REGION
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Artist an ‘Overnight success’
of 14,600 nights and counting
Former Stanfield
man builds love
of animation into
a creative career
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
STANFIELD — Since
leaving his hometown,
former Stanfield resident
Richard Florence has been
gaining fame as a cartoon-
ist and illustrator. Most
recently, he has achieved
extra notoriety for his work
on the new NBC game show,
“Family Game Fight!”
Now living in Westmin-
ster, Colorado, the Stanfield
High School graduate said
he has good memories of his
time in the area. He worked
on farms, played with dirt
and stayed out until curfew
every night. He did not have
cable, but he did not need it.
He had plenty of friends, and
there were even people who
would prove influential in his
future career.
His grandfather was one
such person who left an
impact. Florence remembers
his grandfather having given
him the newspaper every
day. The young Florence
would turn excitedly to the
comics pages after receiving
them from his grandfather.
Alley Oop was his favorite
comic strip, and Florence
would learn to draw by trac-
ing the comics.
He was drawing comics
before he could even read
A nother inf luential
family member was his
“crazy aunt,” who was a
nude model in Portland in
the 1930s.
“She was wild,” he said,
but she did communicate
her free spirit to him, as well
as her love of art. She had a
big box of comics that she
would share with him. Pogo,
Katzenjammer Kids and
Dick Tracy were some of his
favorites.
He also remembered long
car trips with his family, in
which he would read Archie
comics.
In those early days, he fell
in love with the sort of story-
telling an artist could do with
cartooning. He said there is
no way to do cartooning
wrong. It is not the sort of
realistic work done by clas-
sical painters. The differ-
ence is good because he did
not think he had the ability
to be the next Michelangelo.
Making cartoons, he could
be himself.
In school, instead of
Richard Florence/Contributed Photo
Artist Richard Florence’s work includes “Hap Hazard.” It has
a special place in his heart, he said.
Ryan Florence/Contributed Photo
Richard Florence of West-
minster, Colorado, gradu-
ated from Stanfield High
School and went on to do
exciting work in the world of
animation.
paying attention to class-
room lessons, he drew. He
drew dinosaurs, then spies,
then Batman.
When he was young, he
met a boarder who rented a
room from his mother. The
man shared his comics,
underground comics —
sometimes strange works
from independent artists.
“It was eye-opening,” he
said. When he read them,
he realized he could say
anything in a comic.
When he got a little older,
he painted murals and signs
around Stanfield. He met his
wife, Ginger Florence, at
the Umatilla County Fair in
1980. In 1981, he left town
for the Art Institute of Colo-
rado.
He published his first
comic, “Hap Hazard,” in
1987. It is the story of a
bumbling detective, and he
still is doing it.
Then he started drawing
manga for a Tokyo studio.
He drew a 209-page-long
story at the pace of 25 pages
a month about his poodle
and followed it up with a
179-page story on Ameri-
can life.
The Japanese were inter-
ested in his stories for a
look into a different culture.
When, for instance, he drew
a drive-in, people thought it
was interesting and foreign.
His work life was not all
art, though. He worked for
a phone company and made
money. Art was a side proj-
ect.
Then, he found a second
life in animation. He learned
flash animation, and realized
that a one-man shop could
make an entire show. It was
like magic to him.
He started doing commer-
cials for Papa Johns, the
Chicago Tribune and other
companies. He even saw
some of his work in a Super
Bowl ad.
“I was over the moon,” he
said of his Super Bowl ad. He
had made the animation for a
video game, but it was repur-
posed for this other ad. Four
million people saw his work,
he said, and he could not be
happier.
“My overnight success
was 14,600 nights,” he said.
Ironically, his biggest
professional success came
after his massive heart attack
16 years ago. Since then, he
has gotten great jobs and
awards.
His work for the NBC
show “Family Game Fight!,”
a show produced by Ellen
DeGeneres, is his latest
achievement. He has not
met DeGeneres, but he does
speak on Zoom with people
who work for her, and that is
just fine with him.
In addition to his anima-
tion work for the show, he is
drawing a book based on his
travels in Germany, where
he was born. That work will
be around 200 pages.
Trio of surgeons join Good Shepherd
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Three
surgeons are joining the
Good Shepherd Health Care
System in Hermiston.
Drs. Marques Johnson,
David Maccabee and Ann
Rust join the Good Shep-
herd Medical Group General
Surgery, according to a press
release Wednesday, Sept. 22,
from Good Shepherd Health
Care System. All three are
board certified in general
surgery.
