OFF PAGE ONE
Thursday, March 10, 2022
Fire:
Continued from Page A1
affected and will do what we
can to help them find other
employment,” the letter
stated.
Nictakis ended the letter
with thanks to local busi-
nesses and government
representatives for their
support.
“Please continue to put
our Shearer’s Hermiston
family in your thoughts
through this difficult time,”
Nictakis stated.
Dealing with
the fallout
This is a situation that
has driven people to tears,
according to Mark Gomolski,
Agape House director.
Gomolski said Shearer’s
supplied Agape House with
a list of all of the Hermis-
ton plant employees, and the
nonprofit held a food drive
Friday, March 4, for them.
Gomolski said CAPECO —
Community Action Program
of East Central Oregon —
and the Oregon Food Bank
supplied the food for the
employees.
Large pallets of food lined
the west end of the building
going around to the east end
on March 4, Gomolski said.
The Shearer workers arrived
at the Agape House, opened
their vehicles and had them
filled, he said.
There were 35 volunteers,
Gomolski said, and seven of
the volunteers came from
Shearer’s.
The event, which was
8 a.m. to 2 p.m., provided
food to 127 Shearer’s fami-
lies, he said. Many of these
people seemed very upset,
Gomolski said.
“There were people
crying as they were getting
Races:
Continued from Page A1
Rick Pullen, a former
Umatilla County employee,
filed a last-minute challenge
to incumbent Commissioner
John Shafer. In 2018, Pullen
ran against Murdock for Posi-
tion 1. He came in second
during the primary and
narrowly lost in the runoff
50-48.
Shafer’s other challenger
is conservative activist
HollyJo Beers, who also is
making her second attempt
at county office. Beers came
in second during the 2020
primary for an open Posi-
tion 3 seat, but she ended
up losing the runoff to Dan
Dorran.
Regardless of the results
during the primary, the
two candidates who get the
most votes in each commis-
sion race will advance to a
Nov. 8 runoff.
Hermiston
City Council
Hermiston voters will
have a choice in all but one
race in May, but as of 5 p.m.
on March 8, the one excep-
tion is set to be decided by
write-in votes.
The race for Ward 1 will
feature a rematch between
incumbent Lori Davis
and retiree Jackie Linton.
Linton also was a candidate
for Ward 1 in 2018, but she
narrowly missed the runoff
and Davis would go on to
prevail in the general election.
Ward 2 Councilor Roy
Barron is facing a challenge
from Stan Stradley, the exec-
utive director of the Umatilla
County Housing Authority.
Barron first won office in
2018.
In Ward 4, former Coun-
cilor David McCarthy is
challenging incumbent Phil-
lip Spicerkuhn to rejoin the
council. Spickerkuhn won a
special election unopposed
in March 2021 to represent
Ward 4 on the council.
Ward 3 has been repre-
sented by Councilor Jackie
Myers for nearly 30 years,
but neither Myers nor any
other candidates filed for the
seat. The city of Hermiston’s
website did include a note that
intended to update its candi-
date page on March 9 and it
could include new filings.
Rounding out the slate
of Hermiston elections is
the race for municipal court
Erick Peterson/East Oregonian, File
Shearer’s Foods, a major employer in Hermiston, was virtual-
ly unrecognizable Feb. 23, 2022, following the explosion and
fire Feb. 22.
food here,” he said.
Gomolski said there is a
possibility of holding another
food drive in April.
Job fair coming
next week
Since the start of the fire,
local government has been in
communication with Shear-
er’s to see what can be done.
Mark Morgan, Hermiston
assistant city manager, is
one of those officials who has
expressed a desire to help.
“We’ve been in coordina-
tion with the Shearer’s folks,
as well as all of our other
partners here on the state,
local and federal level,” he
said.
Morgan said the city has
been working with the Herm-
iston Chamber of Commerce
on its planned job fair. He
said planning for the fair was
delayed while waiting to find
out whether Shearer’s would
hold onto its employees and
rebuild. Now that Shearer’s
released those employees, the
city and the chamber is push-
ing forward with the job fair.
“I’ve been in touch with
all the wonderful compa-
nies in Hermiston,” Val
Hoxie, executive director
of the Hermiston Chamber
of Commerce, said, as she
helped organize the fair.
On the afternoon of
March 8, she said 14 employ-
ers confirmed participation
at the fair, and she said she
expects more to join. Some
participating companies,
which will be looking for
new employees, are Lamb
Weston, Amazon, Tilla-
mook, Rogers Toyota of
Hermiston and Two Rivers
Correctional Institution in
Umatilla.
The job fair is March 16,
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Herm-
iston Community Center,
415 S. Highway 395.
Hoxie said Workforce
will be present, too, as repre-
sentatives will be on hand
to answer questions about
unemployment issues.
Employees enter a
strong job market
Former Shearer’s work-
ers may not be looking long
for work, according to Craig
East Oregonian
Smith of Food Northwest.
He said Food Northwest
did not have an associa-
tion with Shearer’s. It does,
however, have connections
with several other local food
processors around the region.
Already, he said, he has heard
a lot of eagerness in hiring
the Shearer’s workforce.
