a Vietnam
veteran, refused to seek
needed help and support
available to him as a vet-
eran because of how badly
he was treated after he
returned from war.
“When he got home he
was spit on, he was called
names, he had things
thrown at him, and he was
treated as a second rate cit-
izen for a political stance
he didn’t have a say in, that
he didn’t have a choice in.
But he went because he
was drafted; he went and
served his country,” Smith
said.
He said that’s why Echo
hosts Veterans Day events
each year, so that students
can understand the sac-
rifices that veterans have
made and appreciate their
service.
“It is vitally import-
ant that we as a country
remember to thank our ser-
vice members, and remem-
ber to say we support them
as people,” he said.
Continued from Page A1
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A construction equipment operator navigates Southeast
Byers Avenue in Pendleton on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020.
Roads: $1.5M for repairs
Continued from Page A1
The
pandemic
and
the ensuing restrictions
imposed by the state to slow
the virus’ spread have had
a lasting effect on the tour-
ism industry. With many
of Pendleton’s large events
like Round-Up and Pendle-
ton Whisky Music Fest can-
celed or postponed, hotels
have taken the brunt of the
damage.
Councilor Dale Primmer
said that even when a vac-
cine is issued and the effects
of the pandemic start to lift,
he doesn’t know how long
it will take for visitors to be
comfortable attending large
events again.
“Culturally, it’s going to
take a while even as the dis-
ease portion fades away,” he
said.
While many of the city’s
street funding ideas remain
concepts or have fallen
short, the city has been able
to increase road mainte-
nance revenue by approving
new fees on utilities.
The council created the
street utility fee in late 2015
and raised it in March, with
most residents paying $8.50
per month on top of their
usual utility bill.
But like the other ideas,
there didn’t seem to be much
appetite for going back to
that well for more money.
One bright spot for street
funding is the city’s decision
to use $1.5 million in urban
renewal funds for street
repair. While the city is
restricted to using the funds
for streets in downtown
Pendleton and some of the
surrounding area, Turner
said it could help fund proj-
ects across the city by free-
ing up money in other parts
of the budget.
where she worked to mon-
itor and analyze data from
defense satellites.
“I was the front line
of detection of missile
launches, satellite launches
and nuclear satellites,” she
said. “I could detect what
kind of missile, where it
was originating from and
where it was heading.”
Her next work, in Spain,
was tracking “space junk”
with a high-powered tele-
scope so that military sat-
ellites could avoid a colli-
sion. Her final work for the
Air Force, at Edwards Air
Force Base in California,
was classified.
After an honorable dis-
charge, Piercy worked
for Boeing to help launch
the Sirius XM satellite
before family health issues
brought her back to East-
ern Oregon. She started
to work for Good Shep-
herd Medical Center as an
admitting clerk and went
back to school to become a
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Second-grader Rose Murray, 7, delivers a poem during a
virtual Veterans Day assembly in the Echo gymnasium on
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020.
radiology technologist.
Although she is no lon-
ger enlisted, Piercy said her
time in the Air Force taught
her attention to detail,
courage, integrity and how
to be a team player, and she
said she has tried to instill
those same values in her
children.
“The military helped
mold me into the person I
am today,” she said.
After her remarks, Echo
School District Superin-
tendent Raymon Smith
encouraged students and
other community members
watching the broadcast to
thank veterans they see for
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