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145th year, No. 79
REGONIAN
Tuesday, april 20, 2021
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WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Honoring his heritage
Weston-Mcewen
student aiden Wolf
writes about growing
out his hair to honor
his native culture
Voters
have
options
in May
election
By JEREMY BURNHAM
Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
A
THeNa — Weston-Mce-
wen High school junior
aiden Wolf was all set
to represent Oregon as a
member of the rural youth
assembly during a weeklong meeting in
Mcallen, Texas, this school year.
The gathering of students from across
the u.s., of course, fell victim to the
COVid-19 pandemic and was canceled.
aiden, a member of the Confederated
Tribes of the umatilla indian reservation,
was hoping to share his culture with the
other students of the assembly. He also
wanted to learn from them.
“i thought it was a great advantage for
me to learn more about other rural teen-
agers and their cultures,” he said. “and
how they are similar and different from
my own.”
With the meeting canceled, aiden still
wanted to share his story. so he wrote an
essay to be published on the rural assem-
bly’s website. The essay details how aiden
grew out his hair to honor his heritage.
“i wanted people to hear my point
of view,” he said. “How i live, and how
Native americans, at least in my tribe,
view having long hair.”
The essay also explains how growing
out his hair wasn’t exactly his idea. in fact,
as the following excerpt suggests, he was
initially very hesitant to do it.
“i did not do this willingly, but it felt
like my mother would hate me if i did not,”
aiden wrote in his opening paragraph.
“My father showed his support and also
grew his hair out. it was a nice gesture, but
he wasn’t at school or stuck in my head.
There were no cultural aspects I reflected
on when i started. When it grew out, it
annoyed me a lot and made me feel more
uncomfortable than i already felt.”
aiden began growing his hair in 2016.
since then, it has become something he
has embraced and wants to share. He said
in his essay that it has changed how he
reacts to some situations.
“The combination of that setting in our
schools, having long hair, knowing where i
come from and who all of my ancestors are
has helped me grow,” aiden wrote.
He said as he gets older, his apprecia-
tion of his own culture grows. He wants
people to see that in his essay.
“it’s showing respect to everyone. it’s
showing respect to our land,” aiden said.
“Taking care of our land. Making sure
the salmon still come up stream. Making
sure the roots still grow in the spring, and
that the deer population isn’t overpopu-
lated and that we still have wolves. it’s
just balance. it’s what we believe in, and i
really like that.”
athena-Weston school district super-
intendent laure Quaresma said she appre-
ciated how thoughtful aiden was in his
approach to his essay.
“He’s a leader in our school,” Quaresma
port of Morrow
Commission sees
contested races
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
BOardMaN — Voters in the
May 18 election will have plenty
of choices in the race for port of
Morrow commissioners.
Two of the seats up for election
feature a three-way race, while a
third seat has one candidate. Those
elected will take their seats on July
1 for a four-year term.
Rick Stokoe
For Commissioner position 1,
current chair rick stokoe is running
for another term.
See Voters, Page A9
HERMISTON SCHOOL
BOARD CANDIDATES
MAKE THEIR CASE
Robert McLean/Contributed Photo
Aiden Wolf, a junior at Weston-McEwen High School and member of the Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation, is finding ways to embrace and share his cultural heritage.
state law
could force
candidate
to make
decision
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
tor of the Stanfield Public Library,
contacted Bemrose and the car club to
help put on the first-of-its-kind street
fair, which saw hundreds of people
peNdleTON — starting on
april 28, local voters will choose
who will represent position 7 on the
pendleton school
Board. if voters
select candidate
Briana spencer for
the seat, then she’ll
have to make a
choice of her own.
a member-elect
of the Nixyaawii
Spencer
Community school
Board, a state law wouldn’t allow
spencer to serve on both the char-
ter school’s board and the pendleton
school Board simultaneously.
spencer said she didn’t know she
wouldn’t be able to hold both seats
until after the March 18 deadline to
file for the Pendleton seats.
When contemplating a run for
school board, she consulted with
debbie McBee, the school board
chair, who told her she didn’t think
it would be a problem if she sought
election to both boards, but she would
need to follow up.
in eastern Oregon, it’s not
uncommon for people to hold multi-
ple elected offices. For instance,
Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack
See Fair, Page A9
See Decision, Page A9
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
See Heritage, Page A9
As decision-making about
students returning to the
classroom during the pandemic
has elevated interest in school
boards across Oregon, the race
for Hermiston’s Board of Educa-
tion is no exception. Page A3
Aiden Wolf at Weston-McEwen High School in Athena on Friday, April 16, 2021.
Hundreds gather for Stanfield street fair
area classic car
owners, enthusiasts
flock to Stanfield for
‘show and shine’
By BRYCE DOLE
East Oregonian
sTaNField — Jeff Bemrose
still owns the car he built with his dad
back in high school. Over their four
years working together on the 1941
Ford Coupe, he found his passion for
the classics. Today, however, he’s still
fixing the mistakes he made as a teen-
ager.
“i’m still paying for my father’s
sins, i guess,” said Bemrose, a member
of the Hermiston Classic Car Club.
standing beside rows of 87 clas-
Bryce Dole/East Oregonian
Vendors line the roadway at a “Show and Shine” event in downtown Stan-
field on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
sic cars at the Stanfield Street Fair on
saturday, april 17, Bemrose echoed
a sentiment held among many locals.
“people have been itching to get
out,” he said.
recently, Cecili longhorn, direc-