“We have a lot of compa-
nies in that area that are
looking for people,” he said,
including Lamb Weston,
Port of Morrow, Board-
man Foods, Tillamook and
Oregon Potato.
“There are some really
large companies out there
that are literally begging for
employees,” he said.
He said the misfortune
of losing jobs could become
opportunities for people
to find something new and
better.
Unlocking:
Continued from Page A1
“The building actually
used to be a bank in the
early 1900s,” he said. “It’s
been a bank, a post office,
stuff like that. There’s still
original bank vaults in
there: back behind my bar,
there is the original bank
vault door and everything
on it. So I just decided that
kind of theme.”
The Vault Tavern was
born.
It’s had its stops and
starts, but The Vault has
been open for about a year-
and-a-half on Pilot Rock’s
Main Street. Saling first
held the grand opening in
November 2020 during
a lull in the coronavirus
pandemic. The Vault was
only open for two weeks
before the virus surged
back and forced him to
close until February 2021.
Unlike many other
restaurant and bar owners,
Saling’s experience isn’t in
the dining industry. Most
days, Saling goes to work
at Keystone RV Co. in
Pendleton and then returns
home in the evening to
manage The Vault with the
help of a couple of employ-
ees.
While The Vault has
been open and operating
for more than a year, it’s
still not fully realized. The
bar only serves beer, but
Saling is hopeful he’ll be
able to get a kitchen oper-
ational in a few months
that will serve favorite
bar fare, including burg-
ers, wings and pizza to go
Hermiston looks
to the future
Morgan expressed confi-
dence the displaced laborers
would find new work at the
upcoming fair.
“I know there’s been
significant interest from
employers looking to hire
some of these folks coming
out of the Shearer’s facility,”
Morgan said.
T he a s si s t a nt cit y
manager also articulated his
belief the community will
recover.
“We’re strongly commit-
ted to making sure that we
can see some reinvestment
here in the community and
that type of operation here as
quickly as possible,” he said.
He also plugged Hermis-
ton as an excellent place for
business.
“I think it’s proven that
our region has some of the
best workforce,” he said, “as
well as assets in the form of
water and utilities needed for
processing operations.”
A7
along with the beer.
Saling said business
tailed off a little after some
initial excitement, but he’s
confident he’ll find the
customer base he needs
once the kitchen opens and
he’s able to secure a license
to serve hard liquor.
“Most people, I think
they just got used to drink-
ing at home,” he said.
“Anybody can buy a beer
and just crack a beer at their
house. Once I get the hard
alcohol, mixed drinks and
stuff like that, stuff people
don’t want to make neces-
sarily at their own house,
I’m feeling it will pick up.”
Saling said he’s already
heard from residents and
tourists coming through
town on Highway 395
that they would return
once Saling expanded his
services.
Saling is working to
turn The Vault into a
successful business, but
there’s hope it could be a
part of a larger economic
revival for Pilot Rock.
Two dollar store chains
— Family Dollar and
Dollar General — are
building new locations in
a town that lost more than
10% of its population from
2010 to 2020. Next door to
The Vault, Saling is rent-
ing out space to a hunting
store, a business a friend of
his runs.
Saling is bullish on
Pilot Rock’s future, noting
the city is on the hunt for
larger employers to take
advantage of its acres of
open land. And if the city
is able to land any of those
businesses, it could mean
more patrons for The Vault.
PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER
judge, where incumbent
Thomas Creasing will face
a challenge from Munici-
pal Judge Pro Tem Cameron
Bendixsen.
Pendleton
City Council
When the Pendleton City
Council looked to appoint
someone to fill a vacant
at-large seat in 2020, nine
people applied for the posi-
tion.
But securing at least five
votes on the council is much
easier than campaigning for
hundreds of votes from the
public, and 2022 will feature
no competitive elections.
No races will be forced
to rely on write-in votes,
but only one candidate will
be featured in each election.
Incumbents Carole Innes of
Ward 1, McKennon McDon-
ald of Ward 2 and Linda
Neuman of Ward 3 all filed
for reelection without any
challengers.
Back in 2020, Steve
Campbell was the candi-
date who emerged from the
nine-person field to win
appointment to the coun-
cil. Because of the timing of
Campbell’s appointment, the
seat is up for election in 2022
and 2024. Campbell filed to
stay on the council while the
other at-large seat is being
sought by newcomer Addi-
son Schulberg, a manager
at the Great Pacific Wine &
Coffee Co. Schulberg is look-
ing to replace Jake Cambier,
who is retiring from the
council.
Levy draws challenger
Most races for state offices
that represent Umatilla and
Morrow counties will not be
competitive, but state Rep.
Bobby Levy of Echo is facing
a challenge in the Republican
primary.
Skye Farnam, a Summer-
ville business owner, is seek-
ing to oust Levy. Farnam ran
for the District 58 seat in 2018
as an independent but lost to
then-incumbent Greg Barreto.
State Rep. Greg Smith,
R-Heppner, the incumbent in
District 57, is all but assured
another term in Salem after
drawing no Republican or
Democratic opponents.
In Umatilla County
Circuit, Position 2 Judge
Jon Lieuallen and Position 3
Judge Daniel Hill are running
unopposed. And in Morrow
County, District Attorney
Justin Nelson also is running
unopposed.
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CAT11162-1