“Good Shepherd now has
a powerhouse of surgeons
with a combined 40-plus
years of experience that
provide best-in-class surgi-
cal care for our patients,”
Good Shepherd President
and CEO Brian Sims touted
in the press release.
Johnson has a special
focus in minimally-inva-
sive surgery and colorec-
tal surgery. He was born
in Medford and grew up
in Eugene,
whe r e he
obtained his
ba chelor’s
degree from
Universit y
of Oregon.
He went on
Johnson
to medi-
cal school
at Loma Linda Univer-
sity School of Medicine in
Loma Linda, California,
and completed his general
surgery residency at Maine
Medical Center in Portland,
Maine. He is a member of
the American College of
Surgeons and the American
Medical Association.
Maccabee specializes in
minimally-invasive surgery,
including robotics, bariat-
ric surgery and endoscopy.
He attended undergraduate
and medical
school at the
University
of Califor-
nia Davis in
Davis, Cali-
fornia. After
a brief stint
Maccabee
for gradu-
ate school
at Oxford University in
England, he returned to the
United States for his surgical
training. He completed his
general surgery residency at
University of Washington in
Seattle, and Oregon Health &
Sciences University in Port-
land. He went on to complete
a fellowship in laparoscopic
surgery at OHSU.
Maccabee has broad
experience with all types of
gastrointestinal surgery and
endoscopy, including mini-
mally-invasive hernia repair,
surgery for reflux disease
and weight loss and varicose
vein disease. He is a member
of the American College of
Surgeons, the American
Society of Metabolic and
Bariatric Surgeons, and the
Society of Gastrointestinal
Surgeons.
Rust has special focus
on women’s health, as well
as advanced laparoscopic
and endoscopic surgeries.
She was born in Sandpoint,
Idaho, and followed the foot-
steps of her physician father.
Rust earned her doctor
of medicine degree from
Creighton University School
of Medicine
in Omaha,
Nebras-
k a ,w h e r e
she also
completed
he r r e si-
Rust
dency. She
is a member
of the American College of
Surgeons, American Society
of Breast Surgeons, Associ-
ation of Women Surgeons,
and the Society of Laparo-
scopic Surgeons.
East Oregonian
A3
Hermiston market continues past closure
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Local
farms on Thursday, Sept.
16, tried to make up for a
farmers market that did not
happen in Hermiston. They
intend to attract others for a
bigger market in following
weeks.
The Maxwell Event
Center & Pavilion in Herm-
iston is home on Thursdays
to an afternoon market,
which can attract a dozen to
20 farm booths selling local
produce.
But lack of staff led to the
cancellation of the remain-
ing two markets of the 2021
season. A Facebook post for
the Maxwell Market states,
“Hope to see you for the
2022 season!”
Still, a couple of local
farms were undeterred by
the market’s closure. They
got together and set up their
own market in McKenzie
Park, outside and across the
street from the event center.
With only two vendors,
it was not as large as the
planned Maxwell Market,
but the participants were
glad to have a place to sell
their produce, honey and
baked goods.
Kraig Mueller, 3rd Gen
Farms owner, grows cucum-
bers, lettuce, melons and
other row crops. A Herm-
iston resident, he said he
has four fields on nine acres
spread out in all corners of
Hermiston.
“We’re market farmers,
market gardeners,” he said.
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian
Kraig Mueller, of 3rd Gen Farms, plays with his son, Kolton
Mueller, on Sept. 16, 2021, at a farmers market in Hermiston.
“We’re farmers, this is our
income.”
He was disappointed
when he heard the Maxwell
Market would be closed. Its
closure was uncommon,
as he regularly brought his
vegetables there every week
during the season. Other
markets close on occa-
sion, especially for special
events, but this one was a
surprise.
He also knew that it
would be a surprise to his
customers. He made prom-
ises he would be in Hermis-
ton every week during the
season.
When he heard of the
closure, he began making
calls.
“The city was kind
enough to say, ‘Yeah, come
down, and we’re not going
to charge you anything.’”
He also called his farming
friends, people who also
have booths at the Maxwell
Market.
With short notice, he
was not able to organize a
larger market, but he said
he believes he can attract
more people in the follow-
ing week.
Ve r on ic a D elg a do,
Veronica’s Fresh Produce
owner, operated the other
booth at the impromptu
market in the park. A Pasco
farmer, her family has five
acres. She has been at the
Maxwell Market for three
years, and she likes it.
She came to Hermiston
on Sept. 16 with peaches,
potatoes, beans and more.
When Mueller called her
and said they had an oppor-
tunity to sell in the park, she
jumped at it. Otherwise, she
said, her products would
have gone to waste. She said
she hopes to return Sept. 23.
LOCAL BRIEFING
Judge Hill seeks
appointment to Ore.
Supreme Court
SALEM — Umatilla
County Circuit Court Judge
Dan Hill is seeking a promo-
tion.
Gov. Kate Brown on Tues-
day, Sept. 14, announced a
list of candidates for vacan-
cies on the Oregon Court
of Appeals and the Oregon
Supreme Court. Roy Blaine,
trial court administrator
for the 6th Judicial district,
which encompasses Umatilla
and Morrow counties, said
Hill applied to serve on the
Supreme Court.
In a written state-
ment, Hill said he believes
“advancing to the Supreme
Court would allow him to
continue public service in a
meaningful capacity, able to
best promote the rule of law,
fairness and equity for all, in
these complex times.”
Blaine said he was sure
Hill would accept whatever
position was offered.
Hill is a 1979n graduate
of Hermiston High School
and won election in 1990 as
municipal judge for Hermis-
ton and appointment to half-
time circuit judge pro-tem
for Umatilla County. In the
appointment, he spent three
years hearing civil post-con-
viction relief cases.
While serving as a judge,
he maintained his Hermiston
law practice and served as a
city prosecutor and an Army
judge advocate.
Umatilla County voters
elected Hill to the bench in
2004, the winner of a three-
way race with the endorse-
ment of his predecessor. Hill
is in his third six-year term.
Hill’s military service
was a direct commission into
the Judge Advocate Gener-
al’s Corps in September
1987. His service included
deployment to New Orleans
after Hurricane Katrina and
to Afghanistan. He retired as
a brigadier general on May
31, 2020.
Hill is a graduate of
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College, Oregon State
University, Willamette
University College of Law
and the U.S. Army War
College.
Brown is inviting attor-
neys and members of the
public to comment on the
candidates by contacting
her general counsel, Dustin
Buehler at 503-378-6246
or by email at dustin.e.bue-
hler@oregon.gov.
McCarthy files to
rejoin city council
HERMISTON — David
McCarthy filed to run for one
of the Hermiston City Coun-
cil seats up for election on
Sept. 10, becoming the first
person to declare their candi-
dacy for the 2022 election.
Hermiston splits their
city council between at-large
seats, where all candidates
run on the same ballot and
the top four vote get elected,
and ward seats, where candi-
dates run in four separate
races based on their resi-
dency. In either election, all
Hermiston voters get to vote
on all the candidates.
A sales manager at
KOHU, McCarthy was
appointed to a vacant at-large
seat in May 2020. His bid
for a full term was denied
when he placed fifth in the
November election. McCar-
thy is now running for a seat
representing Ward 4, which
is held by incumbent Phillip
Spicerkuhn.
Filing for the ward seats
on the Hermiston City Coun-
cil and the municipal judge-
ship opened on Sept. 9 and
will close on March 8, 2022.
Election Day is May 17, and
should no candidate receive a
majority of the vote, the top
two candidates will compete
in a Nov. 8 runoff.
Umatilla County
lifts burn ban
PENDLETON — The
Umatilla County Board of
Commissioners in its meet-
ing Wednesday, Sept. 22,
voted to lift the county’s
burn bans.
The ban in agricultural
burns ended at noon Sept.
22 and the nonagricultural
ban ends Oct. 1.
The action excludes any
land state, federal and tribal
governments own or is inside
a fire district, according
to a press release from the
Umatilla County Depart-
ment of Land Use Planning.
The county adopted the
bans in early summer due to
severe drought conditions.
The bans prohibited agricul-
tural burning, burn barrels,
yard and garden debris piles
and small-scale residential
burning.
The county noted in the
press release that burn day
protocol remains in effect,
and those who wish to burn
should call the county burn
line at 541-278-6397 or check
the county’s website, www.
co.umatilla.or.us, open the
dropdown menu under
“Popular” and click the link
to buring information.
Burn day determina-
tions also are on Facebook
at Umatilla County Smoke
Management.
— EO Media Group
9/24-9/30
Cineplex Show Times
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1:30p 4:50p 8:10p
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1:10p 4:30p 7:50p
Show off your
hunting skills
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1:00p 4:20p 7:20p
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12:50p 4:10p 7:00p
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